Laker Nation

My celeb-gossip connoisseur girlfriend has the inside scoop on the daily adventures of Hollywood’s elite. Every once in a while, she will drop me a story that doesn’t leave me feeling like J.R. Smith after an English exam when she’s done. This morning, she read me a piece of an interview from US Weekly (I’m told that’s a magazine) where the following exchange with Lamar Odom happened:

The NBA season is starting to pick up, and that means it’s time for another ridiculously long mailbag! Send me your questions, comments and anything else you want to rant about.

Last Sunday, shortly before Kobe committed aggravated burglary in Boston (the highlight of my NBA season thus far), I remembered all over again how much I hate the Boston Celtics. Just the sight of Paul Pierce getting tangled up with Ron Artest right before tip-off evoked irrational thoughts of rage that should certainly have me at CVS picking up my Paxil prescription.

I talk an awful lot about overly emotional Lakers’ fans – primarily because I am a recovering one myself. If I were to create an F-Bomb Usage Chart that spanned the entirety of my life, it would look something like this:

I can be a superstitious person, but only when it comes to sports. I remember one specific occasion where I forced my superstition on the other ill-fated members of my family. During a game against the Mavericks back in 2002, I wardrobed all of them in Lakers’ gear before tip-off.

Most of us secretly (or not-so-secretly) thought the Lakers would do the NBA schedule like Jason Voorhes does Spring Break. Of course, we weren’t alone in our observations. Reggie Miller predicted the Lakers would start the season at 20-1. Kenny Smith predicted a healthy Lakers team to challenge the ’96 Chicago Bulls regular season wins record (72-10). 8/10 NBA.com analysts and 19/20 ESPN.com analysts picked the Lakers to win the West.

Merry Christmas, Lakers Nation! Don’t forget to send in your questions and/or comments for January’s Out of Bounds Mailbag! (via e-mail, tweet or the form below) To be entered in the AXE Hair contest, messages must be received by 11:59pm tonight! The person with the most creative question or comment will receive the grand-prize – a $25 Visa Gift Card [...]

It’s been a crazy week in the world of sports. A superstar athlete cheated on his wife? Are you serious? That’s as surprising as Rasheed leading the league in T’s (again) with 10 after tonight’s mini-tantrum (the highlight of my night). I really am trying hard to avoid writing a column about Tiger Woods. I think the best way to do that is to kick off my random thoughts by talking about the real player of the decade, Kobe Bryant.

Boston-loving sports columnist Bill Simmons' had a lot to say about Kobe and the Lakers in his latest column. What do you guys think? Is Simmons' starting to see the light?

Congrats to Steve Lee for winning a 1-year subscription to SLAM Magazine for his question in last weeks' Out of Bounds Mailbag!

I spent a few years of my life in corporate America. I met some great people during that time; but I miss the job like we all miss G6 of the ’08 Finals. Most of my days started with me waking up and slipping on my work sweater. Am I the only one who had a work sweater? I owned three (all different colors), and rotated them throughout the week. Some of you know exactly what I am talking about; a few of you are even wearing yours right now. My work sweaters screamed I am a 50-year-old trapped in a 20-year-olds body – perfect for the corporate world.

The Lakers have been rather un-Hollywood since Pau Gasol returned to the lineup. The last three games have been slightly less exciting than a 60-minute exclusive on global warming with Al Gore. They completely wiped the floor with the struggling Chicago Bulls (108-93). Did anyone think they would miss Ben Gordon this much? They blasted the surprisingly competitive “Zombie Sonics” (101-85). Most shocking? Sasha knocked down an open jumper. That was almost as remarkable as Kobe’s behind-the-backboard how-the-eff-did-he-just-make-that shot in the first quarter.

We, the people of The Lakers Nation, certainly aren’t lacking in the emotional department. We are closer to the Tom Cruise on Oprah side of the fence. Eleven games in, and Twitter has been on fire with enthusiasm, and a little bit of rage. After a Lakers’ loss, you can expect more F-bombs than a Christian Bale rant; after a Lakers’ win, everyone gets Hannah Montana/Nickelodeon happy. I love the passion of my Lakers’ Twitter Fam, and it’s a shame the Lakers’ don’t play with that same energy every time they take the floor. Here are some of my favorite emotional Tweets from this past week:

In all of the universe, could there possible be a better combination of two things!? I say no.