Monday Monologue

Lakers vs. Celtics, Game Two

I hate to rant about sports stuff in this space, but last night's game in Los Angeles took it too far. The refereeing was absolutely atrocious and ruined what could have been one of the best games ever. Three of Kobe Bryant's fouls were terrible calls and Kevin Garnett clearly knocked the ball out of bounds.

Who am I rooting for in this series? The Lakers. I will tell you why I am rooting for the Lakers and why I feel guilty about this whole situation.

It may be embarrassing to admit this, but I am an intensely devoted Knicks fan. For the past few years I've watched the Knicks play worse than the Washington Senators. For a while it was just because Isaiah Thomas destroyed the team. Then it was because the Knicks were trying to clear cap space for Lebron James in the summer of 2010.

After all this time, the summer of 2010 is here. Lo and behold, the Knicks have cap space galore. Everything is falling into place.

Until the Cavaliers and the Celtics met in the playoffs.

Then, as a Knick fan, I had a dilemma. I could root for Cleveland to beat Boston, which makes total sense when you consider my intense hatred of all Boston sports. A deep-seated anger rises up whenever I hear or see the name Boston. Perhaps I should have rooted for Cleveland.

But no. I rooted for Boston. I rooted for the Celtics hoping that an early Cleveland exit in the playoffs would help the apparently slim chances of Lebron leaving the Cavaliers for the Knicks. "Anything is worth Lebron," I told myself. So I cheered for the Celtics.

Now, it's all blowing up in my face.

See, it doesn't look like Lebron is going to come to New York anyway. So there really wasn't any point in me rooting for the Celtics. I committed sports adultery for no good reason. "It won't matter anyway," I told myself. "The Celtics will never beat the Magic. And even if they do, the Lakers will crush them in the Finals. No worries."

But now, the Celtics are three games away from defeating the Lakers in the Finals. I can't handle another Boston championship. I really can't. It was bad enough when the Red Sox beat the Yankees in 2004, and then won another World Series in 2007. It was bad enough when the Patriots won all those Super Bowls. It was bad enough when the Celtics won in 2008.

If there is any chance that I helped the Celtics win by cheering for them against the Cavaliers, I don't know how I could live with myself as a New York fan. But this all goes away if the Lakers win the series. I need it to all go away.

So referees, please call the game accurately? Thanks.