by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed

at the twilight's last gleaming?

Maybe you just fell in love with my singing

I know what you’re thinking

But NO!

You’re not going to hear the part where my voice cracks!

Oh, say does that star-spangled

banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free

and the home of the brave?

Never mind

I remember the last time

I sang the national anthem of the U.S.

was in the Lakers’ game at the Staples Center

It is an American tradition

to perform the national anthem

before every professional sporting event

Because I lived in L.A. for many years

I have been a die-hard fan of the basketball team

L.A. Lakers

After hearing the recent news

about the Lakers' player Kobe Bryant

I felt sad

The 17-time All-Star

and MVP Kobe Bryant

mentioned his plan to retire in a poem

titled “Dear Basketball”

on the Players’ Tribune website on November 29

In the poem he said

he first fell in love with basketball

at the age of six

and that he has given his all to basketball

because it makes him feel alive

This season is all he has left to give

because his body knows it’s time to say goodbye

Oh I couldn’t help but shed tears

as I read through the letter

I can recall the countless days that my friends and I

watched the Lakers game at home

Remember that back-to-back championship game

back in 2010?

There were Kobe

Fisher

Gasol

Odom

pizza

chicken wings

and beer...

Well, you know

how can you watch game without

chicken wings and pizza?

Oh back to Kobe

Kobe is often considered the best player

after Michael Jordan

During his 20-year professional career

with the L.A. Lakers

he has had amazing achievements

Bryant turned pro directly out of high school in 1996

He was only 17 at that time!

He has won five championships with the L.A. Lakers

and averaged more than 25 points in his NBA games

So far

he has scored more than 32,822 points

and is ranked third on the NBA’s all-time scorers list

In 2005

he scored 81 points

against the Toronto Raptors

not even Michael Jordan achieved that feat

According to Kobe commenting on his retirement

It's not as easy as basketball

because I was born to play basketball

and had to really work to figure out what comes next

In the future

Bryant will devote more time to nurturing his business interests

Although the news about Kobe’s retirement

is heart-breaking to many of his fans

including me

I understand why and completely respect his decision

I thank him from the bottom of my heart

for all the great emotions he has given me

and he will always have a special place in my heart

Let’s talk about some vocabulary words

voice crack is the unintentional voice break

It happens when the singer is trying to make transitions

between different vocal registers

Especially when someone sings higher notes

and can’t really do it

A multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles

It is home to four sports teams

including Los Angeles Lakers

Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Sparks

and Los Angeles Kings

The arena also hosts other major indoor events

like musical performances

award shows

and even school graduations

NBA stands for

It is the men’s professional basketball league

founded in 1946

Currently , there are 30 NBA teams

All-Star refers to the NBA All-Star Game

as well as the players for the NBA All-Star game

It is an exhibition game

for which NBA players are selected by fans nationwide

regardless of which team the players are on

MVP stands for the Most Valuable Player award

It is given to the best performing player

That’s it for today

If you have any questions

feel free to leave comments below

See you next time! Bye bye!