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LOS ANGELES, Calif. Austin Meadows Jersey . - Kobe Bryant isnt happy about spending Christmas Day on the sideline, unable to help the struggling Los Angeles Lakers. Its a place hes unaccustomed to being on the holiday. Bryant leads the NBA with a record 15 appearances on Christmas Day, but hes out an expected four to six weeks with a fracture in his left knee. "Its strange to be coming in on Christmas and not playing," he said before the Lakers hosted the streaking Miami Heat on Wednesday. "Its a foreign feeling, but Im here to support my guys." LeBron James and Co. has won five in a row; the Lakers have dropped two straight. "We need you tonight," Lakers guard Nick Young told the crowd before tipoff. Bryants injury was diagnosed last week, his second major one of the season. He didnt play his first game until Dec. 8 after nearly eight months away while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Then he got hurt again Dec. 17 at Memphis while playing his fourth game in five nights. "I was fortunate that it was not a meniscus," he said. Initially, Bryant didnt think he was seriously hurt against Memphis. He went down late in the third quarter, but returned to finish out the victory in which he logged a season-high 21 points in 32 minutes. "I didnt know it was fractured," he said. "I was expecting a bone bruise more than anything else. I thought (the doctor) was joking when he told me." Bryant has been limited to riding a bike; he isnt supposed to put any pressure on his knee. "Its just been slow in terms of laying off it and letting it heal," he said. "When you dont have activity, you got to watch the other parts like nutrition." Typical of Bryants attention to detail, he said hes been reading critical comments that suggest he wont return this season. "Its the same old tune, just being sung a little more loudly now," he said. "These type of things just help me lock in more." Asked if theres any chance he wont be back, Bryant replied, "Not that Im aware of." Los Angeles signed the 35-year-old guard to a two-year, $48.5 million contract extension in November. James, along with other NBA players, tweeted out well wishes to Bryant, although the two superstars havent talked. "Especially games like today, you want to have the best guys out there," James said. After the Achilles injury, Bryant expressed rare self-doubt. He hasnt felt any this time. "The knee is not really a concern to me," he said. "The biggest question was would the Achilles respond to my game. It felt fine. It was strong." Bryant was looking forward to playing against the defending NBA champions as a way to see where he was physically with his Achilles. "This was a really big measuring stick," he said. Instead, he sat at the end of the bench wearing a black suit and print T-shirt. "My spirits are fine," he said. "I feel more locked in now than my entire career." Sean Rodriguez Jersey . Ben Street scored twice for the Heat (17-5-1), who won their fourth game in a row and 13th in their last 14 outings. Brett Bulmer scored the lone goal for the Wild (6-11-0), who dropped their sixth straight contest. Starling Marte Jersey . It was a move of some time in the making. “He hasnt thrown well, clearly some guys are being used more than him right now and the only way to get out of this funk is to pitch,” said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. http://www.piratesrookiestore.com/Pirates-Jung-Ho-Kang-Kids-Jersey/ . LOUIS - The St.NEW YORK, N.Y. - As if they were enjoying a morning coffee together, Pete Carroll and John Fox fulfilled their final media obligations leading to the Super Bowl. Relaxed, self-assured and even charming, the coaches of the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos answered questions for 30 minutes on Friday, joking with each other and the audience. No grumpy one-sentence responses. No agitated reactions to edgy queries. At one point, Fox wondered if he could say a specific crude word to the audience on hand. Watching on television, he then went ahead and used the word. Carroll immediately quipped: "You cant say that, John," eliciting laughs from reporters — and from Fox. Neither man seemed overwhelmed or even antsy about the biggest game of his life coming up on Sunday, even as they sat with the Vince Lombardi Trophy that is given to the NFL champion. "I think its a pinnacle for probably everybody that does what we do," said the 58-year-old Fox, who was with the Giants when they lost the 2001 Super Bowl to Baltimore, and led the Panthers there when they fell to New England in 2004. "Its something you work really hard (for). "As Pete mentioned earlier, you take individuals and try to paint a picture of where you want to get to. I think this is the pinnacle of it. Unlike different levels of football, theres only one happy camper at that end. Thats going to be the team hoisting that trophy." Carroll has hoisted championship hardware, but in college with Southern Cal. This is his first trip to the big game — he had never even attended a Super Bowl before this one. "The trophy really does symbolize the ultimate challenge and competitiveness in our sport and in our world of coaching or playing," said the 62-yard-old Carroll. "To dream about being in this position as a kid and then working all through the years of coaching, battling and watching other guys do it and for the first time for us; its a tremendous honour. "Its a tremendous opportunity and it creates an extraordinary challenge to see if you can be the one. It symbolizes a tremendous amount to all of us. We all llive with that, our players and our coaches. Barry Bonds Jersey. Its great to be here, and (Im) thrilled to be doing it, too. It makes for so much fun. The whole buildup, the whole following, knowing its a global event on game day just adds to the fun of this thing. The challenge continues to be out there for us to reach for, so its very exciting." Both coaches have defensive backgrounds, and they made note of that. Yes, the NFL has become a light-up-the-scoreboard league — and no team ever did it better than Foxs Broncos, who scored 606 points this season. But Fox and Carroll made their reputations as defensive co-ordinators before becoming head coaches. Carroll spent one season in charge of the Jets and three with the Patriots before heading to USC. Fox led Carolina for nine seasons. "Youve got a couple old DB coaches here, and its interesting thats how it turned out," Carroll said. "It is an offensive era that were in, and with all the passing game its gone crazy. Maybe its fitting that weve been fighting our whole life trying to slow this thing down, and we get a chance to do it here on the biggest stage. "Really we have very similar paths and the fact that were defensive guys, maybe that gives the defensive guys hope that maybe we can hire one of those guys in the league soon." That already is happening, perhaps with the theory that strong defensive minds can slow down the points parade. Of the seven head coaching hires this year, four were filled by offence-oriented coaches (Bill OBrien, Jim Caldwell, Ken Whisenhunt, Jay Gruden) and three by defensive guys (Lovie Smith, Mike Zimmer, Mike Pettine). "I came up with a guy, Chuck Noll, who is a defensive guy, who I learned a lot from," Fox said of the Hall of Fame coach of the Steelers. "Ive been blessed to be around a lot of great people from ownerships on down to general managers, front office people, as well as coaches. You always take pride. This is a prideful thing to be in this position and play in a game like this with such great history. "Dont forget about those defensive guys moving forward." ' ' '