Game 3

No doubt we have all struggled through the first 2 games of this 2008 NBA Finals. Whether it was discrepancy in foul calls (as in we got none) or clanking misfires off the hand of the MVP, Laker fans are due for something to cheer about. Hopefully tonight will be that night. Considering the statistical significance of no team ever coming back from an 0-3 hole, I'm guessing we can all agree that tonight's bball game is in fact a must-win game. That being said, never been done before is only never been done before until someone does it. Deep, I know.

Predictions: I expect us to get to the free throw line about a hundred times tonight and Doc Rivers to say "Cmon dick, cmon" like a billion times. How old is Dick Bavetta btw? Shouldn't he be retired already? I know science has made it possible to live longer and with advances in modern medicine and his high level of income it isn't ridiculous to think that he will live to be 125 but running up and down the court with the speed of the game? Me thinks not. Which takes me to my next point: I think the NBA should put on a reality TV contest in the off-season choosing a replacement for Bavetta called "So you think you can ref?" Instead of dance-offs we would witness ref-offs and feats of strength/agility. Bavetta could be one of the judges along with Barkley and Rasheed Wallace. Tim Donaghy could do the PSAs. Priceless. Just for your info Bavetta was born in 1939. That's WWII time for those of you keeping score at home.

This is for John

Divine Intervention

And so the first game in the uber-hyped NBA 2008 Finals is in the books with a decisive overpowering victory going to the boys in Green. The Boston Celtics managed more than just a victory during the 98-88 final; they called upon a miracle. Yes there definitely was a higher power at work in the Boston locker room during the 3rd Qtr last night. The same room in which an apparent knee-injured Paul Pierce ran out of only minutes after being carried into writhing in pain. We all feared the worst watching as fans of the game not ever wanting to see anyone get injured as Pierce went down awkwardly in that 3rd Qtr. But what started as concern quickly turned to incredulity as a seemingly revived and healthy Pierce ran out onto the court less than 2 minutes of game time later. From that point he went on to hit 2 consecutive threes giving the Celtics the lead of which they never gave up again. Pierce went 6-6 in the second half scoring 19 points over the final two Qtrs. So what happened? Well, placing all acts of divine intervention aside; some of the same issues that have bothered the Lakers in earlier rounds this postseason reared their ugly head again in Game 1. The most notable being rebounding. It's not just the overall margin on the boards (13) but also the timely manner in which those rebounds came. It always seemed to be on the possessions where the Lakers were starting to get some momentum in the 2nd half. Or on a missed Boston free throw attempt that turned into more time off the clock and an additional two points for the Celtics.

Being outhustled to loose balls and outworked on the glass are painful things to watch as a fan. Combine that with an off shooting night from MVP Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were fortunate to hold close in the second half. Look for Gasol and Odom to have bounceback games if the Lakers are to steal a game in Boston. KG is going to be a tough matchup but the Lakers will look to disrupt his game a bit more as the series progresses as well as attacking the rim with more fervor and intention. With Game 1 jitters gone I expect a better performance in Game 2 for the Lakers. Of course, you never know what kind of magic Boston has in store for the second installation of this epic rivalry.

Make Money Money

For Love Of The Game. That's the motto and the anthem of this blog. That's why we cheer so hard for players like Ronnie Turiaf and that's what makes sports so exhilarating. But there is no denying the simple truth that professional athletes today get paid vast sums of money. And it would be naive to believe that they play the game solely out of their love for it. In fact, many might be playing purely for monetary reasons as even the average players in the top U.S. leagues make mid-to-high six figure minimums. It begs the question: Have we lost the purity of the game amidst the tidal wave of salary earnings and endorsement deals?

Sports Illustrated recently released a list of the top 50 highest-earning athletes in the U.S. this past year and a breakdown of their earnings between salary and endorsements. I figured it would be fun to take a look at the top 10. The results just might surprise you.

1. Tiger Woods ($23 Million Winnings + $105 Million Endorsements = $128Million)
2. Phil Mickelson ($9 Million Winnings + $53 Million Endorsements = $62 Million)
3. Lebron James ($12.5 Million Salary + $28 Million Endorsements = $40.5 Million)
4. Floyd Mayweather Jr. ($20 Million Salary + $20 Million Endorsements = $40 Million)
5. Kobe Bryant ($19.5 Million Salary + $16 Million Endorsements = $35.5 Million)
6. Shaquille O'Neal ($20 Million Salary + $15 Million Endorsements = $35 Million)
7. Alex Rodriguez ($29 Million Salary + $6 Million Endorsements = $35 Million)
8. Kevin Garnett ($22 Million Salary + $9 Million Endorsements = $31 Million)
9. Peyton Manning ($17.5 Million Salary + $13 Million Endorsements = $30.5 Million)
10. Derek Jeter ($22 Million Salary + $8 Million Endorsements = $30 Million)
Of course no one should be surprised to see Tiger Woods topping the list. I don't know of a product he DOESN'T push on my TV screen. I was surprised at the sheer size of that endorsement number for the year at $105 Million. He more than DOUBLES everyone on the list and TRIPLES everyone except number 2. It is safe to say that he has become this generations Michael Jordan. Another two years at this pace and he will be the first $1Billion dollar sports earner ever. Not too shabby.

I was shocked to see Phil Mickelson at number 2 with a whopping $53 million in endorsements. I know he is a fan favorite and I hear people actually watch and follow golf but $53 million? Seriously? It is still up for discussion whether or not golf is actually a sport versus a skill. There is no doubt that Mickelson would have serious trouble competing in any cardiovascular activity. I doubt that he could run a mile under the 12 minute mark that the state requires for all 6th graders. And to be honest I can't think of what products sponsor him. Must be a bunch of financial companies catering to the older white guys who know who he is. Questionable.

The biggest surprise name on the list has to be Mayweather. Haven't we all decided that boxing is on the way out in the mainstream sports media. No one is excited about that sport anymore. I guess you can never underestimate the bump the comes after doing Dancing With The Stars. I seem to recall him fighting in a WWF match recently. That MUST mean things are going good.

It seems to me that Kobe has positioned himself for the biggest rise in the list come next year's rankings. He is going for an NBA Championship and Finals MVP to go along with his regular season MVP this year. And it has been a long 4 years since his run in with the law and that alleged incident in Colorado. Nike has already jumped back on board and I expect he will have many more sponsors come this off-season. Think about it, the guy jumps over Aston Martins in youtube videos in order to make a little more in the endorsement game. Not to mention water pits with snakes in them. So are these athletes worth the money? And has the sanctity of the game been lost with the huge increases in earnings? The old boston celtics players of the late 50s and 60s were champions many times over and leaders of the NBA. And yet many if not most of the players (Russell excluded) worked summer jobs in the off-season to cover their bills. It almost seems impossible to fathom that kind of a scenario with todays pro sports environment. In today's sporting world the growth in the media outlets and the market for advertising revenues has expanded so vastly that its hard to argue against the justification for paying these salaries/incomes. If the owners of the teams are willing to fork out the cash for these players then it must be worth it from a bottom line perspective.

The question of athletes being overpaid is really a function of our society and how much stake we put into entertainment and celebrities. If we actively campaigned and worked with as much passion for our school system budgets and medical care as we do for our sports teams then maybe the dollar amounts would change. After all, the demand drives the product. If there is no audience for a team or a league then the money goes away and it all dries up. Would this ever happen in a world where we care more about the winner of American Idol than the President of the Country? Don't hold your breath.

So it only goes up and up from here. Can the athlete of today hold on to that purity of sport that begins when he/she is a kid shooting hoops in the driveway after school? Can he/she manage to separate the game from the business that it actually is? Are there more Ronnie Turiaf's out there playing with pure joy and emotion for the sport that they love? I certainly hope so.

Conspiracy Theory

No, not just a lame movie with Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, government cover-ups, mind control, and silent helicopters (I know it actually sounds cool but trust me not so much). I am talking about the recent rumblings from certain people that the current NBA Playoffs are NOT on the level. Sure, these loonies (or “truth” tellers as they call themselves) also believe that we have landed on the moon and that the Iraq war was a deliberately concocted scheme designed to profit friends and lobbyists. Craziness, I know. But what if…

So let’s get that paranoia feeling flowing and channel our best Oliver Stone impersonations as we take a look at the NBA: Conspiracy Style.

Some would have you believe that this all started way back in the off-season. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen surreptitiously arrived in Bean Town suddenly and dramatically reviving one of the classic basketball powerhouses in NBA History. Oh, and also a historically strong television ratings team. Hmmm. Next comes the mid-season steal, I mean deal, that sent Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kwame Brown. Again, some might say this was a lop-sided trade. I would argue however that Kwame is great at (not) catching the ball. Just a thought.

And so we have two classic big market teams rising to the top seeds in both the East and the West after arguably two of the most one-sided trades in recent NBA memory. A positive for the League one might think. Conspiracy theorists are rolling.

Fast forward on to the playoffs. The Celtics have struggled but continue to hold home court and are 1 game away from grabbing a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Lakers on the other side are also 1 game away from punching their ticket into the Finals of the Western Conference. In the most recent game 5 of the Lakers/Jazz series there was a controversial no-call on Pau Gasol’s offensive rebound and dunk over Mehmet Okur late in the 4^th Quarter. Conspiracy or flop?

Let’s take a look at the fouls. In the Lakers/Jazz series, the Lakers through 5 games have 123 fouls compared to the 149 fouls called on the Jazz. That equates to 25 per game for the Lakers versus 30 per game for the Jazz. If you look at the regular season numbers, the Lakers averaged 21 fouls per game and the Jazz averaged 24 fouls per game. The Jazz do happen to foul the most out of any team in the League during the regular season. The difference between the two in the series taking into account the regular season average is plus or minus 2 fouls; not much support for the conspiracy theorists here.

Looking at the other series in the Playoffs, you have teams like the Spurs (one game away from getting into the Western Finals) and the Pistons (already into the Eastern Finals now for the 6^th straight season) that do NOT bring big television audiences and yet they continue to win. Yet another knock against the conspiracy proponents.

And now we even have players becoming “believers”. Chris Paul said to the score’s table during last night’s blowout to the Spurs “It’s almost like someone called them (the refs) up at halftime and said ‘let them boys win’”. Interesting comment CP3, and even more intriguing is his country slang. Makes me wonder if he had a straw cowboy hat on chewing some tobacca while he made that comment.

Of course, the whole Tim Donaghy thing this past summer surely doesn’t help the non-conspiracy group. But think about the level of complexity involved in rigging a game. There are so many moving pieces in a basketball contest. The game has to play out a certain way for the refs to even have the opportunity to decide it. And gross discrepancies in calls or “phantom” calls just don’t happen out there. The only level of conspiracy I could accept would possibly be one ref being instructed that if the game is close and there is a 50/50 call then they make it based on the team with the higher TV ratings. I could maybe see something like that happening. But I just don’t buy it.

The fallout from a collusion strategy such as this one would be astronomic. The risks far outweigh the rewards because IF the NBA was to get caught trying to influence the outcomes then there would be great damage to the brand and the viewership. Greater I believe than the positive results of a higher televised series one year where no Detroit and no San Antonio appear in the Finals. Of course, if my team gets knocked out then hell yeah this whole thing is rigged!