Dear Bucky,

You finally got to me.

Unlike the rest of the B-lo sports blogosphere, I’ve never had much disagreement with your commentaries and opinions on the Sabres. Like you I ripped the Sabres a new one immediately when co-captains Drury and Briere left town, and have become a bit annoyed with the inability to retain some of the key players that made Buffalo a Stanley Cup contender. I suppose I can understand why some out there get upset with your constant referrals to the “Druriere” situation, yet by same token it has been seven years gone by now and I still see comments referring to Hasek’s nasty departure from Buffalo. Keep it up if you so desire.

That being said, here’s word of advice to you: Leave the NBA commentary at the News to Mssrs. Sullivan and McKissic.

“NBA Finals not worth staying up for.” Really? OK, then exactly what Finals scenario WOULD you stay up for? Spurs/Pistons? Cavs/Suns? Knicks/Grizzlies? Being the alleged “big Celtics fan” that you are/were after the Braves left town, one would think that you’d be waiting with baited breath to see your team in the Finals for the first time in a couple of decades. Nah…guess not. Then again, what former Braves fan hops on the wagon of the hated Celtics anyway? Like any Bills fan would become ‘Fins fans in a relocation scenario. Just sayin’.

And since were you THE source for the what defines a “true” Celtic or Laker? Paul Pierce not a true Celtic? What? Someone who spends his entire ten year career in Boston and represents them six times as an All Star is not a “true” Celtic?

Why? Is it because he hasn’t won a title like those “true” Celtic predecessors of his. There’s a solid reason for that and it’s not Paul Pierce. It’s having a front office that was run by the likes of M.L. Carr, Rick Pitino, and Chris Wallace that never put a title contending team on the court with him during or before his arrival in Boston.

And Kobe not a “true” Laker??? Hmmm. Spending an entire career with the Lakers, earning ten All-Star appearances, helping to bring home three NBA Titles and winning an MVP award must not qualify since he begged out when things got rough. Fair point, sort of.

Except that the reason why all of those “true” Lakers never wanted such was because they never had to deal with a stretch of mediocrity like the Lakers had in the past three seasons(avg 40 wins). Case in point: the worst record of a Laker team with Magic Johnson(pre HIV - 1979-91) on the roster was 54-28. And yet like Kobe, Magic helped to run a coach out of town (Paul Westhead) even with championship results.

Yet we look on Magic fondly in part because his replacement WAS better (Riley) and took the Lakers to greater heights.

And I gotta wonder. What did you mean by “distant delinquents”?? A hidden shot at the league’s totally unwarranted thug reputation?? With due respect, which league has brought us Pac-Man Jones, Michael Vick, Ray Carruth, and the Cincinnati Bengals?? Which sport has given us an embarassing steroid/HGH scandal filled with indictments, subpeonas, and other endless legalese? When was the last time that the NBA had to appear before Capitol Hill?

Outside of referee Tim Donaghy and the occasional Carmelo mugshot, how often have you seen NBA entities in the police blotter lately? Yep, not much at all. Darn those delinquents….

We’ve got the Celtics and the Lakers in the Finals. The two greatest franchises in the history of the sport, both having a future first ballot Hall of Famer on their team (KG and Kobe) and were the top seeds in their respective conferences heading into the playoffs. What in the world more could the NBA possibly give you? In what other sport would such a scenario make even a casual fan turn away from their sets and say: “Eh, not makin’ it through the first half. Why bother?”

I can think of one right away. It’s called “not being a fan of the game, period.” So please, Bucky. Save your opinions for sports you actually know and/or care about.

Much appreciated,

Peter Farrell

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