Goin' back to Cali/Cali/Cali...

Goin' back to Cali/

...I don't think so.

Game 5 was, following the first quarter, an annihilation. The final score said Pistons by 14, but it was nowhere near that close, with the celebration beginning with about six minutes left in the game. It was a clinic, with the swarming Pistons shooting the lights out and grabbing rebounds in a way that suggested the Lakers were all multiple amputees.



Much interesting commentary, from sources as diverse as Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons (bookmark this guy) at ESPN and Jonathan Chait at The New Republic.

Here's (sorry, no permalinks) a funny snapshot from the winning lockerroom:

Only in Detroit would you find Kid Rock spraying champagne on Ben Wallace while Rasheed Wallace hollered out quotes from a Will Ferrell film.

Such was the scene deep in the Palace shortly after the Pistons' Game 5, Finals-clinching victory, as the jubilation that was seen on the floor shortly after Detroit's runaway win carried over to the home team's locker room. Highlights of the postgame celebration included:

- Rasheed repeatedly yelling, "You're my boy, Blue!" a quote from the movie "Old School."

- Kid Rock answering "Oh, that was too easy" when asked what he thought of the Palace staff cutting between clips of Kid (met with wild applause) and Jack Nicholson (hearty boos) on the arena Jumbotron.

- Hank Williams Jr. calling the series "total domination."

- Elden Campbell trying to usher the media out the door, so the team could "start the party."

- Numerous players singing J-Kwon's hit "Tipsy."

- Lindsey Hunter asking the media, "Who else do we need to beat?"

- Rasheed answering "When the clock read zero" when asked when he knew he had won a title.

For good measure, here's more Simmons commentary on the Finals.

Finally, some quick hits of my own:

--Carmelo who?

--Hey, Jimmy Kimmel: pucker up, buttercup. Some other reference dates before uncorking the hoary "burn the town down" cliches: 1989, 1990, 1997, 1998, 2002, and now, 2004. Let's see: that makes six straight loud, but peaceful, world championship celebrations for the city. Do us a favor and get some new material.

--I'm not exactly a sports prophet. Yes, the analysis was pretty decent--but I didn't think it would happen. That makes me and about 260 million other people before the tipoff of game one, so at least I'm in good company.

--You don't want Slava Medvedenko on that wall, you don't need Slava Medvedenko on that wall...

--Best commentary by a sports fan: a caller to WDFN compared the Lakers to the seagulls in Finding Nemo: "Mine!mine!mine!mine!"

Here in these parts, we're just going to try to enjoy it--for my part, I have to go out and get one of those "Got 'Sheed?" shirts ASAP.