A little digression from the Sports Page: hubris goeth before a fall.

The Lakers are history this year. Say bye-bye. Gone. Hasta la vista, baby.

I have always thought that when Kobe and Shaq had their very public spat a few years ago, the Lakers should have fired both of them. Cleaned house. It would have meant that the Lakers would have been in "rebuilding mode" for a few seasons, as a teamful of rookies would have to learn and hone their craft on the hardwood court. But by now, the team would have probably had enough experience to make their move. Provided these rookies had the talent for the game, and a good coach like Phil Jackson, they would be contenders by now.

With Kobe in the driver's seat, however, the team is basically Kobe and the n minus 1 dwarves. (How many guys are on a basketball team? I know that five are up at a time, but how many are backbenchers?) Kobe dominates, everyone else is an also-ran. This is the reason why the Miami Heat continue to suck even with Shaq on the team.

Kobe has had a great year, complete with some spectacular games where he racked up as much as 80 points in a game. However, one player doesn't make a team.

The Clippers are rocking the house because they are a team. They play as a team. There are no stars there. Just five guys playing their asses off. I hope they give the Suns hell. I hope they hand them their butts in a bag and send them back to Arizona. It would be neat if this perpetual also-ran, Cinderella team went all the way to the finals.

It would also be nice if the Dems were able to emulate the Clippers' example and play as a team to beat the Republican juggernaut. They don't even have superstars anymore dominating their team...they have has-beens. Keep your eye on the ball, guys.

Update 1:41pm...the Miami Heat *are* in the playoffs. Apparently they aren't sucking as badly as I thought they were. Still, I think both Kobe and Shaq are babies who need a good spanking. Kobe got his. Maybe Shaq will get his in the next round. Told you I was not a big sports fan. :P