Los Angeles Lakers championship series Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant speaks to reporters following the Lakers winning the NBA basketball championship, at team headquarters in El Segundo, Calif. , Friday, June 19, 2009. AP Photo logo AP Photo 4 months ago

Los Angeles Lakers championship series Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant speaks to reporters following the Lakers winning the NBA basketball championship, at team headquarters in El Segundo, Calif. , Friday, June 19, 2009.

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  1. Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant goes up for a dunk during the second half of their NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Los Angeles. The Lakers won 118-110.
  2. Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest dunks the ball during the second half of their NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Los Angeles. The Lakers won 118-110.
  3. Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, below, goes up for a shot as Atlanta Hawks center Zaza Pachulia of Georgia defends during the second half of their NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, in Los Angeles. The Lakers won 118-110.
  4. Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant passes around Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman to teammate Andrew Bynum who scores in the second half of a NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009, in Los Angeles. The Lakers won 99-92.
  5. Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest (37) displays his new haircut in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009, in Los Angeles. The Lakers won 99-92.
  6. LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 27: Jack Nicholson (L) and Lakers legend Jerry West (R) share a laugh during the Los Angeles Lakers championship ring ceremony before the season opening game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on October 27, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2009 NBAE.
  7. Los Angeles Lakers' Ron Artest, left, and Kobe Bryant talk during a timeout while playing against the Golden State Warriors during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009, in Anaheim, Calif. The Lakers won 118-101.
  8. EL SEGUNDO, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers during Lakers media day at the Lakers training facility on September 29, 2009 in El Segundo, California.
  9. EL SEGUNDO, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers during Lakers media day at the Lakers training facility on September 29, 2009 in El Segundo, California.
  10. EL SEGUNDO, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Kobe Bryant #7 of the Los Angeles Lakers speaks to reporters during Lakers media day at the Lakers training facility on September 29, 2009 in El Segundo, California.
  11. EL SEGUNDO, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers during Lakers media day at the Lakers training facility on September 29, 2009 in El Segundo, California.
  12. EL SEGUNDO, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers holds a baseball bat as tapes a Los Angeles Dodgers public announcement during Lakers media day at the Lakers training facility on September 29, 2009 in El Segundo, California.
  13. National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner David Stern speaks to media about the visiting exhibition game of the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009.
  14. National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner David Stern speaks to media about the visiting exhibition game of the Denver Nuggets and Indiana Pacers in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009.
  15. David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), speaks during a press conference in Taipei on October 8, 2009 shortly before the start of a game. Denver Nuggets were to take on the Indiana Pacers in an NBA friendly here in the first-ever NBA game played in Taiwan.
  16. David Stern (R), commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) attends a press conference with Taipei Mayor Hau Long-bin in Taipei on October 8, 2009 shortly before the start of a game. Denver Nuggets were to take on the Indiana Pacers in an NBA friendly here in the first-ever NBA game played in Taiwan.

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  1. Residents remove ruins from houses damaged by a 6.7-magnitude earthquake in the town of Bima, on Indonesia's Sumbawa island, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009. The strong undersea earthquake killed at least two people, while injuring dozens and damaged buildings on the remote island in central Indonesia, officials said Monday.
  2. Residents ride a motorcycle passing a damaged building of a 6.7 magnitude in the town of Bima, on Indonesia's Sumbawa island, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009. The strong undersea earthquake killed at least two people, while injuring dozens and damaged buildings on the remote island in central Indonesia, officials said Monday.
  3. Thousands of Buddhist devotees listen to Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama during a preaching session in Tawang, in the northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state, India, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 . Clearly uneasy about the Dalai Lama's weeklong visit to Arunachal Pradesh state, at the heart of a border dispute with neighboring China, Indian officials on Monday clamped down on journalists covering the Dalai Lama's visit.
  4. A young Buddhist volunteer looks on as she waits for Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's preaching session to begin in Tawang, in the northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state, India, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 . Clearly uneasy about the Dalai Lama's weeklong visit to Arunachal Pradesh state, at the heart of a border dispute with neighboring China, Indian officials on Monday clamped down on journalists covering the Dalai Lama's visit.
  5. A young Buddhist nun looks back as she waits for Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's preaching session to begin in Tawang, in the northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state, India, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 . Clearly uneasy about the Dalai Lama's weeklong visit to Arunachal Pradesh state, at the heart of a border dispute with neighboring China, Indian officials on Monday clamped down on journalists covering the Dalai Lama's visit.
  6. Thousands of Buddhist devotees attend Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama's preaching session in Tawang, in the northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state, India, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 . Clearly uneasy about the Dalai Lama's weeklong visit to Arunachal Pradesh state, at the heart of a border dispute with neighboring China, Indian officials on Monday clamped down on journalists covering the Dalai Lama's visit.
  7. A man walks past a military barbed wire fence on which reunification banners are hung, at Imjingak pavilion near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas in Paju, about 52 km (32 miles) north of Seoul, November 9, 2009. As a united Germany marks the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall on Monday, about 1 million soldiers face off across the Cold War's last great divide -- the DMZ separating the two Koreas.
  8. A visitor looks north through a barbed wire fence on which South Korean flags and reunification banners are hung, on Freedom Bridge at Imjingak pavilion near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas in Paju, about 52 km (32 miles) north of Seoul, November 9, 2009. As a united Germany marks the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall on Monday, about 1 million soldiers face off across the Cold War's last great divide -- the DMZ separating the two Koreas.
  9. Tourists look at South Korean flags and reunification banners hung on a barbed wire fence, on Freedom Bridge at Imjingak pavilion near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas in Paju, about 52 km (32 miles) north of Seoul, November 9, 2009. As a united Germany marks the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall on Monday, about 1 million soldiers face off across the Cold War's last great divide -- the DMZ separating the two Koreas.
  10. Sean Chen, head of Taiwan's financial regulator Financial Supervisory Commission, is surrounded by reporters at parliament in Taipei on November 9, 2009. Taiwan is expected to forge an agreement on financial cooperation with China 'soon', in yet another sign of evolving ties between the two former bitter rivals, officials said.
  11. A monk looks back as their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama delivers Buddhist teachings at Tawang in the northeastern Indian state of Arunchal Pradesh November 9, 2009. Thousands of Buddhist monks and supporters welcomed Tibet's exiled spiritual leader on Sunday to a remote Indian region also claimed by China, a trip that has renewed tensions between the Asian giants. The visit, as well as reports of border incursions in recent months, has triggered tensions between the world's two most populous nations, whose relations remain hostage to mutual suspicion lingering from a brief 1962 border war.
  12. This courtroom sketch shows Japanese pop star Noriko Sakai who was handed a suspended jail term of 18 months for illegal drug at the Tokyo District Court on November 9, 2009. Sakai was caught in August, a week after the arrest of her surfer-husband on drugs charges, in possession of 0.008 grams of an unidentified illegal stimulant and later pleaded guilty to drug use and possession. Under Japan's strict drug laws, prosecutors demanded 18 months' prison, but the court suspended the jail term for three years.
  13. Sean Chen, head of Taiwan's financial regulator Financial Supervisory Commission, listens while a legislator raises a query at parliament in Taipei on November 9, 2009. Taiwan is expected to forge an agreement on financial cooperation with China 'soon', in yet another sign of evolving ties between the two former bitter rivals, officials said.
  14. Taiwan's former vice president Lien Chan speaks to reporters in Taipei on November 9,2009 ahead of his departure for Singapore where he will attend the leaders meeting of the Asia Pacific Econonic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Taiwanese presidents are barred from attending APEC summits due to objections from China, which regards the island as part of its territory, and are usually represented by senior economic advisers or business leaders.
  15. Taiwan's former vice president Lien Chan speaks to reporters in Taipei on November 9,2009 ahead of his departure for Singapore where he will attend the leaders meeting of the Asia Pacific Econonic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Taiwanese presidents are barred from attending APEC summits due to objections from China, which regards the island as part of its territory, and are usually represented by senior economic advisers or business leaders.
  16. MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 09: Music star MC Hammer launches the new Xbox karaoke title 'Lips: Number One Hits' which includes his song 'U Can't Touch This', and demonstrates Xbox's Twitter feature, at the Sofitel Melbourne on November 9, 2009 in Melbourne, Australia.