Today’s Game Seven between the Sixers and Celtics is the first Game Seven between the two teams since 30 years and two months ago, the legendary “Beat LA” game where the Celtics fans chanted “Beat LA” at the Sixers as the Sixers closed the game out with a double digit lead. Although I’m Celtics fan — and was a big one back in the day, when the game was played right (more passing, less defense) — that was one of my all-time favorite games. And “Boston Strangler” has to be about the best sports nickname ever.
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Raven
I’m trying to convince the princess she needs to keep sewing so I can watch it!
Raven
The game is better now than it was a few years ago.
Raven
Rondo blows the crip and then fouls!
piratedan
thanks to cable, have usa vs scotland on the telly
Raven
The first thread about the NBA since the playoffs started and we get soccer comments!
Raven
It’s so weird to watch a veteran NBA coach who you watched play in high school!
actually both of them. My dad coached where Collins played in the early 50’s.
Yutsano
@Raven: I’m not watching either. Does that count?
piratedan
sorry, the nba doesn’t even resemble the game i played as a teenager
players routinely travel, palm and go over the back indiscriminately. I understand that they are incredibly athletic but the rules I played by are non-existent in the pro game. hence, I don’t watch it.
Raven
@piratedan: good for you, my dad was bitching about those things 25 years ago.
piratedan
goal usa! Donovan in the 3rd minute
Raven
The game isn’t the same as when I was playing in 1952 either!
piratedan
@Raven: sorry man, I’ll get off your thread…. no harm intended.
Raven
@piratedan: Aw man I’m just fuckin around. The lack of interest in the NBA here is pretty deep.
piratedan
@Raven: well i have to admit, I still watch the college game but I admit the pros lost me a long time ago….
piratedan
2-0 USA Bradley with a 20 yard strike!
Raven
@efgoldman: I’m not sure I get the point? Not enough scoring I guess, right?
Raven
@piratedan: I am by no means a big NBA fan, I only watch it during baseball season.
piratedan
2-1 Scotland comes back on an own goal from USA’s Cameron
CrazyTrain
Too bad that Philly didn’t beat LA in the finals that year! And too bad the Lakers owned the Celtics in the 80s and are the far superior franchise historically.
Raven
@piratedan: What’s cool about soccer is that, whatever they get eliminated from, they just keep playing.
eta Isn’t one of the main themes of “Trainspotting” how awful Scotland is at soccer?
piratedan
@Raven: i have to admit to liking the Premiership format of relegation and promotion… makes games meaningful
gaz
OT: Whoever says wingnuts are humorless has never met the creator of this
Just sayin’
Raven
@piratedan: Is that like when Chelsea is 4th and wins the whole enchilada last week?
BigSouthern
I love, love, love defense…it’s one of the reasons I enjoy watching my VCU Rams play these past few seasons (other than they’re my VCU Rams). Steals and blocked shots are the best thing ever, and I can never decide which I love more – an on-the-run steal or a shot attempt pinned to the backboard. I enjoy a flawlessly executed three as much as the next guy, but not nearly as thoroughly as watching that three get stuffed.
Raven
@efgoldman: The big wheel keeps on turning.
Raven
@BigSouthern: I’m hoping my Illini recover from the Shaka snub.
BigSouthern
@Raven: We both know Illni is going to get along just fine. I’m super excited for the morale his decision is going to bring to VCU. I’m not sure he’ll ever take them to a title and I’m not sure he won’t, but I think his decision makes VCU as a team look more important and I hope that transfers to the school as a whole. Richmond loves the guy and it’s nice that someone finally loves Richmond in return.
piratedan
@Raven: well Chelsea won the Champions league competition in the same week where Man City won the premiership, call Chelsea’s win the playoff championship, thee super bowl and Man City’s win the league pennant. Both are treasured. The drama was in the fact that Man City went from 2nd place to first place in two minutes with two goals and at the same time other teams were fighting to stay up in the big leagues for the big tv revenue, so drama at the top and bottom of the league
Raven
@BigSouthern: Yea, I didn’t thing he was ever going to leave for Illinois. I moved from there 27 years ago and, as much as I love it as my home, I’d never move back there. As accomplished as he and his wife are, moving from Richmond to the corn fields was not an option. My wife lived in the Fan for 8 years and loved it.
Raven
@piratedan: I watched em both, I really enjoy it and readily admit I know about as much about the game as I do the nutty structure.
DougJ
@efgoldman: Amen. If loving Worthy, Magjc, and Kareem is wrong I don’t want to be right.
joel hanes
honey, it’s not one of those
Raven
@DougJ: And Rambis!
Polish the Guillotines
Sorry to queer the b-ball thread, but I couldn’t care less.
I’m just pissed that the Yankees are in town and they’ve been spanking my A’s like a high-priced dominatrix. I just had to go somewhere to let loose with a hearty FUCK THE YANKEES.
That is all.
+1
msj
I have to disagree the Monster seats are amazing. Overpriced sure, but what isn’t at Fenway these days?
BigSouthern
@Raven: Hey! It’s always good to meet someone else who’s passed through the River City and has nice things to say about it, especially since to be completely honest it’s kinda shitty (which is part of the charm, if you ask me). I could have seen him taking the move as a step up in his career much like his predecessors at VCU, but I’m glad he didn’t.
Yutsano
@Polish the Guillotines: I can definitely get behind that sentiment.
Polish the Guillotines
@Yutsano: Fuckin’ A, bubba.
Raven
@BigSouthern: She was there in the early 80’s and, by all accounts, partied like a mofo. Ever hear of Tatoo Tribe? Her good pal fronted them.
Raven
@Yutsano: Your just trying to get attention between fixes. :)
Cacti
This series would be more exciting if it weren’t between the 4th and 5th best teams left in the playoffs.
Yutsano
@Raven: Heh. Just took the next round of meds. And I’m close to running out although I see the doc on Tuesday and I’m hoping he re-ups the pills. Although I’m trying to remember if the farmacia here already has the order.
Raven
@Cacti: Balls said the Queen. . .
Raven
Jo Jo White!
Linda Featheringill
I had an encounter once upon a time in Boston with a guy who tried to strangle me. His mistake was that he approached from the front, probably so he could watch my face. But there are several things you can do to protect yourself from an attacker in front of you and so I did some of that and scooted on out of there. That’s been a while, of course.
Raven
@Linda Featheringill: One Hung Low.
Geoduck
I wasn’t much of a basketball fan even before the Sonics got carted off to Oklahoma City. Now people in Seattle are trying to bring the NBA back to town. Sigh..
Raven
@efgoldman: I saw the Allman Brothers on the Common on Tuesday, August 17, 1971.
piratedan
Goal USA 3-1 Donovan’s 2nd 59th minute
piratedan
USA Goal 4-1 Donovan with the hat trick in the 64th minute
Mr Stagger Lee
Rooting for San Antonio myself. The Spurs have basically won four championships, very quietly, with no flash. (Ok maybe Tony Parker) but still a very classy team, if they win this this will be their last as a team. One question, is the European Championship in Poland qualifying for the World Cup?
bk
Hat trick for Donovan!
Ronnie P
@Raven:
Jo Jo White worked for the same supermarket chain as I did when I was in high school. He was in the main office (HR?), but I remember him being in the store around Christmas and even jumping in to help bag groceries when the lines built up.
smintheus
@Linda Featheringill: I was nearly strangled when I was about 10, by a massive drunken guy with anger issues. He had his huge hands wrapped around my throat like a vise I couldn’t break, his throat was way too big for me to try to strangle him back, so eventually I did the only thing I could think of that might possibly save me. I grabbed his windpipe with my fingers and twisted it hard. He let go instantly and I got away.
The aftermath with the police was, if anything, even more bizarre.
piratedan
5-1 USA Jermaine Jones with the header…… haven’t ever seen the USA look this aggressive on the pitch
Ronnie P
Rooting for San Antonio myself. The Spurs have basically won four championships, very quietly, with no flash. (Ok maybe Tony Parker) but still a very classy team, if they win this this will be their last as a team. One question, is the European Championship in Poland qualifying for the World Cup?
No.
Linnaeus
I confess I’m not paying much attention to the NBA playoffs. I’m mostly watching the NHL, though I’m quite disappointed to see that the New Jersey Devils are in the finals. Guess I’ll be cheering for the Kings.
mainmati
My Dad was a classmate of Bob Cousy at Holy Cross and with all my relatives being from MA I have a long-standing fondness for the Celtics, especially during the Bill Russell era.
Linda Featheringill
@efgoldman:
1980. I think this was about a generation after the famous Strangler. I was thinking of moving to Boston but decided that I was just passing through. It’s a shame, though. Good looking town.
Linda Featheringill
@smintheus:
It is very difficult to defend yourself when you are a child. Actually, the windpipe thing was very clever, I think.
smintheus
@efgoldman:
I think the problem with pro b-ball has always been the opposite, too much scoring too easily, to the point where a basket rarely seems to matter very much. Ease of scoring is what makes playing fun on a summer evening, but watching the same few plays spun out over and over on your TV screen gets kinda dull. Even back in my playing days in the ’70s I could barely sit and watch a full game before going stir crazy.
I think hockey and soccer have the balance about right, a small number of hard fought scores played out over a largish playing area.
Linda Featheringill
So we have two different conversations going on presently. A stranger would probably think we’re very strange, all of us. And he/she might be right. :-)
smintheus
@Linda Featheringill: Thanks, all these years later I’m still proud of that stunt. May have saved my life.
Raven
@Linda Featheringill: And not one comment about the Stones.
Linnaeus
@Raven:
Talkin’ bout the Midnight Rambler….
(there you go!)
Linda Featheringill
@Raven:
Oh, no, don’t do that.
Raven
@Linda Featheringill: Well, that’s where the title of the thread is from.
Davis X. Machina
@mainmati: From personal experience I will tell you anybody from the Holy Cross class of ’49 who later had a son or daughter who was a little short at the bursar’s and couldn’t take exams, or needed air fare to bail Worcester for Christmas or in May, Cousy took care of them.
He’s Dr. Cousy there. It’s an honorary doctorate, sure, but on Mr. St. James, it’s real.
Ronnie P
Huddersfield win!!
OK, I know it’s basically the third division English soccer and a replay of a match earlier today, but it came down to 11 rounds of penalties with the keepers taking the last shots.
honus
You know, fact is the 76ers lost that ’82 final to the Lakers…
Mike E
Sixer fan since the acquisition of Dr. J…we could not get over the hump until the big guy arrived, Moses Malone, then it was fo’, fie, fo’…Andrew Toney was the pre-Jordan, until his feet ‘sploded.
ETA They beat the Lakers 4-0 in ’83, Mo Cheeks pulling down the rim on the final basket
Raven
@Mike E: Manchild in the Promise Land.
Raven
@Mike E: Remind me, Cheeks kept the rock on what could have been a final jam for the Doc on a breakaway?
SiubhanDuinne
This is tangentially related to the Sports thread topic: I’m staying at an inexpensive Hampton Inn in Little Rock, AR, on the way home from my huge road trip. When I checked in a couple of hours ago the place was deserted — maybe five or six cars in the entire parking lot. Then came the invasion: dozens and dozens and DOZENS of little girls and medium-sized girls and big girls, and a few bemused little boys, and adults of both sexes, all wearing red t-shirts with the word CHAOS emblazoned on the front.
I think they are some kind of sports-like team on some kind of road-like trip. Just guessin’. And curiously, their vans and cars all seem to have Georgia plates, so I imagine they’re home folks.
Noisy? Rude? Funny you should ask. Good thing it’s a holiday weekend and I’m on no kind of schedule or I might be miffed.
Spaghetti Lee
Dang. I was kind of rooting for the Sixers, just to shake things up. Is it just me or is the NBA the most aristocratic of all the sports? It seems like every generation it’s the same 5 or 6 teams taking whacks at the title, year after year, while the rest of the teams just mope around in purgatory. Oh well, guess I’m rooting for the Thunder, then. I’m sick of the other three.
SiubhanDuinne
@smintheus:
I have never been strangled, nor had anyone Ttempt it, but for years and years — probably from the time I was 6 or 7 until I was well into my 30s — I had recurring dreams about being chased and startled with wire coat hangers.
What do you suppose THAT was all about, Dr. Freud?
SiubhanDuinne
Let’s try that again, since there seems to be no edit function:
I have never been strangled, nor had anyone attempt it, but for years and years—probably from the time I was 6 or 7 until I was well into my 30s—I had recurring dreams about being chased and strangled with wire coat hangers.
What do you suppose THAT was all about, Dr. Freud?
Mike E
@Raven: Exactly. Julius called for the ball on a two on nothing, and Mo slammed it one-handed, pulling down the rim in clear violation of NBA rules. He then yelled, “Yeeaahh!” as he covorted down the floor to his teammates. World Fucking Champions! Dr. J didn’t begrudge him that last play. They would join the ’67 team as two of the 10 greatest teams of all time (the earlier 76ers team had Wilt and Billy Cunningham).
smintheus
@SiubhanDuinne: I dunno, was your family connected to the mob? Or own a wire hanger manufacturing plant?
Odd thing was my attack never gave me nightmares, I just shrugged it off…maybe because I was so angry at the police for refusing to arrest the man.
Steeplejack
@piratedan:
Seconded. I know the game has “evolved,” but sometimes I see some guy lumber all the way down the lane for a slam without dribbling and I think, WTF.
Steeplejack
@Raven:
Your dad was right.
GregB
Put on your schadenfreude hats, it seems the second in command in the NH GOP House has abruptly resigned and is now facing accusations from a fellow GOPer that he forged documents in order to obtain his law license.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
Was Joan Crawford your stepmother?
BigSouthern
@Raven: Tattoo Tribe is a bit before my time, but it should do you both good to know that Richmond still has a fairly strong indie scene, and is still – as I’m sure was the case in the 80s but correct me if I’m wrong – hosting bands in abandoned buildings.
catclub
@Spaghetti Lee: As far as title holders, it is pretty limited over the past 10-12 years:
Spurs, LA, Miami, Dallas, Boston.
ETA: Detroit stopped LA from threepeat.
But for making it to the finals, there are a few more.
The Spurs won their titles against: Detroit, Cleveland, Nets and
(I think) Knicks.
LA won against Both Boston and Orlando
Dallas and Miami have wins
In any case I think Spurs -OKC will be a great series, and if the winner of that series is not overall champs I will be shocked.