Kobe Bryant is feelin' all his years

— -- CHICAGO -- This is one battle Kobe Bryant isn't going to win, and he knows it. Maybe Father Time will let him finish the season in relative health, maybe some part or all of next season. But not Christmas night in Chicago.

We met in the tunnel of the United Center, where the visiting team enters and exits, and the exchange went like this.

"Merry Christmas ... "

Merry Christmas to you, too. How are you feeling?

"Old ... I'm feeling old."

Kobe was smiling but not kidding. A few minutes later, it was official. Kobe Bryant, a man who at times seemed nearly indestructible as basketball players go, was a no-go for the prime-time Christmas night date his  Lakers had with the Bulls. The only player in professional basketball the past 20 years who has owned the big stage more brilliantly than Kobe Bryant is Michael Jordan. So to not play in the arena Jordan built, in Jordan's town, on Christmas night, with the whole basketball world watching ... imagine how bad Kobe had to feel, head to toe.

Actually, we didn't have to imagine because Kobe told us before the game. When asked whether he could pinpoint one thing that was keeping him out of the lineup on Christmas night, he said with stunning candor, "Old age. My knees are sore.  My Achilles are sore -- both of them. My metatarsals are tight. My back is tight. I just need to kind of hit the reset button. ... It's extremely difficult, especially playing here, playing on Christmas Day and playing in this city. I love playing here. The fans have always been great. There's always a lot of energy in the building. At the same time, I've just got to try to be smart. It's really going against my nature, but I've got to be smart about this."