Kobe Bryant among safe bets in sports world

Published 11:29 pm Thursday, January 17, 2013

Some things you simply bank on happening in sports during the 21st century.

** The New York Yankees spending loads of cash to compete for MLB crowns. The Yankees dished out more than $195 million in payroll last year before winning their 10th divisional title this century, adding to four pennants and two World Series titles during the same time frame.

** The New England Patriots competing for titles, qualifying for the playoffs 10 of the past 12 season with five Super Bowl appearances and two rings to show.

** The Dallas Cowboys going broke come January. The Cowboys own one playoff win to their credit since 2000, with no Super Bowl titles since earning the franchises fifth ring in 1996.

** An SEC team winning the college football national championship game. The league produced its seventh straight title earlier in the month, with Alabama repeating.

Add Kobe Bryant starting in the NBA all-star game to the list of safe bets. Bryant broke the record on Thursday by being voted to his 15th consecutive start in the NBA All-Star game, set for Feb. 17 in Houston. Bryant made the All-NBA team, including the first team 10 times, after his previous 14 All-Star starting selectinos.

After Michael Jordan retired for the second of three times following his sixth title in 1998, Bryant became the most consistent face in the league, if not the sports world. Bryant has appeared in the playoffs all but one season during the 15-year run, with five titles on his resume.

If you think fans selected Bryant on popularity, look past the millions of votes (1,591,437) he garnered, even more than LeBron James (1,583,646). At age 34, Bryant leads the NBA in scoring right at 30 points per game.

By comparison, Tiger Woods, widely considered the world’s greatest athlete post-Michael Jordan, last won a major in 2008. Arguably only Woods and tennis queen Serena Williams compare to Bryant’s streak of excellence among American athletes. Williams won a grand slam title for the eight year of the century with last year’s wins at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Although fellow staffer Chris Parry scoffed at the notion, oddsmakers pegged the under.500-Lakers as two-point favorites over the defending champion, and Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat on Thursday night’s nationally-televised showdown.

Too bad a writer’s deadline prevents us from knowing how smart it was to still make a wager on an aging superstar.