"The ultimate thrill seeker has been having so much bleeping fun meeting this particular challenge that he's going to be a little sorry to see it go.

Poor Kobe Bryant. The torn lunotriquetral ligament in his right wrist is actually healing.

Even as he revealed his seemingly good news about the wrist improving despite all this abuse he has put it through to stand as the NBA's 33-year-old scoring leader, Bryant practically scoffed late Wednesday night at the actual importance of him being 100 percent again.

"I scored back-to-back 40's with a (bleeped)-up wrist," Bryant said, his eyes still gleaming at the just-completed achievement. "What does it matter if it's still (bleeped)-up in the playoffs?""