Kobe Bryant graduated from Lower Merion High School in 1996 and directly entered the NBA, becoming a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.  He never played for a college team and thus Nike has been unable to issue a retro jeresey of his, as they have with players like Michael Jordan and Chris Webber.

Nike is getting creative though and have signed a  contract with Lower Merion to license the jersey Bryant wore for their school.  Nike's product line would include replicas of the maroon-and-white, No. 33 jersey Bryant wore when he played for the Lower Merion "Aces."

School officials expect royalties of about $100,000 over the next five years from the deal.  Discussion of this deal between the two sides began last February.

Three-hundred Eagle County residents make up the jury pool for Kobe Bryant?s rape case.

After sending jury summons to 999 residents, less than a third showed up Friday for the first round of jury selection.

?One-third is about status quo for the state of Colorado,? said a state court coordinator.  ?It appeared this group was taking their responsibility very seriously, judging by the atmosphere. They were paying very close attention to the judge during his remarks.?

They completed a questionnaire and were given a number and instructions to call a message machine Sunday night.

The recorded message will tell them whether they should report back next week for more questioning.

14 months later, the Bryant trial seems set to begin.  Recently, it appeared likely to fall apart.

It seemed that the Kobe Bryant rape case would come down to race:  A black defendant and a young white accuser.

But these issues appear to be in the background of the larger issues surrounding power and questions of celebrity and economic class.  

Bryant has abundant power as a wealthy sports star while the alleged victim was a front-desk clerk.

"Celebrity status trumps race," said Professor Lawrence M. Friedman of Stanford University Law School.

"It's really hard to go up against a powerful man and accuse him of rape - that's been clear since the beginning of time, and that's what this case is all about," said Caroline A. Forell, a professor at the University of Oregon School of Law.

The Lakers, having lost Derek Fisher and with the uncertainty of the Gary Payton situation, have signed undrafted rookie point guard Nate Johnson.

Johnson a product of Nebraska, averaged 13 points and 4.6 rebounds a game last year with the Huskers.  He played with the Lakers in their summer league, and apparently was impressive enough to give him a shot with the club.

The judge in the criminal case against Kobe Bryant for sexual assault has issued a ruling sharply limiting how the media will cover the upcoming trial through TV and still cameras.  

The court cited the possibility of media intrusion affecting the fairness of the proceedings.

Jury selection in the case begins Friday.

Judge Ruckriegle's ruling balances the need to ensure a fair trial and the First Amendment rights of the media, said one legal expert.

"I think that from the O.J. (Simpson) media debacle, judges have become very averse to allowing real-time television coverage of proceedings including the trial in their courtrooms," the expert said. "I think this is a healthy reaction on their part in the interests of securing the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial and the empanelment of an impartial jury."

The juror pool for the Kobe Bryant case is beginning to come into focus.

Residents of Eagle County, where the trial will take place, are 23 percent Hispanic, 0.3 percent black, and 43 percent college graduates.

999 potential jurors from the county were ordered to show up for duty this Friday, with opening statements on September 7.

The high-profile nature of the case will make it difficult to find an impartial jury.

"Some may want to blame Kobe and say it must be rape because a normal person wouldn't do this," a jury consultant said. "Others might say 'Look at her, she asked for it.' This trial has layers upon layer of issues."

Bryant faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine up to $750,000, if convicted on felony sexual assault.

Eagle County residents mirror the nation closely:  The population is 74.2 percent white, just ahead of the national figure of 69.1 percent, and it is 45.2 percent female.

But they are better educated on average (only 24.4 percent of the U.S. population holds at least a bachelor's degree) and the county's median household income is nearly $62,700 compared to $42,000 nationally.

There are new and strong indications that Kobe Bryant's accuser is ready to take the witness stand and testify at the NBA star's criminal trial for sexual assault.

This is, of course, an essential element to the state's case.

"If she is strong and points across the courtroom and says, 'That man raped me,' that is very powerful," said Norm Early, a longtime Denver prosecutor.

There had been some speculation that the 20-year-old woman's confidence and willingness to testify were waning, but the prosecution has maintained that it was preparing for trial.

Some had speculated that Bryant would strike a deal to rid himself of the criminal charges by reaching a monetary settlement with the woman.

"He is not giving her 5 cents," said a source with knowledge of Kobe Bryant's mindset in the matter. "Think about what we know about him. He's a competitor."

This hard-line stance from the Bryant camp could have convinced the woman to go ahead with her testimony in the criminal case.

"She is firm in her resolve to testify," said one lawyer close to the accuser's attorney.

A series of setbacks has made the prosecution's case against Kobe Bryant for sexual assault seem like it's on the verge of falling apart.

But as the trial draws near, the odds of a longer-term and tougher criminal case against the star NBA player may quickly change.

"Yes, everything has seemed to break Kobe's way, but any trial lawyer knows it can turn in a minute," said a legal expert with experience in sexual criminal cases.

The case could still be over before it starts during the jury selection phase, especially if the woman's lawyers become entangled in a real dispute with the state trying to convict Bryant.

Abandonment of the case now would be like an admission that the case should never have been brought in the first place.

"In bringing a case like this, you have to have your eye on the ball, and the ball is the truth," the expert said. "The question here is: Did these prosecutors do their prefiling work? You never want to be in the position of being the last to know, and it does seem that the defense has had the prosecution reacting, on the run.  And even when you believe that you know everything, a prosecutor needs to think out of the box, about what happens with this woman after the trial, in five years. Do you tell her there's more than one way to do this, to sue civilly? Can she live with an acquittal, or does she become so traumatized by everything that's gone on that she becomes suicidal?"

Rudy Tomjanovich is on his way from Houston to Los Angeles to begin his new head coaching position with the Lakers.

The illustrious coach says he thinks that Karl Malone will remain in LA after the two met recently.

"He wants to do it the right way. He is a man of principle," Tomjanovich told a Houston television station.  "He doesn't want to go out and not be 100 percent."

Malone is 40 and has indicated that he must recover fully from knee surgery or else he will retire.

Kobe Bryant is due in criminal court today.

This will be his final appearance before jury selection begins on August 27 in the sexual assault case against Bryant.

This is a day of procedural matters, which may become irrelevant shortly.
 
Many legal experts believe that the case against Bryant may soon be dropped.

Judge Terry Ruckriegle has denied a request to delay the proceedings indefinitely.  The prosecutors had argued that the jury pool was tainted in asking the judge for the continuance that was denied.

The alleged victim's filing of a civil suit was another setback for the prosecution, since defense lawyers for Bryant could now argue in court that the accuser's complaints were motivated by a large monetary award.