NBA Playoffs

[Jedieb]

Some very intense games in both conference playoffs. The Kings and Lakers are going down to the wire again. If the Kings had made their free throws they'd be up by close to 10 pts.

[Jedieb]

Allright the Kings are up by one and the Lakers are going to have the last possession. If they pull this one out I'll put my fist through something. Oh how I HATE the Lakers.... Someone needs to tackle Robert Horry and make sure he NEVER TOUCHES THE BALL!!!

[Jedieb]

All is right with the universe. >D

[BUFFJEDI]

I hate the laker's:(

What's sad is I used to love them in the Jabbar day's.But with Kobe,and shaq daddy(whatever) they just Irk the heck out of me.But on the bright side the hornets are GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They should have never let ZO go :(

[BUFFJEDI]

who won??

[BUFFJEDI]

never mind I checked out aol YIPEEEEE!!!!!!!

[Darth23]

Some of those Kings-Mavs games were some of the best games I've seen in a long time.

I can't believe the Kings are on the verge of bouncing the Lakers.

:D :D :D

[Jedi Master Carr]

My Father is a big Lakers fan and I know he isn't happy, I don't really care, I was hoping for a Lakers-Celtics series to remenisent about the glory days of the NBA (that was was the best the NBA was it has gone down hill since the early 90's IMO) what is funny is it could be the two extremes either the two teams that have won more titles than anybody else or the two teams that have never won. If I had to pick a team I would like to see win, it would be the Nets, wouldn't that be a story, they were terrible last year and there NBA history has been awful.

[JonathanLB]

I do not think many people would disagree that the league has gone well downhill since the early 1990's when you had the likes of Jordan, plus Bird was still playing I think (or was that only late 80's? I did see him play in my life though), then you had Magic Johnson, and my Blazers were right there too! Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, Cliff Robinson, what a great team, hehe. Just not quite good enough. Now Adelman maybe will get his chance here to win the NBA Championship with the Kings!!!

This is weird, lol, but my high school English teacher for sophomore year was Rick Adelman's sister, so that was really cool. I saw her on TV the other day, Game 3 I think, wow it was weird. She is pretty good looking, lol. Her name now is Mrs. Naro though.

I also went to school with Dunleavy of Duke, who declared for the NBA draft and, who knows, may be a great NBA player one day. He took our high school to a state championship!!! It was great, wow what a team we had. Then his brother was in a few of my classes, Baker Dunleavy, and my best friend kicked his butt badly at basketball (my best friend is very, very good...), so Mike Dunleavy, coach of the Blazers at the time, gave my best friend two tickets to a Blazers game because that was the bet Baker had with Bryan, my friend. lol, it was so cool. Bryan actually talked to Mike on the phone that one time too, wow how weird would that be, on the phone at home with an NBA coach.

I really hate the Lakers, I have a feeling that Jedieb and I are about equal in our hatred of that team. You can imagine as a Portland Trail Blazers fan how badly I hate them, but it's not just that. Really. The Bulls decimated the Blazers when I was young and I actually cried after that finals series, haha, I was like 9 or something. But I ended up loving the Bulls and loving Jordan. Not so with the Lakers, sorry, I just hate Rick Fox, I hate Shaq, I don't like arrogant Kobe Bryan even though I think he's very good (and he is clutch), and I think Samaki Walker is a fool. I like Robert Horry, grr, but he makes me mad. I don't like him because he wears the color of the enemy, haha, and he plays for a team I hate, but I do like Horry. I know he is a good guy, he is a decent person and dang, wow, he is clutch but I still can hate him for Game 3 vs. Portland. I had to sit through that BS while he drilled a 3 and the Lakers came back down 5 points with 39 seconds to go. Jeez, it was so depressing seriously.

I must admit I want to see Kings vs. Celtics, then I want to see a major upset and I want to see the Celtics win, lol. I'd just love to see the East knock the West out, even though I live here as far West as possible, Celtics are the most likeable remaining team. The Kings are.... uh, well I am starting to like them more but I still think Doug Christie is a damn fool and I think Turgawhatever is a dumb idiot too. He's a klutz. I am starting to like Divac more, that guy is clutch, and I like Peja and I like Webber. I hate the Lakers so much it wouldn't matter if I didn't like the Kings at all, I'd still go for them.

[jjwr]

Turga whatever....I forgot him in my other post, he irks me too :)

I don't really hate the Lakers but I really dislike the Kings so I was rooting for the Lakers just because.

Kings/Mavs series...that series was a joke. The first 2 games were good but after that it was a total wash. Mavs were flat and played no defense, they've got some huge bogiies in the middle but Bibby drove to the hoop for tons of layups.....if your 7ft how do you give up a layup to a guy who's about 6'1"...Bibby is very good but you can't give up those layups constantly.

If Mavs learn what defense is they could be rather good but until then the better teams will take them apart in the playoffs.

NBA today is great, there are so many good players out there right now and a ton of good teams, off the top of my head you've got these marquee players

Shaq
Kobe Bryant
Paul Pierce(The Man!)
Dirk Nowitzki(would be so much better if he played D!)
Steve Francis
Allen Iverson
Ray Allen
Gary Payton
Jason Kidd
Tracy McGrady
Tim Duncan
Chris Webber(grrrr)
Baron Davis
Vince Carter

And I know there are more but can't recall them off the top of my head, these past few drafts have been incredible and brought so much talent into the league....I think it was the 97 draft that brought Nowitzki, Pierce and Carter...and that was just the top 10 picks!

I'm most definetly rooting for the Celtics, been a Celtics fan for a while and has to struggle through those Pitino years but somthing finally clicked this year. They can beat the Nets but they gotta stop waiting for the 4th Quarter to play defense and start scoring. They need to push it early and get a healty doice of Antoine and Pierce and make sure the bench contributes. They're defense can shut down the Nets(as they proved the last two 4th quarters), but they gotta start it up a bit earlier and put them away in the 3rd.

[CMJ]

I love the Celtics...started as a boy when they had Bird, McHale, and Parrish(the best front line ever...three future Hall of Famers), not to mention some great role players. It was tough once they all retired(Bird in '92, McHale in '94 I think, and Parrish shortly thereafter) and then we hit bottom.

We're finally back...well mostly anyways. I don't see us getting past the Nets now, we had our chance in Game 4 and blew it.

Nets in 7. :(

[Darth23]

The Boston Celtics are the only team I've ever actually hated.

:p

[jjwr]

Now thats blasphemy Darth! :)

Celtics have a shot, they can easily take the next 2 games if they pull their heads out of their butts and play the whole game instead of just the 2nd half.

They could easily be up 3-1 but could easily be down 3-1 so I'm happy they're tied at 2-2, Paul Pierce is finally rolling, once the other guys wake up and they play D I think they can pull it out. Sadly I could also see the Nets winning the next 2, but lets hope that doesn't happen!

[CMJ]

I see the hometeam winning the last 3 games of the series.

[Jedieb]

Coming of age in the 80's they were usually 3 choices in basketball; your hometown team, the Celtics, or the Lakers. Man how I loved rooting for Bird, McHale, Parrish, Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, and even Bill Walton when he was their 6th man. Despite hating the Lakers, they had tremdous talent; Magic, Kareem, Byron Scott, James Worthy, Dorky white guy with those glasses(his name is right on the tip of my toungue!!!), and Pat Riley as their head coach.

I remember the year Dr. J and the Sixers beat the Lakers. They beat Boston in the conference finals at the Garden. But Laker hatred ran so deep that the fans in Boston chanted "Beat L.A.` Beat L.A.!" at the end of the game. Talk about rivalries, that was a great time to be into basketball. As great as MJ's 90's run was, it was a shame that no one stepped up to match him. Bird and Magic each won against the other. 3 championships to 5 is a lot more competitive than 6-0!

As much as I'd enjoy a trip down memory lane with a Celtics Lakers final, I'm not particularly rooting for one. The only team that I think that can beat the Lakers is Sacramento. They didn't get the best record in the league by a fluke. They're a solid team. They're up 3-2 despite the abscene of one of their best players. This next game in L.A. is going to be awesome!

[BUFFJEDI]

Kurt Rambis

[Leia1031]

What do you guys have against the Lakers? I think they're an awsome team! :) Lots of good players.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Winning breeds hatred its why a lot of people have hated the Cowboys, Yankees, 49ers, etc. (Hey I felt the same way about the Cowboys in the 90's, the Yankees for me is for a completely different reason), I personally have no dislike for the Lakers but I would rather see somebody else win, the Nets would be cool because of there history but I don't really see it happening. Really I think both series will go 7 have no idea which 2 teams will make it, it could go either way I think.
Back to the 80's 90's things yes the Lakers-Celtics were amazing so were the Pistons with Isiah and the Bad boys they had some great teams and didn't win until the Celtics got old and near the end of the Lakers Dynasty, they faced off against another great team Portland, who just couldn't win the games in the finals. After that though the league became dominated by the Bulls which stunk, and I agree with Jedieb nobody really challenged them except for one season by the Pacers (Who had a great team for several years and took the Bulls to 7). I have been rooting for the Pacers and like the Blazers and Jazz, they have been so close they just could never get over the bump and win it all.

[CMJ]

You're right Carr...to a certain degree winning breeds hatred. Maybe that's why I despise the Lakers, Cowboys, and Yankee's. ;) Well I have a reason to hate the Lakers and Yanks...they were/are big rivals of my teams in Boston(isn't it wierd how my favorite teams in 2 sports come from the same city...which is REALLY far from where I'm from...just a quick editorial note).

[Jedi Master Carr]

Not really, look at me besides the Red Sox the rest of my teams come from places that is no where near me, (the Pacers and Chiefs) though not the same city, its still weird how I liked those two teams, now if you were a Patriots fan that might be even weirder :p

[CMJ]

Or for that matter a Bruins fan. ;)

[Wine Marisinthe]

I have decided the Kings are not allowed to let Los Angeles get so close to them anymore.

I don't care how they do it--maybe they could ask the Lakers nicely to recognize when they're down, and to just stay there.

Maybe they could ask the referees not to foul them every single time Shaquille O'Neal gains possession of the ball.

Maybe they could stop relaxing at the half so the consistent third quarter diarrhea could finally trickle to a stop.

I just don't care how they do it--but please, have mercy.

I know, it's exciting--but I'm having trouble unwinding after the games, and I might take up drinking.

No more one-point games, guys!

[JonathanLB]

How could anyone be naive about the hatred for the Lakers? EVERYONE hates the Lakers! There is hardly a city on earth where the fans don't absolutely hate the Lakers. It's not just because they win, it's because they are a bunch of Hollywood pussies. Shaq thinks he can act, Kobe thinks he can rap, and both should stick to basketball.

"Oh they have tons of good players." Oh who might that be? I count TWO: Horry and Kobe. Plus Shaq, who is not a good player, but he does score a lot of points. In actual skill, the guy is horrible. He cannot make a free throw more than 60% of the time, he cannot ever shoot a jump shot, all he does is walk all over the court and foul people, yet doesn't get called for either. The guy is a no-talent @$$ clown. As far as getting points, gee I guess he's one of the "best" players, but I just don't measure like that. If a guy cannot play the game of basketball except to dunk and put in a layup, he doesn't have my respect at all. I remember Sabonis for the Blazers, even when he was older and playing for us and not in Europe, could DRILL the three point shot when we needed it, and he would shoot medium-range jumpers all of the time, yet he was a big guy. One game, which I watched, he hit a three at the buzzer versus Phoenix to force OT after the Blazers were down by 10 with 1:59 to go. FOUR overtimes later, the Blazers lost 140-139. One of the best games ever, hehe.

Shaq, three? I think not! He cannot even shoot a free throw let alone a three. HE HAS NO SKILL. He is just big. If you put any of us into that body, it would be really easy to dominate the game and push everyone around. However if you put me into Tiger Woods' body, I would still suck at golf even though he is so buff and in shape. He has all of that mental knowledge that makes him great, while Shaq has nothing. He only has his physical build and the knowledge that he is going to get away with his WALKING all over the court and fouling, which I know too, so if I were him I would know to do that because I'd still get away with it, lol.

That is great about Boston fans chanting, "BEAT LA!" lol, we all do that at the games. Portland fans really hate LA. It's a communal thing. ;)

Matt, one of my semi-friends, said that if the Lakers three-peat he is either going to commit suicide or go take a baseball bat to Shaq's knees, lol. Dang good thing the Lakers are down 3-2 because this guy is a DIE-HARD Blazers with a REALLY bad temper, especially when he is drunk, lol.

I realize that people love to hate the top teams and whatnot, but that is really insulting if someone thinks that is why I hate the Lakers. They just are not a likeable team! I hate Rick Fox, as does anyone else who has ever watched him act like a terrorist on the court, and then foul everyone in sight just because he sucks. Although this year, to his credit, he got a lot better at actually shooting and not just fouling. Good for him. :)

What's sad is HOW BADLY the Lakers compare to the Kings. The Kings were missing one of their absolute best players in Peja Stojakovich and somehow managed to tie it 2-2, and then with him back only a bit of game 5, win and go up 3-2. That's stunning. Now the Lakers are really in trouble, if that isn't already obvious.

Back to hating the winning teams, well my favorite baseball team is the New York Yankees and I have never lived in New York nor seen the Yankees play live (I was in NY once and was going to see them play, but the concierge told us it was rained out, and it ended up not being rained out, so blah). I loved the Bulls, at least when Jordan was back I was a huge fan for 4-6, haha. Then I LOVE the 49ers, they got me hooked on football. I don't think there are too many people who hate the niners. It would hardly be possible. They have always had a good group of guys. Joe Montana was an extremely likeable guy, but I can understand if the Niners beat someone's team then they might be pretty frustrated. Just like I say I hate Green Bay because it's a rivalry, but not really. Brett Favre is a real man, he has class, he has guts, and he is competitive beyond belief. So do I still hate the Packers? Well, hehe, yeah as a rivalry, but in reality it would be hard to hate Favre when he's such a fierce competitor.

MOST people hate the Dallas Cowboys though, it's just a team you love to hate. Like the Lakers. Does anyone outside of LA like the Lakers? Well I am sure if you looked hard enough you may be able to find people who used to live in LA who are still fans, LOL, but it would take time. Dallas has always had players who were total @$$e$ and nobody could like at all, which is exactly why I hated Dallas. "America's Team," HAHAHA, whatever. Everyone hates Dallas.

[CMJ]

Well..Shaq is a great player...he does way more than just score, but that's another debate. I still hate him...and the Lakers.

As for football... Nah...I hate the Niners ALMOST as much as the Cowboys Jonathan. ;) Of course for the most part I dislike every NFC team(I'm an AFC guy to the core) with a few exceptions.

[NeuroMortis]

Yes, but what's your opinion, Jonathan?

[Jedi Master Carr]

I disagree Jon its because they win, if they won like the Clippers I doubt anybody would hate them. Its the same with the Yankees, not everybody are Yankee fans and when they win all the time fan's of other teams begin to hate them for that reason alone. Of course with Red Sox fans we hate them regardless its in our nature :p

[CMJ]

Amen to that Carr...I think it's the Babe trade. :) I wasn't even alive...and I curse the fact we shipped him to NY for nothing. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

[Jedi Master Carr]

That is part of it, it was the idiot we had for an owner, he knew nothing about Baseball, he was a broadway producer and his last play No No Nanette bombed and he needed the money so that is how he got it. Really it wasn't just that one move. He got rid of all our great players from Tris Speaker to Smokey Joe Wood (who was a better pitcher than Ruth IMO) he then sold the team and it took 30 years for the franchise to get back to where it was, by that time the Yankees were winning World series left and right and the NY press made sure that Boston knew it.

It was especially in the 40's that the rivally got even bigger when the Red Sox had some great teams led by Ted Williams (we had two great teams in 46 and 47), but then the bottom fell out in the 50's and we stunk until Yaz came along and we shocked everybody in 67 making it to another world series, at the same time the Yanks stunk (this according to my father) from 1960 or 61 when they lost to Pirates they didn't have a good team until the late 1970s and after that they struggled throughout the 80's except for a couple good teams. So Red Sox fans were happy, we almost won n 75, (lost to the best team ever in my opinion the Big Red Machine) except the the dreadful year in 78 when Bucky bleep Dent hit that home run. I won't mention 86 too many bad memories. Then in the 90's it got worse, first Boggs betrayed us and went to the Yanks and then worse Clemens. And since its been a little one sided, still I think we will win a WS one day as long as the game isn't destroyed because of the labor feud.

[CMJ]

Hey man...I know the history. :) The thing most people forget is how good a pitcher Ruth was...he coulda been a Hall of Famer as a PITCHER if he'd been allowed to pitch his entire career.

My two favorite players when I was growing up were Clemens and Boggs. The fact that both of them ended up as Yankee's makes me wanna puke.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Oh I was brining it up to show why we hate the Yankees for the uninformed out there. Well Boggs was never my favorite, my fav was Dwight Evans and Jim Rice as a kid, I did like Clemens though not after he left, still I look at the bright side, if we had kept Clemens we never would have gotten Pedro. My favorite player on the team right now has to be Nomar, I like Nixon too though he is in a huge slump right now.

[Leia1031]

Looks at long ass post. O_o Hey Jonathan.... Has anyone ever told you you're long winded?

[CMJ]

LMAO Leia1031! We all tend to get long winded in this forum sometimes. Of course I've read a few of the RPG threads...and I can safely say we hardly have a monopoly on being long winded. ;)

[jjwr]

Yeah the Yankee's suck :)

I know a lot of people who were Bulls fans, lots of people who were Niners fans, lot of people who were Cowboys fans....fair weather fans, they like it easy :)

Me I've been a Patriots fan since 1993(when I first started following football, local team and all). They were bad, then mildy good, then really bad then shocked the world, so it was rather cool. Course I'm still the only guy around here that wears jerseys, hats, etc year round.

Course the bad thing is Bledsoe had always been my favorite player, I wore his Jersey every week and have a ton of his cards. Then he goes down and they win the Superbowl....figures! Now he's gone and the jersey has been retired. I'm still a Patriots fan but I'll be checking Buffalo box scores hoping my favorite player does well....but those 2 games a year when he's playing my Pats I gotta root against him :)

Shaq is actually rather good....his size just helps, there are tons of big guys who totally suck, size means nothing in the NBA, a lot more to it than size.

Lakers, I'm indifferent, they're fun to watch and I don't like the Kings so I root for the Lakers. If they play the Celtics then I'll most definetly root for The C's.....they're finally good again!

[Jedieb]

:lol Leia

A lot of you covered why people hate teams like the Yankees, Cowboys, and Lakers. Basically, if you're passionate about you local team, it's rather appalling to see someone in your stadium wearing a Yankee/Cowboys/Lakers jersey despite the fact that any of those teams may be thousands of miles away. Those teams are loved and hated because they're perenial winners. You could spit out fact after fact about franchise winning percentages, championships, etc. It all boils down to the fact that those teams win and winning attracts fans, pure and simple.

You know how I was introduced to the Yankees? My grandfather, he loved them and watched them all the time. I still have vivid memories of watching the Yankees V. Dodgers World Series right next to my grandfather. Why was my grandfather a fan? Because even in Cuba in the 20's and 30's you could hear and read about Ruth, Gehrig, and Dimaggio. My father on the other hand doesn't really like the Yankees. He's a pure baseball fan. He loves national league teams and the style of baseball they play. The man loves baseball the way we love SW. He could sit and watch a double header between cellar dwellers and it wouldn't make a difference to him. To him, casual baseball fans, who never watch the game, never played it, and really don't care about it, but rave about the Yanks must seem a bit irksome.

Yankee History
In the 70's they had a couple of good teams. Led by Reggie (my favorite player as a kid and the reason I wear 44 whenever I get a jersey), Guidry, Chambliss, Randolph, Gossage, Munson, Nettles, and a few other guys that I could name if I tried a bit harder. They weren't the best teams of the decade (The Big Red Machine and the A's of the early 70's were stronger teams.) but they won a couple of championships. The 80's were painful. Great Yankees like Winfield and especially Mattingly never saw a World Series in pinstripes. Then came the 90's and Showalter helped build the club into a winner and Torre was the perfect choice to take them to the next level.

Man how I wish I could have been around for some of those Mantle and DiMaggio teams. Man...

[Jedi Master Carr]

I think you won two in the 70's 78 I know sure and 77 I think. I think you guys made it to the 76 WS but got trounced by the Reds who were just completely dominant. In the 80's if I am not mistaken they got beat by the Dodgers. Then there was a drought until the mid 90's when you guys beat the Braves.

[Jedieb]

I knew they both beat and lost to the Dodgers. I just wasn't sure if that loss came in 79 or the early 80's. The Yankees were swept by the Big Red Machine in 75 I think. That team was simply phenomenal. Foster hit 50 homers that year, then you had Bench, Rose, and Concepcion. My Dad LOVED that team. The Orioles had a pretty good squad in the late 60's and early 70's but I think they only managed 1 WS win. If I remember right, they were the victims of the amazin' Mets in 69. The Oakland went off on a tear. These were all teams I'd hear my Dad talk about when he tried to get me into baseball when I was kid.

[Jedi Master Carr]

It was 76 the 75 WS (the greatest ever IMO) was between the Red Sox and we gave them all that we could, I wish I could have watched that WS (I was born that year) the only one I saw the Sox play in was 86 and that one I wish I could forget. The A's were dominant but then FA hit and killed there entire team and maybe baseball too if you want to look at it that way. The Orioles would good too with Weaver as the Manager they were kind of like the Braves who were also in a lot of World Series but could win one.

[CMJ]

Nah...best Series ever was the '91 classic between the Braves and Twins. That was a thing of beauty....

[Jedieb]

That's right, I forgot about the Fisk homer in Game 6. Joe Morgan was another member of that great Red's squad. He's one of the best announcers in all of sports IMO and a real credit to the game. I don't think FA has killed the game, just greed and poor management. Look at the NFL, they're doing fine. Even the NBA has done better than MLB. Stupid owners and union, they make me sick sometimes. Now this whole steroid scandal is just exposing more ugliness. The players don't want testing and many think they're nothing wrong with taking ILLEGAL steroids because the ends justify the means. And don't get me started on the union's "Invasion of Privacy" excuse. It's more like an invasion of someone's pocketbook. Evil greedy, bastards!!!!!>D

[Jedieb]

Two of my favorites WS feature losses for the teams I was rooting for, the Sox Mets series of 86 and last year's Yankees Diamondback's series. That Yankee's series had the most dramatic series of endings in WS history. One amazing moment after another. The quality of play wasn't always there, but it had some incredible moments nevertheless.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I always thought it was 75 probably comes from father he saw the whole thing. Game 6 was the best probably the best game in WS play it went back and forth the whole time with Evans robbing Morgan of a Home run (yeah and he can't bringing it up on sunday's game about that) and then Fisk hitting the game winner it was incredible. The two best series I have seen IMO was 97 I think the Marlins over the Indians the only game 7 to go into extra innings. and last years that series was great, it had a lot of great moments.

[Jedieb]

It seemed like his partner in the booth kept needling him about that play. Remember Morgan's funky batting stance? He'd do that funny thing with his elbow just before he got ready to swing. He didn't have much power, but he could hit and play solid defense.

BTW, the Nets are toasting the Celtics 29-16.

[CMJ]

Nah man..that '91 series was one for the ages.

Hometeam won all 7 games
5 one run games
4 games decided on last at bat
3 games went extra innings
Game 7 went 0-0 tto the TENTH INNING. What a pitcher duel that was.

Man what a series....

[JonathanLB]

I've been a Niners fan for about 10 years now, they were the first team my dad ever had me watch, when Montana was playing, so that's why I got into them. They are closest to me too, we don't have an NFL team here, so it's Niners or Seahawks, both are fairly close, of course Seattle closer. But I'm a Niners guy. I watched them even when they sucked, actually, and that was pretty bad. It was tough seeing such a glorious team fall like that, but hey look how quickly they are back?! It's very exciting. They are almost always good, like the Blazers. The Blazers have went 25 years without winning it all, but for something like 19 years I believe, they have made the playoffs. I mean at least we can be proud of our team. Only ONE team each year wins it all, can't be the Blazers every year, lol, and if they are going to lose, they may as well at least provide us with some entertainment and fun... And frustration ;)

WOW ZERO-ZERO, the EXCITEMENT! ;)

Leia, I always write a lot, haha. It's why I can write books :)

[CMJ]

Actually it was incredibly dramatic Jonathan. I'd rather see an old fashioned pitcher's duel than 15-13 game any day.

[Jedieb]

Morris was a stud. That was the beginning of a decade of futility for the Braves. Whenever someone tries to denegrade what Torre's done with the Yankees they should take a look at Bobby Cox. Same level of talent, maybe even better at times, but only 1 ring. It's not that easy.

[Jedieb]

Oh, I agree CMJ. Nothing builds tension like a great pitching duel. Inept offense is one thing, but two guys with great stuff is something else. I'd rather see 2-1 with the winning run in the 9th then a 12-13 steroid induced frenzy with 2nd basemen going deep 3 times. BORING!!!

[CMJ]

Morris AND Smoltz pitched their hearts out. I think it was in the 8th inning where BOTH teams loaded the bases and yet both pitchers got inning ending double play balls. Man...that was a helluva series.

[Jedi Master Carr]

The only time the Braves won was when they beat a team with even worse Luck, the Indians who probably had more talent. the 91 series was great but I just think the other two were better, I forgot that 91 went extra innings as well.

[CMJ]

Carr how could you forget...it seemed like EVERY night went extra innings! One of the games that DIDN'T go extra's was ended in the bottom of the 9th...so it was practically extra's anyways. :)

[Jedieb]

The poor Indians. And then to come back and lose the Blockbuster Marlins a few years later. Indians, Red Sox, some fans suffer more than should. How do you guys do it?

[CMJ]

With much anger Eb....and resentment. ;)

[Jedieb]

Boston 30
Nets 50
Unless they get up by 40 you can't call it a blowout.

[Jedi Master Carr]

And now the Indians stink, they are barely above the horrible Tigers how the mighty have fallen. As far as how do we handle it okay, I mean it is not as bad as the poor Indians Fans they stunk for so long, until recently, remember Major League that was how the fans were before they build the new stadium and started winning.

[Jedieb]

I was looking at the Tigers record the other day. They actually have a WINNING record at home. They look like they're tough to play there. What's up with that? Yep, the Indians look like they're on the skids. They're basically rebuilding, so it may take them a few years to get back, but they did have their chances. I think their window may have closed.

[Jedieb]

Celtics 73
Nets 78

The Celtics were down by 20 and now they had it at 3 points before a Van Horn basket. Holy cow, is ANY lead safe in these playoffs?:huh

[Jedi Master Carr]

Celtics keep finding ways to come it seems.

[Jedieb]

The Celtics actually cut the lead to 1, but the Nets exploded and it looks like the game is finally out of reach. So it looks like the Nets are one game away from the finals.

[JMK]

Yeah, I'm watching too, it must suck to come on so hard, make it a one point game, and then lose by a score that doesn't even make it look close. One big 4th quarter run by the Nets and the Celtics fold like a cheap tent.

[jjwr]

The Celtics problem was they dogged it for the first half, put all their energy into their run to come back from a huge defecit then didn't have anything left for the end.

I'd love to see the Celtics get to the finals but they're not a good enough team right now, either Lakers/Kings would crush them. If they can't wake up and play in the first half then they'd have lost even worse to the west teams.

Celtics can still turn this around, I've been watching all year and they're good enough....but they need to start the game strong and stop falling behind by huge margins....thats getting real old real quick!

[BUFFJEDI]

It's funny JediEB(s) mentioned steriods in base ball/



Ken Caminiti backed away from statements about steroids attributed to him in Sports Illustrated, insisting he never meant that half of major leaguers are taking the drugs.

"What's really bothering me most about this whole thing is how it got blown out of context,'' the former NL MVP told ESPN Radio. "I don't know if I mentioned half or not. That is something that might have been thrown in my face or in my mouth. That's not true. That's a false statement. I didn't mean half. There's a couple of people that have done it that I know of. Baseball's a pretty clean sport.''

Sports Illustrated spokesman Rick McCabe said the magazine stands by its story (Read It), which set off a furor around major league baseball this week.

In another interview on Jim Rome's nationally syndicated radio show, Caminiti said he did not expect the SI interview to deal with steroids.

"They came to me wanting to talk about life after baseball and then it turned into this whole steroid thing,'' Caminiti said. "I never knew the interview was going to go like that. It just got real ugly.

"Sometimes you say some things that just get thrown out there. And that was one of them. (Jose) Canseco said 82 or 85 percent. I don't think that is true. I don't think there are that many people.

"When I said 'half,' I lied. I can honestly say that. I didn't mean to say that.''

Caminiti told SI he used steroids in his MVP season of 1996, when he had the best season of his career, batting .326 with 40 home runs and 130 runs batted in.

"It definitely enhanced my play,'' he said. "It made me bigger and stronger. If I had to do it all over, knowing the problems I have now, I never would have taken them.''

The NFL and NBA prohibit steroids and test for them. The NHL and Major League Baseball, however, have no policy regarding their use. A ban in baseball would have to be collectively bargained with the Players Association.




Of course they SAY they test for it in the NBA and NFL but come on There wouldn't be any players in the NFL and a quarter of the Nba would be banned.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I don't think its used much in the NFL especially after Lyle Alzado(sp) came out and said he did it and was dying from cancer, that scared a lot of people away from it. Baseball I am not sure, I doubt its half but its probably closer to a 1/3 which is still too high. I also know Canseco said he was going to write a tell all book about it after he retired (he seemed way too bitter) not sure how much of it I would believe from him though.

[BUFFJEDI]

I don't know, I'm sure alot of guy's stood up and took notice of Lyle , But the NFL is ther bread and butter.If they can't beat the guy on the line they will get the boot.I think most people in that situation think of the here and NOW , not what will happen in a few years. Look at wrestling, they have seen what has happened to Super star billy ghram but yet they keep on to stay on top of there game(game get it Triple H ??) anyway when I played Semi pro football we had players on the juice,in highschool we had football players doing it.Even in my Short stint in pro soccer there were guy's doing it.Hell maybe if I had I'd still be there:( I think it is something that has been around for a long time and will for along time to come.

Also keep in mind the Roids LYle used were MUCH harsher than what's out ther now.Lyle used Winstraw(horse roids) those are super good(well use to be) but will plant you fast .Alot out there now If you are careful you can live an ALMOST healthy life for a long time,BUT even the lesser one's can bite you in the ars.I went out with a lady a couple of times that used roids. She started to use just a minimal cycle(d ball I think) not all that Potent compared) she saw the results that she was getting (all be it slow on small cycle ) and decided to up the ante.Now from what I have heard(can't sware to it ) she is having some major health problems. Or so I was told,from someone who heard from someone,who heard from someone a few weeks agoO_o .

But who know's for sure , they may all be clean. I havn't tested them so, i truely couldn't say.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I read an interesting article by Jason Stark and he brought up about testing that in the offseason they wouldn't test, so I suspect in the NFL they might be clean during the season and use it to build up in the offseason so that is possible I guess.

[BUFFJEDI]

Makes good sense to me.If I were to use roids(the right stuff) I'm sure I could boost a good 35 pounds in a few months add 25% strength.Than when I had to go off them I could retain (with a good regiman) atleast 20 pounds and 15% increase of that strength.But that is only a guess.But roids do affect different people in different way's.

[JMK]

If I could, I would punch Vlade Divac right IN THE FREAKIN FACE! I'm so sick of his flopping and diving. As much as I don't want to see the Lakers win again, I can't stand spineless athletes.

[JonathanLB]

Divac has been THE KEY in this series, along with Bibby, and he is totally CLUTCH! That three at the buzzer in the first half rocked. My dad and I were standing up cheering. Oh man, one more half of this and BYE BYE LAKERS, arrogant f**ks! I hate the Lakers. I hate their stupid fans. I hate their stupid players. I hate their arrogance, and I want to see this dynasty come crashing down around them.

Stupid pieces of trash.

Still, you have to figure the Lakers are very much in this game because they don't want to lose, obviously, and they are going to do whatever it takes to force a game 7. Kings are going to have to hold on for their lives.

[JMK]

Sure it was a clutch shot, but he was left totally open. Lil Bow Wow would have made that shot. Regardless, it doesn't change the fact that he's a spineless wimp.

[BUFFJEDI]

Could the Officials want the LAkers to win anymore?? This is the WORST game ,As far as refing I have seen . If you are not seeing what I'm seeing You AIN"T watching the same game.

THIS IS BULL ____


As far a DIVAC , Yeah he can get on your nerve's But DAm6 he has to do something.If he get's anywhere near Shaq they call a foul:(

That's why I hate pro sports!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!But than agian I am watching it :D

[Jedieb]

Another great game! Now, am I the only person that thinks that Bill Walton is one of the WORST announcers in ALL of sports? I've been watching basketball on NBC for years, and I have to say Walton is simply unbearable at times. He's a talking cliche factory that blathers on and on and on and overstates the obvious, on and on and on... What's worse, is sometimes he says stuff that doesn't even make sense. Snappy Jones rags on him all the time, but he does it in a polite way. If it were me I'd call him a bafoon and leave the booth. I'd leave because Walton's 7ft tall and could twist me into a preztle without much effort.:p

[Jedieb]

Quick note about the refs, they've been HORRIBLE. The home team has been getting the benefit of the doubt in just about every game. Earlier, Biggy was mugged and Bryant was barely touched and only Kobe got the call. Divac just fouled out and the game is tied with just a few minutes left on the game.

[Jedieb]

UNBELIEVABLE!!! For the tenth time in the series Bibby gets hammered right in front of a ref and there's no call. Then Kobe, who was the player that delieved the elbow to the Bibby's face, gets the obligatory end of game foul. This is pathetic. A guy like Stockton gets nailed like this and the refs give him the call 99% of the time.
Well, Bibby just missed a 3 so it looks like we're going to a game 7. This hometown refereeing is pathetic.

[BUFFJEDI]

I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one seeing it .Why didn't they just tell the king's that no matter what they did they were going to loose this game??well that's all for me,I'll just stick to a real sport , that rely's on skill, talent and not who is paying who.one that is on the up and up Soccer.

[JonathanLB]

This whole thing has been very pathetic. TWO GAMES that the Lakers DID NOT WIN FAIR AND SQUARE, yet they are getting credit for it.

I want to see an investigation on this series because I firmly believe the refs are being paid off, either by someone with an interest in the Lakers who is making large bets, or by the Lakers organization itself. There is no question in my mind that this series has been staged.

As an NBA fan, I am sickened to have to sit through such pathetic basketball when two teams cannot even play and get fair calls both ways.

First, the sixth foul on Pollard was total BULLS**T as anyone who watched could tell you, including the announcers. That was just the start of the horrible calls, though. The sixth foul on Divac was inaccurate because the foul occurred BEFORE that play! Next, the score is 92-90, Kings up and Webber driving, and he is called for a TOTALLY NON-EXISTENT offensive foul on a FLOP! I cannot believe what horsecrap this is. Then the worst of all, Bibby absolutely gets NAILED right in front of the ref and there is no foul call?!?! WHAT THE FRICKING HELL IS GOING ON HERE?! I am so mad I want to go down to LA and kick those refs all over the court. Those cheating, bribe-taking, unethical pieces of bantha poo.

It makes me never want to watch an NBA game again, especially after game 4, which the Kings rightfully won, but the shot at the buzzer of the first half screwed up the entire results because the refs screwed up that call too! The Kings won 4-1, yet they are going back to Arco tied 3-3? Explain to me how that is when I am NOT EVEN A KINGS FAN, in fact the Kings are my least favorite of the Western playoff teams besides the Lakers, yet even I saw all of these horrible calls and so did everyone else watching. My dad and I are just absolutely pissed, I've never been so frustrated at a sports event.

The Kings better win game 7 or I will totally discredit the Lakers in the finals. They do not deserve to be playing basketball now, they didn't deserve to be alive in game 6 because they lost the series in 5 already, and they don't deserve to play game 7 either. They are whinny, cheating, arrogant asses and I hate the game of basketball as it stands now, where the refs are not at all accountable for their horrible calls, they are beyond reproach, and basketball fans such as myself cannot even enjoy a good game because the REFS decide who will win! WTF is going on?

[Jedieb]

It's not a fix buff, it's just bad refereeing. There's a difference. Doesn't the same kind of thing happen in soccer, or are the refs there perfect? What about that recent upset in the World Cup? Was the "fix" on in that game? ;)

[JonathanLB]

What do you want to call it, though, EB?

Is it just subconscious prejudice FOR the Lakers? I mean, did you watch the Lakers vs. Blazers and Lakers vs. Spurs? Because I did, and I saw the same exact bad calls going against any team the Lakers played. The fans in Portland were so ticked off, I cannot even imagine someone being so blinded by their fandom that they couldn't see the horrid calls here. Even the Lakers fans must realize what horrible officiating just occurred. Now, I admit the Blazers often get bad calls because the refs don't like the Blazers, and understandably because Wallace complains too much and the Blazers have a few whinny players. Ok, fine. We are not going to get as many calls.

But what gives with the Spurs?! The Spurs didn't do anything to deserve such horrible officiating, yet they were the victims of it too. Now don't get me wrong, the Lakers would have kicked them all over the court regardless. The refs didn't change the actual result. Lakers still would have won. However, the margins would have been closer and the Spurs certainly got a huge, absolutely unacceptable number of horrible calls against them compared to the Lakers.

So how do you explain the fact that every single game in this series, the Kings have gotten horrid calls, even the games they've managed to win (somehow?!)? As Buff said, the refs had their minds made up: Lakers will win this game.

Maybe NBC pays them off, I have no idea. Lakers... Los Angeles, you know, is a huge market. They very much want to see that. The people in New York will probably tune in to watch the Nets as NJ is pretty darn close, and the people in Los Angeles, the 2nd largest city, want to see the Lakers, NOT the Kings.

So how do you explain this rigging? Is it actual payoffs? Is it just bad officiating that just so happens to be against the team the Lakers play every single game, so it's entire coincidental (maybe...?!?! LOL I find it unlikely)? Is it an LA-bias in general? Is it the bias of "respecting" the defending champions that will pass once the Lakers are dethroned? What exactly is it...?

I remember watching the Bulls play and let me tell you, as much as I love Jordan and loved the Bulls back then, they got a lot of total BS calls that went their way. Now did it really make the difference between a championship and not? No, not in this case. But with the Kings, the Kings have vastly outplayed the Lakers, yet we are going to a game 7. What is up here? I do not believe it is simple coincidence, people, I believe it's a very real bias. Now whether they were paid off or not, well odds of that are slim, but do I think the refs are all biased TOWARDS Los Angeles? You bet I do! I've seen it myself now throughout the entire playoffs, not just this year, but last year, and the year before that. I know because I've seen it. I don't need someone else to tell me they are biased, they ARE biased and I know that for a fact. Anyone who watched knows that for a fact.

It's very disturbing because I want to see THE BEST team win. Last year, the best team was the Lakers! There is no question about that. They won fair and square and darnit, they deserved it. But this year, the best team is the Kings and I want to see the Kings take their rightful place in the finals and win a championship.

Do I like the Nets better than the Kings? Well yes, to be honest, and I like Boston better, and I like the Blazers better, and I like the Mavs a lot better, but do I still want to see the Kings win? YES! They deserve it. They ARE the best team and they HAVE ALREADY proven it. So I don't want to hear, "Well if they are the best team they will prove it in game 7." WTF? They proved it by winning 5 out of 6 games so far, is that not good enough?! You have to win 6 out of 7 versus the Lakers just to advance? Since when is a best of 7 series only won if you win 6 of the games? ROFL, this is F**KING RIDICULOUS!

[BUFFJEDI]

Well what I was really meaning was Soccer in general M L s. It's not a multi million a year sport ,Unlike the NBA who will do ANYTHING to keep on keeping on.They are trying to build a basketball Dynasty that has not been since the bulls and Jordan(over rated over rated over rated) But i would like to see Jordan whip some ars for real NOW that he is supposed to be Old:(

They are so loosing money from the fans (YEAH they still make a TON!!) but not like it used to be. Soccer well if they break even it's a good season.


AS for the world cup .It is a Multi million deal I could see some rigging going on FOR SURE . BUT there are LESS chance's for ref's to BLAiTTENLY(spell ckeck) and get away withit A million times. The fans would kill them.But hey my IQ is 25 my biceps are 18 What do I know :x

[Jedi Master Carr]

The refereing was terrible, one thing that didn't make anysense for half the game they hardly called any fouls than in the last 4 minutes they call them every 30 seconds (against both teams by the way) that is bad officiating. The play at the end well Kobe did get away with that, though it did seem like Bibby tried to get a hold on him so maybe the Refs didn't want to call a foul at all or didn't want the game to be decided by a foul who knows how refs work.

Also Jedieb I have to agree with you about Walton, he is an idiot, I am glad Marv Albert does play by play because otherwise I would mute the volume. Marv Albert is awesome though he is the best play by play announcer in the game.

Finally nobody has mentioned the Nets game, Kidd was awesome, he should have been MVP not Duncan, he has carried this team all year, I still like to see the Nets win NBA Title it would be a heck of a story.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Jon, sure NBC probably was hoping for a seventh game but I doubt they would pay off the officials to get it, if they wanted to do that why didn't they pay off the refs back when the Bulls were sweeping everybody (except for that great 7 game series against the Pacers) that sure didn't help their ratings. Besides that is something that is hard to get away with, in the two biggest sport rigging scandals, 1919 the Black Sox and the Arizona State Basketball program, they got caught, there is no way anybody could get away with it now especially with ESPN and USA today, etc out there they would report something like that.

[BUFFJEDI]

I met Jason Kidd in a night club in Dallas. He was cocky for a little man. He was rude,arrogant and full of himself AND DAM6 can he play BALL!!!!!BTW I saw him record his FIRST TRIPLE DOUBLE!!!!!I would love to see them win it all .

[BUFFJEDI]

I'll leave it at this NO matter What you ever think,hear see or DO.
DO NOT under estimate the POWER Of MONEY.NO matter HOW IDIOTIC(not yelling Just wanting it to stick out) the situation may seem,No matter how serious the situation may seem NEVER UNDER ESTIMATE THE POWER OF MONEY>NO MATTER if you or anyone around you Thinks money has nothing to do with it NEVER UNDER ESTIMATE THE POWER OF MONEY!!!!!!If you think you can NOT be bought and sold NEVER Under estimate the power of money!!!!:D

[JonathanLB]

EVERYONE thinks Walton is an idiot, and anyone who doesn't has the IQ of a 6th grader because Walton himself has the IQ of a 6th grader!

My dad hates that guy and I have to admit his entirely idiotic commentary and diarhea of the mouth is sickening. It makes me wonder if the people at NBC are TOTALLY STUPID or if they think their viewers are TOTALLY STUPID and therefore keep Walton.

What are they thinking?!?!?!

My dad went to high school with Steve Jones, actually, the two were best friends for quite a while! LOL, he was there when I was born, he was there at a lot of parties earlier on, it's pretty funny he is such a big sports guy now. My dad says Jones likes Walton, which I can only imagine is because Jones laughs at that idiot all of the time. Jones makes fun of him on the air even because he's such a fool.

I guess Steve Jones was quite the character in high school, always extremely funny. He's a cool guy. :)

[Jedieb]

OVERTIME BABY!!! What a series!!!:crack

[Jedieb]

God how I hate the Lakers...
Sacramento has no one to blame but themselves. Long range airballs in clutch situations, and one of the worst team free throw performances I've EVER seen in a clutch game. Unbelievable.>_<

[CMJ]

Free throws were the deciding factor.

[Lady Vader]

I can't help but smile...

:D

Ok, maybe that's not a smile... more like a grin.

:crack

[Jedi Master Carr]

Exactly you can't shoot 53% and expect to win, and what was with those terrible shots? I couldn't understand why they weren't getting the ball to Bibby and Webber in the clutch instead Christie and that other guy whose name I can't remember were shotting bad shots or making passes in traffic. Really without Bibby the Lakers would have killed them in the 4th quarter.

[jjwr]

Walton sucks? If you know anything about basketball and listen to his commentary you'll realize how smart the guy is, he may sound dumb but all the stuff he says is very true to the game of basketball and very strategic in how its played.

[CMJ]

One half from a sweep. I'm glad I'm gonna be outta town for most of the wild celebration. :x

I hate the Lakers! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

:headbash :shootin

[Jedieb]

Walton sucks? If you know anything about basketball and listen to his commentary you'll realize how smart the guy is, he may sound dumb but all the stuff he says is very true to the game of basketball and very strategic in how its played.

Sorry, jjwr, but you're one of the FEW people I've ever heard defend his commentary. The guy overstates the obvious OVER and OVER. He's just plain horrible. I'd rather listen to Hubie Brown or Snapper Jones. Brown is one of the best in the business. He gives excellent commentary and as a former coach you get plenty of X's and O's from him. All Walton ever does is spout out overblown praise and redundant catch phrases. He's also a blatant center lover. During the Bulls run he'd be particularly clueless. I can remember several instances in which he'd blather on about centers this, centers that. Then somebody like Jones would point out that the bulls didn't have a dominating center and he'd look stupid. Unfortunately, he'd only shut up for a few seconds and then he'd start babbling again and again. Just listen to any game he does. Snapper will contradict him or point out the absurdity of something he says at least once per quarter. He's just plain HORRIBLE!

Anyway, this has been one of the lowest rated finals in years. It's been the first finals I've blown off in over 15 years. It's a combination of people not thinking the Nets have a chance and the Lakers being a team people love to hate. The Bulls were dominant and favored in their championships, but people still watched because of MJ. This series is just being ignored.

[JMK]

I think people know how uninteresting this is going to be and are sick of the Lakers.

[CMJ]

Nets up by 4, going to the final 12 minutes. Can they actually force a 5th game? That would mean the series wouldn't be wrapped up until I was out of town. Joy!!! I won't have to deal with much of the celebration at all...maybe not even the parade. ;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

My father is a Lakers fan so I know how he feels, personally I don't care either way, I don't hate them or really like them, I would rather see somebody else win, also I disagree about the Bulls towards the end there nobody watched the finals, I remember the last Jazz vs the Bulls series was at the time the lowest rated finals, not sure about the earlier series but that one nobody watched.

[JMK]

Wow, the Lakers sure do party and celebrate a championchip like no one else!

Sure there's that little thing called humility and being a gracious winner, but geez, if you're gonna act like this win is no bigger than the first game of the year, why not just pass up the torch?

Could Shaq sound any more disinterested? Ho-hum. We win. Again.


Give me a break. :rolleyes

[Jedi Master Carr]

Kobe seemed happy, and so didn't Phil but I think that was partly tieng Arbach. I think there would have been a bigger celebration had it been in LA like last year. CMJ, I hope you get out of LA okay after the riots;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well that its for the NBA on NBC so I guess no more Walton (I don't think he is going to ABC/ESPN) I know Albert is going to ABC, I think he has already signed a contract, hey here is a possibility how about Dick Vitale (color) and Marv Albert (play by play) teamed together heck the game would be more entertaining.

[JonathanLB]

I have a great new idea for the NBA. I think they should create basically a AAA league like in basbeall so that the lesser talented people can get experience without being in the real NBA. Oh wait, sorry that's the East. My bad.

[Tucta]

:lol

*Eats the Nets while wearing an ENORMOUS Lakers jersey.*

*As an after thought, also eats the basketball.*

:p ;)

[Live Wire]

*runs in after the rancor*

TUCTA!!!


Go back to the RP area! bad rancor!!!



geez im sorry about this guys he doesnt always listen to people.

[Tucta]

*Stops in mid-munch to look quizzically at the yelling woman. Tucta blinks several times before remembering to slurp up the arm hanging from his mouth.*

*Lastly, popping the basketball in his mouth, Tucta lumbers back to wence he came from.*

[Live Wire]

*follows him out to make sure he gets back where hes supposed to be*


if anyone asks.....we never saw the nets.....they weren't just eaten by a large rancor. :angel

[CMJ]

Yeah Jon...but the power shifts between the conferences every 10 years or so. You could have said the East was the major leagues when Jordan was winning all those titles(and before the Bulls the Pistons). ;)