This is an excerpt that I wrote from my blog yesterday:

This just feels right, doesn't it?

On Thursday night the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers will meet in Game 7 to determine the NBA champion.

Read that last sentence again. It has a nice ring to it.

The two most-storied franchises in the sport, two teams with a rivalry that goes back 51 years, will meet on the NBA's brightest stage and in its singular most important game.

I hate to sound cliched, but this really is the game "where legends will be made." In 20 years most people will completely forget about the other six games in this series. But they won't forget about Game 7.

I was eight years old and I remember when the Celtics beat the Lakers in Game 7 of the '84 Finals. I was 12 years old and I remember when the Lakers beat the Pistons in Game 7 of the '88 Finals. I was 18 years old, and I remember when the Houston Rockets survived the offensive onslaught of John Starks (sarcasm) and beat the Knicks in Game 7 of the '94 Finals. And I remember San Antonio beating the Pistons five years ago in Game 7 of the Finals (mostly because the 2005 Finals were so awful that I nearly gouged my own eyes out).

No other two teams in American professional sports are more intertwined than the Lakers and Celtics. No other American sport has so depended on a single rivalry as much. 

So with that in mind, let's say their rivalry is like a house and every time they squared off in the Finals, an additional room would be built. And let's say that the foundation for this house began back in 1959, when the Minneapolis Lakers were swept in the Finals by the Boston Celtics.

And let's say that the first room of the house was painted Celtic green with a big picture of Red Auerbach on the wall.

Three years later, the Minneapolis Lakers are the Los Angeles Lakers and they've returned to the NBA Finals. This time, led by Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, the Lakers would find themselves in a rematch against their new arch-nemesis, the Boston Celtics.

Most NBA historians refer to this Finals as the greatest of all-time. It certainly had the greatest ending of all-time. As time expired in Game 7 with the score tied, a wide-open Frank Selvy missed a 12-foot shot from the baseline that would have won the championship for L.A. The Celtics, led by Bill Russell's Herculean effort (30 points and 40 rebounds), would hold on to win in overtime, 110-107.

Now, imagine a second room added to that house and once again, it's Celtic green and let's say Bob Cousy's framed jersey lies in the center of the wall. 

If you liked what you read so far, feel free to visit my blog post to finish my column on tonight's Game 7. And feel free to leave a comment

http://balmer.typepad.com/keithsmooth/2010/06/celticslakers-tailormade-for-a-game-7.html.

This is an excerpt that I wrote from my blog yesterday:

This just feels right, doesn't it?

On Thursday night the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers will meet in Game 7 to determine the NBA champion.

Read that last sentence again. It has a nice ring to it.

The two most-storied franchises in the sport, two teams with a rivalry that goes back 51 years, will meet on the NBA's brightest stage and in its singular most important game.

I hate to sound cliched, but this really is the game "where legends will be made." In 20 years most people will completely forget about the other six games in this series. But they won't forget about Game 7.

I was eight years old and I remember when the Celtics beat the Lakers in Game 7 of the '84 Finals. I was 12 years old and I remember when the Lakers beat the Pistons in Game 7 of the '88 Finals. I was 18 years old, and I remember when the Houston Rockets survived the offensive onslaught of John Starks (sarcasm) and beat the Knicks in Game 7 of the '94 Finals. And I remember San Antonio beating the Pistons five years ago in Game 7 of the Finals (mostly because the 2005 Finals were so awful that I nearly gouged my own eyes out).

No other two teams in American professional sports are more intertwined than the Lakers and Celtics. No other American sport has so depended on a single rivalry as much. 

So with that in mind, let's say their rivalry is like a house and every time they squared off in the Finals, an additional room would be built. And let's say that the foundation for this house began back in 1959, when the Minneapolis Lakers were swept in the Finals by the Boston Celtics.

And let's say that the first room of the house was painted Celtic green with a big picture of Red Auerbach on the wall.

Three years later, the Minneapolis Lakers are the Los Angeles Lakers and they've returned to the NBA Finals. This time, led by Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, the Lakers would find themselves in a rematch against their new arch-nemesis, the Boston Celtics.

Most NBA historians refer to this Finals as the greatest of all-time. It certainly had the greatest ending of all-time. As time expired in Game 7 with the score tied, a wide-open Frank Selvy missed a 12-foot shot from the baseline that would have won the championship for L.A. The Celtics, led by Bill Russell's Herculean effort (30 points and 40 rebounds), would hold on to win in overtime, 110-107.

Now, imagine a second room added to that house and once again, it's Celtic green and let's say Bob Cousy's framed jersey lies in the center of the wall. 

If you liked what you read so far, feel free to visit my blog post to finish my column on tonight's Game 7. And feel free to leave a comment

http://balmer.typepad.com/keithsmooth/2010/06/celticslakers-tailormade-for-a-game-7.html.

Good morning Longhorns!

My name is Keith Balmer. I'm an ACC guy (UNC Tarheels) but I've been fascinated with the news surrounding Texas this past week. I told a football friend of mine that Texas is like LeBron James, a potential free agent that everybody wants. Whether or not you guys stay in the Big 12, leave for the Pac-10, or (shudder) join the SEC, I will continue to follow this riveting story.

With that being said, I am also an aspiring humorist. I wrote a blog piece last Friday about your perhaps soon-to-be conference rivals USC. As we all know, the Trojans are in hot water thanks to Reggie Bush, OJ Mayo, Tim Floyd, Pete Carroll, etc.

So what I decided to do was to have a little fun at the Trojans expense. I named my blog post "Hilarious Reactions To USC". The reason I decided to share this blog post with Burnt Orange Nation is because: 1. I know you guys don't care for USC. And 2. I gave the Longhorns a shout out in this blog post.

I think you guys will find this quite funny. The blog link is below. Enjoy and good luck to the Longhorns!

http://balmer.typepad.com/keithsmooth/2010/06/hilarious-reactions-to-usc.html

Greetings to Rocky Top Nation! 

My name is Keith Balmer and I'm actually an ACC guy (UNC Tarheels). But I felt your pain when "Fast" Lane Kiffin bolted for Tinseltown. I thought it was shady the way he left, but not surprising.

I can only imagine your glee over the recent turn of events at USC. And it certainly seems as if whoever created the phrase "karma is a . . ." definitely had Lane Kiffin in mind.

In addition to being a UNC guy, I am also an aspiring humorist. I wrote a blog piece last Friday that I'm 100 percent sure will put a smile on the face of each and every member of Rocky Top Nation. I called it "Hilarious Reactions To USC", a blog post in which I poked fun at Kiffin and the USC Trojans. It's a relatively short piece, so it shouldn't take you long to read. If you enjoy it (and I honestly will be surprised if you don't), let me know by leaving a comment. So if you have the time, click on the link below and good luck to the Vols in 2010:

http://balmer.typepad.com/keithsmooth/2010/06/hilarious-reactions-to-usc.html

Hello Hogs Haven readers.  I wrote a story on my blog about the fallacies of Redskins Head Coach Jim Zorn.  I thought that this year Zorn was going to be different.  I thought that he would take the kid gloves off of Jason Campbell.  I thought his play-calling would be the opposite of the pedestrian play-calling we saw in 2008.  However, I thought he stunk on Sunday.  And I decided to explain why this will be Zorn's last season in D.C.

Give it a read if you got the time.  Copy and paste the link.

http://balmer.typepad.com/keithsmooth/2009/09/the-fallacy-of-jim-zorn.html

Greetings Hogs Haven readers!  This is not a Redskins story since our team has never been "blacked out" because we sell out every home game.  I do think its an interesting article about the NFL's current blackout policy.  Give it a read and tell me what you think.

Oh and I do talk about the Skins a little in this article!

http://balmer.typepad.com/keithsmooth/2009/09/tv-blackouts-might-cause-a-black-eye-for-the-nfl.html

I heard that the Rockets were going to honor Deke before the game tonight.  There have already been a lot of stories written praising him for a great career.  As someone who's followed him since he was a Georgetown Hoya, I had a strong urge to add my 5 cents.  It's not a very long article but it is sentimental.

Copy and paste the link below to my blog and take a gander.

http://balmer.typepad.com/watercooler/sports/

I have been a die-hard Redskin fan since I was 7.  Out of all the other teams that I root for, my love affair with the hogs have been the longest.  That's why it hurt me about a month ago when everything came into full view:

Dan Snyder has made a fortune from owning my beloved team.  And he (and only he) is the only one who has benefited from his "reign of error."

I wrote an honest, heartfelt column for my blog a couple of weeks back.  I'm asking you guys to read it and let me know if you (honestly) feel the same way.  

Keith

http://balmer.typepad.com/watercooler/2009/03/the-fleecing-of-the-washington-redskins.html