Kobe & Stallworth

This is something that has been bothering me since Kobe and the Lakers won their 15th title on Sunday. I don't know if I am the only one that feels this way but didn't that celebration seem as fake as Pamela Anderson's boobs? There were smiles, hugs, hand shakes, and three ridiculous jumps of joy by Kobe. But there was no passion. There was no passion that you saw when Phil, Mike, and Scottie won in each of their 6 titles. 

Honestly, Kobe's celebration was as fake as fake could be. It seemed as if he was trying to create a moment that could be eternalized into the minds of everyone who saw it. Well I guess he did a good job because I'll always remember it, but I'll remember the moment when he looked like a desperate fool, not the moment when he won his 4th championship and first without Shaq. I may just be a hard critic, and maybe we have all just been spoiled with greatness, but I truly believe Kobe will go down as an NBA great, but certainly not the best. Mike still has the nod, and Lebron is on his way, if not surpassing Kobe as we speak. There are many other greats who I would put in front of Kobe. They deserved to win though and it was certainly hard to watch the Magic not take advantage of the multiple opportunities to extend the series.

 I hope Stan Van Gundy has the chance to make it back to the Finals because he is an amazing coach. A coach that is a student and teacher of the game, always looking for an edge, an edge that will always give his teams a chance to win. If every coach throughout the ranks was more like Stan (and his brother Jeff) we wouldn't see the abundance of embarrassing coaching performances and the content which follows it. It's more than chucking up 3's or a fast break dunk; It's about the fundamentals. The fundamentals that used to be there when the Celtics had Bird, when the Bulls had Jordan, and when the Jazz had Pistol. When State had Magic and Knight was at Indiana or Ewing at Georgetown. Thats what good basketball is all about. Basketball as a whole has become soft, we need those hard nosed, making you run till you puke, coaches and the player who can accept it.

Donte Stallworth must be God's right hand man because it took an act of God to escape his early morning drive-over within our merciless drinking and driving laws. It makes no sense to me what so ever. He killed a man, driving a car, while probably dreaming of his bed with a .12 BAC. He is now serving 30 days in jail, 1,000 hours community service, and an undisclosed amount with the out-of-court settlement. 

I feel horrible for the victim. His family was content with receiving, and I'm going out on a limb, a very, very, very, very hefty amount of money. So in reality this guy's family could put quantitative value to his existence and in turn be "gifted" with loads of money at the expense of their deceased family member. Stallworth lucked out and will most likely play again. Good for him, hopefully it's a lesson learned.

Until next time...