HEAR MY KOBE BRYANT INTERVIEW FROM TODAY'S STEVE MASON SHOW: He says, "I'm happy in LA."

I always get a little worked up when I get a really big guest on the show. Since I started the solo show back in November, we've had some great "gets," including Bill Cosby, Senator John Kerry and some of the big names at the Super Bowl like Falcons owner Arthur Blan and Hall of Famers like Gayle Sayers, Mean Joe Greene and Ed "Too Tall" Jones. Anytime the guest is big, there is pressure. I never want to be so aggressive that I tick them off, but I do want to get something good.

Just yesterday, Mike Lupica, the great sportswriter was in studio, and I "softballed" him. Off the air, he told me that he was blown away by Obama's speech on race, and all I could think was "You regularly appear on Imus." I have real problems with Imus, and there's some kind of disconnect for Mike. Impressed by Obama but supporting Imus' return to the air. Huh? But, I let it go.

Kobe is incredibly careful in his interviews these days, especially after last June's "I Want Traded Radio Tour", which started on The Big Show with Mason & Ireland. But, I thought Fred Roggin and I gave it a good solid effort. One of the cool things is that Kobe had already posted our Remix of Superstar by Lupe Fiasco on his www.KB24.com website, and we played it for him and got his reaction to the musical stylings of Mario Ruiz and me.

The headline from the conversation is that Kobe is happy in LA. He tells us that there is great camaraderie with his current teammates and that he's thrilled by the development of younger players like Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic. Hear the whole Kobe Bryant interview at this link .