A Glass Case of Emotion

First Quarter

-Rough start to the officiating game. Varejao got called for having an extended arm on Dwight, already two fouls on him.

-Not a bad offensive start despite the bad shooting. Alston just hit a three, bad sign when the other team's worst player is hot. James answers with a two.

-Ben Wallace is ungodly slow. Good thing Rashard Lewis is inexcusably bad at finishing.

-James quickly hitting outside shots. Uh-oh.

-Dwight Howard loves to bring the ball all the way down to his knees when he catches it. Horrible idea for a big man...I wish we could take advantage.

-Early going to three little man line up.

-LeBron hit in the face, crowd booing the fact that a foul was called. The Magic fans complaining about calls this series is utterly ridiculous. What's more, the replay showed Hedo's forearm on LeBron's back...same foul called on Varejao in the first minute that sent him to the bench.

-Early on, this game has the feel of Game 7 at Boston. Let's hope he can get more help this time.

-First commercial, 15-12 Magic, Dwight going to the line.

-Cavs bigs really have to remember that fouling is supposed to be a last resort. At least Varejao was TRYING to keep Dwight from getting the position he wants.

-Boobie nothing but net on first shot. The difference between him in a zone and not is bigger than almost anybody ever. LeBron hits a three on next possession, 19-18 Magic.

-Howard finally misses, gets own rebound and scores. Z's shortcomings show up more against this team than any team in the league by far.

-Mo's shot rims out, Pietrus continues to give statistics the finger and hits another contested three. Magic have hit every three they've taken and are only up six...already mugging for the camera. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

-Second commercial, 3:33 in the first, 24-18 Magic.

-LeBron fantastic fade. 24-20, was about to say we can't let it get away from us...not sure he will allow that. Rafer scores...26-20.

-Wally airballs wide open three. I'm not sure why that happened. Good thing this isn't a college game ("aaaairball").

-In all honesty, Dwight Howard is the one getting the Superstar calls, not James. Just got "bodied" by Boobie Gibson for an and-1. LeBron forced out of bounds for a no-call. Cavs down 28-20 without the ball...gotta start scoring.

-Courtney Lee continues to hit some of the worst shots ever taken and I'm about to shoot myself. Dwight Howard continues to smile after every call, want to shoot Dwight Howard.

-Wally swishes a three...confused.

-LeBron assist to himself to end the first, 30-25 Magic. Just like the series, still alive in this game after a shaky start.

Second Quarter

-Rashard Lewis misses a three badly, leads to a discussion with John Glenn about what makes you question your three point shooting. Never has this topic been so important.

-Third commercial break. Bench staying in it with guts and, again, three small guards. 37-31 Magic. If we're going to win this game, it might have to be one of those games where we don't have the lead until the game is nearly over. How does Jada Pinkett Smith not know the Doctor Drama is not interesting? She really seems into it.

-LeBron back in the game at 8:50.

-Can't give up offensive rebounds. Pietrus hits another three. It's almost like he's good at threes...he's not though...this is incredible.

-Wally called for one of those fouls that the NBA is famous for. Off the ball offensive fouls that nobody sees and they don't replay on tv.

-The first time they run the LeBronfense, defensive three seconds for a free point. Dwight Howard back.

-Mo getting frustrated with rough officiating. 3 fouls.

-Fourth commercial, Magic shooting incredible percentages once again...not sure Cavs can really do anything about it. Magic 44-34.

-Back to Bron at the high post, foul on Pietrus. Bron misses both...horrible. Shard basically football holding on LeBron.

- Fifth commercial, 4:20 left in the second. Rashard Lewis open three...again. This is exactly how they closed out the other teams. Dwight dunk, Magic by fifteen. Rashard Lewis' 6 foot 10 knuckleball three will be haunting my dreams for the rest of my life.

-Offense playing tenative, defense giving up offensive rebounds...just avoided two wide open first half knockout punches.

-Delonte West two great moves yet Marv only reacts with the "Wonderful MOVE!!!" to Dwight Howard driving hard to his right with an ugly hook over the slowest center in the league.

-Crowd weirdly quiet for being up big in the first half of a close out game.

-Ball obviously poked out by Rashard Lewis but given to the Magic because Shard pointed that way. Open three made by Alston w/Alston mugging for the cameras. Honestly, the NBA needs help.

-Howard misses and-1...big smile. I really don't like this guy. Wish we would have fouled him harder and dirtier. 43 seconds left in the half, Cavs down 16.

-LeBron already having to shoot threes early in the shot clock.

-Game over in the first half. Absolute nightmare scenario for the Cavs. Magic shooting over 50% from three and Dwight Howard getting literally every call and no-call from the zebras. This team is impossible to guard, period. Mike Brown called for a Tech to end the Half. That's how bad this officiating is. No calls for the MVP, Dwight given the red carpet to the basket...and Orlando's the one complaining...

3rd Quarter

Prediction: The first play out of the half, LeBron will drive about the hardest you've ever seen to the basket and get a foul on Dwight Howard or die trying.

-Oh wait I forgot, the technical free throw is the first play out of the half...

-I was wrong, Mo from deep to start, first two possessions, Cavs not giving up.

-Before the first minute is up...Cavs only down 11. This game might have to be a microcosm of the series. By the way, not that those threes won't start going down immediately after I say this, but this is what can happen when you take two straight threes to start a half you fucking idiots.

-First commercial out of half, 59-48 Magic. Can we give them a taste of their own medicine?

-Touch foul on Turkoglu. Fouls going the other way now. This officiating objectively sucks. Another mystery foul on Ilgauskas. Not allowed to touch each other in the post. Z just played great defense on Howard...unforgivable call. Howard is not allowed to not score. If that is a foul, LeBron should shoot 55 free throws a game.

-Dwight in the post for five straight seconds. No call. Pietrus worst brick ever. All of the misses he should statistically have were in that shot apparently.

-Me: "Come on Mo, take him. You're better than Rafe." Mo gets an and-1 on rafe. Cavs down 11.

-Cavs struggling to get it to single digits. Dwight Howard offensively fouls quite a bit. Mo for three, 10 point game.

-Again, offensive foul on Dwight, called a foul on Z...and-1. Cavs out-playing Magic severely, still down double figures because of the zebras.

-Crowd booing an obvious foul call on Pietrus. Unbelievable. This happens after an effortless block on Rafer Alston. Rafer looks like a guy I would know and dislike.

-West answers a Turk three with another bad three. Pietrus defies logic once again. Cavs down 14.

-Turk draws a foul with a clumsy drive to the basket...the only kind of drive he does. I'm telling you people, watch the games. Turk gets more calls than LeBron James. If you're slow, weak and foreign, you will get calls because you react to contact. Watch a Lakers game and keep an eye on Gasol if you don't believe me.

-Dwight nudges Bron for an and-1. He did touch him...questionable. Dwight said to the ref, "That's bull." Isn't that a technical by Christian standards?

-Second commercial of the second. 79-68 Magic.

-Dwight Howard just tried to make an actual post move and very obviously hooked Ben Wallace. It's frustrating that a player with such a lack of skill is dominating us so effectively.

-Delonte is the only other person on the team man enough to go at Dwight. Another reason I love him

-Several threes just rimming out for the Cavs, rimming in for the Magic. Why are threes so easy for this team?

-End of the third, Cavs down 86-70. The roots of a comeback are there but it's still intensely unlikely.


Fourth Quarter

-Refs still not allowing Varejao to bump Howard. I never thought that Varejao would be in foul trouble because he was playing too physical with Dwight Howard.

-Pietrus rims in a three. Game essentially over. Refs reacting to the extreme to Stan Van Gundy's incessant bitching. It also seems to be a reverse reaction to how Shaq was officiated in his prime. They would basically give Vlade or whoever some calls early in the game but Shaq still dominated. Now, they aren't even allowing a shorter, skinnier, slower player touch Howard with his body at any time. This version of Howard is exactly as unguardable as Shaq was against the Kings but Howard is nowhere near as good as Shaq. Why do you think this is?

-The Magic pick-and-roll is about as obnoxious as it gets. When you roll, yet continue to pick your guy...is that not a moving screen? I mean...it is.

-Foul on Gortat after a rebound that actually hurt the Cavs. Thanks.

-Questionably foul on Dwight. Down 17 but somehow the game is never over when you shoot this many threes.

-Dwight is being called like he is 45 years old with arthritis and the refs are afraid he'll die if he gets hit. 6 and a half minutes to go.

-Low key horrible stat in this game, Cavs shooting 50% from the line.

-Wally shoots his second open airball. Can we get Boobie in here please? 5:24 to go, 94-78 Magic. Someone has to get insanely hot...again...Boobie anyone?

-Looks like Sasha is coming in. Our season is in the hands of Sasha Pavlovic.

-Marv just asked if LeBron is having a bad game because of the Magic's defense or because of fatigue. The answer is the officiating. Dwight just got his fifth foul, should be his seventh. LeBron missed another free throw. Curtains.

-I guess the case is this (as the Magic fans chant "M-V-P" with Dwight at the line): The officials would give the other team a chance with Shaq, as they do for LeBron. Physically dominating people who are almost unguardable within the rules. The refs would give you a flop every now and then. I'm not sure the refs were ready for Dwight to be so dominating, and they are giving him calls like he needs them, which he doesn't. He's not only getting those calls that refs give to the other team at times to keep it fair, he's getting calls that aren't even fouls. It's really a shame for the league that this team is in the Finals.

Bitterness aside, this season has been ruined by two things: Injuries and the officials. If Kevin Garnett were still here, the Magic would have lost in five, as Rashard would have been shut down by KG rather than feasting on Big Baby and Scalabrine. We all forget while watching this series, as Dwight gets every call against a group of bigs who already have no chance, he was almost played to a standstill by Kendrick Perkins simply because Perk could match his strength. Frankly that is embarrassing for someone nicknamed "Superman."

And the officiating? Well, every playoff game was officiated differently, yet all were officiated poorly. What is the result? My two least favorite teams in the league matching up in the Finals. Never have two more distasteful teams matched up in a Championship game since Super Bowl XXX with the Cowboys matched up against the Steelers. I'm not sure I'm going to watch any of these Finals, but I'm picking the Lakers in 6.

-Dwight Howard shoots a three as the game ends and smiles. What a class act. Final score: Magic 103, Cavs 90.

Sorry guys, we tried.