The 108-105 final shouldn’t have been nearly as close as it was; it’s a testament to the Jazz that they can fight back like that (and it probably wouldn’t have been that close if the refs didn’t seem like they were trying to equal out fouls each way.) But, Kobe Bryant got 34 (12 in the 4th), and Pau Gasol’s 17 points and 13 boards have the Lakers awaiting the winner of the Game 7 between the Spurs and the Hornets. Neither Carlos Boozer nor Mehmet Okur could really get it started tonight, as they hadn’t for much of the series, and that means that no matter what Deron Williams did, it wasn’t going to be enough. Whether Kobe & his Bench Mob, as SI called them, are going to be title-worthy is still anyone’s guess — as that closing was less than convincing.

Clearly, when Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are under 20 points for a game right now, it’s not good for the Celtics (Pierce had 16, Allen only nine points.) When LeBron is going off for 32 and 19 of those come in the second half on top of that, it means we’ve got Game 7 on Sunday, and what looks like the competition to see who can lose to the Pistons in six. What’s amazing is that LeBron is still shooting poorly yet he’s getting his in — he’s capable of destroying a team badly, and if it starts falling on Sunday, I expect Boston to cough it up.

Photo: AP/Steve C. Wilson

Phillies 10, Blue Jays 3 - Jayson Werth goes deep three times and sets the Phillies record with 8 RBIs driven in.  The Jays’ David Purcey gets victimized for two of them, is sent down to Triple A immediately afterwards.

Angels 4, Dodgers 2 - Joe Saunders gets to 7-1 by only giving up a two-run jack to Andre Ethier.

Rangers 16, Astros 8 - Josh Hamilton goes 5-for-5 with two homers, as Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Michael Young, David Murphy, and Chris Shelton all take the Houston pitching staff deep.

White Sox 2, Giants 0 - Alexei Ramirez fills in for Juan Uribe and hits it out for the only runs of the game. Gavin Floyd and four relievers shut San Francisco’s lousy line-up out.

Diamondbacks 4, Tigers 3 - Dan Haren pitches seven solid, Eric Byrnes hits a homer and drives in two.

Twins 4, Rockies 2 - Colorado keeps falling, losing its sixth straight as Nick Blackburn pitches six innings to get the win. Clint Barmes was a homer short of the cycle in the losing effort.

Cubs 7, Pirates 4 - Alfonso Soriano hits two homers in his first two at-bats. Mark DeRosa and Geovany Soto add jacks to help Sean Gallagher, who gets his first win with six innings of one-run work.

Photo: AP/H. Rumph, Jr.

At least it does before you go on national cable TV, I’d think. Chris Matthews is a dick (despite my dislike for Hillary Clinton as a candidate, the sexist remarks he’s made about her are awful), but he lines up this radio guy Kevin James from KRLA fairly easily.

Look, if you’re going to defend references to appeasement and basically accusing presidential candidates of it, be sure you know how to define appeasement and what got British PM Neville Chamberlain that label. The Sudetenland! Know it, motherfucker! Wikipedia’s pretty easy to use, and in Chamberlain’s case, is pretty accurate.

(I’m trying to get some political stuff, music, and other non-sports stuff back on here occasionally. Bear with me.)

Nats 1, Mets 0 - That is Carlos Delgado’s game-ending, double play face, and that is the kind of day and series it has been for New York, losing three out of four to Washington and getting destroyed by a nobody like Jason Bergmann over seven innings.  The team is, true to character, underachieving and getting only five hits. Not the way to walk into a series with the Yankees, who are bumbling themselves.

Rays 5, Yankees 2 - And those Yankees are bumbling very publicly, heading to the cellar after Scott Kazmir kept them off the board while he was in and Ian Kennedy gave up two homers.  As usual, Hank Steinbrenner is shitting bricks and spewing bile to any media outlet that will listen in Bizarro Baseball Season (So Far).

Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 5 - Y’know, if someone said Brandon Webb could go 15 wins without a loss, I’d believe it right now. The D-backs ace gives up 3 runs over 7.1 and gets help via a Chris Snyder longball and Stephen Drew’s 4 hits.

White Sox 4, Angels 3 - Chicago couldn’t get it done against former teammate Jon Garland, but Jim Thome came back and whacked Francisco Rodriguez for the go-ahead RBI single in the 9th.

Cubs 4, Padres 0 - Ryan Dempster pitches 8.1 of shutout ball against the insipid Padre bats, while Greg Maddux gets tagged for all four runs in the fifth via three singles, a sac fly, and a Derrek Lee double.

Indians 4, A’s 2 - Aaron Laffey gives up an unearned run on his own throwing error to end the Indians’ scoreless innings streak, but the Tribe knocks a few in against Greg Smith, including a Jhonny Peralta homer.

Dodgers 7, Brewers 2 - Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent, and back-up catcher Gary Barrett throw Ben Sheets to the wind with home runs in the 7th inning.

Photo: AP/Kathy Willens

The aging champs play like they do, forcing a Game 7 — and to Suns fans, the shot Hornets forward David West took from Robert Horry in the second half must have felt at least a bit familiar.  The questions as to whether it was really cheap are just that right now, because Horry’s offensive foul on a pick wasn’t too much harder than what wasn’t called a few decades ago.  However, the rules have been changed, and that foul may change the whole tenor of the deciding game in the Big Easy if West can’t play.  The Spurs’ Big Three were their reliable selves (Ginobili with 25 points; Duncan with 20 and 15 boards; Parker with 15) and Chris Paul got his 20+, but West’s loss and shooting struggles kept the Hornets down. If he’s not playing on Friday with his back givign him problems, the Spurs might as well pencil in their slot to the conference finals — and everyone else will wonder if “Cheap Shot Rob” is a more accurate description in his later career years.

Photo: AP/Matt Slocum

I swear interleague play gets underway earlier every year, and this weekend is the first of several of the usual AL-NL match-ups throughout the season that, at least for me, have done less to actually make the game exciting than originally proposed, although these crosstown rivalries appear to be enough to sell out tickets each year (at least in New York and the L.A. area, Chicago doesn’t have its White Sox-Cubs series this weekend.)

I dislike it because it runs up two different types of ball against each other outside of the World Series and the All-Star Game, and you inevitably run up against one team with a much, much easier interleague schedule than the others. The AL East will be feasting upon the NL Central this year — and while this post from Home Run Derby earlier this year illustrate the Cubs not having to play the Red Sox or the Yankees, at this point, they’re not the front-runners (the site’s Interleague category provides all the match-ups.)

I dislike interleague more and more because of the uneven number of teams in both leagues screwing up the schedule, screwing over some teams in terms of competitiveness (pity the Padres, who are stuck playing some very strong AL opponents and they’re already down on their luck.)  It robs the novelty of the World Series a bit too, although it’s not like the All-Star Game hasn’t done that either. The Subway Series in 2001 was something special between the Yankees and the Mets, even if it wasn’t much of a contest. Now, the Yankees and Mets play a home-and-home every season. Yawn.

But the uneven scheduling is what makes this the worst, because the White Sox must play six against the Cubs; the Mets gotta play the Yanks six times; Angels six against the Dodgers; Cards play six against the Royals; you know the drill.  It won’t work until there’s a re-alignment and one of the NL Central’s six teams is moved to the AL. Bud Selig should fall on his sword and send his Brewers back to their AL roots; failing that, maybe ship out the Pirates to the junior circuit.  Regardless, Kansas City will then have to go to the AL West and give that a five-team division. Until then, there will be squabbling and disputes over who got screwed when the two leagues mix.

Indians 2, Athletics 0 - C.C. Sabathia hops on the shut-out train and adds his complete game job to the 43.1 straight innings of no-run ball provided by Cleveland pitching. Grady Sizemore and Ryan Garko go deep off Joe Blanton for the runs.

Dodgers 6, Brewers 4 - To Ned Yost: if your alternative to Eric Gagne is Guillermo Mota, you have a problem. Any Mets fan can tell you. Mota gave up a 4-3 lead in the ninth, capped by a two-run double by Juan Pierre, whom I don’t remember as being capable of hitting doubles.

Cubs 8, Padres 5 - Ted Lilly fans 11 over six innings, Alfonso Soriano leads off with another jack. He and Geovany Soto both drove in three, helping to drive Jake Peavy from the game early.

Orioles 6, Red Sox 3 - Jay Payton engages in Operation Grandslam to help get Daniel Cabrera a win, but everyone’s mostly talking about this Manny double play anyway:

Diamondbacks 4, Rockies 3 - Micah Owings, your 0-for-3 at the plate will simply not do. .370 average for you? Unacceptable. Good thing you threw six shutout innings; your bullpen needed all four of the runs the rest of the offense got for you.

Royals 2, Tigers 0 - Joey Gathright drives in two in the 2nd with a single, and that’s all Luke Hochevar and the KC pen would need against a limp-dicked Detroit line-up.

Braves 8, Phillies 6 - Homerrific. Yuniel Escobar, Chipper Jones, and Kelly Johnson go deep for Atlanta; Chase Utley and Ryan Howard take it out for Philly. Tom Glavine throws 5.1 of four-run ball to get the win. Brett Myers gets worked by the three homers and Brian McCann’s three RBIs so badly that his wife has to ask him how it feels.

Blue Jays 6, Twins 5 - Roy Halladay gives up three runs in the first, gives up only one more and Matt Stairs gets the Jays back in and in the lead again with a grand slam. Plenty of bonehead plays by the Twins in the field and on the bases cost them more runs.

Photo: AP/Mark Duncan

Kobe didn’t hit a field goal in the fourth quarter, three of his 26 points came in that period via free throws. But he got support where it counted: Lamar Odom kept beating Carlos Boozer to the basket and Pau Gasol just made Mehmet Okur pay on the offensive end.  Deron Williams helped keep the Jazz in the game with crucial threes, and even brought them within one — but the emphatic dunk by Gasol off an Odom miss late in the fourth really seemed to seal it, and the Lakers outscored Utah 8-2 in the final minute, as they never trailed in the game.

Something about Rajon Rondo on that home court; he looks like he’s absorbing those lessons and growing, facilitating, getting 13 assists to go with 20 points. KG had 26 and 16 boards, Paul Pierce had 29. LeBron kept fighting through with 33 in the loss. However, I’m pretty sure you can count the number of fans who think this isn’t going to go seven on less than two hands.

Photo: AP/Kevork Djansezian

Scene: A back room in the Bruins’ weight room facility in Westwood. Head coach Rick Neuheisel and offensive coordinator Norm Chow are there with gloves on and powder blue aprons. Newsprint is all over the place, a kiln is in the corner, and there are large canisters of paste.

Neuheisel: OK, bring him in. (Trainers drag in QB Ossar Rasshan, who started several games last year.) Thanks.
Chow: Dorrell left us with some shoddy workmanship, didn’t he? Jesus. At least with some work, we can have him ready in three weeks, just in case we need another sacrificial lamb.
Neuheisel: This is not how I planned my return, Norm. I mean, I don’t remember art skills being part of the job application when Guerrero asked me to fill it out.
Chow: Aw, quiet and pass the clay. I think Ossar’s injury is one we can fix with some surplus clay and just put him in there for a bit. (Points to kiln.) Ossar, does it feel okay?
Rasshan: Coach, it’s pretty damn painful. Are you sure?
Chow: It’ll have to do, bud.
Neuheisel: Fine. (Passes clay). Look, we’re supposed to be immediately competitive with USC, right? I find out Cowan’s got rubber bands for ACLs and Karl was keeping Olson together with papier mache. I paid the teacher off so I’d pass art, y’know? Sculpture is not my bag here. I mean, now I’m resorting to bitching about Carroll’s kid cussing to get recruits. This was supposed to be easier.
Chow: Certainly isn’t what I’m used to in the college ranks.
Neuheisel: Not like some of the pros are any better. Billick insisted that marble was the best applicant to get Steve McNair back together again.
Chow: Fisher at least gave me some raw materials to work with. At least we had a budget for some decent metals and high-quality plastics for repair work.
Neuheisel: Howland gets all of the budget. It’s not new here, it’s just how it is, and he won’t share his cybernetic synthesis equipment.
Chow: You couldn’t have negotiated that in?
Neuheisel: I was just happy to have the job in the first place. I mean, get employed, then ask for the perks when you get a little bit of a good thing going. But the facilities, that’s definitely the first thing we need to hit the circuit for.
Chow: You can. (Slops clay and smooths it on Rasshan’s left knee.) If I didn’t hate the booster circuit, wouldn’t I have a head job by now?
Rasshan: Ah, at least it cools. That feels better….
Neuheisel: Given. How long should he be in the kiln before we send him over to the medical center?
Chow: Hmmm….(reads manual.) This thing says 24 hours or so, then ship him off for finishing and rehab.
Neuheisel: OK. Hey, O, ready for the heat?
Rasshan: God, this crap sucks….let’s go for it.

(Neuheisel and Chow load Rasshan’s leg into the kiln.)

Neuheisel: So, tell me. How does Pete handle this sort of shit?
Chow: Well, private school, and with the money pouring in, the labs have gotten more advanced since I left.
Neuheisel: Labs?
Chow: Yeah, labs. Some of the donations for scientific research are targeted towards that sort of thing for the football team. He got all huffy just before I left because I wanted to use some of the more advanced polymers….

(Ground shakes slightly.)

Neuheisel: Your garden variety 2-point-something trembler.
Chow: Um….no.

(Clouds of smoke outside window gather as the sound of rockets grows louder. Neuheisel and Chow rush outside of the back room, when the smoke begins to clear. A sentinel in cardinal and gold emerges.)

Neuheisel: This has gotta be the paint fumes.
Chow: Jesus, stop being such a fucking showoff, Pete!!!

(The sentinel takes off its helmet.)

Carroll: Hey guys! I was jetting around and totally jacked to try out this new padding for the team. It’s better than I’d even envisioned on spec! How’s it going?
Neuheisel: …where did you get the cash for this?
Chow: No fair, Pete. You wouldn’t even let me go near some of this stuff a couple years ago!
Carroll: Dude, I told you it wasn’t ready for testing.
Chow: Still. You let Leinart use it without me even getting to do some work on it.
Carroll: Sorry, man.
Neuheisel: Oh, shut the fuck up, Norm. What’s it consist of?
Carroll: Totally lightweight, high-quality plastics, and it all gets grafted and modeled to each quarterback. I just figured I’d take the Sanchez model out for a joyride.
Neuheisel: (Grumbles.) It’s real nice, Pete.
Carroll: Thanks! I’m gonna take this thing for a spin in South Central. The guys down there love this stuff. Totally psyched about it. Later, fellas!

(Pete puts the helmet back on, flies off in a blast. Norm and Rick watch as the vapor trail follows him in the direction of downtown Los Angeles.)

Neuheisel: We gotta break into Howland’s office.
Chow: DeWayne was talking about that earlier, he knows Guerrero’s got some keys.

FIN

UCLA’s Ossar Rasshan will have surgery [L.A. Times]

Photo: L.A. Times/Alex Gallardo

Senator Single Bullet Theory (R-Comcast) is not particularly satisfied with Lord Rog’s explanations for the Patriots video-taping ways and Matt Walsh’s revelations, and is already threatening a round of Congressional Kabuki Theater over the league’s anti-trust exemption, citing Goodell’s “conflict of interest” in investigating a matter that involves one of his league’s franchises. I understand. Arlen Specter isn’t unjustified in having questions about the cover-up by the tape destruction. However, the man is all bark and no bite, a 10 gallon hat with no cattle, and plenty of lip without one tooth in his head, as far as rhetoric goes.

Here are 10 things he would be better off doing rather than asking for an NFL-style Mitchell Report and threatening the anti-trust exemption (pardon my politics):

1. Following through on his outrage over the U.S. attorney firings by politically motivated DOJ staffers
2. Helping find some sort of solution for the housing and foreclosure mess.
3. Taking care of himself. He is recovering from cancer.
4. Vetting judicial nominees.
5. Looking into that whole warrantless wire-tapping thing the NSA’s got going on.
6. Following up on previous questions about torture of detainees.
7. Maybe finding some reserve of his power accumulated over decades to do something about gas prices that works.
8. Revisiting that Warren Commission conclusion.
9. Afghanistan.
10. Iraq.

This is absolutely fucking rich:

Specter was again asked whether his interest in the matter has to do with Philadelphia-based Comcast, one of his largest campaign contributors. Comcast has been involved in a dispute with the league over the placement of the NFL Network on its cable system.

“They have been a campaign contributor,” Specter said, “along with 50,000 other people … I’ve been at this line of work for a long time, and no one has ever questioned my integrity.”

He’s right. We can’t question his integrity. I mean, you try asking about something that doesn’t exist. Everyone just winds up looking foolish.

Specter calls for Mitchell-like investigation of Pats [AP via Sports Illustrated]