After the St. Louis Rams decided on Monday that there was too much risk in signing the much-maligned WR, 14 year veteran Terrell Owens signed a 1 year contract today with the Cincinnati Bengals allowing the elder statesman WR yet another year in the NFL. Owens, 36, who has been unemployed since the end of the 2009-2010 regular season now fills the spot vacated when T.J. Houshmandzadeh left and spilt to Seattle and when Chris Henry suffered an untimely death recently in Charlotte, NC.  So after all, the N.Y Jets will not be able to add Owens to their motley crew of athletes that Rex Ryan has been assembling for the past three years on their personal trek to Dallas in February of 2011. With all the issues that Head Coach Marvin Lewis has had with his Bengal staff and players we will look to see how the "Mouth of the NFL" fits in and what production his "old hands" and diminishing speed can contribute to a staff of WR's that have shown the ability to be shut down by a high school team, even when QB Palmer has been healthy.
With an additional $2 million in incentives, the Owens-deal could earn the WR approximately $4 million total, so we know already that Owens will be hard-pressed to play above last seasons pace in order to collect the added incentives to his bank account and give the Bengal staff more reasons to keep him on for additional years.

RAMS CONSIDERING SIGNING OWENS

The St. Louis Rams are in need of help at the wide receiver position and they are considering signing a free agent that has been unemployed since last season when he finished his short tenure in Buffalo.

Thats right Terrell Owens may be taking his diminishing talents to St. Louis very soon. The Rams head office is meeting on Monday to consider whether the move is something that will be positive for the club and then at what rate. The Rams have a connection with Owens from his days in Philadelphia when Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo was linebacker coach and Rams offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur was QB coach on the Eagles staff. Thoughts abut Owens and his locker room behavior will definitely be first issues when the talks begin as the Rams have a very young team with a projected starting QB, overall #1 pick Sam Bradford,  that has yet to throw a pass in an NFL game.

The current Rams wide receiver corp was led last season by Donnie Avery. Who? Yes, Donnie Avery who along with the second leading receiver on the squad (Danny Amendola) still only amassed 911 yards, 6 td's and 90 receptions. They are in dire need of a good pair of hands, although TO has led the league in drops for many years, and veteran in the locker room as well as on the field. But the cost that the Rams will go to for that addition will be realized in the next 24-48 hours. The main reason for Owens still being unemployed is because of his attitude on the field when he does not get the TO-required touches that makes him blow up at his QB, his offensive coordinator and coach if they put up with the antics. The last thing that a young unproven QB needs is a cancer in his ear hollering about how open he was on every pass opportunity. That will be one of the quickest ways to shorten the bright career of Bradford. So we will wait and see just how desperate the Rams are in the next few days.

You may reach ZM @ zmorganII@gmail and TWITTER@zmorganII

GEORGE STEINBRENNER BIDS ADIEU!

Yankees owner and worldwide humanitarian Mr. George " El Jefe" Steinbrenner has died today at the tender age of 80 from what has been called a massive heart attack, on the day of the 2010 All-Star game, in Tampa Florida. Steinbrenner, the longest tenured owner in all of Major League Baseball, took over as Yankee principal owner in 1973 after purchasing the team for 8.7 million dollars from CBS and subsequently won 7 World Series Titles and 11 pennants.

(The 7 titles on display to celebrate the 80th birthday of Steinbrenner July 4, 2010)

Steinbrenner told his players year after year in spring training "When you put the pinstripes on your not just putting a baseball uniform on! Your wearing tradition and your wearing pride...and your going to wear it the right way!" After making some of the most brash and surprising decisions on players and especially managers the team is reported to worth a net of more than 1.5 billion dollars.  The Steinbrenner family issued a statement saying "George Steinbrenner was visionary and a giant in the world of sports. His passing comes on the day of the All Star game and he being one of the biggest star among baseball owners." Mr. Steinbrenner rest in piece.....you will be missed.

                                 July 4, 1930-------July 13, 2010

CLEVELAND CAVS OWNER OPEN LETTER TO FANS...WELL DAMN!

Open Letter to Fans from Cavaliers Majority Owner Dan Gilbert

Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;

As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.

This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.

Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.

The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.

There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.

You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.

You have given so much and deserve so much more.

In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:

"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE" 

You can take it to the bank.

If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our "motivation" to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.

Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.

Sorry, but that's simply not how it works.

This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown "chosen one" sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And "who" we would want them to grow-up to become.

But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called "curse" on Cleveland, Ohio.

The self-declared former "King" will be taking the "curse" with him down south. And until he does "right" by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.

Just watch.

Sleep well, Cleveland.

Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day....

I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:

DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue....



Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers 

(Letter courtesy of NBA.Com)

Tell us how you really feel DG!!

I AM THE DADDY!!!

In another twist of the circus that surrounds NBA star LeBron James, Leicester (pronounced Lester) Stovell has come forward and wants reparations. Stovell, a 55 year old Senior Legal Advisor for the SEC filed a $4million dollar lawsuit against James and his mother Gloria, alleging that they tampered with the DNA test that they all took back in 2007.

Stovell, a Princeton graduate who earned his law degree at the University of Chicago is one whom you would think has the credibility to be trusted but then you read the suit and recognize that he has his own issues, even back in 1987 when he met Gloria James at a bar.
The story goes that Stovell and James met at the D.C Space Bar in 1987 and subsequently had unprotected sex that night that they met. James, a 15 year old, allegedly told Stovell, who was 29 years old at the time, that she was 20 years old and a virgin and was tired of that status and wanted him to change it. They had consensual sex that night and no other contact until a week or so later when Stovell was told by the bartender of the bar they met at that James was looking for him. After setting a meet, Stovell was told of the pending pregnancy (how she knew after a week I don't know but the story goes on) and they discussed what she was going to do. After deciding she would keep the child they discussed names and LeBron was decided upon. Stovell claims that he told her at that point that she better have him play basketball as he was a high-school basketball star and he would love for his son to be also.
The two lost touch until 2006 when Stovell started to question whether LeBron was his son or not. When he contacted Gloria James she allegedly told him that he was not the Father and that Lebrons money was for his kids...get lost!! Finally the three arranged and participated in a paternity test in which there was found that Stovell was 0% chance of being the Father. Stovell still maintains that there was tampering with the test and that he is the father and one cannot dispute that after they see the resemblance's the same way that the 6'8 alleged Father did when he saw LeBron at a basketball game in 2007. Stovell maintains that Gloria James is hiding many things and that she misrepresented that they had ever met to her son in 2007 when he brought the matter to her attention so if she will lie about that, then she will lie about who I am to LeBron. In another interesting twist...Stovells middle name is Bryce...the same name that LeBron adorned his youngest son with. Coincidence...Stovell thinks not!!
This story is good and as entertaining as they get so we will see how much further this guy will push this suit. Maybe all the way to Maury where Maury will get to the bottom of it once and for all!!

Boozer to Bulls!!

Former Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer signs with Bulls for 5 yr. $80 million.

After realizing that the Jazz would not offer him the type of money that the former Duke standout was looking for he decided to visit Chicago and ultimately sign a long-term deal with the club. This addition makes the Bulls a formidable force as they already have a All-Star PG Derrick Rose and several other players that will load up a lot of guns against opponents. With Boozer leaving Utah they now must hope that Paul Milsap will be able to shoulder the load and share some of the blame with PG Deron Williams. Although deals cannot be official until tomorrow, Thursday July 8, 2010, the free-agent frenzy is on!

KNICKS PLANT "BLACK DYNAMITE" IN THE GARDEN!

Amare "Black Dynamite" Stoudemire has agreed in principle to a 5yr. $100 million dollar deal with the New York Knicks as the free agent signings of the All-Stars has begun. Stoudemire seeking a long-term financially secure deal from the Phoenix Suns saw the team sign two big contracts with Channing Frye & Hakeem Warrick and knew at that point that the writing was on the wall. Stoudemire decided to opt out after he and the Suns brass reached a stalemate and visited New York over the holiday weekend and decided to put his roots down in The Big Apple. Expect a press conference on Thursday, July 8, 2010 as Stoudemire can officially sign the new contract and show off his new #1 Knicks jersey. Stoudemire takes his career averages of  21 ppg & 9 rpg to NY where he expects to attract other big name stars to join him (Raymond Felton will be in town on Thursday) in the very near future.

I really think that STAT (Standing Tall and Talented)  made a damn smart decision with this choice, although less contractual money than what he could have been paid in Phoenix. The residual money that he will make from appearances in the city and endorsements from NY businesses will more than replace the aforementioned money not to mention the soon to be established relationships with NY legends, national exposure on one of the biggest stages in sports and the escape from the new "profiling" mess that has been enacted into law that will create racial issues that are sure to become worse before they get better in Arizona.

VICK POSSIBLY TO BE SHOWN THE DOOR IN PHILLY?

Word is out of Philadelphia this morning is that rumors of QB Michael Vick being released are swirling in the midst of the shooting in Virginia Beach at his 30th birthday celebration at a local club. Although Vick maintains that he was not present when the shooting occurred, and video footage shows that he did leave some 2-3 minutes before the capping started, local police have began to take a closer look at Vicks role in the matter.

Reports are that he may have known the shooting of his former co-defendant was going to take place and may have had a hand in the planning of the shooting. Vicks probation officer also has started to ask questions in reference to the matter as stipulations of Vicks probation hold that he is not to be in the presence of any of his past co-defendants. Although all of the new information at this point are strictly rumors the fact remains that the Eagles have already shipped former Pro-Bowler Donovan McNabb out of town to Washington so what would make Vick so special that they would keep him as another legal issue now again has attached to him. To make matters even more  interesting is that former Eagle QB Jeff Garcia has been seen frequenting the Philly facilities of late and would make great sense to be signed as a backup to new starter Kevin Kolb and mentor to 2010 draft pick Mike Kafka in the event that Vick is released. The Eagles also known for watching their pockets now have 5.2 million reasons to release Vick and move forward. Commissioner Goddell has not stated his position on the matter yet as he awaits the investigation to unfold.
Talk about not having your hands in the cookie jar and still getting disciplined, Michael Vick is at a crossroads...AGAIN!

SERENA WILLIAMS WINS 4TH WIMBLEDON TITLE

Serena Wiliams dispatched Vera Zvonareva in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. With a serve that reached approximately 122 mph Williams posted 89 aces during quick work of her opponent in London.

This Grand Slam title for Williams now moves her to #6 on the All-Time Women's Grand Slam Singles Title list with 13 titles, 5 behind the great Chris Everett. in response to her newest feat Williams stated after the match "This one is very special, It was just amazing to be among such great people."

DREW GOODEN 1ST BIG NBA FREE AGENT SIGNING!!

Power Forward Drew Gooden has kicked off the much anticipated NBA free agent signing period signing with the Milwaukee Bucs. Gooden, the NBA's reigning nomad, joins his ninth team in 9 seasons. The deal is reportedly worth $32 million for 5 years. Gooden leaves the Clippers and goes East to Milwaukeee where he will likely join newly acquired Corey Maggette and front court mate Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup.

BYRON SCOTT NAMED CLEVELAND CAVS HEAD COACH

Former laker Guard Byron Scott has accepted the head coaching position in Cleveland this morning as the free agency buffet began at 12 a.m.

LeBron James has not made any indication whether he will return to the Cavs although he has stated a self-imposed timeline of July 5 to make a decision. James also has stated that he would be in favor of having Scott as head coach as he is a former NBA player and he has a great relationship with New Orleans Guard Chris Paul. James has hinted that he would love to have Paul in a Cleveland uniform and now maybe that trade becomes more of a realistic option...granted that "The King" stays in Cleveland and resigns.
Scott brings a 352-355 overall record (33-24 playoffs) with him that he amassed with the New Orleans Hornets from 2004-2010 and 3 seasons with the New Jersey Nets where he took them to the Eastern Conference finals twice.
Congratulations Byron Scott and good luck!

LAWRENCE TAYLOR INDICTED BY GRAND JURY!

A N.Y. Grand Jury Indicted former N.Y. Giant player Lawrence Taylor Wednesday on charges of 3rd Degree Rape, Patronizing a Prostitute, Endangering the Welfare of  Child, Sexual Abuse and 3rd Degree Criminal Sexual Act. The ex-NFL star, who maintains his innocence, faces a maximum of 4 years in prison. A second woman has come forward stating that she accompanied the teen with her pimp to the hotel. She goes to say that the teen returned with $300.00 cash and said "It was weird...we didn't even have sex." 
This story continues to develop.

ISNER & MAHUT SET MATCH RECORD AT WIMBLEDON

Greensboro, NC native John Isner is still involved in the longest grand slam singles tennis match ever recorded in tennis history after the match was called this evening because of bad lighting after the 5th set hours since it began. The match between Isner and Frenchman Nicholas Mahut began on Tuesday and was suspended due to darkness. The pair returned Wednesday only to play the longest fifth set ever while setting the record for longest match at 7 hours and :06 minutes and total play of over ten hours thus far. Play was suspended with the score tied at 59 all. Isner also set the record for aces in the match with 98 and opponent Mahut also broke that record with 95 aces. The match will resume Thursday as both players attempt to rest up for their 3 p.m. start.



RECORDS SET
Longest Match: 10 hrs.
Most Game in A Set: 118
Most Games in A Match: 163
Most Combined Aces: 193
Most Aces by Player: 98 (Isner)

BOSTON CANNOT STOP LAKER JUGGERNAUT!!

Rebounding! Rebounding! Rebounding!! Final score 83-79. That score screams BOSTON WIN in their biggest game in years as low scores mean great defense that enables them to win in commanding fashion, but that was not the case in the Staples Center as L.A. out classed, out manned, out played out-rebounded Boston 23-8 and just down right Out-Zenned the Celtics en route to winning it's 16th team Championship and 2nd straight. The Celtics held on to lead 40-34 at the end of a very uneventful first half as Kobe Bryant had only 8 pts. on 3-14 shooting at the end of the first half as good defense was played on the All-World guard by the entire team led by Ray Allen.

Coach Doc Rivers told his team during the 3rd quarter " Stay aggressive...we cant take one play off, we have to keep attacking". With that motivation Boston built an 11 point lead at 9:45 in the 3rd on a little Rondo runner and the Celtics looked to be in business. The Lakers cut the lead back to within 6 pts. until Pierce hits a 3 pointer to push the lead back to 9 pts at 54-45. Ray Allen played outstanding defense on Bryant all night as he stayed glued in his chest like a bad winter chest cold resulting in 6-24 shooting and a very depleted Bryant from all of the running from Allen, but the other Lakers came to play also.  L.A. cut the lead to 56-51 after Gasol went to the line and hit both free throws and shows that they are ready to take command as the Lakers garnered 18 offensive rebounds at this point.

The game was called perfect by the refs as they allowed the players to play and decide the outcome early but eventually after play started getting rather sloppy the refs reeled in the game in the 3rd and calls got tighter. Fouls began to mount for the Celtics as the Lakers began to step to the free throw line and allow Bryant a chance to catch his breath and get a little bit more back in the tank for the stretch run. Fisher made it a tie game at 64-64 with 6:09 to go and you could see the confusion start to set in for the Boston team and the Lakers took their first lead less than twenty seconds later in the fourth at 66-64 on Bryant free throws. Lakers added to their lead and made the score 76-70 with 1:30 left as Gasol converted an easy lay in after Boston turned the ball over again. Artest then hit a 3 pt field goal to make it 79-73 and went back down the court throwing kisses to the Laker faithful. Boston came back and hit a 3 pointer but could get no closer as eventually they had to start fouling and L.A. players stepped to the line and knocked the shots down to send Boston back to the East Coast with nothing but gleaming, shiny heartbreak. The Lakers outscored the Celtics by 17 points, hit 13 additional free throws, which was half of their 4th quarter points,  and shot 46% from the field during the final quarter and a half. Lakers won as Mr. Bryant was named your Finals MVP for the 2nd straight year. Congratulations to, the original Detroit Gems (1946), now present day Los Angeles Lakers the second most storied franchise in the NBA.


Coach Phil Jackson won his 11th NBA title (most all time) and his 5th title (all with Bryant) with the Lakers. So now the questions for the off season begin. The most serious being, will Jackson retire or return next season to duplicate the old Bulls-days and attempt another 3-Peat! He has hinted at retirement and having some health issues taken care of but as we all know, this is Phil Jackson, The ZEN MASTER! Im sure that he is going to keep Lakerland in suspense until he feels ready. Will Bynum have the much needed surgery that he has been told he MUST have and can he return  at the same level as he previously played at. Last question...knowing that the State of California is having money woes, how are they going to have a parade of celebration? City officials have stated that they cannot afford to fund a parade for the newly crowned champions, which by the way would cost $1 million dollars and they don't feel it is appropriate in this economy to ask residents to have to shoulder that load. Heres an idea..you have 15 -17 players on this team that make on average at least $5 million per year (the highest average salary of any professional sport), according to league averages. Have each player contribute to the parade fund and you have the parade all done, or better yet have the "Black-Mamba" donate a million. He probably has that much in his Lamborghini console for tolls, change and weekend spending money.


PLAYER STATS 


L.A. LAKERS
BRYANT-23 pts & 15 rbs.

ARTEST- 20 pts.

GASOL-19 pts. & 18 rbs.
FISHER- 10 pts.



BOSTON CELTICS
PIERCE-18 pts. & 10 rbs.

GARNETT-17 pts. & 4 blks.

RONDO-14 pts. & 8 rbs. & 10 assts.

ALLEN-13 pts. 

CALL THE COPS, LAKERS ASSAULT THE CELTICS!!!

Before Game #6 Boston head Coach Doc Rivers said to his team "We can play em on the move, it doesn't matter where we play em! When you trust you play free when you play free you cant be beat, its not about the where!  Its about the how!" After that moving speech from their Coach, the Boston Celtics promptly went out onto the Staples Center floor and played intimidated restrained basketball. The exact opposite of what their Coach preached to them pre-game.

Boston fans had hoped that their beloved team would close out the series and bring home the hardware to a welcoming committee on Wednesday morning as L.A. Guard Derrick Fisher, the emotional leader of the Laker squad, picked up 2 personal fouls midway thru the 1st quarter and his 3rd personal foul at the 1:18 of 2nd quarter. Other than that hope, the Celtic fans received none as L.A. built an 11 point lead in the 1st quarter and led at the end of the 1st quarter, 28-18, behind Kobe Bryants 11 pts.  and surprisingly strong play from Forward Ron Artest. Boston seemed to loose a lot more steam after starting Center Kendrick Perkins suffered an apparent blown ACL injury to his right knee and left the game for good.


Every offensive trip down the floor the Celtics looked two steps slower and one brain short of a complete offense as they allowed L.A. to beat them like a rented mule en route to a 22 point lead in the 2nd quarter and out-rebounded the Celtics 22-7 at one point of the 1st half as they plain out hustled Boston in every statistical category there was. The Lakers led 51-31 at the half of a stellar defensive game where everything clicked on offense and all Laker players that garnered minutes made the most of them.


To start the 2nd half Boston ran out and missed 3 layups to start the 3rd quarter and it never got any better. L.A. was allowed to build a 25 point lead in the 3rd quarter, 76-51, as Boston still could not fathom how to stop the assault. After  L.A. posted a  27 point bulge in the 4th, at the 3:38 mark and with an  84-59 all the Boston starters were pulled in anticipation of the final game. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol played their "A" game and made virtually no mistakes all night.


As I predicted at the start of the Series that it would go a full 7 games, here we are after a great Laker performance to extend the series to the last and final game. Besides the L.A. defense playing Bostonesque in Game 6 the most notable difference was that Mr. Bryant received help from his teammates on the offensive end. When the Lakers play together as they did in this game they are unbeatable and Boston needs to notify their Metal State of Emergency in order to show up ready to play with a sense of the prize that is on the line.

For only the third time in the last twenty-one years we have a Game #7. Game #7 is set for Thursday, June 17, 2010 in the TD North Garden as Boston and L.A. battle it out in this one game playoff for all the marbles.

CELTICS TAKE GAME #5 92-86 FOR 3-2 SERIES LEAD

Stats play a huge part of many games and the one stat that sticks out in this NBA Championship Series is that the team that won the rebound battle wins the game (4-0). With that haunting statistic in all the players heads they took to the court in hopes of being the team that won the rebounding battle to stay true to the stat line so far. In Game #5 the Boston Celtics won that battle and won the game 92-86.

Early on the Lakers started 0-6 from the field until Andrew Bynum, playing on that gimpy-knee, scored on an offensive rebound, one of the 8 offensive rebounds that L.A. would grab in a hard fought first half. Good defense on Kobe Bryant allowed the Celtics to build an early lead behind Rajon Rondos 6 pts as they led 22-20 at the end of the 1st quarter.


L.A. Coach Phil Jackson said early "they are using Pierce on isolation an pick and rolls but Bynum looks good, rusty, looks nice he has some power". Boston Coach Doc Rivers on the other sideline, implored Rondo "to keep pushing the ball"! The Celtics built an 8 pt  lead in the 2nd quarter but also committed 8 turnovers in the 1st half as turnovers plagued the offense and the  Lakers turned them into automatic points twice as Jordan Farmar led the break down the court in transition to easy baskets. The only bad news for the Lakers came when forward Ron Artest, not playing well at all the last two games was called for his 3rd foul at the 1:16 mark before the half and was sent to the bench. Playing with a will to win Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 15 pts and Rajon Rondo 10 pts at the half. The rebound battle was won by the Lakers in the 1st half as they garnered 8 offensive rebounds which allowed them to stay close as the Celtics turned the ball over 11 times although shooting a scorching 65% compared to the Lakers 33%. Celtics had the lead at the half 45-39.

Pierce continued his hot shooting in the 3rd quarter as he scored on isolations early while being guarded by Artest and finished with 11 pts. Byant started hot also 5-5, 19 pts. halfway thru the period and scored 22 pts. straight for the Lakers, starting back in the 2nd quarter.  The Celtics constructed a 13 pt. lead while L.A. went cold and Bryant was the only Laker to score during that time but he went cold as well and didn't score again until 2:55 of 4th. The Lakers had their shooting woes on the offensive end (39%) and Bryant and Gasol were the only Lakers in double figures for the game.


As well as Boston shot from the field (56%) they eventually started to extend their lead which stood at 73-65 before L.A. closed the lead to 6 pts. at the 5:50 point of the 4th. After a few up and down the court trips and turnovers Boston was able to again extend to a lead at 3:45 that stood at 12 pts. The Lakers awakened from their 2nd half snooze, led by "Black Mamba" and showing they will not roll over and die, reeled off  7 pts. straight from the line to make it a 5 pt game with 1:10 to go and things got interesting again. Having the propencity to lose leads and games in the final quarter L.A. saw light at the end of the tunnel and their coach reminded them that Boston has lost more games in the 4th quarter than any team in the league. "They know how to loose in the 4th quarter and they are showing you how right now", Coach Phil Jackson stated to his team. But after the Zen-Master pep talk they still failed to connect the dots and scare the Celtics into giving up the lead as Ray Allen sealed the victory and pushed the lead back to 7 pts after hitting two free-throws.

With the 92-86 win the Boston Celtics have a 3-2 edge in the Championship Series.

In a game where the referees let the players play and decide the outcome fouls were few as the Celtics only went to the line and attempted 13 free throws. Turnovers were still a problem and closing the 4th quarter out strongly remain the most eye popping stats for the Celtics that have to be improved upon in Game #6 & #7 (if necessary) if they wish to take home the title.

L.A. simply has to have other scorers to help Bryant and Gasol and hope that Bynum has enough rest of that knee to be effective. Jordan Farmar has played a yeoman's job and should be collecting more minutes, if not starting at the beginning of the game in place of the sporadic shooting Artest. They get smaller with Farmar in the game but quicker and have a fourth option in the game when it comes to manufacturing points and facilitating the ball as well as freeing up Fisher from long range, which they need badly. With one game to go or it's time to make vacation plans, Phil has to shake it up and maybe start with a lineup of Bryant, Farmar, Fisher, Odom and Gasol. That lineup looks funny but they  have produced as a unit defensively and most of all, offensively.

Game #6 is set in LA @9 on Tuesday, June 15, 2010.

DUCES WILD

Boston implored their defense and won the game 96-89 as their bench played big minutes in the 2nd half. As the game began the Lakers saw that the Celtics were desperate and guarding the Boston backcourt was going to be a task until this series is over as Derrick Fisher found out the hard way as he found himself in foul trouble early, after he picked up his 2nd foul in the 1st half. The Celtics played a great 1st quarter of defense and held L.A. to 16 pts in the 1st qtr. and led 19-16 behind 10 pts. from "The Captain Paul Pierce".

Laker coach Phil Jackson said "both teams are in good defensive mode in 1st quarter" and then he subsequently puts his team to work and they camped down the defensive hatches on the Celtics. With Nate Robinson in spelling Rajon Rondo the offense seemed to take a positive aggressive form as they started to facilitate the pick and roll nicely and look like a team that wanted to pull even in an NBA Finals Series.  Ray Allen, after he hit an early jumper, remained "cold-as-ice-baby" and finished the 1st half of Game 4, 1-22 from the field over the last 6 quarters. Good solid play with very few mistakes allowed the Lakers a 45-42 lead at the half after they led by at many as 8 pts.

    After an UNREAL 3 second in the lane call on Garnett 20 seconds into the play clock, which was mathematically impossible, the Lakers took  53-48 lead. Kobe Bryant finally caught fire in the 3rd qrtr. with 9 pts and L.A. finished the 3rd with  a 2 pt. lead, 62-60. Coach Doc Rivers stated they "they were getting great shots" and "I want Ray Allen to continue shooting because eventually they will start going in". Turnovers for the Lakers were key as they turned it over often in the 2nd half and allowed the Celtics to take the lead 66-64 at the 9:40 mark after an 8-0 run and stellar defense.

(Glen "Big-Baby" Davis & Nate Robinson celebrate during Game 4 win)

Glen "Big Baby" Davis played long minutes in the 2nd half and played well posting 19 pts. in 22 minutes of  play, with 9 pts. in the 4th. He played well on the offensive boards as well as in the set offense while Coach Doc Rivers rested the starters and enabled the Celtics to take the lead and play better as a whole unit.
Late in the 2nd half there were 2 technical fouls called on the Celtics in the 4th and Bryant & Fisher stepped up and clanged both shots in a foreshadowing of things to come. With the Laker offense going cold the Celtics were able to build a 9 pt. lead with 4:00 in the 4th, with 11 pts. being the largest. The Lakers were able to cut the lead to 6 with 1:45 to go in the game but thats as close as they would get. Pierce has a strong drive to the rim and gets fouled by Bryant to push the lead back to 9 pts. as crowd cheers "BEAT L.A." in unison! At the 1:08 mark, Bryant comes right back down the floor, is fouled on 3 pt. attempt by Ray Allen and makes all 3 free throws to cut the lead back to a 6 pt. game. After a wasted trip on offense L.A. heads down court and the Celtic defense forces a bad pass by Bryant which leads to a steal and layup by 1st team All NBA defender, Rondo, with .31 to go. At 17.7 left the fouling strategy starts and the game is over as Garnett & Pierce steps up and hit both of their foul shots to make it an 8 pt. game
    Boston scored 20 2nd chance pts. and as I have been preaching, they kept the score under 90 pts. The defense is clearly the key to the Boston attack so we will look to see if it shows up again the remainder of the series. For the first time since 2006 the NBA Finals are tied at 2-2. The Celtics have to play solid defense every game to garner their two needed wins to win the title and keep the L.A. offense under 90 pts. again and the Lakers have to stop turning the ball over to stay in the game at all.  Game 5 is set for Sunday in Boston @ 8pm.



Player stats are below (provided by ESPN.com)


L.A. LAKERS

KOBE BRYANT-33 PTS.

PAU GASOL-21 PTS.

LAMAR ODOM-10 PTS.

RON ARTEST-9 PTS.

DERRICK FISHER-6 PTS.

BOSTON CELTICS

PAUL  PIERCE-19 PTS.

GLEN DAVIS-18 PTS.

KEVIN GARNETT-13 PT.

RAY ALLEN-12 PTS.

NATE ROBINSON-12 PTS.

ROJON RONDO-10 PTS.

KENDRICK PERKINS-6 PTS.

LAKERS TAKE GAME 3 IN BOSTON

The Celtics returned to Boston Tuesday night, after  Game 2 where everything seemed to click, promptly allowed the L.A. Lakers to have their way with them in route to dropping Game 3, 91-84. The Lakers played a complete game from start to finish in making the Celtics look a step slower all game long.



As Derrick Fisher awakened from his old man slumber he also started to make shots. Fisher led L.A. in the 4th quarter when Kobe Bryant couldn't find the bottom of the basket. Scoring 11 of his 16 pts in the 4th quarter Fisher certainly played outside of his 35 year-old body. “To come through tonight again for this team, 14 years in, after so many great moments, it’s always quite surreal,” Fisher said. “It’s quite humbling to experience it again and do it again. But it’s like being a kid, man. You just never get tired of candy.” L.A. led the game for most of the night behind the leadership of Bryant that was displayed on and off the court, as he was seen coaching the team during timeouts as well as up and down the court. "Black Mamba" led the Lakers with 29 pts., Pau Gasol 13 pts. & 10 rbs. and Lamar Odom added 12 pts off the bench in clearly his best game of the series.


Boston fell behind the Lakers early by as many as 17 points and did not seem to have the wherewithal to come back and even make the game interest until the 3rd quarter when Rajon Rondo joined the much maligned Kevin Garnett in attempting to will their team to victory. Garnett, scoring 25 pts. and pulling down 6 rbs. was the only Celtic to play with a sense of urgency from the beginning of the game. 

The other four starters played unmotivated on the offensive end of the court and uneducated on the defensive end of the court as they allowed the Lakers easy baskets while running a flawless offensive game. Paul Pierce was the second leading scorer with 15 pts but was only 5-12 from the field. Ray Allen, after setting a new NBA Finals record for 3 pt. shots, finished the game with 2 pts. and was 0-13 from the field. None of his shots had the rainbow that he is known for as he continued all night to try and find the bottom of the cup without any success. In the same manner that the Boston globe listed the APB for Kevin Garnett after Game 2, they may need to do the same for Ray Allens missing jumper.
“He won the game for them,” Celtics Coach Doc Rivers said. “Derek Fisher was the difference in the game.” Game 4 is set for Thursday June 10 in Boston @ 9:00.

JESUS SHUTTLESWORTH MAKES IT RAIN IN TINSELTOWN

In route to setting an NBA playoff record with 8 three pointers in a game, Ray Allen scored 32 pts. and helped keep the Lakers at bay as the Celtics walked away with a win in Game 2 103-94, tying the series 1-1. Allen shot 8-11 from 3 pt. range, with seven coming in the 1st half,  and was a large part of the defense that reappeared for Boston.

 
(Allen tosses up one of his record setting 8 three-pointers)


Playing their style of defense, the Celtics slowed the Laker offense down as they built a commanding lead in the 1st half and finished up 54-48 at the break. The Lakers started gaining momentum as they scored seven straight points late before the half as Kobe Bryant started what looked to be his best Reggie Miller imitation as he created two steals, hitting a deep three on one and being the facilitator on the other.

 The Celtics, playing a complete game from start to finish, were led by Rajon Rondo's 12 pts., 12 rbs. & 10 assts., Kendrick Perkins 12 pts & Paul Pierce's much needed 10 pts. as he played heady old school offense that caused the Laker-General Bryant to be in foul trouble much of the night.  Although Rondo finally played the type of game that he has been known to play in this post season he has to realize that he must turn in that type of performance for the remainder of the series. He has to make the plays that have established him as a budding star and not plays that Derrick Fisher is allowing him to make because  as we all know Fisher is not known for his stellar defense or being the most fleet of foot at this point of his playing career.

The Lakers, playing without Bryant for a good portion of the 2nd half,  could not muster the same game of highlights that they displayed in Game 1.

Pau Gasol was the only bright spot for L.A. as he poured in 25 pts. and 8 rbs. but far short of his Game 1 stats. Bryant chipped in 21 pts. and Andrew Bynum came up big scoring 21 pts. and blocking 7 shots. Before eventually fouling out of the game with 4.7 seconds to go in the 2nd half Ron Artest managed just 1-10 from the floor as the officiating was called even on both sides of the ball, something that this writer is sure that Phil Jackson will have an opinion about REAL soon..

The Celtic defense was the key to the win  as they finished Game 2 on a 16-4 run in the final 5:30 after L.A. crept close but was unable to keep the lead long enough to pull out the win. The intensity that is a Boston staple was present in Game 2 after being ghost in the opening game. It should be noted that Kevin Garnett, shooting 2-11 from the field, is attempting to play through a left shoulder injury as he was seen wincing and rubbing on it for most of the game between timeouts and rests on the bench. Although there has been no word form the team, this is an injury that could play a VERY significant role in the series if Garnett has to miss any time out. The Series now shifts to Boston for Games 3-5 as part of the 2-3-2 format. Boston will attempt to return to L.A. with a lead in the Series and they will have many rowdy Bostonians cheering them on for the next week at home. After losing their first home game of the 2010  post-season the Lakers will be hungry to steal a win or two in the Garden and General Bryant will be focused and the Jordanesque-scowl will on display.
Game 3 is set in Boston, June 8, 2010 @ 9pm.

SEVEN GREEN PAY PACKERS QUESTIONED IN ALLEGED SEX ASSAULT

Seven Green Bay Packer players were questioned by Lake Delton police in reference to an alleged sexual assault of two women. The two women befriended the players earlier in the day as they were in town to play in a celebrity golf tournament and later in the evening the women accompanied the players to the condo that they all were sharing. After drinking for a good part of the evening the women and one player went into a bedroom where the alleged assault occurred. The women called 911 and claimed that they were assaulted by more than one man at some point of the early morning. Upon arrival, the police questioned all seven players and released six of them. One player, whose name has not been released, was questioned for a second time and admitted that consensual sex occurred between him and the women. According to police, the women changed their story when questioned in depth and at this point the investigation continues. The case will be presented to Lake Delton prosecutors Monday or Tuesday stated a spokesman for the police department. The players who were identified as being present were QB Matt Flynn, S Khalil Jones, G Josh Sitton, FB Korey Hall, LB Brad Jones nd LB Clay Matthews. Second year CB Brandon Underwood is said to the the investigated player says sources close to the team.