Human Element Above All Else.

There is something to be said when you see a particular athlete take over in a game when all the odds and charts and trends dictate that something other than what is about to happen, happens. How many times did we see a Michael Jordan take the game-winner as regulation was about to expire?

Anyone who is not a fan of the Lakers will wince when I say 'Kobe with under four to play'. Albert Pujols seems to find a way to get the key blast when a game dictates it. Tom Brady in a two minute drill? You get the point.

I remember a June day ten years ago when I actually SAW a game where a 15 point was taken away and a ballplayer just took over. Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference championship with the Lakers and Blazers. It was wildness. The man who I saw take the Blazers apart was Shaquille O'Neal. Full of fist and fire and fury, a Blazer 15 lead evaporated in the June swoon of the L.A. Forum. It was one of the few times I saw a player impose his will to determine the outcome of a game.

That game crossed through my mind as I watched Game 3 of the Lakers-Celtics tonight in Boston. If you like statistics, the team that has won Game 3 of a finale in the last 32 years has won 28 times. That's an 85% win probability! You have to like that.

Ray Allen had that kind of impact performance Sunday night with his 8 three pointers. On this night a familiar face to the Laker domain awoke from a dormant playoff and provided a necessary spark for Los Angeles to insure a return trip to La-la land.

Derek Fisher has a history of knocking down the big three at crunchtime. I flash back to games against the Kings in 2002 and the Suns in 2003 and I believe 2001. Fisher was on fire, unstoppable and unflappable. The Derek you knew or read about from a decade ago is a much different Fisher these days.

Case in point, late in the game Derek Fisher would shoot 11 of his 16 points and essentially give the Lakers a Game 3 win. Derek Fisher took over and shut out Ray Allen in addition. What caught my eye was the emotion he exhibited after the win on the sidelines.

Often you'll hear the usual jibber-jabber about 'wanting to help the team'. What I saw from Fisher was more along the lines of, 'Yes I'm old and my time is running out. Let me walk out a champion, and I;ll show you more heart than any ten players.' That's what I saw and sensed when the tears began to flow. Then to hear Kobe Bryant say good things about Derek clinched it.

Yes this isn't 2008 and the defenses may leave lots to desire, but for one night, it was refreshing to see an elderly athlete impose his will upon the outcome of a game. Take that, Boston!

Over and out in Big D

Mr. Will