You could probably attribute this gripe article to a one of many things, or perhaps all of them, but I've been wanting to say this forever: Kobe Bean Bryant is no Michael Jeffrey Jordan.

It might just be that I am angry that my Jazz just lost, and Mamba started flashing his jersey like Arroyo did when Puerto Rico beat the U.S. or it could be that I ran into an article from that excuse of a Chicago columnist, Jay "the joke" Mariotti. Ultimately I'd like to lead myself to believe today just brought out feelings I've been wanting to say for a while.

If you've read my earlier articles you know that I've made mention of not a lot to cheer for here in Chicago, or even to a greater extent in Illinois. I keep my memories of Mike, Scottie, Dennis, and the Bulls very close to my heart. Those were great times.

Lately, I keep hearing that since the Lakers added Gasol, they've got their Pippen. But seriously, Gasol being compared to Pippen is ridiculous. Kobe is a great player, but there are too many differences between the two in terms of who they are and the league around them.

Michael Jordan, for a lack of better words, was never "punked" by anyone. What I mean is that no player ever got the best of Michael. They might have beaten the Bulls on occasion and tormented the team, i.e. "Bad Boy" Pistons, but no one player ever got the best of Mike.

I can already point to occasions where D.Wade or T-Mac outplayed Kobe, and I still see it in terms of his showdowns with LeBron. There is no doubt that Kobe is better than Wade and McGrady, and perhaps the jury is still out on him and LeBron (Note obvious age difference, too). This, to me, is important because to hold the swagger that you are as good as the greatest of all time -and NO ONE was better than Michael-you can't ever have a moment of weakness.

Off the court, there is no way Kobe is even as important as Michael, because Michael changed the global concept of basketball.

My finance professor jokingly told me that he would go to China every two or three years, and when he would go, the locals would ask where he was from, and his response would be Chicago. Every local would always make mention of Al Capone, because this was the first image to come to mind, and then came Jordan. Now every time he goes, the locals always act is if they are taking a jump shot, and then throw out the legend's last name. Kobe doesn't have that, nor does he have the capability to put his name on an item like shoes and clothing which cause an uproar with any consumer in those categories.

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