OK, I've never done this before, so I'm going to give it a shot. I'm going to keep a running diary (for lack of a better word) of Game 3 of the finals, Sports Guy style. Let's be clear, he's obviously perfected it, I just wanted to have some fun and see how it changed the viewing process for me.



Tonight's game should be interesting. I have this gut feeling that LA will beat Boston by double digits. It is time for Kobe to have a game where he is unstoppable. And with all the talk about the foul discrepancy, you would think that LA will get all of the calls tonight.



That is, until the Donaghy story broke today. I think you'll see a game that is closely called tonight. I seriously doubt the league fixes games, in fact, isn't it a little obvious that the one game Donaghy picked was one of the worst called games in playoff history? Wouldn't it be a little more believable had Donaghy talked about a game with subtle bad refereeing? Either way, the referees will probably be a little sensitive tonight. And yes, the refereeing is so bad in the NBA, people think the games are fixed. How sad.



Pregame: I missed the ceremony where the Lakers gave Jerry West the keys to the city for trading Gasol to them. They must have done that during a commercial break.



1q 10:20 - Kobe's been hacked twice and hasn't gotten a call yet. He's already staring down the officials.



1q 10:12 - Followed up by a tic-tac foul on the other end. Interesting....



1q 8:31 - The first shot of Magic Johnson in the stands. The guy sitting next to him has this incredible look on his face. He can't believe it. Court side seats next to Magic in the finals. Let's just hope they don't show him stuffing his face with popcorn like they did in Game 2



1q 7:51 - Celtics are settling for jumpers and the Lakers are taking it to the basket. Didn't the opposite happen in the first two games?



1q 7:32 - The free throw discrepancy has already started. 6-0 Lakers. It's probably due to what I just wrote about a minute ago, but it's better to start a conspiracy theory. Lakers lead 9-2



1q 7:19 - The Lakers' strategy is clear. Make Rondo beat you. Kobe is giving him up to 10 feet to shoot the ball. We'll see if he is up to it.



1q 6:09 - Imagine you paid over $1,000 to get court side seats and you get stuck behind the Celtic bench. You have a bunch of guys that are at least 6'5" tall standing up all the time.



1q 4:40 - As an Alabama fan, I can attest to this. Any time you see the point guard standing at the top of the key dribbling for an extended period of time, bad things will happen for you offensively. That just happened for the Celtics.



1q 3:55 - Traveling was just called on Kobe Bryant. In an unrelated story, Pigs just flew.



1q 2:47 - At this point, Rondo is up to the challenge. He's knocked down a couple of jumpers and the Celtics are now down only 3 (17-14).



1q 1:47 - Pierce and KG are 0-9 shooting. If you include Allen, the big three are 1-12. And the game is tied. Wow.



1q 1:03 - Quietly, KG has 7 rebounds already. The Lakers have blown a chance to easily have a 10 point lead right now.



1q :24 - Sam Cassell is that guy that you hate to play pick-up basketball with. He entered the game talking trash. He's touched the ball twice and shot it twice (making one). And he failed to get back down the court after he missed the last shot.



End of 1q - Kobe has 11. KG and Pierce still haven't scored. The game is tied 20-20 and the Lakers lead the "all-important" Free Throw battle 10-2.



2q 11:37 - Casell is now 3 - 3 in the shot to touch category.



2q 11:24 - Make that 4-4. Keep in mind he has only hit one. Celtic fans haven't seen a run like this since Ricky Davis was traded.



2q 9:15 - Another miss by KG. What is going on with him?



2q 9:09 - Followed up by a lame "almost" fight between Farmar and Brown. The Lakers bench has given the Lakers a 29-22 lead at the time out. (LA leads free throws 12 - 2)



2q 7:10 - Celtic's offense looks terrible right now. Not surprisingly, Rondo is still on the bench and Cassell is in the game. KG is 0-7 and Kobe has 17 points. Mark Jackson just said he set and over/under of 38 points for Kobe tonight before the game. I would have taken the over in a heart beat.



2q 5:55 - KG finally scores after missing another shot. Lakers lead 34-27 at the time out.



2q 4:54 - Vujacic is making a case for being the unsung hero tonight. He already has 10 points.



2q 4:34 - Pierce finally scores his first points of the game. Things are looking pretty good for the Lakers right now. They are up 38-29.



2q 3:30 - Pierce just shoots an airball. The Lakers fans don't start the "Airball" chant until the organ starts playing the music for it. That is inexcusable!



2q 2:43 - Lakers lead 40 - 31 at the timeout. They also lead the free throw battle 18-2. Now keep in mind that the Lakers are attacking the basket and the Celtics are settling for jump shots. The opposite occurred in Game 2 went the Celtics were getting to the line. However, if things don't change, this will be the story tomorrow. The real story is Kobe. He's on fire.



2q - :40 - Pau Gasol misses another shot. He's now 0-4 tonight. This is becoming one of the hidden stories in the series. Gasol has not been the player the Lakers have needed them to be.



Halftime - Lakers lead 43-37



KG and Pierce are 2-16. The Lakers lead the free throw attempt battle 22-9. But here's the bigger story. They have missed 10. Kobe has missed 5. If you are the Celtics, you feel like you should be down 15. I still think the Lakers will run away in the second half, but they have left the door open.



3q 11:16 - Rondo goes down with an ankle. Celtics fans scream as they know what this means, more Cassell.



3q 11:15 - Celtics fans rejoice. Doc sends in Eddie House rather than Cassell.



3q 10:19 - Thank you Mark Jackson. Finally someone is talking about Pau Gasol's absence in the finals.



3q 8:50 - Perkins was just given a gift for the foul. Are the refs trying to make up calls in the 2nd half?



3q 8:11 - Nope! Kobe gets breathed on by Perkins and a foul is called. Time out. Lakers lead 47-43 and Rondo is coming back to the floor.



3q 7:29 -As KG blows by Gasol and gets fouled, here's a thought. What if the Lakers had a healthy Bynum in this series?



3q 5:45 - Quietly, the Celtics just tied the game. KG is starting to make some shots.



3q 5:11 KG hits another shot. Kobe goes down on the other end and has that look in his eye. He's going to shoot every time down the court the rest of the game.



3q 4:44 - Time out Lakers. The Celtics are on a 15-3 run and they lead by 4.



3q 2:02 Quietly, Ray Allen has 20 pts. Not so quietly, Kobe has 26. Pretty soon we're going to start playing the "Where's Paul Pierce" game. He's totally out of this game.



End of 3q Celtics lead by 2. FT battle is getting closer 24 - 17.



Side note. These games start way too late. It's 10:15 central time at the beginning of the 4th quarter. I'm fading fast. Maybe I need some supplements to help me with my endurance.

4q 10:00 - Pierce is back in the game. He only has two points.

4q 9:16 - Kobe misses his 6th FT of the night. Van Gundy says the Celtics should go to the "Hack-a-Bryant" strategy. Nice.

4q 8:56 - Pierce now has 5 fouls and 2 points. Surprisingly, the Celtics still lead by 2

4q 7:15 - Rondo has finally reentered the game. House did a superb job and is the reason the Celtics are leading. Now the Lakers are taking advantage of Rondo's injury and they are going to have to get him out of the game.

4q 6:27 - Big 3 by Kobe. He now has 30 points

4q 6:05 - Here come the Lakers. 7-0 run, not surprisingly it has come with Rondo and his slow ankle in the game.

4q 4:55 - Time out. Lakers by 5. Sloppy basketball right now, but the Lakers have momentum.

4q 3:53 - Welcome to the game Paul Pierce. A three point play for..... Nope he missed the free throw. Lakers by 4

4q 3:22 - Does Kobe ever commit a foul? In his mind I don't think he does. Time out. Lakers by 6.

4q 2:22 - Somehow Kobe is not taking over this game. Zero touches the last two times down the court. Lakers by 2

4q 1:53 - Celtics double team Kobe and he finds Vujacic in the corner. Big 3 and Vujacic now has 20 points.

4q 1:35 - Time out, Lakers by 7. It's funny, after Curt Schilling called Kobe out, you can now see Kobe talking to his teammates and encouraging him. It seems so staged.

4q 1:05 - Kobe is taking over. He makes two big shots.

4q :30 - For some reason the Celtics just quit. Boston fans won't like that. They let the Lakers run the clock out with a 6 point lead.

Lakers win by 6. Kobe dominated as expected. And I'm tired.