This morning both Shaunie O'Neal, the wife of Miami Heat Superstar C Shaquille O'Neal, and Vanessa Bryant, the wife of Los Angeles Superstar G Kobe Bryant, gave birth to little girls. Is it just chance that the two players most often linked to each other (yes, even more than the struggling trinity of LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade) both became fathers to new daughters on the same morning?

Making the situation even freakier, Mearah Sanaa O'Neal was born a mere six minutes before Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant. This can't be a coincidence, can it?

Is Kobe so caught up in this anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better rivalry that he is trying to out-populate his former teammate and current adversary? Did he have spies providing him information about the exact time of Shaunie's pregnancy? Or have the O'Neals just been popping out kids at such an incredible Mormon-like rate that something along these lines was bound to happen? Shawn Kemp may have had seventeen (last time I checked) kids, but to my knowledge he never had six with one woman. At this rate Shaq may be able to have his own starting five (both NBA and WNBA) when the impregnating is all said and done.

Shaq trying to remember how many kids he has.

I think he should give himself a new nickname--the Big Fertile.

The best thing about Shaq's fatherhood is the creative names that he has been giving his children. The O'Neal children are named Amirah, Mearah, Myles, Shaqir, Shareef and Taahirah. When Myles (check the spelling) is your most traditionally named child, you are getting creative. He may not be getting Coco (the child of actors Courtney Cox-Arquette and David Arquette) or Apple (the child of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin) creative, but what he lacks in substance he makes up with in spelling.

Kobe may have him beat on the basketball court right now, but the babymaking (and naming) contest is currently being dominated by Shaq.

Golden Receivers

After drawing a schedule that includes matchups against many top-tier receivers-Chad Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, Hines Ward, Chris Chambers, Torry Holt, Darrell Jackson, Randy Moss and now Javon Walker-the Kansas City Chiefs cornerback situation is looking bleaker and bleaker as we approach this NFL season.

The San Diego Chargers, one of the Chiefs' AFC West rivals, knew that facing so many talented receivers would be a daunting task. That's why the Chargers selected CB Antonio Cromartie in the first round of last weekend's NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs waited until Round Five to select a corner-Marcus Maxey of Miami. Ever heard of him? Neither had I.

As a result of passing on a cornerback in the opening rounds of the draft, the Chiefs have former Pro Bowler Patrick Surtain on one side, and, and, and... well, the other side is a bit more of a mystery. Potential replacements for the departed Eric Warfield (who seemed to ring up as many DUI's as he did INT's as a Chief) include recently re-signed nickel back Benny Sapp, free-agent addition Lenny Walls (who at 6'4" is the tallest corner in the NFL), and unproven commodities Julian Battle, Alphonso Hodge and Maxey.

That's not going to get the job done this year. Especially considering that the Chiefs face both the Denver Broncos' Walker and the Oakland Raiders' Moss twice. If the Chiefs don't sign a talented cornerback before the season starts, Kansas City fans can count on seeing a lot of highlights this season. Highlights of Walker and Moss. Highlights of Johnson endzone celebrations, Ward smiling, and Fitzgerald and Boldin high-fiving.

CB Ty Law and Chiefs Head Coach Herm Edwards

Bring in the Law

That is where free agent CB Ty Law comes in. The guy makes trips to the Pro Bowl look as routine as Kansas City sports columnist Jason Whitlock going to Gates BBQ (a K.C. staple). More importantly, Law has three championship rings and a good relationship with the Chiefs new Head Coach Herman Edwards. Basically, he already has the respect of both the players and the coaching staff. Most importantly, he has a clean bill of health and will be more than ready to play when the season starts. Law was still hobbled when the Chiefs were pursuing him during this point of last year's off-season.

Singing Law to play alongside Surtain would give the Chiefs arguably the best cornerback tandem in the league. After drafting ferocious Penn State DE Tamba Hali last weekend, the addition of Law would finally give the Chiefs a defense to match its potent offense.

And don't believe Chiefs President Carl Peterson when he acts like the Chiefs don't have any money. I read today that not only are they not over the cap, but that they will have about $9 million in wiggle room to spend if the team chooses to. The spendthrift Chiefs need to ante up that coin and save the season by signing Law. After Kansas City residents approved to give millions of dollars to a project that will renovate the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium, the least the Chiefs can do in return is not be the "Cheaps."

It's simple; if the Chiefs sign Law before the season they can compete in the AFC West and make a push for a Super Bowl birth. If the Chiefs decide to pass on Law, then it will be another disappointing season. There is no way that the Chiefs can win 10-plus games facing these receivers with only Surtain and also-rans to defend them. The Chiefs may have a new sheriff (Edwards) in town, but they still need the Law.

As easy as it would be for me to sit here and praise Kobe Bryant after his ridiculous Suns-slaying buzzer beater, I'm not going to. I'm going to rave about his teammate Lamar Odom. After all, I owe the guy. A few days back, in my "Been Like Mike" blog, I lambasted Odom. I referred to him as a Scottie Pippen wannabee and said that scoring-wise he "defers more than a timid first date." Today, during the Los Angeles Lakers' Game Four victory over the Phoenix Suns, Odom did anything but defer. He scored 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Normally a poor free throw shooter, he even stepped his game up from the line and hit 11-of-14 free throws. It was Kobe who, as usual, delivered the clutch heroics, but make no mistake about it-The Lakers would have lost this game without the inspired play of Odom. Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson playoff strategy has been for Kobe to distribute the ball more often and his teammates to be more aggressive. This strategy has paid dividends for Odom more than anyone, especially with Jackson entrusting Odom with a large share of the ball-handling duties. With the Lakers sticking to Jackson's game plan, Odom also added 8 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal and a block. He played tremendous defense while showing more versatility than James Bond's Aston Martin. Odom even outplayed Mr. Versatility himself, Suns F Boris Diaw. I guess what I am trying to say is that I saw something today. I saw more than just a bunch of stragglers being carried by the best coach and the best player in basketball. I saw Lamar Odom playing Scottie Pippen to Kobe Bryant's Michael Jordan. They play of this dynamic duo gave its Laker teammates a huge lift. Luke Walton suddenly looked like Toni Kukoc. Kwame Brown showed shades of Horace Grant (well, at least shades of Harvey Grant). Smush Parker, Sasha Vujacic, Devean George and Brian Cook also contributed. If Odom continues this type of play the Lake Show can make some serious noise in these playoffs.

Ask any NBA Scout, General Manager or Coach who their prototypical point guard would be and you will get varied answers -- the 2002 Jason Kidd Speedster, the 1986 Magic Johnson All-Wheel Drive, the fuel-efficient 1997 John Stockton model, the 1983 Maurice Cheeks Sedan, the 2005 Steve Nash Luxury Edition, and maybe even the 2010 Chris Paul Hybrid. One model that you would not hear roll of the lips of any member of a pro basketball brain trust would be the 2006 Anthony Johnson; a trade-in many times over that few dealerships even held interest in. Yet, somehow Johnson has found a proud owner. That owner is the Indiana Pacers, who have reluctantly chosen Johnson to be the team's pace car and starting point guard.

Johnson is somewhat short and a bit pudgy. He doesn't have the street cred of Stephon Marbury. He isn't anywhere near as athletic as Steve Francis. He doesn't have Chauncey Billups' defensive ability, Kidd's flair, Nash's vision or Gilbert Arenas' scoring capability, either.

He may be lacking in some areas, but he does possess as much of one thing as any player in the league, and that thing is guts. Intestinal fortitude. Brass balls. Cojones.

The guy who's teammates affectionately call A.J., might not be the fanciest player in the league, but this isn't a dog show or American Idol. Johnson plays in the Eastern Conference, where it's production over pizzazz. I could sit here and give you a laundry list of why Johnson shouldn't be the Pacers point guard, but I won't. Instead, I'll give you one reason why he should be - he's leading the Pacers to playoff victories.

The Latest Journey

The unheralded player from the College of Charleston has played basketball all over the World and all over the league on the way to his current stop. Given his resume, I would use the term pit stop, but he seems to be an Indiana fixture at this point. He has always been a backup in the NBA, like he was to Kidd as a member of the New Jersey Nets just a short while back. Even the Pacers have tried to keep him reduced to that role. Two season's ago Johnson led an injury and suspension-riddled Pacers team to an improbable playoff birth. After the regular starter Jamaal Tinsley returned and played well in the playoffs, the team signed European star point guard Sarunas Jasikevicius this summer to spell Jamaal Tinsley. Even the Pacers were sleeping on Johnson. He appeared to be the odd man out.

Yes, Sarunas, the sight of you trying to play defense scares me too.

Johnson didn't whine, though. He still came to work everyday and played his guts (there is that word again) out. Eventually his dedication paid off. As a surprise to no one, Tinsley flaked out with injuries again and Jasikevicius was way too slow to guard other team's starting point guards. Johnson capitalized and eventually seized the starting position. Along the way, A.J. was the stabilizing force of a Pacers group so unstable it could be featured on the NBA's version of The Real World. He, not Jermaine O'Neal or Peja Stojakovic, was the Pacers Team MVP this season. Without Johnson's steadying hand the Pacers would have been banished to watching ping-pong balls in NBA Lotto Land.

The previous statement was more evident than ever during Thursday night's Game Three playoff contest against the Nets. The apprentice (Johnson) once again dominated his former master (Kidd). Johnson finished with 25 points, 8 assists and 0 turnovers while leading the Pacers to a 107-95 route. At times A.J. stood for "Annihilating Jersey," like when he scored 9 consecutive Pacer points in the second half and 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Johnson's arrival is amazing, really. Just a few months ago he was thought of as a stopgap. It was commonly believed that Pacers President Larry Bird and CEO Donnie Walsh would pursue a more highly regarded point guard this off-season (free agent Mike James comes to mind). Now, he is being mentioned as a possible long-term solution.

All I know is that anyone that can make Kidd look like child's play is good enough in my book. Johnson's series numbers of 18 points per game and 6 assists per game dwarf Kidd's. Kidd, a former MVP runner-up, has averaged only 8.3 points per game and 9 assists per game. Right now it looks like Johnson's underdog Pacers might even the team's opening round playoff series. If he can accomplish that, the Pacers might want to consider hitching up to A.J.'s engine for a couple more seasons. Especially considering that the injury-plagued Tinsley is a lemon and that the Chris Paul Hybrid seems to be a limited edition one of one.

Kobe Bryant has been here for ten years. He has won three NBA Championships. He has won scoring titles. He scored the second most points in a NBA game ever (81). At this point, forty-point outbursts seem almost routine. He has made the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team multiple times. Defensively, he can be mentioned in the same breath as modern shutdown artists Bruce Bowen, Ben Wallace and Ron Artest. Offensively, he has no peers. The jerseys of his equals hang in the rafters. Wilt Chamberlain. Michael Jordan. The list pretty much stops there. His ability to hit big shots in the clutch is rivaled by only Jerry West, Larry Bird, Jordan and Reggie Miller. He is climbing to the top of that list.

Most recently, he averaged 35 freakin' points per game this season while leading a Scottie Pippen wannabee and a group of vagabonds to the playoffs. Actually, it looks like he might take them deep into the playoffs. Western Conference Finals deep. Heck, even the Finals aren't out of the question.

It's clear to me now: we messed up. For years we've been looking for the next Michael Jordan. There was Harold Minor. Then there was Grant Hill. Next was Jerry Stackhouse. Then Vince Carter. Now, there is LeBron James and even Dwayne Wade. None of those guys are truly like Mike. Yes, LeBbron James is an amazing player. However, he just doesn't have the drive and killer instinct requisite to become the true Air Apparent. That is Kobe Bean Bryant, who has been here this whole time. For ten years.

The MVP Debate

Damn. We've crowned the wrong King. We've selected the wrong MVP. We've slept on Kobe Bryant. We've been hitting the snooze button over and over again so that we can keep dreaming about LeBron's trademark smile and Steve Nash's flowing brown locks. Meanwhile, the alarm has been loud and clear-"I'm Kobe Bryant. The best basketball player in the World. Period."

Why is this? Does the basketball world shun Kobe because of the sexual assault trial where he was essentially vindicated? Or is it because he grew up silver-spoon-in-mouth as a professional basketball player's son? Maybe it's because he plays for the often-loved, more-often-hated Lakers. Or maybe even because of the general perception that it was him and not Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak and Owner Jerry Buss that punched Shaquille O'Neal's ticket out of Tinseltown (For the record, this was the right move. Shaq is overweight, past his prime, and is no longer the 40-20 Shaq). Maybe it's Kobe's intense demeanor and loner style that prevent him from being a media darling.

Whatever the reason may be, the man is not being paid his proper dues. Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA, the King of the Court, and the rightful MVP.

Go ahead and call him selfish. Call him a ballhog. You would hang on to the ball too if you were playing alongside a journeyman named Smush, the erratic Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm, and the soon-to-be bust of the decade Kwame Brown. Kobe doesn't just put up numbers. He also commands the ball when the game is in the balance. He routinely shuts down the other team's best perimeter player. He takes over games and often wills his overmatched team to victory.

Doesn't he look shocked?

Do Jordan's so-called heir James and MVP Nash do all of these things? No.

First off, both of these guys are turnstiles defensively. Nash's defense is similar to that of a bad guy in an Ah-nold movie-stand there flat-footed and let the opposition shoot at will. James' defense isn't much better. Sure, he has all the athletic tools, but he doesn't have the drive, the grit necessary to become a stopper. He's more concerned with his "King James" ad-campaign and putting up triple-doubles. His lazy defense also enables his teammates to follow his lead. Both Nash's Suns and James' Cavaliers play lousy defense. Phoenix is the third-worst team in the league defensively and anyone who has watched Cleveland play (which is everyone, the NBA, Nike and ESPN are shoving James down our throats) knows that they can't dig in and gets stops either. Kobe's Lakers rate 15th defensively, but play exceptional team defense and get stops when they are needed. This is a reflection of Kobe's influence. His toughness and shear determination rub off on his teammates.

Secondly, while both Nash and James are offensive studs that make everyone around them better, they do not take over games like Kobe does. As James' ad-campaign would put it, we were all "witness" to this in Game Two of each players First Round Playoff series.

At home in Game One LeBron James put up a triple-double and protected his team's homecourt advantage. In the more crucial Game Two contest he allowed Caron Butler and the rest of the Wizards to intimidate him and played softer than Charmin toilet paper. Not only did he not have the "Eye of the Tiger" (look into Kobe's, any of the Detroit Pistons Starter's, or Manu Ginobli's eyes to see this), but also he looked lethargic at times. Gilbert Arenas outplayed him and the Wizards won Game Two and stole homecourt advantage from the Cavs.

Nash and his Suns also protected homecourt against Bryant's Lakers in Game One. However, Nash came up short in Game Two. The very day that Nash was named MVP over Kobe - and you have to know that this made Bryant's blood boil - Kobe stole homecourt advantage away from the Suns on their own floor. He didn't do it with fifty points, either. He did it by looking more like Magic Johnson than Kobe Bryant; putting up 29 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Those are numbers you'd expect from James, who was too busy going a paltry 7-25 from the field in his team's crucial game. Kobe even put the game away in emphatic fashion. In the fourth quarter he nearly jumped over Nash on a dunk that distanced his Lakers from the Suns and put an exclamation point on a sentence that's on the tip of all of our tongues - Kobe is the real MVP!

Finally, and this is my true definition of MVP, take each player away from his respective team for the entire duration of last season. After doing that how would each team fare? This is entirely subjective, but ask yourself this question and I am guessing that you will reach a similar conclusion.

Remove Nash from Phoenix and the Suns still have a top-ten talent in Shawn Marion. Raja Bell is one of the NBA's most underrated players. Kurt Thomas gives the Suns a guy that can shoot, rebound and defend down low. James Jones and Boris Diaw were two guys that, if you watched closely last year, were ready to break out. Eddie House accumulates points like he was playing pinball. Leandro Barbosa may be the best back-up point guard in basketball. Tim Thomas is playing like an All-Star. Without Nash, the Suns still have considerable talent. My guess is that they would've battled the Sacramento Kings for the eighth Playoff spot out West.

Take James out of the equation in Cleveland and you still have two All-Stars in Larry Hughes and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Flip Murray is a playmaking guard that could crack any coach's rotation in the league. Donyell Marshall is a talented veteran big man with a penchant for the long ball. Damon Jones and Eric Snow form an above-average point guard platoon. Drew Gooden can be a beast on the boards. Add in Anderson Varejao, Luke Jackson, Sasha Pavlovic and Alan Henderson and the Cavs still have a very capable squad. Without Lebron this team is basically the Milwaukee Bucks, the eight-seeded Playoff team out East.

Pull Kobe Bryant off the Lakers and you have a huge mess. The Lakers go-to scorer would be Odom, who defers more than a timid first date. The rest of the team would be Brian Cook, Mihm, Brown, Smush Parker, Luke Walton, Devean George, Sasha Vujacic and two washed-up veterans in Aaron Mckie and Jim Jackson. Not a very imposing group. This team would have been the Portland Trailblazers with Lamar Odom playing Darius Miles. Actually, the Lakers would have been worse. At least the Blazers had a low-post presence in Zach Randolph.

Add all this up and it is easy to see why Kobe Bryant should be the 2005-06 NBA MVP. He is more like Mike than LBJ (down to even the tongue, scowl and off-the-court problems), and is a "King" on anyone's court, especially his own. There is no doubt in my mind that when you remove all of the extracurricular garbage Kobe Bryant is left standing as the most indpensable, unstoppable player in the entire NBA. The problem is that everyone would rather keep hitting snooze. Well, my snooze button is off and I hear the alarm. Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player in the world. He's been here for ten years and we still don't see it... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...