Kobe's Turnover

I dislike Kobe Bryant. I root against him when he is on the court. I think that he is a phony and only cares about himself. He's thrown teammates under a bus. He's thrown his family into the spotlight because of his own negative actions. In all sincerity, I am extremely biased against anything involving Bryant.

But I believe the outrage over Bryant's latest action is unjust.

Now someone might be thinking "Wait a minute, this is the perfect situation to completely rip the guy apart?"

Absolutely. He said a derogatory comment about gay people. He made the comment on the national stage. His comment has been seen millions of times on YouTube, blogs, televesion, etc. But I truly believe that it was all in the heat of the moment.

I'm not a professional athlete nor claim to be one. But I completey get it. You get frustrated. Your focus is on doing your best. And you say something out of pure emotion. Bryant just happened to say something that was way over the line.

My issue is that society takes things over the line. It was a mistake. It was in the moment. Had it screamed it in the locker room or into his towel, no one would have even known. But celebrities are always looked at under a microscope. Cameras are on them 24/7. They have to watch their every move. They can't make mistakes.

When a husband and wife are arguing and a husband goes "I hate you!" to his wife, does the husband mean that?

I am not justifying what was said. But rather than people be offended by every little thing, I think society needs to take a step back and understand that lapses are going to happen. He probably heard this type of language while he was growing up. It was engrained in his head. It doesn't mean he believes it, but this was in his upbringing.

And that is where the root of the issue lies. I think kids and young adults need to be further educated on what is right to say and what is not. Parents need to be the teachers. The education system needs to make it a focal point. Society should do what they can to eliminate offensive words.

Bryant was taught a hard lesson. But he should not try to take away from the emotions that have made him the (gulp) best player in the NBA.

Dream Scenario: Who would you choose to start your NBA Franchise?

The NBA decided to start over and have a draft. Every player is put into the draft pool.

Your the GM of the New York Knicks. David Stern does one of those stupid lotteries with those extra large envelopes that look like a UFO. He puts his hand in the extra large box with the extra large envelopes, and bam, the Knicks are given the first pick. All hell breaks loose. The city of New York goes into one big frenzy.

But who the hell do you start your franchise with? Here's the possibilities...

Players who are sitting right outside the Top 5: Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant.

5) Dwight Howard: He's far and away the best young big man in the NBA today. He quickly became one of the best rebounders and is an absolute beast. He ignites a crowd with his thunderous dunks. He's also really young (23). Unfortunately, Howard is not going to be the guy you rely on with 2 minutes left in a game. Howard needs to be the compliment to a great guard. But I could not see myself taking him.

4) Dirk Nowitzki: One of the best mid-range shooters in the business. He does everything and them some. Anytime a big man can hit a 3, it causes huge matchup problems. But, Nowitzki has never won anything before. His defense is extremely questionable and he tends to dissapear when you need someone to pick your team up. If Nowitzki leads your team, don't expect to win a championship.

3) Chris Paul: Excellent passer who can make other guys better. He's also the best scoring PG not named Steve Nash. He's fast, agile and can lift a team up when they are down. I personally think when it is all said and done, we will remember him as a Top 5 PG of all time. Yes, of all time. I am that confident in him. But another iffy defensive player. To top it off, Paul has yet to be down 2-0 in a series or given you that "Wow, did he just have that game" moment.

2) Kobe Bryant: He will take the last shot. He will thrive in the final minutes of games. He will do everything he can to pull your team down from 20. You know he's going to be the guy. My problems with him? There's still this weird cloud hanging over him. Maybe it's his arrogance, maybe it is that whole situation he had in Colorado a few years ago. I want my fans to love my star player, not feel like they have to love him. He's also going to be 30, which is old next to my No. 1.

1) Lebron James: The King does everything. You can surround him with 4 versions of Lucious Harris and he will still lead you to the playoffs. He sells tickets, jerseys, foam fingers, and anything else with his face on it. He does the scoring, the rebounding, the passing, and sometimes all in one single play. He's built like a football player yet flies like a jet. He is the best player in the NBA, and is everything you want in your franchise player. This is the guy I want.

"Starting for the Knicks...Shooting Guard...Number 23, Lebronnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Jamessssssssssssssssss!"

An Introduction to the Man Crush

Beads of sweat trickled down my face as I searched and searched and searched. My mom called me for dinner. I told her to go to hell, of course. This was not a laughing matter, you see. This was serious. Very serious.


It was fantasy baseball draft time and it was the 16th round. And I was choosing between Josh Hamilton and Michael Cuddyer to fill my final OF slot. Now, everyone knows Hamilton has talent. I mean, he hit .292, with 19 HR and 47 RBI in just 90 games with the Reds last year. Cuddyer is a solid player, as well.

But, he just didn’t have the upside that Hamilton did, so I took Josh. Little did I know this was the start of an intense man-crush, a man-crush so intense that it threatened to overtake my man-crush for Kobe Bryant, the best basketball player on earth.

Josh Hamilton is currently hitting .336 with 5 HR and 28 RBI. Whoa. I loved Hamilton’s swing and I knew he was a top prospect from before his druggie days. But, how could I have expected this? I mean, the guy is absolutely tearing it up. How could I not develop a man-crush on him? Going 2/5 with 2 RBIs seemingly every night will do that to a fella.

Fantasy sports is one way you develop a man crush. You develop a relationship with these players. You check on them every day, you develop a bond with them. These are your players. You are free to bench them if they go 0-4 and start them if they rip one out.

I’ve also developed man crushes on players from my favorite teams. Chad Pennington, Laveranues Coles, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Patrick Ewing and John Starks come to mind. I went to war with these players, watched their every game and cheered for them.

Finally, there’s the man-crush on the player that just absolutely awes you with their skill. Kobe Bryant comes to mind instantly. The guy is just unbelievable. He can fly like Jordan, shoot the lights out of the ball, take it to the hoop and defend with passion. Plus, I think Kobe is a pretty good guy despite the crap he did to his wife. At least he came out and admitted it, though. Brett Favre and Ken Griffey, Jr. are other ones. Great guys, amazing players.

A man crush is something different than just liking a player, though. It’s indescribable. When you see this player, you just smile and laugh, because you hope he succeeds in every way possible.

With that, here’s introducing a new weekly feature: Man-Crush of the Week. Josh Hamilton leads it off. Does he overtake Kobe on my man-crush status meter? Not quite. Hamilton has a bit of an advantage because he’s on my fantasy team, but Kobe is one of the best players in history. I make it a point to watch Kobe. However, if Joshie (yes, I call him Joshie now) keeps going 2/5 with 2 RBIs every game, he may just make the move to #1.

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