HOMETOWN HEROES: I am not a Larry Brown fan. (Okay, I used to be.)
I think he's an opportunist who ruined the Sixers with lousy decision-making and dumb long-term contracts for older players (Snow, McKie, Buckner), and I hated the way he quit the Sixers, claiming fatigue and a desire to spend more time with family, only to sign with Detroit the next week.
But as much as I dislike Larry Brown, I hate Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Put aside the rape allegations, which are nauseating. He deserves all the boos Philadelphia gives him, a pretty boy who shows disdain for his home and never exerts effort until he has to.
Indeed, the smug sense of entitlement that whole team had this year, the "we'll only play our best when there's a gun to our head" mentality, was an insult to the fans who want to pay attention during the 82-game regular season.
(Okay, I like Shaq, the self-proclaimed "black, basketball-playing Nietzsche", even if his pre-season comments comparing himself to Colin Powell may have proven too apt.)
On the other hand, you've got my hometown boys Rip Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace. Rip was one of my favorite college players who's finally able to shine in the pros. Sheed (who my brother's roommate played against in high school) plays with passion every night, and also has an active charitable foundation giving back to all the cities he's called home, including a summer basketball camp he hosts in North Philly every year. I was happy to see the Lakers lose, but almost as happy to see the Pistons win.
Anything else I would say here, Michael Wilbon has said better over the past few weeks.
Darko, Mehmet and Scoreless Williamson now have rings, and Malone, Payton, Barkley and Ewing don't. Heh.
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