First off, I have to take a moment to pay my respects to Tim Russert who passed away on Friday, June 13. Tim was from Buffalo, as am I, and he’s been a permanent supporter of the Buffalo area. He is beloved and revered, and everyone here at home feels as though we have lost a member of our family. God bless Tim and the rest of his family.

Now on to sports.

The NBA Finals

First off, let’s talk about the NBA Finals game last night. The Celtics basically lost that game. The Lakers did not win it, they were not impressive in closing it out and they shouldn’t feel any more confident about their play going into Game Six. I know this because I watched (and blogged) the entire game last night. And even though the Celtics had to make a comeback once again (can’t they just start off the game playing the way they finish?) they were in control of that game for three quarters. The turning point was Kobe’s “big steal,” which is up for debate.

I called it last night and said that it should have been a reach-in … but it wasn’t. Kobe went on to dunk the ball with such vigor that the crowd finally showed some life after falling asleep at some point through the second quarter of play. I’m sorry but Kobe should not feel as though he was the savior here. He played mediocre and I’m kinda of tired of all the MJ comparisons at this point. He’s not MJ. He didn’t take over the game and he didn’t want the ball in his hands at the end of the game either. Would MJ have passed off to Pau Gasol in the lane when the game was on the line? I doubt it. Regardless, I think the Celtics are going to wrap up this series back home in Boston on Tuesday night.

The U.S. Open

I’ll be honest, golf is about the last sports activity I tend to watch on television. But with the drama unfolding yesterday during the U.S. Open, how could I not watch?

I was wrong about Mickelson. He’s wasn’t even in the running for this one. Remember when I said that no analyst wanted to bet against Tiger, well now you know why. Even after knee surgery, he comes out and putts like he has a beacon hidden in his golf balls which leads them all directly into the hole. Did you see the putt he made on Saturday that practically curved like a half moon?? It was incredible!

He was behind the leader by one stroke and managed to send the Open to a one-on-one playoff round with a birdie on the 18th hole — 12 lonely feet from the cup. Now he and Rocco Mediate will play against one another today to decide the winner.

Man, talk about pressure. And I’m not talking about Woods here either. He never falters under pressure, he LOVES pressure situations, and he has proven it time and time again. I’m referring to Mediate. He busted his hump to turn in what is probably his best major performance to date and now he has to muster up a little more magic for one more round. I hadn’t even heard of Mediate before. Who has? He is the 158th ranked player in the world. His last victory was in 2002 at the Greater Greensboro Open. It’s like David vs. Goliath!

Like I said, I don’t usually tune in for golf. But I sure wish I was home watching golf today.

The WNBA

I thought I’d do a quick rundown of the current WNBA standings:

Eastern Conference
Connecticut
Detroit
New York
Indiana
Chicago
Washington
Atlanta

Western Conference
LA
Seattle
San Antonio
Minnesota
Sacramento
Phoenix
Houston

I don’t think it’s a big surprise to see the LA Sparks on top. With Candace Parker AND Lisa Leslie, they are a force to be reckoned with. The surprising bit is that Phoenix is second to last after winning the WNBA Championship last year. Diana Taurasi can’t do it all by herself!

NFL

Despite the Marshawn Lynch debacle, the Bills have something to be excited about. They could be the surprise team of the NFL 2008-2009 season. John Clayton breaks it down on ESPN.

The Dallas Cowboys took a chance on Pacman Jones … why do NFL players continually piss on their talent by acting like fools off the field (I’m including Lynch in these sentiments folks). My father thinks Jones won’t last the entire season. I give him three weeks tops.

That’s it for me — Comments? Class discussion? Anyone?

Post from: EveryJoe

Weekend Sports Update

I know the WNBA is in full swing. I caught the end of a game this afternoon. Once the NBA Finals are over, I’ll jump full force into WNBA action. I’m on a one-track mind at the moment (Celtic pride!!! I won’t lie … I’m rooting for Boston) …

As for the live blogging, I’m going to try to be a little more witty this time around. Thursday night was my first night blogging while watching a game and it was quite a challenge keeping up with the play by play action. I read Bill Simmons diary from the same game and it was HILARIOUS. So I’m going to try to up my game a little bit. Let me know how I do! See you tomorrow for tip-off!

*Just a heads up – I’ll be talking about the U.S. Open, the NBA Finals, the Tim Donaghy situation and Marshawn Lynch on Monday for a Weekend Sports Round Up edition. Check it out!

*Don’t forget to vote on this week’s For Argument’s Sake poll!

Post from: EveryJoe

Live Blogging: Lakers vs. Celtics, Game Five