Kobe Bryant fined $100,000 for homophobic slur.

As I'm sure everyone knows by now, got upset about a call during April 12th's Lakers-Spurs game and was shown on camera on the bench saying "f*cking f*ggot." 

GLAAD had this to say:
"Hopefully Mr. Bryant will recognize that as a person with such fame and influence, the use of such language not only offends millions of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people around the world, but also perpetuates a culture of discrimination and hate that all of us, most notably Mr. Bryant, should be working to eradicate."

David Stern had this to say in response to the incident: 

"Kobe Bryant's comment during last night’s game was offensive and inexcusable," NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement "While I'm fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated. Accordingly, I have fined Kobe $100,000. Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society."

GLAAD can be upset all they want. Kobe was wrong- he said something derogatory and hateful. But you know what, David Stern? I think you're full of crap on this one (what a surprise). NBA players are regularly candidly caught on camera using profanity. It happens dozens of times over the course of every game, because like David Stern pointed out in his statement, it's an emotional game. There's no doubt about it: 

Kobe was wrong- but he didn't know he was on camera at the time. I couldn't find a video of it to embed here, but it's widely available on the internet. If you watch it, Marv Albert even says the camera should be taken off of him because he was upset and swearing. It would be one thing if Kobe was being interviewed post game and made the conscious decision to use the phrase on live TV. But he didn't. He said it in a moment of anger that was unfortunately caught on camera and broadcast to millions. Whoever was working the camera at that instant knew that they would be catching Kobe swearing and they made a conscience decision to pan the camera on to him- probably because they wanted to get a cheap shot of Kobe throwing a temper tantrum. 

 I don't see players being hung out to dry when they use the "N-Word" or "b*tch," and both of those are hurtful, emotionally charged words, similar to "f*ggot." In an ideal world, the NBA would take a zero tolerance stance on the use of profanity and hate speech, but that's impossible. What the NBA can do is try to minimize the extent to which the use of profanity is broadcast to its viewers at home, and they could do this by encouraging cameramen to avoid purposefully catching players swearing on camera for cheap entertainment value. 

Recap: 12 points, 22 assists, 10 rebounds, 6 steals. Rondo. Game 34.

The bottom line: This game was advertised as being a clash of the titans, and it lived up to the hype. The Celtics shot 61 percent from the field for the game, but still only won by 2. It was a struggle the whole way through. When the Celtics went up by 9, 105-96, LATE in the 4th, and I literally said out loud, "That should do it...." Only to be kicking myself for saying it seconds later, as the refs helped the Spurs out with a couple of consecutive (to be politically correct) questionable no-calls, and the Spurs rattled off 7 straight points, to make it a 2 point game. Have you heard about all the strange stuff going on? 1000 blackbirds falling dead from the sky on New Years Eve? And more recently, millions of tiny fish turning up dead at the same time in the Chesapeake bay? Well, conspiracy theorists were given even more fuel for the fire last night- Ray Allen missed 2 free throws with 8 seconds left in the 4th quarter. They would have sealed the game! But they rimmed out. Apocalypse, anyone? Luckily Paul Pierce came up big on the final defensive stand of the game, blocking a Manu Ginobili three, and the Celtics won. The bottom of the bottom line: A really great win for the KG-less (and Kendrick Perkins-less + Delonte West-less) Celtics. 


Hero material: I love words. It rarely happens that I can't find the right word to properly befit a situation, but in the wake of the clinic Rondo put on last last night... I find myself in that position. Here are a few, but they don't do him justice: prodigious, phenomenal, wondrous, magnificent... and I'll end simply, with "GOOD." His performance last night wasn't so good just because he dished out 22 assists. It was so good because he did whatever he wanted all night long. In crunch time, when the Spurs dared him to be the one to score, he knocked down shots when they mattered most. He made sure no passing lane was safe for the Spurs, with 6 steals. Ooohh, and that block. The picture isn't the best... But the block was timed absolutely perfectly, and I don't know if I've ever seen a swat come with so little body to body contact. Again. Perfect timing. You know what the best part is about Rondo playing so well? It enevitably means that other people are playing well, too. Ray Allen was hot all night and he scored 31 points on 13-16 shooting. I wish he would have taken 30 shots. Paul Pierce was his regular heroic self, even though the refs had some kind of personal agenda against him the whole night, and Glen Davis scored 23 points (one away from his season high) and generated an offensive foul against Richard Jefferson late in the 4th frame. Yeah buddy. Oh, and another person I think deserves recognition: Jermaine O'Neal. I'm hearing lots of people around town talking about they want to dump Jermaine O'Neal for Rasheed Wallace. I, too, have been frustrated by Jermaine's lack of play due to his steady stream of injuries... But in no way do I believe the Celtics would be better off with 'Sheed. Maybe 'Sheed was funnier (I will say BALL DON'T LIE for the rest of my life), but really... even though Jermaine is still rusty- he had a good game last night and he gave the Celtics 22 good minutes. He played good defense against Tim Duncan and he made his presence known in the paint, with a couple of nice blocks. I believe that the little 5-10 foot jumpers will start to fall for him, and that as he becomes more comfortable in the Celtics system, he'll develop a rhythm out there and perform better. If he can stay on the court consistently for another month, look for him to show considerable improvement. That is something we could never say about 'Sheed last year, since my man never even bothered to get in to shape. Also, Doc Rivers deserves a shout out. He's always good, but last night he dared to go small (Rondo, Robinson, Daniels, Pierce, Davis) and it worked out really well.

It would also be good to check in on my keys to winning the game, from yesterdays post.
-The Celtics were able to effectively control Richard Jefferson. It was not a Reggie Miller like night for him.
-The battle of the boards was won by the Spurs. Sure, the Celtics had 36 rebounds, but only 5 of them were offensive. The Spurs on the other hand, had 37 rebounds, and 15 of them were offensive. Wamp!
-They ran! Nobody runs routes in the NBA like Ray Allen. I can only imagine how many miles he runs over the course of 48 minutes, but it's enough to make me tired just thinking about it. It made Manu Ginobili tired, and he probably went to sleep last night and dreamt about fighting over, through, and under Celtics green picks. Not only did they keep the pace up, but they kept the ball moving, as is apparent in Rondo's 22 rebounds. Swooning!
-The Celtics also got a pretty good night out of their bench. Nate Robinson didn't play much, but he did a good job in his 16 minutes on the floor. Marquis played a solid 17 minutes, and contributed on both ends of the floor. He guarded a variety of people and did a good job at it. He also scored a couple of key baskets. And, as was aforementioned, I thought Jermaine played a pretty decent game. Look for the bench to become even stronger as the team (hopefully) gets healthier.

Looking for more? Check out this piece by Dan Shaughnessy, over at the Globe. A very nice read.

Girls talk sports: looking ahead to tonight's Celtics-Spurs battle.

The Spurs come in to the Garden tonight with a 29-5 record, good for the best record in the NBA. The Spurs have been good every season going back.... a long while- but what put them at the top this year? For starters, they're coached by an OG, and this is absolutely invaluable. I love teams with institutions for coaches- Boeheim at Syracuse, Sloan in Utah, etc- and Gregg Popovich is another shining example. His knowledge of every nook and cranny of the game is bananas and his X and O game is something serious. So, besides the fact that they're coached to a T, they're playing with a healthy roster for the first time in a while. Their core of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, have all been hampered by injuries in the past, and as all Celtics fans know, it's very important to keep your core healthy. The Spurs also boast a roster with great depth: DeJuan Blair was a favorite of mine during his years at Pitt. He's chubby and all, but don't let that fool you. That man is not only tough and determined, but he wreaks havoc on the boards. Also helping the Spurs along is Richard Jefferson, who appears to have at least halfway risen from the dead and is looking a little bit more like the player the Spurs hoped he would be when they dealt for him last season. Their bench is lead by a strong veteran in Antonio McDyess and features a strong rotation of Matt Bonner (red head alert), George Hill (hahahaha he was naked on the internet last year. Sorry- but if you're dumb enough to get caught up in that, I won't let you live it down. I just can't ), and first year NBA player Gary Neal (who's not shy about shooting). 

-So how do the Celtics win this game? I have a couple of ideas, and these are in no particular order- because it will take a complete game to beat the Spurs:

1) Limit the effectiveness of Richard Jefferson. Please, don't let this man start thinking he's Reggie Miller, shooting the lights out. He doesn't like to play physical, so Paul Pierce should have the upper hand in that arena.

2) Keep Duncan/Blair off the boards. Second hand points, when they're scored against you, suck! (Duh) The Spurs pulled down 37 team rebounds last night in a crappy loss to the Knicks. To put it in a little bit of perspective: The Spurs rank 8th in the league in rebounds per game, at 42.9. The Celtics rank 28th, at 39. So on a bad night, like the Spurs had last night, they still almost pulled down the Celtics average. Boo!

3) Run!!! And move the ball. The Celtics have to make the Spurs work on both ends of the floor. Popovich has deviated a little bit in his master working, and has put more of an emphasis on the offensive end this year, sometimes at the expense of the defense. That being said, the Celtics can't let the Spurs take any breaks, on either end of the floor.

4) The Boston Bench Mobb must show up. The Spurs have a good bench, but so do we. There are match ups that the Celtics second unit can exploit. I like how Jermaine O'Neal matches up against McDyess/Bonner. Nate Robinson is faster than most people on this planet, and I already know Tony Parker wants nothing to do with chasing him around. And Marquis...(When he shows up to play) I love how Marquis matches up with most anybody. He appears to be slow and deliberate, but blink and he's past you, on the way to the basket. He's bigger than Hill, and could match up with Jefferson, or even Ginobili, if need be.