Last night’s Finals game was epic. Perhaps I’m maturing in my appreciation of the sport; there wasn’t a single play truly worthy of a highlight reel, and yet it was one of the most gut-wrenchingly dramatic sporting events I’ve ever watched.
Dwyane Wade has me excited about basketball again. Though Jordan would have canned a few more of those late jumpers, and probably nailed the layup and 1, Wade certainly seemed to match his poise under pressure.
The New York Times published some choice quotes from college commencement speeches, and while I was leafing through them, the edict from David McCullough, professor of History at Bates College, stood out: “however little television you watch, watch less“. In times past, I couldn’t have agreed more. Last night, I could not have agreed less.
I agree that it was a good game, but the end of it was really lame. I hate to see the game end on a technicality like that. Sure the rule book may say that the ref. had to call a timeout there, but it was clearly a mental mistake that everybody knew was going to ruin the last play. Sure, Josh Howard should have known better, but the ref could have at least given him the benefit of the doubt, especially in that situation.
It’s really unsatisfying when a decision made while the game is actually stopped (i.e. it didn’t really have anything to do with the game skills of the players) destroys the chance a of a ‘fair’ ending.