Kobe

I'm sitting three feet away from where I was sitting on Aug 2, 1979.

I was on the floor, watching TV, when I heard about the death of Thurman Munson.

Today, I'm sitting on a couch, and the TV was off but my phone was on.

And, today, Kobe Bryant is dead, along with his 13-year-old daughter in a helicopter crash in California.

Kobe was otherworldly as a basketball player. I'm not quite sure I need to even go into his legacy.

Yes, I realize there was also a rape allegation and, if we're going to be fair, then we have to slot that into the story somewhere. Best teammate? No. But, let's not. Not here. At least not today.

Sure, with full disclosure, I was never the biggest Kobe fan, but my God you HAD to respect that he was a marvelous talent with incredible confidence. He had a special DNA that only certain greats do.

And, today he and his daughter -- along with what is being reported as seven other people -- are gone.

Reported.

The story broke around 2:45. TMZ -- heaven forbid! -- was first. ABC's Los Angeles affiliate was also early to the story.

Let's be honest. Find me a story that TMZ was wrong about. All of us "news snobs" need to accept that. They're legit. And they were right.

My first thought was that ESPN would be all over it. Nope. They were airing the Pro Bowl. At the same time, ABC was ALSO airing the Pro Bowl, as a simulcast.

Let me say that again. They were airing the Pro Bowl, generally regarded as the least respected of the all-star game in the major sports. A game that the NFL would have been smart to come out and tell ESPN/ABC to adjust their broadcast of somehow.

But, back to the reporting.

Look, I'm all about confirmation and getting three sources before breaking a story. But TMZ had it. So did ABC's LA-based station.

Still, the Pro Bowl started -- on ESPN and ABC -- and nothing. Finally, at 3:02 p.m., Joe Tessitore acknowledged it (only after Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed and tweeted it) on the broadcast.

ABC/ESPN eventually did a special report but still went back to the Pro Bowl on both channels.

OK, again, I get it. Sponsors, deal with the NFL, blah blah blah. Doesn't breaking news supersede this?

And -- again it was on TWO channels -- couldn't you dump one and go to news while leaving the Pro Bowl (for the love of God, really?) on the other?

I didn't really want CNN (and they also took their sweet time to acknowledge it). I wanted ESPN. Don't tell me about ESPN News or ESPN 8 (the Ocho) or whatever. For one thing, I don't have ESPN News.

So I stuck with CNN and never changed back.

Ponderous, man.

But, there's more. Again, I get it. Confirm your sources -- remember, I teach this stuff (and will do so on Tuesday). But, soon, there were conflicting reports that Bryant's daughters were on the helicopter. That story was then tweeted all over before people walked it back. Then it was said no other family member was on the plane.

As we know now -- I'm writing after 8 p.m. Eastern -- his 13-year-old daughter was on the helicopter.

We preach: be right, not first. We failed in that regard from the way it all went down on Twitter.

Personally, I blame places like -- no, I won't say it but I bet you know who I'm talking about -- news outlets that irresponsibly want things reported, facts be damned. Those clicks are so important. I raged against it then and I still do.

"Get the widow on the set. We need dirty laundry," sang Don Henley.

Then again, I nearly got fired once for opining on Twitter about breaking news coverage so nothing should surprise me.

This is, frankly, one of the most important sports stories in recent memory. It, of course, transcends sports. But it's Thurman. It's Roberto Clemente. I suppose it would have been what Lou Gehrig was like if "The Iron Horse" had announced his illness publicly. It's what Magic Johnson saying he was HIV positive was like.

This story is huge, and will roll into tonight, especially given that the Grammy's are tonight. Oh, and coincidentally, they're being held at Staples Center, where Bryant played from 1999 until the end of his career.

The story goes beyond sports as I said. My son knows little about basketball. He's probably heard of LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

And Kobe Bryant.

Like literally everyone, he has shot balled-up napkins into the garbage as if it were a basketball. Like many, he uttered "Kobe" every time, even before he knew who Kobe Bryant was. Of course, I quizzed him.

But today, I texted him. He was stunned.

As we all are.

Mamba out.