Good and bittersweet in Cali: Warriors tie the Chicago Bulls 1995-96 most wins in a season and Kobe Bryant is set to take his last dribble as an NBA player

In this episode of What's The 411Sports recorded on April 12, 2016, What's The 411Sports hosts Keisha Wilson and Mike McDonald are talking about the:

Outcome of the Augusta National Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia;

Adam Schefter's interview with Greg Hardy;

Johnny Manziel;

Golden State Warriors;

Kobe Bryant;

The New York sports report;

The Golden State Warriors tied the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls winning season record at 72 games;

Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant NBA playing days coming to an end;

NY Jets left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson retired

NY Yankees

NY Mets

Brooklyn Nets

NY Knicks; and

Louisiana Tech women’s head coach Tyler Summit resigns, as he should, and is now on the What’s The 411Sports bench

Events coming up in the What’s The 411Sports pipeline are:

• The NY Mets will play in Cleveland on April 15-17.
• The Boston Marathon is on Monday, April 18.
• The NY Yankees will meet up with former teammate Robinson Cano when the Yankees play the Seattle Mariners on April 19 – 21 at Yankees Stadium.
• The Kentucky Derby, the first leg of a potential triple crown in horse racing is on Saturday, May 7.

Kobe Bryant leads in NBA All-Star voting; Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza Get Nod for Baseball Hall of Fame; LRMR Dumps Johnny Manziel; and Beyonce set to take the stage at the 2016 NFL Super Bowl

In Episode 56 of What's The 411Sports, there is a discussion about the NFL Wild Card playoffs: Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans; Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals; Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings; and Green Bay Packers and Washington.

The Brooklyn Nets fired its head coach Lionel Hollins and reassigned General Manager Billy King.

in baseball news, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza are elected into the 2016 class of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired head coach Lovie Smith by telephone.

Alabama beats Clemson in the College Football Championship game.

Reportedly, the UFC will announce that Holly Holm will defend her bantamweight championship against Miesha Tate on March 5, 2016, in Las Vegas.

Maverick Carter, CEO, LRMR announced that the company dropped its representation of Cleveland Browns quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny Manziel.

In the Dog-House this week are three Ooltewah High School basketball players that raped a fellow teammate.

ICYMI VIDEO: Los Angeles Lakers Shooting-Guard Kobe Bryant talking about his reception from Lakers fans in Brooklyn

Kobe Bryant recently announced his retirement as an NBA player, so we decided to post this video from Kobe's first Brooklyn Nets postgame press conference at the Barclays Center, which was recorded on February 5, 2013.

Turnovers and a lackluster 2nd Quarter seal Brooklyn Nets loss to Lakers

It’s been tradition that when the Los Angeles Lakers come to town, there’s always a bit of that “show-time” excitement. And, even though the Lakers have a losing record (0-4), Lakers fans came to the Barclays Center Friday night in droves to see their favorite player, Kobe Bryant.

For both the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers, last night was the battle for the “W,” as neither team had a win so far this season.

Unfortunately for the Brooklyn Nets, a win would prove once again to be elusive, the Lakers defeated the Nets 104-98. As you can see from the score, it was not a blowout. In fact, the Nets led the Lakers at the end of the first quarter 27-18, but for the Nets, things went awry in the second.

“I thought we had our moments,” said Brooklyn Nets head coach Lionel Hollins. “We started off really well 27 - 18, but then we went into a slump in the second quarter, which really cost us the game. We played so well early, but we didn't do such a good job in the second quarter.”

The Nets tried to dig itself out of the proverbial hole it created for itself in the second quarter, by ending the third quarter 25-27 and then the fourth quarter 26-25. But, the deficit created in the second quarter when the Lakers outscored the Nets 34-20 was too much to overcome.

“In the end we got down, we battled back, and we had our chances,” Coach Hollins continued. “We had an open look for that 3:40 that would have made it 100 - 98 and it just didn't go down. But our team is playing harder and trying to play more together. We just have to cut down the turnovers. We had 12 at halftime and we only had four in the second half which allowed us to play better.”

When a prideful team is chasing a win with a 0-5 record, and then loses, it does take its toll on the players.

“We need everyone at this point, you know, so it’s tough, Brook Lopez said regarding the disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. “We came out so strong, and we just stalled many times. You know, you can see what it’s like. Obviously they were fighting just as hard to get their first win. It’s tough.”

“We allowed them back into the game,” Nets point guard Jarrett Jack said. “We didn’t take care of the basketball, as well as we did in the first half and allowed them to get some momentum. They took the lead at halftime, and you know, they kind of just carried on from there.”

As for Kobe Bryant, he led all Lakers scorers with 18 points, followed by Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell with 16 points apiece. Roy Hibbert only put up two points for the Lakers, but he did come through with seven rebounds and one assist.

Unlike the performance against the Bulls, the Nets reserves were not clicking on all cylinders. Metta World Peace and the rest of the Lakers bench outscored the Nets reserves 38-16.

If the loss wasn’t bad enough on Nets players, they had to put up with loud cheers from Lakers fans.

“...We understand what it is. It’s a guy who’s a first ballot hall of famer. We understand what it is,” Jarrett Jack said regarding the cheers for Kobe Bryant.

At the end of the day, Kobe Bryant’s fans and their cheers are butts in the seats and ca-ching for the Nets and the Barclays Center.

VIDEO: Is Kobe Bryant delusional about the Lakers playoff chances, or, does Kobe know something that the rest of the world doesn't?

Oddly enough, Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant is in a story that is Flying Under The Radar. In a phone interview with yahoo.com (Yahoo Sports), Bryant believes that his Lakers team can make the playoffs this season.

In defense of Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles did make some post-season moves to help the team in Brandon Bass, Roy Hibbert, and D'Angelo Russell.

Also, Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Byron Scott is no slouch.

Geno Smith Gets Mixed Reviews from Media and Boos from the Fans

In this episode of What's The 411Sports, host Glenn Gilliam and correspondent Gregory Alcala are joined by Freedom Williams, a hip hop and dance music performer, who gained fame as the lead vocalist on C+C Music Factory's biggest hits.

Glenn, Greg and Freedom are chopping it over the following topics:

WHAT’S POPPIN’:

• Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg returns to the lineup. Can the Nationals get back to first place in the division?

• New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith is getting mixed reviews from the media regarding training camp

• Sydney Seau, daughter of the late Junior Seau,  stole the show at the NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

• New York Liberty guard, Epiphanny Prince, drops a season high 30 points for the New York Liberty

• New Acquired New York Knicks shooting guard Aaron Affalo says Carmelo Anthony is very committed to the New York Knicks and is optimistic about the upcoming season.

• Brooklyn Nets General Manager Billy King announced the signing of guard Donald Sloan.

• What’s The 411Sports acknowledges the passing of NFL Hall of Famer and Monday Night Football broadcaster, Frank Gifford.

UNDER THE RADAR

• Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant believes his Lakers team will make the playoffs.

• Ohio State’s football team is starting the season with some challenges

ON THE BENCH:

• The NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame for its treatment of Sydney Seau
• Los Angeles Lakers’ Jordan Hill for reckless driving
• The San Francisco 49ers Aldon Smith is on the bench for DUI and vandalism charges. Smith is a free agent now that the 49ers cut him.

IN THE PIPELINE:

• The U.S. Tennis Association's Connecticut Open is august 21 -29 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale University in New Haven Connecticut. If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, you better get moving.

• The USTA's US OPEN (tennis) will be held on August 31 – September 13.

• The multi-sport All Africa Games will be held in Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo on September 4 -19.