By revealing not only the topic of my column for tomorrow’s Sun, but also referring to something in it before it’s published, I’m probably costing the company millions (or even dozens) of dollars in lost revenues. But here we go anyway:

Kobe Bryant is the topic (always a favorite, as you know). In one description of him, I compare him to the kid in the Twilight Zone episode who would know if anyone thought bad things about him, and he’d destroy that person -- or, in some cases, dogs who barked at him too much. If the results were grotesque enough, his father would beg the kid to put the victim “out in the cornfield."

Thus, a quiz:

1. What was the kid’s name in the episode?

2. Who played him, and what other ‘60s show did he star in?

3. Would it be funny to call Kobe by that name for the rest of his life, or would nobody get the joke?

4. Did the new Twilight Zone show that came out a few years ago for a hot minute, hosted by Forest Whitaker, ever do anything stupid like a remake of that episode?

5. Is the fact that I referenced a show that went off the air nearly 50 years ago drive a permanent wedge between me and the target demographic of this blog, not to mention make me the kind of crusty codger columnist I used to make fun of when I first got into this business?

Sorry, no prize for the right answers, even for the last question.

Here's a link to the Kobe interviews with Stephen A. Smith and Dan Patrick today.

One more NBA note, to the reader who replied to the last blog post -- who, it seemed, defended fans who throw garbage on the court -- let it be known that neither the Jazz, Spurs or NBA agree with you.

And, based on this account, I don’t think calling the Jazz fans "low class" or "low rent" is out of line.

It’s a good, subjective reason to hope the Spurs end the series tonight, to keep it from going back to Salt Lame City.

-- David Steele