Kobe Bryant fined $100K

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

There must be a lot wrong with the country because both are some of the most popular things in this country. Go figure.

NBA's TV ratings up across all national networks - ESPN

I guess that I'm in the minority. I am not a big NBA fan, nor can I wrap my arms around rap.

I was a big NBA fan back when I was a young man. Loved watching the Celtics on Sunday afternoons on ABC. Bill Russell was, and still is, one of my favorite athletes. Loved watching the Knicks on local television (WOR-TV Channel 9). Look up teamwork in the dictionary and you'll see a picture of a Knicks team from the late 60's or early 70's. I still have fond memories of Willis Reed limping onto the court to help beat the Lakers in game seven. I somehow lost my love of NBA basketball. It was slightly revived during the Larry Bird/Earvin Johnson era, but that didn't last very long. I'll occasionally watch a Celtic game, when there's absolutely nothing else on television, but that will only be for a few minutes.

I have never liked rap (although I will sometimes enjoy the background songs that some rap artists sample). It might have something to do with the fact that I have never, ever, appreciated poetry. It also might have something to do with some of the themes (anti-women, anti-police), and the use of profanity, that seems to be very common in many rap songs. I do like some of the more "tame" stuff that Eminem, or Jay-Z, might perform on Letterman (love it when Dave calls him Marshall) but that's about as far as it goes for me.