Bryant courts a new crowd

What started out as the summer of Kobe Bryant’s discontent looked more like the summer of love on his recently concluded tour of Asia for Nike.

There’s Bryant, before an adoring party crowd in Beijing.

There’s Bryant, answering questions about whether he admires Batman or Superman more.

There’s Bryant, photographed in lots of different basketball outfits, few of them purple and gold.

It looks as if he had a lot of fun on the videos posted on YouTube and at his website, www.kb24.com.

After all, there’s a huge Asian market still hungry for more Nike gear and more Bryant. Estimates are there might be a billion people who don’t think he’s a selfish whiner yet.

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Trivia time

USC plays at Nebraska on Saturday, and between them, the teams have won 10 Heisman Trophies.

Name Nebraska’s three winners.

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Here’s the pitch

The Women’s World Cup is underway in China, but Sports Business Daily notes the British newspaper Manchester Guardian said something was lost in translation.

The stadium announcer botched the official FIFA slogan “Beautiful game, beautiful goals,” the paper said.

It came out “Beautiful game, beautiful girls.”

Well, that too.

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Games within the game

We know that gambling -- or at least playing in a fantasy league -- adds a certain intrigue to following pro football.

But are people such action junkies that they can’t just watch the game?

Something called “NFL Call-the-Play Football” in partnership with www.AirPlay.com, claims to transform football from “a sit-back experience to a more engaged, connected and event-driven atmosphere.”

“Fans can now predict every play in real-time before it unfolds on their mobile phone or computer. Run or pass? Which player will get the ball?”

The news release promises live leaderboards and opinion polls.

Or, you could just watch the game with friends.

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Promises and more promises

The showdown between the winless Notre Dame and Michigan teams Saturday has legitimate suspense, especially after the Wolverines’ Mike Hart guaranteed a victory.

Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis didn’t exactly seem outraged.

“Well, he probably watched the game -- he watched our game the last two weeks,” Weis said. “If I would have watched our games the last two weeks, I might have made the guarantee myself.

“I can’t be worrying about Hart. I’ve got to be worried about the guys that are going to be in this room. I’m sure he said it for the right reason, not the wrong reason. I’m sure he said it to try to build confidence in his players.

“Will I say it to my players? Come on, of course I’ll say it to the players. . . . Anyone wants to give you a layup, you’re going to use the layup.”

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Golden Dome, silver lining

There’s no hiding from the scoreboard, but Weis said conversations with recruits aren’t quite as awkward as you might think.

“I mean, look at it from their standpoint,” he said. “They’re watching that game too and saying, ‘Hey, I can play.’

“You know, all these guys want to go to a school where they think they have an opportunity to play. And I think that most of them, based on the evidence they have after the first two games, would like their prospects.”

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Trivia answer

Johnny Rodgers in 1972, Mike Rozier in 1983 and Eric Crouch in 2001.

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And finally

An ESPN.com poll this week asked, “Whose career pretty much ended this weekend?”

Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr (48%) was leading Britney Spears (41%), with New York Giants Coach Tom Coughlin and Kid Rock polling in single digits.

We noticed the photo was of Spears.

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robyn.norwood@latimes.com