Of one thing there is no doubt, America is obsessed with sport. All kinds of sport. And there is so much sport going on in this country that it is impossible to keep track.
The National Hockey League playoffs for the Stanley Cup are on, Steven Strasburgh, the number one overall draft pick from 2009 is set to make his major league baseball debut for the Washington Nationals against the Pittsburgh Pirates today, an event that is being closely watched. The FIFA World Cup is around the corner, and surprising as it maybe, American TV networks and newspapers are actually spending a considerable amount of time commenting on the cup. Then there is baseball, football, softball, and probably a whole bunch of other stuff that isn't in the news as much.
Among all this, it wouldn't be too hard to miss the NBA Finals, if you weren't a basketball fan. That is if you are far away from either Boston or Los Angeles.
Here in the old Irish town of Boston, there is nothing else that people on the street can think of. Come this evening, and all eyes will be glued to TV screens and locals will be rooting for their heroes, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and all the other men in green, who are looking to wrap up the seven-game Finals in their home town. The next three games will be played in the city that is home to Harvard University and MIT, and with the series tied at won game each, the Celtics are looking for a sweep of the home games to avoid going back to the West coast.
{{/usCountry}}Here in the old Irish town of Boston, there is nothing else that people on the street can think of. Come this evening, and all eyes will be glued to TV screens and locals will be rooting for their heroes, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and all the other men in green, who are looking to wrap up the seven-game Finals in their home town. The next three games will be played in the city that is home to Harvard University and MIT, and with the series tied at won game each, the Celtics are looking for a sweep of the home games to avoid going back to the West coast.
{{/usCountry}}There is plenty to worry about for the Lakers. Shutting down Rondo will be paramount in coach Phil Jackson's mind, and being the man who has won the NBA Championship 10 times in the past, Jackson is sure to have a plan.
On the road in these playoffs, the Lakers haven't been in the best of form. Their record is four wins and an equal number of losses. In game two there were a number of Lakers' who just didn't show up on court. But, guys like Lamar Odom are far too good to go missing two games in a row.
The Lakers will need all their big men to fire and assist the offensive leaders Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.
Celtics, well, are clearly on a high. They will be buoyed by the performance in Game 2. The last time they faced each other was in 2008. The Celtics will be looking for a repeat of that series and Lakers for revenge.
There is an interesting fact that makes tonight's game even more important though. Since 1985, when the current Finals format was adopted, the team winning Game 3 has gone on to win the Championship every single time. That means the heat is well and truly on.