Category: Sports

It’s the steering wheel of a Formula One Ferrari. Read about the technology in The New York Times.

General JC Christian writes University of Colorado President Hoffman a letter to praise her for her defense of the c-word (which she did).

T.J. Simers wondered if it was over before it began:

9:04 — Aretha Franklin sings the national anthem. If it’s true what they say, and it’s not over until the fat lady has sung, it’s not looking good for the Lakers.

At the Los Angeles Times the mood is more somber. Bill Plaschke:

The team that was supposed to make basketball history indeed made basketball history Tuesday, doomed forever to symbolize all that is wrong with modern professional sports, a testament to the failure of excess and danger of ego. …

As if sent down by the sports gods to deliver a message, the Detroit Pistons crawled out from the shadows of hard work, away from the anonymity of defense, and into a spotlight that showed the Lakers everything they used to be.

A team that shares the ball. A team that shares the floor burns. A team that shares the glory.

An NBA champion.

This version of the Free Press [pdf file] front page shows whom I would have named MVP — and why. Determined? You think?

Take a look at the front page of the Detroit Free Press [pdf file].

Lakers Pistons in five.

The important thing is I predicted the number of games correctly.

Arizona
Arkansas
Cal State Fullerton
Georgia
LSU
Miami
South Carolina
Texas

Games begin Friday. It’s the first appearance for Arizona since 1986, when they were national champions for the third time.

From a report on the Lakers:

Luke Walton brought it down to one word: “Execute.”

Yeah, but who?

Michael Rosenberg in the Detroit Free Press on the 1,500 media credentials issued for the NBA Finals:

With a ratio of 62.5 reporters for every player, you might wonder what the hell we’re all doing here. Well, first of all, we’ll ask the damn questions, OK? And second of all, I have no clue.

How many times in one day can you ask Karl Malone about his knee? My rough estimate: 147. And I guarantee you that when Malone walks away after a thorough grilling about his knee, a reporter will turn to the guy next to him and ask, “Which knee is it again?” …

To accommodate the masses, the Pistons cleared off 16 rows behind one baseline for reporters and their portable solitaire machines, also known as laptops.

From Mitch Albom in the Detroit Free Press:

Their one guard was supposed to outshine the entire Pistons backcourt. Heck, after Kobe Bryant’s miracle shot in Game 2, he threatened to outshine the entire Pistons roster. It was Kobe this and Kobe that. Kobe’s destiny. Kobe’s greatness. That kind of stuff can give you an upset stomach — especially if you’re the other guards. You know, the ones who play against him?

Little wonder then that there were a few extra fist shakes and head nods from Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton as they banged down one three-pointer after another Thursday night, as they laid up a fast break here, a banker off the glass there. Oh, it might not have been a last-second desperation heave with the whole world anticipating it. But you know what? It counts the same. Points are points. Two guards are better than one. And on this night, Billups and Hamilton were twin klieg lights at a shopping mall opening, and Kobe was a 25-watt bulb.

From Dwight Perry, Sideline Chatter:

Bill Davidson, whose Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup and whose Detroit Shock is the reigning WNBA champion, will make it three if his Detroit Pistons win the NBA title.

Davidson, not taking any chances, is refusing all collect calls from Smarty Jones.

According to an article by Selena Roberts in The New York Times, Ignorance and Arrogance Collide, Live and Off-Color, Larry Bird made the following remark during the taping of an ESPN program to be aired tonight.

“But it is a black man’s game, and it will be forever. I mean the greatest athletes in the world are African-American.”

Unable to pick up his dribble, Bird, the homespun folk legend from French Lick, Ind., went on to say that he loathed being guarded by a “white” guy during his Celtics days, adding: “As far as playing, I didn’t care who guarded me – red, yellow, black. I just didn’t want a white guy guarding me, because it’s disrespect to my game.”

This may not work because most visitors to NewMexiKen don’t leave comments, but let’s try anyway. Mario’s comments on soccer vs. basketball got me thinking about it.

Which team sport has the best athletes?

I guess that best would include the attributes of strength, endurance, speed and — of course — skill (finesse, balance, hand/eye coordination).

From Sideline Chatter in The Seattle Times:

Bill Scheft of Sports Illustrated, on the Williams sisters’ misfortune at the French Open: “Serena had 45 unforced errors against Jennifer Capriati. Forty-six, if you count her outfit.”

“NOW MIGHT be a good time for Luke Walton to give Britney Spears a call.”

T.J. Simers in the Los Angeles Times

“The postgame interview room moderator announcing ‘Luke Walton will be next.’ ”

J.A. Adande in the Los Angeles Times

Bill Simmons at ESPN’s Page 2 on the finals:

The team with the best player ALWAYS wins the Finals.

This isn’t even a theory; it’s like saying, “Every summer, it will become hot.” Just look at the last 25 years — only the ’81 Celtics and the ’89-’90 Pistons teams fail the Best Player Test, but those teams were absolutely stacked (and I still think the ’89 Pistons were one of the best five teams ever, but that’s a story for another time). Can you imagine a team winning the Finals when they didn’t even have one of the top two players in the series? It would be unprecedented. And seeing Detroit win the title while getting no contribution at all from the No. 2 pick last summer … I can’t even imagine how weird that would be.

But it could happen. If the Lakers blow the title, it would have to rank among the most curious collapses in recent sports history: An obviously superior team that fell short because they didn’t want it enough. Contrast that to the emotional scene in Tampa Bay last night, as the Lightning held off the underdog Flames in seven, both teams leaving everything they had on the ice. After the game, an exhausted Martin St. Louis was interviewed by one of the sideline reporters, two fresh gashes covering his face, looking like he had just been run over by Billy Joel. It was a stark contrast from Game 1 of the NBA Finals the night before, the Lakers trying to win a title without breaking a sweat.

And as Dave Andreychuk carried the cup around, screaming with delight at the end of a 22-year odyssey, I couldn’t help thinking about the difference between him and Malone and Payton — three guys at the same point of their careers, one of them reaching the promised land on his own terms, the other two guys looking like they just want the season to end.

I still think the Lakers win in six … but for the first time in years, I already find myself missing the NHL playoffs. At least those guys cared.

From Michael Rosenberg in the Detroit Free Press:

Speaking of As Good As It Gets, a word here about Jack Nicholson. Like [Dyan] Cannon, his Laker fandom is well-known, but because he remains such an acting icon, it’s almost like the teams are playing on his court.

The best Laker celebrity moment ever involved Nicholson. As the clock wound down on the Lakers’ 2000 championship, losing Pacers coach Larry Bird turned and shook Nicholson’s hand.

Bird still had to congratulate the players. But he knew he had already thanked the host.

From Morning Briefing by Larry Stewart:

According to Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau, who is working with ABC on the NBA Finals, Detroit’s Larry Brown is 15-15 in NBA playoff series as a head coach. But he is 12-3 when his team wins Game 1.

The Lakers’ Phil Jackson, 44-4 as a head coach in NBA playoff series, is only 6-4 when his team loses Game 1.

From Sideline Chatter:

Former NBA star Charles Barkley, to Golf World magazine, on whether golfers are athletes: “Golf is technique. You can go to the corner 7-Eleven store, take the fat, bald guy from behind the counter and teach him to play golf. But you ain’t going to teach him to make the NBA.”

From Sideline Chatter by Dwight Perry:

Francesco Totti, a forward for AS Roma, is the Yogi Berra of Italian soccer.

His colorful Roman dialect has made him the butt of national jokes, but Totti, 27, is getting the last laugh.

He has rounded up jokes uttered about him and published them in two best-selling books, with proceeds going to charities earmarked for local senior citizens and street children in Congo.

A sample joke: “Totti calls a travel agency to ask how long it takes to fly from Milan to Rome.

” ‘Just a second,’ the agent responds.

” ‘Thanks a lot,’ Totti says and hangs up.”

His fiancée, Ilary Blasi, isn’t immune, either: “Blasi asks Totti, ‘Honey, do you love me, huh, do you love me, huh, do you love me?’

“He answers, ‘Hey, slow down, one question at a time.’ ”