Foil in The Oven Returns: Playoff Predictions

"I don't need your fucking sympathy, man. I need my fucking johnson"

--The Dude

I woke up this morning being 26 years old for the first time. That, in itself, is a lot to deal with. By the time we hit ten o'clock, I was trying to somehow make sense of the announcement that not only was Kevin Garnett not playing in round 1 of the playoffs, but he was most likely out for the entire postseason. I had resigned myself to the fact that he just needed rest. I didn't see this coming. Then, around 3:00, the news comes that John Madden is retiring from broadcoasting. I, personally, would have appreciated a little notice before his last game. By 5 o'clock tonight, Danny Ainge had suffered a heart attack. The guy is in great shape. And, he's only 50. I'm now more than halfway there. Needless to say, this was a very complicated day. A lot of ins, a lot of outs, a lot of what have yous. Fortunately, we've been adhering to a pretty strict drug regiment here to keep our minds, you know, limber.


I can't speak fully to the KG injury right now. All I can really say is that I have never been anywhere near this deflated by an sports injury. If there are any Patriots fans out there (so pretty much 3/4 of our readers), please leave some comments about how this stacks up against the Brady injury.

The one thing I was finally able to arrive at that gave me the strength to push on with my day and pump out these predictions was this:

at least this didn't happen last year.

Really, can you imagine how devastating this would have been last year? It's not much, but for now it's all I've got.

So, let's not wait any longer. Here are the picks (the West picks are without comment because I certainly don't watch enough of the West to say anything meaningful).




ROUND 1

EAST

Cleveland vs. Detroit:

The Pistons gave up on this season the minute they sent Chauncey Billups to Denver. They were, of course, open to the possibility of catching lightning in a bottle with AI, but more than anything this move was about Joe Dumars conceding that his group was no longer good enough to make it out of the East. As things currently stand, with a record below .500 and AI literally paying no dividends on the court (I hope this ungraceful exit is not the last we see of him), the question now becomes not who will win this series, but what type of series it will be.

The Pistons have played the Cavs tough this season. Rasheed Wallace has gone on the record as saying that he expects his team to re-gain their swagger once the post-season begins. I do believe in Detroit’s veteran leadership. I believe in the power of their home crowd and in their ability on defense to make LeBron James have to beat them all on his own. However, I also believe I’ve seen him do that before. Since then, he’s gotten better and Detroit has gotten worse.

The pick: Cleveland in 6.





Boston vs. Chicago:

This Bulls team is not the matchup I wanted for round 1. They really improved themselves at the trade deadline, and they've had the look over the past month of a team that could shake up the post-season. All that being said, they have no shot here. If they were a legitimate threat, they would have beaten Toronto last night (the news about KG wasn't out yet, they had something real to play for) at home. The absence of Luol Deng means big production for Paul Pierce. Kendrick Perkins will swallow Joakim Noah. Derrick Rose had a great season, but Rajon Rondo has blossomed into one of the league's premiere point guards. The Celtics have the advantage in every matchup.

The pick: Boston in 6






Orlando vs. Philadelphia:

There is no way Philly takes this series. They have no answer for Dwight Howard and don't have anybody that can shoot, which should translate to a lot of easy buckets in transition off of missed shots for the Magic. The Sixers are also horrendous in the half court, and Orlando’s ball movement should lead to a lot of good looks both on the interior and from long range.

I wanted to actually analyze the matchup here, but all I really needed to do was point out that the Celtics beat Philly on Tuesday night without KG or Ray Allen, and that it took overtime for the Sixers to knock off Cleveland’s athletic training staff last night.

The Pick: Orlando in 5







Hawks vs. Heat:

These should be great games to watch, regardless of the score is when you flip to them. It’s hard not to get excited about a team as athletic as the Hawks facing off against Dwayne Wade. I really want to take Miami here. I think that D-Wade has been just as spectacular as LeBron this season. I’m also excited to see how Michael Beasley performs in his first playoff series. If he is able to elevate his level of play, he could give his team the edge. Miami has really impressed me over the second half of the season. However, while most of the national media has been ignoring the Hawks, they have been playing incredibly consistent basketball. It’s hard not to give Atlanta the edge when you weigh the matchups. The Wade/Johnson matchup will be great to see, and I will be interested to see how much Miami gets out of Jermaine O'Neal. This is hands down the toughest one to pick, so I’m going with my gut:

Even though it doesn’t make sense: Heat in 6.







ROUND 1
WEST (ABRIDGED):

Lakers over Jazz in 4:

Nuggets over Hornets in 7: Note: I don't want to miss one minute of this series.

Houston over Portland in 6:- I know people are saying "nobody wants to catch Portland right now", but I think Ron Artest provides Houston with the mentality they need to advance to round 2.

San Antonio over Dallas in 6:







ROUND 2: EAST

Cleveland over Miami:

Regardless of whether they see Atlanta or Miami, I wouldn't be surprised to see Cleveland coast in round 2. Detroit is a tougher matchup.

The pick: Cavs in 5.





Boston over Orlando:

I'm not sold on Orlando, and there is nothing they can do against Philadelphia that will convince me otherwise. I can't help but wonder if the people who wrote them in as championship contenders last month have been paying any attention at all to what has been happening this month. They were certainly impressive in March (12-2), but they have come crashing back down to Earth in April (4-5 this month, including losses to Toronto, New York, New jersey, and an 18 point loss to the Bucks).

On March 25th, the Magic defeated Boston by 2, and moved the Celtics down to third place in the East. This was the last game in which Kevin Garnett was able to play (and his role was very limited). Leon Powe, Tony Allen, and Brian Scalabrine were all out as well. How could Orlando not have held on to that 2 seed? It's inexplicable. They are not contenders.

Kendrick Perkins will be the key to Boston's success in this series, as he is the NBA's premier Dwight Howard stopper. Throw in the fact that there are serious questions about the health of Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis, Boston is tough at home, and that there isn't anybody on the Magic capable of defending Paul Pierce, and this all adds up to a victory for the Cs.

The pick: Celtics in 7







WEST ROUND 2 (Abridged)


Lakers over Rockets in 5:

Spurs over Nuggets in 6:








Eastern Conference Finals:

Cavaliers over Celtics: There are many out there who say that the Cavs win this series even if it involves a healthy KG. I'm not one of those people. I think the Cavs are flawed, and I've felt all season long like the Celtics were the superior team. The two games the Cavs took from Boston this year were, in my opinion, two of the most uncharacteristically bad performances the Celtics turned in all season. Easter Sunday's performance was the worst (Pierce 4-17, totally flat performance, shooting 35% as a team). The statistics in these performances indicate that the Celtics would have lost to most NBA teams on these days. When they play at a level more aligned with their season averages, they have beaten Cleveland twice, including once with Kevin Garnett out.


So, just to clarify, if the Celtics were coming into this series with Kevin Garnett healthy, they would win. They simply have too much front line depth (KG, Perk, Big Baby, Leon, Mikki Moore) for Cleveland to handle.

But, we're dealing with reality here, and the reality is that I can't pick the Celtics to win this series. On paper, the Cavs seem harmless. Mo Williams? really? That's the other big gun? Delonte West? Don't try that shit with me. I'm well aware of what he can and can't do. When you look at the roster, and then you see how much LeBron is able to raise the level at which all of these guys play, you can't help but cast your MVP vote for anybody else. And, believe me, I'd like to.

The pick: Cleveland in 6





Western Conference Finals (abridged):

Lakers over Spurs in 5.








NBA Finals:

Lakers over Cavs in 5.

This is the Lakers' year, and nothing LeBron James does can change that. The Cavs will be totally outmatched in this series. There is no way they can compete with a front line of Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom. Number 24 is pretty good too. Even though he hasn't averaged so few points per game since 2004, I've never been more in awe of him.

Laker Mania

Awesome win by the Lakers last night. The EU must be celebrating like crazy right now. I even bet Gasol's hometown is acting like Spain won the World Cup.

Celebratory music is in order. I hope this song was playing in their locker room after the victory, but somehow I doubt it:





Kidding aside, this was an excellent series for those of you who stayed up to watch the mayhem. Don't ask me why, but late last night I woke up and had the following thought: this series has revolved around a series of pairs or numbers equalling two. For example, the series featured:

• Two of the best coaches in the league today.
• Two of the best players in the league
• Two double digit deficits erased by the Lakers (or two collapses by the Spurs)
• Dynamic duos on both teams
• 2 wins by each team during the regular season (Lakers won two against the Spurs; Spurs won two against the Lakers)
• Two fouls that should have been called at the end of a crucial game (No foul on Kobe and no Foul on Barry)
• Two years, two separate times the Lakers have played the Celts and Pistons, respectively

Patterns are weird and have absolutely no significance here, so I won't belabor the point. But I think you get the picture: two's have an added meaning as the Finals begin to take form.

Anyway. The Lakers are nasty and will either face the Celtics or the Pistons for the Finals. Either series will be fun to watch, but in all honesty, I'd prefer to see the Celtics. Here is why:

1. For the past two years, the Celtics have had a better record against the Lakes than the Detroit. I actually can't remember the last time the Lakers beat the Celtics with or without KG.

2. Kobe scores fewer points against the Celtics (see above). Also see the Celtics defense. Watching Kobe overcome the Celtic's defense would be epic and worth the price of admission if he could pull it off and win.

3. A Lakers-Pistons would be boring as hell and would end in 4 games. The Lakers would basically put Detroit through a track meet, take advantage of their youth and energy, and score in transition like crazy. Those factors make Detroit a possible blow-out candidate. No one wants to see that.

4. Conversely, a Celtics-Lakers would be fun to watch because both teams like to score in transition. And as the Detroit-Celtics series has proven, the Celtics can't play very good transition defense. That means the Lakers would have a field day if the Celtic's didn't turn around their defense here. Transition scoring games are also fun to watch because the scoring can high very quickly.

5. A Lakers-Celtics Finals would be an awesome throwback series. Imagine all the clips ABC would show of Magic and Bird. Two of the league's most storied franchises battling it out for the championship of a lifetime...sweet.

6. I'd like to see either KG get a title or Bryant win one without Shaq. Like Kobe or not, that would put him up there with Jordan as one of the best players of all time. I'd also like to see KG step it up in the 4th quarter during one of these games in order to silence his Boston critics. Is anyone else from Boston except Nick angry at Bob Ryan or Simmons for calling this guy out? KG is probably the biggest reason why the Celtics are playing for a Finals birth right now! Assholes.

I know a lot of people hate Kobe Bryant or wish the Spurs were going to the Finals. Too bad. A Celtics-Lakers Finals will blow ratings through the roof and bring back a lot of fans who left the sports in the early 2000's.

Foil in the Oven: Three Wins, THE HARD WAY

This wasn't pretty but it was a signature Celtics win, regular season style. The Big Three all got theirs, and a role player stepped up. Often times during the regular season, that player might have been Rajon Rondo. Or, it might have been James Posey, Leon Powe, or Glen Davis off the bench. In this case, that player was Kendrick Perkins. Perk has had a great series, but his performances in games 1-4 pale in comparison to what he was able to put together last night. Perk had 18 points, 16 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and even shot 100 percent from the free throw line! He was only there twice, but a stat is a stat.

Early in the game, a fan was put on the Jumbotron holding a sign that showed Robert Parish on one side and Perk on the other with the captions "The Chief" and "21st Century Chief" written on them. I thought the sign was ridiculous, and verbalized my thoughts pretty clearly. However, Perk silenced my criticism by playing what was hands down the best half of basketball that we have seen from him. The big man had 12 points and 13 boards in the first half and was a defensive force. More importantly, he only had one foul (which shouldn't have even been called), so he was able to log a lot of minutes.

Perk was impressive throughout the second half as well, but his second half game lacked the discipline of his first half game. I think that this statement is accurate, but it could just be a blanket statement that I'm making out of my frustration over the technical foul that he drew. That almost sunk us. Perk is one of those guys who contests every foul that is called on him. I knew the whistle was coming as soon as I saw it. He was a little to emphatic, and he has to know that once they've T-d up an opposing player (Sheed) for arguing a call, they have to do it to you too if you clearly give them a reason. I don't want to take anything away from the big man, because we needed every one of those 18 points and 16 boards. I'm just saying that he needs to work on keeping his emotions in check. This will also most likely prevent him from picking up two fouls in the first four minutes of every game.

I'd be lying if I said that the fourth quarter didn't concern me a little bit. There was a point towards the end of the third when I thought we were going to run away with a 20 point victory. Instead, we almost blew it. Paul Pierce expressed concern after the game, stating that they might not have been able to win that game if it was being played in Detroit. So, guess that in itself is reason for concern. But, again, this is not Atlanta. The Pistons don't ever go away, and it would have been very unlike them to not make a run throughout the entire second half. On top of that, the Celtics didn't play a great game. Rajon Rondo made a lot of mistakes and missed A LOT of layups. The contributions from the bench were minimal. There were a lot of problems with this game.

Doc brushed the point guard problem under the rug last night in the name of taking a must-win game. Cassell was horrible, and Doc clearly has him on a short leash. Eddie House managed to play only nine seconds despite checking into the game more than once. It will be interesting to see what turn this will take tomorrow.

Clearly I couldn't have been more wrong about Tony Allen. I stick to my reasoning. He has been a strong defender for this team all season. Scal dressed last night instead of him. The ultimate slap in the face. If that doesn't cause Tony to get his shit together, nothing will.

I haven't even mentioned Ray Allen, and I really meant to. Obviously he was great, and very clutch. I also haven't mentioned the fact that Sheed shot 9 threes and made 6. He's ridiculous.
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Babcock swung by the apartment yesterday. Although we all communicate daily via e-mail or phone about material for the site, we rarely have the chance to collaborate in person because all of us have a lot going on. So, the opportunity for some in-person collaboration, free from the creative impediment that generally accompanies e-mail and phone correspondence, is rare and can often be valuable. This was a case in which things worked out well. I had finished work at two o'clock. He had gotten out of work in Boston early. Both of us were going to game 5, but with different groups and plans. So, time was of the essence. Despite what people tell you, this is truly when you will be the most creative and powerful because if your project is well-executed it will possess an element of spontaneity that would otherwise be lost.

I had been working on a design for a new Boner Salad t-shirt, and I had hit a wall. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Boner Salad, it is the most bad-ass band that has never recorded a song. A dream that we had, along with Gilby and Smokey, Boner Salad was to be the manifestation of everything that we find bad-ass in the world of music. The first album was to be called Teabag, and the lyrics were to be hard-hitting. The album art would be unrivaled by anything previously released. The energy and aggression of each track and each performance in the album tour was to be so great that people would leave each experience changed in their thinking and want to spread the word of Boner Salad to everyone that they could. But, things never really worked out. Gilby plays the bass, and has experience playing it in a punk band. Babcock plays the guitar. Neither Smokey nor I play instruments, and I don't really think any of us are screamers. And, it would be hard to trust any new comers with our dream. The mission statement of Boner Salad is not something that can be put to paper.





Anyways, I had been working on a new design for a Boner Salad t-shirt, and I had hit a wall. I knew that the theme of the shirt was going to be a burning angel, but that was about as far as things had gone. When Babcock arrived, I knew we would have a sick shirt made in no time. Adorned in sick aviators as usual, I knew his energies were exactly what this project needed. The man is proof that the spirit of Gonzo Journalism still lives in 2008, even if it is only in these less mainstreamed forums. We talked Celtics for a bit, and then went to work. When he left to drive over to North Station, I think we both felt pretty pumped about the final product.

Here it is: the newest Boner Salad t-shirt, available both in red and white .

Just remember, you could donate to cancer research by buying that shirt. Sick.

Also, here is the shirt that has been our best-seller so far.

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This piece from Rolling Stone, from the Hunter Thompson commemorative issue, has always stuck with me. This is probably mostly because I would love to get my hands on one of those books with the bullet holes in them. I realize that having the book can never replace the experience of actually being there with the man and having him shoot your book. But, nevertheless, I would love to get one of those books. It's like having an autographed copy, but more badass.

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I'll be in Mexico until Monday. I am still planning on watching game 6, and if need be game 7. However, I don't anticipate being able to blog about them. See you all next week. Buy some shirts.

Foil in the Oven: Shoot the Ball!

Today's Foil in the Oven is going to be very short because I have a job interview to get to.

Obviously this series will be going longer than I predicted. I'm certainly not surprised that it's going longer, but I still stick to my reasoning. This series may go 7 games now, and it just doesn't have to be that difficult. But, I guess that has been the overarching theme of this entire postseason.

The Celtics were completely out of sync all night long. It's hard to be upset today about the loss, because I can't believe they were in the game for so long. They shot 31.8 percent from the field, while allowing Detroit to shoot 51.4 percent. Everyone in the media, both local and national, keeps saying that the 19 point discrepancy was not indicative of how close the game was. This is true in the sense that the Pistons didn't really seal it until Billups' three pointer with 2:55 left. But, in my mind, that 19 point discrepancy is a very accurate indicator of how poorly the Celtics played.

The Celtics were completely pathetic on offense. In fact, their only real offense was shooting free throws. Now, I'm fine with an offense not getting going because of shots not falling, but the passing is what killed me here. There were so many possessions that started with wild, errant passes that looked like they were flying out of bounds until the intended target would leap up and save them. You know that those possessions are doomed from the start because whoever ends up with the ball is completely flustered and taken out of their rhythm.

And, even worse than the bad passing was the over-passing. Nobody was willing to assert themselves offensively last night, and it drove me insane. How many good looks did Rondo and Garnett pass up? How many times did a guy with a good scoring opportunity suddenly appear panic stricken and kick the ball back out with time running down on the shot clock? The one play that sticks out in my mind is Ray Allen driving to the hoop towards the end of the game, and suddenly zipping this pass off the midsection of an unsuspecting KG. Allen had a good scoring opportunity and KG was following to clean up a potential miss. But, for some reason, Allen squandered a good scoring opportunity by making an unnecessary pass. This was the story of the game in my mind. Right after Billups hit that three to put Detroit up 10, KG got the ball at the other end, and hit a perfect jump-hook over McDyss. I was furious "Why haven't you been doing that all night dickhead!" I screamed. Very rarely do I get so frustrated with KG. But, he had been passing those shots up all night. One of those three guys needed to assert themselves last night, and they passed up the opportunity over and over again.

Now, credit Detroit's defense for not allowing any easy scoring chances inside. They contested everything, but they also committed a lot of fouls. The officials were quick with their whistles last night, which was all the more reason to attack the basket. The way Detroit was playing, Sheed and McDyss may have been out of the game by the start of the fourth if the Celtics weren't so resigned to passing out of the paint.

Obviously this was a poor performance from Rondo. I really thought that Doc should have had Pierce starting the offense up top more often. That has proven to be the best way to get the offense back on track. But, there was probably nothing that could have salvaged last night's performance.



Again, 31.8 percent from the field for the Celtics. 51.4 percent for the Pistons. The Celtics had the deer in the headlights look to them on offense for the entire game, and literally the only mildly positive thing I can say about their performance is "they got to the free throw line a lot, but they could have been their more." They had twice as many turnovers as the Pistons (14-7). And yet, the Celtics were still in a position to win the game. Once Chauncey's 3 ended the hopes of a comeback, they Celtics allowed the gap to widen to something that was a little more indicative of how they played. But, they couldn't have played worse, and they could have won that game. They were only down 5 for much of the fourth quarter.

Game 5 has been a strong point for these Celtics so far in the playoffs. They need to come out strong on Wednesday night. If they do, they will win. Even if they don't, they could still win. But, let's hope they do.

I get the Tony Allen thing alright. I was wrong. When you haven't seen Tony play in a while, your mind tends to focus on his athletic abilities and all of his physical attributes that lend themselves so well to basketball. You forget that he has a very low basketball IQ.

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Maybe Kobe will score 60 points tonight. I need to watch something like that to clear my head after watching last night's game, which was sort of like watching dead cars being crushed in a scrapyard.

Isaiah Rider

Dude, he was nasty.

Foil in the Oven: The Fix Is In

I decided on the title of today's Foil in the Oven last night in the throes of post-game frustration. I'm feeling more stable this morning, and I'm able to examine the events of Game 2 in a less cataclysmic light. Nevertheless, I have to air my grievances with the officiating. I have dashed off the next section. If you are a Celtics fan, and want to commiserate, please read. If you are not a Celtics fan, and don't feel like hearing the homer thing, go ahead and skip it. Now, I think it's fair criticism. But, the officiating has been awful throughout the entire post-season, so I understand if you don't want to read more about it.


All of this PDA at an NBA playoff game? Come on Tom, you're better than that.

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The officiating, particularly in the first half, was incredibly poor and one-sided. Ray Allen should have gone to the locker room at halftime with one foul instead of three. The first foul on Allen was a particularly weak call, as Rip Hamilton literally jabbed the ball into him to get the whistle. Even Jeff Van Gundy thought it was a bad call and I'm convinced that he hates the Celtics.

I kept replaying this call over and over again in my mind every time Kevin Garnett had the ball in his hands. I kept saying out loud "well, if we're going by the way they've called things on the other end, I find it really hard to believe that Kevin Garnett wasn't fouled on that sequence." If you watched the game, you know that KG was working harder than he's had to work all postseason on the offensive end. There was a lot of contact, and yet he only shot two free throws in the game. I'm all for letting them play, and this was more indicative of how I'd like to see games called, but the problem last night was that the action wasn't being called evenly.

Ray Allen's third foul, which was apparently the result of him moving his arms inward to try and secure the ball after Lindsey Hunter swiped it, was nearly as bad as the first. In my mind, there can only be a foul called there if Ray fouls Hunter in an attempt to stop him from having a transition opportunity. The whistle was too quick. This contrasted sharply with a similar sequence a few possessions later, when the referees waited for Hunter to foul Pierce about 5 times (even one of the announcers said 'wow, he fouled him 3 or 4 times there) and didn't blow the whistle until Hunter and Pierce were literally on the ground.

The goaltending call on KG was close and should have been a no-call, like the charge they didn't call on Rip a couple of possessions later. I have no problem with letting those calls go at the end if they are not blatant, BUT you have to let them go on both sides. In my mind, these two plays down the stretch really embodied the overall officiating trends of the game.

At halftime, I was blaming the officiating for the Celtics being down. However, by the end of the game I could not pin the loss squarely on the referees. The Celtics were outplayed. But, the effects of the poor officiating cannot be discounted. The poor first half officiating directly affected the Celtics in two ways as the game progressed:

1) The Celtics were clearly frustrated with the way the game had been going, and this led to them committing an inordinate amount of second and quarter fouls. Now, that's on them. They're professionals. But, I think a great deal of their frustration stemmed from those calls.

and, more importantly:

2) Ray Allen finally found his shooting touch, but had to sit for an unnecessary portion of the second half because of his foul trouble.


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Now, all that said, give all the credit in the world to the Pistons. They turned in a signature performance in a hostile environment. They made every big shot that they took. They forced the Celtics into bad shots when they had to. And, it wasn't just the usual suspects. Certainly, Rip Chauncey Tayshaun and Sheed all contributed in big ways, but they could not have won without huge contributions from Antonio McDyss and Rodney Stuckey and very efficient minutes from Lindsey Hunter. This team is so steady and fluid, and that's why they have a winning record on the road during these playoffs.

Am I still confident? Absolutely. Here's why:

Although the Celtics defense looked strong at times (mainly at the start of each half), it was bad overall. They allowed the Pistons to shoot over 49 percent from the field. They allowed far too many easy transition baskets, and they put Rip and Chauncey at the line too many times. This, combined with the fact that Detroit seemed like they couldn't miss down the stretch, was the worst case defensive scenario for the Celtics. And yet, they were right there. They were in this game until the final second ticked away.

Perhaps the best part of last night, and the part that got me out of bed with such a positive energy this morning, was the re-emergence of Ray Allen. Allen looked unstoppable towards the end of the game, and I have to wonder how things might have turned out if he didn't have to be sat down with foul trouble. He was hitting outside shots, he was driving and changing up his pace, he even drove baseline and threw down a dunk. Ray is back, and that means trouble for the Pistons. They are certainly a great defensive team, but how do you defend this Celtics team when its three superstars are all on their game?

The gauntlet has finally been thrown down. It was only a matter of time. If these Celtics are indeed a championship caliber team, they eventually need to show us that they have the moxie to win a game outside of the protective confines of the TD Banknorth Garden. Perhaps this is just what they needed. For the first time during these playoffs, the Celtics will take to the road with a sense of urgency. With their backs to the walls, in a hostile environment, this team will have a chance to silence all of their doubters.

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Baseball has lost some of its magic for me over the past few years, and this is something that I find disheartening. Somehow, the combination of seeing Major League Baseball throw these players under the bus for infractions on which they knowingly turned a blind eye for profit and the mutation of some of my childhood heroes into these iniquitous caricatures of their former selves (see the Babcock Report below) has weighed heavily on me and made it more difficult for me to invest myself fully into the game that I once enjoyed so freely. Along with this, I have always been discouraged by the fact that the players and owners can't seem to find any common ground on an issue (a potential salary cap) that would be so good for the sport. While the other professional leagues are thriving in new markets, Major League Baseball continues to be bogged down by inequity. Every year there is a surprise team or two, but they are aberrations. Perhaps it is a more accurate representation of our society, but it makes for poor entertainment. I find the arms race that takes place every off season between the super powers equally as disturbing as the situation mentioned above. But, as a life long Red Sox fan that has already been to Fenway Park three times this season, I guess I'm not part of the solution.

Anyways, apologies for that. What I wanted to say is that there is a handful of players that I will always hold in the highest regard as a symbol of everything that's right about baseball. I have my own reasons for loving these players, and maybe some of them are the result of nothing more than fan bias. But, two of them were in the news yesterday, and I want to touch on them quickly.



1) Pedro Martinez announced yesterday that reports of his retirement after 2008 were inaccurate. I love Pedro's attitude on the mound, I love his approach to the game, and I still consider his 1999 and 2000 seasons among the highest level of performance that I have ever seen as an athlete. He has done a great job of adjusting his repertoire to counteract the aging process, and I look forward to continuing to watch him pitch whenever the Mets are on national TV.


2) Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 598th home run last night. It's hard to not feel completely unfulfilled when looking back on Griffey's career. Between his charismatic personality and his perfect swing, this guy is one of my all-time favorites. Had he stayed healthy, he most certainly would be the home run king. Who in today's game would be more deserving of such a title.
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Here is a hilarious video of Charles Barkley. You have to watch the whole thing, it's great.


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Two final thoughts:

1) Hilarious text message came last night from Ferrante at crunch time when the Pistons were pulling away "Maybe Doc is telling them to punch back instead of actually coaching them."

2) On Sportscenter, Marcellus Wiley just said that Pacman Jones at wideout is a good idea for Dallas because he'll have to spend more time reading the playbook and less time at "those naked ballets". Awesome.

Foil in the Oven: Some Bold Predictions

Before I move on to my predictions, I want to touch on this Bill Simmons piece about KG, and some of the conversations that I have had with people since it came out. As much as I love Simmons, I can't get behind this piece. Ted e-mailed it to me immediately after it came out with the question of "why is this coming out now?" Neither of us could think of an answer.

I would say "why write this piece at all?" But, in fairness to Simmons, he has been expressing these worries about KG throughout for the past couple of months. So then, the ultimate question is about the timing. The Celtics are still in the thick of things, and this piece is going to have no validity if the Celtics win a championship. Ted thought that Simmons might have some type of ulterior motive with the piece. Perhaps it was intended to bring out more in KG, or perhaps it was written as some type of reverse-jinx. Simmons does this stuff a lot, and frankly as a reader I could do without it. If this article was written for these purposes, then he just wrote a magazine article wasting every one's time.

Regardless of when and why it was written, I can't help but be totally opposed to the sentiments expressed in it. I expressed these feelings in a posting exchange with Jim over at Green Bandwagon . Jim wrote a great piece about the way that we have a tendency to view a performance from a guy like Tim Duncan differently than we might view a performance from KG because our our pre-conceived notions. I thought this posting was particularly relevant in the wake of the Simmons piece.

Here is an excerpt of my response: "Jim, this is a great post. I particularly enjoy it after reading Simmons article about KG on ESPN.com. I love Simmons, but I really hate that article. The guy was brought aboard the team with the second worst record in the NBA. Within months, he completely changed the culture of the team, led the charge in the biggest turnaround in history, and re-ignited a once proud fan base. What could be more clutch than that?
I’ve always said (even when he was on the T-Wolves) that I didn’t see why everyone was so convinced that Duncan was better than him. Certainly, Duncan has the rings, but KG’s career isn’t over and he would have won those same rings in the same position. He may not guard big men quite as well, but I think he’s equal as an overall team defender and I certainly think that he runs the floor better."

Jim's response was: "About three months back the whole Bird vs. KG thing flared up and I came down strongly on Bird’s side in part because I’d want the ball in his hands at the end of a game. And someone pointed out that Bill Russell wasn’t a scorer down the stretch either. I liked that comparison in a way. Why does everyone compare KG to Kobe Bryant? No one does it the other way around. Garnett brings way more to the table than he takes away from it."


I found this exchange particularly satisfying and reassuring. I love Jim's comparison with Russell, and I stick to my guns that Duncan hasn't done anything in San Antonio that KG couldn't have done.

Look, as I said, KG totally changed the culture of this team in a matter of months. If that's not clutch, I don't know what is. He has led the charge for one of the greatest defenses in NBA history. He affects the game in so many ways that don't show up on the stat sheet. He gives everything he has to the Celtics every night. We're down to the final four now and anything could happen. Are we really going to put it on his shoulders if this team doesn't win a championship?

Tim Armstrong with Lars and the Bastards:



Viking is a good disc.
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PREDICTION #1: The Celtics Will Out the Pistons in Five Games


For the record, this is not something new that I am predicting after watching Game 1. In my playoff predictions post back in April, I wrote for my Eastern Conference Finals prediction "Celtics over Pistons in 5-- Easier than you think." Now, some of my predictions were shaky (Phoenix over San Antonio, Washington over Cleveland, Tornoto over Orlando) but some were right on (from the first round: "Detroit in 6-- Philly will make it tough") and three of my final four are still in the picture so I feel pretty good.

So, I believed in April that the Celtics would beat Detroit in five games. I stated on Monday, before this series got going, that "I'm confident because this will be a hard fought series between two teams that play the same style, and the Celtics play that style better." Game 1 affirmed this. I think the Celtics will capture their first playoff road wins in this series. And, as is typical with this Detroit team, I expect the Celtics to win the series easily even though it always feels close.


Will I be surprised if it goes 6 or 7? No. How could you be after the last two series. But, I'm sticking with 5.
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PREDICTION #2: Michael Strahan will be Back on the Field Next Year

Come on, we've done this before. And not just with Michael Strahan. If he was really going to retire, he would have already announced it. Strahan wants something. Last year, he didn't want to go to training camp. He probably feels the same way this year, which is fine with me (has Orlando Pace ever been to one?). There have also been a lot of reports out there that Strahan wants more money than he is due this season (4 million dollars). But, Strahan's reps have said that money has not been an issue, and the Giants have said that they are willing to fork over more money for Strahan's return. So, if money is an issue, it shouldn't be for long.

I have said many times that Strahan is the key to the Giants making a serious run at at successfully defending their championship, so perhaps this is just wishful thinking on my part. But, keeping the team in limbo to avoid training camp is a tactic that he, and others, have used in the past. Furthermore, it seems like a player that considers retirement for this long winds up on the field more often than not.

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PREDICTION #3: When We Look Back on this PostSeason, Kobe Bryant Will be What We Remember


Look, I hope I'm wrong on this one. I want more than anything to remember this post-season as the year of the Celtics winning banner #17. But, don't you get the feeling that Kobe is in the middle of putting together one of the all-time great playoff runs in history? As I said on Tuesday, I don't see the Spurs winning this series. So, I felt very strange last night going to sleep at around 11 with the Spurs up by 16 points. Ordinarily, I don't turn off Kobe Bryant, but I was exhausted and it just didn't seem like the Lakers had any chance of coming back.

When I woke up this morning, less tired and thinking more clearly, I ran for my computer. I wasn't the least bit surprised to see the headline. In fact, I would have been more surprised to see that San Antonio had closed out the double digit win. That right there tells you something about how great Kobe has been.

Here's the thing. Kobe didn't check out for the first 2 and a half quarters. He was trying to get his teammates involved. This is the player that he's become and that's one of the reasons that he put together an MVP season. He started off playing a team game, and feeling out the way things were going to go for that night. Then, when it became necessary for him to take over, he did. I went to bed right around the end of the "team basketball" portion of the game, but I've seen the Kobe takeover enough times to know what it looks like. Game 2 against Denver is a classic example. But, this was him doing it against the Spurs!

Kobe will continue to involve his teammates in these games, but it must be nice to know that he can win these games on his own if need be. I expect Gasol to match up better against Duncan than he did last night, and I expect the Lakers as a whole to play much better than they showed us in Game 1. Look, the Spurs are the Spurs and they will probably take 2 games. But, I don't even see this going 7.

It hasn't always been nice to be Kobe's teammate, but this year's squad certainly seems to be enjoying it. Kobe is helping them look good on and off the court. Found this article on Ball Don't Lie.



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PREDICTION #4: When The Celtics Have Their Second Unit in Tonight, Jeff Van Gundy Will Say "I Just Don't Think There's Enough Offense on the Floor Right Now for Boston."


Can't he think of something new? Did we have to hear that eight times in two games? I'll add in another prediction, which is that every time Paul Pierce makes a nice play Van Gundy will belittle him by talking about how much he's "improved" and "learned" as if he is some young player who is just now starting to play well. I will then get extremely frustrated and yell at the TV.

Foil in the Oven: Prison Rules

Truthfully, I never thought that I'd be this disappointed about a Western Conference playoff game. I wanted to watch this Hornets team play for as long as possible. I'm not sure why I have adopted them as my second team this post-season. I had to pick a West team to root for, and somehow they took over that role right from the start. Maybe it's because I wanted to root against the Mavs (I really think I'm going to hate them forever for that trade) and Spurs so badly. But, I think it has a lot more to do with the exciting style of basketball that New Orleans plays. Their style is so unpredictable and fun to watch, and yet you can see that Chris Paul is totally in control of the offense throughout the entire game. Unfortunately, their shooting was cold last night, and you need to have everything working if you want to beat the defending champs in an elimination game. I want to highlight the great effort from Jannero Pargo, who scored 16 in the fourth quarter to bring the Hornets within striking distance. In the end, it was not enough. But, I really enjoyed watching this New Orleans run. I am excited to see what pieces they add this offseason and I can't wait to watch them next year. Once I have a little more disposable income, I might even nab one of these yellow jerseys, because I think they are awesome.

I'll be blunt, the Spurs advancing is bad for the NBA. The Hornets wow-factor, combined with the fact that they are new on the playoff scene and they are from New Orleans, would have made for a much more exciting Western Conference finals matchup. The Spurs are like the Patriots. Yes, you respect how incredibly consistent they have been for so long. But, unless they're you're favorite team, you always want to see them lose. It's like this with any of the great dynasties.



Luckily, I don't think we will have to watch San Antonio in the finals again this year. I really like the way the Lakers match up with the Spurs. Pau Gasol will pay his biggest dividends in this series, as he has historically played Tim Duncan very well. Furthermore, as Sir Charles Barkley pointed out last night on TNT, Gasol and Lamar Odom will ensure that Tony Parker will not be able to attack the basket in this series like he did against New Orleans. There's nobody on that San Antonio team, not even Bruce Bowen, that can stop Kobe Bryant, and I believe that Bryant can stifle Manu on the defensive end. I think that these will be high scoring games, and that favors Los Angeles.

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On this day last year, I wore a horseshow around my neck to work. Later on that evening, I stood in a tub with a jug of wine, and Bedell and I spent an hour performing witchcraft rituals that we had found to bring good luck. We chanted while facing all directions, we poured and drank the sacrament of Franzia, we crushed garlic cloves, and we rubbed the wine on pictures of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis. There were pictures of Greg Oden and Kevin Durant on either side of the living room. Then we sat and watched in horror as the Celtics wound up with the fifth pick in the draft.



I immediately phoned for a large pizza (Greek style, extra cheese), drove to pick it up, and ate the entire thing in the car on the ten minute drive home. At that time, I never even considered the possibility that the Celtics wouldn't be figuring prominently in today's lottery. And, I certainly never could have imagined in my wildest dreams that the lottery would be taking place before game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which would be taking place in Boston. So, I recommend taking the time to watch the lottery tonight (7:30). Word is that Jay-Z will be representing the Nets, so that should be exciting, and it will give us a preliminary idea of how the draft will play out. Plus, you'll have the chance to make comments like "Jesus, nothing ever works out for us! We can't catch a break!" and then start laughing. It's ok, you've earned it.

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As far as the actual game tonight, I am very interested to see how each team responds to the circumstances of their past week. Many of the analysts that I have heard today (national analysts) are predicting that the Pistons will take the game tonight, because they are rested and the Celtics will have an emotional hangover from the game on Sunday. Certainly, I can see the reasoning for this prediction, particularly after the sloppy game 1 that the Cs played against the Cavs following an emotional game 7 evisceration of the Hawks. However, I don't believe that rest is always good for a team that's on a hot streak. The Pistons were playing great against Orlando, particularly in the final two games. In particular, they were getting more out of their bench guys than they had gotten all year. From a momentum standpoint, I think the best thing would have been for them to keep playing. There is no doubt that the rest was valuable for Chauncey Billups. But, as far as momentum is concerned, I think the Pistons' rest could work against them tonight. It will be interesting to see.



I am making my final public plea before this series begins to see Tony Allen. These games are going to be close, and we're going to need someone other than Rondo defending whoever is playing the point for Detroit. Billups, Stuckey, and Hunter all provide tough matchups for Rondo. Tony Allen has been a defensive stopper for this Celtics team all season long, and Doc is going to need to get him involved. He can't sit him on the bench for three and a half quarters, and then throw him out there for the last six minutes. He needs to use him in the regular rotation for the entire series.

It will also be interesting to see how Doc handles the point guard rotation. Eddie House was implemented far too late in the last series, and gave the Cs a great lift in games 6 and 7. I hate to think of Cassell being played over House on the offensive end in this series. However, as Casten wrote in his comment yesterday, Cassell might be the Celtics' best option defensively. He is a bigger point guard, and Chauncey won't be able to bully him down on the block like he does to Rondo. Sam plays that same game, and he will be more effective at defending it. Remember, all of these Pistons' point guards are slower than Daniel Gibson, who made Cassell look foolish in the last series.

As I said, there are emotional wildcards for both teams as we head into this game. How will the Pistons play after taking a week off? How will the Celtics respond after being taken the distance by LeBron and the Cavs? Regardless of how tonight turns out, I expect this series to be fucking awesome. Just like all of the regular season meetings between these teams, all three of which had a playoff vibe to them, I expect the series to be an all-out slugfest. All the games will be close, and tensions are going to run at an all-time high. I can't wait.

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I can't figure out Craig Sager. Is he the man? Does he wear absurd looking suits because he's such a bad-ass? Is he a loser? Do the players like him? When they make fun of him, do they do it because they really don't like him or do they do it because they like him and they think he's funny? I have no idea.

Here's the best one. KG making fun of Sager after waxing the Knicks:


Baron Davis can't help laughing at Sager's outfit at halftime:


Nash wipes Amare's face with Sager's hankerchief:


Finally, hilarious Nash and Amare commercial:

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I have to work all day tommorow, but Foil in the Oven will return on Wednesday to recap the action from Game 1 and thoughts for Game 2.



It never gets old.

Foil in the Oven: We are all Witnesses

Before we begin, I want to apologize for this Foil in the Oven coming so late and for its brevity. There were some electrical problems to deal with today.

There have been so many great aspects of this Celtics season, but perhaps none have been more satisfying and exciting than the play of Paul Pierce. Seeing him play with such joy and with the relief of not having the burden of the entire franchise on his shoulders has been uplifting for fans that have seen him give everything he has to the Celtics for his entire career. And, the results on the court speak for themselves. Pierce turned in the most complete season of his career, evidenced most by the fact that he has been receiving national attention for his defense. Furthermore, I couldn't be happier to see the national media finally acknowledging what a great player the Truth is. It was extremely frustrating to see him completely ignored during the 2005-2006 season, in which Pierce averaged a career best 26.8 points per game. The Celtics only played on national tv one time during that season (a memorable game in which Kobe outscored Pierce 40-39, but the Celtics won 112-111). There wasn't much more that Pierce could have done on the floor, and yet the Celtics weren't winning and he was rarely discussed in the media outside of New England. Memories like these make what happened yesterday even more memorable.

The performance that Pierce gave yesterday will always be remembered with the all-time great Celtics playoff performances. I can't remember a happier moment as a Celtics fan. The work is far from complete for this team. The competition is only going to get tougher, and I think we can all agree that it will be a disappointment if we're not watching the Celtics playing in the NBA finals. However, regardless of how things go from here, I don't think anything could happen that could possibly taint the memory of yesterday's game.

Throughout this series, the level of animosity that I felt towards LeBron James has been sky-high. I've screamed horrible things at him (at my tv) and I really believed all series long that I would never be able to appreciate watching him again. However, winning cures everything, and as soon as the game ended I began to appreciate what a great player LeBron is and what a great performance he put on yesterday. He didn't get much help, and yet he managed to keep his team in it against a Celtics team that controlled the momentum from start to finish (with the exception of the opening few minutes of the second half). The guy is only 23, and I am blown away by what he has done. He's been under a microscope since he entered the league. He's endured unthinkable scrutiny from critics and abuse from fans. He's been the entire focus of opposing defenses. And yet, he continues to exceed our expectations at every turn. I am excited to see the heights that his career will reach. I am even more excited that he is back at home today.




As much as we'd all like to sit in a bathtub of melted butter and eat steamers while we bask in the glory of this victory, business resumes tomorrow. The Celtics have played the Pistons well all year, particularly in the third meeting, but the playoffs are a different beast. It will be interesting to see how the rest will affect the Pistons' performance in game 1, particularly how healthy Chauncey Billups will be. Even if he's not 100 percent, Billups is a very tough matchup for Rajon Rondo. After matching up with LeBron for seven games, Tayshaun Prince might seem like a breath of fresh air to Paul Pierce. But, Prince is a great defender and he has always been a very tough matchup for Pierce. When he's in the right mindset, Rasheed Wallace can be the best player on the floor. The Pistons bench stepped up in the Magic series. This is going to be a hard fought series. But, I'm confident. I'm confident because it's going to be a hard fought series between two teams that play the same style, and I think that the Celtics play that style better. Ray Allen has been most valuable to this team on defense in its games against Detroit because he can run with Rip Hamilton. His shooting woes won't affect his ability to neutralize Hamilton and I expect him to have a big impact on this series, even if it doesn't show up on the stat sheet.

We at Roomofzen have been calling to see Eddie House for a while now, and he clearly gave the team a boost yesterday. The other player that we've been calling for is Tony Allen. I'd like to see Tony utilized on defense in this series. Although he did commit a foul on Chauncey that cost the Celtics the game at the end of the first meeting between these two teams, he is a good defender and he is a great option if Billups starts to heat up.


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We'll have more on the Western Conference tomorrow. But, you can't tell me that you wouldn't be much more excited to watch the Hornets and Lakers than the Spurs and the Lakers.

I can't stand San Antonio anyways, but doesn't it make it worse every time you hear Skip Bayless refer to them as "my Spurs."

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I'm going to talk about the WNBA today, and I don't care what you have to say about it. Candace Parker exceeded all expectations in her LA Sparks debut last night. With 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists, Parker just narrowly missed a triple double. If you never took the time to see Parker play, you really should. She was completely dominant in college, and she is legitimately very exciting to watch. She is most likely going to be one of the WNBA's top players this season. She is a complete player, she can dunk, and she is attractive and charismatic. If the WNBA is ever going to take off, she will be the player that does it. Like Tiger Woods with golf and Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin with the NHL, Parker may be the kind of player that attracts fans who would be otherwise completely uninterested. I know from those commercials (which are horrible, but that's for another day) that the WNBA is on ESPN2 on Tuesday nights and ABC on Saturdays. If the Sparks are playing, and I'm watching tv already, I'll probably flip over from time to time. I might not be the only one, and that's how these things start.

Foil in the Oven: Back in Control

Holy Shit, It's the Boston Celtics!

Those are the exact words that I said to myself about halfway through the third quarter.



The first half was ugly for most of the way. It seemed like nothing was working right offensively. Sam Cassell's five and a half minutes were a complete disaster (for the record, I've never seen so many Eddie House t-shirts). And, to make matters worse, LeBron was scoring points with ease (23 in the first quarter). At one point, Cleveland led by 14 and it seemed like the Celtics were just going to dig themselves into a deeper hole. You could feel the tension building in the arena. I couldn't cheer, I couldn't stand up, all I could do was sit there as the anger and frustration grew with every possession. To be honest, that whole first quarter and most of the second quarter seem like a blur now.

During the last five minutes of the second quarter, the Cs started to claw their way back in. Rondo came back into the game and hit a couple of big threes, we got some stops, and Pierce hit a runner with less than 5 seconds left that put us within three. Only down three, after that pathetic display. I got up for halftime and headed over to get some beer and a personal pizza. I was feeling less tense. I was relieved to only be down three, and excited that Jay-Z was in the building.


As I waited in line, I started thinking about the Hornets on Tuesday night. They too had played a bad first half. They too had found themselves only trailing by three at halftime. They came out, made adjustments, played a great second half, and won the game. Of course, that was a team that has been playing just as well (and, probably better) than they played in the regular season. That's a team that has shown the ability to hang tough and come from behind in games in the post-season. That's a team with a great coach who knows how to manage players and make adjustments. I was tense again. Why couldn't this team just play like the Celtics we've seen all year? Who is this team that I just watched in the first half?


And then, just when things seemed on the verge of collapsing completely, the real Boston Celtics appeared.


I can't point to any specific moment when it happened, because they played great the entire half. The defense was stifling, the ball movement and execution on offense was smooth. The players carried themselves like a team that knows it's in control and is confident that it's going to win. The noise in the building rose to a near-deafening level as Celtics fans everywhere felt the tension of the last ten quarters rush away.


A few notes

- The Celtics almost blew the game in the last minute. I don't know if it was a result of them being too comfortable with the lead or if they need to spend some time practicing end of game situations when the opponent presses them hard. This game was not as close as the final score would indicate. But, the Celtics kept it interesting with turnovers at the end.

- Huge game tonight from Rondo. Not only was he spectacular on both ends of the floor, but he played the entire second half. We've been saying all along that he's the key. This game is going to be great for his confidence. I can't stress enough the importance of those threes that he hit in the first half. It was also good to see Doc leave him out there when he played well.

- Nice to see some second half adjustments from Doc tonight. While I was totally baffled by the way he used Glen Davis on Monday, I loved what he did tonight. Putting Big Baby on the floor with Rondo and the Big Three was a great move. He gave the team a huge energy boost, and he was able to grab a couple nice hoops while the Cavs were so focused on stopping KG down low. I also loved having Pierce (30 points) start with the ball up top. It was a great way to get him some separation and to give the Cavs another look.


- Those who have been calling for KG to step up, be aggressive, and take over games got it last night. KG was extremely active on defense, it seemed like he was hitting all of his shots, and you could see him getting in his teammates' faces to keep them hungry. It was the classic KG that we all love and have always seen at home. If he can take that same game with him to Cleveland on Friday, this series may not return to Boston.

Great quote from ESPN about Doc Rivers and why he didn't call KG over to calm him down during the game "Rivers said 'he was talking so much to himself anyways, I didn't think I'd be able to get a word in'".

I love this interview with KG and John Thompson. I watched it about 55 times the day that the Cs acquired Garnett from Minnesota:




Now, after watching that, can you ever imagine KG saying the things LeBron said last night after a loss? "Great individual performance by me" (an indirect insult to his teammates). I couldn't be happier to be on KG's side. The Celtics are going to win this series.

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Arlen Spector is an idiot (typical Eagles fan), and that's coming from someone that's not a Patriots fan. He clearly knows nothing about football, and I can't believe that that he is calling for Congressional involvement in this matter.

Now, I was outspoken against the Mitchell Investigation. I thought that baseball's best option was to move forward with their harsh new policy, and not waste Congressional time, money, and energy investigating the past. But, at least when we talk about sterroids, we're dealing with actual breaking of the law. We're dealing with drug use, and international drug trafficking. We're dealing with high school kids all over the country with a dream of becoming a pro athlete, and a choice to make about sterroid use. What are we dealing with here? A breach of NFL rules? No law was broken here. I think Roger Goodell, by handing down a harsh penalty on the Patriots, did a great job of deterring this practice and I think that he will work hard to enforce it because he doesn't want his league to lose credibility. The incentive for him to police it is so huge, that I don't know why we doubt his motivation.

Right after the original Spygate happened in September, I thought that Belichick should have been suspended. I felt that the individual fine levied against him put too much blame squarely on him. It's never just one person. The organization as a whole should have taken that punishment. But, the organization did receive harsh punishments as well (most notably losing a first round draft pick). So, I might have gone about punishing the Pats differently. BUT, Goodell's punishment was harsh, and it was the largest punishment ever given out. What more does Spector want? We've seen everything that Matt Walsh has to offer, and to the best of my understanding there's no new evidence to indicate any new developments in this case.

Finally, let's take a minute to acknowledge the fact that the NFL is currently involved in a major dispute with Comcast, which just happens to be one of the largest overall contributors to the political campaigns of Arlen Spector. Those Eagles fans, you have to watch them.



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I was only able to catch the fourth quarter of the Lakers game, so I won't comment extensively on it. But, the two main things that stood out were Pau Gasol's passing abilities, and the fact that neither Boozer nor Okur can cover Lamar Odom. Kobe looked fine to me (although, Phil Jackson said his jumper looked flat. I defer to Phil). I think Utah wins game 6.