Split Screen

Today, there are two great things to talk about, so for the first time in history, No Owens is going to be an equal opportunity slammer of folks.

As you know, we love Major Championships in golf here at No Owens. For all the "boring" comments golf gets from folks watching on TV, if you really enjoy golf, there are few better sports to watch, and root for on TV.

It's not secret that I root for the course. It's also no secret that I root against Phil Mickelson and his "you know what eating" grin. This year, Torry Pines is the obstacle in front of the players and it's Phil's "Home Course." Must be nice to grow up in La Jolla, eh?

What most people don't understand is that Torrey Pines is a different track than it was when Phil was killing Laguna Nigel High in high school. Earlier this century, Torrey Pines got a face lift so that it could compete with the other big guns to get a US Open. Since then, Phil hasn't played well on the new track, while Tiger seems to win it every time he touches it. So when you sit there and listen to the commentators talk about "Phil's home course" and the expectations around it, just know that it would be like Robin Ventura and "Old Comiskey" and "New Comiskey," two different things.

Also, I'm really not into the Tiger/Phil?Adam Scott lineup thing. It really effects the tournament in my opinion. I think the guys playing around that group are going to have to deal with serious issues with ridiculous fans running around them trying to post in preparation for seeing the big group come through. In my opinion, Tiger and Phil should only play together when the score calls for it. Spread it out, cause for a nice time, but no need for a sideshow.

Finally about the US Open, not to be confused with "The Open" because that's in Great Britain, I'm taking the field. So outside of Tiger, everyone is so good now. Technology is so good now that really on any given day, any of these professionals can shoot 67. That's' how after the first day a rookie and a Nationwide guy can be at the top of the leaderboard. Is golf a mental game? Yeah, but as equipment continues to get better, shot-making is going to get easier and easier no matter what Johnny Miller has to say. I'd like to see an event once a year when players are forced to use wooden drivers and old school Sam Snead Wilson irons. See what happens then.



Sitting there last night, I turned on the basketball game and the Lakers were up 20-7 or something like that. Lamar Odom was just killing everything. The Celtics were getting good looks and shots weren't falling. I just say there and knew that this was going to even itself out.

Baskeball is a game of percentages. You always go with the percentages. And Finals games don't end in blowouts unless it involves Jordan, or the Jazz shooting 65% when Jeff Hornacek is taking 15 shots and making 19 of them. It was only a matter of time before things cooled off and started to come back to the middle.

And they did, in a hurry. So we are going to hear for a few days about the comeback and how it's one of the greatest in NBA Finals history. Yeah, I guess it is, but what happened at the end of the night is the better team won, and both teams came back to Earth, from both sides of the spectrum. Sure there was great drama outside of the combined Oscars of those in the floor seats. Wasn't it funny that ESPN could have cared less about Jada? That was amazing.

So sure it was exciting, but in a game like basketball where percentages are so crucial, are you at all surprised? If you buy into the Kobe thing, maybe. Again, in a game the Lakers should have put away, the NBA's MVP was what, 6-19 for 17 points? The best closer in the game sure got the door slammed on him by the Celtic defense.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will get the majority of credit for last night's win. Garnett because he's Garnett and made big shots down the stretch like Pierce, while Pierce led the Celtics in points. The bench play was crucial from Posey and House. But my God, Ray Allen played the game of his life last night. Allen was going up strong for rebounds, coming down with them late in the game after not sitting for the entire 48 minutes. We all know Allen is probably the knockdown shooter in the NBA, but his ability to get to the basket last night gave House and Posey the shots they needed to change the game. And with the game on the line, Allen going to the hole for two of the games biggest shots told everyone watching that no matter who the biggest of the big three is, that night, Allen was putting the Celtics on his back, stepping up and playing the leader. The funny thing, he's been quietly doing it all series.

The Celtics are simply the better team. Better players, better coaches. That's how you win. That's what the Celtics are doing, and it's by no surprise.