Sometimes, though, I stop and think about the marketing for the NBA. “I love this game”?? Yeah, I’m sure that they love it so much. But what if they weren’t getting paid millions of dollars to play it? What if they only made the average salary of an American in 2007, which is $50,233? Okay let’s be generous and just go with an even $100,000. I doubt that we would get the talent that we have now because people wouldn’t devote their entire lives to getting better at the sport. Parents would force their kids to go through endless numbers of camps and drills in order to just get that perfect arc on their shot. They definitely wouldn’t spend every moment of the day in a gym. Well at least not the majority of them. I’m sure that some of them would still work just as hard because they really do love the game. But I’m sure that some of them would have to pursue other more lucrative careers that they could be successful at (such as rapping or investment banking).

Love the game? Yeah, not so much.

How is it that we live in a world where the player of a game (which I admittedly enjoy watching and participating in) can make many many times the amount of money of someone who is saving lives as a fireman? Or putting their lives on the line as policemen. Or helping the downtrodden. Money sure isn’t a direct correlation to importance in the grand scheme of things, is it?

How inequitable! But what else can I expect from a world tainted by sin?

The Cavs were no match for the Spurs. The real finals happened in the West, probably the Suns vs Spurs series. LeBron James gets a lot of attention, but Tony Parker was the one who tore it up. I said as much before the series started that Parker was going to be their downfall.

This was one of the least interesting finals series in a long time. Instead of watching game 4 last night, I just decided to wash my truck.

The Cavs were so over matched they couldn’t even pull out 1 game (granted, they were close a couple of times). Even the Lakers took one from the Suns! How’s that for an insult?

I was hoping that the Golden State Warriors would get farther than the second round. However I became ambivalent as Baron Davis’ personality (as well as Stephen Jackson’s) came out. That elbow to Derek Fisher’s face? Unnecessary to the extreme. To say that I gained a lot and lost a lot of respect for the Warriors would be fair to say. I enjoyed their playing because they were passionate and energetic. I started to disapprove of them because many of them turned out to be a bunch of no-class, cocky-without-rights-to, complaining-to-no-end players. And that is not a team that I want to cheer for. So they’re out, and good riddance.

A lot of people disliked Derek Fisher when he was on the Lakers. I never felt as strongly about him. In fact, I kind of liked him. He had spirit and he played hard. Plus we share the same first name. He’s by no means the best at his position, but he’s definitely shown in the Jazz vs Warriors series that he’s got lots left in that tank. To see him also having to deal with everything going on with his daughter makes him an especially easy-to-cheer-for player. Bravo on being an impact player in the series.

There sure has been a lot of testiness in these playoffs. Is it just me or does it seem like there is more this year than in recent history? Pretty much every series has had some episode of a flareup. LeBron is stepping up, the Pistons are never exactly clean, the aforementioned Warriors and Jazz got it on, and of course the Suns and the Spurs have no love lost for their fellow Texans. It all makes for exciting and emotional games, but I kind of wonder why this year is so.

I’m cheering for the Chicago Bulls to beat the Pistons. I’m not a huge Bulls fan, but I have enjoyed watching them play this year. Unfortunately they seem like they go very cold at times, and that led to the Pistons taking a (seemingly) insurmountable 3-0 series lead on them. They’ve fought back to 3-2, and everyone has been singing their praise. I’d like to see them down the vaunted Pistons myself.

I barely even hear or see much from the Cleveland Cavaliers side of the bracket. The Wizards series went down very quietly. It’s no surprise, but the West seems to definitely be the better conference.

Robert Horry’s forearm to Nash’s face was pretty poor. I always kind of liked Horry because I enjoyed his late-game heroics. I’m not really sure what the beef between the Suns and the Spurs is, but I know this: they don’t like each other. I’m not a fan of many of them myself. Many of them (Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Raja Bell to name a few) are aggressive bordering on extremely dirty. And that’s no good. But I like watching the series because both of these teams are pretty good. They have different styles but they both have multiple superstars who combine to do amazing things sometimes.

Conclusion

The NBA Playoffs 2007 are definitely interesting. I like seeing people get emotional, but there’s no need to be a jerk about things. Keep it coming. I’m going to enjoy watching more.

You’ve gotta hand it to the Bulls, they can roll. I enjoyed watching them tear up the Heat. Although I don’t think that I hold any ill feelings toward Shaquille O’Neal for leaving the Lakers, I’m not a big Heat fan. I’m not even sure what it is. I just don’t really care for them. I think that Wade is overrated (although good), and the rest of the team is just a bunch of cocky goons (namely Antoine Walker).

Golden State Warriors vs Dallas Mavericks

Though never really a fan of the Warriors, I’ve also never really been opposed to them. I’ve enjoyed watching their series against the Mavericks. However, I thought it quite disappointing that they couldn’t close out against them last night with a nine point lead with a few minutes left! That’s too bad. I’m a fan of how strong Baron Davis and Jason Richardson are playing. I’m not really a fan of Stephen Jackson because I think that he’s a crybaby. And Al Harrington? Forgot to show up. Here’s hoping that they close it out for real next time and send Mark Cuban & Co. packing.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns

I’ll always be a fan of the Lakers. But they have been straight-up disappointing nearly the entire year! Kobe is pretty amazing sometimes (everyone has to admit that), but he both can’t do everything and can’t always be so amazing. Until they either get a real team or they learn to work together consistently, they won’t ever get very far in the playoffs. All of the other teams are just too good to monkey around every night. I’ll be cheering for the Suns in a week (even though they talked a little too much before the series started about how they’d steamroll the Lakers).

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Washington Wizards

I watched part of the game on Sunday. I fell asleep. That’s pretty much all you need to know about this series.

Denver Nuggets vs San Antonio Spurs

I thought the Nuggets could pull something off, especially after the first game. But the Spurs seem relentless. And Robert Horry must dream throughout the entire season about making those big playoff shots. The series isn’t that close, but it’s still fairly entertaining.

New Jersey Nets vs Toronto Raptors

I think the Nets should have been finished with the series already.

Orlando Magic vs Detroit Pistons

Why did they even have to play this series? I thought they would be better. But the Magic players never showed up at the same time. Something must have been wrong with their alarm clocks. Maybe they need five alarms.

Houston Rockets vs Utah Jazz

Rooting for the Rockets. They have showed glimpses of how far they could go with their 1-2 combo of McGrady and Yao. However, it hasn’t been consistent enough to knock out the Jazz yet. Chinese guy? I’m for the Rockets. Plus they’ve got Skip To My Lou! You’ve gotta cheer for that guy. Even if he does have the worst Field Goal % in the NBA.

Can I first of all just say that Kobe Bryant is a pretty ridiculous basketball player? For those that don’t follow the National Basketball Association, Kobe scored 65 points on Friday night and 50 points yesterday. So that means in 2 games, Kobe has scored 115 points at the highest professional basketball level. I question whether I’ve scored that many points in games in my entire life combined! Now, if you add in all of the buckets for shooting around, I’m golden. But can you believe this guy? I can’t. Was it a good idea to build the Lakers around him rather than Mr. O’Neal ? Well that kind of remains to be seen. But that doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s amazing to watch him make turnaround 3-pointers while double-teamed as the shot clock is winding down and the game is on the line. I had to construct a run-on sentence just to describe the whole scenario!

A little girl bending over backwards as only those in the circus can do? Pretty amazing. I don’t understand, sometimes, how others can have a body capable of such strange things. I remember watching Guinness World Records and thinking that it was so amazing that there could be people out there that could fit into a tiny box (or whatever the amazing feat of the evening was).

And after seeing these amazing things over the weekend, I think:

I wonder what my most amazing feat will ever be. I wonder if it has already happened. Now that’s a sad thought.

However when you have the National Basketball Association going back and reviewing old tapes and determining that a foul should have been called on Kobe Bryant, you are not doing right by the spirit of the game. I read an article similar to this article, and I was slightly outraged at the ridiculousness of it all. I’m a Los Angeles Laker fan, for better or worse. And I think that Kobe Bryant is pretty amazing as a basketball player. But this is not about that. This is about how people are always trying to be exactly right, holding to the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law. What is that doing in an entry about sports you ask? Well people have been applying that idea more and more to sports. There have been the sudden burst of video replays in college football that have led to some good things (like fixed calls) and some bad things (like long games and still getting the call wrong). And then there are the extreme cases of outrage where officials such as Stu Jackson will re-visit a game simply to find faults. Where there might have been a regular foul called, they will turn into a suspension. Now, that just seems like idiocy to me. Let the officials at the game decide what the call should be. If you’re so willing to make a call after the fact, then how will you be able to overturn a call after the fact?

It’s irritating to think of the things that are starting to go on the world. It might seem like I’m getting worked up over a stupid game, but it has ramifications in all of the world. Why? Because it’s not limited to a game, it’s the mindset that people are starting to have more and more. And that is even more troubling than the problems with video review in sports.