How the NBA Wanted It.

I would say it's not much of a surprise that the Celtics and Lakers will be squaring off in the NBA Finals starting Thursday. First of all, both of these teams were the best teams in their conference. This is the ultimate reason they both made the finals. However, it came a little easier for the Lakers than it did for the Celtics.

It seemed like every game in the WCF, once the third quarter started to come to a close, everything would work in favor of the Lakers....the rolls, the refs, etc...

Let's be honest...did Derek Fischer commit a foul in game 4? YES.

Did Paul Pierce commit that offensive foul last night? NO EFFING WAY.

Despite the bogus call going against the Celtics, in what should have resulted in a potential 4-point play, the Cs did exactly what I couldn't do. They kept their cool.

Down 10 in the 4th, they kept fighting, allowing only 13 points in the 4th, and beating both the Pistons, and the WWE Refs.

If I am David Stern, I am getting out of this league as fast as possible, because even though the dream matchup is in effect, and television ratings will be through the roof, it only means more people watching the NBA referrees botching more calls than their Pro Wrestling counterparts. I don't know which way the calls will sway, but lets be realistic and say that the Celtics haven't exactly had much help this postseason, and probably will not in the Finals.

Regardless, WHAT A WIN. Beat LA.

I'm off to the horse track in a few minutes. I went for my first time on Thursday afternoon (gotta love corporate sponsored boozing and gambling). After winning my first ever bet on the horses (a $2 exacta on a 1-4 and a 10:1 paying off $14), I became absolutely hooked. I'm going with my dad and my grandfather, and I am determined to come out in the positive.

To those of you who have been waiting for some entertainment news...well, so have I. I promise that with the Celtics not playing until Thursday, I will have other stuff to write about. I might do a couple CD or Movie reviews, or do something similar to what is on Popcandy.Usatoday.com with a bunch of interesting links I am viewing (you can also see some by checking out my Digg page). Once again, don't forget to add me on Twitter and get updates from me when I am not able to post here.

Let's win some money.

Podcast Heads Up

Just wanted to give everyone a little heads up on the podcast I'm starting on this blog. I am putting together a little intro music as we speak, and will try to have that ready by this weekend so that I can record a show. I have a few things I'd like to talk about (just like Mr. Rogers) but I always appreciate listener/reader content. So either send me an email at legendaryblog@gmail.com or send me a response in the comments here or on twitter.

Have a good night, and I'll try to update after the Celtics game tomorrow.

Ryan

My School won a National Championship...

and I still went to bed upset.

First off, a big congrats to Syracuse on their 10th Lacrosse National Championship! As a 'Cuse fan, I am excited that we will not have to remove the lacrosse banner in the Carrier Dome that says we have the most championships ever. That would have been depressing....like an anti-retirement of a number.

Speaking of anti-retiring (is there a better way to say this??), I really wish Roger Clemens had retired a few years ago and some team jumped to be the first to retire his number, then all these allegations came out, and the team decided to un-retire (better?) his number... This probably would never happen, but I am hoping that it does eventually (and not the un-retiring of a number like Michael Jordan...I want something to happen where an athlete actually does something so bad that his former team is too embarrassed to have his number retired).

And I'm ranting.

It is days like this where I just want to fall asleep at 7:00.

When you are at work at 7:30 and do nothing all day because you are in training, the day just snails along. Throw in the 1 hr. plus commute due to traffic (idiot drivers), and you have yourself one long, monotonous, frustrating day...

Then we throw in the Celtics...

I posted on my Twitter last night that watching Big Baby and Sam 'Yoda' Cassell on the floor together was like watching a bunch of little kids playing Y ball. The only problem was that Mr. Doc Rivers, Not Ph.D must have been trying to make up for all of his son's Y ball games that he missed when he was on the road, because he just didn't stop playing these guys! The only thing these guys have going for them is that every single time they make an average play, the fans go nuts because it is so unexpected. Davis made a lay up at one point (practically uncontested), and I found myself jumping out of my seat and screaming how excited I was (then he blew a defensive assignment and I just sat there like I expected it).

I can't figure out why Doc always brings the scrubs out to start quarters after we have rallied back at the end of the quarter. We have the momentum with our big guys...why don't we try and keep it?

I can't really blame everything on Doc. I think he is a nice guy, and a DECENT coach. His players don't complain about him, and the media loves him. Overall, the reason we lost last night was because we couldn't shoot. Ray Allen apparrently started sharing his water bottle during practice, and the whole team caught the cold (as ice).

But it is still an even series, and we have home court advantage.

I'm off to get food, then probably a few drinks at the bar...$10 buckets of Rolling Rock is decent when you are off of a college campus.

In the meantime, friend/follow me on Twitter for more updates.

Peace

Ryan

Celtics Get Some Away From Home

I have said in the past that if a team cannot win a game on the road in the playoffs, they don't deserve to advance. The Celtics finally decided to play like the regular season team with the best road record, and put all the critics to rest as they defeated the Detroit Pistons 94-80. Despite a few late runs by the Pistons, the Celtics were able to calm the storm and hold on for a 14 point win.

I love how despite it being a 14-point win, it still feels like they only won by 4 or 5...

That's what it is like to be C's fan this postseason. It took 17 games for a road win, and it felt like a lifetime (or 2006-2007).

As for the Western Conference Championship...

EVERYTHING is going LA's way.

Kobe Bryant is absolutely manhandling the Spurs, and will continue to do so during this series.

I wouldn't be surprised, nay, I expect to only see a 4 or 5 game series...this thing is NOT going 6.

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Two more notes before I sign off:

1) Jamele Hill is a very respected columnist for ESPN.com, but completely whiffed at this one.
Hill: The dream matchup

2) I live in the Chicago area, and although I am not a fan of Chicago teams, I still read a lot about them. This article right here did not surprise me AT ALL. Joakim Noah

I guess we now know exactly what he was talking about...

Winner Winner. Chicken Dinner.

So California Pizza Kitchen DOES serve Beer. That was a relief. The only thing that I really think I like about CPK is that I know exactly what I'm going to get every time. I don't have to look at the menu really. I just go to the 10 or so Pastas they have and choose between the Kung Pao Spaghetti or the Tequila Lime Fettuccine (I got Kung Pao Spaghetti with some Goose Island 312...which was pretty tasty).

Nothing interesting really happened last night. Two of my friends wanted to play chess, badly. We have an ice cream store around here called Oberweis, which resembles one of those zappers that attracts mosquitoes. If you could imagine the lighting section at Home Depot, but with all of those lights being fluorescent, you would understand the attraction to Oberweis. Basically, you drive down the highway, and are blinded by this incredible amount of lights, and you have no choice but to walk in and see what is going on.
Here's the thing about the lighting though...their energy bills must be through the roof. That explains why it is over $3 for a lousy single scoop of their "super-premium" ice cream. I mean, I understand Super-Premium gasoline. But I'm pretty sure that super-premium ice cream has ZERO beneficial effects on a person. If anything, it probably makes the consumer more gassy than usual (I see the connection now).

But back to my chess story...

Oberweis has a few tables with chess/checkers boards. Even though they are always losing the pieces due to petty theft, there is always enough for probably one game of chess. We walk into the "Mosquito Zapper", and see the chess board...then see 3 kids (probably 8-10 years old) hogging the board and playing with the pieces like they are action figures. After 15 minutes of sitting there watching these kids, my friend had enough of it. This 21 year old guy walks up to these kids and asks them if they could let him use the chess board since they were obviously not playing real chess. Then one of the parents looks at my friend and practically rips him apart for intimidating little kids.

Long story short...my friend felt bad, so he gave the parents his receipt from the ice cream he bought, which had a coupon on it for a free extra scoop of their "super-premium" ice cream.

Anyways, next time I go out, I'll take a picture of the place so everyone can see how ridiculous it actually is.

Before I sign out...make sure you follow me/add me as a friend on twitter for more insights from myself, as well as friend me on Digg to see some of the things I might talk about in the future.

Peace,
Ryan

This Blog is Going to be - Wait for it...

Legend.....ary!

Good evening and welcome to The Legendary Blog (no one had this title or url...go figure...I think it is the only url left on blogger). I would first like to thank Barney Stinson (NPH) and the 'How I Met Your Mother' writers for my little intro.

So here is the deal.

I've had multiple blogs in the past, including murrdogg4.blogspot.com and boxscorebanter.blogspot.com (now boxscorebanter.com). Though I no longer work on those (My first blog was tough to maintain...the 2nd one...well...long story.), I am incredibly excited to start this new blog up. And here is the best part.

This goes way beyond a blog!

As much as I like writing about things, I enjoy talking about them even more. Later this week I will be posting the first podcast from The Legendary Blog, complete with everything we discuss on the blog, but with sound!

So what do we discuss?

We (just me for now) discuss a lot. I have a wide range of interests and will try to talk about it all. Expect to hear a little about sports, television, music, and some other interesting things that I might come across.

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Right now I am heading off to California Pizza Kitchen (CPK for the hipsters out there) where I will bid a few friends adieu as they start their summer jobs in other locations across America. I would like to note that they are the only reason I am going there, as it is probably my least favorite restaurant. Not only do they not have REAL pizza (I'm not from NY so I'm not a psycho about my pizza, and I hate Chicago Style so I really have no bias), but they try to play it off like they do. Then you have to spend 10 minutes explaining to the waiter/waitress what you want on your pizza. Why can't I just say "I would like a normal human pizza. Similar to the ones that were consumed in Italy and Greece a long time ago. All that requires is dough, cheese, and tomato sauce. Thank you"? I suppose I could, but I try to be polite...I was raised that way.

Anyways, I'm going to be ordering some sort of pasta dish while my friends and the CPK staff will all be eyeballing me thinking "Who does this guy think he is? No one has ordered pasta here in weeks." So if anyone here hates CPK pizza and eats the pasta there, let me know so I don't feel so out of the loop. Also, do they even have alcohol there? That can make or break a meal for me (I am not an alcoholic).

On another note, the Boston Celtics square off against the Detroit Pistons at the Palace in the Michigan Ghetto (sorry Detroit fans....your city is gross). With the series even at 1-1, the Celtics need to win a road playoff game for the first time this postseason in order to advance. All I can say is, if you can't win a road playoff game ONCE (!!) you shouldn't be moving on anyways.

I will probably write about the game tomorrow, which means (gasp!) you will get posts 2 days in a row!

Now that it has reached the point in time that I have to get into my car, go to the bank, remove money from the bank, then go to CPK and eat pasta (if someone wants to stalk me...I just gave you directions), I must stop writing. I will be back tomorrow, and will be working on a podcast soon. Until then, I leave you with this.

- Ryan

p.s. Check out my links in the link bar to the right. Also make sure to friend me on twitter as I will be posting from there often (available on the right column of this blog).