Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon Gotta Get Out More... No Laker-Haters??

Tonight's NBA Finals Game 1 was awesome. A group of my friends and I got together to cheer against the Lakers, and the Detroit Pistons pulled off the upset.

The game was intense and awesome. The Piston's D was definitely proven to be as good as stated throughout the playoffs. Their big bodies and length gave most of the Lakers trouble. Tayshaun Prince's length gave Kobe problems, Rasheed Wallace on Malone, defense by committe on Shaq, their excellent rotation and help D, and their guards pressuring Rush and Fisher helped disrupt previously unchallenged three-point shooting. All this led to their win even with Rip Hamilton shooting poorly and creating so many turnovers.

In the fourth quarter, Kobe shot 2-for-7 while Shaq was 4-for-4. Twice I saw when Kobe could have thrown it into Shaq, but he swung the ball the other way. I don't know if this was a set play, but it didn't seem like it. What was he thinking? What were the others thinking? Shaq was 13-16 for the game, and was unstoppable tonight. They should have just kept feeding that machine. Kobe was 10-for-27 at the end of the game. Which one would you choose? I guess feeding Shaq still wouldn't have won the game, but it might have made it closer and given them a chance. The other Lakers definitely need to step it up for the Lakers to win Game 2 and the series.

On a side note, last week I was watching ESPN's SportsCenter with Dan Patrick where he was discussing who is "America's Team." They brought up the Yankees, Cowboys, Lakers and another team, which I don't remember. Patrick invited Pardon the Interruption's Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon to discuss this topic. When they were talking about the Lakers, Tony and Michael said they couldn't be "America's Team" because one main characteristic is that they have to be loved and hated by America and they said,"... the Lakers are not hated... they are loved... how could you hate the Lakers?" Immediately I said to myself, "What?? Where are they from? Who do they talk to?... Spending way too much time in the newsroom..."

Having close friends in most of the major cities and hanging out with a lot of people from Chicago and NYC, I know most of my friends hate the Lakers. HATE THE LAKERS, TONY AND MIKE. I was so surprised and annoyed by this assessment that I emailed Tony and Mike about their lack of ears on the street. I agree with them that the Lakers are not "America's Team," but not because they are not hated by anyone in America.