Sac somehow managed to beat the Hornets, pushing us into a first place.

1. Lakers lose to the Bobcats for the 4th time in 5 games.
2. Kobe is ejected and now leads the league with 15 technical fouls. One more and he is suspended.
3. Who the phuk is Matt Carroll?! This guy only shows up against the Lakers.
4. The Lakers fall to 3rd in the West.
5. Luke Walton no longer resembles a basketball player. Every other year he is terrible. I am one bad play away from starting tradewalton.com.

During the post game interview, Kobe repeatedly praised his team on their defensive effort. They gave up 108 points to Toronto…without Chris Bosh…on their home floor.

They may have won this game, but they let tiny TJ Ford have his way in lane. Not one defender was able to stop TJ from hitting the tear drop. Watching D Fish get burned like that reminded me of the playoffs in 04. 

I really hope Kobe was joking. He had a terrific offensive game, and so did LO….but seriously! If he thought tonight was a great example of defensive lock-down…we are in for a long (short) post-season.

Kobe, you were perfect from the line all night. You actually got the seldom called, 3-point foul. It was questionable, and they still gave it to you.

You make the first two. Your stance was awkward. As the pressure was visibly affecting you, we could hear your heart beating.

The regulars knew to send waves of “shhhh” to those chanting MVP. You tend to miss the louder the MVP chants become.

Practically standing sideways, you miss the 3rd. I saw that happening.

What a let down.

 3.3 seconds left, and they can’t get you the ball.

You were a diversion. Sean Williams is much smaller than Bynum. Drew was on his game. He could have caught it, dunked it and tied it. How did we (proverbially) go from 7 -3 to 7 -6 so quickly?

How can the momentum pendulum swing so fast?

How can we not beat the Nets, the worst offensive team in the league (currently), at home?

How can we let them drop 102?

Especially….since I was there, in sec 112.  

Radmanovic, you are the phuking worst.

Seriously, you are terrible. You had 1 point tonight, yet the game winning shot…attempt.

The Lakers are too frustrating. I don’t know if I can deal with it this year.

I didn’t sign up for this.

I just spent last the 30 minutes figuring out a 4 team mega deal that seems pretty fair…well maybe not for Houston. With Kwame’s contract expiring next year, that leaves them a lot of cap room and they haven’t achieved the success they have been looking for with TMac. This trade works in salary and effectively sends Kobe to the east and a big market.

So here it goes. I can live with this.                       Link

Los Angeles Lakers

Incoming Players
	Zach Randolph Salary: $13,333,333  Years Remaining: 4
	Quentin Richardson Salary: $8,105,500  Years Remaining: 3
	Dirk Nowitzki Salary: $16,360,094  Years Remaining: 4

Outgoing Players: Andrew Bynum, Kwame Brown, Kobe Bryant

Dallas Mavericks

Incoming Players
	Andrew Bynum Salary: $2,172,000  Years Remaining: 1
	Tracy McGrady Salary: $18,257,750  Years Remaining: 3

Outgoing Players: Devin Harris, Dirk Nowitzki

New York Knicks

Incoming Players
	Kobe Bryant Salary: $19,490,625  Years Remaining: 3

Outgoing Players: Zach Randolph, Quentin Richardson, Nate Robinson

Houston Rockets

Incoming Players
	Devin Harris Salary: $3,995,003  Years Remaining: 6
	Kwame Brown Salary: $9,075,000  Years Remaining: 1
	Nate Robinson Salary: $1,268,160  Years Remaining: 2

Outgoing Players: Tracy McGrady

Who wishes we had the music and basketball of 2001? I know I sound like a bitter old man reminiscing on yesteryear. If I really think back, that was pre bloc party, pre kings of leon, pre lebron james, pre kobe’s 81, pre arcade fire…but for some reason it seems much simpler.

Hip Hop wasn’t “dead.” The Lakers were winning championships. There wasn’t any tangible proof the refs were cheating. Britney’s VMA performances were mad hot, and the country didn’t hate George Bush. We actually rooted for Cheney to bomb the middle east. Things were simple back then. Why is it now so complex? For every 20000 “rappers” there is one genuine hip hop artist. For all of Kobe’s heroics, that championship team has been dismantled, shaq brought a title to miami, the lakes are stuck with kwame and izzo wants out.

I don’t know if it’s my perception, my age, my transgression from truly being a child to the “dreaded” 30s or the haze from the bubba kush, but everything seems tarnished. I know life works in cycles. The lakers, one day, will win again. Music will always change and for some, it’s never been better. The country will have it’s good, its bad and it’s phuking awful leaders. I know it cycles. I was just reminded of the lakers 2001 championship dvd. I thought of shaq and his pre game huddle chant.

“Red Light Green Light…How Far We Going Back?!”

Jack Haley talks to all the Lakers about their tattoos.

Talk to me people. The comments are back. Let’s keep the Lakers rumor mill flowing.

1. Mitch Kupchak will seek revenge on Kobe by signing another guard named Coby. He will immediately pass the Single Kobe Phonetically Pronounced Patriot Act during a closed session of Congress. This will limit one Kobe/Coby per team with the latter taking precedence. Go figure…it’s Congress.
2. In a desperate attempt to gain veteran experience,  Phil Jackson will call his friend Charlie Rosen and ask him to join the team. Charlie’s understanding (he invented it with Tex) of the triangle will take the Lakes to new heights.
3. When not playing, Charlie will sit on the bench with Scottie Pippen, Ron Harper and Derek Fisher. Just kidding DFish, I am glad you are back.
4. Lamar Odom will be traded to Miami for Zo and Jason Williams. Williams will protest moving to LA and not show up for practice. Smush Parker will be sent instead.
5. The Celtics aren’t finished making moves. A deal is in the works to acquire TMac. Even though Boston has run out of journeymen, they are confident it will be official in the morning.

I swear these are true. I heard them from an insider. Come on ppl, keep spreading the Lakers Rumors.

There is something off about it, right? Mo Evans, Sasha, Vlad and cake-boy Kwame should not be wearing the purple and gold. They should not be playing with Kobe. Come on Mitch…do something or I will…..dot com.

I don't need to explain to the billions of (daily) readers that I am a die hard Lakers (and Kobe) fan. I have stuck with them (him) through the good: 3 championships, scoring titles, 81 point games, and the bad: not winning a playoff series in 3 years, departure of Shaq, an alleged rape case, rarely in-sync with the rest of the team, etc…

On Wed, May 30th, 2007, Kobe said "I would like to be traded, yeah," on 1050 ESPN Radio in New York, hosted by Steven A. Smith. Later that day, Kobe told AM570, the Lakers Radio Syndicate in LA, that he "would like to be a Laker for life. " An hour later, he told the LA Times, "I would like to be traded."

Over the the next 24 hours, (hmm coincidence?) Kobe had brought all of the sports attention upon himself. I didn't blog it. I didn't really give it much thought. I figured he was mad at the front office. Supposedly, some "insider" said he was responsible for driving Shaq away. Steven A. Smith asked Shaq and he said "no way, it was 100% Buss." But let's not forget Kobe said "I should have paid her off, like Shaq does" to the detectives when being interrogated for alleged rape. That's the kind of guy he is.

Yesterday, reports of Kobe meeting with Dr. Buss (Lakers owner) in Spain took place and Kobe said he is adamant on being traded. This morning, MSNBC reported Kobe had "bloged" about wanting to be traded. I went to KB24.com and clicked on the news. A post, dated, June 17th, 2007 reads "The Truth: A new road ahead." What I find particularly interesting (infuriating) is this post is from May 30th. How do I know? I read it…on May 30th. If you look at the second paragraph, the line "this week to have someone 'inside' the Laker organization try to blame me in the media for us not being a contender right now.." indicates "this week." That Lakers insider thing happened the week of May 30th, before Kobe spoke on the radio. That's what started all this, remember?

So Kobe decided to up his drama. He woke up on Father's Day, did what ever Kobe does on Sunday morning, and then changed the date of an old blog post to today. I wonder if he called the Associated Press himself? This ridiculous (ridonkulous) PR Campaign is so narcissistic it's as if Kobe is dating Spencer Pratt. Seriously, doode! If you want the world to talk about Kobe, go drop 81. Take the Lakers to the finals, like the old days. Win a Championship. Actually play in the Olympic qualifying games you committed to this summer. Start a charity. Recycle aluminum. Pick up cigarette butts. Go do something constructive. Please stop bitching…every day…about being traded. Please stop being the douche of every day!

"We definitely have to get to that elite level, and get to that elite level, like, now," Bryant said last week in Phoenix. "Am I an old 28? No. When I hit 31, I'll probably be an old 31."