Now that Kobe has re-signed with Lakers, and the stupidest trade in the history of the NBA has sent Shaq to Miami, and Phil Jackson is relaxing on a ranch somewhere meditating, maybe we can go a couple of days without having to hear about the team that lost in this year’s NBA finals. History will look unfavorably on all this stuff in a few years, I guarantee. Even if Kobe is acquitted, and there is no way to be certain about that, the Lakers are one of the lower echelon playoff teams in the West now. Miami should be the third or fourth best team in the East now, depending on matchups and injuries.

I've been a Lakers fan since I was twelve years old. Growing up in New England, I think I gravitated to the Lakers simply because everyone around me was a Celtics' fan during the great rivalry run between the two teams. Now, I feel like I want to break one of the cardinal rules of sports, and switch to being a fan of a different team out of disgust and revulsion. I've only done this once before, when the Whalers were moved out of Hartford, but under those circumstances, I felt it was justified.