inside out

i think the true laker fans took our post season performance in stride. after the playoffs, i was preparing for this upcoming season. but nothing could have prepared any laker fan for what befell yesterday.

those of us who reside in laker land were shaken up by the huge truth bomb that kobe dropped over the past few days. kobe gave a twenty minute interview on AM570 in which he exposed years of turmoil that have been concealed deep within the laker woodwork. catalyzed by an LA times article in which a laker insider blamed him for the severing of laker ties with shaq, he made explicit references to past situations and pointed a rather candid finger at specific people. he was eloquently blunt, passionate but premeditated about his statements. you could tell this had been looming over his head for some time already.

i am stunned and just overall saddened by the uncertainty of the lakers' credence as an organization. i empathize with kobe...i would be frustrated too. the way he has been exploited by the media, finding out that it's the management that is tarnishing his image off the court, while expecting no less than sheer greatness and a flawless performance game after game, night after night, year after year on the court.

how can they expect him to hold up an entire team when they're pulling the rug from underneath him.

what's scary is that his statement is only the beginning of a chain of events that will undoubtedly change the face of this team in the season to come. of course there is another party involved in this controversy that has had yet to speak out. i just hope that it all works out for the best.

meanwhile, here's my favorite kobe video.