Problem: Kobe Bean Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. He played his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He entered the NBA directly from high school and won five NBA championships with the Lakers. Bryant is an 18-time All-Star, 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, and 12-time member of the All-Defensive team.

Standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall (1.98 m) and weighing 205 pounds (93 kg), Bryant played primarily as a shooting guard. He was often cited as one of the most dangerous scorers in the NBA. Bryant has drawn frequent comparisons to Jordan, after whom he modeled his playing style. Like Jordan, he became most known for shooting a fall-away jump shot. Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated described another of Bryant's most famous moves as the "jab step-and-pause": Bryant jabbed his non-pivot foot forward to let the defender relax, but instead of bringing the jab foot back, he pushed off of it and drove around his opponent to get to the basket.  Bryant established a reputation for taking shots in the closing moments of tight games, even when he was double or triple-teamed, and was noted as one of the premier closers in the NBA. In a 2012 annual survey of NBA general managers, Bryant was selected for the 10th consecutive season as the player general managers would want to take a clutch shot with a game on the line. Bryant enjoyed being the villain, and reveled in being booed and then silencing the crowd with his play. His ability to make difficult shots has also drawn criticism of his shot selection. Throughout his career, Bryant was disparaged for being a selfish, high-volume shooter; he missed more field goal attempts in his career than any other player in NBA history. Phil Jackson, who coached Bryant for many years, stated that Bryant "tends to force the action, especially when the game isn't going his way. When his shot is off, Kobe will pound away relentlessly until his luck turns." According to Bryant, "I would go 0 for 30 before I would go 0 for 9; 0 for 9 means you beat yourself, you psyched yourself out of the game."  In addition to his abilities on offense, Bryant also established himself as a standout defensive player. Bryant rarely drew charges when he played defense, which he believed spared his body and contributed to his longevity. Some critics have suggested that Bryant's defensive accolades in his later years were based more on his reputation than his actual play.  Bryant was also lauded for his work ethic. Throughout his first 16 seasons, his body was resilient, and he exhibited a high pain threshold while often playing through injuries. A fierce competitor, Bryant made opponents and teammates alike the objects of his scorn. Many players have considered him difficult to play with because of his high level of commitment and performance. According to sportswriter Mark Heisler of Forbes, "circa 2004-2007, Kobe was the most alienated superstar the NBA had ever seen." He did, however, lead the Lakers to two championships after the departure of Shaquille O'Neal; during this period, he became more of a mentor to his teammates than he had been earlier in his career. Bryant's longtime head coach Phil Jackson noted that the biggest difference between his first and second stints in coaching the Lakers was that during the latter period, "[Bryant] embraced the team and his teammates, calling them up when we were on the road and inviting them out to dinner. It was as if the other players were now his partners, not his personal spear-carriers."

Why did Shaq depart the Lakers?

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Problem: Taking Back Sunday is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. The band was formed by guitarist Eddie Reyes in 1999. The band's members are Adam Lazzara (lead vocals), John Nolan (lead guitar, keyboards, vocals), Eddie Reyes (rhythm guitar), Shaun Cooper (bass guitar) and Mark O'Connell (drums). The band has released three studio albums with various past members Fred Mascherino (guitar, vocals), Matthew Rubano (bass guitar), and Matthew Fazzi (guitar, keyboards, vocals).

On June 10, 2005, it was announced that the band had signed with major label Warner Bros. Records and would begin recording their third album later in 2005. That month, the group contributed "Error: Operator" to the video-game adaption of Fantastic Four, and it was later added to the film's soundtrack as well.  On September 21, 2005, it was announced that Taking Back Sunday had begun recording their third album with Eric Valentine. The group chose Valentine because he had produced Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf (2002) and Third Eye Blind's self-titled album (1997). On April 25, 2006, Taking Back Sunday released their third album, entitled Louder Now, on Warner Bros. Records. The members' comments on the album reflected the dramatic change the band had undergone in the two years since their last release. Matt Rubano noted that the move to a major label was not something the band took lightly, but it was a move that made sense given the band's tumultuous past. Lazzara stated that fans seemed to feel their live shows had more energy than their recordings, and that Louder Now brought more of that across.  Taking Back Sunday received mainstream exposure by appearing on the late night talk shows The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, as well as the teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation in an episode entitled "What's It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?".  In December 2006, the band released its first documentary, Louder Now: PartOne, featuring behind-the-scenes tour footage and four live concerts. Following months of touring to support Louder Now, Taking Back Sunday appeared in the American leg of Live Earth on July 7, 2007. During the summer of 2007, Taking Back Sunday was also a part of Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution tour, along with My Chemical Romance, HIM, and several other bands.  On October 30, 2006, the band's former record label, Victory Records, released Notes from the Past, which featured four songs from Tell All Your Friends, six songs from Where You Want To Be, and two B-sides: The Ballad of Sal Villanueva and Your Own Disaster ('04 mix). The band then released Louder Now: Part Two on November 20, 2007, a DVD of unreleased live concert footage from their show at Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, which included special features such as the video for "Twenty-Twenty Surgery", made to be released in Europe. The DVD was packaged with a companion CD featuring eight live tracks, two B-sides that were previously unreleased in America, and a special "Twelve Days of Christmas" track. In 2007, the band contributed the song "What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost?" to the soundtrack for the science fiction action film Transformers, although the song did not appear in the film.

Did they tour to support the album?

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Following months of touring to support Louder Now, Taking Back Sunday appeared in the American leg of Live Earth on July 7, 2007.