NBA

In the NBA, it was a crucial Game 3 in the Finals between the Lakers and the Magic.  Except this time, it was on Orlando’s home court.

Before the game, however, Lakers coach Phil Jackson publicly stated he thought Pau Gasol goal tended at the end of Game 2.  On Sunday, the Magic’s Courtney Lee had one last chance to win the game with 0.5 seconds left, but he missed an ally-oop layup (not an exactly an easy task nonetheless).  Pau Gasol jumped up, and many thought he hit the rim.  Coach Jackson agreed, and while he didn’t quite call in ‘goal tending’ (‘basket interference’ was the term he used), he did say Gasol got in the way.  Nevertheless, his opinion really has no bearing on the series.

So in Game 2, the Magic would need to shoot the ball much better if they wanted to beat the Lakers.  And they came out red-hot, hitting shots from everywhere.  It would have been a first half blowout if it wasn’t for Kobe Bryant’s electric 21 points.  He has been a madman in this tournament, and was practically the only thing keeping the Lakers in the game.  Then, in the second half the Magic kept their lead, even finished the night shooting an NBA Finals best 62.5% (that’s a record), but, somehow, the Lakers tied the game at 99 with just 2 minutes to play.  Wow, what a comeback!!

Then, with the Magic up to with 30 seconds to play, the ball was once again in the hands of Kobe Bryant.  As a side note, Bryant wants to be Michael Jordan — he wants that historic highlight we watch for years to come, but, unfortunately, that desire has been his detriment.  When Kobe tried to drive, Rashard Lewis tipped the ball, and it was stolen by Mickael Pietrus.  He hit two clutch free throws, and put the Magic up by four.  The Lakers got a last second basket, but it simply wasn’t enough, and Magic get their first win of the series.  Orlando 108, LA Lakers 104.

MLB

Elsewhere in sports it was the annual, yep, MLB Draft.  The major league baseball draft is certainly a big deal, but gets a much lower profile than either the NBA or NFL.  One reason, it takes place during the season.  The other reason, while they might get drafted, some of the top picks may still spend a year or two in the minor leagues before we see them.  Well, the first pick was a huge deal this year, as the most coveted pitching prospect of all time was up for grabs.  His name:  Stephen Strasburg, and he was drafted by the Washington Nationals.  He is repped by the notorious Scott Boras, and it’s reported he will probably make between 10 and 12 million his first year in the league.