East of Boston

Climb Up Real High, Fall Down Real Far

Some culture for ye...

Things were supposed to be different for Kobe Bryant. This was the year he was supposed to win the MVP, conquer the Western Conference, become the face of the NBA, make people forget Air Jordan, and- most importantly- win the NBA Championship.

Unfortunately for him, the Gods substituted a savage curb-stomping for the dream ending that one gets the sense that Kobe felt he was entitled to. It's happened to better and worse people than him, but it happened to him on national TV against the team that I root for.

Offhand, I know of just two people by name who saw Kobe Bryant have his supposed destiny ripped away from him by the Celtics in the championship.

One is named "Stacey Monponsett," she's the author of this article, and she dislikes Kobe because:

A) Kobe plays for the Lakers, who are the Great White Shark to her Celtics' Quint.

B) Kobe plays a selfish, team-killing style of gunner ball

C) Kobe bought his way out of a rape case, then ratted on Shaq, who had (silently) paid away his own skeezer.

D) Kobe is named for either a cut of beef or a Japanese industrial city.

Granted... none of those are really good reasons to dislike a total stranger... and it's made even worse by the fact that everything after A is merely supplementary.

The other guy who just can't laugh enough at Kobe's recent failure is Shaquille O'Neal. Kobe and Shaq were on the same team for a while, and they won a pile of titles. But they were both Alpha Dogs, and LA wasn't big enough for the two of them...even with the town currently hosting both the lakers and the Clippers.

Someone had to go, and it was the older Shaq who got the boot. The Lakers were turned over to Kobe... and he proceeeded to take them into the Lottery, where all the crappy teams are. Meanwhile, Shaq went to Miami and won another NBA title with a Kobe-esque shooting guard (Dwayne Wade) who was smart/classy enough to defer to the veteran player.

Kobe suffered playoff failure after playoff failure, until he was finally poised to contend for the title on his own this yeaer. Winning the title without Shaq was high motivation for Bryant, and he had a superb season. His team made some savvy trades, and some younger players they acquired appeared to be working out well. Entering the Finals as the MVP, Kobe seemed to have Karma on his side. The league was poised to crown a new king.

That was until he ran into the buzzsaw that was your 2008 Boston Celtics. See ya next year, Kobe. For a parting gift, we have a video (see above) of your hated rival gloating over your misery in song.

Even after watching him get shredded on national TV, it's hard to feel sorry for Kobe Bryant. He has a lovely wife and daughter. He made about $30 million this year. He gets endorsement contracts after an ugly rape trial. He may have the best skill set in the NBA, and could quite likely be one of the reigning Funk Lords. He can even jump over an Aston Martin.

Well... most of the time.

 That's neither here nor there, though. This is a Cape Cod page, but we're looking at this LA story for two different reasons. The more simple reason is that we get to kick a Boston foe when he is down, which is always smiled on here at the Sports Desk.

The other reason is to teach our children. Even the greatest have to suffer. Sometimes you run amok and nobody can fade you. Other times, 375 pound rappers ask you how their a$$ tastes.