Darko's baseball bats: More notes on the NBA playoffs

Here's my third diary entry on this year's NBA Playoffs:

Rockets vs. Jazz (Rockets 2-0)

When did I realize my pick of 'the Jazz in 6' had gone totally wrong? It was at halftime of last night's game when Craig Sager, the TNT courtside flake, err, reporter, was interviewing Jazz F Carlos Boozer. Boozer told Sager he was playing more inspired basketball in Game Two because of some disparaging comments TNT analyst Charles Barkley made about him following Game One. "I did it for you, baby!" Boozer said to Barkley... and then he winked.

Are you shitting me? Boozer, a purported All-Star, is telling us he needs some cable television analyst to inspire him to play hard in the playoffs? The playoffs!!! Oh my God! Where is his head at? Why does he even give a shit what Barkley says? Why is he even paying attention to that at this point in the season?

Barkley, to his credit, didn't take the cringeworthy sychophantic bait. "I hate when guys say we 'called them out", Barkley said in studio, "If you're an All-Star, just play like an All-Star". Barkley is often annoying, but on this count, he was exactly right.

And I didn't even mention Kirilenko's complete mental meltdown. The Jazz look finished.

Pistons vs. Magic (Pistons 2-0)

I love old school boxing. Whenever ESPN Classic does one of their "Ali Marathons", I always tune in.

Before his suspension from boxing in the late 60s, Ali often had a habit of "carrying" opponents he didn't like (see for example, Ali-Patterson I and Ali-Terrell). Instead of knocking out these clearly inferior opponents, Ali would keep the fights going, ostensibly to "punish" them. The motive was always the same. They refused to call him "Muhammad Ali" and instead referred to him as "Cassius Clay".

Anyway, I got the same sensation watching the Pistons-Magic game last night as I get watching those old Ali fights. It looks like the Pistons are "carrying" the Magic. They seem to only play hard when they need to, and never seem to want to put the Magic away when the opportunity is clearly there. What their motive is, I have no idea.

They threw baseball bats at Darko? Really????

During the Pistons-Magic game last night, the TNT sideline reporter assigned to the series, whatever her name is, said former Piston Darko Milicic wasn't bothered by the boos he was hearing from the Detroit crowd because back in Serbia he played in games where the crowd would "throw baseball bats". Huh?

First of all, my neighbor is of Serbian descent, and he once asked me on a December day -- I shit you not -- if the Brewers played that week. My point is, most Serbians don't follow baseball at all. And I would be stunned if anyone in Serbia even owned a baseball bat. And if they did, would they really bring the bats to a basketball game? Where would they hide them? And then they would supposedly throw them on the court? The whole story made zero sense. I can't believe the sideline reporter didn't check herself before she repeated such a blatantly false anecdote.