Sports is an odd thing in that it conjures from what are normally rationally, sane, and emotionally stable human beings feelings that would, under different circumstances, land one in a padded cell with a neatly starched straitjacket.

Take hatred and disappointment. In normal everyday life, I try as hard as possible to not use the word hate – because there are in truth very few things that I actually hate and our culture is littered with words that are both over and misused. In sports? There’s plenty of things and people that I hate. Bill Simmons called it “Sports Hate” – meaning that you don’t actually hate that person or thing, but in the context of sports it’s the only way to possibly describe how you feel within the game. Disappointment is another. What’s so disappointing to me or other fans about a group of millionaires losing a game that would cause a near catatonic depressive state? Unless your life savings was on the game, there shouldn’t be anything – but in sports, it happens.

So I’m disappointed that the Celtics lost to the Lakers last night and missed a chance to win their 18th NBA championship. However, unlike the Patriots disastrous loss to the Giants in the Super Bowl, I can look at this glass as half full. Had someone told me in the last week of the regular season that Boston would be playing the Lakers for all the marbles in Game 7 without their starting center and only lose by 4, I’d have asked for a breathalyzer test immediately. Figure in that they also had to beat arguably three out of the top five players in the league (Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, and LeBron James) just to get to a point to play a fourth (Kobe Bryant), do it on two days rest, without anything from Ray Allen in six of the seven games, and in a hostile environment and I’d have guessed a loss by 40, not 4. Remember, this team couldn’t have looked worse heading into the playoffs – considering where the bar was set, this ending isn’t all that tragic.

Do I think they could have won it? Sure – if there’d been four days rest in between every game. At the end of the day, that’s probably the biggest reason for the loss aside from the excellent defense L.A. somehow discovered last night. Old guys need rest in order to recuperate and games 6 and 7 didn’t allow for much. Throw in Ray Allen losing his mojo and it was damn near a foregone conclusion. To push this thing to seven games and still be out there gunning down to the last second isn’t just admirable, it’s what every fan hopes for from their team – no quit.

In the end, despite the enormous vat of (sports) Haterade I have for Kobe Bryant, I can take losing to him because the man has game. For everything he didn’t do offensively in this series, Ray Allen defended Kobe about as well as anyone could expect. Body on body, hand in the face, nothing easy… and he was still making shots. There’s nothing you can do about that.

What I can’t abide is losing to a pansy like Pau Gasol. The man screamed, hollered, flopped, grimaced, and flailed every time he drove the lane as though he’d been shot by a harpoon. In the fourth quarter, he was breathed on, threw the ball straight into the air, let out one of his patented “Constipated Sylvester Stallone Rambo” grunt/screams and got the call. How Kevin Garnett didn’t clothesline him in this series will go down as one of the great unexplained sports miracles of our time. Then, to top things off, the icing baskets came from a guy who GROOMED HIS EYEBROWS BEFORE SHOOTING THE FREE THROWS. I’m pretty sure there’s a special circle of sports hell awaiting Sasha Vujacic and I can’t wait to see him limping around for the Clippers in his twilight years.

And what NBA Finals would be complete without a discussion of the refs? The surprise here was that the officiating was actually decent through much of the series – which either means David Stern decided to let this one be decided on the up-and-up or they’re getting a bit more subtle at rigging these things. Game 5 was especially nice in that the refs let the teams played and only started to reign things in when absolutely necessary. That’s all I ask in any game – let the athletes decide the game, not the refs. However, the Lakers shot something around 20 free throws in the fourth quarter last night – the Celtics had 17 all game. Doesn’t that smell a bit fishy? I mean, just a bit? Granted, it’s not why they lost, but it certainly didn’t help the cause either.

As Teddy KGB would say, they beat them straight up… pay them… pay them their money. Doesn’t mean I have to like it, right?

It seems like things are happening left and right for other teams, including the other members of the AFC East, and yet the only news items involving the Patriots seem to involve some member of the Kraft family attending a charity event or which college player is heading to New England based on some worthless mock draft. Now, if the team was humming along and seemed to finish the season in fine working order, I wouldn’t be too concerned. But this was a team that limped into the playoffs and then were beaten so badly by the Ravens that it was unwatchable.

Not that I think any of the moves made by the Bills, Dolphins, or Jets are all that momentous, but they represent some kind of forward progress. Meanwhile, the Patriots are like some uber-cautious guy who refuses to hit on a 15 despite everyone else around the table showing 5′s or 6′s. Maybe it works out, maybe it doesn’t – but you damn sure have to do something eventually, right?

The Bills are a mess and have hired yet another failed NFL head coach to turn their program around – good luck with that. The Jets have made some splashy moves by signing LaDanian Tomlinson and trading for Santonio Holmes and Antonio Cromartie – with a chance Cromartie winds up having the biggest impact. They’re already on the record saying Tomlinson will get 15 carries per game – great idea for a runningback who is already cooked and who will turn around and pout should anyone suggest otherwise; I wonder how Holmes will keep out of trouble in NYC. Meanwhile, Cromartie plays across from the best cornerback in the NFL and will have plenty of chances to make plays. Miami landed Brandon Marshall and could rebound with a tweak here and there.

The Patriots… re-signed their own players and have apparently not been interested enough in free agents to do squat. In some ways, I’m okay with that considering their recent track record, but still… Let’s just say I’m trying to talk myself into this whole “silent running” approach to the offseason and hoping that they surface for some decent moves during the draft this week. If not… maybe I won’t have to turn the cable on in the fall after all…