Why so hard on Kobe?

Even though Championship football was being played in the NFL last Sunday, the performance of the day clearly was turned in by the NBA's Kobe Bryant. Bryant somehow managed to score a whopping 81 points, the second-highest total in the history of professional basketball.

Now it appears that Wilt Chamberlain's seemingly unbreakable record of 100 points could even be in jeopardy. Bryant played less than 42 of the game's 48 minutes and scored 55 in the second half.

It is by no accident that right now Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player in the world. He works extremely hard at his game, and he possesses an intense desire to succeed.

Unfortunately, Bryant's career will be forever tarnished because of his arrest for sexual assault, although his case never went to trial. In this country we are supposedly presumed innocent until proven guilty, so why are people being so hard on Kobe? Heck, Michael Jordan had a mistress and a legendary gambling problem during his career, and most everyone still loves him.

SUPER BOWL

With nine days left before the Super Bowl, Pittsburgh has been instilled as the 4-point favorite over Seattle. That becomes quite interesting when one considers that Pitt was the AFC's No. 6 seed, and Seattle was the NFC's No. 1.

As far as the controversial one-week layoff is concerned, true NFL fans should treat this as a blessing. Once the Super Bowl is played, football will be all over, so you might as well try to enjoy what is left of the season while it's still going.

As for the Super Bowl itself, numerous proposition bets are already available, and predictions here will come next week.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

In the meantime, tennis' first major of the year comes to a close at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where some of the matches were forced indoors due to the brutal summer heat.

The women's draw marked the return of three-time champion Martina Hingis, who after three years off and only one month of competition, managed to reach the quarter-finals.

Notably absent from contention were the USA's Williams sisters, who were both bounced out of the tournament before the fourth round. In order to play tennis at a high level, one must be in tremendous shape, which the Williamses currently are not. While most of the top women were training hard in the offseason, Venus and Serena apparently were busy making dresses and pursuing their acting careers. A lack of dedication also helps explain why they are injury-prone, and not even close to No. 1 and No. 2 anymore.

Finals - As a finalist in 1999, Amelie Mauresmo ruffled some feathers with her openly gay lifestyle, but she has since proven to be the best player in the world never to have won a major. Any time diminutive Justine Henin-Hardenne is healthy, she is the favorite, due to her innate ability to dig down deep within herself and find something extra on the big points. Winner: Henin-Hardenne.

On the men's side, it appears that heavy favorite Roger Federer will face Cyprus' exciting newcomer Marcos Baghdatis, and his rabid fans, in the final. Excluding American cyclist Lance Armstrong, Federer is the most dominant athlete in all of sports. Winner: Federer.