The Shaq/Kobe Feud...Part Deux?

Thanks a lot, Shaq. You put me through a lot of angst a few years back during your very public feud with Kobe. But then you patched things up, things were cool, right?

You shook his hand on Martin Luther King's Day, making amends on national television.

You said that you stood by Kobe "one thousand percent" when it was made clear that Dr. Jerry Buss, not Bryant as it has so often been assumed, was the one who ultimately sent you packing to Miami.

You said that Kobe was a worth recipient of this year's MVP trophy.

And you sounded congratulatory and downright proud whenever Mr. Bryant made it to his first NBA Finals without you.

So what gives!?

Why, after all of this, would you perform a freestyle rap that includes, among other things, these tidbits:

"Kobe couldn't do without me..."

"He's the reason I'm getting a divorce..."

"How's my ass taste, Kobe?"

We know, you said that you were merely frestyling, and that you meant nothing by the words that you spoke. But it didn't occur to you that in order to avoid a media firestorm, it might be best to ask someone else how your ass tastes? Now you've got ESPN aflutter (ESPN suit: "Yeah, another controversy we can pretend to debate about sporadically until the NBA season gets under way!") and you've put those of us who are fans of both you and Kobe into a tizzy--once again.

In order to get through this, I'm going to try and piece through the rationale you used when deciding to diss Kobe on stage. It should be noted that this whole thing was covered by TMZ (one of the many things contributing to the impending armageddon), so there is a good chance that you were merely goofing and blissfully unaware that the cameras were rolling.

Of course, this either means that you were under the impression you could joke (as you claim) due to the lack of coverage, or, you didn't see any cameras and decided to let your true feelings for Kobe out. Part of me is afraid that it is the latter. After all, your initial olive branch was only extended at the behest of Bill Russell (as you so publicly noted). Perhaps there is still ill will deep inside.

On the other hand, surely you realized that at least 75% of the attendees have some sort of video function on their phone. It's possible that you want to vent about Kobe, but you'd think that it would be under more private circumstances. Then again, maybe you just didn't think about video phones. That, however, leads us back to the 'no cameras/true feelings' argument.

Damn this vicious circle!