Okay, this one's going to be a long one, I highly suggest printing it out or just hitting 'ctrl F' to find some things about:
The Celtics
Kobe Bryant
Tiger Woods
Ah, McPaper
News while in Florida
Missed that part of Journalism class
and now....on to the show under the Big Top:
The Celtics-Oh Happy Day!!!!! I have been silent since before this series even started, but now that it's all over, I can honestly sit here and state how happy I am and how much I'd like to laugh at most of the 'knowledgeable' sports reporters around this country. Most of them picked the Lakers, in either 5 or six games. The only person I can remember stating on TV that the C's would win in 6 is Jon Barry. Jon's a nice guy, I ran into him at a dive bar down the street from my house right after he retired a couple of years ago. Very weird to see a guy like him in a complete hole like that, but it was even cooler that he never put on any heirs, he was a beer drinking guy, just like the rest of us.
The series kind of went the way I expected it to, except that I really thought that Kobe Bryant would play a whole lot bigger and better than he did. More on him in a bit.
My favorite part of the series, other than the C's getting to win in front of the home crowd? And the crowd screaming 'Dee-Fense!!!' while Doc Rivers was being interviewed after receiving the Larry O'Brien trophy? I know it wreaks of pettiness and could be construed as borderline evil, I don't care--it was Sasha Vujacic throwing a temper tantrum during the 4th quarter of the Lakers Game 4 meltdown. Where's my MasterCard-Priceless ad campaign for that? I simply loved that after the game I got to hear some state that the Lakers lost that game, not that the Celtics had won it. Excuse me? Were we watching the same game? The Celtics played great defense all year, and as KG stated all season, it was their team backbone, what they hung their collective hat on. So it's not like it was something new. Besides, did everyone forget that KG was Defensive Player of the Year?
Some of my other thoughts about other games in the series:
Game 1-hey Bill Platschke of the LA Times and Lakers Coach Phil Jackson, F_U! You both have a ton of nerve questioning Paul Pierce being hurt, insinuating he's a faker. Really? Guy got stabbed 11 times 8 years ago and was playing 3 weeks later, and you want to question if he was hurt. What would your reaction be if a 280-lb guy feel on your leg and you heard a pop? Add to it that you've never heard that noise on your own body. Jackson was the best, trying to bring his old teammate Willis Reed into the discussion. Funny Phil, didn't your stud Michael Jordan have a great game in Utah with the flu, and you called his game 'remarkable'? Zip it, you dirty old hippy. Jordan had the flu...and basketball was his job. I know people that go to work everyday with cancer playing games with their bodies. Just stop already. Phil, I'm pretty sure you're done with coaching, and I don't blame you. I don't like the players on that Lakers team much, either. Especially the scripted star.
Game 2-scared out of my mind after the Lakers came roaring back...but what everyone failed to mention was that the C's won...they didn't hold on, they won the game. Sure wasn't pretty, but there are no 'show' points for being up 2-0 in a 7 game series. The talk after the game was the free throw disparity, with the C's holding a 38-10 advantage. But did anyone look at the foul calls? 28-21 in favor of Boston. Maybe, just maybe, if the Lakers had gone to the hole instead of settling for jumpers they would've gotten to the FT line. Leon Powe certainly took advantage of it.
Game 3-who here was shocked that not only did the Lakers win, but Kobe had more FT attempts in the 1st quarter than the whole Lakers did after Game 2 and all the complaining? Yeah, me neither.
Game 4-Greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. Oh, and at this point in time I'm wondering if Vujacic and Jordan Farmar shouldn't just start pummeling each other. Maybe work on that pick and roll D, huh fellas?
Game 5-The C's should've closed it out here, and wasted a fantastic performance from Paul Pierce, who finished with 38, and no one, not even 1st Team All-D Kobe Bryant could stop him...except for that 'Ole' steal he got to close the game out and try and give the AP a fantastic photo-op. On that 'steal', and yes-I'm definitely putting it in quotation marks-I talked to my brother the next day, and I think he made a great point. That 'steal' may work in prison hoops and pickup games, but anywhere there is an official, be it little kids to high school to college, that's a foul, every single time. Except when David Stern needs more TV money-don't worry, he's on the docket at the end of this whole blog. I also enjoyed KG stating after the game that he played like garbage, and even had some media folks calling him 'the little ticket'. Like he didn't know he stunk up the joint? Thanks for the ammo.
Game 6-And The Truth, shall set you free. Well, this game was over before it started. I could just feel it. Sometimes, you just know. KG came out huge in the first half, and ended with 26 pts and 14 boards. But what most people keep forgetting about this man is that he is all heart, all the time. He swears too much, talks to himself like a mad man, but he brought every tool in the shed to this game. I think having the Beast Kendrick Perkins by his side helped, too. This game was over halfway thru the 2nd quarter, after Eddie House and James Posey hit back to back 3's. It was done. The last of the Lakers will was spent, never to return. So much for heart, eh, Mr. Bryant? The final margin of victory was 39 points, but it was never in doubt or even that close. If you watched the game, you know that it was over before halftime, and that Phil Jackson was disgusted with this team and it's piss-poor defensive effort. I understand that sometimes you get lost running a shooter down of off screens...but Ray Allen, after coming back from a legit eye-scratch, had time to catch read, label, stamp and mail 4 3's home in the 4th quarter? And to those who may cry that it was running up the score....I have nothing but pity for you. If you don't like it, stop him then. My least favorite part of this game was Lamar Odom. Way to get tough and start talking crap in the 4th quarter when you're down by 30. I get this strange suspicion you won't be missed if you got traded over the summer.
I love that the MVP was Paul Pierce, and he didn't even shoot that great in this game...but he did have 9 assists at halftime.
Here's someone else's take, who was at the game, for how awesome this truly was.
And that's it, that's all, that's all there is-Beastie Boys (how fitting)
Kobe Bryant
I've never liked the man. There, now you know before you read the rest of it. I hold this man in contempt much like I do Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens. He's a phony and a fraud. It started with me a long time ago, but very recently it caught my ire again. Right before the MVP winning, honestly. I had a strange feeling it would happen, and then, at halftime of Game 3, it was shoved up my ass (pun intended) by ABC/ESPN. This has to rank as one of the most scripted fluff pieces on any athlete I've seen in a long time. Are you trying to just punch me in the face and then tell me a ghost did it? Kobe, stop it, please. You are a travesty of a husband, and of a father, and even of a teammate. How can I say this? Easy. You're a travesty and a joke of a husband because you were caught cheating on your wife here in Colorado not 4 years ago, yet you have the nerve to put her on TV like your whole family is fine? You're a travesty of a father because you pimp your daughter/s out much like you do to your wife, especially after games at press conferences. Teammate? You know what, I saw you give dirty looks to your teammates, only when the cameras allowed it. I'll let Curt Schilling, who was sitting next to the Lakers bench in Game 2, tell us all about it...unreal to me. Kobe may be a great scorer, but I'm tired of listening to the national media blow him, and of him letting it happen. When ABC told him that they wanted to do a piece on him as a family man, he should have declined. And then as a token, tell them he appreciates it but he is still working on his marriage, maybe they should do a feature on Lamar Odom, who lost a child last summer, or even Derek Fisher, who came back to LA for his daughter and her illness. Wouldn't that be better than a man who was charged with rape, gave a girl such a good time that she needed anal stitches, whose public apology included an 8-carat ring trying to tell me he's a good person and a great teammate? And to those that may try and give me a rebuttal on the whole rape thing-just because charges are dropped doesn't mean no crime was committed. To me, in my world, adultery is a crime. Maybe not of legality, but certainly of morality. I could care less that it happens every day, still doesn't make it right.
Tiger Woods
Alright, NBC, are you happy now??? Good grief. We get it, he's in pain. Know what else? No one is making him play in this tournament. Here's another little secret-dude is in fantastic shape, brought weight training into golf, and he's not the only one who's ever had a scope done on his knee. Me, I've blown mine out, how come no one is kissing my ass for walking up steps? Get over him already, please. What he's doing is not heroic, by any means. LaDanian Tomlinson sitting out most of the AFC Championship this year is more heroic than Tiger. Why? Because he knew he couldn't run on a sprained knee and that he could hurt his team. Tiger? He may have won a great tourney, but now he's going to have to have ACL surgery, because he has a stress fracture in that knee. Wish I could say I was shocked, but again, I'm tired of the media blowing him. How come no one chastised him when he was chucking his clubs around on Sunday? Tiger's not all bad, though. While I may not be a huge fan, I do love that he wants to win, and even crush, his opponents.
Ah, McPaper
That is the term that my Dad gave the USA Today many years ago, and it still seems to ring true. I'm only going to use June 5th to illustrate some stories, mostly of a 'WTF' variety..First is an article about wedding invites now being done over the internet, touching on being 'green' and all that crap. I call it cheap. But then there is a sidebar, talking about putting your friends in A,B,C and even D-lists...and if someone cancels you can invite them, even tell them that they are a B,C, or D squad invitee. Wow, tacky has taken a new turn, and it sure ain't pretty. If anyone invited me to a wedding that way, I'd send them a bag of poop with my decline. Next up was this gem of a letter to the editor..anyone know someone in Maryland to smack this dope around? If this isn't the Ricki Lake show defense of 'You don't know me', I don't know what to call it then. Apparently bojangling for your own people is okay, because they don't listen to the message. Right....because Italians never follow what the Pope says, hmmm?
News while in Florida
Well, the big news was Hulk Hogan's son Nick being thrown in jail and all the nonsense that went along with it. And then, this happened. Nick, at least you can get laid once you both get out of the pokey....provided you still look like you could be in high school, I'm sure.
Other news included police shot and killed a 17 year old who was firing a gun outside a high school graduation party. Now, I would find this sad....until you keep reading. Come to find out that the kid was also running away from the cops and shooting at them. And a gun was found next to his body. Now, this is all alleged, and of course the kid is black and the cop is white, so now Al Sharpton and the church and any other group that can get on TV is screaming racism. Well, not me, and here's why....the last line in the article states that this kid just finished his sophomore year of high school. Huh? He's 17!!!! I graduated high school at 17. Am I missing something here?
And the other big thing in Tampa while I was there was the story of a man who wants to raise a Confederate Flag on his property. Of course he wants to raise it high enough so that all can see it. His house just happens to sit between 2 major highways. Hence the big stink. Me, I think it's comical. The South lost. There, I said it. And I know it means a lot of things to a lot of different people down there in the South, but the man does have a right to his property. If he wants to raise a big flag and show his allegiance and ignorance, so be it. I sure wouldn't want to be his neighbor, that much is for certain.
Missed that part of Journalism class
So I was reading the Denver Post Monday morning, and as I'm flipping thru the business section, I see ads for massage parlors and erotic rub-downs. I must have missed the day or the paper or something. I thought I found that stuff in the Westword or online, not a major daily newspaper. Maybe I was out for that day in journalism day when they discussed advertising and where to place it.
Alright, I'm tired, so I'm going to wrap this up for now...but rest assured that more is coming tomorrow, including:
Sports
Gas Prices
'Fathers Day'
The Marines
Various
happy saturday
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