beefy

::: in case you haven't heard or don't care, number 8 for the lakers -- kobe bryant -- has been on fire in epic proportions...

[source: espn.com, visited 1/10/06]

...with his recent scoring outputs of 45, 48, 50, and 45 pts, kobe has done what no player has accomplished since wilt chamberlain in 1964 ::: four straight games of 45 or more points...

[source: espn.com, visited 1/10/06]

...in honor of kobe's beefy numbers, here's a brief wikipedia blurb on one of kobe's most famous signature items...

...kobe beef（神戸牛） is beef from a 'wagyu' cow...

[image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_beef per GNU Free Documentation License]

...kobe beef is renowned for its flavor, tenderness, and fatty well-marbled texture...these qualities are a result of their excellent genetic characterisics...cows of the same breed are raised this way in japan, texas, california, virginia, and australia, but can only be called Kobe beef if slaughtered in kobe, japan...

...it is rumored that the cows that produce kobe beef are massaged and fed beer to increase the quality of the meat...

[image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_beef per GNU Free Documentation License]

...while kobe beef cattle are massaged and fed beer, this most likely has little to do with the quality of the beef...cattle in japan have little room to exercise and this can cause soreness in their muscles which reduces their appetite...the massaging helps to reduce the soreness...the yeast in the beer likewise increases the appetite of the cow...the kobe industry does little to deny these stories because it adds to the mystique of the product...

...because true kobe beef is not exported from japan, 'kobe style' beef is produced from a crossbreed of wagyu and american angus cattle raised and slaughtered in the u.s....kobe beef must be ranked as grade A or B with fat BMS number 6 and over by JAMR (the japanese association of meat ranking)...

...it is said that only 3,000-4,000 kobe beef cattle are available each year in japan... consequently, kobe beef costs over $100 per pound in japan!...

[text and image sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobe_beef per GNU Free Documentation License]

...we're guessing that kobe has to average an even beefier 100 pts. per game before we can taste any of the $100 per pound beef...