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The game was a total blowout - Celtics win 131-92 over the Lakers in Game 6. Boston wins it’s 17th NBA Championship and Paul Pierce is named the 2008 NBA Finals MVP.
We’ve got a full recap over on our sister-site, at http://nbaweblog.com/. Go check it out!
Of course, you can find a full selection of 2008 NBA Championship gear at the NBA Store:
You can also shop for Celtics jerseys and apparel below (thru Amazon):
Updated 7/22/08
Brian Urlacher is the latest NFL player to “re-work” an existing deal before the first one is up. This new deal adds to the existing 9-yr deal he was still under (until 2011), to the tune of $18 million - $6 million signing bonus. Urlacher is now signed w/ the Chicago Bears until 2012… wow, a whole year? Thanks for the commitment.
These incidents are ridiculous - Brian cannot argue that he’s “underpaid” when he already has a $57 million contract that he’s supposed to be honoring. The timing is also key, considering the Bears reported to training camp today.
Original Story 6/17/08
Recent developments involving two Pro-Bowl receivers and their “contract disputes” have me questioning how much power athletes have been given. In today’s sporting world, it seems like a player who’s unhappy w/ his current pay, can basically force his team into renegotiating his salary and signing bonus.
The two players who have been mentioned most recently, but are certainly not the only players griping, are the New York Giants’ Plaxico Burress and the Arizona Cardinals’ Anquan Boldin. Both players are certainly worthy of their current contracts in my opinion and possibly more, but if they wanted more, they should have negotiated that amount from the get-go.
Each of these players has 3 years remaining on their current contracts - THREE YEARS - and they’re already throwing fits about how little they’re being paid. Btw… both the Cardinals and Giants are near the bottom in terms of total team salaries (for 2007); the Giants had the lowest payroll in the NFL. (Source: USAToday 2007 Team Salaries)
Here is a breakdown of how these two players stand up, in terms of base salary & signing bonuses, on their own team, as well as for their positions:
Plaxico Burress
Anquan Boldin
Ok, so Plaxico is paid like a Top 10 wide receiver while Boldin is certainly underpaid. Among the less quality receivers making more money than Boldin are: Chris Chambers (#1 paid receiver - are you kidding me?), Roy Williams, Deion Branch, Marty Booker, Nate Burleson, David Givens, Amani Toomer and Justin McCareins. I’m not listing all of these wide receivers to dog on them for getting a good paycheck, but give me a break… how many people would pick one of these players ahead of Anquan in a fantasy football draft?
Where I think the rub is from these players, is when they look at the NFL Draft and see how well the 1st round picks are being paid, and then compare that with their own salaries, they’re getting chump change. The NFL rookies have no experience, no accolades to speak of, etc., but they continue to receive 8-figure signing bonuses and guaranteed money. Look no further than the Atlanta Falcons recent signing of quarterback Matt Ryan - 6 yrs for $72 million - $34.75 of it guaranteed. Not only did they sign him for a huge guaranteed amount, but they also paid him more than the picks before him and more than the previous year. Most players won’t make $34.75 million in their entire career, let alone get that guaranteed without even taking a snap on the field.
Ultimately, the over-spending owners are causing these problems and forcing unnecessary grief on themselves. If I was a year-to-year Pro-Bowl caliber player and a rookie came in and made 10x what I was making, I would probably ask for a new contract as well. At the same time, an NFL contract is a contract, one that should be upheld between both parties involved.
If you have something to say, please leave a comment. We’d love to hear your opinions.
Ongoing coverage of the 2008 NBA Finals, Game 5:
Final result: Lakers force Game 6 after a tough showing on their homecourt. After nearly blowing a huge lead again, they held on in the end and delivered in a must-win game.
1st half…
Lakers take huge lead again, reminiscent of Game 4. As in that game, LA has already given up most of the lead and were fightining for their life late in the 2nd quarter. The entered the half w/ the lead, but just barely.
Kobe Bryant was on fire in the 1st quarter, but didn’t score in the 2nd. For Paul Pierce, it was just about the opposite… he scored very little in the 1st and took over in the 2nd. Lamar Odom has gotten a few layups from high pick ‘n rolls w/ Kobe and Pau Gasol, but other than that, he’s been playing about the same. The Lakers looked super-aggressive in the 1st quarter, led by Kobe, but went more than 5 minutes in the 2nd quarter without scoring.
The Celtics defense improved greatly in the 2nd quarter - one big reason the Lakers couldn’t score. Kevin Garnett was playing well early (8 pts), but got in foul trouble and played minimal minutes - only 13 seconds in 2nd quarter. He as 3 fouls (should be 2), so it will be interesting to see how LA attacks him and tries to get him out of the game. What’s really interesting, however, is that Kobe and the Lakers gave up the lead w/ Garnett on the bench.
Halftime show featured a story on Bill Walton and son Luke Walton. Seriously, they could have just done a story on Luke and I would’ve been happy. Is Bill Walton semi-mental? Granted it’s Father’s Day, but what a sappy ass monologue to his son. Btw… did you see the look on Luke’s face, like “do I really have to be here”?
2nd half just starting…
8:00 remaining in 3rd quarter; Celtics tie the game at 62.
I thought I’d seen at all, until this morning while reading a story on FoxSports…
Viagra is being used as a performance enhancing drug in sports. Apparently, the little blue pill has been showing up in locker rooms for years, but it’s never really been thought of as “performance enhancing” for sports. Former BALCO owner, Victor Conte, stated that “All my athletes took it”. The biggest name involved in this story, which should really be no surprise at this point, is Roger Clemens.
Two stated benefits of using Viagra (besides the obvious one to treat erectile dysfunction):
One question that comes to mind for me…. Wouldn’t you have to worry about…? Wouldn’t you….? Is it appropriate to even ask? Ok, here goes - wouldn’t you have to worry about a certain extremity making it’s presence more apparent? Wow, not a situation I’d like to be in, having Mr. Happy rise to greet me during the game.
Conte also claims that Viagra is “the biggest product in nutritional supplements”, “bigger than creatine”. So for all you athletes out there not using Viagra to increase your performance… beware! Those big, bad, horny guys that are using it are all around you 
In the circles of users, Viagra has a few other common names: “Vitamin V“, “Sildenafil Nitrate” (it’s official name) and “L-Via” (liquid Viagra).
It seems that everywhere you look, athletes are using everything at their disposal to increase their performance. It’s a shame that they feel the need to, but perhaps it is perpetuated by the owners who are willing to look the other way, allthewhile signing huge signing bonuses and contracts.
Perhaps the next illegal substance to be tested for should be milk, because Calcium is good for your bones, or carrots, because they’re good for sight (at night).
The Boston Celtics served notice on Thursday that they intend to defend their regular season record and compete for another NBA Championship.
Facing the L.A. Lakers in an epic Game 1, things looked bad for the Celtics in the 3rd quarter when Paul Pierce had to be helped off the court by teammates. As the Lakers took the lead and appeared to be taking advantage of Pierce’s absence, the G/F re-emerged from the locker room to a standing ovation and helped lead his team back into the lead late in the 3rd quarter.
Boston’s defense was superb in the 2nd half, limiting the Lakers and stifling Kobe Bryant. Kobe finished the game w/ 26 pts, but was 9-26 from the field, largely in part to the defense of Pierce and a few other Celtics role players.
The benches played a huge difference in Game 1; unfortunately for the Lakers, their contribution was virtually nill. On the other hand, the Celtics got great contributions from Sam Cassell and PJ Brown, two veterans obtained late in the season to help Boston get to this point.
Kevin Garnett struggled w/ his shot late in the game, but came up w/ a monstrous comeback dunk late in the 4th quarter.
Photos from the 2008 NBA Finals - Game 1:
The Boston Red Sox helped usher in a new 500 Home Run club member this weekend, as outfielder Manny Ramirez clubbed his 500th and 501st home runs against the Baltimore Orioles.
Manny Ramirez trots around bases after 500th home run
The historic 500th home run came against the Orioles Chad Bradford, who up until Saturday night, had given up very few home runs in the past 2 years. Manny had been swinging early in the count for several days, trying to be aggressive and to reach the milestone, but it was against Bradford, when Ramirez finally came through.
“I’m happy, you know, about everything I accomplished in life,” Ramirez said afterward. “Not everybody has the chance to go and get to 500. I’m just proud to do it.”
Manny Ramirez becomes only the 24th player in MLB history to reach the 500 home run mark. Ramirez had been trying to reach the milestone for several weeks - he was at 496 on April 19th and took approximately 34 games to 500.
With the feat, Manny also joined another illustrious group:
The 500-home run club has only two dozen members, but Ramirez also joined an even smaller fraternity. He is only the seventh player in baseball history with 500 homers, 1,500 RBIs, 1,000 walks, 475 doubles and a .300 batting average. The others are Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Frank Thomas and Ted Williams.
Once the monkey was off his back, Ramirez quickly notched home run number 501 on Sunday, leading the Red Sox to a sweep over the rival Orioles.
Fellow Red Sox players were ecstatic for Manny Ramirez after he reached the 500 home run mark. He received greetings & handshakes, as well as high praise from current and former teammates. Despite the game being played in Camden Yards (Baltimore), Ramirez also received quite a bit of support from the fans as well.
While many detractors have labeled Manny as lazy and/or an uncaring superstar, it’s clear that they just don’t know the real guy, as evidenced by recent statements and reactions from his teammates and coaches. We’re witnessing one of the greatest hitters in baseball history - we just need to pay more attention…