Calling the Shots:

A little over two years ago, Kobe Bryant, a Newport Coast resident, agreed to a quick Q&A; with the Daily Pilot.

During the interview, he provided an answer that should be brought up again with his Lakers opening the NBA Finals against the Orlando Magic tonight at 6 at Staples Center.

“How do you want to be remembered,” was the question.

Bryant, with a bit of a smirk, didn’t hesitate.

“As a champion,” he said. “Plain and simple. A champion.”

A lot has changed since then. A couple trades that led to Pau Gasol (from the Grizzlies) and Trevor Ariza (from the Magic) joining the Lakers, have greatly improved the team.

Last year, without Ariza, Kobe headed into the finals determined to live up to how he wants to be remembered. With his first NBA MVP in tow, he and the Lakers fizzled in six games against the Celtics.

But, Kobe is obsessed to win an NBA title. That point has been beaten far more than what the Clippers are dealt when they go up against Los Angeles’ real team. Yet most fail to realize Lakers’ opponents are just as passionate to win an NBA title.

All must realize the Magic believe they can win after they took care of Cleveland and arguably the game’s best player, LeBron James, the 2008-09 NBA MVP.

However, the Lakers are favored to win. They have home-court advantage. They have experience.

They have Kobe.

Let’s be real. This series is all about him. If they win, it would not be a surprise at all to see Kobe dramatically fall to the floor with the ball in his hands and weep, ala his mentor Michael Jordan.

He’s entitled to a me moment. He’s been through a lot.

We don’t write about him much, but I believe there was a reason, albeit small, why he gave us that interview in 2007. After he went through a rape case that lasted for 14 months and was dropped in September of 2004, Team Bryant went in repair-image mode. Three years after the case was dropped, Kobe still wanted to tell the media, even a community newspaper, that his life was all about basketball.

Even now, the past is not brought up much. It’s mostly about a ball and a hoop and a player nicknamed, “The Black Mamba.”

Don’t kid yourself. This series is not about Phil Jackson having the most NBA championship rings as a coach. It’s not about a young Superman for the Magic.

It’s all about Kobe.

 In case you’re wondering, my pick: Lakers in six.

 The reason we don’t write about Kobe much is that he’s not truly a hometown athlete. Sure, he lives in our neighborhood and makes news from time to time — even when it involves his housekeeper — but on the sports pages, it’s more about this community and its athletes, be it young and old.

Last week, the young definitely owned the spotlight and deservedly so.

It was the 10th annual Daily Pilot Cup, and what a week full of soccer it was. Bigger than ever, the tournament that featured 31 schools, 193 teams and about 2,500 kids, delivered some bright moments, yet some dark ones, too.

Pilot Cup Director Kirk McIntosh, who helped create the first tournament, called those problems, “isolated incidents,” in an e-mail he sent out Wednesday.

He wrote about a few angry parents who were ejected from the sideline because they had directed their strong disapproval to referees. There was also an incident that involved, “one parent physically challenging a referee after a game.”

“Short of forfeiture, I don’t know how we, as tournament officials, can eliminate this extreme adult behavior,” McIntosh wrote. “It is just the dark side of competitive sports.”

That dark side was evident during the tournament’s opening day, when controversy ensued because of a girls’ soccer coach who made a poor decision.

David Hopkins played his daughter in two games, in the gold division and later in the silver division, on the third- and fourth-grade level. I wrote about it last week and the article received mixed reviews.

I had people thanking me for publishing it, and others disappointed that it had appeared Hopkins’ daughter was singled out.

Later in the week, we printed Hopkins’ apology.

I totally respect that. I believe his remorse too. We received feedback, the majority of it saying Hopkins wasn’t real. I don’t believe that.

 Something tells me we’ll be hearing more about Hopkins’ daughter, but not connected to controversy. Haley is really a dynamic player, even at such a young age. It would not surprise me at all if she becomes among the better soccer players to come out of this area.

But, ahem, let’s let the kid grow up in her own time.

 The final word from the Pilot Cup? That should not come from me.

Take it away, Kirk.

“I know my opinion is biased,” he wrote. “But I can’t think of an event that serves our entire community like the Cup. It truly affects every square foot of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.”

 Just a reminder, we have a website that’s here for you. It’s called GameOnOC (gameonoc.com), where you can submit stories about your team or club. The stories about youth sports are featured today and will be here every Thursday, along with a Youth Athlete of the Week.

My ultimate hope is that objectivity won’t be ignored, but I’m also hoping you use the site to submit stories.

 Please also take note, the Daily Pilot sports staff is blogging. David Carrillo Peñaloza (dailypilot.com/dailyblogger/dcarrillo) is the top blogger and you can find all you need to know and more about local college sports on Barry Faulkner’s blog, dailypilot.com/dailyblogger/bfaulkner.

After Corona del Mar High’s loss to South Hills of West Covina, 9-3, in baseball Tuesday, I blogged about Gary Frankiel, who played baseball at South Hills and now lives in Newport Beach. His son, Andy, played at CdM. See Frankiel’s take on the game at dailypilot.com/dailyblogger/svirgen.