6/13/08

I kept score again, but unfortunately Lester didn't repeat his no hitter. I was very upset when a slow ground ball went down the right field line for a single. Youkilis, as is his way, was playing a righty waaayyy off the bag. Normally, it helps take away line drives. This time, it burnt him as most other first basemen would have had it. But that wasn't the last hit Lester surrendered, so it really didn't matter much.

Offensively, the Sox scored 9 runs, including a grand slam by Mike Lowell. Manny came up with no one out and runners on second and third. The Orioles walked Manny to load the bases and Lowell made them pay. Youk and J.D. Drew also hit two run homers. The Fenway Faithful have started to greet J.D. with the "DRRREEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW" call. I think that call should be reserved for the great Drew Bledsoe, so I boycotted it. Two or three good weeks, no matter how good, doesn't put you on the same page as a man who single handedly saved a franchise. Just my opinion. Anyway, the final was Boston 9, Baltimore 2.

I've been to many nonbaseball events, whether it be Patriots games, Celtics games, Patriots Super Bowl Championship rallies, UMass sporting events, weddings, classes, or Dropkick Murphy concerts where people chanted "Yankees Suck." Tonight, perhaps for the first time since the chant began in the late 90s, there wasn't a single "Yankees Suck" chant. However, there were plenty of "Beat L.A." chants, which is a nice transition to the real story of the night, the NBA Finals. When I got home, it was halftime and L.A. was up by 20. When I settled down to watch it, it was in the begining of the 3rd. The Celtics scored first, and I told my brother Boston was outscoring LA 2-0 in parts of the game I watch. I was just trying to be funny, and kept updating after every possession. For some reason, L.A. couldn't score. I'm not really a basketball expert or anything, so I can't give detailed analysis aside from the John Madden "they just couldn't shot the ball in the basket" comment.

Next thing you know, the leads down to 12 and LA's calling a time out. Then the lead drops to 10. Pierce gets fouled, hits the free throw knocking it down to 9. Then ABC announces Phil Jackson will be interviewed after the quarter. Lead is down to 4. I couldn't wait to see what Jackson would say. Mercyfully for the Lakers, the quarter ends with L.A. clinging to a 2 point lead.

Before play resumes in the fourth, they show the Jackson interview. I'm extremely disappointed. If I were coaching a team that blew a 20 point lead at home in a championship, I'd be furious, flipping out and throwing chairs. He said something stupid like "That's a good question. How did they get back in the game?" When the reporter pointed out he was the coach and it was his job to figure that out, he responded with "Momentum's a fiery lady, and she's jumped to the other side of the ship." He didn't even raise his voice or anything.

For the first half of the fourth quarter, Boston kept tying the game and getting the ball back, but couldn't get a lead. The Lakers would have some crappy possession filled with bad passes tipped by countless Celtic plays only to end up somehow getting a wide open dunk to regain the lead. Then finally, with four minutes left, Eddie House hit a jump shot to give the Celtics their first lead, and then Boston pretty much ran away with it at the end, winning 97-91. Series is 3-1 Celtics.

The sportscasters kept mentioning the Celtics great comeback in game 3 of the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals against the Nets. I think the comebacks are different for three reasons.

Firstly, in 2002, the Celtics were at home, which is a huge advantage. The crowd was so loud and supportive, especially at the defensive end. This game was on the road, with hostile Laker fans like Justin Timberlake. In that respect, tonight's comeback was more impressive.

Secondly, the in 2002, the team was down by something like 25 at the start of the 4th and were pretty much dead. Yeah, tonight the Celtics were trailing by 20, but they had an entire half to comeback. The Celtics had all the momentum going into the fourth. In that respect, the comeback in 2002 was more impressive.

Thirdly, the 2002 Celtics had Antoine Walker, my favorite Celtic ever. He was a huge motivating force in the comeback, literally screaming profanity after profanity in Paul Pierce's ear about how Pierce had to take the game over. The 2008 Celtics don't have Antoine to do that, though there were a few times tonight where I did bust out the "Walker Wiggle," the greatest basketball celebration ever.