No love lost in Los Angeles

By Brian Betz

You wouldn't expect a big brother and little brother to hate each other.

But they just might.

The recent flare-up in the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal relationship hit a new high when Bryant called O'Neal things like "childlike," "unprofessional," "selfish," "fat" and "jealous." All O'Neal had said (prior to Kobe's comments) was that the Lakers are his team.

The media now wonders whether the two hate each other, implying that the "brotherly love" they've shown has all been a farce. It was.

People tend to think that because they coexist on the court, they're best buddies off of it. These two know the difference between business and friendship. The Lakers didn't four-peat, which, in "Laker Land" is viewed as a failure. Bryant is engulfed in legal problems and his contract is up at the end of the season. O'Neal is pissed because he struggled with Kobe for so long to make Los Angeles "his team." After finally admitting that Kobe is the best player on the planet, Shaq realizes that Bryant's trial could be a cancer for the team's success and wants to take over the reigns himself.

It's rumored that this could be a ploy to take the spotlight off of Bryant's sexual assault charges. But it's unlikely that with all the family stress Bryant claims he's been under that he would stage a quarrel simply to pull a few trial questions away from reporters.

The bottom line is that O'Neal and Bryant have never been speed-dialed on each other's telephones. Kobe's statements toward O'Neal were completely inappropriate considering the situation he got himself into, guilty or innocent. O'Neal has had off-season fitness problems of his own, but he's no Shawn Kemp in that way. Still, all it took was one remark on either side to spark the fireworks.

Both players need to have their own teams. Bryant says he'll test the free-agent market at the season's end, while O'Neal wants an extension. Meanwhile, there are future Hall-of-Famers Gary Payton and Karl Malone who signed for the league minimum to get a chance at a title before retirement. If the ego meter wasn't high enough when those two signed, O'Neal and Bryant just stirred the pot for the rest of the season.

Talk about your all-time sibling rivalries.

Contact Brian Betz at (408) 554-4852 or at bbetz@scu.edu.