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Basketball

Everyone I talked to was still shocked by the way Game 2 went between the Celtics and Lakers. Namely, that the Lakers were so impotent to do anything. Everyone also expects the officiating to do a 180 and to favor the Lakers. What needs to change for the Lakers, aside from the venue, is their lack of aggression on offense. They have spent the first two game settling for jumpers and other low percentage shots instead of attacking the basket. They also need their bench, which was supposed to be a strength, to contribute something, so far the bench has been awful.

The Lakers are 8-0 at home in this post-season and have won 14 straight home games going back to March 28. The Lakers are 9.5 point favorites and the Total is set at 195.5. Everyone fully expects it to be a different series now that they are back in LA. The Celtics have struggled on the road though they did win twice on the road against the Pistons. 9.5 is just so many damn points! Some aren’t fazed by it, saying that all the fortunes will change on the West Coast, I just don’t know if I believe it. Yes the Lakers are good at home, but they are going to go from being 24 points down to almost a double digit favorite?!?! Damn you Vegas, you are just messing with my head!!!! For the post-season I am doing well so I feel no urgency to play catch-up. Not to mention that playing catch-up is a violation of a Dean Principle. OK, enough stalling, I am taking the Celtics and the 9.5 points for 2-stars. I also believe the Over is the better bet.

Vinny Del Negro is the new coach of the Chicago Bulls . . . Terry Porter is the new coach of the Phoenix Suns . . . Michael Curry is the new coach of the Detroit Pistons.

Baseball

Ken Griffey hit his 600th Home Run, only the 6th player to ever reach that milestone. The other players to hit 600+ are: Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa. Congratulations Ken!

American League: The Royals salvaged a split of their 4-game series with the Yankees, winning 3-2 on a Jose Guillen HR in the 9th off of Mariano Rivera . . . The White Sox stay red-hot sweeping the Twins with a 7-5 win. The White Sox entered June with a 1 game lead, it is now 6.5 . . . The Tigers can do nothing right, losing 8-2 to the Indians . . . Seattle beat Toronto in 10 innings, 3-2 . . . Tampa Bay wins impressively over the AL West lead Angels, 13-4.

National League: The Pirates beat the Diamondbacks 5-3 . . . The Reds, powered by Griffey’s 600th HR beat the Marlins 9-4 . . . The Nationals got a little closer, but still lost, 3-2 to the Giants.

Who’s Hot? / Who’s Not?:The White Sox extended their winning streak to 7 while the Padres remain at 5. The Phillies win streak is still 4 where they are joined by the SF Giants . . . The Twins have dropped 5 in a row while the Mets and Nationals are both at 4 straight losses.

Scores

Standings

Football

Michael Strahan announced his retirement. He was an out-spoken player and a very good player as well. He rounded out his resume with a Super Bowl last year and I think did the right thing by walking away now. I never played at the level of the NFL, but one thing I look on with much pride in my own career is that the last time I walked off the football field as a player it was as a winner, and going out with that memory is infinitely better than the alternative.

Euro Cup

The Netherlands, aka Dutch, beat Italy 3-0 . . . Romania and France played to a 0-0 draw. A Link to elsewhere/font>