Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
June 6, 2008, Washington Post

Let's Play (Crystal) Ball

Sports fans love to make predictions. Trying to figure out what is going to happen in a big sporting event is part of the fun. So let's have some fun and try to predict the outcome of two big sports events happening this weekend: the NBA Finals series between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Belmont Stakes horse race in New York.

The NBA Finals

The Lakers-Celtics matchup looks fairly even. Boston had the best regular-season record in the National Basketball Association: 66 wins, 16 losses. Los Angeles finished 57-25 but won the most games in the tougher Western Conference.

Both teams are loaded with stars. The Lakers have Kobe Bryant, the league's most valuable player this season, who has been great in the playoffs. Playing alongside Bryant is Pau Gasol, the talented 7-footer from Spain, who has been terrific since being traded to the Lakers by the Memphis Grizzlies in February. Forward Lamar Odom has been solid in the postseason, averaging about 15 points and 10 rebounds a game.

The Celtics have their own "Big Three": forwards Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, and guard Ray Allen. Garnett and Pierce carried the Celtics through tough series against the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons, while Allen struggled with his shooting. He will need to get hot if the Celtics hope to defeat the Lakers.

The series should be hard-fought, with some decided-by-the-last-shot games. The difference could be the Lakers' bench, which has been more consistent than Boston's, and Bryant's ability to get off a shot, or get to the free-throw line, at the end of a game.

I hate to say it, because I'm a big Boston fan, but I don't think the Celts have anyone who can stop Bryant. So I'm rooting for Boston, but I'm predicting that Los Angeles will win the series.

The Belmont Stakes

Big Brown could become the first horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the three races that make up the Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. Big Brown looked super-impressive in the first two races, winning easily.

But the 3-year-old colt could be hurting. He has a slightly cracked front hoof that might require doctors to attach an acrylic and fiberglass patch. But the horse's trainer says Big Brown is ready for the Belmont Stakes tomorrow.

Some say that Big Brown is the fastest thoroughbred since the super-horse Secretariat in the 1970s. None of the other horses racing Saturday -- even those with such cool names as Icabad Crane, Ready's Echo and Tale of Ekati -- is as strong as the Derby and Preakness winner. If he is healthy, I predict that Big Brown will win going away.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

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