The Celtics had absolutely no answers for Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol last night, and the Lakers pulled away in the second half and were never seriously challenged as they took game one of the NBA Finals by the score of 102-89. You can check out the full coverage at CelticsLinks.com.
Get ready for plenty of talk about how when Phil Jackson wins games one of a playoff series, his teams are 47-0. I’ll admit, that’s a pretty damn impressive stat.
Unfortunately, I’ve got to get the family ready and be on the road by 6:30 this morning, so morning links today are quite impossible.
To try and make it up to you, I’m going to direct your attention to the Gillette box to the right here. You’ve probably seen the ads for their new razor which is being released this month. It’s the Fusion ProGlide, and you can get a free one through BSMW. Gillette has allotted 100 to be given away to BSMW readers, by filling out the form. The counter tells you how many are left remaining.
There were server problems last night with the Gillette site, so you may need to try it a couple times, or be patient with it. Good luck!
The Red Sox also lost yesterday, falling to the Oakland A’s in the final game of their three game series, 9-8 at Fenway Park. Get your full links at RedSoxLinks.com. The Red Sox had two runners cut down at the plate, both players, Victor Martinez and Darnell McDonald were hobbling at the time.
Here’s a quick six from today:
An experienced whistle-blower – Chad Finn talks about disgraced referee Tim Donaghy, who has been making the rounds of sports radio to promote his book.
Celtics get (out)hustled – Steve Bulpett says that the Lakers just wanted it more last night.
Hosts weren’t pretty, but they were pretty good – Bob Ryan has the Lakers showing they’re capable of winning an ugly game.
Awful opener for Kevin Garnett – Ron Borges looks at a horrible night for KG, who got eaten alive by Pau Gasol.
Poor rebounding tells story for Green – Chris Forsberg has the Celtics getting manhandled under the boards.
Calls didn’t sit well with Allen – Julian Benbow’s notebook has Ray Allen frustrated at having his playing time severely curtailed last night due to foul trouble.
Boston Sports Media Watch 
thanks for the free razor…..I'm as bald as an eagle and shave my head (sorry,Mike Adams)……so a good razor is a must……note to Shank Shaugnessy, you might want to snag one of these razors and shave the rat's nest that is on top of your head.
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Here’s a post-Game 1 fanboy rant for you: It makes me physically ill that Pau Gasol is a Laker, to this day.
That deal two years ago was a joke and if the NBA had any integrity at all they would have investigated it.
I mean, seriously, a few months after Mr. Laker, Jerry West, leaves the Memphis GM job to return to LA his successor gift wraps Gasol to a struggling LA team for basically nothing, plus two very low first round picks?
If any other team in the league (besides the Knicks) were the recipient of such largesse, the deal would have been investigated. At least the Celtics had to give up Al Jefferson, a few other players (including a useful Ryan Gomes), and give back Minnesota’s potential lottery pick before the Wolves would give them an AGING Garnett (Gasol is still very YOUNG).
Stern simply doesn’t care about competitive balance or deals not made “in the best interests” of the game. As long as LA or NY has a championship contender and his TV ratings are good, that’s all that matters.
Where is Bowie Kuhn when you need him?
End of rant.
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"I mean, seriously, a few months after Mr. Laker, Jerry West, leaves the Memphis GM job to return to LA his successor gift wraps Gasol to a struggling LA team for basically nothing, plus two very low first round picks?"
Tony, thanks for the rant and reminding us about the Gasol larceny. Meanwhile, Jackson had the gall to joke during his pregame presser yesterday about the fact that McHale sent Garnett to the Celtics, and I distinctly remember Phil using the phrase 'the pot calling the kettle black'. Did anyone else see this video clip before last night's game?
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No, don’t remember the clip, but makes me sick hearing about it. The worse thing about it is the media will chuckle about it and fawn over Dr. Phil, as everything (apparently) is gospel that he says. Almost like a reverse Belichick.
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I know that Jackson is a great coach, but he’s a shamelessly arrogant jerk.
First of all, Kevin Garnett was about 30 or 31 when the Celtics acquired him. Gasol doesn’t turn 30 until next month, which means he was only 27 when the Lakers “acquired” him. That makes a difference, right there. The Celtics were basically geting a two-year rental and were hoping for the best after that.
Second, in addition to giving up Jefferson, an excellent young player, the C’s gave up Ryan Gomes, who has continued to be a solid, solid NBA player in Minnesota, three other players (granted, one of them was Theo Ratliff’s expiring contract), and two first rounders—one of which belonged to Minnesota originally and is probably going to be a lottery pick when the time comes (probably next season).
The Garnett and Gasol trades are not even close to being on an equal level. LA received a lovely parting gift from Jerry West on his way out the door in Memphis, period, and Chris Wallace, for whatever reason, actually executed the deal officially (perhaps the deal was that he got West’s job as a quid pro quo for allowing West’s pre-arranged Gasol deal to LA to happen?)
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