ABC TV - Home of the Worst Game 7 in Professional Sports History!

I’ve always been one of the tallest kids in my class. I’ve been over 6’ tall since I was 13. I also grew up in the Detroit area during the reign of Isaiah, Joe, Vinnie, Bill, A.D. and the Bad Boys. So needless to say, I was a huge hoops fan when I was younger. Somewhere between the time of the Bulls second championship, Jordan’s gambling and leaving the league to cover it up, along with his disrespect of the Pistons (it’s a Detroit thing…you wouldn’t understand), Phil Jackson’s consistent whining and complaining, the awful, awful, awful Knicks/Rockets final of ’94, and the whole NBA’s attempt to market/create the “next Jordan”, I just lost it.

Didn’t care anymore. Lost all interest in the selfish players, the awful style of the game, the way it deteriorated to one-on-one ball, players entering the league w/one year or no college ball experience who I never heard of. The whole thing.

So basically, I was like the majority of most former NBA fans. They too became “former” fans for the same kinds of reasons.

I’ve tried hard to get back into the league this year and last. Truthfully, the main reason was because the Pistons were a team that was hard to hate and they beat the hated Lakers last year.

Then came the brawl. I remember telling everyone I knew that I was through with the league for good. This was it, guys. Seriously. I mean it this time.

Next thing I knew it was March and I found myself searching something to fill the void of the missing NHL playoffs. Then I discovered Dwyane Wade highlights, reading about the Suns and the Mavericks, watching the Pistons get back on track and I said to myself, “o.k. I’m gonna give these playoffs one more shot. There’s nothing else on anyway and I’m not gonna spend my time wasting away with baseball.”

So, for the last two months I’ve tried to watch the playoffs. True, the first round didn’t receive much attention from me. But I watched every game of the conference finals and every game of the finals.

The Pistons/Spurs series went against everyone said would happen. The Spurs and Pistons both blew each other out in games 1-4. Then you had the shocker of game 5 with the Rasheed debacle/Horry make. Next came the Pistons grittiness and determination. All leading to a game 7.

So, after spending my time trying to get back into the league that I used to love, what did I receive in return? Quite possibly the worst game 7 in any sport in any league that I’ve ever seen.

First let’s talk about the Pistons/Spurs. On the San Antonio side of the ball, you had a point-guard-less team due to Frenchy, the disappearing Parker. You had Duncan not wanting the ball or making a shot for basically one full quarter. You had awful half court sets and solid D. Not the most riveting on TV. Then there’s the Pistons.

On their way to losing, leader Chauncey pulled a disappearing act and did virtually nothing in the entire second half until it was too late. Same goes for Rip Hamilton. Then the defense finally started letting Tim Duncan square up for his patented bank shot. Considering he hadn’t had the shot for 6 games and 2 quarters, the timing for the Pistons was not good to say the least. You also had Lindsay Hunter completing the 2-story cape cod he’s been working so hard at building in the playoffs by laying the final 8 bricks needed to finish the house. Don’t forget about Tayshaun either, who is the Piston equivalent of Sergei Federov – when he’s on, he’s on, but when he’s not, he’s lazy and unmotivated and useless.

Watching this game was not a fun experience. For God’s sake, this was my hometown team and I’m sitting here wanting to watch Reno 911. So to the Pistons and Spurs, I say, thanks for a pathetic game 7. Kudos to the Spurs and for Duncan for coming up big in the 3rd and 4th quarter when they needed it most.

This brings me to my final point on why the game was soooooo awful. The officiating. And it wasn’t just this game. It was all of them. The entire playoffs. The officials in this league are more inconsistent than anything I’ve ever seen.

As a fan, you can pretty much take out the first quarter of every game as players and officials try to figure each other out because their foul calling changes every game. And on top of that, you have an entirely different crew every game, which leads to DRAMATIC inconsistencies. Throw in the fact that some refs have shown an obvious bias toward certain teams, and you can understand why I feel the NBA is one short step away from professional wrestling.

I wonder what David Stern was thinking tonight as he sat in the stand with both teams not even at the 40 point mark by halftime? I wonder what he thought of Chauncey Billups and Manu Ginobilli, the two most exciting players on the court, playing sparingly in the first half due to two touch-fouls apiece? I wonder what he thought of the fact that this came had the ebb and flow of molasses in January?

As a fan who wanted to turn off the game, I know what I thought. The NBA….it’s crappppp-tastic.

See you next year commissioner. Have fun without me. I’ll be watching the NHL again…I hope.