Perhaps Kobe should have been

.... working on his game instead of walking the streets of Boston, looking for cameras to pose for like a young Tony Romo. The Lakers looked pretty weak for most of the game on Sunday night, falling behind the Celtics 2-0 in the overhyped, predetermined sham known as the NBA Finals. I am looking forward to seeing a moneyline for Game 3. My prediction is Lakers -8,000/Celtics +6,000. I still wouldn't take Boston.

Anyways, between the fact that I'm sure my buddy Jeff is bummed about his team being down 2-0 and the fact that Ed complimented me on my blog when I e-mailed him on Sunday night to thank him for his NASCAR picks, I figure I could find it in me to blog on back-to-back days. Really good job by Ed and Matt on Sunday. Their information was beyond solid. They are quickly becoming to NASCAR handicapping what Jorgen has long been to Arena Football. I'm pretty sure that if Elliott Sadler had finished ahead of Casey Mears Bodog would've sent someone to my house to dispose of me.


I'm sure you'd all love to hear my thoughts on the NBA Finals, through 2 games:

* Isn't it weird watching a Los Angeles Lakers playoff game and seeing the other team get every 50/50 call? I don't even know what to say about that. It makes no sense. The only possibility is that David Stern knows there is no way Boston can win a game at Staples Center, so he had his writers script the series for the Celtics to take Games 1 and 2. (Wait - that actually makes perfect sense....)

* If you had told me before the series that one star player would fake an injury, be carried into the locker room by his teammates, and emerge to "heroically" lead them to victory, I would've laid literally any price that the player would have been Kobe Bryant. Touche, Paul Pierce....

* ABC is showing a lot of promos for their new summer show Wipeout. Apparently, the show is about nothing but contestants taking on nearly impossible obstacles and falling, at which point the viewer laughs at the pain said contestant is in. This would be a good idea if not for the fact that Spike TV already has the exact same show - Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, or MXC. Wipeout appears to be the biggest ripoff of someone else's ideas since Carlos Mencia's last standup act....

* Am I the only one who literally gasps when P.J. Brown makes a jump shot? Isn't he like 40 years old? If the Lakers big men weren't so European they would be able to abuse him down low....

* Speaking of aging Celtics, why exactly does Doc Rivers still let Sam Cassell on the court? Calling Cassell "Washed up" is really an insult to truly washed up players like Shaq or Jason Kidd. Cassell is way, way beyond that. If I were a member of the Boston brass out in L.A. this week, I would try to get Cassell trapped between two hotel room doors like Daniel Stern's character in the movie Rookie of the Year. The farther away he is from the court, the better....

* The Lakers staged a furious 4th quarter rally, cutting a 24 point deficit to 2 in the final minute, before finally falling by 6, 108-102. As Lakers opponents proved during the Western Conference Playoffs, it's hard to win games when the other team goes to the free throw line 28 more times than you do. Some might call this a taste of their own medicine....

* Three different people called me on Sunday seeking my advice on Game 2. This bothers me for two reasons. First of all, my pick was posted in my blog. You are basically admitting that you don't read the blog. Ouch. Second, and more important, would be the fact that I have friends who seek MY advice on gambling. Haven't I already proven that I know absolutely nothing about sports and/or how to bet on them? If you need my advice to make a wager, you shouldn't be betting. You should go to Jorgen's house and thumb through his When The Fun Stops pamphlet....


And how about some more random blurgbs:

* LSU is still alive in the race for the College World Series, rallying to defeat UC Irvine, 9-7, on Sunday afternoon. Take that, Austin....

* On Sunday, I went to the Nationals game and saw them lose yet again to the horrendous Barry Zito, 6-3. The Nats actually lead 3-0 early on in this game but gave up 4 runs in a 5th inning that featured 3 walks, a balk, and no extra-base hits. As soon as they fell behind, the entire team quit and simply went through the motions for the next 4 1/2 innings. To make matters worse, it was Little League Day at Nationals Park and the kids in our row got up to go to the jon and/or walk around for no reason approximately 814 times. Anther fun day at the ball park....

* During Friday's Nats/Giants game, San Francisco SS Emmanuel Burriss was recognized in a brief tribute on the Jumbotron. Burriss is the first D.C. native to make it to the Major Leagues in 38 years. I don't have anything sarcastic to add here. I just thought that was amazing and wanted to share it with the blogosphere....

* One good thing about going to the games on Friday and Sunday was hanging out with my brother, Peter, who has season tickets and his own parking pass. (Seems fair considering he is 18 and has never worked a day in his life.) I've honestly been enjoying hanging out with him more than any of my friends but he did make me a little nervous on the way to the game. The kid likes to drive with the windows down and the album Ready to Die by the late Notorious B.I.G. blasting at head-turning decibals. Normally, I wouldn't care - after all that album is a classic. But he insists on doing this even during the drives to Nationals Park, which is in Washington, D.C. (Actually it's in Anacostia, which could very well be the worst part of the city.) I like hanging out with the kid but I didn't like having to roll my windows up and duck down in my seat everytime we were at a stop light. It made me feel like Michael Bolton in Office Space....

* Speaking of my brother, he got in trouble the other day when a guy over at my house to fix the air conditioner found two cases of beer in our storage room. Very discreet. On the plus side, my Dad doesn't like Coors Light and has requested that I drink it all while I'm home. For the record, the vented wide mouth can does manage to lock in that Rocky Mountain taste....

* I'm contemplating possible blogs in which I rank my Top 5 Favorite HBO shows or my Top 5 Favorite Cartoons, among other things. Why would anyone want to read this? I honestly have no idea but I figure someone might. And you just may find it funny and informative. Please let me know what you think. Looking for feedback from you here, Bennett. Let me know, brother....


Sunday's blog picks were pretty bad and yet I managed to win some pretty good money thanks to Rafa Nadal and a handful of NASCAR plays.

I'm going to stick to the pitch on Monday:

Romania +0.5

Italy/Netherlands Under 2


Yeah, I've managed to make a few bucks so far in the Euro in spite of myself. Congrats to Frano Cortes for winning his play on Germany over Poland on Sunday. Nice job, sir.

I've been out of town for a few days and a lot's happened lately but I still think the Celtics suck, I still think Doc Rivers is an idiot, I still think Austin's rooting against my LSU pick out of spite, I still think Jeff refreshes my blog every hour, on the hour, I still think Matt feels uncomfortable around Rodney, I still think the NHL's final series should be called the NHL FinalS, I still think Jorgen's going to get fired for attempting to kill a customer, I still think I'd rather sit between Chad and Mike Jaz for a 12 hour shift than go see the Tina Fey vehicle, Baby Mama, I still think Bennett doesn't realize how much work a blog really is, and I still think the Lakers are going to win the NBA Championship. In short I'm still stubborn, I'm still sarcastic, and I'm still a prick.


But I'll give Graham another day to try answer that trivia question.

And I'll let you guys go so you can....




Enjoy the game.