Kobe Bryant

Out here in Southern California, this area is reeling from today's news that basketball superstar Kobe Bryant was killed with 4 others in a  helicopter crash in Calabasas, outside LA. I was at the gym on the treadmill watching Fox News when they broke in with the news. CNN was also on but was still covering the impeachment issue. About 20 minutes later, CNN reported the crash without mentioning Bryant. They showed a press conference, which was apparently pre-recorded. After about 5 minutes, CNN broke back in with the news that Bryant was on board.

I know that this news is breaking around the world now, but keep in mind this is being really felt in the LA area, where Bryant played. His residence was in Newport Beach, and Bryant used a private helicopter often to travel to the Staples Center.

What we are all wondering as I write is whether any of his family members were on board. He has a wife and four young daughters, the oldest 13.

Bryant was an interesting person beyond his basketball skills. His father, Joe Bryant, played in the NBA and later in Italy, where Kobe spent some years growing up and learning Italian.

Details are still coming in, but this is definitely tragic news. Kobe Bryant was 41.

*Update: I was hoping against hope that none of Bryant's children were on board, but we  now know that his oldest daughter, Gianna, was one of the victims. She was 13 and was active in basketball. I cannot imagine the grief that Bryant's wife, Vanessa, is going through. The other victims included another young basketball player, I presume along Gianna's age, her father, and the pilot. And now the death toll of the crash has risen from 5 to 9.

This afternoon, I went to church, and it just so happened that the service at this time was in Spanish (which I understand). The pastor, who is actually Vietnamese but speaks Spanish perfectly, was so overcome he could hardly get through his sermon.