sportstalk

“Time heals all wounds.” Or so that’s how the old saying goes.  Or perhaps the saying should be changed to; “winning heals all wounds.”  At least that would be the more appropriate case for sports and in particular it is the case for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. 
Kobe has taken the Lakers from the edge of self destruction and guided them to the 2008 NBA Finals.  No small feat considering that
Kobe was the one threatening to break apart the team.

Flashback, almost a year ago to the date, the mysterious sidewalk reporter video of Kobe Bryant began to make the rounds.  You remember the video, Bryant ranting to a couple of college kids about Andrew Bynum’s lack of skill. 
Kobe went on to rip Lakers management for not making a deal for Jason Kidd the previous season.  The video was followed up by Bryant announcing that he wanted to be traded because he felt
L.A. did not have a commitment to winning.  He would later retract that comment and swear that he never wanted to “go no where.” Even going into training

camp
Kobe was a loose cannon, no one knew what to expect and the trade rumors were swirling rampant.

Somehow the season opened and
Kobe was still a Laker (surprise, surprise).  However, the amazing part was the Lakers were good; they were actually pretty damn good.  Apparently all Bynum needed was to be publicly humiliated and he becomes a solid contributor (which is more than you can say for Kwame; “here kitty kitty”).  Even after Bynum went down, the Lakers pulled the steal of the century by trading Kwame Brown for Pau Gasol.  And that is when business truly picked up.  The Lakers went on to win the top spot in the West. 

On second thought, maybe
Kobe was right and the Lakers don’t need Andrew Bynum, but I digress.

All and all, the injuries, the trades, the free agent moves the Lakers were rocking and reeling all season. The entire sports world watched and waited for the Lakers to fall apart. Any team that experienced those big of a roster shifts and then has such a strong personality like
Kobe was bound to fall apart without some strong adhesive.  Many thought Bryant’s change in attitude and his willingness to share the ball would propel the Lakers back into the spotlight, but that would not be the case. The glue that kept everything all together was they were winning.  For all of Phil Jackson’s Zen knowledge, and Kobe’s new unselfish ways, it was the winning that made life in
L.A. livable. 

Thursday night the Lakers took one more step toward the mountain top by defeating the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.  More importantly the Lakers chalked up another victory keeping everyone happy in
LA LA land.  I guarantee if the Lakers win a championship all the
Kobe talk from the summer will be forgotten.  However, let them lose, especially in a memorable fashion, and watch that rumor mill crank up one more time.  

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