The Celtics look to overcome the Lakers points in the taint advantage and the sniper's smoking gun

The 2010 NBA Finals have been so terribly officiated (and 'wonderfully interficiated') that the Elias Sports Bureau should create a new statistic. It would be called points in the taint. The statistic would measure points given or taken away from teams due to terrible officiating. I personally am getting annoyed by hearing that the team that wins the rebounding battle wins the game. That is a stat that generally goes to the winning team. But we all know this series is not about rebounding. This is the worst officiated series in league history.

The Boston Celtics are clearly better than the Los Angeles Lakers. They go nine deep while the Lakers try to play one on five. That formula (along with the interficials in their corner) may have worked against the inexperienced OKC Thunder, injured Utah Jazz and the soft Phoenix Suns; but they are playing the Boston Celtics now, a championship pedigreed team that takes care of the business on both sides of the ball.

Essentially the inept 2008 Lakers are playing a much improved version of the 2008 Boston Celtics. I am talking about the same 2008 Lakers that lost to the Celtics 131-92 in the final game of that series. I realize that games are not won on paper, but this is not merely a paper argument. The Boston Celtics have looked much better than their counterparts throughout this finals. The league knew that the Lakers did not match-up well with the Celtics going into the series, so they went about circumventing fair play. It's "the ole reach around," as Gob Bluth would call it.

Sadly, the Celtics main nemesis in this series has not been the Lakers, with all due respect to Kobe's masterful individual performances (at times). The Celtics nemesis has been the officials. The league was so desperate to give the Lakers a kick-start in this series that they put Joey Crawford (the greatest interficial of all-time) to work right away (Bob Delaney might argue that). The terrible officiating continued throughout the first three games. But the Celtics overcame it in Game 2 thanks to the hot shooting of Ray Allen. Ironically they did not overcome the interficiating of Game 3 due to the cold shooting of Ray Allen.

After three games, it was infuriating to realize that NBA corruption prohibited the Celtics from being up 2-1 or probably 3-0 in the series. It was just flat out sickening that the Los Angeles Lakers title and their subsequent propensity to draw ratings was valued so greatly that the NBA would dishonor the game and cheat. Yes, I am using the c-word. I have no proof besides my eyes. I do not have the smoking gun, but I do know that where there is smoke there is fire. If I woke up strapped to an electric chair, I would not be overly concerned with wondering who did it and when, I'd just know that it happened.

Game Four was more of the same. Although, with the Celtics down two games to one, the league ratcheted down the bad calls and we probably had about the closest thing to a fair game that we will see this entire series. Referring to the bad officiating in the first three games, Charles Barkley said, "this was the first game (Game 4) that was like a game." Still, Kenny Smith reviewed four Game 4 calls that went against the Celtics that were call incorrectly. Smith called them 'one hundred percent calls,' meaning that there was no excuse for the blown calls. But even his analysis disregarded many other bad calls in that game.

Game Five was a joke. I am not referring to the bad officiating. Although there were plenty of bad calls, it was not nearly as poorly officiated as the first three games in which the league felt compelled to give the Celtics a handicap. What was particularly sad about the game is how it symbolized the NBA's complete and udder disregard for the fans. 

Joey Crawford was the lead interficial. Does David Stern think that the average NBA fan is a peon? Let's assume he does and that he thinks he is getting away with something on that level. He would still have to believe that a certain segment of the audience has some moral fiber and reasonable intelligence and he is basically bitch slapping them. I feel so strongly about this issue that I am willing to use the b-word for the first time in this website's history. Stern has no respect for his audience to be using the most controversial active interficial of all-time in the most pivotal NBA game in years! To counter the protests of fans, he loves to go with the logic that if he has nothing to be ashamed of then he can do what he wants. But we all know that is a boat load of dung and that he thinks we should accept his cheating as long as the smoking gun is nowhere to be found.

In Game 5, Crawford made a large amount of bad calls that went in the Lakers favor. The Lakers went to the free throw line 26 times while the Celtics went to the line 13 times despite the fact that the Celtics were the more aggressive team. Pierce who was the Celtics point man for the attack went to the line all of two times. Derrick Fisher barely touched the ball all night and he went to the line five times. But once a series is tied two to two the interficials generally keeps the interficiating to a relative minimum and Game 5 was still tame compared to the first three games. It is Game 6 that the league will be willing to commit a higher volume of egregious calls in an effort to force a Game 7 and make millions of dollars.

Still, there was a Game 5 call that symbolizes the great lengths that the officials will go to keep a game close and build the drama (and ratings). Ahead 92-83 and with the game in check, the Celtics played wonderful defense on Kobe Bryant. Bryant went around a screen and hoisted a fade away three that had no chance of going in. It was reminiscent of the Lakers chances of winning a fairly officiated series. Crawford called a foul on Ray Allen. The call was made despite the fact that Allen was called for a controversial call on a similar play in Game 4. This time, Allen reigned himself in so that as Jeff Vangundy said, "he did not even appear to foul." But Crawford had no problem just making a call completely up.

So the Boston Celtics head back to Los Angeles to try and close out the series (up 3-2). They must be bitter about the fact that the interficials prevented them from winning the championship in front of their hometown fans. They must lament the fact that were it not for the interficials, they could have stamped their supremacy with a sweep. They must dread the fact that they know they have to play five on eight in a hostile environment to win a trophy that they already should possess.

Mister Stern. You can hide but we know what you are doing. You could not even find the audacity to give one of your patented six figure fines to the Boston Celtics owner when he confronted you after Game 3 and told you how you should be embarrassed by the terrible officiating. 

In the immortal words of 'Animal House,' "Hold my mount mister. Mister hold my mount." I only want to reciprocate your actions.

As for Crawford. He could not pull of the victory. But give him credit. He did his best to get the Lakers a victory on a night in which the Celtics shot 56 percent and the Lakers shot 39 percent (FGs).

The following Tainted Love videos are dedicated to David Stern and his hired goons:

This article is dedicated to Lakers fans that think this series is on the up and up. You are enablers.

Score one for The Evil Empire: BCS TKO's MWC / A summation of 2008 BCS Corruption

Contrary to popular opinion, The Evil Empire is not the New York Yankees. Rather it is the College Football Bowl Championship Series. Why? Simply put, so-call conference commissioners are ravaging any playoff hopes in the pursuit of money and power. It is a power play of such epidemic proportions that undoubtedly many dissertations have been written on this very subject.

The BCS is undeniably inept and corrupt. Remember last season when it became painfully obvious to the tartiest of dolts that there needed to be a playoff system in college football? Though it was clear to all honest and reasonable persons at its outset in 1997.

This week, the Mountain West Conference reluctantly signed onto the agreement, knowing that if they did not do so they would lose their potential consolation at-large bid and funds to help their football programs continue to evolve.

They did so, knowing that it would continue to be the same system that relegated a team like the 2008 Utah Utes (13-0) to the ranking of number two and snub them from a championship game that they so rightfully deserved.

We all remember how haywire the system was:

• USC was practically anointed to go to the championship game. They faced an uphill battle after losing at Corvalis to a good Oregon State football team that ended up being ranked #18. No amount of blowout victories could quite give USC redemption. Though, one could argue that cosmic justice was served as Pete Carroll, the USC head coach suddenly became an outspoken critic of the BCS. In USC's recent golden years of going undefeated a weaker conference, yet going unquestioned to the championship game, Carroll was unwilling to admit to the flaws that were grossly inherent in the system.
• Then how about Texas. They beat then #1 ranked Oklahoma at home, 45-35. Despite the belief of most pundits that Oklahoma would have easily won by ten or more on their home field, the BCS had no problem proclaiming Texas to be in the national championship game if they held serve.
• Alas then Texas Tech Red Raiders came onto the scene, beating the Texas Longhorns 39-33. Suddenly, they were championship contenders. And oddly enough, that loss not only propelled the Red Raiders, but it pushed the Longhorns behind the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS rankings. What? As the great Gob Bluthe would say, "C'MON!
• Then when Texas Tech failed to punch their championship ticket, losing 65-21 at Oklahoma, all of the sudden the trio of Big Twelve teams that round robbin beat each other (Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech) were no longer in the championship picture. Instead we were looking at undefeated Alabama vs Florida. Undefeated Utah had beat Michigan at The Big House, beat #12 TCU and even if and when they beat #14 BYU it would not matter. Nobody was crying bloody rape about it, though we certainly saw that another Boise State type football team would not get the chance to leave it all on the field, with all due respect to the greatest game in college football history (as I am referring to rankings, not heart).
• And why was Utah, a viable championship contender completely denied any realistic shot at being in the championship game? If you said it is because there is no playoff system in place or you chose that the corrupt BCS that favors "big conference teams" then you'd be correct. In this case Utah's credentials were overlooked. They had to wait and see if the heavens aligned and one loss teams, USC, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and possibly even Penn State would all lose their second games. Preposterous.

• Florida would be the chosen one (literally chosen) after a win over then undefeated Alabama.. This despite Florida losing to unranked and unhallowed Ole Miss. Though to be fair to Ole Miss; they were a good Oregon State type football team that probably deserved to finish in the top 25 as they went 9-4, only losing by a combined 19 points in there four losses. But alas, the media's obsession with Tim Tebow and their desire for his 'pledge' to come full circle in a Disney type, high selling story clearly gave the Florida the edge over the undefeated Utah, and other one loss contenders like USC, Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama. And without getting into mind numbing details, the schedule strengths and wins were generally of a comparable nature.
  
• The third estate's marginalizes any "small conference team" that comes along, thus propping up the corruption that is inherent in the sytem, to paraphrase Monty Python. Face it, a BYU, Utah, Boise State, Fresno State or whoever can be the best team or one of the best teams. But it is basically like a top Nascar race car starting in the 50th position in a 20 lap race.
• In the end, Oklahoma got the nod as the other one loss team to take on Florida in the national championship
  

In the end, Oklahoma got the nod as the other one loss team to be in the national championship. And what happened to Alabama, who would have went to the championship and would have denied Florida a championship game by simply winning their conference match-up? They would lose their BCS game to none other than the undefeated Utah.

Utah, the team which according to the BCS merited no consideration to be in the national championship game beat Alabama, who would have been assured a championship game with an undefeated season. It was as if they saw the opportunity to punch a corrupt system in the face and they took it!

Although, other fans like myself simply did not dignify a paper trophy championship, with some due respect to Florida and Oklahoma. I did not tune into a single down of that sham of a championship. Many Mountain West administrators likely did not either.

But sadly, those same indignant administrators caved by signing into the BCS through 2013. Or perhaps they took what they viewed as the best option on the table for their conference. After all, without the possibility of an at-large bid into one of BCS non-championship games, the schools would suffer financially and practically.

They could have taken the higher road and been a martyr, but perhaps that was not prudent (for them personally, besides the teams they represent). Instead the Mountain West had their eight team playoff idea shot down by ten other conferences and Notre Dame. This happened amidst, Senate hearings into whether the BCS broke anti-trust laws. But in these crazy times when ABC owns ESPN, General Electric owns NBC, the government has big stakes in AIG and GMC and many sports are natural (supposedly regulated) monopolies, why would we expect anything to come of those hearings?

Fans, you have to tune out if you want to see change. Money is the only language the "big conferences" know.
Picture 1: BCS corruption drawing
Picture 2: Utah fans celebrate their 13-0 2008 season
Picture 3: 'Bribery'