THE BEST THING TO HAPPEN TO SYRACUSE FOOTBALL IN A LONG TIME!

Now, this result may be disheartening to some (eg Greg Robinson) but the rest of syracuse should be celebrating! It is the program's low-point under G-Rob (Pasqualoni's: take your pick: loss to Temple on the missed PAT or the loss at Rutgers where Rich "Chris Hovan ain't got nothin' on me in the being psychotic on the field attribute" Scanlon ran into the stands in New Brunswick to protect his mother), but if this doesn't wake up Daryl Gross from his retarded dream-like state like a baby alligator biting his dick, well, Daryl Gross is in one helluva retarded dream-like state.
Let's get this all straightened out: Syracuse just lost to Akron, the college LeBron claims he would have gone to if he hadn't made the jump straight to the pros...to play basketball. They have been to one bowl total in their history, the Motor City Bowl, which they lost. They have a total of 7 season of better-than-.500 football, which is better than Greg Robinson has ever done. And they might have just had their program's signature regular season win (their MAC championship win in 2004 is obviously way better) in beating Syracuse 42-28 at the Dome. The sadder part is that only 31808 people showed up to the Dome yesterday to watch the Orange lose to a MAC team. They might squeak by with one win this year, but I doubt it. Northwestern could only beat Duke 24-20 after destroying Syracuse. Hell, even Buffalo has already won a game. The long-winded point is this: Greg Robinson is NOT coaching in Syracuse next year. Period. This is the program's absolute low-point. I don't care of Mike Williams cheated, it's still his fault. Right here he called the defense "shabby." Who the fuck was the defensive coordinator at Texas before coming here? Greg Robinson! And Marc Baniewicz puts on the finishing touches to the end of Robinson time at Syracuse in this letter to Donnie Webb. It is ridiculous to see the change in the status,but Baniewicz really puts it well: we used to have a rivalry with Miami (who also have fallen off quite a bit), the fact that Pasqualoni was fired after taking the team to a bowl (I might have overreacted when the loss happened; I mean, Calvin Johnson destroyed us.). So, this will be your farewell tour, Greg Robinson, and Daryl Gross, you better make some real changes before next year, or you'll be next.

Oh my GOD, GREG ROBINSON MAY HAVE ALZHEIMER'S!

We all like to know what's going on back home, especially when a dude from Barenaked Ladies gets caught with some coke in our home 'ville. So I make my daily checking back in, and what do I see?


Yes, I know "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is sooo dope, but look at that dope in the bottom right! What the fuck is so unknown? We suck! A Robinson "unknown press conference" would contain the following sample dialogue:

Press: Is this your breakthrough year, like last year and the year before?
Robinson:I guess I just don't know!
Press: How badly will you guys fuck up to lose this game?
Robinson: Not sure what ridiculous trick play we'll run as the fourth quarter runs out, but I think the quadruple reverse is high on my priority list.
Press: Who is starting..?
Robinson: GODDAMNIT I DON'T FUCKING KNOW! GET OFF MY FUCKING BACK! I KNOW WE FUCKING SUCK! Look at the main story on suahtletics football page:
WE HAVE SOME GREAT PERFORMERS IN THE NFL! HOW ABOUT THAT?
Press: They all played under Pasqualoni. Coach, have you watched your team practice for the opener?
Robinson: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! I SHOULD HAVE STAYED IN TEXAS!

Gold Medal Live-Bloggin'

A late start, but regular starters for Team USA, and the regularly racist line-up from the Spanish except for injured Jose Calderon. The Americans destroyed the Spanish when they last met in group play 106-57. Oh, and on NBC's online, no Doug Collins!
2:34AM: LeBron starts things off with a 3, but Pau returns the favor with a bucket and foul, 3-3. Oh yeah, Dwight Howard somehow trips Pau on the tip-off?
2:37AM: Ah, Melo and that international 3-point-line, but Carlos Jimenez answers right back, 10-9 Spain.
2:39AM: Melo fouls on a tip, and then Kobe fouls on a long 2, so here comes Dwyane Wade.
2:41AM: Ricky Rubio is only 17, but he is sure doing wonders for his draft stock by putting in some good d on Jason Kidd.
2:43AM: A floater for Juan Carlos Navarro, but Chris Paul cherry picks, gets the foul and bucket from Ricky Rubio, and Rubio now has a tweaked wrist.
2:45AM: 4:18 left in the first, and it's 22-17 Spain behind some great ball handling through pressure. But Chris Paul with another amazing bucket and foul, and it's only 22-20 USA.
2:59AM: Dwight Howard intentionals Pau, who hits 1 of 2. Spain with the ball.
2:46AM: Pau just tipped the ball to himself 5 times from point-blank range and missed every one. Here comes little brother Marc. And for those Spanish who have somehow claimed direct ancestry from Neandertals, Marc seems to be their only true link.
2:49AM: Wade steals and reverse jams, Garabajosa comes right back, then Tayshaun hits a 2. 28-25 USA.
2:51AM: Ricky Rubio (with a taped wrist) unsuccessfully looks for the offensive foul from Dwyane Wade, and Spain is in the penalty. Wade hits the first, misses the second, which is cleaned up by Bosh. 31-25 USA.
2:53AM: Marc Gasol sandwiches two pretty nice buckets around Dwyane Wade free throws. 35-29 USA.
2:54AM: Had Deron Williams not fouled him and put Spain into the bonus, Ricky Rubio would have been #1 on SportsCenter's Top 10 with quite the dribble and probably a nasty pass.
2:55AM: Rubio hits both free throws, Wade gets a steal with 5 seconds left and manages to lose control on the 2-on-1 fast break after he has hit a 3. 38-31 USA.
What a quarter for America! But the Spanish are still in it thanks to some excellent ballhandling and great shooting.
2:57AM: Second quarter underway, and Marc Gasol elbows Melo in the face in the post. We call that an offensive foul.
2:58AM: Kobe for 3. 41-31 USA.
2:59AM: Rubio may be able to dribble with the wrist, but he can't shoot, and Kobe takes the long rebound and jams it. 43-31 USA.
3:01AM: Marc Gasol ("brothers Gasol are straight twin-towering it"-5t\_/5c0tt) pushes Melo in the back for an offensive rebound and puts it back up. 43-33 USA.
3:03AM: Melo for 3. 46-33 USA.
3:04AM: Two straight no-calls against the Americans, and then a pretty obviously clean strip by Kidd is another foul for him, and CP3 is coming in.
3:05AM: Paul to Kobe on the alley-oop, 48-40 USA.
3:06AM: Lots of fouls in this one (howard just fouled Jimenez, who hit 2 free throws, 48-42 USA). USA better hope their big men are not getting most of them since they have so few.
3:07AM: LeBron with the nastiest mid-air up-and-under and the foul on Ricky Rubio. Misses the free throw, 50-42 USA.
3:08AM: DWade steal and slam, 52-42 USA, timeout Spain. The Miami Heat have to be excited with how well he is playing.
3:09AM: On the subject, Wade hits a 3 and he has 18 already. 55-42 USA.
3:10AM: LeBron answers Felipe Reyes 2 with a 3. 58-45 USA.
3:11AM: Kobe gets a nasty dribble-drive but his pass to Bosh is off.
3:11AM: Rudy Fernandez with 5 straight and the Spanish are down 58-49.
3:12AM: Deron in for Kobe. Tayshaun tips in a Bosh miss (the Spanish keep collapsing on USA's big man every time, which works for the long-armed "the Prince of Defense" and his gigantic wingspan.)
3:14AM: Wade show continues, 63-51 USA after his three, but it's already down to 63-54 with the Rudy 3.
3:15AM: Some good Spanish passing, Marc Gasol touches an assist to Reyes to answer 2 CP3 free throws, 65-56 USA.
3:17AM: 65-58 USA after Tayshaun tries to slow down Rudy on a pick, and the Notre Dame legend hits 2 free throws.
3:19AM: Tayshaun gets an offensive rebound to give USA the rest of the quarter to score, but a foul puts Paul on the line with 26.8 seconds left. he hits both, 69-61 USA.
3:20AM: Wade misses the buzzer beater, but he still has 21 and USA leads 69-61 at the half. I feel like I'm watching an NBA All-Star game with these shooting percentages. It's amazing what Jimmy B has done with Team USA's ability to play against the zone. Essentially the offense that every team runs against SU and that he runs against man-to-man defenses. I'll be back for the second half if I don't fall asleep.
3:36AM: We're back and Kidd turns it over, leading to a Reyes 2. 69-63 USA.
3:37AM: Kobe air balls, then makes a great pass to LeBron who is the loser on the no-call.
3:38AM: Howard hits a 2, and Reyes right back. 71-65 USA.
3:39AM: Pau is hit in the face after a nice fadeaway (71-67 USA) and then we get to hear some cussin' online. How exciting. Dwight misses 2 free throws, but Melo cleans up and is fouled. Misses the free throw and Kobe fouls on the rebound. 73-67 USA.
3:41AM: Navarro floater and it's only 4.
3:42AM: Dwight with the dunk and a bit of a momentum buster. USA needs more big plays like that. But another Navarro floater makes it 75-71 USA. Coach K calls a timeout, and he is cussin'.
3:44AM: Melo misses a 3 out of the timeout, but gets an outlet on some good defense and makes it 77-71 USA.
3:45AM: No USA rebounding AND Jimenez gets an open lay-up. 77-73 USA.
3:46AM: LeBron is answered by Unfrozen Caveman, who is answered by a LeBron "AND ONE" that includes a missed free throw. 81-75 USA. Also, referees are just plain not calling fouls. Did I just see David Beckham?
3:49AM: Good zone offensive rebounding and passing and Bosh is going to the line for 2. He hits both, 83-76 USA.
3:50AM: Kobe escapes an ill-advised shot with a pass to Wade, who is fouled in the act. He hits 1 of 2, USA 84-76. He then makes it 86-76 off of a Spanish turnover.
3:54AM: Navarro answered by Deron to make it 88-78, then Deron tries goin 1 on 2 and gets called for a charge.
3:55AM: Melo answers Gasol's 2with a 3, 91-80 USA with time winding down. And Wade is called for a travel with 12.2 seconds left.
3:56AM: Navarro beats the buzzer for Spain, but the Americans increased their lead and I think have built enough momentum to hold on. Fourth quarter coming up shortly.
3:59AM: LeBron called for the loose ball foul on a fast break to start the quarter, still 91-82 USA.
4:00AM: Pau gets a tip-in, 91-84 USA.
4:01AM: Kobe bricks a 3 against the zone without a pass. Rudy gets a nasty pass to Pau, another terrible USA shot, a Rudy 3 (Touchdown Jesus is going CRAZAY) and its now 91-89? Holy shit was I wrong! Dwight Howard enters for USA.
4:03AM: Kobe with a big 2, but now USA needs to get some stops if they want to win this. 93-89 USA.
4:04AM: Big 3 from Deron after LeBron picked up his 4th foul. 96-89 USA.
4:05AM: It takes a block to make Kobe drive and dish to Howard for the jam, 98-89.
4:06AM: No rebounding from USA, and Rudy retries a 3 to make it 98-92, and then Kobe responds with a 3 to make it 101-92.
4:07AM: LeBron hits a second-chancer to make it 103-92, and the RUDY FERNANDEZ DUNKED ON DWIGHT HOWARD and hits a free throw,103-95 USA.
4:08AM: Kobe is "ill-advised 3" again.
4:09AM: But then he pins a pass to Gasol against the backboard. Howard is hacked and will probably miss these 2 free throws. Maybe they should try a little harder to get Amare on this team again. He makes 1 of 2, 104-95 USA.
4:10AM: Another Spanish offensive rebound and Howard commits his 4th foul Pau and now they're in the bonus with 4:02 left. Pau hits both and its 104-97 USA.
4:12AM: Pau hits a jumper as Bosh is the victim of a no-call and then KOBE HAS A CHANCE FOR A 4-POINT PLAY and RUDY FERNANDEZ FOULS OUT. Things just got a lot easier for USA. And Beckham should try cheering for his own country for once. Kobe makes the free throw,108-99 USA.
4:14AM: Navarro hits a 2 and Jimenez a 3 and its 108-104 before a Wade 3 makes it 111-104 USA. A Spanish timeout (cute cheerleaders for the Castillians). USA continues to hit the big shots and keep Spain from getting any closer than the two-point margin earlier in the quarter. Coach K isn't cussin' as much, probably due to Wade's 27 points saving his ass and probably getting his a gold medal.
4:17AM: Rubio throws a long board of Paul and Spain has another possession which comes up empty. 113-105 USA.
4:18AM: Kobe floats one in, and Spain starts to trap/foul intentionally.
4:19AM: CP3 hits 2 and its a 10 point lead.
4:20AM: Marc cleans up for Pau and makes it 115-107 USA.
4:21AM: Great inbounds play from USA and CP3 manages to waste quite a bit of time and Kobe hits 2 technical free throws.CP3 will shoot 2 and then USA gets the ball. I am declaring victory! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! Ah, just like SUPA Econ again. CP3 hits 1 of 2 and Redd and Boozer get to come off the bench. And Rubio doesn't have a left hand. 118-107 USA.
4:24AM: That is it, let's shake some hands and get that god damn medal. And I guess I get to see Manu again as the Argintineans took the bronze earlier. I FUCKING HATE THAT GUY!
4:25AM: So many shades of Econ class with the cneter court celebration right next to the Spanish. Except McGuigan is not a complete asshole like Coach K (to clarify, the exact opposite).
4:38AM: Wow, the Superbad theme. I feel like the Chinese stole a very mainstream stoner's iPod and put it on shuffle for the Olympic basketball tournament.
4:41AM: I'm about to fall asleep, so I'm going to live blog an archived online video of the medal ceremony later today. One last time:
U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Leroi Moore 1961-2008

I've recently been on a tear in terms of writing blogs when things die. Now, I have come to hate Dave Matthews Band, mostly due to Dave Matthews, but when I was a in high school, I could not get enough. His only recent good work has been his role in Zohan. But could that motherfucker surround himself with talent, and one of my favorites was Leroi Moore. The man hated the spotlight, but he was by far the most talented member of the group. I'm sure Jeff Coffin will fill in damn well temporarily, but Leroi recently passed away from complications due to an ATV accident. Of my fondest memories of DMB concerts, most primarily involved Leroi as well as his partnership with Rashawn "Big Sexy" Ross. And boy, could Leroi play a penny whistle, among various saxophones and some sorts of clarinets. Without the showmanship of Boyd or Carter, he could still dominate a concert with his musical acumen.

I'm hoping Dave calls quits on the group after this summer. It just feels like its time since it is no longer an original line up. Then again, I am no longer a fan, so this opinion is pretty much meaningless.

More sports coming soon.

Mike and the Mad Dog: 1989-2008 (WFAN), 2002-2008 (YES Simulcast)

Ah, you never even got the chance to legally drink alcohol, unless you traveled in Europe after high school. Or recently went to Canada. What will we miss? How about the guessing of league leaders in batting average? The ridiculous phone interviews? The telling-off of supposed idiots. Mad Dog was the voice of this operation, but Francesca was the brains. Too bad he doesn't have Russo's charisma, so he doesn't have much of a chance of surviving long on the FAN. He does however, have the power of alliteration (Francesca on the FAN has a good ring, eh?). But if we were to make a headstone for this experience (It was more than a radio show; it was also a simulcast.), it would look like this:

Ah, glorious television. Goooooooooooodbye, MikeAndTheMadDog!

Ah, Donte, Donte, Donte!

As we reported here earlier this week on how Donte would not be welcome in Houston with his big mouth and Rick Adelman's extreme distaste for both his attitude and style of play, Donte done turned around and got his ass traded to Sacramento along with Bobby Jackson and a future first rounder for Ronald William Artest Jr. Yao was skeptical, but if there ever was a time for impressive trios to take over the League, except for Scranton GM Dwight Schrute, who would tend to disagree, preferring the "curse of three" in order that Andrew Bernard not join him and Michael Scott in the traveling squad to New York to hang with the temp, it is now. KG, Paul Pierce, and Jesus Shuttlesworth did so in Boston; Ron-Ron, Yao, and McGrady are about to try it out in Houston; Gasol, Bryant, and a healthy Andrew Bynum could be scary for the Lakers; the Spurs with Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili. Surrounding three stars with a supporting cast could be he wave of the future, and I don't think guys leaving for Europe is really going to be an issue in terms of filling those support roles. Josh Childress is good, but not that good. Olimpiakos has definitely overvalued him, and no other NBA team even made an offer for a reason (read: he is fucking mediocre).

But back to Donte. Rick Adelman just granted him his wish! He is going to contribute, and he'll also start to fade into obscurity a la Bison Dele. Reggie Theus will let Donte shoot, but unless the shot doctor somehow appeared and taught him how to fix everything he has been doing wrong in a lucid dream, Mr. Theus will see Donte's misses and lack of defense and show him to the bench. Anyway you look at it, it still looks like a bad choice in terms of the future for Donte to leave after this year. But the worst part? Donte must officially remain a Rocket for two weeks because he signed his contract on July 14. Rick Adelman may spend the whole time pulling a Dale Sturvetant on him, but I'm unsure of how helpful that will be.

Oh, Donte, when will you ever learn?

Last week, the NBA's Vegas Summer League came to an abrupt conclusion, including the retirement of Nate Robinson's jersey and subsequent removal by maintenance staff after League play had ended. As well, Donte played professionally and even scored 40 one time! He ended up finishing second in the "league" in scoringwith 22.6 per game to go along with a measly 3.6 rebounds per and shot 42.5% from the field. So, what was Donte to say afterwards? Here are the choices I could think of:

a.) "I played well and I hope I can contribute this year."

b.) "We played well and there's going to be a strong supporting cast this year."

c.) "I feel like I'm coming out and proving I'm not long-term. I feel like I can be put in there right now and be a contributor to the team."

Don't (a) and (b) sound so diplomatic? ((b) is extremely fake and you'll probably never hear a player say that, but still, read c!) Well, Donte said (c). His head is already in the clouds, which means he thinks he just got to freshman year with the Rockets. I think he is going to learn the hard way, as his new coach, Rick Adelman, expressed his own reservations about Donte, saying, "I don't know if he understands what it takes to play hard; especially at the level he's got to play at."

So, now we wait to see if it truly is an adventure for Donte this year in Houston. Can he learn to keep his mouth shut like the guy he starts in front of, Mr. Shane Battier? The lesson may get to him way too late. Other Syracuse players will be much wiser in the future as they do not aim for the immediate draft fortunes of Carmelo, who knew what he was doing, and Donte, who obviously did not.

Hakim Warrick is Human Quaaludes

And I'm sure Quaaludes wish they had as much length and tremendous upside potential as Hak (Jay Bilas during a long night at Duke was once quoted as saying that the 'ludes that Danny Ferry scored for him were "getting a piece of my paint...SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT") Now that my distant cousin, Pappy Chalmers, has relieved the Jayhawk of that championship drought with that clutch as hell three, Dana O'Neil over at the WWL found that it was time to bring up a demon that no longer matters to Lawrence: Mr. Michael Lee, who fell victim to this. So, I'm guessing this made you feel sort of sad, no?

"For two, maybe two and a half weeks, I just shut down totally," Lee recalled. "I didn't want to talk to anybody because I knew how much it was on everybody's mind. I didn't go out unless I absolutely had to, like to go to class or something. I just hid in my room."

Sounds like when Chris Squire dropped acid for the last time. Also, does anyone remember a John Wallace/Jason Cipolla/Lazarus Sims/JB Reafsnyder flashback article like this in 2003? Probably not, because the Orangemen were completely counted out of that one. And there wasn't any huge fuck-up that defined the game. Unless Cipolla was seduced by a cougar a la Eugene Robinson at Super Bowl XXXIII.

A Celebratory Post

First off, a big yom huledet sameach out to Danny Macintosh, who just turned 30000000000 in ant years. And to celebrate his birthday, Billy Packer has disappeared. The Miami Herald reported it earlier today that CBS will not bring him back and end the consecutive Final Four streak at 34, which included 7 at NBC. Jim Nantz is now going to sound way more like a douche bag now that senile grandpa from hell isn't giving his two cents constantly. And now, what will be of Packer's future endeavors that he claims will keep him comfortable without his yearly CBS contract? I'm thinking basketball instructional videos that focus on the negative a la Dale Sturtevant. What a way to celebrate French freedom: it's like the MVC, CAA, Sun Belt, WCC, and A-10 united and stormed Packer's prison where he tortured Selection Committee members who invited midmajors to the Big Dance.

The Passion of the Dykes

I am officially declaring that the worst on-air job belongs to Jimmy Dykes. A man who was once an assistant coach at Kentucky, Arkansas (where he also played for three years after managing his freshmen year), and Oklahoma State, as well as a scout for the Seattle Sonics, probably thought he would have smooth sailing working for ESPN with a focus on college basketball, which is his specialty. His assignment today, which he also had last year, was very far from that as he covered the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island. Dykes was somehow the sideline reporter/technique expert/sports field-of-play analogy mathematician and it made me ask myself the question, "How far up Jimmy Dykes' ass is the WWL?" I believe the answer is very far. They make people do this on what is traditionally a day off? Yes, they do. I'm sure it would be fun as a spectator, but to make Dykes line up next to a bunch of hot dogs and tell people how long it takes to eat them, or how long, end-to-end all the hot dogs Chestnut and Kobayashi are going to eat will be? Mr. Dykes, I'm very sorry about your career.
A few other things:
-Crazy Legs Conti is the "Hot Brisket Buffet World Champion." Does that mean there is a running portion to the event? Are contestants encouraged to walk in order to avoid a "reversal of fortune"?
-ESPN showed clips from the Wii game of competitive eating and Tim Janus seemed to be talking about the realism. Really? I don't think you have to eat 50 Wii remotes before a reversal of fortune.
-A 5 dog eat-off was probably just made up on the spot. I don't think there is a rule book that says "in case of a tie..." More like they turned to the guy with the white hat and said, "They tied, what the fuck do we do now?"
-And finally, the best clip of television ever broadcasted on MTV that isn't Jackass or Rob and Big:

It's possible to die from eating. But I think, to be a professional means you don't die. Have a happy rest of your Independence Day, we'll be back.

GIRARDI PARTY REPLAY PARTY

Why does baseball always have to be this mythical, unchanging cousin of the other major sports? While the NCAA, NFL, NHL, and NBA (and what the hell, even NASCAR) have instituted numerous rule changes over the last decade or so to improve the quality of their respective games and help keep them with the times, baseball's biggest rule changes of the last ten years have been reactionary subtleties aimed to quell the rioting masses: the All-Star Game can't end in a tie, and first- and third-base coaches need to wear helmets. Baseball simply refuses to join the new millennium and implement instant-replay, and the rationale can be summed up in one word...


"TRADITION!"

Traditionalists, such as my friend Marthur, argue that instituting replay in baseball would interrupt the flow of the game, making games drag on too long. I don't know what type of replay these guys are picturing. The idea, in my humble opinion, isn't that every close call be meticulously dissected and reviewed. I agree that doing that won't do wonders to speed up an already somewhat slow-moving game. At the same time, though, a responsible and somewhat minimalist approach to instant replay could keep fans and franchises happy by guaranteeing that the right call has been made while also insuring that the sacred "flow" of baseball is preserved.


Here's how it has to go. I present GIRARDI PARTY REPLAY PARTY.

• As the MLB has proposed for this season, close/questionable home run/foul ball calls will always be reviewed, without provocation or use of a "challenge", from some kind of Batcave war room in MLB's secret fortress in New York. In the event of a tough home run call, a call would be placed from the Batcave to the ballpark in question, where a representative would inform the umpires that the call is being reviewed. The crew chief would simply wait on the phone until the verdict is reached, and the game progresses as normal.
  
  
• If you say this will add significant time to games, you're wrong. These calls really aren't all that common, and when there are close home run calls, the umpires always huddle and take 10 minutes deciding anyway. I think a team of trained professionals - or chimpanzees - studying the tape in HD could get the call right more quickly and efficiently than four umpires scratching their heads and asking each other, "I dunno, did you see it?"
  
  
• The part everyone gets hung up on is, "well, when does it end? What's stopping them from reviewing every close call?" Here's what's stopping them: a rule preventing that. In Girardi Party Replay Party, in addition to home run/foul calls automatically being reviewed, each team is allowed one "challenge" per game, where a call is reviewed by instant replay. To "challenge," a manager would have to immediately leave the dugout and inform an umpire exactly what ruling he's challenging. I don't know if the umpires would look into a TV at the park to make a ruling or what... I like the Batcave idea for all challenges. (A comprehensive list is of what would/wouldn't be reviewable is at the bottom of this post.)
  
  
• Win or lose a challenge, each team gets one and only one. This provision is key because it is what will keep replay from being a major distraction. Think about it: a manager would never blow his challenge on a play at first in a scoreless game with no men on in the third inning because he'll look like an idiot when his team loses on a clearly trapped-and-not-caught line drive at the end of the game. With only one crack at a replay, challenges won't be used except in extreme and crucial circumstances, and entire games would likely pass in which teams would not use their challenges at all.
  
  
• While there would be no penalty for losing a challenge (as in the NFL, where you lose a timeout), losing your only chance at a replay review is punishment enough.
  
  
• The only fishy part about this is determining what would have happened in the event that, say, the challenged call on the field was the third out of the inning but was overturned. The umpires then would have to have final say on which baserunners move up, and where - a decision that would not be reviewable but would probably be pretty obvious, assuming no errors (which you'd have to).
  
  
• As in football, if the replay were inconclusive, the call on the field would stand.
  

Some of the world's snootiest, oldest sports have adopted instant replay - cricket and tennis come to mind. While concerns over the pace of the game are certainly valid, if home runs were automatically reviewed and each team were only allowed one challenge, the pace of the game would not be changed dramatically. In fact, the game's pace would probably be more positively impacted by other rules, such as a tighter regulations on warm-up pitches, mound visits, pitchers' pace of play, and time-outs by batters. Nobody wants a baseball game to resemble a football game, where the replays are long and boring and challenges have become the game's focal point. The idea would be to introduce replay to get big calls right but still keep it a small, subtle part of baseball. I think Girardi Party Replay Party accomplishes this, and to further prove it, a more detailed analysis of what would and wouldn't be reviewable follows:

Things that could be reviewed:

• Balls in play caught/not caught
  
• Baserunners out/safe by way of tag or force (or lack thereof)
  
• Baserunners tagging up (in)correctly
  
• Batters hit by a pitch (or not), or catcher interference (or not)
  
• Ground rule doubles; ie, did the ball bounce and hit the wall, or some other object that is out of play?
  
• Catchers (not) catching third strikes - call this one the AJ Pierzynski Rule
  
• Other oddities (fan interference, baserunners crossing paths, baserunners touching coaches/other players, missed bases, catcher leaving the catcher's box prior to pitch, etc.)

Things that would be left solely to the discretion of the umpires:

• Called balls and strikes, no matter how egregious
  
• Balks
  
• Checked swings; normal checked-swing appeals will suffice, and will not count as challenges, but such decisions are final and cannot be challenged
  
• Out by batting out of order (as these calls are made only by appeal anyway and aren't really debatable)
  
• Home runs/foul balls - these replays can come only "from the booth Batcave" and will every time it's even close, no matter what, quickly and efficiently
  
• Suspension/postponement/ending of a game due to weather

Editor's Note: It's too bad that Marthur has disassociated himself with this blog, because he could provide a passionate counter-argument to my point of view. I know this because he did already, half-drunk in a stifling-hot dorm room in Columbus, Ohio a few weeks ago. Nothing better than seeing two co-bloggers call each other assholes.

I'm Taking Issue With Something, EURO is Done, and Donte Greene is Going to Outerspace

So, congratulations to the Spanish for their breezy, though partially-referee-aided victory over Germany for the chip yesterday. Torres' goal in the 33rd was all the scoring needed, although the Red Fury could have probably put in 3 more. No Villa was no issue for the Spanish, who seemed to have an easier time on the attack with the addition of Fabregas to the starting lineup, and switching to a 4-1-4-1 that let Torres poach more easily instead of having a focus on setting the table. Casillas was solid in net, and made his biggest play of the match when he put his hands in front of a cross that would have been an easy header for sub Kevin Kuranyi, aka Antoine Laconte, who also played defense like he was looking for the booking. Roberto Rossetti was helpful to the Spanish cause, as he seemed to let play go when Spain had fouled but was more stringent with the Germans. Rossetti did nothing to David Silva for his minor headbutt, but FIFA may take issue with it at a later time.
Donte Greene was a Grizzly on Thursday for a little while, but he ended up a Rocket. When he was a Memphis Grizzly, all I could think of was "Wow, what's going on at that bowling alley in Baltimore right now?" and "Can you imagine how stupid he looks as a one-and-done warming the pine for the Syracuse ALUM Hakim Warrick?" But then he got moved to Houston, where he will compete with Steve Novak for the right to back up Shane Battier. The sad part is that he will be sitting behind Steve Novak, who is a much smarter player and a way better shooter. So the joke is STILL on you, Donte.
And finally, to wrap up Post #101 ("DAMN YOU, MACINTOSH!"-Carl Quigley), I bring you this tidbit from another stupid ESPN promotion built to fill up time and hypnotize you slowly to join the ESPN army and take over the Western Hemisphere: Titletown USA! So, which town is the biggest winner? I could give a shit about it, although a bunch of motherfuckers from Boston will talk your ear off about the Sawx, C's, Bruins, and the Pats and a bunch of other ridiculous championships that I really could care less about. Anyways, San Francisco is entered into this 20-municipality fray, and ESPN user jcap24 wanted to share this tidbit about why the white side of the Bay is the best:

The San Francisco Giants have five WS titles ('05, '21, '22, '33, '54), 20 NL pennants, six West division titles, one wild-card berth.

A championship can only count towards your Titletown resume if it was won after the team moved to said Titletown, so the San Francisco Giants can take credit for 0 World Series titles, 3 NL Pennants, 6 West Division Titles, and one wild-card berth. With this, the WWL has to play judge and ask us to disregard all facts relating to events occuring before 1958, but like the bloody finger that the prosecuting attorney pulled out of his pocket, most people will remember this fact. Maybe a more democratic ideology will benefit the ESPN in that plot to take over the Western Hemisphere. More HD capabilities would probably help too...you know, with the whole hypnotizing thing.

We Livebloggin', Ya'll...The Lottery

7:30-I've only done this with Champion's League Finals, so now, we give you Fort Minor again. Oh, and Stuart Scott, introducing David Stern, which everyone seems to love. Marc Jackson and Van Gundy with Bilas at the main table should be more pleasing than say STEPHEN A. SMITH, whose name I will from now on capitalize whenever I write it.

7:32-David Stern is his usual eloquent self in trying to show people that he isn't exploiting these athletes for money, but instead giving them the opportunity to enhance our society.

7:36-Vinny Del Negro always makes me laugh, and as we all know Derrick Rose will be the pick, so why waste the whole time that they are on the clock?

7:38-Derrick Rose is the pick, so it is time to go home...for him, we'll be here for a while. And the Chicago draft room is golfclapping. What the hell else would they do? they have the first pick, no one is going to take Rose right now. Unless Donnie Walsh has some scheme. Also, my nephew just made me deaf.

7:42-The Heat are now going to make the pick...Beasley or Mayo?

7:43-Make that Beasley. 2 top picks are freshmen for the second straight year, and now Miami could have nasty trifecta in Wade, Matrix, and the one just selected.

7:46-STEPHEN A. SMITH is asking Beasley some questions. Miami is getting a "fun-loving guy" off the court. I don't know how compatible that will be with good work ethic in Miami. Example: Dwyane Wade. Doris Burke just asked questions of his mom, a bigger improvement on Stu badgering Melo's mom in 2003.

7:49-Oventin J'Anthony Mayo is going to Minnesota! What Jay Bilas means by NBA-ready is he is older than me, but a year behind me in school, and he disappeared in a few games.

7:50-Marc Jackson cried when OJ wasn't allowed to play with him during the summer.

7:51-STEPHEN A. SMITH here again, telling us how rude OJ is by not saying "hello," but the greeting "STEPHEN A., I CAN PLAY THE POINT GUARD POSITION."

7:52-Pat Riley started planning for the lottery way before the season ended. Did he seriously forget about that tank job he pulled that sealed the worst record in the League?

7:54-The Sonics have way too many draft picks. No team can win with a bunch of first round picks, you need vets.

7:55-Russell Westbrook to the Sonics. Your time is almost over, Earl Watson. He'll be very helpful to the Sonics. Probably the smartest pick so far. It'll be interesting to see what they do with their other. So now what does Memphis do? A center is available that could be better than Darko? I'd take that.

8:01-I'm not sure about Kevin Love. He plays close to the ground in an above the rim game. And they took Kevin Love. Wes Unseld would have trouble in this day and age, but I write this blog, and Chris Wallace, for some reason, runs the Grizzlies.

8:03-There are no people with the "oo" sound in their names. There are so many ways to go. They need...everything.

8:07-Getting rowdy...and they take "BIG COCK" Danilo Gallinari (his nickname), whose dad played with D'Antoni in Italy. And here comes Fraschilla to explain booing to the Italian. Will he sell a lot of shoes? Eh, he's a foreign player, I don't know about that.

8:09-STEPHEN A. SMITH is yelling over the boos, and Danilo shows off his our sentences in English. The Knicks starters and key reserves just looks like none will be playing there after next season.

8:12-Clippers are taking their record 19th lottery pick! Injured Elton Brand is like injured David Robinson before the '97 draft.

8:13-Eric Gordon is the PG of the future in LA and will give them a nasty first 7, and will replace either Mobley or Brevin Knight pretty soon.

8:15-No one sophomore or above picked yet, just the "Big Cock."

8:17-Marc Jackson talks of immediate regret for the Knicks for not taking a PG.

8:18-Mose Schrute shaved his beard, changed his name to Joe Alexander and got sleected eighth by the Bucks. I also love his childhood pictures in China.

8:20-I never heard Mose speak before, but he sounds like a cocky motherfucker. White Basketball Jesus?

8:21-Will MJ ruin another franchise? Wait until after the commercial break...

8:24-I want the Larry Brown timeline to be my screensaver. Personally, I like all the glasses.

8:25-DJ Augustin? Seriously? MJ is insane, and Larry Brown probably won't like him due to his penchant for carelessness. Raymond Felton will be pissed, and Larry Brown now doesn't have a center, but now the Augustin's will have a new home since theirs was destroyed by Katrina.

8:28-The Brook-err New Jersey Nets are up, and everyone says go for a center.

8:29-Brook Lopez is a wise choice. Not sure if he'll be able to play as well without his bro Robin because they won't be able to activate their Wondertwin Powers. Robin seems to have separation anxiety.

8:35-Sorry Jamaal Tinsley, but all the crimes will not be tolerated by Larry Legend, and Jerryd Bayless is taken. But how does he work with TJ Ford? I cannot say.

8:37-Jerryd can golf. And he can also follow whatever orders are given to him. I'm impressed!

8:42-Jason Thompson to the Kings? Cool. He went to Rider, and his dad is a referee. I expect him to NEVER foul out. I wish I had that type of growth spurt, from 6'1" to 6'11".

8:46-What will the Blazers and Warriors do? Both were very solid last year, enough that they would have made the playoffs in the East. Oden comes back next year to Portland, so they can just get REAL solid.

8:47-Brandon Rush is probably less of an idiot than his brothers, was hurt in a year ago (torn ACL), and he will be another nasty cog in the system. No mention of JaRon luckily. And 3 times is the charm of draft declarations.

8:49-Andy Katz was the first person to say "Quite frankly" tonight, and STEPHEN A.'S MIC WAS MUTED BECAUSE HE THOUGHT MR. KATZ WAS MAKING FUN OF HIS CANCELLED ESPN2 TALK SHOW!

8:51-Anthony Randolph? Really? I really don't like him as an NBA player, especially after the terrible record he led LSU to last year. He only weighs 197! Shaq could break him in half.

Well, it wasn't the most entertaining lottery (Hell, Hilton Armstrong crashed his car twice when he was 15.). But it just seems weird with all these freshman being taken. Anyways, Randolph thinks he can play, and Vitale appears! AHHH I MUST FLEEEEEEEEEE

An Open Letter to Donte Greene

Dear Donte Green,

You are the paradigm of what I hate about the NBA Draft. Today, Jay Bilas advised against drafting a big center unless he is a "great defensive presence, like a Greg Oden." Mr. Bilas spoke of a player who has never played an NBA game, who has never showed any defensive talent because he has only been injured. No one knows if he can block a shot or affect a shot in a NBA game. So, you're saying you need a player who will get paid to rehab his knee and not do anything for your team. Put out a name like young Dikembe Mutombo (Craig Sager at the 1990 NBA Draft pronounced his name De-Camby Mu-Tom-bo. They also used swivel chairs that those motherfuckers swiveled in way too much due to nerves TNT definitely changed that up for the next year.) or Alonzo Mourning or Pat Ewing or Bill Russell, someone who has played a game in the NBA and actually blocked a shot in a NBA game. Donte, you represent this to the fullest. What did you exactly do at Syracuse to make anyone see potential? Was it learning to post up the guy guarding you who is 8 inches shorter than you on a regular basis during the last home game of the year? How about never learning to pass, even when you shot 6-19 from the field and 1-1 from the line against Nova in the Big East Tournament, or 2-15 against UConn that you made Syracuse not deserve any chance to be in that game? Johnny Flynn was more than capable, but you had to shoot. And when did you ever play defense? I know, you averaged 1.7 blocks a game, but the number of times you lost a rebounding chance or let a guy go right past you made those blocks look like you're trying to pay for a meal for 5 at Smith and Wollensky with a $5 bill, and your offense wasn't exactly a gift certificate that would make up the difference.Your time at Syracuse was something that we never wanted to see. We were sure we wouldn't get duped by one of those one-and-done freshmen again, unless they won a championship. But you did, and now you're going to the League because you have tremendous upside potential because of your length and the fact that you shoot a lot of threes and think you can handle well enough to be a 3, which is what she said if she were Doris Burke. We don't appreciate you, as you were the first to show Syracuse fans the dark side of the one-and-done craze, where the team is left for dead for the riches. Luckily, the team looks solid for next year without you. And I understand the financially it will work for you. I'm sure you may succeed in the NBA, but I can't wish you the best. You just helped drag us back to the NIT. And if you do happen to be revealed as a defensive liability and a hucker, please, have fun playing in Sweden. And wherever you play next year, may Syracuse fans boo you when you enter the game.

Sincerely,
Pappy Chalmers

***ADDENDUM***
Donte plans on having his draft night party at a Baltimore bowling alley. I hope his pin percentage is better than his 3-point percentage at 'Cuse. Maybe PDW will show up and fuck him up at the pins and do the suck-it celebration. I might try to see Gunnin' for that #1 Spot due to it being a sports doc, but can it really be anything as revealing or truly great as Hoop Dreams or Through the Fire? I don't think so, but there could be something special in using 6 players.

The Battle of Dudes with Morristaches

As you can see from these Luca Toni and Iker Casillas faces, I have become an inspiration to world class footballers who decided to 'stache it for this final Euro quarterfinal. I like both players, but this match's Adam Morrison High As Balls at Rage Against the Machine's Reunion Show Faded Moustache Player of the Match Award goes to Casillas, who ended a pretty much completely boring game with two great saves of penalties by De Rossi and Camronesi. The Spanish seemed to outplay the Italians for most of the match. Toni was not very impressive in his poaching job, and for some reason, with Del Piero in for Aquilani and coupling up with Luca, Italian long balls were being directed towards the smaller and faster Del Piero instead of the taller, fatigued Toni.
(Side note: If Luca lets the 'stache bloom during the Bundesliga, we have to refer to him as Luigi, because Mario Gomez is already referred to as Super Mario).
So now, with three runners up and a very intriguing rematch of a group stage romp, I, your good friend Pappy Chalmers, after looking my friend in the eye and telling him Russia would come out on top right before kickoff, I try to make it possible for you to determine how to make a bookie owe you money with this complete bullshit analysis that Dennis Hopper probably uses so he won't have to depend on a drunk Mickey Jones to not put in a terrible bet:
Turkey vs. Germany
I spent my last fall writing a paper about the role of the Turkish population in Germany, where many are not allowed to acquire citizenship but fill many menial jobs in the German economy. Their role could possibly change if they are able to upset the German side on Wednesday, but it will be tough with Germany in great shape and Turkey missing many key parts such as Nihat, their starter and leading scorer, is out with a thigh, and so are five of his teammates and keeper Volkan stupidly knocked down Jan Koller for no reason. And Recber Rustu is still old, even though he is a god damn Turkish icon a la Fender Rhodes. So, don't go for the big money, and take Germany 2-0.
Russia vs. Spain
Last time these two played, it was the first Group D match and Spain blasted them 4-1. But the Rooskies are a changed squad. Andrei Arshavin is weaving through defenses like an elderly woman through an afghan, and has potential to become the biggest Russian transfer after the tournament with Arsene Wenger looking to bring him into Emirates for the Gunners next year. Spain hit a rough patch in their offensive destructive path against the Italians, but they had to deal with Buffon waiting for their shots. Igor Akinfeev, who started and won the UEFA Cup Final at the age of 19 with CSKA Moscow, is playing pretty hot right now and will be a great test to Villa and the rest of the Spanish attack, and Casillas will turn out to be the toughest test for the Russians so far with his adroit saves of those two Italian penalties (they would have been in this game had Gattuso and Pirlo not had yellow suspensions). In the end, I just don't think Akinfeev is Lev Yashin, so the Spanish advance with a 2-1 decision.
I have a couple of questions for Marco Van Basten:
-What happened to Kuyt at halftime? Could you wait until someone breaks the tie to put in Van Persie?
-Why did you put in Heitinga for Boulahrouz? That lost the match with his terrible marking of Pavluchenko on that first goal and just general terrible-ness.
That is it. Can't wait for these semifinals, and the NBA DRAFT IS ON THURSDAY. My open letter to Donte Greene will be released Thursday afternoon, and he probably won't like it.

The Kobe Rules

Yes, I was one of the many that called Kobe the next Jordan, and I want to clarify that calling to be our Jordan. Kobe is going to go down as the dominant guard of our era. The Celtics are a collective that looked amazing on paper and then played amazing in reality. The PGA Tour/Three Amigos/Big Three are this era's equivalent to Parish/Bird/McHale, with an obviously more guard-oriented approach compared to the '80's trio. Each has quite a bit of time left in the NBA, besides having time left as teammates before contracts run out (the first to do so will be Ray Allen in 2010). As well, the Celtics are the defensive juggernaut that the Bad Boy Pistons were, and were the first team to demonstrate how to shut down Kobe this year. The analogy remains, as Kobe may one day conquer them (that possibility being next year, when he will probably have a healthy Andrew Bynum to go along with Gasol...will Phil platoon the two of them at center? We shall see...).

The Group of Death Resolves Itself and Boston Loses Another Finger To a Ring

I'd like to start this post off by saying that one of the most important parts of this blog while your dear friend Pappy is in the Delaware Valley is Comcast with their okay internet and excellent cable services. However, they charge exorbitant fees, and they do something that Time Warner never does in Syracuse: have 24 straight hours of a service outage. The funny part to me is that while this storm that supposedly took out service for so many people was occurring, nothing happened to my cable service. But 2 days afterwards? Of course it will take out your service. The logic is beautiful.
However, not as beautiful as the beautiful game (futbol (soccer)) was yesterday, and the Euro action was pretty ugly. In order to prevent the throwing of games, both games are played concurrently, so I joined a friend at a West Philly bar and got to watch both on big screens right next to each other, but it was still tough to pay attention to both at the same time.
The Italians took their dives, as Luca Toni did in the 24th inside the box, drawing a red card for Eric Abidal that probably should have been a yellow for Toni. Andrea Pirlo, who probably has the most accurate foot in the world right now, easily put the penalty past Coupet, and Italy was set to coast. This was especially easy because Ribery, France's best midfielder, fell to injury in the 10th. It looked like a Zidane break where he would get off the stretcher on the sideline, squirt water on his leg, and go right back on. But it was actually a REAL injury. Samir Nasri came in for him and proved to be pretty terrible, as he was replaced by Jean Alain Boumsong in the 26th. A deflected De Rossi free kick closed the scoring in 62nd, and the Italians marched on with barely a hint of trouble, which was a Karim Benzema shot that barely missed. France did what its army regularly does in war and what it's soccer team does once every two or three tournaments: disappear completely. They only managed one goal in this tournament. I don't know what type of shape Zidane is in right now, but his national side needs him pretty badly.
So, one uncompetitive side in the France-Italy match meant that the Romanians needed to pull off a win against the less offensive Dutch oven which was weaker due to a big chunk of their starting lineup that destroyed the French and Italians resting for the quarters. Not much going on in the first half, although the Romanians did put on some pressure. However, the Dutch showed that they could attack well even without their best players, and Huntelaar in the 54th and Van Persie, who seems to have recovered from the injuries that limited his time at Arsenal this year, in the 87th, dashed Romanian dreams of advancing to the quarters.
To round out the day, the NBA Finals concluded in Boston as the Celtics mauled the Lakers 131-92 for the franchise's 17th. Boston could do no wrong (33:7 Assist:Turnover ratio, 32-37 from the line, 13-26 from 3, 43-87 from the field, and Sam Cassell didn't play), and Kobe looked like a giant poop. Paul Pierce is your Finals MVP to no one's surprise. So now, we look to next year. Right now, the early consensus is another Lakers-Celtics Final, but it could play out completely differently because of one factor: Andrew Bynum. He is a top 5 big man in the NBA when healthy, and if he can put in at least 70 regular season games, the Lakers will probably be able to keep their roster together (Ronny Turiaf's contract expired, and Vujacic could go where the money is that the Lakers can't pay him) but could make a trade this offseason in order to improve. The Celtics will also have the same roster minus the probably retirements of Sam Cassell and PJ Brown, whose role will be filled by "Big Baby" Davis. This is what the NBA wants: a rivalry between the two most storied franchises in the league, with players remembering last year. The Spurs are going to try to return to glory, but they have never looked so bad getting eliminated (They took the Mavs to 7 games in 2006, but a paltry, basically uncompetitive 5 against the Lakers? I don't think so.). I'm sure Donaghy will be in Arkham Asylum like the Riddler at the end of Batman Forever, being asked by Bruce Wayne why the series didn't go seven, and Donaghy telling him that Stern wanted to make sure no one knew he did actually pay off the referees. Well, we'll see what happens next year if 2 big market teams, 1 from the East and 1 from the West, make it to the conference finals. I'm pretty sure they'll both make it to the NBA Finals, but that isn't my business...shit, they found me; I'm fleeing like Jerry Fletcher in Conspiracy Theory.

Europeans Overreacting to Soccer? You're KIDDING ME!

Austria got their first point ever in a Euro tournament as they managed to draw with Polska yesterday on a with the help of a very suspect penalty call by English referee Howard Webb. Polish fans are pretty crazy about their soccer, especially with the national hero status of coach Leo Beenhakker (he received the order of Polonia Restituta, which as a Dutchman is pretty impressive as only two other foreigners have been given the award, one being Douglas MacArthur), despite the fact that his teams seem to always come up short in every group stage or just don't show up at all (he managed to not qualify for the 1986 World Cup while managing his native Dutch side). But his hero status has made many step up to support his side, including the Polish Prime Minister. Luckily he is back to being calm, but with the open European borders, I could see him driving over to Austria to go postal on some soccer officials.
In other Euro news, the Group of Death, Group C, begins the second leg of games today. France-Netherlands will cause me to leave work early, but I will be keeping my eye on Italy-Romania. Questions to be answered by these games include:
-Will France and Italy recover from terrible performances?
-Is the Netherlands back (to 1988 form of domination)?
-What is the deal with Romania?
We shall see what changes to the lineup Italy makes, probably towards a more counterattacking style as in the World Cup. They got caught in the Dutch counter a few too many times in that first match. And France? Thierry and Vieira would help get more offensive, but the Netherlands is on fire. There isn't a Zidane to turn it on right now, so Ribery and others will have to step it up. And how much better is Coupet than Barthez? Waaaaaaaaay better.

Peanut Butter is a Dairy Product

Well, Larry David is courtside for Game 4, I'm hoping this doesn't happen to Pau:

I don't know whether Larry would be able to help in a game of Scattegories, and for that matter how much Pau watched Seinfeld reruns in his native Spain. Luckily, he isn't sitting between the bench and the scorer's table.

******EDIT******

LD was actually between the Lakers' bench and the scorers' table, and it seems that even in real life the Lakers can't win with LD sitting there. As Shaq was lost for 10 days on Curb, the Lakers squandered the biggest lead in NBA Finals history after the 1st quarter and fell victim to the Finals' largest ever comeback. If Larry returns to those seats for Game 5, I don't think Lakers fans will have such a positive reaction.

The Err in My Ways

On Saturday night I decided to watch the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Mist. Scary as shit, and not because of the monsters but because of the combination of the monsters and the religious crazies trying to kill non-believers (EXPATIATION! EXPATIATION!). Anyways, like the many who decided that the religious psycho was right, I am deciding that I am wrong. Just don't sacrifice me by throwing me out to be fed to the giant crab-spider thing. Throughout these playoffs, we were led to believe that the West was so much stronger by all those analysts at ESPN and NBATV because they truly dominated the regular season. And I followed them. It was true in the regular season, as the West took the season series 258-192, but we failed to recognize the true nature of the postseason. On average, playoff series in the East were longer by an average of a little more than half a game(6-5.43). Yes, fatigue  is huge, but maybe rest is not as important as many make it out to be. The Celtics managed to build up one of the more disturbing rhythms in playoff history by waiting until the conference finals to win a road game, while the Lakers only seemed to be challenged by Utah. Think about it: to begin with, teams barely practice during the regular season, and players do put a much larger effort into playoff games, except for one team: the Spurs. I know they were getting rocked, but they were the defending champs, but after game 1, they lost a little bit of drive, and game 2 reportedly made them mad. But when they lost home court in Game 4, they played with no effort in the deciding game 5. Even Bruce Bowen wasn't trying to injure anybody because he knew that they had no chance. Game 3 will decide this series for 2 reasons:

1.) No Way Back

No one has won a series in the NBA when down 3-0.

2.) A Possible Return to Old Habits?

Maybe this is a return to the "lose all of our road games, win at home" mentality that they used for their first two series. In that case, they may run into trouble in games 6 and possibly 7 because LA could work up some great momentum at home. And LA definitely was making inroads on the battle for momentum with a late surge. They should never be allowed to get within 2 with under a minute left after they trailed by 24.

Other observations on game 2:

-DiCaprio showed up to this one with Bar Rafaeli. He must be capitalizing on The Departed success to get the box. Absent: Tom Brady and Gisele. I guess that one home loss was good enough to keep him away.

-I still can't believe Bill Plaschke gets a press pass to these games. I deserve it way more.

-So Jeff Lurie chose McNabb, Westbrook, and Dawkins to attend the game with him. A wise choice, considering he could have brought in Asante Samuel, who as an ex-Pat would have caused the first NBA Finals riot if he showed up for that. Better that he stay in (insert wealthy Philly suburb) and watch on TV.