What a great show...starring Kobe Bryant.  Scoring a bundle of points day in and day out.  The fans gave him a standing ovation after an 81 point performance.  Phil Jackson took him out to allow the fans to cheer the freak show LA basketball is today.  This only adds to the misfortune of Bryant's civil lawsuit in Colorado, and scoring selfishly like this is definitely a great way of getting the wrong attention.  But, since it sells, he might regain some sponsorship back.

While awful for Bryant, this is great for the supporting cast because, it takes the spotlight away from Phil Jackson who doesn't seem to have the Lakers playing past the first round of the playoffs, if that.  It also takes the spotlight away from the rest of the team who has 11 of 15 players with a scoring average in single digits.  And, it takes away the spotlight from the front office that had a miserable time in the off season, acquiring nothing for the big bucks they dished out.

What if the Lakers would have lost the game?  Can we say disaster?  This is what the NBA's product is turning into.  Where is the pride, the love for the game and the respect to the loyal fans?  If I was Phil Jackson, I would have the team running laps in practice until they dropped dead.  What an embarrassment, you can''t call this a professional team.  I lost all respect for Phil Jackson.  A coach who I regarded as the best ever.  But, he's just a money hungry guy who was fortunate enough to have had talented players during his championship years.  It is more evident now that Michael Jordan ran the Bulls during those championships.  Shaq and Bryant were too much of a force to be stopped and would have won without Phil Jackson.  I should have known what type of man Phil Jackson was when he wrote his book, filling his pockets with money by disclosing private incidents and dirt on previously coached players.

Sorry LA, don't expect a championship any time soon...at least not while Phil Jackson is there.  His main interest is his girlfriend not the Lakers.  If he truly cared about the game, he would have accepted the Knicks coaching job.  His legacy would have magnified to unmatched levels if he would have turned the Knicks around, with the limited young talent available.  Instead, he returned to LA to be closer to Jeanie Buss, knowing that Kobe Bryant would relief him of any unwanted attention.  At least you have the Clippers in town who are 1.5 game head of the Lakers in the standing.

To those of you who commented on this Super Bowl being the coming out party of  Matt Hasselbeck and Ben Roethlisberger in a thrilling, exciting and high scoring game...think again.  These QBs are not close to an Elway, Favre or even Montana.  Playing in the Super Bowl isn't as easy as you might think.  First of, QBs have two weeks to think whether you are going to blow it or be the next big thing.  Not many players have the ability to handle the pressure and this kind of pressure is overwhelming.  Remenber Elway's first Super Bowl Experience? How about Dan Marino's or Jim Kelly's?

Matt Hasselbeck had a decent first have in the conference championship, however, if he doesn't get off to a good start in the Super Bowl the running game will suffer as they become one dimensional.  You don't want to rely on running the ball the entire game against the Steelers defense.  Plus let's not forget that Shaun Alexander has a concussion two weeks ago...he is a bit fragile.  Mike Holmgrem will try to throw first to open the running game but, it might not work against the Steelers like it did last Sunday against the Panthers.  As far as passing the ball is concerned, Hasselbeck had a mediocre season, he wasn't stellar at all.  His QB rating was 98.2 with 24 TDs and 9 INTs.  If you think this is good enough to place the game in his hands, you might be overshooting your predictions.  The Steelers will be counting on the same game plan Seattle used against Carolina, and they'll be prepared to knock the receivers out early in the game...which by the way, who are the Seahawks receivers?  Get my point?

Big Ben...the other QB who has the luck of playing with two great receivers that make him look better than what he actually is.  Remember how good Jake Delhomme looked this postseason with Steve Smith.  How quickly the party ended when Steve Smith was no longer a factor.  He had to return punts to touch the football.  Ben Roethlisberger has Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El two good receivers that have made Roethlisberger look better than he actually is.  He is another mediocre QB with similar stats as Hasselbeck, with a QB rating of 98.6, 17 TDs and 9 INTs.  I will give him credit though, he did save his team once, but it wasn't due to his throwing abilities.  If it wasn't for his tackle in the Indy game they will be sitting home wondering what happened to their big lead in that game. 

There are QBs that make receivers and running backs better players.  Neither of these two QBs have done that...actually it's the complete opposite, the players around them have made them better.  When you have the MVP of the league getting all the attention, an average QB could make himself look better than what he would be otherwise.  And, don't forget about the quality grabs Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El had in less than accurate throws by Big Ben.

Don't count on a shootout this upcoming Super Bowl, which makes the expectations to be a control type game like the Giants in 1991.  The game will not have the excitement of a great fast pace game with scoring on well designed plays like those Super Bowls played by John Elway and Joe Montana.  This will come down to a turnover or a defensive mistake.  All I'm saying is that this isn't going to be the kind of game we saw on Super Bowl XIII when the Steelers beat the Cowboys 35-31 or, Super Bowl XXXII where the Denver beat the Packers 31-24.  Those Super Bowls had excitement, great plays and thrilling endings.  Bottom line is that great teams are known for big plays on both sides of the ball, which means scoring points whether by a deep ball or an interception return...but they score points!!!  These are not the Elway's Broncos or Montana's 49ers, these are two mediocre teams with unproven QBs regardless of how well you think they played these postseason.  They will play safe and avoid big plays from fear of failure.  You might be the sequel to Super Bowl XXXV where Trent Dilfer sat back a watched his defense win the game for him.  There was such lack of offense that Ray Lewis won the MVP.  Expect much of the same with a little less scoring.