Sports Gripes: Kobe’s One-Man Show Falls Short

I’ve been peeking in periodically to see what’s going on with the biggest things going on in sports lately- the NBA Finals and FIFA World Cup. Over the weekend, I watched as Germany destroyed Australia with four goals to nil and as the U.S. and England scored one goal each. The soccer matches have been much more exciting to watch than I had anticipated and watching them on Univision has provided additional opportunities for me to learn some Spanish. There are words that I hear every couple minutes and I can now add “pelota” and “sigue” to my ever-expanding vocabulary. Now, I am naturally rooting for the home team and would love it if the U.S. actually had a chance at winning but I am not particularly concerned about the outcome of the matches. I am however very much concerned about the outcome of the showdown between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.

I’ve always thought of Kobe Bryant as a selfish player but even I had to feel bad for him that his teammates practically left him out on the court by himself during game 6 on Sunday night. And if he got angry with them about it, he’s justifiable. The Lakers’ game was nonexistent! I’m no fan of Kobe and the Lakers but there was a time when I would have cheered for them over all except the home teams. Back when Shaquille O’neal was still there. When Shaq moved to the Miami Heats so did my cheers. I no longer have any reason to cheer for the Lakers and I’ve taken great pleasure in the beatings that the Celtics have laid on them over the last two games. Although things started off a little rocky when they lost the first game of the series, I was confident that the street-tough team that I had first come to admire when Kevin Garnett (arguably one of the best players in the league) made the move (finally) from the sorry Timberwolves a few years ago, would gain their footing and rally back to victory. Whatever Boston had to trade to get Garnett was worth it because they’re doing just that! Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and other supporting cast are great players but I truly believe that Garnett is the difference-maker. With two games left in the series and only one needed to win it all, I’ll be tuning in to see the Celtics clinch the title in L.A. and send Kobe crying and cursing for the last time this season.