I WAS WRONG ABOUT BOSTON
In the interest of being an objective sports writer/broadcaster/blow-hard, I try very much to bury my homerisms. That’s usually not hard to do, however, burying my lifelong hatred for certain teams is. Maybe that’s why it took me until the Celtics’ comeback in Game 4 of the NBA Finals to finally buy into Boston. When they held off another memorable performance from LeBron James and Cavs team that threw the kitchen sink at them, I scoffed. When they won not one, but two games in Detroit, and took down a veteran Pistons team, I brushed it off. Fact is, among all the misses this season (Saints winning the Super Bowl, Michigan going 12-1, Georgetown in the Final Four), I was most wrong about the now NBA Champion Celtics.
I said that they would be held back by their lack of depth. Yet, in the NBA Finals, Celtics’ reserves like James Posey, Eddie House, Leon Powe, PJ Brown and Sam Cassell completely outclassed a more-talented Lakers bench. I said Doc Rivers would never guide a team to an NBA Title. Instead, Doc outcoached Phil Jackson, a man who has barely enough fingers to wear all his NBA Championship rings. I said Paul Pierce had never hit a big shot in his life. In the Finals, Pierce didn’t have to. He scored 38 points in a Game 5 loss, he completely shutdown Kobe Bryant, and he did a magnificent job of getting his teammates involved (6.4 assists per game) en route to being the no-brainer Finals MVP.
Posey made it the Big Three 1/2 with his 35 postseason three-pointers and defense
I’m not going to list everything I was wrong about, but I will say that Boston finally taught me a lesson. It doesn’t matter if your conference, division, or league is the Junior Varsity of your sport (i.e. National League, NFC, Conference USA basketball), if you are clearly the best team in that league, or prove your worthiness during the playoffs, then you can still be a Champion. You know what else I learned? Physical defense always beats finesse offense. When watching the Lakers get punched in the mouth on their side of the floor, and Kobe Bryant settling for 17-footers, I was reminded of Peyton Manning earlier in his career. You remember those Colts teams – they had a flashy offense that scored with machine-like efficiency during the regular season. But, when going up against a blue-collar, physical, 3-4 blitzing defense – like that of the 2003 and 2004 New England Patriots – they couldn’t do anything. That’s what I saw with the Lakers. I don’t know what I’m more surprised by, the fact that the Lakers were beaten 131-92 in an elimination game or the fact that they somehow stole two games from a team that was worlds better than they were in the series.
If you’re not a Celtics fan, then the whole situation is infuriating. Losing the Draft Lottery for Boston actually ended up being the best thing that could ever happen to them. Former team great Kevin McHale made one of the worst trades in NBA history, shipping his franchise player for a pupu platter with the gem being Al Jefferson - a very good, yet hardly elite player (As a side note, McHale should be arrested for crimes against the NBA for not demanding Rajon Rondo in that deal). Signings of Posey and House, who have combined to play for 13 different teams since 2000, and a pair of 38-year olds in Cassell and Brown, all came up roses. Grueling seven-game series with a 37-win Atlanta team and LeBron James (I think his “team” is called the Cavaliers) actually helped, not hurt, the Celtics. All in all, Boston got more breaks than the Lakers in Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals. Everything fell into place. Now they are NBA Champions. Like the Scarecrow, Doc Rivers somehow found a brain. The Big Three lived up to the hype and a hodge-podge of reserves complemented them magnificently.
The Scarecrow like Doc Rivers found what he was looking for
There are 17 NBA Championship banners that hang at the Boston Garden. But, the only one I’ll ever see is the 2007-08 version, swaying, taunting and reminding me about how wrong I was.
Thank God I don’t live in New England anymore.
SHOOTING THE REST OF THE SPORTS WORLD:
Swish: Tiger Woods
It’s too bad that the NBA Finals had to wrap up early, because I was planning on writing a nice fluff-piece about the Tiger/Rocco playoff. Thanks to Tiger, and a chick who ended up totaling my car on Saturday, I was glued to the TV for almost the entire third round of the U.S. Open. I’m not going to gush about his knee injury, or that he overcame adversity, because if anything, Tiger’s wounded knee evened the playing field at Torrey Pines. However, Woods’ performance in the U.S. Open reminded me of watching Michael Jordan in his prime. It wasn’t Tiger at his best - he needed two eagle putts, a lucky cup-in, and a 15-foot birdie on 18 just to tie Rocco Mediate - but that’s what made it entertaining. Watching Tiger obliterate the field isn’t fun, watching him come through with everything on the line is. I’m not a Tiger fan, nor do I love the way he carries himself on the golf course at times, but I will miss him for the rest of this golf season. Was it his greatest victory? It’s tough to compare anything to that transcendent 12-stroke victory at the ’97 Masters. But, it definitely was the most fun I ever had watching Tiger Woods.
Swish: Rocco Mediate
I usually don’t go with back-to-back swishes, but Rocco Mediate should be commended just as much for a heroic effort that all sports fans can appreciate. The 45-year old entered the U.S. Open as a qualifier who had an injury-plagued career with almost as many back surgeries as Tour victories. But, he will be remembered for playing dead-even with the great Tiger Woods for 90 holes. Rocco Mediate may have fell short, but he led Tiger by one-stroke on 18 twice, and he had a putt to win a U.S. Open. Those accomplishments alone are pretty amazing. Here’s hoping we can see Rocco in contention one more time before he calls it a career.
Like George Mason, Rocco may have fallen short, but he will be remembered
Brick: The NBA Finals
Believe it or not, five of the six games in the series were decided by ten points or less. While all of the games outside of Game 6 were relatively close, there wasn't really a moment or a shot that will be remembered. The Lakers' choke Celtics' comeback in Game 4 was probably the highlight and Paul Pierce's charade injury in Game 1 was probably the moment. No game was decided on the last possesion and both of the Lakers wins were really ugly. With all the hype going into the series, I'd give this year's NBA Finals a C. Satisfactory, yes, but hardly one that will go in the storybooks.
Air Ball: Kobe Bryant
Can we please put the whole Jordan vs. Kobe argument to bed? Last time I checked, Jordan's Bulls teams never got beat by 39 points in an NBA Finals game. Not only did Kobe struggle in the series against Boston, you can make the argument that he was the 3rd best player on the floor (Paul Pierce, Ray Allen). Bryant was no match for the Cetlics physical defense and his supporting cast disappeared after solid performances throughout the Western Conference playoffs. You know what squashes the argument for good? Comparing Jordan's NBA Finals performance vs. that of Kobe:
Michael Jordan Kobe Bryant
1991 - 31.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 11.4 apg 2000 - 15.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 4.5 apg
1992 - 35.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 6.5 apg 2001 - 24.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 5.8 apg
1993 - 41.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 6.5 apg 2002 - 26.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.2 apg
1996 - 27.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.2 apg 2004 - 22.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.4 apg
1997 - 32.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 6.1 apg 2008 - 25.6 ppg, 4.6, rpg, 5.0 apg
1998 - 33.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.3 apg
Overall playoff statistics
Jordan - 179 games, 33.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 5.7 apg, 48.7 FG%
Bryant - 152 games, 24.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.6 apg, 44.5 FG%
Did I mention that Jordan was a 6-time NBA Finals MVP while Kobe has never earned that honor? There's no comparison. Jordan's worst scoring average in the NBA Finals was 27.3 ppg in 1996 - and he STILL won MVP that year. Kobe has a lifetime Finals scoring average of just over 23 ppg, and he was largely aided by Shaquille O'Neal's dominance in the Lakers' three-peat (38.0, 33.2, 36.3 ppg respectively). Fact is, it's not just about numbers. Kobe is an oustanding player, and his offensive talent perhaps equals MJ. But, he lacks the fire that Jordan had and the will to win at all costs. Jordan's Bulls would've never quit like Kobe's Lakers did in Game 6. He wouldn't have let them.
Kobe is an all-time great, no doubt - but he'll never be Jordan
Swish: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
I was a little tough on Junior, calling him the most overrated driver in NASCAR at times after he went winless for over two full years. But, it was almost fitting that Little E squashed his 76-race drought with a trip to Victory Lane on Father’s Day. It wasn’t pretty, in fact you could call it a Danica-like fuel conservation win, but I’m sure Earnhardt Jr. is happy to get the monkey off his back. Don’t look now, but Junior is 3rd in the points standings and has a great shot at winning a Sprint Cup Championship in 2008. It’s always good for the sport when the most popular driver is back to his winning ways. I don't know who was happier at Michigan on Sunday, Junior or team owner Richard Hendrick.
Brick: Interleague Play
Maybe Major League Baseball should finally get rid of Interleague Play. In the last few seasons, all it has done is further prove the American League’s superiority to that of the National League. 2008 has been no exception. On Tuesday night, the AL took 12 of the 14 Interleague meetings to improve to 59-42 on the season. National League division leaders Philadelphia, Chicago, and Arizona combined to get whipped by a score of 21-3 in those games. Entering Wednesday, not a single team over .500 in the NL had a winning record in ’08 Interleague play. Since 2004, the AL has gone 612-496 against their NL counterparts. I say consolidate the Interleague play to the traditional matchups like Cubs/White Sox, Yankees/Mets, and Angels/Dodgers. Don’t throw out Interleague play completely, just make it only two weekend series a season. Speaking of the Yankees, do you think it's a coincidence that after slow starts their winning streaks always seem to come during long streches of Interleague play? Me neither.
Air Ball: The Mets handling of the Willie Randolph situation
I’ll be the first person to tell you that the Mets had to make a change. Willie Randolph grossly underachieved with a Mets team that was the most talented National League club in both 2006 and 2007, yet had zero pennants and just one playoff series victory to show for it. They lost a Game 7 on their home field to the 83-win St. Louis Cardinals in 2006. They blew a seven-game lead with 17 to play to miss the playoffs completely in 2007. Then, after getting a second chance this season, Randolph had the Mets out to a 34-35 start, with a 4th place standing in a so-so NL East. After their epic collapse last September, Omar Minaya should’ve pulled the trigger because the Amazins never recovered from that. The Mets roster is full of players that are either too old, too injured, or too disinterested to compete for a World Series title. Most of that falls on Minaya, but Randolph was the first head that had to roll. All of that being said, the Mets front office should be ashamed for the way they handled the situation. They waited until the team flew across the country to Los Angeles before they fired Randolph a 3 in the morning. They let Randolph dangle in the media’s piranha tank for weeks, giving journalists from across the country the chance to bash him. Minaya let the manager that he hired, that he vouched for to owner Fred Wilpon, soak up as much of the blame as possible before throwing him out like a used mop. Randolph may have been a flop as a manager, but he’s a classy, well-respected guy who deserved much better than they way he was treated.
Como se dice "Next on the chopping block" in espanol?
The Shots Fantasy Update:
Robinson Cano & Co. II def. Sharks, 6-3-1
I’ve been complaining about my team’s power all season, but last week they found their home run swing. Robinson Cano & Co. II hit 10 bombs last week, three coming from Pat Burrell, and drove in a season-high 28 runs. Great bullpen performances (7 SV) made up for a horrible week by my starting staff. My team is currently in 5th which is quite a feat considering that my top two starting pitching picks (Fausto Carmona, Chris Young) have both been on long disabled list stints.
Fantasy NASCAR, 312 points, still in 7th out of 14 teams
I almost crapped my pants when I tuned into the LifeLock 400 with 20 laps to go. Here was the running order: 1) David Ragan, 2) AJ Allmendinger, 3) Kasey Kahne. Obviously, it didn’t finish like that at Michigan Speedway, but Kahne stayed red-hot by taking 2nd place, Ragan scored his 2nd best finish of the season, and Allmendinger turned in another good performance. Denny Hamlin was OK from my “A” Group – better than Tony Stewart was two weeks ago at least. I feel good about making a charge soon. I haven’t started any driver more than 4 times (the 3rd place guy in my league has already used up his eligibility on both Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch), and I’ve started every “A” Group guy at least once except for Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch.
Almost...
Fantasy Golf, 130 points, 2nd to last place
I was both stupid and lucky for the U.S. Open. Stupid because I started man boobs instead of Tiger in my “A” Group - Lucky because my “C” Group guy Heath Slocum shot a 6-under 65 during the final round to grab 20 points and vault to 9th place. Unfortunately, nobody had Rocco Mediate – in fact I don’t even know if he was even eligible to start after having to qualify for the event.
The Shots What to Watch this week:
Welcome to life without basketball...
LA Angels at Philadelphia - Friday, Saturday, Sunday
These seem to be the two forgotten division leaders and World Series contenders in the American and National League. The Phillies offense is second only to the Cubs as far as overall firepower, while the Angels win with consistent hitting and a lock-down bullpen. If I would've told you before the season that Joe Saunders and Jamie Moyer would be a combined 17-7 at this point in the season, how hard would you have laughed at me?
The Shots YouTube Clips this week:
Sports related –
Hillary and Bill may have missed out on a return trip to the White House, but they'll be forever immortalized here.
Non-sports related -
Best Music Video ever and it helps that it's a kickass song too.
The Shots Chick Pick this week: Rachel McAdams
I was lazy so I went with a safe pick.
See you next week.
Listen to Derek as he hosts the Xtra Large Lunch, every weekday from noon to 1 PM on XL 950!
Shoot your own Shots in the mailbag derek@XL950.com.
