Uncalled For

Let me first address some allegations that have been laid at my door, which are wholly without merit. They come from an evidently devoted reader of my blog; you have heard from him before in this post. He writes again (and still needs a your/you're lesson):

"Hey Phyllis. Your still an idiot, and I have figured something else about you too. Your a hater, man. I have read all your posts and you bag on the New york Yankees, New England Patriots, Duke basketball, Notre dame football, even the Red Sox. Get a clue and stop hatin'."

I assume from this then that because I despise these teams--these teams with lots of success (some not very recent)--I am a hater. I guess I understand. I know there are people like that. Hate the team that wins, the team that everyone likes. But that really isn't me. And now I'll prove it.

I want the Lakers to win the NBA championship. And I'm not lying. How can I be accused of being a hater now? Because outside of the Yankees, there might not be another team that polarizes people like the Lakers. You love 'em or hate 'em. You think Kobe is awesome or just a ballhog. The 'Black Mamba' or the 'Black Hole.' So at the risk of alienating you true haters out there, I'll admit I like Kobe. And I want him (them) to win.

It's going to be hard, though. How was that epic collapse in Game 4? I am glad I watched it because it's the only way I would have believed it could happen. And as ugly as it was (and devastating to their chances), it helps me make another point about officiating. Evidently ex-referee (and convicted felon) Tim Donaghy claims past NBA playoff games have been fixed. Oh, you mean refs have made some bad calls, Tim? Really? No way!

I contend that every sports fan following his team has felt the pain of getting a bad call or a no call. Think about football--the holding calls/non-calls, pass interference, bad spots short of the first down. You have baseball with the balls that should have been called strikes and some of those bang-bang plays at first that needed to go your way. And, oh, I don't know, maybe a fan interference call that didn't get made. I've written about that before. So spare me with the bad calls garbage. We all feel the pain.

And if the NBA was conspiring to make the playoffs more interesting (interesting here meaning going seven games), they can't be happy with the Lakers looking like they will fold in five to the Celtics. I mean, where were the refs to step in and save the game for the Lakers? If anything, they were probably tempted to start making calls for the Celtics, so they could be a part of such a monumental gag-job.

Besides, some of the bad calls make for great entertainment. Go watch this. That is good stuff. I mean, you can't write comedy like that. And I'm for the Lakers, remember.

On an unrelated, yet important note: It is now 12:49am, Sunday, June 15--Father's Day. I must give props to my Pops, who left this world five years ago. He is the greatest man I have known and I miss him very much. He was a So-Cal kid, so maybe he would root for the Lakers, too.