Report: Now Kobe negotiating three-game exhibition tour in Italy

“The Kobe Cup”

That’s Kobe Bryant’s latest plans for Italy — an exhibition tour with some kind of cup to play for. Those plans of him playing even one game for Virtus Bologna are toast, according to Sportando, but his plans to return to Italy and play some games will not die. More accurately, Virtus owner Claudio Sabatini was jonesing for another public relations fix, so here we are.

As per La Gazzetta dello Sport, Claudio Sabatini and Rob Pelinka are still working silently to bring Kobe Bryant to Italy during the NBA lockout. The last idea is to organize three exhibition tournaments in Bologna, Roma and Milano with three teams for any stage. All the games would last 24 minutes with two quarters by 12'. Sabatini wants to involve also a foreign team because his idea is to sell the TV rights also abroad. The winner of the mini-tournament will lift the prestigious Kobe Cup. The three exhibition games will be organized, if the deal is going to be finalized, from the end of October till the beginning of November.

“The prestigious Kobe Cup?” Shouldn’t we let the cup actually get made and the games scheduled first?

This has about as much a chance of happening as “Real Steel” does of winning the Oscar for Best Picture. Sorry Hugh Jackman.

But an exhibition tour of some kind makes a lot more sense than Kobe playing for a team overseas. If the labor talks do fall apart in the next couple weeks, talks of overseas tours could pick up steam.