BOHICA Kobe

That means Bend Over Here It Comes Again.

Props in order to the Celtics for leaving no shadow of a doubt who the better team was in this series. Congrats to The Truth, KG and Shuttlesworth on finally getting the title.

But that's not what this is about. This is about the ESPN hyperbole (future post down the road)on Vail, CO's most infamous resident finally being put to a rest.

Not counting Sunday night's victory, here's how Kobe's teams have fared the last 5 times they have faced elimination: Lost by 28 (vs. SA 2003), 13 (2004 NBA Finals at DET in a game that was much more lopsided than the final score), 31 (2006 1st round at PHX after a 3-1 lead), 9 (2007 1st round vs. PHX), and 39 (last night)

Kobe's performance in those games:
2003: 20 points, 9/19 FG
2004: 24 points, 7/21 FG
2006: 24 points, 8/16 FG
2007: 34 Points, 13/33 FG
2008: 22 points, 7/22 FG

In any of Jordan's elimination games in his career, MJ's Bulls never lost by more than 19, and that was Game 7 of the 1990 Eastern Conference Finals in which Scottie Pippen went 1-10 and removed himself with a "migraine". Regardless, MJ lost to 2 title teams before he started his era of dominance, but never allowed himself to suffer the kind of 1 and 2 asswuppin that the Lakers received last night. If Kobe really could impose his will in the same way Jordan was notorious for, he would not have let an embarassment like that happen, whether his teammates had shown up or not.

Now I do have my issues wiith Kobe, but this isn't what this about. This is about going toe to toe when your team needs you and Kobe basically resigned himself to defeat by the time the C's concluded their 26-6 run to close the 1st half.

And for one more parting shot. You gotta hand it to ESPN, '05 USC, '07 Pats and now Kobe, yet they refuse to quit. Even Wily. E. Coyote is impressed.

Much thanks to Colonel Angus at SOTSG for helping to supply some of the material for this post.

Thoughts From The Weekend

Before we begin the usual nonsense, my condolences to the Russert family. Tim Russert was one of the last bastions of integrity in a new industry that's been reduced to shock journalism. He was always fair, did his research and never felt the need to force his views on his audience as so many of his colleagues have. R.I.P. Tim.

- As I type this, Tiger leads the U.S. Open Playoff by 1 stroke after 8 in Torrey Pines. Whether or not he holds off Rocco Mediate today, this is Tiger's second best performance behind his absolute demolition of the field at Pebble Beach in 2000. To go 5 rounds on a bum knee and have a real good chance to win is just inhuman. The look on his face after his last ridculous putt on Saturday says it all. He's better than everyone, he knows it, you know it and he knows that you know it.

-Brandon Marshall is a weirdo

- The NBA really didn't help the perception that the officials have ulterior moves with the way the last 2 minutes of Game 5 went down last night.

-Speaking of, not counting the free throw contest he had at the end, Kobe had exactly 5 points after the 1st quarter. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure MJ would've had more than 5 after the 1st quarter of a do-or-die game. We can stop the comparisons now, Kobe may be the best we've had since Jordan hung it up (with LeBron a very close 2nd), but he cannot shine Jordan's shoes.

- Taking 2 of 3 from a mediocre Texas team, Willie Randolph still doesn't have a genuine endorsement from Omar Minaya. The Mets make what seems like their 20th trip to the west coast this week for a three-game set against the AL West leading Angels and another set in Denver against the Rockies, inculding a great matchup on Tuesday between Johan Santana and John Lackey. The good news for the Mets is that the Angels can be a streaky team especially on offense, so it is imperative that the Met offense come to play in this series. As proven in the Game 1 loss yesterday, they have the ability to get out of large deficits, but to have any realistic chance of catching Philadelphia, they must be consistent on a nightly basis.

- If they can continue to get efforts like they did out of Oliver Perez on Friday night and (knock on wood for tonight) Mike Pelfrey, this season is not a lost cause just yet. Also imperative are moves to upgrade the bullpen, something I've been preaching for almost 8 months.

Were We Right All Along? The Hosejob Revisited

An old conspiracy (or wound if you're from Sactown) was revisited this week when Tim Donaghy alleged that the NBA ordered that Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Finals have the calls largely benefit the L.A. Lakers and force a Game 7 ultimately won by Shaq/Kobe and friends.

Even if you didn't know of said conspiracy or didn't believe in them, you had to at least think something wasn't right as the Lakers went to the line 27 times in the 4th quarter as opposed to the Kings going 9 times. Not to mention, Mike Bibby fouling Kobe Bryant while Kobe re-aligned Bibby's septum.

While it is entirely possible that Donaghy is throwing shit at the wall and seeing what sticks and throwing Game 6 on that list hoping it may give him some crediblity, there's nothing to make me believe he's making this up. Given that the ratings were low for what ended up being a very forgettable sweep between the Lakers and Nets, the ratings between Sacramento and New Jersey, regardless if the series went longer and probably better to watch, probably would've been worse than the all-time low set the next year.

While fixing any game is an insult to the fans, fixing playoff games is a federal crime. Regular season games are conjecture depsite the ticket prices and everything else that goes with it, but the playoffs are another matter altogether. The playoffs are the reason we all become fans in the first place and the reason we watch sports. To rig what was an epic series that ultimately produced the eventual champ and probably would've anyway had the Kings hung on is just a little disheartening.

It also changed the fortunes of two franchises. The Kings haven't been to the WCF since, being halted by a C-Webb injury in '03 and an epic Game 7 from KG in '04 and the nucleus of that '02 crew has since moved elsewhere or called it a career. The idea of the Maloofs moving to Vegas still reaches the surface every once in awhile, I wonder if that idea even gets on paper had the Kings brought it home. The Lakers meanwhile were able to easily coast to their 3rd straight championship and while that cast would blow up 2 years later, their place in history had already been set in stone. Had the alleged fix not been in and the Lakers fell short, maybe the Shaq-Kobe drama reaches its boiling point earlier and this team would've been viewed a lot differently. Other than Portland outright tanking in Game 7 of the '00 WCF, this had been the Lakers biggest test during their championship run. Had the Lakers fell short, they would've been viewed as a team that had faced relatively easy competition (no disrespect to those Spurs teams) and couldn't get it done against an equally-matched team.

The only way we'll ever know if the fix was in is if Doug Christie and Peja Stojakvic admit to being ordered to fire up air balls like they were going out of style.

And I leave you for the weekend with the 2002 WCF highlight reel, a report from the Florida State League All-Star Game on Monday...