The athlete as victim

Can you stomach the sensitive athlete? Kobe Bryant's Nike ad picks up on a recent trend in sport, with multi-millionaires trying to curry empathy by claiming everyone hates them.

Quoting Kobe: "Love me or hate me, it’s one or the other. Always has been. Hate my game, my swagger. Hate my fadeaway, my hunger. Hate that I’m a veteran. A champion. Hate that. Hate it with all your heart. And hate that I’m loved, for the exact same reasons."

Hate that I'm deliriously self-involved ...

Listen, Kobe, I'd like to throw some pity your way, but it's all used up on Nick Lachey. But wait! The former Mr. Simpson is opening up, daring to sit down for a probing Teen People interview.

"Don't feel sorry for me," Lachey says. Dammit! Now I guess I'll have to feel sorry for some poor African in Darfur instead.