Yeah, I know.  I should be 'bigger' about this and just be thrilled that our beloved Celtics are in the Finals.  But since this call either (or both) stripped the Celtics of a possibly legendary playoff moment or sparked them to play newly motivated basketball down the stretch of Game 6 in Detroit, it seems worth the few seconds required to take one final look back.

Further, this clip was posted on YouTube by our very own CelticsBlog member, Ryan -- unless there is some other joker with the account name 'rmcc4444.'  I'll take my chances guessing it's Ryan.  Thanks for posting, sir.

It's really a wonderful wrinkle that the guy who made the call had a preexisting reputation for showing up at times when it would be, er, 'convenient,' for the home team to win. 

After that call, between the striking change in officiating in the fourth quarter (it was as if they suddenly wanted the players to decide the game; novel, I know) and the reactions of Pistons fans in the game thread over at Detroit Bad Boys, the only image that keeps coming to mind is that of the game with the crooked refs in "Remember the Titans."  In that scene, of course, the refs are sabotaging the Titans in order to get Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) fired and Bill Yoast re-instated as head coach.  Yoast walks out to mid-field after a particularly egregious call and demands the officials call the game fairly and threatens that he'll take them down if it's the last thing he does.  The response?  "You dig your own grave."  The refs call the game honestly, the Titans win, and Yoast doesn't re-take the head coaching job -- which is fine with him.

But thinking about some of the "I want to win, but I want it to be legit" comments I saw from Pistons fan (admirable), I can't help but crack a smile imagining Flip Saunders getting in Salvatore's face and demanding a fair fourth quarter, only to be told, "You dig your own grave."  And so it went.

For the final time, I'm done venting about this play -- and I'm only joking about possible conspiracy in Game 6.  I promise.  Scout's honor.  Thanks again for posting, Ryan.