KOBE WINS MVP

We all knew it was coming but Kobe Bryant has won the NBA's MVP award for the first time, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site tonight, citing anonymous sources familiar with the outcome of voting by media members. The newspaper reported that commissioner David Stern will be in Los Angeles next week to present the trophy to Bryant. Kobe entered this season as the league's two-time defending scoring champion. He was third in the MVP voting twice after the 2002-03 campaign, when he averaged 30 points for the first time, and again last season, when Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki won the award.