the end of celtics and sportsmanship issues.

2 days ago, the Lakers beat the Celtics in an emphatic Game 7 to finally secure their 2nd consecutive NBA title.

Celtics actually led for most of the way, before going cold in the 4th quarter to let the Lakers pull back and go ahead for good. Even the heroics of Rondo in the last minute (grabbed an offensive rebound and sank a 3pointer) could not save them, as Lakers closed out the game with some solid free-throw shooting after an abysmal showing for much of the game.

And so Lakers won, with Kobe Bryant predictably winning the MVP award for the 2nd year running, even though his play was horrendous in game 7 (shot just 30+% i believe) and many argue that Artest was the MVP in the final match (made a crucial 3 pointer in the last few minutes)

The saddest thing is that it is probably the end of a great legacy of the Celtics, with Allen being a free agent and Rasheed Wallace contemplating retirement and Pierce and Garnett just getting old. Their only bright spark is Rondo, who was undoubtedly the best player in the playoffs, with his consistency and hustle plays (who can forget that dive against Jason Williams?). He is the heart of the Celtics team.
Even Doc Rivers, the Celtics coach is also considering quitting, apparently to spend more time with his children.

So will I support the Celtics still? Most probably. Because I support Rondo, and I'll support where ever he goes. His determined spirit and never-say-die attitude - with his vision, his pace, his stamina - is just a stellar example for other players.


So with the NBA finals over, I've been watching World Cup matches over at bestie's condo where they screen the matches in the function room. Although I still believe that soccer matches are extremely more boring as compared to basketball (you score like, 1-2 goals on average per match in soccer, whereas in basketball the scoring is constant), one thing that I still prefer about soccer is the sportsmanship.

In soccer, sportsmanship is a pretty big and universal thing - you knock a player down by accident, you help him up. This is the most fundamental displays of sportsmanship - we compete hard, play hard, but play fair. If I take you down illegally, I'm sorry, my fault, I'll help you up.
Another example will be of stopping the play when a player is down. (injured) We will compete 11 on 11, so if your player is injured, we will wait for you to replace him before we attack.

However, in basketball (or at least in NBA), there is NO SUCH THING. Sportsmanship is as prevalent as Ray Allen's shooting in Game 3 and 4. (read: non-existent)
If there's a player lying on the floor, the opponents will just take the chance to run a fast break, 5v4 (or whatever numbers advantage they have) to score a basket.
If a player knocks another one down, instead of helping him up, he looks at the referees for a blocking foul.
(There are very rare cases of an opposing team's player helping the player on the floor up.. VERY VERY rare)


So.... back to World Cup. This WC has been very boring, and statistically it's already shown that there's about 25% less goals than the previous one. I hope that after this boring group stage, the final 16, there will be more exciting plays and more goals.

Chowz