NBA Championship...and Tim Russert

Proving once again that Kobe Bryant is completely lacking in leadership skills. Without a doubt, he should never ever be compared to Michael Jordan. The Celtics relentlessly shut him down.

You have to wonder if this will spell the end of Kobe's relationship with the Lakers. It's far more palatable to say offensive things about management when you bring home an NBA Championship. If I had to guess, I'd say it's bye-bye to the "greatest player on the planet."

The Lakers collapsed as if they'd been sucked into a black hole of basketball. Aside from my fondness for Luke Walton, very little could make me happier. Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and all the other Celtics (especially the "old" guys, like Sam Cassell and P.J. Brown) absolutely made my month. If only the Lakers could have shown up to play a competitive game. Obviously I'm thrilled about the Celtics' win, but ultimately I'm always on the side of a great game.

On a less jubilant note, could we please stop with the canonization of Tim Russert? Of course, I'm sorry about his untimely death. I'm sorry for his loved ones, friends and co-workers. But people die every day who are much younger and who've had far less fulfilling lives.

I watched Tim Russert for a while. I found him lacking in intellectual rigor. Calling his interview with W. a series of softballs would be an enormous understatement. I never watched him again. His reputation amongst other news people as an unbiased, independent thinker is baffling to me.

If we wished to celebrate the life of a great conservative thinker, we should have devoted more time to William F. Buckley. He was brilliant, an original. I rarely agreed with his positions, but I watched his weekly show for years. Maybe that's part of my resentment of the relentless coverage of Russert's death. I respected Buckley and was dazzled by his intellect. I never saw him suck up to anyone he interviewed or debated.

Enough of my little tirade, though. On the Crazy Land front, we'll be a little less nutty soon. I'll update as events unfold.