L.A. Confidential

B-Diddy is coming home. And he is bringing his beard with him. Can this possibly be true? Did the Clippers just make a big free agent signing? Umm, come again?

I don't know what to feel right now. Incredulity is dominating my emotions. Perhaps Clippers owner Donald Sterling lost a bet in a poker game. Perhaps he is starting his own version of Punk'd and this is all part of an elaborate scheme to excite the Clipper Nation into believing there is hope only to somehow pull the rug out from underneath them in the end. That's when Elton Brand enters and a little thing called Free Agency takes over...

It almost makes perfect sense that the Golden State Warriors and Don Nelson would act in this fashion. Child-like comes to mind. You take our guy, we take yours mentality. It seems that they are the leading candidate in the How-Much-Can-I-Pay-Elton sweepstakes that is estimated to reach $90 Million dollars over 5 years. This just so happens to be about $20 Million MORE than the Clippers current offer to big EB. And so the hope that brilliantly illuminated Clipper Nation in the hours following the Baron Davis signing has started dimming. And all that remains is questions... Will Elton Brand remain loyal to his image and choose to stay a Clipper as he promised the fans and the management? It seems the team has come through with their end of the bargain, bringing in Davis and improving their status as a contender in the West. Now it is up to Brand.

Maybe the Clippers find a way to increase the deal on their side and get the numbers closer. Maybe Brand is content taking less money (a lot less money) to play along side Davis and keep his reputation as a man of his word intact. After all, this Clippers lineup with Baron and Brand is no slouch. Suddenly you are looking at veteran leadership from both the PG and the PF positions. An inside out combo to be reckoned with. I like. Not to mention a dynamite one-two punch off the court as well. We may have to start revisiting which team exactly is the Hollywood team in La La Land. What with Brand and Davis both producing hit movies this past year (Rescue Dawn and Made in America, respectively). It appears they are taking the whole Star Power thing to another level. Don't be surprised if Kobe appears in the next Spike Lee joint.
And so the waiting continues till at least this Wednesday for Clippers fans. Hopefully Brand can give Clipper Nation one more reason to believe that they are not just the lovable losers of the NBA. Perhaps he can be the professional athlete willing to play for something more than just money that we all believed he was. I, for one, still believe.

The Aftermath

Well, I hope you are happy Shaquille. Your rap feud has reached new levels. Now not only do we have to listen to THIS but a whole new spawn of 13-yr old white rappers are sure to follow. These parents deserve the Best Child Raising Award this year no doubt (Best part is the little kid on the left "Yeah!").

Oh Happy Day!

Contrary to popular belief (or in this case lethargy and depression) the world DOESN'T need a hug. Apparently we are all as happy as we ever have been. And I bet you didn't even know it!

Perhaps that guy that goes around offering free hugs HAS made a difference. Or perhaps the "scientists" and their "data" have the answer arguing that increased economic conditions for poorer countries, democratization, and societal shifts away from animosity have been the reasons for the rise in happiness. Either way, a new study from the National Science Foundation says the world as a whole has been getting happier over recent years.Denmark is the happiest nation (duh! but we all know deep down inside those Danish folk are just waiting to explode!) and Zimbabwe brings up the rear as the least happiest (turns out unruly dictators tend to diminish one's joy- go figure). America comes in at number 16 on the happiness scale out of the 52 nations in the survey. I have a sneaking suspicion that Lakers fans have brought that average down in the U.S. after the result of that NBA Finals (see I managed to tie this story back to sports somehow).

The Happiness Index created from the results of the survey (which included 350,000 people over 17 years) rose significantly for 40 of the 52 countries from 1981 levels to 2007 levels. Seems to me that measuring someone's happiness is no easy task. Ask any random person at a given time if they are "very happy" or "sort of happy" or "not happy at all" and they might give a different answer in the morning than one a few hours later in the day. It all depends on if they have taken their medication yet or not. But in the end, it all comes down to one key factor that clearly these scientists have overlooked: the international syndication of The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross. The increase in the number of viewers watching Bob Ross has no doubt led to the rise in happiness in the world. After all, "Happy Trees equals Happy People!"

Kazaam!

Oh no he di'in't! Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in! Let's see, it only took Shaq about a week and a half after the Lakers (and Kobe) lost in the Finals to publicly announce his utter elation over the result. And it didn't come in the form of some interview quote or youtube soundbite. No the Big Aristotle decided it would be best if he took the mic in an NYC night club to freestyle rap it out. Who was there to pick it up but none other the always classy TMZ.com. As for the freestyle, Shaq offers some tasty options to Kobe (literally) and says "Kobe, you can't do it without me!" I'm guessing he is referring to winning a Championship and not eating 27 hot dogs in 3 minutes for off-season workouts.

Other tidbits include:
"Kobe ratted me out and now I'm getting divorced." Hmmm, that doesn't sound friendly.

"Hey Kobe, tell me how my a$$ taste?" Say what now? The hook could definitely use some work.

It's the Day After the Shaq rap and the question is: was this real or was this staged for publicity? Is there actually still animosity there between these two guys? Is the feud back? Will Kobe enlist the help of fellow rap aficionado Tyra as he did in the past and come back at Shaquille with a freestyle of his own? As a Lakers fan I certainly hope not. As someone easily amused by poorly executed embarrassing television fodder, yes I think he should.

So what happened? I thought they made-up like two years ago. That's what makes me think this whole "freestyle" rap was staged a la WWF built to bring up the ratings for those Pacific Conference games with the Suns vs the Lakers next year.
Clearly these two guys have had some bitter moments and hostile comments towards each other over the years. And no doubt deep down Shaq is happy Kobe has yet to win a title without him. But my feeling is this seems a bit forced. Who knows, perhaps if my teammate told everyone in the world that I had paid off girls millions of dollars to keep secret that I slept around on my wife and then demanded that I be traded from our championship caliber team... yeah I guess I might hold a little teeny tiny grudge. Perhaps...

Well, THAT happened...

So much for the motivational speech. I have been too heartbroken to post until now. And without a doubt I can unequivocally say that the hatred of the Boston Celtics is back with a vengeance.

It never really went away but more was put on the shelf the past 20 years or so. Buried down until the two teams reached prominence TOGETHER once again. But it is back now. And I can speak for all Lakers fans that is has returned in a huge way. There is nothing harder as a fan than to have to watch your team get destroyed so badly that the celebration of the opponent begins in the 3rd quarter. And to your bitter rival of years past no less. Yes, I have diligently avoided ESPN and all ESPN media outlets since Game 6 out of fear of having to see some lame-ass Paul Pierce victory celebration. It's been a rough week.

Don't ask me about the video circulating with L.O. out late night after Game 5 before the Lakers fly cross-country to Boston the next morning. Am I upset that he didn't just get some rest? Sure, do I think it cost us the game? No. Maybe this is his ritual for every home win. He goes and releases some stress with some friends and has a couple cocktails. This was not the reason we lost the series or Game 6.So what about the Lakers? What happens now? I have heard many different comments since the Massacre took place and to most of them I just scoff. One particularly intriguing viewpoint is that the team is somehow cursed ever since Chick Hearn passed away back in 2002 after our 3rd in championship in a row. We have not won the title since and watching the games certainly has never been the same. Another theory floating out there is that the paranormal played a role in this outcome. Some believe that Red Auberach and his arrogant stogey antics somehow influenced the series in order to keep Phil Jackson from topping the all time NBA Titles list. Interesting theory indeed.

But it all really comes down to the fact that the Lakers were outplayed and outhustled in the Final round to a more physical team. Had the series been reffed tighter maybe the outcome would have been different. Who knows, but we are talented enough as a balllclub to adjust to the style of play needed to win. So no whining should come from our side.

And while I am hugely disappointed in our performance in the Finals, I am not throwing the team and certain players under the bus as has been the case with countless Lakers fans in the past week. We win as a TEAM and we lose as a TEAM. Certain players didn't play great in the series but without each one of them we would not have even gotten to the final round. Look at where we were in the pre-season and where we finished up and overall this was a remarkable year for the Lakers.
No title to show for the work but big strides taken to start that dominance once again. Young players that hopefully continue to get better and improve going into camp this next year. And with a healthy Bynum in the paint we have the force needed inside to dominate both defensively and offensively. I definitely like our chances going forward. The key will be coming back stronger mentally and hungrier than last year. I think Kobe will be even more motivated to prove that he can win post Shaq. And he will train even harder and push his teammates in the process. Watch out Bean Town, you may have won this battle but we plan to win the war.