I found this at nba.com listened to the 2nd quarter in a hotel in sydney was waiting for the laker's d to kick in but had to go out then, my god, heavens to betsy, heavens to murgatroid i get a page from anthony saying kobe scored 81 this is stunning ya just gotta enjoy it ya just gotta bask in the glory of it take a bath in it after pondering this unbelievable achievement for a couple of days... it really does take a little time for something like this to settle in kobe bryant has transcended what human beings are normally capable of doing i don't care if another good player in the nba jacked up 44 shots they still couldn't do it not when the other teams entire defense is geared towards stopping him what he has done is extra ordinary even by the very high standards we judge him by i believe that this has happened because of a very unique life led by kobe the reason that kobe has so many detractors, haters if you will is not because he is arrogant not because of the criminal charges against him not because of his selfish play on the court not because he won so much and people are jealous, sour grapes not because he young, rich, good looking, pompous, etc.......... the reason people judge kobe so harshly and are put off by him is the reason he scored 81 points the other night and is the greatest basketball player in the world kobe bryant is a basketball freak i use the word freak without judgement and, truthfully, as a compliment to him for his dedication and commitment to fullfilling his destiny like the greatest artists and athletes and writers and scientists of all time kobe has worked so diligently in his life to perfect his game and bring it to the highest level that he has neglected other parts of his life kobe is not good at being a warm public figure and he comes off as aloof, arrogant, calculated...... it is not because he is not a caring good person he is a great person it is because he just did not learn those skills of expression he was too busy becoming a basketball genius this is a sacrifice that kobe made it is harder for him to have a different balance in his life than it is for all his detractors this is the same for any great artist or philosopher that has ever lived most of whom were judged harshly this is a position that god put him in he has a gift and he has not wasted it his gift to the world is not to be a feel good public personality his gift to the world is to express himself on the basketball court and this is a beautiful thing and he should be applauded for it not just for his accomplishments but for the the enormous sacrifices he has made to make this major contribution to our culture that is why he is so great part of the reason kobe has turned in the 2nd (1st? 3rd?) greatest offensive display in basketball history (dont forget cheryl miller either not just wilt) is because of the his fall from grace in the public eye kobe, like every human being on earth has one number one desire in his life........ to give and receive love it undoubtedly hurt kobe to be talked about negatively so incessantly he wanted and wants to explain himself, to let everyone know that everyone makes mistakes but that he is a loving person and that he has learned from his mistakes and he loves humanity, loves god, wants to live for the purpose of putting good energy in the world his way to do that is not to come on tv with some perfectly composed feel good tearjerker speech or even a great speech as if he would write as good as the likes of bob dylan or martin luther king junior his way to do that is to work even harder, to reach an even higher level at his craft that is his way to let us know he loves us that is his gift to us that is his way of humbling himself to us that is what he was born to do