Kobe cried. So did Derek Fisher. Todd Wellemeyer had a grin on his face that you couldn’t have rubbed off with an oily rag. Corey Patterson was happy, too. True, these are completely unrelated, but isn’t it nice that the Cubs are happy and the Lakers aren’t? I think it is.

Let’s start with the Lakers. This isn’t the end of their dynasty. The Celtics dynasty had one incredible run, but that wasn’t the whole dynasty. You’re allowed to not win the championship once and a while. It’s a period of prolonged excellence. Get Kobe and Shaq some healthy, able teammates and the dynasty will roll on next year. The Bulls didn’t have two three-peat dynasties. They had one six-titles-in-eight-years dynasty. Sheesh.

The Spurs earned this one. They actually should have dismissed the Lakers in five games. Instead it went six, and they did the one thing nobody thought they could. They sent the champs packing in their own arena. Jack Nicholson had to sit there and take it. Kind of like the people who paid eight bucks to watch “Anger Management.”

Tony Parker reminded the world why the Spurs have bigger needs than point guard. Kevin Willis pretended he wasn’t 40 for a little while and Tim Duncan rendered the “maybe Kevin Garnett should have been the MVP this year” argument moot.

Some morons, including me the other day, have said that if Dallas can get by Sacramento that they can win the title. Sure, it could happen. But everytime you watch Vlade Divac treat Shawn Bradley and Raef Lafrentz like pasty speed bumps you remember what Tim Duncan can do to them.

In his first series defeat since 1995 (really?) Phil Jackson handled it with class. Phil seems to have a good sense of when to be magnanimous and when to be an arse. He knew that last night was no time for the arse to show. Shaq mumbled his way through his comments and Kobe sobbed like a baby. Never question just how much Kobe wants to win. He just does, OK?

The Cubs are now 5-0-1 since Sammy Sosa donated his big toenail to science. Yesterday’s game in Milwaukee was an epic. At times it was an epic display of futility, but you could not downplay what a compelling game this was.

Ben Sheets and Kerry Wood traded zeros until Eric Karros staked the Cubs to a 1-0 lead. Kerry piled up 120 more pitches, on top of the 140 he threw on Saturday and Dusty took the prized right arm and gave it a rest. That meant El Pulpo had the eighth, and Joe Borowski the ninth.

They both managed to give up a run.

Pulpo did it by giving up a homer to Scott Posendinkerowitz or whatever that guy’s name is. He threw him a cookie on a 1-2 pitch and Scotty P. took him out to center. This should never happen.

The Cubs scratched one across in the ninth and Regular Joe came in to save the day.

But just like last Saturday, Joe gave up an untimely walk (to Eric Young), let EY steal second and Young scored on a two-out single to right, even though it sure looked like Troy O’Leary’s throw got him at the plate.

Little did we know, the game was only half over.

My how things have changed. How many times did we openly root for Damian Miller to keep an inning alive so Corey Patterson would have a chance to win the game? Corey Patterson. How absurd would that have seemed two months ago?

Royce Clayton made an impossible grab of a liner in the 14th that robbed Miller of a go-ahead single. Geoff Jenkins reached over the wall and pulled back a potential game winning homer from Mr. Clutch, Alex Gonzalez in the 15th. You just got the feeling the Cubs were destined to lose.

You don’t realize how tough it is for the visitors to win an extra inning game until you’re living and dying with every pitch in one. If you don’t score in the top of an inning, as the road club, you know you have to stop the home team TWICE if you’re going to win.

Thankfully, the 2003 Cubs came factory installed with a dozen good arms. After Pulpo and Joe coughed up two runs in two innings, Mike Remlinger, Juan Cruz, and the Farns shut out the Brewers for six innings. The mighty Brewers struck out a National League record 24 times. Yikes.

Even the Brewers secret weapon, outfielder/pitcher/former Cubs first-rounder/Brooks Kieschnick was no match for the Cubs. He had quite a day. He warmed up in the 14th, ran to the dugout to pinch hit, but the inning ended with him on-deck, so he ran back to the bullpen and resumed warming up. He pinch hit to lead off the 15th but was stranded on base. He came in, cruised through the top of the 16th on seven pitches and the Brewers had to send him out for the 17th. He got two quick outs, then lost Damian Miller and Corey Patterson came up.

Patterson did what you’re never supposed to do. He TRIED to hit a home run. Not only that, he actually did hit one. The Cubs most consistent offensive player so far this year came through and made it 4-2. Kieschnick suffered the indignity of giving up the winning runs and making the final out when rookie Todd Wellemeyer made his major league debut by striking out the side on 14 pitches.

Not bad, kid. What can you do for an encore?

So the Cubs have won five in a row, all since Sammy left the lineup. This isn’t proof that the Cubs can win consistently without Sammy, just proof that Jim Hendry actually built a solid team–one that can withstand an injury or two.

By the way, is there a chance we can get the Cardinals to trade for Royce Clayton? Not only did he fail to tag Corey at second base on Wednesday night, but get this…in seven games against the Cubs this year he’s 0-27! Wow. And every Cubs pitcher pitches him the same way. They throw him belt high fastballs and just laugh at his inability to touch them. Royce is the only guy you can scout by watching The Rookie, and if Dennis Quaid can blow three by him, Kerry, Carlos and Mark sure as hell can.

The Cubs are off to St. Louis tonight to take on the evil birds for four games. The Cubs are a season-high eight games over .500 and four games ahead of the FOURTH place Cardinals. Obnoxious Cardinals fans (is there any other kind?) think the teams will be tied by Monday night. Obnoxious Cubs fans (there are some) can’t wait for the bandwagon to pull out of a Steak n’ Shake on Monday with an eight game lead. The truth lies somewhere in between.

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Rosey with some good stuff on a Friday.

The pitching, and Corey came through in the end. You know, if Dusty hadn’t started all of the scrubs at the same time, maybe they’d have scored more than two runs in the first 16 innings?

Dusty said he counted Kerry’s pitches. I counted Alfonseca’s. He threw 16 pitches, 15 of them were good.

Todd Wellemeyer made a nice first impression.

Bart Colon put the final touch on the Sox sweep of Ballmer.

The Big Ten is eyeing Notre Dame (never happen) and Pitt (probably will happen.)

Johnny Pax is ready to get to the “real” work.

Word of advice to the other 7-11 employees in Sterling Heights, Michigan: don’t let Denny handle the Christmas fund money.

Greg Couch with good stuff on the moronic Cubs ticket broker fiasco.

John Jackson on Sam Lacy and why Fox Saturday Baseball is starting early this year.

Mariotti puts down the doughnut to declare the Lakers obsolete.

Todd Wellemeyer: superstar.

The Wizard of Roz wonders if this is the last, best chance for the Sox to get back in the race.

Sports Guy with a good one on the NBA playoffs. His Laker pick doesn’t look that good anymore, though. It lasted about six hours.

Jayson Stark predicts the Mike Lowell to the Cubs trade will happen. Hurry up!

Jason Sehorn has his choices narrowed to St. Louis or Jacksonville. I’d say since he’s now officially a half-step slow, and never tackles anybody, that Jacksonville would be preferable. They play on grass, so it’ll be softer when he falls down in the end zone, watching a receiver spike his touchdown and wave to the crowd.

I don’t care what Ivan Maisel says, Roy Kramer is evil. Pure evil.

June Carter Cash is dead.

Halle Berry broke her arm. Maybe if she wasn’t such a twig, this wouldn’t have happened.

Fox is bringing Joe Millionaire back. Man, you’d have to be really dumb to fall for it this time.

JFK had an affair with a 60-year-old woman? Oh, she’s 60 now. Hubba hubba.

They ain’t gonna watch no Hitler in Texas.

Dude, we’re going for a road trip in Toronto!

Wow, and I thought our field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry was cool.

Hal Raines once mocked the Boston Globe for not firing Mike Barnicle fast enough. Oops!

America’s finest news source with the tale of the hostel-dwelling Swedish teen who’s making time with all the ladies.