Shanoff's Wake-Up Call: Not If But When

Today's Calls: Celtics vs. Chokers, Tiger vs. Kevin Streelman, Jamie Moyer vs. Jake Peavy, Marreese Speights vs. O.J. Mayo, Tim Donaghy vs. Dick Bavetta, NFL vs. Live-blogging and More!

The Opening Pitch: This isn't any old 3-1 lead in a championship series.

This is the biggest in-game comeback in modern NBA Finals history.

This is winning on the road when they didn't really have to.

This is needing just one more win, knowing they can take Game 5 off and still have 2 shots at home.

The Celtics didn't win a championship last night, but they earned a championship.

Even with the record one-season turnaround and the playoff run, Boston still needed a signature victory, one that would define this team for NBA history. They got it.

They proved themselves worthy of being called NBA champs, and now it's just the inevitability of "when."

You could say that if the Celtics could come back from being down 24 on the road to win a game, the Lakers could win 3 straight. Anything is possible ...

...Come on: No, it's not. Who are we kidding? This thing is over.

This Finals has room for only one storybook comeback. This season has room for only one storybook comeback.

And it's obviously the Celtics' time for the storybook ending.

Quote of the Day, from Kobe responding to a question of how the Lakers "bounce back" from this loss:

"Whine about it tonight, a lot of wine, a lot of beer, a couple shots, maybe like 20 of them, digest it, get back to work tomorrow. Nothing you can do."

US Open: Tiger Watch. Well, Tiger didn't collapse in the first 18 holes, even after that ominous double-bogey on 1. But he's not winning, either.

However, he is a mere 4 shots behind leaders Kevin "Who?" Streelman and Justin "Hunh?" Hicks. You have to love the first day of any golf major, when even a guy ranked in the 600s has a chance for a little spotlight.

The test for Woods and his knee was never the first 18. It was the next 18. And the 18 after that. And the 18 after that. We'll see.

MLB Instant History: Is mid-June too early for "too little, too late?" Tigers sweep ChiSox on Cabrera's walkoff HR ...

Mets go from worse to worser: The Mets bullpen blew a phenomenal start by Santana (7 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 10 K), then blew the game in the 9th (that was Billy Wagner's 3rd-straight blown save). ...

Jamie Moyer Appreciation Post: How many other 45-year-olds can go 8 shutout IP allowing just 2 hits in running up a 7-win record? ...

Injury Watch: Jake Peavy. How refreshing to talk returning from injury; Peavy made his 1st start in a month and pitched 6 shutout innings. ...

Happy birthday, Hideki Matsui: Grand slam is Yankees' entire offensive output in a win. Why does it make me feel bad that Matsui is considered "old" at 34?

Milestone Watch: Ray Durham joins the 2,000 hit club. It's not as exclusive as some of the others, but being one of 250 isn't too shabby. If Durham is very lucky, he can eventually crack the Top 200, which is only 108 hits away.

Fantasy Studs: Shin-Soo Choo (2-4, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R). ... Adrian Gonzalez (18th HR of the season, 2 RBI). ... Kevin Youkilis (Classic Youk: 2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 1 HR) ... Add your Studs (and Duds!) in the Comments.

Ken Griffey 600 Ball Scandal, Cont'd: Why does Marlins president David Samson find himself in the role of spokesman for "Joe," the guy who claims to have caught the ball.

Doesn't the president of a baseball team have better things to do? Even so, there is a very easy way for Samson to defend his guy: Release the team's tape he purports to conclusively prove "Joe" caught it himself, rather than him swiping it from Justin Kimball, who claims he caught it first. YouTube doesn't really help here.

(Also, can some intrepid reporter or blogger get the real name of "Joe?" It's sketchy enough as it is without a real name behind this.)

NBA Donaghy Scandal, Cont'd: So the FBI was looking into ref Dick Bavetta? Who just happened to be one of the refs in the now-infamous 2002 Western Conference Finals Game 6? Interesting. ... As with everything else in this story, as Harvey Araton affirms in a column running next to this Times story, it's all about perceptions. David Stern can deny them all he wants; he still has a problem.

NBA Coaching Carousel: Mike Woodson was rewarded for his breakthrough season with the Hawks with a 2-year deal.

NBA Draft: Marreese Speights staying in. The Florida 6-10 forward must know he is a 1st-round lock, probably Top 20. My rule is: If you're a 1st-round lock, you're a fool NOT to come out.

Great workouts, iffy NBA camp: But 6-10 is 6-10, even if Florida fans always found him a little soft in the middle. He has great touch around the basket (just don't expect him to power to the rim and dunk it).

(The implication for the Gators? They lose a potentially dominant big man and have a gaping hole in the post. They have two near 7-footers as incoming freshmen, but they are untested. Might be another NIT year for them.)

More Draft: O.J. Mayo works out for Knicks. He would be a fantastic talent in New York, but there's no way he will be around at No. 6. If the Knicks want a guard, they will likely have to settle for Eric Gordon, because both Mayo and Jerryd Bayless will be gone.

CFB: Spencer Hall vs. Matt Hayes. Here's a third-man-in take: They're both way off.

NFL: Chad Johnson shows up at Bengals mini-camp. It doesn't matter that he isn't participating. For all of his bluster, he didn't defy the concept of "mandatory." Advantage: Team.

Sports Media: The NFL wants to ban live-blogging of games, but it only applies to the press box, not bloggers at home on the couch. (h/t PFT)

It stands to reason that most fans of a particular team who would be interested enough in said team to want to read a newspaper's live-blog account of a game would be, um, watching the game.

Any reporter in the press box should be preparing blog-style analysis, but it is only really valuable after the game ends anyway. As quickly after the game as possible, to be sure.

But ironically, the end of the game is when a pressbox-going reporter would be least likely to be blogging for their newspaper's site, given that they have to be in the locker room getting quotes and preparing their story for the physical paper. (Advantage...blogger on couch!)

The Last Word: Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. If it's a nice day where you live on Sunday, be sure to find some 1-on-1 time with your kid(s). (And if it's not a nice day, find something creative to do inside.) And, for God's sake, don't forget to call your own father. (Note to self... note to self... note to self...)

Dan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.

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