From wheelchair to fade away

I consider myself a sports fan, not a rabid one but a passionate one.  I tend to follow the NFL and NBA quite closely but I also follow a bit of European soccer and some baseball when the playoffs kick in.  Last night was Game 1 of the Lakers and Celtics and if you are any sort of NBA fan, this HAS to get you excited.  This is like if baseball finally came to its senses and separated the Sox and the Yankees so they could meet each other in the World Series to finally decide who has the bigger budget, er the better team.  Or if the Pats and the Colts said FU to the NFL and played their own game to decide the real champ.  This is THE premiere match up in the NBA and I don't know how many refs Stern had to bribe to get this matchup but I'm glad he did because you couldn't ask for a better final.  On one side, you have the hard nosed, defensive oriented Celtics, from a blue collar sports crazed city versus the finesse, offensively gifted Lakers, whose fans leave early during playoff games because of the traffic and whose mascot is a geriatric Jack Nicholson.  On a side note, do the teenagers Jacko's dates know that he was alive during WW 2?

The series really does have it all.  Names? Yeah its got that.  You have the most passionate athlete I've seen play in any sport since LT in Kevin Garnett.  The most gifted and talented player to play in the finals since his Airness himself.  I know Kobe will never ever be Jordan but hes the closest thing we have until Lebron learns how to shoot a 19 footer.  Legacy? Check.  The Lakers and Celtics have combined for 30 titles between them.  Thats almost as much as ALL of the other NBA teams combined.  Showtime vs. the Gaaaarden.  Anyways, you get the picture.  If you were an NBA fan, this is your dream match up.  So the intro to the game happens and I hope some of you saw it.  They had Clint Mansell playing in the background while they showed clips of the Celts.  If you dont know Clint Mansell, he is the composer behind some of the best music in film.  The score on Last of the Mohicans, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, Smoking Aces just to name a few.  Anyways, his music comes on, the crowd goes crazy and you can tell, the people in the arena GET IT.   This is a big deal. 

Anyways, the game starts and its very competitive in the first half.  It's  going back and forth.  Very entertaining, pretty plays.  Celtics defense seems to be giving Kobe fits cause he cant seem to get inside but Kobe being Kobe is able to suck in the defense and give Odom and Gasol easy layups.  I've always thought Kobe's  passing was underrated.  He can get his shot off anywhere but he is also a great passer.  Halftime comes and goes and both teams exchange the lead back and forth until the end of the 3rd quarter when Paul Pierce, the captain of the C's goes down with what looks like a very painful, knee injury.  Now i watched the play like 3 times and he looked like he was in more pain with each replay.  My heart sank right at that moment not because I'm a Paul Pierce fan but I knew, if he's gone for the series, the Celtics have no chance in this series.  They had to take him out on a wheelchair cause he couldn't put any weight on his knewe.  Wheelchair people!  It was like the Boston fans just learned Marky Mark was releasing another rap album.  I've never seen a crowd get taken out of a game sooo quickly.  I had no rooting interest, I just wanted an entertaining series but I was almost certain this would kill the series.  So you watch the Celtics scratch and claw to keep their slim lead and about 5 mins after he was carted off in a wheelchair, through the dark tunnel, you see #34 jogging back into the arena.  I've never seen the Willis Reed come back in Game 7 of the Finals back in the 70s but I imagine this is what it felt like.  Goosebumps.  He comes hopping back into the arena, and the crowd goes insane.  Standing O.  He has this crooked grin.  Phil Jackson calls a timeout before the fans all rush the Celts bench to give Pierce a 20,000 person group hug.  (Side note:  I wish the announcers had shut the hell up so the tv audience could've heard how loud the crowd really was when he walked back in.  Pissed me off)

He comes back, hits 2 3's back to back after being almost near tears in pain less than 10 mins ago and really at that point regardless of the score, I knew the Celts were gonna win.  If I'd seen it in a movie, I'd have walked out, thats how cliche it was but when it happens in the sporting world, well, it just doesn't get any better.  For the rest of the game, I just sort of sat back and took it all in because as a sports fan, GOOD championship games/series are few and far between.  The Celtics went on to win the game and really, I don't think any Celtics fan had any doubt after P.P came back in the game and now we have a real series.  Celts were the dogs heading into the series and now you have to wonder how LA matches their emotion for Game 2.  Kobe will bounce back from his bad game, I'm positive of that but I don't know if he can carry LA on his own.  LA seemed confused in their offense all night long and never got in a rhythm like they did in their other pervious series so I'm curious to see what Phil Jackson does.  You know he has some trick up his sleeve.  Either way, I'm not missing a game in this series, not after last night.

Lots of reading so I added some eye candy to make it easier:



Seriously, i get it she has fake boobs and probably couldn't do a BXB to save her life but jesus shes hawwwt.  Its a dress like that on a body like that sometimes makes me think God really does exist.


If Reggie studied holes on the line like he studied her....well you get what I'm sayin...