Pistons fans revved up in Detroit
OF THE DETROIT PISTONS’ 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals, Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News wrote: “It’s happening before the Lakers’ disbelieving eyes. It’s happening in front of the basketball world’s disbelieving minds. It’s happening amid so much noise and clamor, it’s impossible not to see it, or hear it.”
Of all the noise inside the Palace on Thursday night, Wojnowski wrote: “The only ring the Lakers can fathom right now is the one that won’t stop rattling in their ears.”
A few more observations from the NBA Finals:
• The Lakers had never been held to less than 70 points in a playoff game before Thursday night.
As for their defense, Randy Hill of foxsports.com noted that the Lakers have something in common with Anna Nicole Smith: “They rarely keep anyone under 80.”
• Regarding Detroit’s Ben Wallace going from corn rows to an Afro between Games 2 and 3 of the NBA Finals, Lakers radio commentator Mychal Thompson said: “You could say he’s letting his hair down, but he’s really letting it up.”
Doing what he can for game
The minor league Toledo Mud Hens designate a visiting player as the “strikeout player of the game” and give away ice cream to fans whenever he strikes out.
Recently that player was All-Star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who was rehabilitating an injury with the Pawtucket Red Sox.
After he struck out twice, Garciaparra told the Boston Globe, “That’s what I’m trying to do for the fans – make sure I take care of them.”
Nice furniture
From Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “This backfield might sit well in Green Bay: a Packer tandem of Najeh Davenport and Tim Couch.”
Missing an opportunity
Tom FitzGerald of the San Francisco Chronicle, regarding poor ticket sales for the Athens Olympics: “This wouldn’t have happened if the International Olympic Committee wasn’t so pigheaded about banning stock-car racing.”
War of more than words
The most entertaining bout of the evening June 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas may have been the one involving two sportswriters during a pre-fight news conference.
A few reporters were questioning promoter Bob Arum when a feud involving Ron Borges of the Boston Globe and Michael Katz of MaxBoxing.com, who was covering the fight for the New York Times, boiled over.
Katz called Borges a shill for Don King. Borges, in turn, knocked Katz’s beret off his head, and the two went at each other – sort of.
“It really wasn’t much of a fight,” said publicist Bill Caplan, who has been involved in a few press-room scraps.
“The only knockdown came when Arum, who was trying to break it up, hit the deck.”
Fast talker
Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice, whose car is owned in part by David Letterman, was a guest on Letterman’s CBS show Wednesday night.
Letterman asked Rice if he ever gets scared.
Said Rice: “If you’re starting to get scared when you’re driving, you probably should get out of the car.”
Letterman: “Is that right? You don’t get scared at all.”
Rice, aware of Letterman’s penchant for getting speeding tickets, asked, “Do you get scared when you’re going fast?”