WHAT AM I MISSING?

OK. A few months ago I posted about my interest in the NBA getting a jolt. I wrote about the Jason Kidd and Shaquille O'Neal trades and wondered if those trades would turn their teams around. That question was quickly answered, and my interest has gone dormant again. But now the Celtics and Lakers are meeting in the NBA Finals, and everyone's all excited.

Am I missing something?

I don't pretend to know as much about the NBA as someone like Justin in NYC...meaning I can't recite all of the classic Lakers-Celtics matchups of the past. But I'm pretty sure Larry Bird isn't playing in this series. And I'm pretty sure Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar aren't either. Last I checked, it's still about 10 guys who don't hustle as much as they should, play pretty poor defense, and probably don't realize the significance of the matchup.

I know, Paul Pierce grew up in LA and lived and died with these games. That I buy. But I bet less than 10% of the combined rosters could tell you why Lakers-Celtics used to be such a big deal. And I mean used to. Because it's not that significant anymore. It's just one team against another. It's just a long flight for the Celtics. It's just a five-game series that the Lakers will win, and it will not be a classic.

Is everyone getting excited over a matchup that isn't going to recapture the glory of 20 years ago, or am I wrong here? (And I'm not bitter that it's not a new matchup. Although I don't blame you for thinking that.)

A NOTE ON THE METS: The MLB Player's Union gets so upset about the stupidest little things, I'm shocked they let baseball get away with this one. The Mets played the Dodgers Sunday night in a game that was originally supposed to get underway at 1:10pm, but was moved for ESPN coverage. Then they go out west for a series against the Giants, and there's no off-day in between. How does the union not gripe about that? (And on a related note, these games will be way past my bedtime.)