derek fisher

Going into the fourth quarter, the Lakers only held a six point lead, a far cry from the 17-point lead that the Lakers held earlier in the game. With their new found momentum, the Celtics opened up the fourth with two Glen Davis layups followed by a Rajon Rondo lay up, cutting the Laker lead down to one.
With 8:56, the Lakers savvy veteran got to the rim to stop the bleeding. His layup pushed the lead back to three points. After a Kevin Garnett jumper and a Davis free throw, he went to work again, hitting a barrage of jumpers and leaners in the paint.
6:20 – 12 footer in the lane after creating space from Ray Allen
5:33 – 19 foot jumper to extend the lead to six points
4:33 – 15 footer following two straight Glen Davis buckets
We’ve become accustomed to scoring barrages like this since 1996. Kobe Bryant has always had the ability to light up the box score in short periods of time. Eight points in just over four minutes isn’t something we haven’t seen before – but this time it wasn’t from Kobe. It was Derek Fisher who almost single handedly kept the Lakers alive with the Celtics threatening to retake their first lead since just under five minutes left in the first quarter. And it would be Fisher who would ice the game. With just under a minute left to play, Fish grabbed a defensive rebound, pushed the ball and scored while getting fouled. His free throw moved the lead to seven and completely out of reach for the Celtics.
It’s always great to see a guy like Derek Fisher come through in the clutch. 11 points in the fourth quarter, closing the game for the Lakers much like his draft mate Kobe has done countless times over the years. It’s the ability to close games that gets you championships – the Glengarry Glen Ross principle as I like to call it:
To win championships, you have to know your ABCs. You have to Always Be Closing. In Game 2, the Lakers were given the conjectural Glengarry leads (a three-point lead with about five minutes left to play) and they couldn’t close the door. The leads were thrown away, allowing the Celtics to close and go back to Boston with home court advantage. Game 3, the opposite happened. The Celtics put them in a position to take another win from the Lakers and Derek Fisher came through for the Lakers despite the poor shooting from Kobe and huge game from Kevin Garnett. To further the GGR analogy, Game 3 can be broken down into four categories: AIDA (Attention, Interest, Decision and Action).
Attention: The Lakers really paid more attention to detail in Game 3, especially on the defensive end of the floor. I thought the Lakers did a fantastic job on Ray Allen. The Laker bigs were showing on screens, not allowing Allen to get off uncontested jumpers. They packed the paint when Paul Pierce had the ball, not allowing him to get going. He made three 3-pointers, but you can live with that when he isn’t able to get to the rim or knock down that shot he loves to take at the elbow. Keeping Pierce on the parameter also meant keeping him off of the free throw line. Rajon Rondo didn’t come anywhere near 10 rebounds this game and was held to 11 points. Kevin Garnett finally got going scoring 25, but he was making a lot of tough, contested shots. I can live with that if the Celtics, especially since the rest of the Celtics only scored 59 points.
Interest: One of the things about Lamar Odom is, on nights where he’s not playing well, he looks disinterested. Tonight was not one of those games. Odom came in right away and created a good look for Pau Gasol which led to two free throws. 12 points and five rebounds are a far cry from his most productive game of the season, but it was a huge improvement from his first two games. I also thought he made one of the biggest plays of the game that won’t be found on the box score. With about 1:45 left to play, Pau Gasol and Kobe had to switch on a Rondo-Garnett screen and roll. Kobe was on the block guarding a hot Kevin Garnett (he had just made two straight shots on Gasol) one-on-one. Lamar Odom rotated over from the right block to double-team Garnett, which ended in a Garnett turnover. (You also have to give some credit to Ron Artest for rotating down to a wide open Glen Davis, who was having a great quarter at that point, also. Garnett saw him as Artest rotated down, if not for Odom and Artest, the lead is cut to two, and the Fish three point play probably doesn’t happen.)
Decision: The Lakers offense in the first half was much improved from what it was in Game 2. The ball was constantly moving, guys were moving without the ball, and most importantly, they were making quick decisions. For much of Game 2, I wondered what happened to the crisp passing and quick, smart decisions that gave the Lakers the Game 1 win. Well, those offensive principles came back for Game 3. There were very few possessions in the first half where the ball was held for too long, there wasn’t any over dribbling and the Lakers were attacking the rim which gave them the 12 point edge going into the half. Those principles disappeared in the third quarter, allowing the Celtics to come roaring back into the game. The Lakers decisiveness is going to be key in Game 4.
Action: Action is simply the state of doing, and the Lakers had loads of action in Game 3. They were active on the boards (43 to 35 advantage), they were active defensively and they were active when their collective backs were against the wall. Before the game, I talked with a friend about how I’d like to see the Lakers win a tough one in Game 3. There is nothing that puts more confidence in a group of guys winning a tough playoff game on the road – especially when it’s the NBA Finals in the Boston Garden. The Lakers acted upon the Celtics initial run by closing out the 1st quarter on a 21 to five run. After a big lead, the Celtics made it much closer than it should have been, but he Lakers fought through the adversary and closed the game on an 8-2 run.
The Lakers are now in a great position as far as this series is concerned, but it’s not over. There are still two more games to be won before they can put up their 16th banner, but knowing that they’re only two games away from the title because of Derek Fisher’s clutch play down the stretch is a great feeling. Game 4 is on Thursday.

pretty little liars

'Pretty Little Liars' Stars Talk Secrets, Lies & Guilty Pleasure Goodness

The newest summer guilty pleasure has arrived in the form of ABC Family's 'Pretty Little Liars.'

The show is based on the young adult novel series by Sara Shepard and offers up the same kind of tawdry goodness that we've come to love in our summer TV. There's scandal, intrigue and just about something for everything. And according to star Chad Lowe, even the parents will like it.

'Pretty Little Liars' (Tues., June 8 at 8PM ET on ABC Family) follows the lives of Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily who were all in the same clique until their queen bee, Alison disappeared.

It's now three years since Alison went MIA and the four girls are receiving messages from someone using the name "A," who knows their secrets. Secrets only Alison knew.

I sat down with series stars Lowe, Holly Marie Combs, Shay Mitchell, Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson and Troian Avery Bellisario to get the lowdown on all things 'Pretty.'

here is the interview video:

http://video.aol.com/aolvideo/AOL Television/pretty-little-liars-interview/89867752001

fighting gravity

Here they are, dancing in the dark – literally! Yes, we mean literally dancing in the dark. ‘Fighting Gravity‘, the name of the group, is also fighting darkness now that they have decided to dance with the lights off. This group’s performance in tonight’s  America’s Got Talent episode is a kick-ass surprise.


Nick Cannon, the host of America’s Got Talent warned the audience that every light in the building has to be to turned off giving way for a very special performance by the group Fighting Gravity. A guy is dressed in
white vest and is positioned at the top of three other guys wearing white. It’s like three puppets with their master controlling them. The dark concealed their secrets and the audience could only witness an entertaining act. The white guys looked like they were floating up in the air with these green balls in between them that detailed their floating act.
This group also added dramatic elluminating factor as they were
amazingly glowing in the dark and looked like really floating in mid-air.
Th audience, including the judges and host Nick Cannon could not help but pay attention to the stage where this cool group was performing. Yells and cheers are all you can hear. Everybody went crazy for the unusual setting and the great dance performance of Fighting Gravity dance group. Here’s their video.

freddie fackelmayer

Samantha Swetra and Freddie Fackelmayer attend the I Want Now fashion show benfiting Haiti at Tenjune on March 25, 2010 in New York City.
credit – getty images
They make a striking “couple”!

sandra bullock and scarlett johansson

Sandra Bullock and Scarlett Johansson Kiss At The MTV Movie Awards

 

scarlett johansson sandra bullock

Sandra Bullock Kisses Scarlett Johansson!

Sandra Bullock just sucked face with Scarlett Johansson at the MTV Movie Awards -- talk about one helluva rebound!!!

follow this link to see the act: The girl-on-girl action went down just moments ago -- after Sandy got a huge standing ovation while receiving something called the Generation Award.

After the smooch, Bullock addressed the attention now placed on her personal life, saying "Can we please go back to normal because therapy is really expensive. Go back to making fun of me, I don't care, its time to get back to normal."

The kiss comes around the 4:00 mark.

hard times of rj berger

'The Hard Times of RJ Berger' Fails to Use its One "Asset"

  

This summer, MTV is getting into the scripted programming game, which I'm guessing they're doing because they figure everyone else on cable is making a mint with it. Once the network decided to surgically remove the words "Music Television" from their logo, they figured anything was game.

(And, yes, I know that 'The Hills' and 'The City' aren't exactly spontaneous. But they're considered reality shows, no matter how unreal they are.)

But the folks at the big M aren't giving us their version of 'Breaking Bad' or 'Sons of Anarchy.' No, they know who their audience is -- horny teenagers. So their latest foray into the scripted television, 'The Hard Times of RJ Berger,' should satisfy those folks, as there is a lot about it they can identify with.

It's essentially about the trials and tribulations of a typical high school nerd, who just happens to accidentally reveal to the entire school that he has been, um, blessed in a very evident way. The problem is, at least in the episodes MTV sent for review, RJ's prowess doesn't seem to factor into much of the show beyond the pilot episode.

There are some quirky aspects in the life of RJ (played by Paul Iacono) that make his life difficult. His parents (Beth Littleford, Larry Poindexter) are so open sexually that they toss single entendres with swinger couples at the family dinner table. His friend Lily (Kara Taitz) is obsessed with him to the point of being a stalker. He's in love with all-around popular beauty Jenny Swanson (Amber Lancaster), who's dating dumb jock Max Owens (Jayson Blair). Oh, and his best friend Miles (Jareb Dauplaise) is obsessed with sex.

Ok, the last part isn't that quirky. But the mostly unknown RJ becomes infamous around school when his pants fall down during a basketball game (long story) and the entire school sees everything. And that "everything" is impressive.

In the series' pilot, the consequences of that accident, including the confidence it gives RJ to not only talk to Jenny but deal with Max, makes for some pretty funny scenes. Don't get me wrong, the show is raunchy as hell; the pilot's climactic confrontation is something out of a gym locker room. But the language -- bleeped when needed -- and actions aren't much different than you'd see the typical 15-year-old talk about in school nowadays.

But whatever potential the show has to explore what it's like to be a well-endowed high school nerd gets lost in the second and third episodes. In the second episode, RJ runs against Max for student-body president; in the third, RJ tries out for the school's musical -- a cross between 'West Side Story' and 'Twilight' -- in order to get closer to Jenny. Except for a scene at the end of the third episode, both stories could have been taken out of every coming of age show from the last twenty years, from 'Square Pegs' to 'Freaks and Geeks' to 'Glee.' And, not coincidentally, the second and third episodes weren't nearly as funny as the first.

Iacono does a good job playing RJ as a fumbling nerd who's finding his social sea legs. And anyone who's been beaten up by the jocks will cheer as RJ tries to befriend Jenny while fending off both Max and Lily. But while we see that RJ's infamy has given him a smidgen of confidence, we don't explore what other consequences come from everyone's knowledge of his physical gifts.

In fact, the "gaining confidence" theme of the show could have been explored without the conceit that RJ is so well-endowed. But, then again, just calling the show a 21st century version of 'Head of the Class' probably wasn't going to fly with MTV.

Then again, world-weary old farts like myself aren't the intended audience. But I'm not even sure your typical teenage boy is going to like it either. Even among the fart and sex jokes, there has to be something clever there. Kids these days are too smart to expect less.