This just arrived in the ol' email in-box.

"Great game today. I think Kobe should be MVP this year.  It is sort of like Martin Scorsese getting an Oscar.  You need to recognize certain exceptional levels of talent.  Love MOM."

Interesting analogy on her part.  She certainly wouldn't be the first to opine that Kobe has gone too long unrewarded.  For that matter, so did Scorsese.  But after seeing the Academy fail to award his direction for "Taxi Driver" (John G. Avildsen won instead for "Rocky"), "Raging Bull" (Robert Redford for "Ordinary People") and "Goodfellas" (which in-effin-explicably went to Kevin Costner for "Dances with Wolves"),  Scorsese finally broke through with "The Departed."  The award was no real surprise, since everyone had a sense that 2006 was kind of "Scorsese's year."  And while I do think Kobe's 2008 season is of a better quality than "The Departed" (entertaining movie, but wraps up way too neatly and Jack Nicholson needed a leash), I get the same kinda feeling about 2008 and Kobe.  Like I've said on many occasions, I have a very strong sense this is Bryant's year.  Apparently, Mom would concur.

FYI.  For those wondering, Mom, like her kids, does not actually have a vote.

AK

Here's the e-mail. In between scanning the crowd for her sons, she was keeping a close eye on the proceedings. As always, an interesting take (and her undying belief that the fourth quarter is where it's at).

"As I always tell you, it is all about the last 10 minutes... in this case, the last two minutes, 38 seconds. Did you ever see anyone work as hard as Ben Wallace for two points? Those other guys only try for three-point shots. Big mistake. That in a nutshell is why the Lakers were the better team. Looked for you on TV, but didn't see you. Love, MOM."

—AK

From this morning's inbox...

"Saw the dunking contest. That Nate Robinson is like a championship dachshund...best in show. Love MOM"

Once again, she's on the money...

... although let's be honest, Iguodala got penalized for being tall. That dunk from the other side of the backboard? Ridiculous!

Press the play button on the answering machine...

"Hey Andy. It's me. You know what I tell you. It's the last ten minutes of the game that counts. No matter what. And how about my boy Smush? Wasn't he terrific? And here's the big question for the blog: Why did he take off his headband and is he better with or without it? What do people think? I think I've never seen him play without it. Maybe I've missed it. Talk to you. Bye, hon."

If the team picked up on the little things the way Mom does, they'd be 42-0 instead of 23-19.

So what do we think? Is Smush better with a piece of cloth wrapped snugly around his melon? Or without? And is there a method to the madness when he occasionally removes it?

AK

Woke up this morning, and the following e-mail was waiting for me. To clarify, Mom's talking about Jeff Gordon the St. Louis Post Dispatch sports writer, not the race car driver.

From the "inbox" this morning.  Really, the woman sees everything, and apparently doesn't sleep.

"It is 4 AM and I just watched the replay of the game. First of all, I do not like the neckline on the Wizards jersey. Second, they were very short on Wizardry tonight.Third, Kobe is starting to think TEAM and the whole game goes better. He should consider having lunch with Steve Nash. Love MOM"

If he did get together with Nash, who would pick up the check? 

Woke up, checked my email, and the following summed up last night's win over the Bulls:

Subject: Smush

"Hi Andy I just read the paper. Everyone should be keeping an eye on Smush from downtown. If they aren't careful, they'll get SMUSHEd. Love MOM."

"SMUSHEd!" It's the phrase that's sweeping the nation! Or at least my mom's house in St. Louis.

As always, her emailed observations get to the heart of the matter in a way her two dumbs sons could never even attempt.

"I noticed that Lamar Odom smiled alot and that gave a friendly look to a team fraught with celebrety. Kobe seems more focused with his new do. Maybe the short hair is one less thing to worry about."

Mom raises a good question. During his time with the Lakers, Kobe's gone back and forth between close cut and rocking a bit of a 'fro. Which do y'all think he played better in?

From an email this morning:

Subject: "Game"

"I fell asleep but am getting end results from SC. Love that show. They just had a bit on T.O.  He won't win employee of the month.  Steve Nash brought his A game, in fact Steve Nash brings the A team. He is just too magical . I think this year the NBA is going to invent a new verb. SMUSHED. Love MOM"

A little background about our mom, Phyllis Kamenetzky, and her connection to the Lakers.

When I moved to L.A. in 1990 to attend USC, I had no real interest in basketball, having grown up in a city (St. Louis) with no pro team and attended a high school with a perennially terrible squad. Plus I'm 5'8". Thus, hoops wasn't a sport I naturally gravitated towards. But once a part of this city, I found myself drawn in by its unbridled Lakers energy. By '94 or so, I was obsessively following the Lakers, even more than teams I grew up rooting for.