Hoops McCann is back again

Kobe Bryant seems to garner a lot of hate these days. It always baffles me when someone hates someone else they don't know personally. My bafflement doubles when this hatred is directed towards a man who throws a ball through a hoop for a living.

Getting past my zen-like tolerance, there are many reasons Kobe Bryant is hated -- involving things like petulance, a self-serving nature and rape. But I think Kobe's biggest problem might be his name: Kobe.

I say this in praise of Kobe -- it's a really cool name. Of either Hebrew or Japanese origin it is, outside the realm of high quality steak, quite unique, yet sounds familiar enough not to be jarring.

Two simple but strong syllables -- and it looks even better on paper. Kobe, in any typesetting, has the flow of a logo. Think how much more visually appealing Kobe is than the more traditional Coby.

So that's probably when the hate started: When Kobe was presented to us as the 17-year old wunderkind with the perfectly constructed name. From the beginning, it was almost like Kobe was more corporation than human. And few pull for the corporation.

Ironically Kobe's father, who probably named him, went by Jellybean during his own NBA career. Now that's a name which would humanize even the most soulless cyborg.

Of course Jellybean wasn't Joseph Bryant's given name. Just like Hoops isn't Mordecai McCann's given name.

Hoops talks hobbits and bigger beings named Kobe in his latest dispatch.