Sunny-Side Up.

      

From Reuters:

Hillary Clinton ended her presidential bid and endorsed Barack Obama on Saturday, urging her supporters to unite behind his candidacy and help recapture the White House for Democrats in November.

In the first step toward healing the wounds of a sometimes bitter five-month Democratic nominating battle, Clinton told a cheering crowd at her final rally that she would work hard to put Obama in the White House.

She urged her supporters to unite behind the Illinois senator in his general election race against Republican John McCain.

"I will work my heart out to make sure that Senator Obama is our next president," Clinton told a crowd of about 2,000 at the National Building Museum in Washington. "I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me."

Sen. Clinton ran a tough, historic campaign.

I have an affinity for "tough".

(Betty.)

And, yeah--to look questioningly at gender or race has long seemed antiquated to me. I acknowledge Hillary's role in putting a lot of that in the dumpster where it belongs.

Still, I don't want her on the ticket in November.

Please, no executive ménage à trois. I'm not interested in the psycho-drama and Clintonian reality programming that we'd invariably see. 

If this is, indeed, a "change" election, cut it clean.

Don't look back.

Hillary Clinton is a policy wonk. Her campaign's health care plan appealed to me, and--with a White House push--she conceivably could lead the way to crafting meaningful health care legislation in the Senate.

She's already proven that her voice reverberates in those halls.

That's no small accomplishment.

But I do not want her--or the Two-For-One with Bill--on Barack Obama's ticket.

I'm cynical, too, but I'm not yet dead inside. I am a hopeful man, and I'd like to keep that little glimmer aflame.

I'm a Blue Sky guy. 

So I'll walk the Strand, I'll stick my toes in the sand and the surf, and I'll wait to see who Barack Obama chooses to take that run with him at further history.

And I'll do my best to always keep the sunny-side up.      

Self-Serve.

Executive Decision.

Hollywood Illusions.

From Mike Kahn, FOX Sports:

     This was the game that reminded everybody that the Lakers aren't the great team the Hollywood hopefuls profess them to be without 20-year-old center Andrew Bynum, out since January with a knee injury.

     Their potent interior duo of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom looked like ghosts wandering aimlessly in the shadow of Celtics superstar Kevin Garnett, whose 13 rebounds only told part of his dominance inside as Gasol and Odom combined for 14 boards. Even with their own young starting center, Kendrick Perkins, knocked out of the game midway through the third quarter with a sprained ankle, the Celtics still outrebounded the Lakers 46-33 and seemingly frightened them away from the glass.

     Heck, P.J. Brown, coaxed out of retirement as he approaches his 39th birthday, was an intimidating force with six rebounds and a block to offset the loss of Perkins in the second half. And broken-down point guard Sam Cassell, also staring 39 in the face, came off the bench for an offensive infusion in the first half that gave the Celtics confidence when they sagged.

     Even more vital in this beatdown was 22-year-old point guard Rajon Rondo with 15 points, seven assists and five rebounds, getting the edge on every loose ball, getting into the lane to create open looks for teammates and just creating general havoc with his aggressiveness.

     This was a classic example of the physical game of the Eastern Conference overwhelming the fast-breaking, please-don't-touch-me style of the West. The physical nature of the Celtics defense made Paul Pierce and Ray Allen even look significantly tougher, and Pierce was hobbled with a knee sprain of uncertain degree just before Perkins went out in the third quarter. Still not quite right with his gorgeous jumper, Allen battled through it with eight rebounds and five assists to go with his 19 points, clicking along with the mantra from coach Doc Rivers of just doing whatever it takes to win.

     Most of all, it was approach.

     While so many people are staring at the 9-of-26 shooting from Kobe Bryant as gunning, the fact of the matter is he couldn't get open looks while others just looked plain scared to shoot. Yes, it was about great defense from the Celtics. The other reason was if somebody, anybody, on the Lakers would have set a solid screen instead of rolling before the defender got there, Bryant might have had a chance to get into a shooting rhythm at some point.

     Gasol didn't even have a rebound in the first half, and Odom — when on those rare occasions he did go to the rim — went gently into the night. On one second-half drive when he got fouled, he seemed so badly shaken after the hit that neither free throw came close to going in. Instead of going to the rim hard, he would defer to a soft reverse layup.

     And about that great Lakers bench ... that youthful exuberance the Lakers faithful has been crowing about en route to a 12-3 record in the postseason until Thursday? Those guys evaporated in the wake of stage fright in this generation's Boston Garden, now sponsored by a bank. Sasha Vujacic made a positive impact and played hard, but Luke Walton, Ronny Turiaf and Jordan Farmar looked as if they accidentally showed up from the local "Y" and were shocked to see NBA players in Celtics green.

Fuzzy Math?

From the AP:

The Lakers-Celtics matchup gave the NBA Finals' television ratings a big boost.

Game 1 on Thursday averaged an 8.7 rating on ABC, the network said Friday. That's up 38 percent from the 6.3 during last year's Cavaliers-Spurs series.

It's the highest Game 1 rating since Lakers-Pistons in 2004 drew a 9.8.

The rating is the percentage watching a program among homes with televisions.

Huh? More people watched Game 1 of Lakers-Pistons than Lakers-Celtics???

UPDATE:

I looked into that Laker-Piston Game 1 from 2004. It was played on a Sunday, so maybe that explains its higher TV ratings versus an opening game on a Thursday night...

The Morning After.

The editorial staff at JackRabbit Café wasn't alone in lovin' Game One.

TBLMISBT liked what he saw, too:

Wow, what a Game One!

 

How’d the Celtics do it? Defense, one and done rebounding, and heart.

 

Paul Pierce had a truly legendary performance in the second half. On the downside, Celtic Nation is nail biting and wondering about the extent of his injury. With everything on the line, look for Pierce to go in game two.

 

On defense, Ray Ray did a great job on Kobe. True, Kobe had 24 points but shot a miserable 9 for 26. Considering the performance the Lakers need out of Kobe to win I am giving Ray Allen the nod for winning this round.

 

The Rajon Rondo/Derek Fisher match-up was a dead heat (check the stats if you need to). Both sparked it up and played great.

 

Kendrick Perkins and Pau Gasol was clearly all Gasol. In fact, I have to wonder why the Lakers are not going to Gasol more often. Poor Kendrick, first game jitters, twisted ankle, and his most important play was injuring Pierce. Look for more minutes for PJ Brown and Leon Powe.

 

KG had a less than stellar night shooting the rock in the second half but had 14 rebounds, carried the offense in the first half, and put Lamar Odom in foul trouble in the second.

 

Which brings us to the benches. While stat wise they look the same, it seemed the green side made some big plays when big plays were needed. Round 1 Celtics.

 

One down, three to go.

 

Loyalty.

           

           1-0 CELTICS!

     *****

     Several Lakers live here in the South Bay, and a new French restaurant is a block or two away from me.

     Pau Gasol and Sasha Vujacic were there the other day, and when I left Hennessey's, I guess I just missed them as I walked by. 

     I like Pau Gasol's game; I just hate the uniform that he wears.

     But I'm sorry that I missed them, because I would have snapped my "Celtic Pride" wristband at 'em, smiled, and told 'em to have a Lakers towel ready to dry their soon-to-be weeping eyes.

     Then I might have asked Pau if he had Kobe's thong in his back pocket, just for luck.

     Pau's 7' feet tall.

     I'm not.

     So?

     Finals humor.

     *****

     I have worn my "Celtic Pride" wristband since the beginning of the season, and won't take it off until the end.

     I'll leave it on long enough to see the championship trophy presentation, as Paul Pierce and KG hug Bill Russell and smoke Red's old cigars.

     *****

     Bruce "I'll Knock You Out" Bean and TBLMISBT had fabulous X's & O's on the blog yesterday. 

     Thanks, Coaches. Somebody asked me for my insights into the series the other day, and I showed them my Celtics wristband.

     That's my idea of strategy.

     The Celtics/Lakers match-up isn't the best rivalry in sports; that was, is, and probably always will be the Yankees/Red Sox.

     That one covered almost all of the 20th Century, continues today, and has been conducted for nearly the entire time in the enduring Twin Cathedrals of Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, as America's Pastime.

    The NBA has never been that.   

    But this rivalry is next. 

    Ask my neighbors: I'm as loud in June as I am in October. 

    *****

    As a Celtics fan in a Lakers town, I used to be accused of being a "front-runner". Of course--given the C's recent history--that was before this much of my scalp showed.

    Same thing I've heard about being a Yankee fan.

    When I first loved the Celtics, though, they weren't the champions. Jo Jo White was there, but there were no rings. It was post-1969, and pre-Bird.     

    (A huge highlight was shaking Bill Russell's hand in Plattsburgh, NY in 1976 when the men's U.S. Olympic basketball team trained there before the Montreal Olympics. I had read where he didn't like signing autographs, but that he appreciated a handshake. I remember my hand in his; I would have lost a signed piece of paper long ago.)

    When I originally became a Yankee fan, Horace Clarke and Gene Michael defined them; again, not a "front-runner's" first choice. Pre-Reggie, pre-Thurman Munson.

    I was first a major Montreal Expo fan.  

    52-110 in their inaugural season.

    Stick with your team.

    (And forever mourn the Expos, sold out by the same greedy bastard who regularly screws Florida Marlins fans with his utter disregard for a franchise's community responsibilities, as he did when he systematically emptied Montreal's Olympic Stadium, trying for years to slink out of that lovely town before he was thrown out.) 

     ***** 

    You pick your teams when you're young, and if you are really a fan, you still love 'em when you're old. 

     *****   

    "Yankee Tradition". "Celtic Pride".

    Loyalty.

     *****

    See ya Sunday, Kobe.    

    Pau will be carrying your thong. Sasha's gotcher jock.

    (They're loyal that way.)   

"The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind"...

From the U.K.'s Timesonline: 

     His 1964 track 'The Times They are a-Changin' became the anthem for his generation, symbolising the era-defining social struggle against the establishment.

     Now Bob Dylan - who could justifiably claim to be the architect of Barack Obama's 'change' catchphrase - has backed the Illinois senator to do for modern America what the generation before did in the 1960s.

     In an exclusive interview with The Times, published in T2 today, Dylan gives a ringing endorsement to Mr Obama, the first ever black presidential candidate, claiming he is "redefining the nature of politics from the ground up".

     Dylan, 67, made the comments when being interviewed in Denmark, where he stopped over in a hotel during a tour of Scandinavia.

     Asked about his views on American politics, he said: "Well, you know right now America is in a state of upheaval. Poverty is demoralising. You can't expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor.     

     "But we've got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up...Barack Obama.

     "He's redefining what a politician is, so we'll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I'm hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to."

     He added: “You should always take the best from the past, leave the worst back there and go forward into the future."

     Dylan's endorsement contains much symbolic significance. The legendary singer-songwriter, who has an art exhibition opening in London next week, became a focal point for young people worldwide when he released the album 'The times they are a-changin'," including the famous song of that name, in 1964.

     The track, which he wrote as the social liberation of the '60s astonished politicians and parents, included lines urging people to accept and embrace what was happening around them.

     Memorable lines included: "Come senators, congressmen, please heed the call. Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall," and: "Come mothers and fathers throughout the land, and don't criticise what you can't understand. Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command. Your old road is rapidly agin'."

R.I.P.

From the L.A. Times:

Alton Kelley, a San Francisco graphic artist whose psychedelic posters and album covers captured the mood and music of the Grateful Dead, the Steve Miller Band, Journey and other top rock 'n' roll groups of the '60s and '70s, has died. He was 67. Kelley died Sunday at his home in Petaluma, Calif., according to publicist Jennifer Gross. The cause was complications from osteoporosis.

Home Court.

Do You Mean Among Voters or Super Delegates?

I Like It When History Taps My Shoulder.

But RIGHT NOW is always better.

The 2007/2008 NBA Championship. Celtics/Lakers. Game 1. Tonight.

X's & O's

  From Bruce "I'll Knock You Out" Bean:

  The Lakers and the Celtics are returning to face each other in the NBA finals for the first time in 20 years.  Both teams are young and hungry.  During the regular season when they played the Lakers were without Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum was in foul trouble both games.  The finals match-up should prove to be different for both teams with the Lakers winning 4-3.  Here is what the Phil Jackson’s team needs to do to beat the Celtics:

 

1.  Take care of the ball.  When the Lakers don’t pass the ball and make turnovers, they become just another basketball team However, when everyone is involved they are fast and too much to handle for any team.  They must protect the ball.  If the Lakers have fewer than 6 turnovers a game, they will win.

2.  The need to rebound.  Pau Gasol can be soft and in this series against my home-boy Kendrick Perkins he needs to be a strong presence on the boards. When he has double-digit rebounds the Lakers win. The Lakers as a team must protect their defensive board and crash the offensive boards.  They need a 10 rebound advantage to beat the Celtics

3.  Make the extra pass: Los Angeles lives on assist and they can’t get caught up in one-on-one basketball. Everyone needs to be involved for them to break down the Celtic’s defense.

4.  Dunk the basketball: Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom need to go strong to hoop and stop flipping shots at the basket and dunk it.  This will help them draw fouls on Perkins and Kevin Garnett and make the paint more accessible.

5.  Hit open shots away from home.  One of the problems the Lakers had on the road was missing open shots. Derek Fisher, Bryant, Radmonovic, and Vujacic need to hit the open jumper. However, Bryant can’t settle for the jumper. He needs to attack the basket often.

6.  Run at the shooters: If the Lakers control Ray Allen and ….. Posey from the three point line, they will put pressure on Garnett and Paul Pierce to make shots.

.M  Make Rondo beat you.  Rondo is reluctant to shoot sometimes. Make him a shooter and not a facilitator.

He  Here's North Country legend (and reputedly the "King of the Running-One-Hander"), TBLMISBT:

  Celtics versus Lakers, the best rivalry in sports!!! And just how do the Celtics stay on top and move to 9-2 all time against the Lakers? Make no mistake Celtic Nation, defense is what got us here and defense is what it’s going take to wear  a 17^th crown.

 

  Expect to see the war inside be large. No easy buckets. And I don’t mean fouling to send a message ala the classless Detroit Pistons Bad Boys team from back in the day but clogging the driving and passing lanes. Keep the Lakers outside without creating a parade to the free throw line.

 

  One and done. The Celtics own the defensive glass. Garnett, Perkins, Pierce, Allen, and Rondo have been the best rebounding five in the playoffs. That must continue.

 

  Despite being down and up offensively, Ray “Jesus” Allen has been the embodiment of the Celtics team personality. Bust it on defense and the offense will come.

 

  Now the match ups…

 

  Fischer vs. Rondo, yes DF has more experience but Rondo just outplayed Chauncey while DF was outplayed by Tony Parker. Rondo is much the same as Parker but does not have to score. Edge – Rondo

 

  Kobe vs. Jesus, yes Kobe will score but he will work and work hard. Allen has shown that he can still be effective on the floor without scoring big. Kobe will seem to win this match up but come up short in shooting percentage and heavy in forced shots. Edge – Kobe (but closer than you think)

 

  Radmanovic vs. Truth, um you’re kidding. Pierce is as close to perfect as any small forward that has ever played the game. Expect the Truth to face a committee of Lakers. Edge – Truth

 

  Odom vs. KG, see comments above, replace the word small with power, and apply them to this match up. Edge – KG

 

  Gasol vs. Perkins, make no mistake the acquisition of Pau Gasol during the regular season (as I correctly predicted to Johnny Russia) made the Lakers the best in the West. He can do it all. During the Spurs series though he shot poorly, he got rebounds, made passes, and set picks that allowed the Lakers to dominate that series. Edge – Gasol

 

  Benches, this is where I think Phil does his best coaching job and has his bench players thoroughly prepared to do the little things that turn into big plays. On the opposite end of the court the Celtics have experienced players who know what to do and don't have to play big minutes. Edge - toss up

 

  Prediction…. Celtics in 6.

  

  Thanks for the breakdown---like Tim Russert & Chris Matthews from downtown! 

  I say Celts/6, too...

  (Only 'cuz "5" sounds so arrogant...)