“I don’t give a [expletive] what you say,” Bryant told Yahoo! Sports late Friday. “If I go out there and miss game winners, and people say, 'Kobe choked, or Kobe is seven for whatever in pressure situations.' Well, [expletive] you.
“Because I don’t play for your [expletive] approval. I play for my own love and enjoyment of the game. And to win. That’s what I play for. Most of the time, when guys feel the pressure, they’re worried about what people might say about them. I don’t have that fear, and it enables me to forget bad plays and to take shots and play my game."

That reminds me, it's my duty to pass along these five rules for anyone heading to college: stay active beyond your classes (newspaper, radio station, etc.); don't date anyone for longer than two semesters; always drink liquor before beer and not vice-versa; don't forget to call your parents every few days; and approach your classes the same way Shaq approached his NBA career. In other words, don't kill yourself trying to become the best center of all time; just do enough to eventually get mentioned in the top 10, and enjoy every moment along the way.