A man who can lose with dignity is an honorable man. And today, ladies and gentlemen, Kobe Bean Bryant is that man.
As many of you know, I might be one of the biggest Kobe haters out there, but if there's ever a time to give credit where it's due, the time is now.
A few hours ago, the Dallas Mavericks busted out with their brooms and swept the Los Angeles Lakers into a dustpan of uncertainty. The Lake Show will now be without the greatest head coach of all time heading into next season, with nothing but the same championship expectations and another year of wear and tear on Kobe's body. It's hard to find the silver lining in a near-40 point blowout, but Kobe showed me something today that deserves respect.
In the 2nd half of the game, as the Mavericks were pulling away from the 2-time defending champs, the Lakers showed their frustration. Now, the first incident between Lamar Odom and Dirk Nowitzki was a little physicality and a lot of acting. Maybe I'm a bit biased since Lamar is the sweetest dude on 'Khloe and Lamar' (no homo), but I've seen the replay enough times to come to the conclusion that it did not deserve an ejection. But then again, maybe an early trip to the locker room was his dream come true, who knows.
But the second incident with Andrew Bynum taking the cheap shot on JJ Barea? For those of you who haven't seen the play, here's the video:
That play was dirty, childish, and completely uncalled for -- I hope the NBA comes down hard on Bynum for it. I mean, hey, I'd be mad too if a 5'10" scrub was ripping my team's defense to shreds, but there was a chance for Barea to be seriously hurt with that foul. The irony of the whole situation was that he was escorted off the court by Ron Artest. C'mon, you know it's bad when you are more out of control than Ron Artest.
But this is when I saw my first glimpse of Kobe's maturity. If you watch the play unfold, Bynum elbows the midair Barea to the ground, and Kobe puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head in disgust. Then, after the game, Kobe and a few of his teammates sought out JJ to check if he was okay and to apologize for Bynum's foul.
So thank you, Kobe, for showing the world how to lose with class. I can't respect a lot of the other stuff you do, but I can respect that.
As many of you know, I might be one of the biggest Kobe haters out there, but if there's ever a time to give credit where it's due, the time is now.A few hours ago, the Dallas Mavericks busted out with their brooms and swept the Los Angeles Lakers into a dustpan of uncertainty. The Lake Show will now be without the greatest head coach of all time heading into next season, with nothing but the same championship expectations and another year of wear and tear on Kobe's body. It's hard to find the silver lining in a near-40 point blowout, but Kobe showed me something today that deserves respect.
In the 2nd half of the game, as the Mavericks were pulling away from the 2-time defending champs, the Lakers showed their frustration. Now, the first incident between Lamar Odom and Dirk Nowitzki was a little physicality and a lot of acting. Maybe I'm a bit biased since Lamar is the sweetest dude on 'Khloe and Lamar' (no homo), but I've seen the replay enough times to come to the conclusion that it did not deserve an ejection. But then again, maybe an early trip to the locker room was his dream come true, who knows.
But the second incident with Andrew Bynum taking the cheap shot on JJ Barea? For those of you who haven't seen the play, here's the video:
That play was dirty, childish, and completely uncalled for -- I hope the NBA comes down hard on Bynum for it. I mean, hey, I'd be mad too if a 5'10" scrub was ripping my team's defense to shreds, but there was a chance for Barea to be seriously hurt with that foul. The irony of the whole situation was that he was escorted off the court by Ron Artest. C'mon, you know it's bad when you are more out of control than Ron Artest.
But this is when I saw my first glimpse of Kobe's maturity. If you watch the play unfold, Bynum elbows the midair Barea to the ground, and Kobe puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head in disgust. Then, after the game, Kobe and a few of his teammates sought out JJ to check if he was okay and to apologize for Bynum's foul.
So thank you, Kobe, for showing the world how to lose with class. I can't respect a lot of the other stuff you do, but I can respect that.
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