Back when referees carried out the boss's orders

7 years ago today.....please no re-runs for the next 2 weeks. Genius platoon reference for Part 6 by the way

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...

They're Goin' Back to Cali

The Celtics thanks to the possibly gritty play of Paul Pierce (arguably the series MVP to this point) and the unexpected contributions of Sir-Mix-A-Lot (aka Leon Powe) have taken a 2-0 lead to the Staples Center and a chance to bury the Lakers in Game 3.

Many point to the reason that the Celtics have largely dominated the first two games have been because of the passion exhibited on both ends of the floor and lackthere of by the Lakers, largely by Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Conventional thinking by analysts seems to be that the Lakers now know what they need to do and will be ready to be physical against the C's in L.A. I'm not so sure.

Physicality is something entirely different than attitude. It's not like they can be like the Shaq-Kobe Lakers and flip the switch, when to be honest, that switch was never there to begin with. This team as constructed cannot play rough against team whose whole attitude is built on it. While the Lakers may get an energy burst from the Staples crowd and the sense of desperation in Game 3, it may not be enough.

The Celtics know this may be there best and possibly only shot at a title and are playing like a team possessed right now. That's not to throw dirt on the Lakers, but with the Spurs and Suns aging fast and the Mavs' window all but closed, the Lakers, with a hypothetically healthy Andrew Bynum, which adds a new dynamic to a team that hasn't had him in their starting 5 since the Gasol trade and will likely add some bruisers in the offseason, essentially have just New Orelans and the Spurs to hurdle for the next 4 or 5 years (Kobe's likely peak years), so while the Lakers desire for a title is certainly there, it is definitely not what the Celtics are displaying at the moment.