Random Observations On Watching Sports; Or, Why Aren't I Being Paid For This?

--While watching the halftime coverage of the Miami Heat versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, I witnessed the following:

Michael Wilbon, on what he gathers from the fact that the Lakers viewed a tape of one particular game from last year's Finals before today's rematch with the Celtics: "It means Phil Jackson wants to win this game."

As opposed to every other game of the season, which he wants to lose.

--The Oklahoma City Thunder should really still be in Seattle as the Sonics. Nothing about sports should change from when I was a kid without getting my approval. This would not have earned my approval.

--Except for the Giants winning a World Series. That is an example of change in sports from when I was kid that is totally acceptable and needed no prior approval.

--I do like seeing the Thunder give the Heat all they can handle. Russell Westbrook is fun to watch. He stole the ball from James, drove the length of the court, and dished the ball to a teammate on the wing for a three-pointer even while colliding with a Heat defender. That is the sort of elegance that I enjoy in basketball, hard work and a keen pass, intelligent movement away from the ball by Westbrook's teammate, that doesn't rely exclusively on pure athleticism and spectacle.

--Watching Mexican soccer, I can pick up the gist of what the announcers say sometimes, from a smattering of Spanish I've learned, along with the context of the game. But there are certain moments when the announcers start screaming as if the world has come to an end, and I find this bewildering, because there are no goals, no blatant fouls, no alien invasion erupting in the middle of the pitch.

--The NFL's Pro Bowl is on today. It is absolutely pointless. Therefore, as an American sports fan, I am expected to derive some sort of enthusiasm all on my own. The timing of the game is weird, as it is the week before the Super Bowl, which means that the players from the Steelers and the Packers will not be there. The game serves neither as a welcome break partway through the season, a fun little sideshow, nor as a final bit of dessert to cap the season. Yet, somehow, the NFL moved the Pro Bowl to this time as a marketing ploy? It baffles me.

--I'm torn on the Super Bowl. Marina has a friend and a cousin--specifically, a cousin-in-law (shouldn't such a term exist?)--who are Packer fans, but Vaughn is a Steelers fan. Vaughn has a prior claim on borrowing my allegiance for the game, but Ben Roethlisberger, while a remarkable athlete, is apparently pretty sleazy as a human being. Decisions, decisions. Maybe I should auction off my allegiance?