My Pre-Playoff Lakers Rant.... This one's for Kobe.

Around this time every year I find a way to rant about how the Lakers are going to take it all this year. For 6 years I've said so and for 6 years I've been sadly wrong. This year is different. Not only are they going to take it all, they're going to regain respect.

But that's not what I want to talk about today. After a conversation this weekend with my brother-in-law in which we were comparing the cocky nature of high performing athletes such as Lance Armstrong and Kobe Bryant. I can't truly speak for Lance because he is still very unknown to me apart from his most famous accomplishments. However, Kobe Bryant is an athlete for whom I have much respect and admiration as an athlete. As for his public transgressions, I know a lot of people who still hold him accountable as though it is their job to be his judges. Anyway, I don't want to go into a diatribe about how Kobe has been wronged in his career because it's not true. He has been a complete @$$ at times, but why judge a man without knowing him.

I found a recent article, last week recent, in which Rick Reilly of ESPN magazine followed Kobe around for one whole day leading up to a game. It gives a little insight into the man. And yes, he's still just a flawed man like all of us.

Here's the article.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=4068270