Homerism...

See!  I TOLD you if they won I'd be the first one to buy the hokey championship garb!  Ok, I wasn't FIRST, but it hasn't even been 24 hours and I've already got it!  And one for my dad that I promised him on father's day.

So, just a quick recap because last night I was too damn tired to do this right.  KG, you made me eat my words and I appreciate it.  Great game.  Transcendent game.  You will no longer be mentioned with the likes of Karl Malone or Charles Barkley.  Ray, unbelievable man.  Best shooting performance of the playoffs for you by far.  Great work, and god bless.  Ray's son has been diagnosed with diabetes, which isn't the end of the world, but means a life of needles and medicine for Ray and the family.  Paul, thanks for sticking around.  Thanks for game 7 against the Cavs.  You spend a few more years here and I'll see that number of yours up in the rafters with all the rest.

But the reason this game was won how it was had a lot to do with the random role players.  Rondo (21 points 8 assists) Posey (2/2 from 3 and shot 100% for the game) and Eddie "In Tha" House all contributed to this one, and all deserve their rings.

I will be at the parade tomorrow morning.

While I'm here I'd like to address rioting.  I've been in this city for all three of the Patriots Superbowls, both of the Sox Word Series and now a Celtics championship, and every time a team wins a group of mindless hooligan assholes ruins the celebration for everyone else.  I have no problem with people in the streets.  Hell if you're a girl and wanna flash 5000 of your closest friends be my guest.  But WHY do these people feel the need to destroy shit all the time?  Just once I'd like the fans to pour out into the street.  Party like hell, then go home when the police tell you to without flipping cars and breaking windows.  Just because you can get away with it doesn't mean you should do it.

On a sad note, at 2 of these events young people lost their lives.  Now, at Fenway when that girl was hit with a pepper bullet that was a tragic accident.  She was a bystander.  She was not innocent.  I'm sorry.  I was there.  I was in the street with everyone else.  But ya know what?  when the police came with clubs and shields and told me to go home, guess what I did?  I went home.  If everyone did that none of this shit would happen.  If that young lady listened to the police when they told her and everyone else to disperse, she would be here today.  But she didn't because she got caught up in the crowd mentality of "I'm just a face in the crowd, and if everyone doesn't leave, I don't have to leave and I can get away with it" so instead of leaving she stayed.  Accidents happen, and I am by no means apologizing for the untrained officer who was wielding the weapon that day, but if you don't put yourself in a position for something like that to happen to you, the chances are it won't.

Call me an asshole, I'm just stating my opinion.  You have every right to disagree.  It's a free country.

Legitimate Sports Column...but first.

Text messaged my other girl friend (yes, another one) this morning that was at the concert this weekend with the ex because she had texted me that she had a story to tell me.  She texted back that she'd call me later to tell me.  3 minutes later I got a text from the ex that said "can I ask you for a favor?"  I replied "of course, shoot."  She wrote "So B (the new bf) and I were in a little spat about Petty because he wanted to go with me but I went with H instead" (end of text 1, I'm using initials to protect the innocent, not that anyone would ever know who they are.  Anyway, I could tell where this was going.) "and i didnt want to make matters worse telling him that I hung out with the ex, so if you could just not mention it when you see him at the wedding that would be cool" (end of text 2.  We are both bride/grooms people in the same wedding later this summer btw.)  "Not that he has a problem with you AT ALL (lie...that is a lie.  He obviously has a problem, but as I said yesterday, I can kind of understand) but I didn't want to throw salt in the wound."  I replied "Not a problem, your secret is safe with me.  It was really nice to see you by the way."

So my guess was correct.  This is about the boyfriend more so than the two of us.  Which really sucks because we could be really good friends.  I mean, we were in a six plus year relationship and she knows me and I her probably better than anyone else.  It could be good, advantageous, helpful and just plain nice to have a friend like that, at least from my perspective.  But it looks 

like it is not meant to be.  I'm kind of disappointed, but, to use a super LAME cliche, it is what it is, and there's really nothing I can do about it.

In other news, game six of the NBA finals is tonight in Boston.  The Celtics gave away a winable game 5 in LA on Sunday night thanks in large part to the fact that Kevin Garnett failed to show up.  Don't get me wrong, I love KG.  He is the single most important thing that happened to this team this year, but he has a bad habit of disappearing at the end of important games.  He doesn't take open shots when he has them, has a habit of committing dumb fouls and missed 3 HUGE free throws at the end of the last game.  At the same time Paul Pierce was playing one of the best finals games ever turned in by a Celtic (that is saying something people.  The Celtics have played in more finals games than any other franchise.)  Tonight they need to win.  I want NO part of a game seven with Kobe on the floor, so if you read this and you're going to the game tonight you better be on your feet for 3 straight hours screaming your lungs out.  

I'm already a bit frightened of the dubious officiating crew that has been assigned to this game.  In game five David Stern essentially gave a big fat F you to any skeptics by assigning Dick Bavetta, a man under federal investigation based on allegations that he improperly influenced a playoff game between the Lakers and Kings in 2002, to referee that game in LA.  Bennett Salvator, who is assigned to this game is also implicated as far as I know, and Joey Crawford, another official who will have his hand in this game, was suspended last year after picking a fight with Tim Duncan DURING a game.  Needless to say I will be spending a lot of energy cursing bad foul calls while chugging beers to calm my nerves this evening.  Should be an interesting day at the office tomorrow.

Open Letter to the Celtics:  My father was once the worlds biggest Celtics fan.  You lost him in about 1994 after Reggie Lewis died and the team sank into obscurity/suckitude.  I personally don't remember the glory days in the 80's when Bird, McHale and the Chief were winning championships, but from what I hear it is on par with a Red Sox victory in this town.  So please, for my father, for me and for all of us in this town who have been waiting for the Celtics to be the team and the franchise that tradition and history knows they are, bring one home for us tonight.

I will be the first one in line at the Celtics store buying all the homer hokey fan crap that you guys come out with.  All you have to do is win one more.  Do it for yourselves, your careers and your families.  But most of all do it for us.  The fans of the Celtics who never really went away.

And Doc, PLEASE don't put Sam Cassell in this game.  PLEASE?!  I'm not asking much.  You can do whatever else you want.  Just let Sam I Am the Freaky Alien wave his towel on the bench for this one.  It will be for the better.  I promise.

Oh, and to the fans, could we get a "No means NO!" chant going when Kobe is shooting free throws?  Your chants in this series have been sub-par at best.

17.  Raise it to the rafters.

The Yuppie Factor

The Celtics are playing in 2 hours.  The playoff series is tied at 2 a piece.  The games they played in Atlanta were pretty much atrocious, in both their play, and the officiating (or lack thereof).  Anyway, the Celtics, like any successful Boston team have their following back.  They call us fair weather fans if we don't line up to buy tickets to see a 24 win team, but honestly, if I were an Ice Cream man, and I only had the worst kind of ice cream you probably wouldn't come buy it from me would you.  But as soon as I got 56 flavors people would line up.  The whole fair weather fan issue bothers me to some extent, but honestly, if you want us to show up, win.  It's really simple.  Especially in this town.  I can remember going to Fenway Park in 2001 and walking up to the box office and getting grand stand seats for any game I wanted.  Today, you have to win a raffle to win "the chance" to spend $200 on 4 seats in the grandstand.  Now, I love that the Red Sox are successful, but what I don't love are the yuppie a-holes who have taken over Fenway.  It used to be the park with the highest collective baseball IQ from a fan perspective in the league, but now its full of suit wearing dip$h1ts who tell you to sit down when you stand up cheer.  I was sitting behind home plate (no, i don't have season tickets or corporate seats, I pretty much got lucky) and without going into to much detail about what was going on in the game, lets just say it was a big moment, so I stood, and tried to show my support for the team.  Not 4 seconds later the 30 something behind me asked if I would sit.  Now, that was pretty bad, but what was worse was that I realized that my friends and I were the only ones this side of first base that realized now was the time to stand up and make noise.  The bleacher creatures knew.  They were all screaming their heads off.  But the rich,  fair weather, "I never went to Fenway Park before 2004 but now I have great seats" sticks in the mud behind home plate sat silently on their hands because they didn't have a CLUE what was going on in the game.  I reluctantly sat in the interest of not getting thrown out of the seat I just paid $95 for and the moment passed without the Sox getting what they needed.  Then, in the very next inning (the 9th) Jonathan Papelbon comes into the game...in a NON-SAVE SITUATION, meaning the Sox were losing, and wouldn't you know it, all of those rich $hits stood and cheered....because they recognized the name I would guess.  It is a travesty what has happened to Fenway Park.  Selfishly, I hope the Sox have a couple if rebuilding years so I can get to the ballpark more than twice a year...I can't be the only one...