KOBEWATCH '07

Things are NOT good here in LA-LA Land. Everyone knows that I'm a life-long Laker fan. My house becomes the neighborhood sports-bar whenever the Lakers are in the playoffs, and everyone is invited. Lately, there hasn't been much to celebrate in the post-season, and if the drama surrounding Kobe continues the way it has been, we can see a championship drought in the near future. First and foremost, I'm a LAKER fan, not a Kobe fan or a Shaq fan. The Lakers organization is always first. It's about the name on the front of the jersey. So when Kobe makes this recent demand to be traded, by default, I look to see what is best for management. I'm a realist, and I understand that there are two sides to a story, and both parties share the blame in this one. I have to admit, I'm not completely on board with Kobe on this. Part of me wants to bitch-slap him and tell him to stop whining, and that he is lucky to don the Purple and Gold. The other part of me, wants to choke-out Kupchak and tell him to get it together, and get us another superstar on the squad...Ok, violence won't solve this problem, but damn I'm frustrated. Kobe shouldn't disrespect an organization that has given him everything a player can ask for. He could've ended up in Boston or Milwaukee, but no, he was lucky enough to be traded to the greatest Professional sports organization on the planet. If he thinks he can "win a title" in Chicago or New York, then he is terribly mistaken, and it will only prove what many people have accused him of being, which is an ego-maniacal, attention-whore, who changed his uniform number just to see how many people love him. I'm hoping that this maneuver was a ploy by Kobe to force Laker management to bring in a big gun to help him out. I know he didn't enjoy getting his ass handed to him in the playoffs the last couple of years, none of the fans enjoyed that, but I'm just not sure that this is the right way of going about it.