Rivalry Renewed

Watching Game 5 of the Celtics/Magic series at home with my roommate was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. I haven't seen such miserable and one-sided officiating in quite a while. A loyal reader and friend called me "Boston's Spike Lee sans court-side seats." Ugh, what I would do with court-side seats. Just so I can get it out there: the fact that both of the technical fouls on Kendrick Perkins were not rescinded is patently absurd. The video footage is beyond clear. Does anything happen to the refs when they screw up that badly?

I struggled on StubHub for over an hour before buying tickets to Game 6. I walked towards the Garden last Friday evening half-full of hope. After being up 3-0 on the verge of a sweep they had suffered an overtime loss and a "Game That Shall Not Be Named." The Celtics had responded well to one devastating loss already (Game 3, Cavs series) but could they do it again?

From the opening tip, the Celtics played their brand of basketball - team basketball. Paul Pierce stepped into the driver seat early and ended the night with 4-5 3pt shooting and a team best 31 pts/13 reb. Ray Allen did his fair share with 20 pts. Both teams shot 27 free throws, but Boston hit 81.5% of them, Orlando: only 59.3%. The Celtics held the lead all the way to the final buzzer, 96-84, and punched their ticket to the NBA Finals for the 2nd time in 3 years.

And after a decisive Game 6 win in Phoenix ("Black Mamba" Kobe made an incredible appearance - Kobe was hitting deep jumpers while being guarded tighter than Fort Knox; do yourself a favor and watch the replays), the Lakers are returning for another installment in an epic and storied rivalry.

Both teams have changed, though there's a chip on the Lakers shoulder to be sure. Over the last two years, Rajon Rondo has stepped into a leadership role on the team, truly maturing and becoming the future of the Boston Celtics. Over those same two years, Kobe Bryant proved that he didn't need Shaq after all and won his 4th NBA title, looking more and more like the less-selfish leader we all wanted him to be.

The matchups coming up this Thursday will certainly be intriguing. Does Ray or Pierce guard Kobe? How do the Celtics handle the new and improved Pau Gasol? Can Derek Fisher keep up with Rajon Rondo? Which teams' bench will step up to the occasion? Who will be the MVP? There will only be one way to find out the answers and that will be to watch every minute of this year's version of the NBA Finals. I cannot wait.

PS - Go Celtics.

A Tale of Two Teams

After the Boston Celtics were brought back from the dead by the Playoffs (or by Quentin Richardson, depending on who you ask), they routed the Miami Heat save for one eviscerating Dwayne Wade performance. And after suffering one of the most embarrassing home losses in the history of the NBA, the team rediscovered their identity (i.e. D-FENCE) and dethroned King James in what was supposed to be his magical year.

But now the true test was supposed to come. A strong Orlando Magic team that was cutting through playoff teams like Poland in 1939 was the next challenge for what so many commentators, announcers, players, coaches, and I labeled an “old, washed up” Celtics team. The Magic had convincingly beaten the Charlotte Bobcats and absolutely crushed the Atlanta Hawks. How would the Celtics fare?

In Game 1, the Boston Celtics stifled a rusty Orlando offense that perhaps had too many days off. Many seemed to forget that the Dwight Howard’s biggest nemesis was Kendrick Perkins, and the Celtics contained him well. Neither team played well. After stealing home court advantage back from the Magic, the C’s came back for Game 2 hungry for more.

In a tougher contest that came down to a missed Jameer Nelson last-second shot, the Celtics outlasted a late 4^th quarter surge from the Magic that had me more nervous than a 7^th grader with his first slow dance.

Game changer: on one end of the floor, Paul Pierce hits two free throws with confidence. On the other end of the floor, same situation Vince Carter bricks not one, but two free throws. Vince Carter! I’m sorry, but your legacy has been forever cemented. We will talk about this game as the Vince Carter free throws game from now on.

But none of this matters if the Magic were able to rebound, like the Celtics had, from these losses; if they were able to focus on their strengths and play around their weaknesses; if they were able to beat Boston in Game 3 at the Garden.

What happened on Saturday night at the TD Garden in Boston, MA was nothing short of a massacre, annihilation. The Boston Celtics put on a 48-minute clinic. My buddy Max described it as “the best display of team basketball [he had] ever seen.” I was inclined to agree. The C’s leading scorer was Glen Davis with 17 pts. Rondo was outstanding; Ray Allen found some rhythm,; Pierce and Garnett were great on both sides of the floor; stifling defense and relentless offense ran the Orlando Magic right out of the Garden. With 15 points in the 1^st quarter and 13 in the 3^rd, the Magic didn’t stand a chance. Dwight Howard was nowhere to be found.

But what was even more astounding than the Celtics relentless play was the seeming indifference of the Orlando Magic. So many plays lacked urgency – wake up, Dwight: it’s the Eastern Conference Finals and all 6’1” of Rajon Rondo is beating you to a loose ball rebound. After a while it seemed that it was beyond a lack of urgency – it had escalated to apathy if not full-blown laziness. None of these are qualities you want to have down 2-0 on the road in the NBA.

Tonight is Game 4 in Boston with the Celtics up 3-0 in the series. Only time will tell what happens tonight, but one thing is for sure. The Magic didn’t make it easy on themselves. Oh wait, one more thing is for sure. There is nothing on this Earth that could prevent me from being in front of a television at 8:30PM EST tonight. Boston Celtics vs. the Orlando Magic.

Game time.

The Collapse

As noted previously, I'm a recent convert to the world of hockey, but there are certain things you can appreciate whether you know who led the league in points in 1967 (Stan Mikita, Chicago Blackhawks), or if you're forced to watch hockey when you'd rather watch "Say Yes to the Dress," (two of my roommates): catastrophic collapse and failure.

When a person or team is so sure of victory, convinced that they will succeed, their supporters and fans become sure of it, convince themselves of that certainty. They look forward to the next round, the next match, the next challenge.

But sometimes they don't make it. It starts slowly with an innocent setback, a loss that has every fan say something along the lines of, "It's just one game, man. We've got this.," or "It's only the 3rd quarter - we'll come back strong."

And then there's another one. "We're still up, don't worry. We just have to win next time."

And another. "I can't believe this is Game 7. At least we're at home."

Then it happens one last time. "I cannot believe this is happening. This is actually happening."

The Boston Bruins last week joined a select rank of teams that managed to lose a 3-0 lead in a best of 7 series and fail to make it to the next round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That hurts enough, but it was the way they lost that hurt Bruins fans even more. At one point in the game, with a 3-0 lead in the 1st period, my roommate, Bruins fan, proudly announced, "This is what we needed - to come out strong and score some goals."

By the time the final horn sounded, the score was 4-3 Philadelphia, and the Flyers took the series, 4-3. A coworker of mine said on Tuesday, a full four days after the game, "It still hurts. I can't stop thinking about it. I feel like I've been stabbed." A Red Sox fan as well, he even went on to say, "So this is what Yankees fans felt like. This is awful." Whoa.

While the Bruins were by no means Stanley Cup favorites, by wrapping up the regular season on a good note and beating a strong Buffalo team in the first round, they gave their fans hope and confidence, a confidence that was then betrayed on that Friday night at the Garden.

Teams that suffer these setbacks are faced with the "How are they going to respond?" question. Some teams are able to rebound, maybe not in the next game, but next year (2008, 2009 LA Lakers), some teams are cast into a horrible downward spiral from which it seems they will never escape (Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns), and some teams don't count because of extenuating circumstances (2008 NE Patriots, Tom Brady's knee).

The impact on the fan is undeniable. I'm not allowed to say the words "Wide right" in front of my girlfriend, who is from Buffalo (or "No goal" for that matter). I'm not allowed to talk about Aaron Boone in front of my roommate (which is fine because I can't stand him anyway). And I guarantee you no Lakers fan wants to talk about Game 4, 2008. One of Boston's sports radio stations, WEEI, labeled this "the worst loss in Bruins history." We will have to see how the team, the fans, and the city respond next year.

Game 6: The Game that Changed Everything

Thursday was one of the longest workdays I can remember. Time was crawling. I would work for an hour, check the clock, and then realize that it had only been 4 minutes. I couldn't wait to get out of there - I had tickets to Game 6 of the Boston Celtics/Cleveland Cavaliers series at the Garden.

Bill Simmons called it the "concrete pouring game" when we, the fans, would be able to cement a solid grasp of what type of player Lebron James is; in an article earlier this season, Simmons contended that LBJ had the "Jordan/Erving/Thompson DNA strain," but in a Game 6 recap column he wrote that we have to "Take the Jordan DNA out...

"Jordan was a killer. Jordan didn't care if his teammates despised him. Jordan never, ever, not in a million years, would have allowed his team to quit in the final two minutes of Thursday night's game the way LeBron did. His teammates feared him, loathed him, revered him and played accordingly. Bird had that same quality. In the second half of his career, so did Magic. Winning meant so much to those guys that their teammates almost didn't have a choice; they had to follow suit. Or else."

Exactly. So which Lebron was going to show up on Thursday? And for that matter, which Celtics team was going to show up? Games 4/5 Celtics or Game 3 Celtics (what I like to call the "I'm going to continue to pretend that was a violent nightmare" game)? But wait, isn't that interesting?

We wondered which Boston Celtics TEAM was going to show up for Game 6, but only which Lebron James, an individual, was going to play. At its very core, this is why Lebron has not won a title - the championship cannot be won on the shoulders of one great player. It's just like going to meet girls at a bar - if you're stunningly handsome and a great smooth-talker, they're still going to wonder why you're alone. You need a rock star wing-man, the Robin to your Batman. He doesn't have that in Cleveland, and at this rate, will never have it.

But back to the game: the Garden was a jungle that night.

The first Celtics possession, Kevin Garnett took it to Antwawn Jamison and hit a beautiful turn-around jumper... and then he did it again... and again. After three possessions and three KG buckets, you could tell he was going to put on a show. Watching KG hobble around at the end of the season was candidly disheartening, if not all-out depressing. But that night, he was back. And the Garden knew it.

But it wasn't all Celtics - Mo Williams had 20 pts. in the first half, and my buddies and I were worried that All-Star Mo Williams had come back from the dead. Back and forth, up and down, the game went on with plenty of excitement, not always from the usual suspects. In the 2nd quarter, Tony Allen posterized Antawn Jamison and the Garden went bonkers. Here was the guy who makes every true Celtics fan nervous when he has the ball dominating the guy who was going to help LBJ get to the championship. Perfect.

The game was tight all the way through the end of the 3rd quarter, 76-67. Then LBJ came out and gave the Garden their first "Oh no" moment of the night. He dribbled right up to the three point line and absolutely drilled it. The C's had an awful possession and then LBJ went down the court, came off a screen at the top of the key and fired again. Buckets. Oh, S#!*.

But that was it. The C's called a time out, regrouped and handled that 4 point lead and grew it to 9 by the end of the game, with the Boston faithful screaming for all 48 minutes. I've never been part of a crowd like that before. It was incredible. One other thing that was incredible: with 2:07 left in the 4th quarter, down 9 the Cleveland Lebronettes showed about as much urgency as George Bush during Katrina, i.e. none.

My father as I was growing up always said, "Find out what puts a fire in your belly and chase it with unbridled passion. Never let anyone stop you." For Michael Jordan it was winning, for Peyton Manning it's advertising dollars, and for Mark McGwire it was biceps... er, homeruns. But Lebron couldn't will himself or his team to fight anymore, and that is a big question mark.

The Celtics closed out the game with a few 3pt shots from Pierce and (shockingly) Rasheed Wallace. But the "Most Thunderous Moment" Award goes to Kevin Garnett. Rondo and KG were on a fast break and KG got the call about 8ft. from the basket. Regular season KG lays that in off the glass. Game 6 KG, elevated, all 18,624 fans elevated with him, and he threw down a vicious one-handed dunk. You could probably hear the Garden from Cleveland.

So, now the C's face Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals, but the media story is LBJ's performance and future. Let it be said that while LBJ could have played better, the Celtics won this series because of post-season experience, outstanding defense, and a greater will to win. 'Nuff said.

Game 6, Lebron James: 27 pts, 19 reb, 10 ast, 9 turnovers. Or what I'll call, the most visually un-impressive triple double I've ever seen. I didn't know he had one until I checked the box score.

PS - speculating about where LBJ is going is a useful as speculating about what Brett Favre is going to do next year. Let's just see what happens. I just know that the Knicks just made a lot of money on season tickets on Thursday night.

A Weekend in Cincinnati

There is something truly awesome about your sports team rewarding your fan-dom with a great performance. This is one of the main reasons I love going to see sports live: there's always the potential to see something awe-inspiring. Buzzer-beaters, Hail Mary touchdown passes, anything in overtime hockey, and walk-off home runs - there's nothing like seeing your team pull one of these off, and it's all that much sweeter when you're there to see it live.

I love baseball, but my team doesn't often give me many of these moments. Our last World Series victory was in 1990 - I was three years old. Cincinnati has a phenomenally rich baseball history, but the river has been somewhat dry recently. One thing I can't be accused of being, however, is a fair-weather fan. And though I live in Boston now, when I come home for the weekend, I have to go to a Reds game.

This weekend was a home series against the Cubs and a great chance to get together with the old crew for some live baseball, some beers, and a night out on the town. It started out innocently enough with some cornhole (look it up, best day-drinking game ever) and then it was down to the stadium for the game. While it wasn't a walk-off or a no hitter we watched an unexpectedly good outing from Aaron Harang (6.68 ERA for the year; 6.2 innings, 9 K's, 2 ER last night) from the seats in the picture above as Joey Votto led the offense in a rout of the Chicago Cubs, 14-2. Then, we went bowling.

And at some point during one of the rounds of beers or bowling, Brandon Phillips walked in and started bowling in the lane next to us.

Bill Simmons describes the "when a celebrity walks into a room" situation as a big gush of wind. He said that about Michael Jordan, so obviously the whoosh wasn't as big, but it was there. We don't know why, but we idolize these people - we want them to write their names on our clothing in permanent marker, we take pictures with our phone when we think they aren't looking, we whisper in hushes about little things they do (like not taking off their sunglasses at a blacklight bowling alley, true story). We love meeting our idols even if they act like total jerks to us - it's an experience that you'll tell everyone in your immediate circle of friends at least twice before they say, "Yeah, man, you already told me."

Tomorrow I head back to Boston after a great weekend home, and I'll be heading back with a signed Brandon Phillips jersey and a wealth of great memories. Man, I love sports.

PS - as I write this, Rajon Rondo just had one of the best playoff performances I've ever seen. The "MVP!" chants from the Boston faithful during late free throws as Lebron James looked on were priceless. Go Celtics.

The Numerous Felons League

It seems that we can't turn the television on without getting another story about an NFL player accused of (fill in the felony). Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress, Ricky Williams, Chris Henry (RIP), the 2006-08 Cincinnati Bengals, Donte Stallworth, Ben Roethlisbeger, and now Lawrence Taylor to name a few have all had run-ins with the law in the past decade or so. Their crimes include (but are not limited to) drug possession, sexual assault, gun possession, shootings, drunk driving, and manslaughter.

I mean, let's be honest, besides the Gilbert Arenas gun fiasco earlier this season, the NBA has really improved its image, especially since the fallout from the infamous Pacers/Pistons brawl. David Stern suspended Arenas for the rest of the season no matter what the courts decided. When was the last time the MLB had problems with players breaking the law when it didn't involve steroids?

Roethlisberger has been involved in two cases of sexual assault; no charges have been filed, and he's missing somewhere between 4-6 games next season. (This case also fascinates me for one other reason: what if Big Ben was black? Ooh, let the speculation begin...)

The NFL must have the highest employee to felon ratio second to Congress. Isn't this something that Roger Goddell should spend some time on? Is this not indicative of a distinct cultural problem within the NFL as opposed to the often used "a few bad apples" theory? Sports Illustrated's newest issue shines the light on this concept using Roethlisberger as a case study, and it is truly illuminating. This has got to stop somewhere, and it begins with the enabling people and culture described in the article.

After-hours addition:

I guess what irritates me at the very core of this contentious issue is this: these people have been given amazing athletic ability (so much so that people will pay money to sit in an uncomfortable seat for the 3 or more hours to watch them do just that), they play a GAME for a living (and get paid obscene amounts of money to do so), and they just don't appreciate it. I (clearly) dedicate obscene amounts of my time to following sports and the people that play them, and situations like this just leave me with a profound disappointment. You should know better, and you should live better.

Alright, up next, something less depressing, I promise.