Kobe Bryant

Nobody seems to be paying attention anyway, but the NBA is still in lock-out mode. The owners and the players union have dug in, won't budge on a couple major issues, and appear to be nowhere near a settlement.

Some players, notably Kobe Bryant, as if he needs the money, are looking to play elsewhere. Italy, China, and Russia have been mentioned as possible destinations for him to take his talent.

Respectively:

I suppose pasta is a good thing, with the carb-loading and all, and the women are beautiful, unless one disrespects them, and then such an offender better hope that lady doesn't have brothers with crooked noses named Dominic and Rocco. That could get ugly -- quickly.

China has a booming economy. They have lots of bucks that Americans USED to have. Kobe could do well there, as long as he doesn't mind being "shadowed" every place he goes. That has nothing to do with adoring fans. Kobe may or may not be allowed to bring along his entourage, or "posse", but it wouldn't matter anyway. If there's one thing nobody disputes about China -- it's they have some serious manpower.

Russia? Kobe was always known for keeping his composure and rising to the occasion on the basketball court when the game was on the line. I wonder how cool he'll be when he's rising into the skies on some of those Russian airplanes carrying him across a few time zones from game to game that, by the way, have had this nasty little habit of crashing lately. Michael Farber of Sports Illustrated perhaps said it best.  "The money is green, but the knuckles are white".

I've never much cared for Kobe Bryant, but I wish him well in his endeavors.

Besides, no matter how outrageous he could be from time to time, Kobe never even approached the world-class guys in that sort of behavior.

It seems we have a US Congressman that is against rich people paying more taxes, because he can barely afford to feed his family on the paltry $400,000 he now makes a year. Now THAT'S outrageous.

Unless he has upwards of 50 children, I'm not buying that argument. Of course, that would never be allowed to happen in China these days. It's pretty much one and done.

Maybe we should give Kobe his job in Congress, and send that uppety schmuck politician over to China for an attitude adjustment.

Just a thought.