My fellow bloggers:

I must come correct on a number of topics. There were things I said and predicted that absolutely has made me look foolish. Here are the topics that I will come correct on:

• Eli Manning/New York Giants: in my preseason prediction, I predicted that the Giants were a mess. Eli was a bust. The Giants were playing the string for a supposedly lame-duck Tom Coughlin. Could it be that Tiki Barber ended up being the biggest cancer that has ever infested a locker room? The Giants added by subtracting Barber and adding Ahmad Bradshaw and Steve Smith and Kevin Boss (replacing another cancer, Jeremy Shockey). Giants' brass had a HUGE draft this past year, not only adding Smith and Bradshaw and Boss, but Jay Alford (a late second day pick who ended up with a HUGE sack of Tom Brady in SB 42). Not only that, while I thought the G-men had a chance to beat the Patriots IF they put consistent pressure on Brady, I didn't think they would put consistent pressure on Brady. They did, and as a result, they are Super Bowl Champions. Eli may well end up with more rings than Peyton when their careers are done.
• Mitch Kupchak, GM, Los Angeles Lakers: in the summer, I lambasted Kupchak as the most clueless GM in not only the NBA, but in all of sports. I take that back, too. He resisted the urge to trade both Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum when thousands of GM-wannabes (myself included) thought Jermaine O'Neal was the Real Deal. Then the other day, he lands Pau Gasol for virtually nothing. Gasol is a stud, and he presents matchup problems for the rest of the teams in the West. He can play all three frontcourt positions, Kobe can play both guard positions and small forward, Jordan Farmar can play both guard positions, Lamar Odom can play both forward positions. Simply put, the Lakers' chances of coming out of the West got a LOT better.

There, I feel better now. Again, congratulations to Eli Manning and the New York football Giants for their Super Bowl 42 victory over the New England Patriots. 

I very rarely (in fact, never) blog on the NBA because there are other sports that hold my interests better (NFL, NASCAR, MMA, MLB). However I will make an exception because of the soap opera that is my Los Angeles Lakers/Kobe Bryant.

This is getting more ridiculous by the moment. Who's at fault? Is Kobe at fault? Shaq? Dr. Buss? Mitch Kupchak? The head trainer's dog? I will do my best to break this thing down to its very basics.

After the 2004 Finals, Shaq was traded. A lot of people thought Kobe was at fault for allegedly running an immensely popular, albeit aging, center out of town. When you look at it down to its core, it was a business decision. Question: who scratches those checks with all that jack? Dr. Jerry Buss. Shaq was due $33 MILLION for the following season. Dr. Buss balked at paying an aging, injury-prone center $33 million. Whether Shaq felt slighted or not, that's between him and Dr. Buss. I look at it factually--Dr. Buss didn't want to pay Shaq all that money, so he traded him. I don't think it was a "me or him" ultimatum. Yes it hurt to trade a Hall of Fame center but the team felt that Shaq was on the downside of his career and Kobe was just reaching his prime.

Any good GM worth his salt would have busted his #### to surround Kobe with better players right off the bat. Bring in a veteran center to mentor Andrew Bynum. Bring in a Sam Cassell to distribute the ball and bring floor leadership. Bring in a Ron Artest for rebounding and toughness. Kupchak sat on his #### the whole time--where's his share of blame in this soap opera?? He didn't bring in the necessary personnel to surround Kobe. He could have had Jason Kidd (a future Hall of Famer) at the trade deadline this season but didn't want to give up Bynum. No wonder Kobe is pissed. 

At the end of the day he's not going anywhere. I predict heads will roll (Kupchak's). If that happens, it's long overdue. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Magic Johnson take on a larger role in the franchise, perhaps as a consultant. Personally I hope Dr. Buss one day decides to sell the franchise to Magic.