Laura Lane covers the Lakers for ESPN.com. She wrote a mildly invasive item about that weird purple tutu thing that Vanessa Bryant wore on the floor the night Kobe picked up his MVP award. Then after game 2 of the San Antonio series, Lane was leaving the Lakers locker room when Vanessa lit into her. Lane attributes it in part to the "rumors" of Kobe bonking one of the Laker Girls — "a hotter version of his wife who is also named Vanessa" — who has suddenly vanished from the squad.

So as I’m walking out of the Lakers locker room after some post-game interviews with the players, I pass Vanessa, who is sitting outside the locker room as usual with her two girls.

“Laura!” she screams (yes, she apparently knows my name). “Fuck you! You fucking bitch!”

“Excuse me?” I say, completely baffled as I look around me to see if there is someone else named Laura. No, there’s not.

Her daughters – ages 5 and 2 – are sitting next to her on the bench looking at their mom as she screams.

[More f-words ensue. Many more.]

I just stare at her. I’ve heard many stories about her from reporters, but this was unbelievable. Two of my friends from the LA Times told me how she cussed out one of them last season, because he said hi to her daughter. “Join the club, this means you’ve arrived,” said one reporter when word spread of my run-in with Vanessa. “She’s insane,” said another. “Everyone knows it.”

Lane is a 2007 USC grad who has worked at E! Online and was Ryan Seacrest's intern for awhile. She blogs, "The sad part is before all of this I kind of liked Vanessa and I thought we hit it off. She doesn't give a fuck about anything. She wears these insane outfits, struts around Staples Center like a queen, shows off her daughters and lets them run around the hall way playing tag while reporters are trying to get by....As a journalist I am going to piss people off. That’s just the nature of the business. I never want to or intend to piss people off, but if you’re not pissing people off occasionally, then you are constantly kissing ass."