2008 NBA Finals Preview

I never realized keeping up a blog would be such hard work. Looking at my most recent post, it's been over 40 days; God could have flooded the earth in that time. I guess my wife and I balance each other out--she posts about 4 (million) times a week, and I'm on pace for roughly 4 times a year. I do have plenty of reasonably good excuses: I had finals, I bought a Wii, and have been reading "for pleasure" the last couple of weeks. The last excuse being the most surprising. I don't read for pleasure and here I find myself racing through Moneyball and The Fellowship of the Ring like it's fun or something. But, when you're supposed to be spending your summer writing your Master's Thesis, anything else can sound fun.

I thought I'd give all of our dedicated readers (Brad and Jessica), and even our semi-active readers (Melissa and Kara), an outsider's look into the NBA Finals. I say outsider mostly because I haven't seen hardly any playoff games b/c I don't have ESPN or TNT. I also say it because it makes me feel like more of a Greaser than a Soc (Two-Bit was the coolest).

First of all, how ironic is it that in our day of celebrities re-making their 80s classics (e.g., Rambo, Rocky, Indiana Jones, Die Hard) the basketball gods have provided us the ultimate 1980s rivalry in the Los Angeles Lakers v. Boston Celtics in this year's Finals. And just like First Blood was way better than whatever the new Rambo movie was called (Last Blood??), this year's Finals simply can't match those in the 80s. But despite the fact that they're not walking through that door, this 08 Finals should be, at least, more entertaining than Rambo.

So let's break down the Lakers-Celts matchup piece by piece:

Coach: LA
Even if Doc Rivers went to Harvard and got a PhD in coaching, he'd still be miles behind Phil Jackson. He seems more concerned with his hairline being a series of extremely straight lines than with his coaching style being anything close to consistent, or good.

Point Guard: LA
I only give this nod to Derek Fisher over Rajon Rondo because of the experience factor. D-Fish has it, and Rondo doesn't. Yes, the experience factor is over-rated, but less so in the Finals. (And why couldn't Rondo could have gone to LSU? Not only could he have gone to the Final Four, he could have had one of the most fitting college nicknames ever--Rajon Cajun)

Shooting Guard: LA
Kobe v. Ray Allen: enough said. Unless Shuttleworth's jumper magically appears out of nowhere (cue the Lucky Charms commercial), Jellybean Jr. definitely has the advantage. And is it me, or is Kobe becoming MJ right before our eyes?

Small Forward: Boston
If we were matching up vowels per player name, Vladimir Radmanovic would edge out Paul Pierce 7-5. Talent-wise, you obviously go with Pierce. While Pierce will probably guard Kobe a lot of the time, he wins this matchup. (Again, why couldn't Inglewood's own Paul Pierce have stayed home to attend UCLA? Few nicknames would have been slicker than his, which would have been Pauly Pavilion (or Pauly's Pavilion) and even fewer players could be called after their school's home arena)

Power Forward:Boston
It actually wouldn't surprise me if Lamar Odom has a more productive Finals than Kevin Garnett. On the other hand, the Finals are Garnett's perfect match. It will be the first time in his career when Garnett's fist-pounding-on-heart style of play won't seem overly dramatic. Don't get me wrong, Garnett is the fan's ideal player (just imagine two die-hard basketball fans starring in Weird Science), but the natural environment of the Finals will meet his own intensity. I think Garnett goes off.

Center: LA
Pau Gasol beats Kendrick Perkins in body hair and basketball ability.

Bench: LA
The LA bench seems to have a certain amount of chemistry, and Phil knows when and how to use each of them much better than Old Man Rivers.

Overall: LA
Personally, I'm rooting for the Celtics. Not because I'm still bitter over what happened to my beloved Kings in the 02 Western Conference Finals, but because I'm Irish. And as an Irishman, I'm allowed to jump onto (and off of) the Celtics bandwagon anytime I please. And how could I root against the team whose logo is the official symbol of Ireland. Sadly though, the Lakers win matchup by matchup, and will win this series in 6 games.

Now if you'll excuse me, Frodo and company are on their way to Rivendell.

Who Framed Roger...Clemens?

When Roger Clemens was first linked to steroids I had no real interest in the story. Maybe it was because most of his noteworthy accomplishments happened while I still received sports highlights during ten-minute local news sports reports. Maybe it was because after hearing the Bonds story for so long, and knowing it was pervasive among baseball players of his generation, I wasn't surprised - he did express some rage in the World Series. In addition, aside from Nolan Ryan, men just didn't keep throwing heaters into their forties. Although soft-tossing lefties are the exception.


What has caught my interest has been the story beyond the accusation. I wasn't so concerned about whether he did, or didn't. I wanted to hear what he would say, or wouldn't. How would a man who has ridden an image as a bigger than life alpha-male react to an accusation that would reveal his secret to success? Brian Roberts, Jason Giambi, and his good friend Andy Pettitte all gave way to the mounting pressure to take responsibility, albeit forced and contrived, for taking performance enhancing substances. Clemens decided against this tactic, perhaps because of his need to justify his legendary legacy which would be soiled by any concession to the findings of the Mitchell Report. And while I believe that had a lot to do with his current stance, I just don't think his personality allows him to adopt such advice.

The latest news has Clemens apologizing for personal conduct as a result of some unflattering revelations of infidelity (gross). Before this there was an awkward phone call, and a 60 Minutes interview. I don't know what's to come during the defamation suit he filed against former friend turned finger pointer, or even the investigation of his testimony before a Grand Jury, but the time to cut his loses may have come and gone.