bill simmons take on recent kobe engagements is interesting

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090522/part1&sportCat=nba

as always there is a page 2 that i am probably about to go read in 30 min....

i find his take on kobe's playing for the redeem team, on his competitive relationship with bron, life after playing, and distinct comparison to MJ very interesting and almost dead on....good stuff on oden (bill simmons is dubbing him the seocnd coming of darko---harsh), the clips and blake, and some over/unders....

bill simmons is also referred to as sports guys or SG below....

Q: I'm writing about the difference between Kobe and LeBron getting the MVP. I'm a huge Lakers fan, always have been. Love Kobe as a player, but not as a person. Here is the difference between LeBron and Kobe. I loved how LeBron got his MVP trophy at his high school, and his whole team showed up. I mean Kobe has a news conference at the practice facility when he won it and only a handful of guys showed! Here LeBron is giving each of his teammates a sweet Flip Camera. I could see Kobe giving each of his teammates an autographed Bryant No. 24 jersey, saying "Now you can say you played with Kobe Bryant when he was the MVP!"--Brad D., Huntington Beach
SG: It's a valid point. I would defend Kobe in two ways: First, LeBron is the greatest teammate of any superstar since Magic. It's not fair to compare anyone to him. Second, Kobe wasn't any better or worse of a teammate than Jordan was for the first nine years of his career; read "The Jordan Rules" sometime. You could have written the same exact paragraph for MJ when he won the MVP in 1988 or 1991.
Of course, Jordan never pretended to be anything other than he was: a demanding teammate who cared about winning, and that's it. Even during his last three Chicago seasons, he spent most of his free time playing cards in a hotel suite. His teammates were co-workers, he respected them, and that's where it ended. Ever since the Gasol trade, Kobe has been trying to perpetuate the image that he's a supportive teammate and one of the guys and all that crap, and there's just too much information to the contrary. The one fascinating thing about "Kobe Doin' Work" was Kobe's contrived interactions with his teammates; it's like he was taking us for fools. Watch this, I'm going to talk Italian to Sasha Vujacic. And what's funny was that his teammates all had a "Wait a second, he never talks to me!" look on their face as soon as he walked away. It was a massive miscalculation of the average NBA fan's IQ, and digging even further, a blown chance to show people that he's a ruthless competitor who demands the best from everyone around him. Just like Jordan. I was bitterly disappointed. Couldn't Spike have made "KG Doin' Work" or "LeBron Doin' Work" or even "Tim Thomas Not Doin' Work?"
Q: Kobe said during the Spike doc, "Me and Phil will sometimes call the same play without even knowing it." Did that not remind you slightly of Amber Waves' documentary about Dirk Diggler in "Boogie Nights," when Dirk is being interviewed with Jack Horner and explains how Jack lets him block his own scenes? Remember, Jack waits a beat and replies, "I .. uh .. I don't let him block his own scenes." I imagine Phil waiting a beat and then saying, "I .. uh .. I don't let Kobe call the plays."-- Adam, Carmichael, CA
SG: I'm laughing but refuse to type "LOL." You're right, the parallels between "Kobe Doin' Work," "Exhausted" with John Holmes and the Amber Waves doc were overwhelming. We're going to eventually remember "Kobe Doin' Work" as a comedy. I really believe that. You know what else is funny? The Kobe fans are so devoted that many are defending the documentary and saying it was terrific. Come on.
All B.S. and rhetoric aside, let's agree that (A) Kobe is one of the best 15 players ever (and cracks the top eight if he wins the 2009 title); (B) Kobe is a polarizing figure who generates a ton of reaction in every kind of direction and that's just the way it is; (C) whether you like him or don't like him, Kobe has been immensely entertaining to follow and discuss for 13 solid years (and counting); and (D) considering Kobe's body of work as a teammate over the past decade, Spike's documentary was ridiculous, insulting and ultimately really funny in some strange way. Can we find common ground on those four points? Please? Thank you.