I can’t help but wonder if part of the negative image comes because the NBA is just too immature. I watched most of the NBA Draft last night and wasn’t surprised with the top three picks since they had been plastered all over ESPN as easy predictions for weeks.

But when you stop and think about those first three picks, Derrick Rose (Memphis), Michael Beasley (Kansas State) and O.J. Mayo (Southern Cal) you note that they’re all freshman. These young men are only about 19 years old. They’re not even of legal age to drink, but now they are entering into the real world as professional athletes.

I understand it’s all about the money when it comes to joining pro otherwise everyone would stay in college four years because the NCAA March Madness Tournament is much more exciting than the NBA playoffs. But that being said, this year’s draft had a record number of freshman picks in the lottery and first round overall.

By my count there were 10 freshmen selected, four of the first five picks were diaper dandies, and four other players were international players under 20 years of age. This immaturity could be a reason for the NBA’s negative image.

I do think the image got better this year, not counting the scandals with NBA officiating, but the off the court violence and crime activity. Still, one would wonder if requiring players to stay in college up to a certain point would help solve this problem.

But I’ll disprove my point. The NFL does this and look at its problems with Pacman Jones and others. I think when it comes down to it with all the big bucks flying around greed might be the reason for all the negative occurrences. Money causes problems whether you have it or you don’t.

It was a great trip and an amazing week. It’s kind of a downer to be back and not basking in the sun on the beach or lounging around in our beautiful rental home which had a spectacular view of the ocean.

But here I am back to reality. I won’t talk too much about my trip because it doesn’t have a lot to do with sports, other than our epic four-hour Bache ball games on the beach, duels in the horse shoe pits and intense volleyball matches.

One thing sports related that did occur was an insane journey to be able to watch Game 6 of the NBA Finals, one in which the Boston Celtics beat the L.A. Lakers to win the title at home.

During the early evening hours after we’d left the beach, it started storming outside. The skies opened up and torrential downpours flooded the streets as booming thunder and bright lightning scorched the island. This went on for several hours and after about 45 minutes the power went out. Click here to watch video of the storm.

The tip-off for the big game was at 9 p.m. and I was seriously worried that the power wouldn’t be back on in time. My fears were right because it wasn’t. We hung out by candlelight and I pulled out my laptop computer as tip-off came and went. I tried to purchase the game online at NBA.com, but was unsuccessful. I pulled up stat tracker, but the internet connection was slow. I had my parents on the phone giving me scoring updates while I figured out a game plan.

Downtown Charleston we’d heard from people passing by had power, but we’d all been drinking a bit throughout the day so we needed a ride. We called a cab, but after waiting over 45 minutes, we got a call to stay it was stuck. Apparently a telephone poll and some tress had been knocked down and were blocking off the bridge to the island. I started panicking, thinking that I wouldn’t be able to see the game.

I began searching the Web again, trying to find a way to purchase the game online. Just as I was about to give up, I heard someone yell, “Kreitman, the cab is here.” I was so relieved and excited I ran outside and hopped in.

We flew to downtown, or at least it seemed. I was so grateful for the cab driver who I think found some alternate route on the island or it had been cleared to get to us. Side note: the cab driver turned out to be a real pervert. He was talking about Asian women and strip clubs most of the way back, but on the way there he turned the minivan cab into a small nightclub with his flashing lights and bumping music. He was my hero.

We got to a bar downtown and I got to watch the game. No one there seemed real interested in it except me. Others opted for Karaoke, mixed drinks and dancing. Instead, I glued my pretty little eyes on the TV and watched as the Celtics crushed the Lakers to win their 17th NBA title. It was awesome. I was going wild as the second ticked down. It was an amazing sight to see, something I’d yet to see in my lifetime.

When the Celtics won their last title back in 1986, I was too young to recall. I had only heard stories and seen ESPN Classic games, but never experienced it live. It was all worth the nerves, hassle and $50 cab ride. I got to watch my team win it all. I’ll never forget that night and what I went through to see it.

I’ll admit it wasn’t difficult to stay awake this time, but to not change the channel and give up on the Celtics was more of a challenge.

Boston was getting crushed for most of the game and it was painful to watch. L.A. hit every shot while the Celtics went one shot and done every possession. I was getting angry and disgusted, but I didn’t change the channel.

I know a lot of people gave up and watched something else, but I couldn’t help but keep it on. Thank God I did because the Celtics came back. It took awhile, but they kept chipping away and chipping away before finally tying the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

Once they tied the game I still didn’t think they had a chance with Kobe Bryant making a few quick moves to the basket. It looked as if Bryant was going to take over, but he didn’t. Paul Pierce swarmed the league’s M.V.P and cut off any good looks from Bryant.

Defense, coaching and heart won the game for Boston. The Celts dominated the second half. Coach Doc Rivers went with a smaller, quicker lineup which really clicked and got Boston back in the game. Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Eddie House and James Posey were the group of five that got it done. Garnett played inside while the other four spread the perimeter which led to great 3-point looks.

Heart has been something the Celtics haven’t lacked all season. The Big Three have been longing for a championship and now that it’s one game away you can see the happiness and determination in their eyes, especially Pierce. I absolutely loved watching Pierce after the game celebrate the victory. ABC’s coverage was awesome when it walked with Pierce back to the locker room as he shouted “One more game,” “That’s how you get it done,” and other words of excitement and encouragement.

Pierce has been such a great player for so many years yet has had nothing to show for his grit and efforts. Pierce’s teams have been disappointments, mostly because of the supporting cast. But instead of doing what others, including Bryant have done, Pierce stayed put. He asked management for help instead of for a trade or more money like so many others. Pierce is an example of what a professional athlete should be. He is a role model for kids, adults and other athletes. Enjoy your job, try to win and have fun while doing it. Pierce is accomplishing all those things right now and hopefully he and the Celtics can get that last victory Sunday in game 5.

Jack Nicholson, Eddie Murphy, Fergie, Stephen Spielberg, Toby McGuire, Hillary Duff, the list goes on. To be honest, if I were an average Lakers fan, like I am an average Celtics fan, I’d be a little ticked off that all the celebrities get to go and I don’t. But I guess so goes professional sports.

No longer are these big-game events meant to take you son to, they’re expensive spectacles.

I just looked on StubHub.com and the cheapest ticket is $334 to sit up in the highest level behind one of the baskets, not exactly a great seat. If you want to sit in the lower level, or loge section, the cheapest ticket I could find was $1,028, also behind the basket.

If you want to sit where the celebs are sitting, most of the regulars anyway, like Nicholson, it’s going to cost you $19,143. But get it fast because it was the only ticket courtside available which probably means that Kobe Bryant gave Nicholson a heart attack in Game 3 and has to watch tonight’s game from his hospital bed.

A courtside seat for the next game in Boston, which is still starred with an “if necessary,” is $7,059 with a floor seat, basically the same, going for $10,000. These seats aren’t as expensive as the ones in L.A., but they’re still way too much for any average fan to afford.

So I guess will just have to watch guys like Leonardo DiCaprio and Curt Schilling take the good seats as we stay glued to our cheap TV sets. Good enough for me as long as the C’s win. But I guess it’s the same for all sporting events now.

Woods and the rest of golf’s finest are at Torrey Pines this week for the second major of the season, the U.S. Open.

Woods has been away from golf the last few months after having knee surgery following a disappointing non-winning effort at The Masters. Woods says he’s ready to go despite some soreness in his knee.

Phil Mickelson will welcome his rival back on the course as the two play together in Thursday’s opening round. The gallery for this pair is guaranteed to be huge all day following the biggest fan favorites on tour.

Woods and Mickelson don’t exactly get along, but they seem too much more civil these days. I wish they were best friends because they are my two favorite guys to watch. I always pull for both of them to do well.

With an attempt at the grand slam already over for Woods, the U.S. Open won’t hold as much glamour, but it’s still a huge event. I’m looking forward to watching some competitive golf again because since Woods has been away from the game it hasn’t been all that appealing.

Woods is still the favorite but with a big question for that recovering knee.

After watching Game 3 of the NBA Finals I imprinted in my brain a topic to write about today. I’d been meaning to touch on how embarrassing the NBA officials have become, but I keep forgetting to write about it. But here goes.

The NBA has no sense for what the rules written for their game stand for. None whatsoever. The referees make calls based on whoever the home team is and it’s getting ridiculous. If you look across the entire postseason you’ll see that the home team wins almost all the time. It’s been difficult for road teams to scrape out victories in single games, let along a series. That’s the main reason the two teams left standing are No. 1 seeds.

The bogus calls go both ways. In Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals, especially Game 2, the Celtics got most of the calls while at home at TD Bank North Garden. Boston shot 38 free throws compared to just 10 for L.A. That’s a ridiculous difference. Part of that is a credit to Boston’s defense for forcing the Lakers to take jump shots, but that’s still not right.

Game 3 in L.A. was quite different. The Celtics got to the line 22 times as a team while Kobe Bryant got to the stripe 18 times on his own. That stat seems lopsided because it is.

Being at home seems to be a major advantage which isn’t a good image for a league that’s dealing with allegations that it fixed playoff games in the past.

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who is facing charges for betting on the game, came out Tuesday and said the league told referees to call playoff games a certain way. Whether this is true or not we might never know, but now isn’t a good time to be favoring any teams like the refs are doing now with home teams.

That seems like ages ago and in some ways it was. I was just a kid then and so was Griffey, hitting his first homer as a teenager. Griffey is 38 now and finally reached the 600 home run mark Monday afternoon.

As Griffey came up in the majors I had no doubt he’d break Hank Aaron’s home run record and Roger Maris’ single-season mark. He’s done neither. He skyrocketed to 300 homers, then 400 and 450, but after that his career slowed. Griffey battled injuries for much of his 30’s which has kept him from reaching his potential.

But by reaching 600 Griffey is back on the radar and national stage where he belongs. I’ve felt bad for Griffey during his quest for 600 because he’s received such little attention. This man survived the steroid era without using or being accused. He truly is one of the greatest to ever play the game. But somehow along the way his name got lost in the shuffle of needles and syringes.

We forgot a man who brought entertainment and amazement to the ball field night after night and was clean while doing it. Why don’t we hold Griffey in higher regard? We should. 600 is special and he’s the first in a long time to do it without a question mark or even though of an asterisk next to his name. I applaud Griffey and hope he stays healthy and can reach more milestones.

Of course I have to discuss the NBA Finals again because I’m counting down the hours until tonight’s Game 3. Today I’d like to talk about how Phil Jackson isn’t as good of a coach as everyone thinks. For this I will give one recent piece of evidence to support this wild claim.

Boston’s Leon Powe had the game of his life Sunday and dominated the Lakers, driving through the line and dunking of the Lakers defense over and over. His name is pronounced Po. After the game, Jackson was asked about Powe’s performance and Jackson referred to him as Pow, totally mispronouncing his name.

How do you not know the name of a player on the opposite team in the NBA Finals? That right there says to me that the Jackson’s Lakers aren’t prepared. Lucky for L.A. the players know his name. Jackson is just foolish for getting that name wrong. I hope Powe comes back and has another monster Game 3 and shoves it in Jackson’s face.

Also, Jackson is one of the greatest coaches all-time, resume wise, but he’s won with superstars. Every team he’s had has been filled with studs. I mean who couldn’t win championships with Michael Jordan? There’s no coaching involved on that team. Then Kobe Bryant and Shaq put together, it’s the same story. This is the weakest Laker team and I honestly don’t think coaching plays much of a role. I think it’s all Bryant all the time with this squad. Kobe has devloped as more a of a leader and I think his performance impacts the team. He is the reason the Lakers are in the finals, not Jackson. He’s just a name with a legacy.

I left my girlfriend’s place in the middle of a movie Sunday night to head home and watch Game 2 of the Celtics vs. Lakers. I’d been pumped about the game all day, which is a long time seeing that the games don’t start until 9 p.m.

I had a Celtics t-shirt on and plopped on the couch to watch the big game. The Celtics were playing great, led by a heroic effort by Leon Powe, a backup player who hadn’t seen a lot of playoff minutes. By the end of the third quarter, Boston had produced a 22-point advantage and was blowing L.A. out of the Garden.

With 7 minutes remaining in the game, the lead was still huge and at this point my screaming, yelling and cheering at the TV with no one around to witness it had stopped. I was now laying comfortably watching Boston cruise to a 2-0 series advantage, or so I thought.

Apparently the loud cheering, clapping and shouts of “Yes!” “Nice shot baby,” had kept me awake and lively. Now I was getting sleepy and finally I dozed off on the couch only to wake up with the score 104-102. I thought I was having a nightmare. No way could the Celts have let L.A. climb back into a game that was out of reach and with their defense. I was stunned.

You know when you fall asleep for like five minutes and it feels like hours or even the entire night? That was the feeling I got, except instead of being pumped to have six more hours to sleep, I had to wake up and watch the end of a nail-biter in which Boston should have had wrapped up.

The good news is that Pierce was at the line and he sank both free throws. Then James Posey got to the line and hit another pair and the Celts hung on to win, but not without scaring the crap out of my tired old man self. I should be ashamed I know.

After starting the third quarter red hot, Paul Pierce came down awkwardly with teammate Kendrick Perkins and hit the floor in pain. Pierce remained on the ground for several minutes and had to be carried off the court by teammates and trainers. Pierce was examined in the locker room and about 15 minutes later, walked back out onto the court on his own power. The entire TD Bank North crowd erupted. Click here for game highlights.

Any sports fans, except if you’re rooting for the Lakers, had to think that re-entrance was awesome. It was exciting and dramatic, but what made it even more special is that just minutes after returning, Pierce hit two back-to-back 3’s that put the Celtics on top, pretty much for good.

After the first game I feel confident that Boston will win the series. The Big Three dominated the game, especially Kevin Garnett. He looked unbeatable in the paint and his jump shot is lights out. He’s one of the best jump shooters for a big man in NBA history.

Also, Kobe Bryant didn’t look sharp. He missed tons of shots, mostly because he wasn’t used to the swarming defense of Pierce and James Posey. The shots he did make were because he’s one of the best. He made a few jumpers that I thought he’d hit the ceiling he jumped so high over everyone.

It was an exciting start to the series though and I’m so pumped that the finals are back in Boston.

I hate to dedicate an entire blog to Boston sports, OK no I don’t, but the Red Sox made headlines last night too. Perhaps trying to steal the spotlight from the Celtics, the Sox were involved in a bench-clearing brawl against the Tampa Bay Rays. Click here to watch.

First off, I need to back up my boy Coco Crisp who started the altercation by charging the mound after being intentionally hit by a pitch. With that said, I wished he hadn’t charged the mound and he was out of line by doing so. I’m still going to back him up though and say he had some reason to charge the mound and definitely had reason to be upset, especially after.

As Crisp arrived to the mound, pitcher Scott Shields swung, but Crisp dodged the punch and the two went at it. Then Rays players Johnny Gomes and Carl Crawford jumped on the pile, apparently clawing and scratching at Crisp and pulling his hair.

It was an ugly brawl and I doubt the bad blood is over. Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees are also not the closest of friends. I applaud the Rays though for sticking up to the bullies. They’ve been the bottom of the A.L. East since their existence, but are now standing up and fighting back. Maybe it’d seem like they did a better job standing up for themselves if they didn’t play so dirty and they actually won a few games during the series. The Sox swept the Rays to retake first place.

The Stanley Cup playoffs are wrapping up, but there’s still time to catch the end of the series. The Detroit Red Wings travel to Pittsburgh for Game 6 tonight. The Penguins face elimination down 3-2.

If you missed Game 5, your loss. The Penguins won in three overtimes and what a thrilling finish it was. I’ve said it before, but there’s nothing more exciting to me than a sudden death finish to a game although a walk-off home run is pretty amazing too.

But having been on hand for a few sudden death finishes in the Stanley Cup playoffs myself, I know how exciting it is. The final goal is scored and it’s game over. If it’s a home game for the winning team the site is unbelievable. The cheering is wild and endless with a sea of the team’s color filling the arena.

Pittsburgh has a chance to force Game 7 and I hope they do. Just wanted to get in a little plug for hockey.

I’m sure my blog for the next few weeks will be all about the Celtics vs. Lakers in the NBA Finals so get used to it.

I watched an interview with Boston legend Larry Bird this morning and he is of course pulling for his old team to beat the Lakers. It was great to see Bird again on TV; he often hides in Indiana’s front office. Bird said he wouldn’t miss a minute of any of the games which was cool to hear.

It’s Bird himself that helped rekindle the rivalry in the 1980’s along with Magic Johnson. I know I’m looking forward to watching some ESPN clips of past games between the two teams.

The series does have a different feel to it though with fresh blood and less bad blood. These two teams have been on opposite ends of the success scale in recent years so it’s hard to know who will win.

The Celtics have top talent in the Big Three, but Kobe Bryant is one of if not the best player in the league. I can’t wait for tip-off Thursday night.

OK, I have about 25 things to write about since it has been a week since I’ve last posted, which my friend Ricky kindly reminded me of Monday evening. But the most important and today’s topic is Game One of the NBA Finals.

The NBA has new life with the rebirth of a great finals matchup. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers will clash in a battle for the title. These two teams have such a storied history, battling across the years, most recently with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson providing countless classic games in the 1980’s.

And when I say most recently I’m lying because the Celtics haven’t been in the finals since losing in 1987 to the Lakers. Wait no longer because after having an ugly record last season and just 24 wins, the Celtics have the best record in the NBA and are looking to return to the top.

I was in Boston over the weekend for my sister’s high school graduation and I watched the Celtics clinch the Eastern Conference title in a friend’s apartment in the city. It was awesome as we sat around and watched the trophy presented to Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and the rest of the team. Then Pierce and the team began chanting “Beat L.A.,” a chant I’d heard of many times before, but had never been a part of. Then a few of my friends began chanting and so did I.

When speaking with my Dad the next day about where he watched the game, he said the same chant broke out in a bar/ restaurant that about a dozen family members had gone to that night. That feeling from the 80’s, the passion of Celtic green has returned to Beantown.

We’re in for a treat with this series. Kobe Bryant, probably the best player since Michael Jordan will lead the Lakers back where they belong against a team that hasn’t belonged in the finals for 21 years. Both teams earned their conference’s No. 1 seeds, but only one will hoist the trophy at the end of it all. Game One is Thursday night and I can’t wait.