Must-win.

At some point tonight, someone (probably Bill Walton) will declare that Game Two is a "must-win" game for Detroit. And while that may be correct (it's hard to imagine anyone taking four of five against the Spurs), it's still infuriating. Why? Because if the Spurs DO win tonight, they've just done what they were supposed to. Win at home. And if the Pistons defend their home court, they come back to San Antonio needing to only win one of two. So the whole "must win" thing is a bit of an overstatement.

How much does ABC miss Marv Albert? I've been following the playoffs at a bar downtown, so I'm just reading the closed captions, but Bill Walton STILL sucks. I wonder if Marv even watches the Finals, or if it's just too depressing. I can just picture him in his crib, downstairs in front of a 65" plasma, sound off, doing the games by himself, or maybe with the Czar and Steve Kerr on speakerphone. I would totally pay for an alternate commentary channel to be able to hear that.

Still hotter'n all hell in New York, complete with the humidity of death and near-daily afternoon thunderstorms. I knew Manhattan was an island, but I wasn't aware that it was a tropical one. And after much procrastination and general laziness, I finally put my air conditioner in today. I think I'll just leave it in this winter, cover it up or something. Because by not putting it in until now, I probably haven't had a good night's sleep in over a week. Oh well.

Tonight should be good, though--cool apartment, and I blew the dust off my vintage Slim Chance road bike by riding the westside path from Prince Street all the way up to 125th and then back home. Probably 12 miles or so. Maybe more. Nice ride, made better by the fact that the sun was going down. Lots of people out, breeze coming off the water, no rain. I've also been pondering pitching something--anything--to one or more of the bike magazines out there. I ride basically everything, and I've obviously been published before. It would be good to get away from ball for a while and write about track bikes or downhill or BMX or anything. Got a few ideas I'm kicking around.

But for now I need to grab a much-needed shower and head back downtown to catch the game. I think San Antonio holds serve tonight--that first-quarter stumble in Game One is what will be on their minds as they take the floor, not the fact that they wound up winning the game. They'll come out strong, and Detroit will be hard-pressed to keep up. The thing is, San Antonio can win defensive battles OR shoot outs, and Detroit isn't strong enough offensively to compete when the pace picks up. (They're probably better offensively than people give them credit for, but they're not as good as San Antonio.) Staying with San Antonio in six, waiting to celebrate back home.

Google: Chris Chance