FanNation - The Republic of Sport

I had a very tough time uploading images so this is a week late but somehow it feels like much longer.

Just a quick little article to close out the NBA playoffs. Anyway, last week the Westcoast suffered a Black Tuesday. In fact, there was a moment when I thought the SAP button had been accidentally pressed until I realized the voice I heard wasn't a Spanish broadcaster, nope ... it was Phil Jackson crying out, 'no mas, no mas!'

Even the most die hard Laker fans were not surprised to see the series end on Tuesday but I can't imagine anyone expected such a lopsided loss. I imagine the ratings were good but not great, then again last year's Finals set an all-time low ratings record so there was plenty of room for improvement. It's not inconceivable to think they could be paired up again in the near future but something tells me that only one of the two finalist will likely be back next year.

First Quarter 20-24

Not only was this quarter the closest scoring margin but it was looking as if Kobe would go for 40 points. For those few minutes it was the Celtics as a unit scrambling to keep pace with one player until the first of many 3's began to rain into the hole and onto the scoreboard. Still, the game was young and nobody on the LA bench seemed concerned, Phil even joked with the media that they were going to ride Kobe's shoulders until the other players got into their groove.

Second Quarter 15-34

For several agonizing minutes this quarter felt more like a Buggs Bunny cartoon match-up than an actual game. For a long time we wondered whether or not the Lakers would get past their scoring slump and move beyond the 6 or 7 points they had managed to score. Even with a few quick whistles in the 1st and 2nd quarter giving LA technical free throws it was already beginning to look pretty bad. Then, it got worse ... much worse. Suddenly any circus shot, rushed three pointer, free throw, whatever Boston tossed near the rim was going into the basket. It was clear, if the Lakers were going to stage a comeback they would need to beat Boston's historic road comeback by a point . Meanwhile, Kobe and Phil wondered where the other starters for LA had disappeared to.

Third Quarter 25-31

True, Kobe had gone cold in the 2nd quarter but everyone knows that shooters will continue to shoot and eventually they'll start going in again. Better yet, go inside a few times and either get a basket to drop or else draw the contact and foul. This was one of the best 3rd quarters the Lakers had enjoyed in this series but Boston did it's damage early and late. Early, they padded their lead answering tough baskets by LA with a three pointer at their end. The lead grew and then LA went on a mini-run to get within 23 points and had possession of the ball. Turnover - 3 pointer - Miss / Turnover - 3 pointer. Game - Set - Match. Boston ended on a mini-run of it's own thus negating LA's charge and burying them deeper into the ground with one quarter to play.

Fourth Quarter 32-42

There's an old made for TV movie called Extremities starring Farah Fawcett. In that movie her character is attacked by a stranger and she's able to overwhelm him, trap him, and spends a good amount of time torturing him. It's a brutal beat down and despite the horrible things he did to her one of her own friends is horrified at her actions and begs for mercy on his behalf.

Growing up in LA it was neat to see the Lakers get into the play-offs and my brother took me to a couple of home games during one of the Boston -vs- LA finals but I didn't think about it as a semi-permanent rivalry. Apparently some of you, maybe most of you do think it's a rivalry. Tuesday night, the game was well decided and yet the Boston starters kept playing until there were only 3 or 4 minutes left - and - continued to pour in 3 pointers, dunks, grab steals, do what they could to embarrass their rival.

Through it all, nobody on the Boston side ever begged for mercy on behalf of LA and the head coach apparently thought he was Farah Fawcett. I know that Phil has done it to others in the past but a person should demonstrate their own class by how they act towards their enemies. I lost a lot of respect for Doc that night. Congrats to Celtic fans, and remember the last one was over twenty years ago so enjoy it while it lasts.

Aftermath 92-131

My favorite moment of the post game celebration was the microphone picking up an exchange between the Boston and LA assistant coaches. You couldn't hear what the Boston coach said but I distinctly heard JC respond with 'don't worry about us ... we'll be back ... we'll remember this.' Perplexed look on the Boston coach's face. I think Jim was telling him, you won this game, you won the series, and you humiliated us on your home court - thanks for the extra motivation.

An upgrade at point guard would be ideal but the mere addition of Bynum will add much needed defensive presence and offensive rebounding. This is the NBA and there is no guarantee that a team will ever get back to this point again. Afterall, it's all about match-ups, look at WAS vs CLE in recent play-offs or PHO vs SA. That said, LA has the core group and resources to pursue one or two more seasoned veterans. So my gut tells me that Boston may have blown their wad and is looking at a 2nd round exit next year; especially if they suffer a key injury. Meanwhile, it looks to me like LA has another run or two in them ... if they can get past a battered San Antonio in the 2nd round and New Orleans in the Western Finals next year.

Until the next time my friends, take care and have a nice day - and remember, Baseball is in full swing and FOOTBALL is just around the corner!

A guy about to tee off was approached by a man who held out a card that read, "I am a deaf mute. May I please play through?"

The first man gave the card back, angrily shaking his head, and saying, "No, you CANNOT play through." He assumed the guy read lips so he mouthed, "I can't believe you would try to use your handicap to your own advantage like that! Shame on you!"

The deaf man walked away and the first man whacked the ball onto the green and then walked off to finish the hole.(See attached file: ba.zip)

Just as he was about to put the ball into the hole he was hit in the head with a golf ball that knocked him out cold.

When he came to a few minutes later, he looked around and saw the deaf mute sternly looking at him, one hand on his hip, the other hand holding up four fingers.

(forgot to resize pics before uploading - my apologies - kept the images to a minimum so hopefully they'll all be viewable)