"Amen to that. I love my Mavs."

"Cool Blog. Very informative.Keep up the good work."

"Basketbawful, you are a good example of a jealous Bulls fan who cannot accept that Jordan is a faded glory.Kobe's 81 to Jordan's 69 is a living proof that 'the greatest to ever play the game' is only a hype."

"Only the most jealous Bulls fan will devote so much time taking shots at Kobe. It's already in the history books, so no matter what you write on your blogs, Kobe's 81 to Jordan's 69 is still the living proof that your idol is only a product of hype and not 'the greatest to ever play the game.' Kobe is your only target. Why don't you spare us your elaborate disdainful mockery of the entire NBA?"

"Ha ha. Kobe 81 in only 42 minutes. Jordan 69 in a game with overtime. And they think he was the greatest to ever play???!!! Why? Because there are people who have so much time to write about their opinions and convince other minds, like the author of this blog."

"Basketbawful, instead of preserving the Jordan Bulls legacy, you are smearing it when you write bad things about Kobe, because that gives the readers a chance to fire back at your silliness."

"Kobe this, kobe that. Maybe we should also blame Kobe for Jordan's flop with the Washington Wizards during his last miserable season in the NBA, a well-deserved punctuation to his ultra-hyped career!"

Okay. I have a confession to make. When I was a teenager, I worked for my high school newspaper. One time, my editor asked me to interview an idiot savant. That's someone who, despite being mentally handicapped, has one extraordinary mental skill. This boy, whom we'll call Tony, was a "human calendar." You could name any date at any point in the future, and he could supposedly tell you what day of the week it would fall on. As it turns out, he could only do this for up to 10 years out. Once I started asking about dates beyond the 10-year range, he began to cry, and when I pressed him about it, his goddamn head exploded. That poor boy's death has weighed on my conscience for over a decade now.

The point is: ever since that day, I try not to draw attention to the fact that a retarded person is wrong about something, because you never know when someone's head is going to blow up. But in your case, I'll make an exception. So you should be aware of a dirty little secret: We hate Michael Jordan. Hate him. Always have, always will. His "flop" in Washington was one of our happiest moments as a basketball fans, right up there with the time Derek Fisher cried after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs. And do you know why we hate Mike? Because he was Kobe before Kobe was Kobe.

What we mean is this: Jordan and Kobe are the same type of player. They are both arrogant jerks who mask their selfish ball-hoggery and disregard for the team concept in the guise of "competitive drive." Jordan punched out both Will Perdue and Steve Kerr in practice. When he played for the Wizards, he drove Rip Hamilton out of town. Kobe was accused of rape. Whether he committed that crime or not, he still cheated on his wife. He also constantly talks down to and calls out his teammates, and he forced the Lakers to chase Shaq and Phil out of L.A. with torches and pitchforks and everything. These men are neither good human beings nor good teammates. Yes, they're two of the greatest scorers in NBA history. But I don't care how many points they score, they and their ilk are not good for the league.

Sure, there's a ratings spike every time somebody sets a scoring record. But it's just a spike, a one-time thing. When Kobe scored 81, people who don't care about basketball weren't magically converted into the fold. Either you enjoy basketball or you don't. Nobody is going to start watching basketball because a guy scored a bunch of points one time. Conversely, people will start watching when guys make their teams better. Look at what Larry Bird and Magic Johnson did for professional basketball. They made their teammates better. They made passing contagious. Suddenly other NBA players were emulating them; everybody was passing. Don't think for a minute that either of those guys couldn't have averaged 30-35 a game if they'd wanted to. But they did more than score. They made the game fun, and people responded.

Then Jordan came along. He changed the game. Now instead of carefully choreographed offenses, many teams simply isolate their best player and let him go one-on-one. If there's a double-team, kick it out for a three-point shot. That's 5o percent of the set offense for most teams. And moreso for clubs like the Lakers, because Kobe demands the ball so often. Watching Kobe go for 81 was painful to watch. Everyone was so busy being amazed by his ability to drive into a triple-team and score that no one bothered to ask the obvious question: "If three guys are guarding Kobe, shouldn't a few of the other Lakers be, I don't know, open?"

But Kobe came out and said he won't pass if he doesn't think his teammates "take advantage" of their opportunities (which usually equates to one or two shots a game). That's insane. Basically, he doesn't trust his teammates. Do you think talent, or the lack thereof, kept Bird from passing to guys like Greg Kite and Fred Roberts, or Magic from passing to Kurt Rambis and Mike Smrek? Bad as those players were, Bird and Magic trusted them, and in return those guys busted their asses for the team. That's how it works. Kobe, to his credit, does work hard for the Lakers, but he doesn't give to his teammates. And that, more than anything else, is the reason the other Lakers have been ineffective since Shaq left. Because they just aren't going to go all out when they feel ignored and underappreciated. That's human nature.

Phil Jackson knows this. He lived that "team-first" concept when he played for the Knicks, and he even sort of sold it to Jordan, enough so that they could win those titles. But Kobe doesn't get it, and Phil, for his part, appears to have given up on trying to teach Kobe. He's just riding the wave right now, and crashing on the rocks. Last season, the Lakers were 25-24 through 49 games. This season they are an identical 25-24. Despite the presence of the league's greatest scorer, who's playing the best basketball of his career. And despite the guidance of a man many people claim is the best coach ever. Shouldn't they be better than 25-24? By the numbers, they haven't improved by even a single game.

Look, Mr. Anonymous, we know you're in love with Kobe Bryant. That's what happens when you take Viagra right before watching a Lakers game. But until you come up with a better argument than "Kobe is the bestest because he scores lots of points," we're going to callously disregard anything and everything you say. We don't discourage intelligent debate. We invite it. But all you've done so far is whine and complain. And if we wanted to hear that, we'd just keep stealing little kids' lunch money. Speaking of which, is it lunchtime yet?