Let me preface this post by saying I am no fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, some might call me a hater when it comes to anything purple & gold. See, I used to live and work in Southern California at the height of the latest Laker Dynasty (2000-2003). I've witnessed the collapse of the Blazers in 2000, the Robert Horry heartbreaker against Sacramento, and the Derek Fisher .02 second shot against the Spurs. I still believe games at Staples Center are called in a way that is beneficial to large market cities such as L.A. with NBA superstars such as Kobe and Shaq. I've observed many unreasonable "flop" calls, and wrong call continuations resulting with the inevitable "and-1." I've endured countless hours of Southern California sports-talk homers praising Kobe and Shaq, Shaq and Kobe, Kobe vs Shaq, Shaq vs Kobe, Kobe Kobe Kobe, Shaq Shaq Shaq, etc. I even had to deal with Rick Fox... Rick Fox!!! Not to mention, the endless office jokes I received about being a Clips fan (Darius, what happened?).

I have since moved to NYC, and for some narcissistic reason, I can't ignore this storied franchise. I still find myself tuning into SoCal sports talk radio shows to keep tabs on everyone's favourite Southern California organized sports team. Only because I thought the Laker's were going to be bad this year, and I can finally get a chuckle at the whole situation (everyone knew they would stink last year, so that doesn't count).

Well, the joke is on me... and I can not believe what I'm about to say;
Hats off to the Los Angeles Laker's and Kobe Bryant for their remarkable 2006 season. Don't be fooled, I am not saying I am a fan, but now that they are somewhat considered and underdog, it makes them a wee bit harder to root against. Anywhoo, the point of this blog is:

Steve Nash will be named MVP for the second year in a row. When any basketball enthusiast knows Kobe is most deserving (scoring leader, 81pts in 3 quarters, blah). Personally, if I had a vote, it would go to Kobe first, LeBron gets second and Nash somewhere down the line. It's an understatement to say the team around Kobe is awful... Luke Walton? Yet, Kobe has the Lakers sitting at the 7th seed in the West... Smush Parker? In other words, Kobe got screwed... Devon George? And tonight, when he faces Nash, I'm sure he is not going to do anything crazy to prove anyone wrong, especially the MVP voters... Chris Mihm?

My "bold" Game 2 prediction: Kobe drops 45+

P.S. Regarding Coach Of The Year honors. Don't get me wrong, Little General is a great coach, but for the 2006 season, he is not deserving of Coach Of The Year status when Allie McDunleavy's father got the Clippers in the playoffs?! Yes, I said Clippers and Playoffs in the same breathe. How great would it be to see both L.A. teams matched up in round 2?