Here it goes:

The Dodgers are in the playoffs (or..will be), and I'm stoked.  I think I'm the biggest Dodger fan out there, and I'm reppin' it overseas.

On paper, a starting rotation of Lowe-Maddux-Penny (if healthy) and either Kuo or Billingsley looks like one of this year's best.  Hopefully Nomar will heal up for the playoffs so Dodgers can make a run at the World Series.

NBA is starting in about a month, and I'm stoked about the Lakers.  Whenever you have #24, a Kobe Bryant, the best player in the league, on your favorite team, great and exciting things will happen.  Kobe is going to tear up the league again and win that MVP award he deserved last year.

As for me...here's my plan:  live and teach for two years and get by.  Try to save a little money, learn more about the culture, society, and language.  Take the Japanese proficiency exam, and score high.  Work in a company in Tokyo, perferrably in something like finance or consulting.  Honestly, anything that will give me a decent wage and allow me to use my bilingual skills.  After 2 years experience, earn my ticket back home.  There it is.  Jump on the bandwagon now.  In due time I'll be holding season tickets to both my beloved Lakers and Dodgers.  I'd love to go back home and see all of you and be with my loved ones...but first things first, I gotta take care of myself.

And as always, the new Roots album is meccha ii.  "Game Theory"...check it out.

In lieu of all the trade talks and rumors flying around, I wanted to just share some of my thoughts (to myself, since I'm probably the only damn person who reads this to myself).

So, there have been much discussion of what kind of trades the Lakers should push for in order to 'save the season.'  Well, first things first, this season can't be saved, because the only thing that will satisfy our spoiled hungry asses is a championship, right?  And that won't happen this year, you can bet on that.

But there have been advocates who want to tinker the roster just a bit to help the team win some more and secure their place in the playoff seedings.  Here are some of them:

Odom for Hardaway/Frye (NY Knicks):  I would do this trade, but chances of it happening are very slim.  NY GM Isaiah Thomas has already said Frye is pretty much unoutchable, and have you seen this rook play?  He's got a sweet stroke, pretty strong for his build, and will be a force for years to come.  Add Hardaway's expiring contract, and the Lakers get cap space, and a PF to man up with Bynum for the future.  But this trade isn't gonna happen.

Odom for Hinrich/Thomas (Bulls):  This is an interesting trade.  You get Hinrich, whom I've liked since his days at Kansas U, and the expiring contract of Thomas.  Hinrich is a big guard who is quick, can shoot, and I believe would be a good fit for the triangle offense.  However, I question how much better the Lakers would be from this.  It might be an even trade for the Lakers where they don't improve much.  If the Bulls added Ben Gordon instead, then yes I would pull the trigger.  For this original trade, yes, I think Bulls would do it but Lakers are probably reluctant.

Odom for Rashard Lewis (Sonics).  Again, I don't know how much this would help the Lakers.  Yes, Lewis is a scorer and has a soft touch.  He's tall, long, and athletic.  But Odom can do much more with his versatility.  So it's pretty much trading all-aroundness for points. 

Odom for Steve Francis (Magic).  This is a new one, and NO I would not do this.  Francis' glory days are over, where he used to be terms with "Stevie Franchise."  He is nothing more than a disgruntled, confused, and a lackluster soul looking for help.  He had something great going for him in Houston, but it didn't work out.  I can only see jagged lines when I think about how well Francis and Kobe would co-exist and sharing a locker room.

and lastly one more trade from my favorite Sports radio host Dave Smith on 1540am:  Somehow trade for Ruben Patterson and Danny Fortson.  Horrible trades.  I even called him and told him that.  First off, Patterson was on the Lakers prior to the start of 99-2000 season and Phil Jackson deemed him "too stupid" to learn the triangle offense, so the Lakers traded him.  What makes you think he's smarter now?  You think all this time in the Portland jailhouse with the potheads and ex-cons helped him mature?  and oh yea lets not forget Patterson himself is a criminal himself with a long list of felonies under his belt.  And Fortson?  Please, this guy is overweight, undersized, and can barely run up and down the court.  There's a reason why he's in the doghouse now in Seattle: because he has no game.  I'd rather go with the Lakers' Devean George and a combination of the bigs.  George knows the triangle better, and his scoring average has increased each month; I expect a bigger scoring role from him in the 2nd half.  and Bynum will get more minutes, Mihm will get healthier, and Cook keeps stroking it.

So my final say is....don't trade and stay put.  I didn't expect much from the Lakers this year.  A playoff berth is a must, and it'll be good for this young team to get its paws wet in that atmosphere.  Maybe the Lakers can put a nice run together and get a decent seed and play spoiler in the playoffs (if they face Denver or Dallas, whom I think Lakers can beat).  People advocating for trades has to remember 3 things:  it is extremely difficult to pull off a trade where both teams improve instantly; nobody want to trade to the Lakers and make them automatic contenders; it takes a skillful player and time and experience to learn the triangle offense under Phil Jackson.

So my golden word for the day is "patience."  It may not be what we want now, but championship teams aren't made in half a season.  I'm not giving up on Odom; I think he will get more comfortable, he is still a very talented player, and I like the fact that he concedes to Kobe.  Lakers will win some and lose some, but they will be under the cap soon (after 07) when they can make a splash in free agency.  Unless we can trade for a Kevin Garnett or a Chris Bosh, I don't see improvement with tinkering a little here and there. 

Okay...I've heard enough shit already so I have to get this off my chest.

Kobe Bryant No. 8 is the freaking MVP of the league this year, NO DOUBT.  I don't even want to hear about Chauncey Billups, or Tim Duncan, or Dirk Nowitzki, or Steve Nash.

I don't even know where to start.  This is pissing me off so much (but not really, just trying ot make my morning more interesting by getting heated over nothing--but at the same time EVERYTHING to me). 

What Kobe did the other night was incredible, 81 points.  We all know that, and I don't need to tell you that.  But I'll throw some other points out there why this was so amazing:  First, he is a swingplayer, and the definition of that is "one who plays from the perimeter" (my own definition).  Kobe is no 7-foot monster like Wilt Chamberlain was.  Kobe is not a physical specimen who dominates people with his size.  Kobe uses sheer quickness, pure savviness (sp?), and his God-given basketball instincts and intelligence to get his points.  You watch him out there, and he's the same size as the other players, but he explodes once he has the ball in his hands.  To take 46 shots and score 81 points from a SG is incredible because of the consistency, endurance, and mental-strength he possessed throughout the game.  Most good players in the NBA start off hot, and then seem to dwindle down near the end through fatigue.  Not Kobe.  Not on this night.  He actually started to catch fire in the 3rd quarter, and kept going until the end of the game.  And I forgot to mention he did this in 42 minutes.  42!!!  Playing a whole game constitutes 48 minutes, can you imagine if he had 6 more minutes to play?  yea, he might've been tired without that extra rest, but he also might've scored 90, maybe 95? 

What blows my mind even more if that he shot 60% in his field goal attempts to accomplish the second highest scroing game in NBA history.  A good shooter is considered to be +45%, maybe even closer to 50%.  But 60%?  Are you out of your mind?  ("Yes, I am" -Kobe).  And please, save all the "he took all the shots" argument for your grandma.  Look at this Lakers team:  down 18 points to the lowly Raptors, 3 out of the starting 5 wouldn't even start on any other playoff team, and nobody else was stepping up.  It was a perfect scenario for Kobe to go off. 

I can keep going with this...but I want to get to another point.  Kobe is the MVP.  Not Nash, nor Billups, nor any other player.  All the other players listed, and I mean all of them, have a solid lineup.  Look at them:  Phoenix Suns (Marion, Diaw, Bell, Thomas, Jones, Barbosa), Pistons (I don't even have to say, they should win the NBA title with this team), Mavs (Howard, Daniels, Harris, Terry, Stackhouse), etc.......and all of them have a pretty good bench too (compared to the Lakers).  You take any of those players away, and their teams will STILL win.  That's why it pisses me off when analysts look at MVP candidates and say "well umm hmmm are their teams winning?  let me go scratch my ass some more....and to answer that question"  As a matter of fact, YES, KOBE's team is winning, because he is carrying all of their sorry asses on his very own 6'6 220 pound body. You trade Kobe for the MVP candidate on those other teams, and we all know their records would be even better that it is now.  and the argument that Kobe doesn't make his team better?  Are you kidding me?  How are you supposed to make a team with Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton better?  and with someone like Lamar Odom who can't shoot a lick, and Kwame "no hands" Brown who can't catch anything lofted to him.  You can't.  So that's why Kobe takes the shots he does, and that's why the Lakers will win and go to the playoffs......... 

 This 81-point night in itself should give him the MVP trophy.  We may never ever see something like that again in our lifetime!  If we do, it'll only be from yours truly, #8. 

My mid-half NBA predictions:

MVP:  Kobe Bryant.  No doubt.  He's playing on a higher level than everybody else.  He's scoring, he's defending, he's leading by example, and most of all his team is winning.  Kobe is the only player to be mentioned in the same sentence as the great Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, and Michael Jordan due to his performances this season.  I don't want to hear how AI, Lebron, and Wade are just as good.  Look at all their teams.  Look at Kobe's.  Enough said.  I'd say the closest to Kobe to win the award is Lebron James.  But Kobe has better defense, is doing more with less, and possess the "killer instinct" Lebron has yet to develop.

Coach of the Year:  Phil Jackson.  Mike Fratello is getting recognition too and could run away with the award if the Grizzlies keep winning, but Phil has shown the world so far that he is not just a coach who wins with talent.  I absolutely love Phil's coaching style.  He pushes his guys in unusual ways.  He maximizes their effort.  Most of all, I like how organized this Lakers team is, and I like how they have a gameplan before each game and stick to it.  This team is well-coached, and disciplined well.  Players would be no-namers on other squads such as Smush Parker, Luke Walton, and Sasha Vujacic understand their roles on this team and play to that level.  Kwame Brown is becoming somewhat of a defensive force in the middle, and Devean George is playing his best basketball ever in recent weeks.  Most importantly, Kobe is playing the best basketball in his career.  This team will go to the playoffs, and will be better than before next year and the year following. 

..more to come later..