I'm afraid NJ will never be the place to be in sports. Problem is, neither team really has a solid fan base. They don't represent a city, but rather, a state, and the northern part of one, at that. As I'm sure you know, people in South Jersey all root for the 6ers and Flyers, and up here in the North, it's the Knicks and Rangers.

The Nets have not sold out one single playoff game yet. Yeah, the finals are sold out, but after all, it's the finals. Plenty of tickets go to the media, the league, etc. I'm not totally sure about the Devils, but I don't think they had any early round sellouts, either.

The funniest thing is, when the Yankees win the World Series, they have a ticker tape parade for them up Broadway. Now there's talk about a parade for the Devils and/or Nets if they win it. In the Continental Arena parking lot.

That about sums it up. So much for being "the place to be"
_______________________________________________

"Nets in 6"

It shall be the arena of champions. My idiot friend gave me 5 to 1 odds for the spurs to win. So if Nets win, I get $10.00 .

Thats a funny signature: Nets in 6
"Difficult..not impossible".

plawrence - just wanted to let you know that I have added a Jason Kidd jersey to my collection. It's not a matter of jumping on any bandwagon, rather, it's a gesture of my long-running hatred of all Texas sports teams.

This is my NBA jersey collection thus far -
Shaquille O'Neal home #34
Kobe Bryant home #8
Allen Iverson throwback road #3
Rasheed Wallace throwback road #30
Paul Pierce road #34
Jason Kidd road #5

The next jersey I may get is a Bill Bradley Knicks jersey. Since this jersey is not actually made, I will probably have to get it custom made.

Cool. I'll tell you what I think is funny, though: How they make these "throwback" jerseys for players who didn't play back in the days when the jersey was worn.

It all starts tomorrow for your Nets, Plawrence. I'm not a Nets fan, but I would like to see them win. It would be nice to have an team from the east win, especially since none of the east teams were given a chance against the west earlier in the year. I like watching Kidd play - I'll be cheering in S. Jersey for them (for whatever that is worth!).

The reason for this is money and licensing. Because a guy like Julius Erving is retired, Nike cannot make a Dr. J jersey unless they pay the NBA Players Association. But they can make as many jerseys of Allen Iverson as they want. Since people want retro jerseys, they will give them a retro jersey that they can legally produce without having to pay anyone anything.

There is another company, Mitchell & Ness, which actually does have the rights to make retro jerseys of guys like Erving, Bill Russell, Jerry West, etc. But their jerseys cost in excess of $200, a price range that only rappers and LeBron James can afford.

Thanks for the support. I truly believe they have a good chance. The key is getting one of those first two in SA.

:)

Next, the easy(ier) part. Two out of three at home.

:)

Next, the easy(ier) part. Two out of three at home. [/b][/quote]Uh oh - now it's 2 out of 2. Kidd needs a big game this time.

Big disappointment, last night. The building was rocking as it seldom does, and the Nets looked good with a six point lead late in the third.

But they played like shit the rest of the way.

BTW, to follow up on Uncle Junior's singing of the Ntional Anthem during the Detroit series: Last night it was sung by meadow Soprano.

Not trying to intrude on a thread I know nothing about, but I heard on some sports show this morning after announcing the New Jersey victory in Hockey, that in the past only 4 other times teams from the same city were in the Hockey and Basketball finals at the same time. And never has one city won both champions. Hope that's just an old wive's tail. You're not supersticous are you plaw?

No, I'm not superstitious at all. And I certainly don't believe in any old wives tales.

Well, gotta go now. Time to shave my palms.

Its locked at 2 now. All the games have been good and game 5 should be even better but overall i think these finals have been pretty weak- at least weaker than ive ever seen a finals series. Even when the Lakers rolled last 3 years the games at least a lot better than this. I wanna see the players step up and make shots so i can enjoy a competitive 100 point game- not this 70 point shit. Thats my opinion- im glad its a close series finally, hopefully a game 7 too, but watching Kobe and Shaq's legendary performances, was far exciting as fan.

I think that this series simply lacks glamour. The Lakers are one of the league's glamour teams, as was Chicago during the 90s, and that brought a lot of luster and public interest to the finals. The Spurs, although they are a good team, lack any kind of glitz or glamour.

The Nets are virtually the same team now as last year, minus Van Horn, who isn't exactly a media darling. But viewership is far lower because people will tune in to watch the Lakers play pretty much anyone, but many people could care less about the Spurs.

I was watching last night and hoping for an NJ win and thinking - what would the 2nd 3-peat Bulls do to either one of these teams? Or that Lakers team from a couple of years ago?

It just seems like a different level of play.

I hate to admit it, but either of these teams would have been killed by the good Laker or Bulls teams.

And these games haven't been "good". Exciting, yes, good, no.

But my Nets have heart and guts. After blowing big leads in games 2 & 4, they held on for the wins. I love them tomorrow, go back to San Antonio up 3-2, and get one of the next two for the title.

I hope that the Nets win one for you, plawrence...there's no greater feeling as a sports fan to have your previously ringless team finally win the big one!

In 45 years of being a sports fan, the Nets are the first team I have been truly emotionally involved with. I know how I felt last year when they beat Boston for the Eastern Conference Championship. If they take the title now, i imagine I'll be ecstatic.

Thanks for the good wishes, DC.

Well, I guess I can take the "Dificult, not" part out of my sig. The best the Nets can do now is win in seven.

But I'm not giving up hope...yet

W...T...F...?!?!!!

As we used to say in Brooklyn...."wait 'til next year" (if they sign Kidd)

Maybe they should sign Duncan, too...

I really thought the Spurs would win it, I just thought they had more talent and were simply a better team - but the Nets played better and tougher than I expected. I thought when they had a double digit lead last night they were going to win the game.

But Duncan though, how great is this guy - he plays so effortlessly, very little flash but he does everything so solid and so well - with the exception of some FTs.

So PL - what do you see the chances of Kidd staying or going? I am not that familiar with the situation but I think in the end he will stay. They will find the money, tweak the contract, whatever but in the end I don't think the Nets will let him go.

This was an ugly series...I'm not saying that San Antonio wasn't a worthy champion, but the simple fact is that it was an ugly series and it was bad for TV. That's what happens when you get two great defensive teams playing each other. When neither of the teams is one that I care about (like in this case), then I at least want to see some good basketball. But in this case, it was pretty unwatchable and hopefully next year we'll get a better matchup.

Now that the season is over, perhaps we should switch the direction of this topic towards the upcoming NBA draft. Right now, LeBron James is a lock to go #1 to the Cavs, and it seems like Darko Milicic is a lock to go to Detroit at #2. Although Carmelo Anthony is supposedly a lock to go to Denver at the #3 spot, I heard on the radio today that he doesn't want to play in Denver and his agent is trying to get a trade going.

Any thoughts on the draft? Who do you want your team to end up with? Any local college players from your area that you think might get drafted?

I think the Bucks should go after Chris Kaman from Central Michigan. He's a big guy and plays defense which is the Bucks MO. I have been hearing that Dwyane Wade from Marquette could go as high as 7th to the Bulls and as far down as 13th to the Grizz. I wish the Bucks could pick him as a sentimental pick cuz I loved watching the guy play here in Milwaukee. However, I will try to see him again, when he comes back in town as a visitor. I don't know if Kirk Penney from Wisconsin will be drafted, but I think he could land on someone's team as a free-agent.

Hey DC -
I read today that the Lakers are seriously looking to add Malone and/or Pippen. Do you think they will be able to do this? I also heard Mourning is a possibility. If something like that happens, and the Spurs are able to land Kidd, then the west just keeps getting better. What team in the east would be able to beat the Kings, Mavericks, Spurs, or Lakers? Detroit will be the best in the east, but they couldn't hang with the Nets this year and adding the kid from Europe isn't going to change anything.

Yeah, there are a lot of rumors that the Lakers are going to add either Malone, Pippen, or Payton. I really hope it happens, because it would really improve the team. I wouldn't go after Mourning because of his health issues, but any of those other guys would be great. I'd really like to see them go after Jermaine O'Neal, but I don't think that he would be willing to take a huge pay cut. Malone, on the other hand, seems pretty desperate to win a ring, so he would take the pay cut. If Shaq gets in shape this summer, I think the Lakers will have to be the favorite to win next year, regardless of who they sign.

Look what I dug out of BB trash! I thought that getting either one of those 3 future Hall of Famers would be good. Come Wednesday, it looks like we're gonna get two of them for a combined $6 million! I'm sure everyone who is a sports fan has had their fill of the Kobe/Malone & Payton news, but let's talk about it.

First, Kobe. I was really shocked when I heard the news, probably the biggest sports-related shock since I heard about Magic in 1991 (if you don't know what I'm talking, please go to another topic). From what I've seen on television and read in the papers, there's no way that he could have done the things that are being alleged. However, just because we see athletes on TV doesn't mean that we know even an iota of what goes on in their personal lives. Who would have thought that MJ had a mistress for years? Or that Magic was into the stuff that got him sick? Or that Kirby Puckett was...well, Kirby Puckett? My gut instinct is that these charges will pass. Whether or not he's guilty is another story, but I think that the charges will pass.

Now, the positive stuff. Free agency. It looks like the Lakers scored a coup this year, adressing both of their major needs (point guard and power forward) with two future Hall of Famers at bargain-basement prices. You can probably scroll back through this topic and find posts that I've made about how much I hate Karl Malone, but now that it appears that he's gonna be on our side, I'm overjoyed. As long as the "Fab Four" can gel together and play within Phil's team concept, the season is going to be awesome. Malone, even as the 3rd or 4th option, should still be able to break the all-time scoring record within 2 years, granted that he stays healthy. If he plays all 82 games for the next 2 years, he needs to average 12.3 ppg to eclipse Kareem's 38,387 (that number has been ingrained in my head since childhood...it's gonna be a pain in the ass to remember another one!).

The other reason that I'm smiling is that San Antonio hasn't signed anyone thus far. I was worried for a minute, as I'm sure plawrence was, that Jason Kidd would pack his bags for the Alamo. Having Kidd alongside Duncan and the rest of the Spurs (minus the Admiral) was a scary thought.

But then Kidd decided to stay with the Nets, and then they even picked up Alonzo Mourning. Although his body has probably been ravaged by his kidney ailment and the subsequent medication, he is still an intimidating inside presence, and will help the Nets out greatly. They can move some of the undersized guys that had playing center over to the 4 spot, and they can have Collins learn under Mourning. And as a bonus, it's like the Georgetown reunion tour, with former Hoya teammates Mourning and Mutombo playing together again.

So it looks like it's gonna be a hell of a season again next year. The Lakers might win 75 games, or they might blow up and get eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Minnesota style.

I loved the Lakers picking up Payton and Malone. I figure that's why Kidd re-signed with the Nets. With L.A. re-stocked, San Antonio doesn't even make it out of the West next year.

But many felt that the signing of Glove and Mailman would force Kidd over to the west, since a Kidd-led Spurs team is the only team in the league that can compete with the "Fab Four".