Some thoughts on Kobe Bryant.

Where does Bryant rank in terms of the all-time greatest players? He actually wouldn’t be in my top five. However, I will say the following:

1. I would put him above LeBron James;
2. He is not the same player as Michael Jordan, but in terms of scoring ability and competitive intensity, he and Jordan are basically clones. You talk about the killer instinct, and these two might be the first two I think of. In terms of the ability to score one-on-one (not necessarily the best penetrators), in terms of non-centers, these two may be the best of all time.

It hasn’t started yet, so how can I be so enthusiastic? Well, I’m not–this is actually a thread to discuss the rules that differ from the NFL.

I’m assuming you guys have been following this story much more than I have. My vague understanding is that the Astros were filming opponents and figuring out the signals, and then possibly using a buzzer type of device that hitters would have on their body to tell them what pitches to expect. Is this accurate?

Off the top of my head, I’m OK with players (at second base) trying to steal signals from the catcher and then trying to alert the batter. My rationale is that it requires skill to detect this and convey the info. Additionally, it requires skill of the catcher to make sure their not tipping the pitches. It’s similar to pitchers being aware of things their doing to tip their pitches. It also seems similar to football defensive players reading body language, etc. to figure out a play before it happens.

But the buzzer and the video seem to cross a line–particularly the former. What do you guys think?

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