Some could label it lucky number 7, an omen of fortune that worked in the Los Angeles Lakers’ favor. A seventh game won by a tough fight by the Lakers on Tuesday night. There’s nothing bigger than a game 7; in fact, there have been 12 playoff series in which no game sevens were played at all.  CdM students eagerly awaited the intense game between the Lakers and the Celtics.

Chris Freeman, Varsity basketball player said “I didn’t think there was any way the Lakers are gonna lose, because Kobe won’t let them.”

Fellow basketball player Clay Ragsdale disagreed, “Rondo and Pierce are going to dominate. Celtics are for sure taking game seven.”

Other students were indifferent; Keegan Jakosky simply stated, “whatever.”

The Lakers were crowned champions, barely.  In an extremely defensive, epic, raw battle the Lakers came out victorious.

The first half inspired for both the Celtics and the Lakers intense defense and sloppy offensive movements. Ray Allen consistently played tough defense against Kobe Bryant, however couldn’t hit jump shots consistently. The score at the end of the first half was the Boston Celtics with the lead 40- 34 Los Angeles Lakers.

Jump to the Celtics leading by double digits midway through the third quarter. The Celtics are fighting hard for the Laker crown, digging, playing like this is it. The Lakers are staying in the game, barely, Kobe isn’t fufilling his normal potential and the team is struggling.

But Kobe has a peculiar way of coming back, better than ever when it comes to  the last minute.

The Celtics are still leading by four points at the beginning of the fourth, and by three with 6:29 remaining in the game and the  2010 season. It’s do or die. Los Angeles fans are pleading “KO- BE, KO- BE” and the time has come for someone to take control of the game. Kobe is back.

Fisher passionately stated, “This is ours, and we’re not giving it up.”

Bryant and Fisher take the reins, Bryant is back to hitting free throws and sinks a jumper over Celtics Ray Allen.Fisher ties it up, throwing in a three-pointer.

Not to mention Pau Gasol, who throughout the game wouldn’t give anything but his all, making all his threes and fighting for every rebound.

Artest, the game MVP, made a final statement by hitting one last three with about one minute remaining.

The final score was Lakers 83-79 Celtics. A score some would say a little too close for comfort. But the victory for LA had never been tougher or sweeter.

Wally Skalij , Los Angeles Times

Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

So how about them Lakers? Once again reliving the age-old Celtics/Lakers rivalry, the series is tied at 1-1 after two Laker home games. But do they have what it takes to beat the Celtics on their home court?

“The Lakers can beat anyone, anywhere,” said freshman Eli Kiani, “Kobe is awesome.”

One of the major aspects of the next game will be the officiating. After the past two games, nobody knows what to expect. The first game was an incredibly physical game; Ray Allen was handicapped throughout by a high foul count, and some of the players looked as though they were about to exchange blows. Then game two comes around, and every bit of contact came with the sound of a whistle. Now, as game three approaches, who knows what to expect?

The second key of game three will be limiting production of Ray Allen. Phil Jackson seemed to think that this was directly related to the officiating; when asked about Fisher’s defense, Phil Jackson was expressed the belief that it was directly related to the officiating. “When they take away any bumps when Fish is trying to make him divert his path and they don’t allow him to do that and they call fouls on Fish, that really gives [Allen] an opportunity to take what ever route he wants to take off on the pickers. That makes it very difficult,” Jackson explained. With eight three pointers in Game 2, Allen carried the team from beyond the arc, and freed up teammates for easy baskets.

The last key to the Laker’s success is the trio of Jordan Farmar, Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown. In game one the Laker’s bench provided more than just a spark; they were the fuel behind the opening charge. With Kobe making things work, and Gasol putting up big numbers, the quickness and speed provided largely by Farmar and Brown has helped the Lakers out in this series. Odom, however, has had a rough time of it, and has only scored eight points so far in the series. If their bench production increases, the Celtics will have a tough time stopping the Lakers.

With game three tonight, the Lakers will have their hands full. Go to http://www.nba.com/lakers/schedule/index.html for more information on their schedule

Over the past five years, the minds of teenage girls everywhere have been eclipsed by Stephanie Meyer’s book series Twilight. Falling in love with vampire Edward Cullen, these girls became entranced in the series, anticipating the release of each consecutive book. After the fourth book Breaking Dawn, fans grew anxious because this was said to be the last book in the series. Yet, to much surprise, Meyers was still writing. In August of 2008, someone close to Meyers leaked the draft of the new book Midnight Sun. Out of betrayal she decided to stop writing the series, devastating the “twerds” (twilight nerds).

Desperately, fans across the nation wrote to Meyers or made petitions, begging her to continue writing; but it was no use. Over time people came to terms with the fact that she had made up her mind, so the issue took a back burner.

Once all hope was lost Meyers came through to her fans. She announced that she had been writing another installment to the series and its estimated release date was early June. This started another frenzy. Just after the news was released, Facebook fan groups on the issue were created rapidly, and news of it all spread fast.

This weekend, on June 5th, the wait will be over. Her new book The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner will go on sale Saturday. This next volume follows the journey of newborn vampire Bree Tanner, and her plan to advance on Twilights favorite Bella Swan.

“I am totally looking forward to The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner,” says freshman Sam Devaney, “I’m a fan of the Twilight series, so I cant wait to find out what happens next!”

We decided it would be a little fun to live out Trident staff’s personal lives in the wonderful game Sims 3.

Thus, we began creating all of Trident’s fascinating staff people. This resulted in two seperate family groups – the “Boyz Noyze”, consisting of Jacob Ashendorf, Jack Mulcaire, and ourselves, Petersen Walrod and Cahill Maffei. The second group, “Group 2″, is made up of Donna Etamadi, Trident’s group mom, Joe Betance, a well known SAT tutor for Undergrad Industries (it helped Luke Ronaldson get a 2100!) and the children of Trident: Katie Senske and Erik Ctvrtlik.

Boyz Noyze started off like any other Sims in Pleasantview: living in a dingy household trying to scratch a living together. Coby played around with, and subsequently, broke the computer, so we made him fix it; also, to no one’s surprise, Coby was forced to learn cooking skills and make the group dinner.. Jack is keeps playing video games and refuses to put on a shirt. Cahill found himself well-dressed in a nice suit, reading books about logic and chess. Lastly, Petersen was getting into shape on the treadmill.

However, mysteriously, the Boyz Noyze found themselves with a lot of money. 50,000 simoleans, to be exact. What to do with this new some of money?

Buy a car of course. A nice one. But also, a magnificent manor is being built in the classical style to fit the needs of these young men.

It will come with all the amenities: a four car garage, a large pool convenient for ending annoying Sims’ lives, a basement, and the nicest electronics that money can buy.

Next week, look for the following updates:

We expect Jacob Ashendorf to find the acquaintance of Joe Betance. What happens from there? Will Petersen get into socially acceptable shape? Will Jack move beyond being a mere test subject? Will Cahill change out of his suit ever? Stay tuned for the next update of Sims 3!

The four letters L, O, V, and E, are simple; alone they mean nothing extraordinary. But, when they come together, they represent a feeling more powerful than the word itself. For some, the search for love is short, resulting in an early relationship or marriage. But for others, the journey is long and filled with numerous heartbreaks. This unlucky group includes one Ali Fedotowsky. This 25-year-old advertising account manager has dreamed of finding “the one” her entire life, but work has always found a way to prevent her.

In October of 2009 Fedotowsky decided to take matters into her own hands. She went on ABC Family hit TV series The Bachelor in hopes of finding love. Over the course of the show, she grew closer to bachelor Jake Pavelka and soon enough she found herself in the final four. But, just when she thought everything was going to turn out great, she was forced to make a decision that put her relationship in jeopardy. She had to choose between staying on the show, with Pavelka, or going back to her home in San Francisco to save her job. Fedotowsky shocked audiences everywhere when told Pavelka that she had to leave.

As she was driving away in the limo, leaving Jake in despair, Fedotowsky immediately knew that she was made the wrong decision, but it was too late. A week later she called the bachelor and pleaded for him to give her a second chance, but he turned her down. Yet again, Fedotowsky’s job kept her from love.

About a month after leaving the bachelor, she got a call from ABC asking her if she wanted to become the next bachelorette. After careful consideration, Fedotowsky accepted. She quit her job in San Francisco and moved out of her apartment, making sure that she went into the experience whole-heartedly. This time she wasn’t going to let anything stop her from falling in love.

On Monday May 24, the first episode of The Bachelorette aired, as 25 handsome bachelors came to meet Fedotowsky for the first time. One by one the filed out of the limo and introduced themselves. Through out the night each one of them got time with the bacholorette, trying to charm her with their sense of humor or dashing good looks. At the end of the night Robert received the first impression rose after swooning her with a salsa dance. Over the course of the next three months, eager fans of the show will watch as Fedotowsky embarks on a life-altering journey, in the hopes of finding true love.

Written by Jenna Shapiro and Melissa LaBruna

Girls and grandmas alike, along with the occasional tag-along boyfriend or husband, filed into theaters to be taken on a no-expense trip to Verona, Italy, the site notorious for Romeo and Juliet’s tragic romance. On Friday, May 14^th, this legendary city became the location of yet another complicated love affair, this time between Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and Charlie (Chris Egan) in the new rom-com Letters to Juliet.

Sophie, an American journalist, travels to Verona with her soon-to-be husband while he pursues his culinary ambitions. While sight-seeing in the city, Sophie becomes acquainted with a group of women known as the Secretaries of Juliet who respond to love letters posted on a Verona wall by broken-hearted women. After befriending the Secretaries, Sophie assists in writing replies to the letters, one of which was wedged deep between the wall’s crevices, long-forgotten. The letter had been written by a woman named Clare (Vanessa Redgrave) fifty years ago, asking for advice regarding her true love Lorenzo.

Sophie writes to the letter’s address, unsure if it would even be received. However, a week later, Clare and her unwilling nephew Charlie come to Verona, to find Lorenzo. While Sophie’s fiancé Victor is busy at a wine auction, Sophie embarks on an odyssey with Clare and Charlie traveling around Italy in search of Clare’s lost love. Throughout the journey, an unexpected friendship develops between Sophie and Charlie.

“Letters to Juliet definitely lives up to the hype,” says freshman Meredith Kline, “I went from laughing to crying to laughing again throughout the whole movie. Amanda Seyfried is an incredible actress. She really made the chemistry believable.”

Seyfried’s love connection on film has strengthened her fans’ adoration towards her. Her first major role in Mean Girls did not make her seem like the lovable type, but since then she has proven that the harsh character she played in the movie has no relation to her truly endearing personality.

“People still come up to me and say, ‘You were really funny in that,’ and I’m like, It’s not me. I think I impressed a lot of people in Mean Girls. I don’t know how I pulled that off,” Seyfried told Teen Vogue.

Seyfried went into Letters to Juliet with years of experience that have allowed her to blossom into the versatile actress that the movie industry relies on. After her big-screen debut in Mean Girls, she went on to star in the hit Broadway musical Mamma Mia! when it was brought to film in 2008. Her character as the fun-loving, carefree Sophie Sheridan, called on Seyfried’s musical abilities to fulfill the character’s potential.

With leads in two horror films, Jennifer’s Body (2008) and Chloe (2009), Seyfried had to adjust from her prominent chick flick roles. Both movies gained great viewership, justifying Seyfried’s success.

She said, “It’s fun to play characters who have these ideals you don’t have.”

In between the two thrillers, she impressed audiences yet again with her remarkable versatility when she played Savannah Curtis in the romantic drama, Dear John. An extremely anticipated movie with numerous Facebook groups, the film racked in $30.5 million exclusively in the first weekend and a jaw-dropping $80 million total.

Her role in Dear John prepared her well for Letters to Juliet. Her numerous roles as women going through the trials of love have given her her own perspective on the matter.

She told Teen Vogue, “Love is great and possible, always, but it’s very rare to have the feeling that ‘I want to be want to be with this person forever.’”

Seyfried offers a great amount of passion into her on-screen relationships, but what’s a love story without Prince Charming? In Letters to Juliet, Chris Egan took on this prestigious role, admirably embodying his (somewhat) charming character, Charlie.

Unlike Seyfried, however, Egan’s rise to fame was much more low key. In his film debut Eragon, he played the supporting role of Eragon’s cousin, Roran. This movie, based on the New York Times best-seller, was popular as expected, but Egan was not particularly recognized. His minor roles in Virgin Territory and Resident Evil: Extinction led up to his major role in the thriller Crush in which he was able to use his gymnastic abilities.

Among his movies, Letters to Juliet has given Egan the largest fan base, but the fame has not gotten to his head. Reflecting back on his time with costar Amanda Seyfried, Egan had nothing but positive things to say.

He told writer Lee Shoquist, “We had a lot of natural chemistry. If you are in a romantic comedy, you want to really click with the person and I feel like that shows onscreen. You can’t manufacture it really when it is just natural and you are both having fun. And she’s not bad to look at! She is very beautiful. So the hard part was just being very unpleasant to her. They do not have a romance straight away—it actually builds. Sophie is close to Amanda’s personality, so you are seeing very much of who she is. She is a very down-to-earth person who doesn’t take herself seriously. She is fun and crazy, like me, so we had a blast.”

About love, Egan told ATN Zone, “I think you have to be lucky to be in the right place at the right time, which goes with everything—romance or career. What you put in is what you get out in life. I definitely think it depends where the person is. If someone is going through a hard time in their life and closed off, you might not see that person.”

Seyfried and Egan happened to be right place at the right time during their careers and were able to develop a very believable romance. Their exceptional performances in Letters to Juliet enhanced the movie’s effect, causing viewers, like Kline, to laugh and cry and laugh again.

Canadian Indie Rock. You don’t here about students often coming together to appreciate such an underground band. This unique group consisting of a total of sixteen members, all gather together to form great music, but then return to their solo careers.

Brendan Caning, Kevin Drew, Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman, Sam Goldberg, Jason Collett, David Newfeld, Leslie Feist, Emily Haines, James Shaw, Evan Cranley, Amy Millan, Ohad Benchetrit, John Crossingham, Martin Davis Kinack, Jo-ann Goldsmith, Bill Priddle, Torquil Campbell, Adam Marvey, Lisa Lobsinger, Julie Penner, Jason Tait, Elizabeth Powell, and David French all consist of the diverse band members.

” I had no idea that Broken Social Scene consisted of Feist! What a great combination of people,” senior Lesley Smith said.

Originally started in 1999 by Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning, each member was carefully chosen to create musical masterpieces around the area Toronto. Frequently labeled “the supergroup” by various listeners, the band claims that they refuse this title, saying that, “the indie scene everyone is involved in is more than one project.”

Each song reflects a single musician’s style, consisting of mellow folk to upbeat pop. Overall, the mean of these diverse genres could be categorized as baroque pop. The diverse amount of musical instruments creates an aroma of utter pleasure as the guitar, woodwinds, horns, and violins combine with the unusual song structures to create an experimental piece by David Newfeld, who produced their last two albums.

“When their music plays, I’m so overwhelmed, but in a good way,” said  sophomore Jason Skulnick.

Their past history of their performances varies on the availability of the band members, therefore not everyone in this band plays at the same time. Get excited CdM because Broken Social Scene just finished recording their newest album Forgiveness Rock Record. Don’t miss your opportunity to see them LIVE at the Wiltern theatre in Los Angeles October 19, 2010. It certainly will be an unforgettable show, and the only time they will be performing in California for quite sometime.

Japanese Promotional Poster

On Monday, May 24 the old new television series Dragon Ball Z Kai will premier in America on Nicktoons Network.  The new series was created to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of Dragon Ball Z.  There will be two episodes premiering everyday for a week.

The word “kai” is Japanese for updated or modified, which is what Dragon Ball Z Kai will be.  It is an updated remastered version of the series that “defined a generation” according to FUNimation Entertainment, the Dragon Ball series’ American producer.

Strangely, Nickelodeon has now acquired the rights to Dragon Ball Z Kai.  In the past Dragon Ball Z originally aired on Cartoon Network’s hit anime block, Toonami.  Fans have had a mixed reaction to the network change.  Most agree that it is a good thing for Dragon Ball Z to be back on television, but they are unsure what to make of it being on Nickelodeon and not Cartoon Network.  Senior Jack Mulcaire said,

Traditionally the Big 3 in children’s television– Cartoon Network, Disney and Nickelodeon– have aired distinctly different types of programming.  Dragon Ball Z is a show associated with the kind of programming Cartoon Network would air.  Nickelodeon’s airing of Dragon Ball Z Kai is unprecedented.

The series will follow almost the exact same story line as the original Dragon Ball Z; however, Kai will be slightly different in many good ways. The creators took the original 291 episodes of Dragon Ball Z and reduced it to 100 episodes by taking out what is referred to as “filler.”  In the past Dragon Ball Z has been highly criticized for its excessive use of filler.  Filler is anything that the writers use to fill up space to prolong the show. It can be constituted as many things, pointless dialogues, superfluous power up scenes, the Garlic Saga*,  etc.

High Definition Kamehameha!

The creators have done this in part because they would like a version of the show that is more in accordance to the original Japanese Manga.  The original Manga did not possess many of the fillers that Dragon Ball Z incorporated.  Many fans are very happy about this.  Senior Petersen Walrod said, “I’m thankful that they took out the Garlic Saga.  If they did that the new series must be better than ever.”

In addition all the scenes have been digitally remastered to offer DBZ fans new high definition picture, sound and special effects.  The footage is all original, for the most part, although some newly drawn scenes have been added.  Dragon Ball Z fans were happy to find out that Kai is voiced entirely by the original Dragon Ball Z cast.

Many students at CdM are very excited for the new series.  Senior Jack Mulcaire has said, “It is the only thing I have to look forward to in the near future.”  Another Senior Sean Lee is hosting a Dragon Ball Z Kai premier get together at his house Monday.

*The Garlic Saga is an extended filler lasting more than 10 episodes that is widely unpopular.

For the past three seasons, Gossip Girl has become a nationwide, popular soap opera, full of high school and now college drama to the max. This Monday was the third season’s finale, and one to remember. So many different situations occurred that will definitely lure in more anticipating viewers and attract new viewers. Here’s a recap of what happened:

The episode started out with Jenny Humphrey waking up at Nate Archibald’s house. She has realized how much he loves Serena and only thought of Jenny as nothing more than a good friend. Chuck comes in to inform Nate that he should be careful around Jenny. Jenny goes back to her family’s loft to find Dan and Serena asleep in the same bed. For revenge, she takes a picture and sends it to Gossip Girl, who sends the picture anonymously to everyone else, but most people already know that Jenny was the one behind the camera phone.

In the meantime, Blair forces her maid Dorota, who is pregnant, to chaperone her date with Cameron so that she won’t be tempted to go to the Empire State Building where Chuck would give her a last chance for their relationship to work out. Although she tries keeping away from the building, she keeps seeing signs from fate telling her that she needs to go back to Chuck.

Serena tells Nate how nothing happened between her and Dan, that they just fell asleep. Then, Blair goes to see Jenny so that she can give her “the smack down she so richly deserves.” Blair said, “For three years you’ve been trying to worm your way into our world, but you will never be a part of it no matter what you do. Nate and Serena — you don’t mess with that and survive. You’re hurting people I love. You’re hurting people you love.” Jenny’s first intention was to slide off anything Blair said to her and pretend like she didn’t care what she thought, but then she realized that everything Blair was telling her was true.

Afterwards, Blair finds Dan Humphrey, Jenny’s brother, outside with Dorota. She tells him not to mess up Serena and Nate. He said, “Say life is giving you signs and you’re ignoring them because you’re afraid of the thing it’s signaling you to do. But then you think, what if these signs are here for a reason and ignoring them just makes me a coward.”

Blair answers, “Signs are for the religious, superstitious, and lower class. I don’t believe in them and neither should you.” Right after that, she looks to her right and sees nothing other than the Empire State Building and knows that what Dan had said was true. She told Dorota that she was wrong and had to go see Chuck, but then Dorota’s water broke, so they were off to the hospital, leaving Chuck alone at the top of the Empire State Building holding Blair’s favorite flowers in his hand.

At the hospital, Nate overhears Dan and Serena talking about how “now isn’t the right time to tell Nate.” Then Serena turns around and ends up confessing about their meaningless kiss between friends. Nate gets upsets and sends the Gossip Girl picture to Vanessa, Dan’s girlfriend. Dorota has her baby in the midst of this all who turns out to be a girl. Back at the Humphrey Loft, Rufus Humphrey tells Jenny that he talked to her mother and they agreed that she should spend the summer in Hudson with her and finish out high school there for a fresh start. Jenny gets upset and goes over to Nate’s apartment, only to find Chuck drinking away all of his troubles. After a bit of a heart-to-heart, Jenny and Chuck share a kiss, which leads to something more.

Later on, Blair shows up and tells Chuck about why she was late. Jenny doesn’t want to ruin the moment so she blows out the candle light before Blair can see her, and then goes to the hospital. At the hospital, Erik sees her crying and figures out what happened. He goes to Dan and asks him to help her.

Dan interrupts Chuck just as he was about to propose to Blair and punches him in the face. He demands Chuck to tell Blair what happened, which leads to a tearful Blair who screamed Jenny off the island of Manhattan.

A week later, Jenny leaves for Hudson as Blair and Serena go off to Paris for the summer. Dan calls Serena with the attempt of winning her back, but when he figured out that she was going away, he books a ticket. He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Georgina comes in and takes off her coat, showing off her big, pregnant belly, announcing Dan of his new fatherhood. In the meantime, Chuck wanders off to a night club and gets mugged by two men. They feel his pockets and find a box. Chuck struggles to get it back, but ends up getting shot. The episode ends with the muggers opening the box that contains the engagement ring and Chuck lying on the ground, gently passing out into a coma.

“This finale was epic! All of my friends were speechless at the end and we absolutely cannot wait for next season!” said freshman Maddy Gaylord.

Overall, the outcome of this season’s finale was phenomenal and will most definitely cause the number of viewers for the awaited fourth season to shoot up.

The National Basketball Association has a clever catch phrase: “Where _____ happens”. It has been used in a multitude of commercials over the past two years to prompt sports enthusiasts to watch the eighty-two game season.

“Where teamwork happens”, “Where amazing happens”, “Where defense happens”, are just some of the phrases that have been used to catch the eye of the sports fan. However, the 2010 NBA playoffs deserve a new phrase, one that sums up the play of some of the best teams in the league. My suggestion: “Where giving up happens”.

It may come as a shock that this might be considered appropriate, but for any person who has been following the playoffs thus far, it is a pretty accurate conclusion, at least where the Eastern Conference semi-finals and finals and concerned. 

Let’s look at the beginning of this massive lack of effort. One Eastern Conference semi-finals series was between the Boston Celtics and the Lebron run Cleveland Cavaliers. Most people in the United States would have picked the Cavaliers to beat the Celtics in five or six games. After all, the odds were in their favor. Cleveland was the number one team in the NBA with an astonishing record of 61 wins and 21 loses; they were lead by the NBA’s MVP, Lebron James; and they had just come off of a series victory over the scrappy Chicago Bulls in just five games.

Boston, was just a good team at the time. They had a decent record. They were the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference. They were also a little beat up, with several of their players injured throughout the season. The Celtics at best would have taken just two games from the Cavaliers in this series.

However, the tables turned when the Celtics took a game at Cleveland, thus taking the “home court advantage” from the Cavaliers. But all was well again when Lebron James and his Cavaliers took the first game in Boston.

It went downhill from there. The small victory for Cleveland was followed only by a ten point loss, and then a thirty two point loss at Cleveland. So when game six rolled around, it seemed like every player on the court was willing to give it their all, put 100 percent effort into trying to win the game. Everyone, that is, except for Lebron James.

Anyone could see it. The solemn look on his face, the sudden outburst of clumsiness and the general lack of focus. In game six, Lebron James was just ready to lose. Despite the fact that they were only down by one game in the series, they still had a chance. But this MVP just wouldn’t try, just wouldn’t give his best Lebron effort to try to take the series to game seven at home.

It was clear that Lebron’s discontent was infectious because at the end of the fourth quarter, with about two minutes left to play and several opportunities to foul Boston, not one person fouled, not one person tried to extend time, not one person wanted to win. The Cavaliers gave up, and thus, Boston moved on to the Eastern Conference finals.

The next series in the Eastern Conference was between the Celtics and the Orlando Magic, a team who made it to the NBA finals last year and lost to the Lakers at home in five games.

The Magic were another team who were thought would handle the Celtics in less than seven games. Orlando had just won eight straight playoff games, and hadn’t lost a game since April 2nd. Their record in the regular season was 59 wins and 23 losses, and their super star, or should I say “superman”, was none other than the best defensive player in the league, Dwight Howard, who averaged 3.6 blocks per game in the season.

This series is still going on, but no one could have guessed that the Celtics would crush Orlando night after night, taking the lead in the series with three wins to the Magic’s none. The reason why the Magic are dangerously close to being swept by this uprising Celtic team is obvious: they are giving up.

Whenever they are down in games, they start to do some pretty stupid stuff such as shooting the three-point shot when an easier route is available; they stop playing defense and slack off on the boards; and their star, Dwight Howard, isn’t playing smart, isn’t scoring, and isn’t averaging 3.6 blocks a game.

One might believe that the Magic are just going through a slump, a bit of a rough patch. However, several plays throughout the series have had this reporter convinced otherwise.

Just the other night, when Orlando was down, and it was looking as if the Celtics were going to take another game of the series, Matt Barnes decided it was a good idea to shove Kevin Garnett out-of-bounds and into the Magic coach, Stan Van Gundy, right after he had blown a potential steal opportunity. That mentality will get you no where but the bench in the NBA.

Now one may think that maybe it is just Boston. Maybe they had just stepped up their game. Let me put those thoughts to rest now. Any team can be stopped. Any team can lose, especially a team comprised of individuals with great talent but sometimes cannot work together, like that of the Celtics. Besides, this team had a record of 50 wins and 32 loses, a record not characterized by greatness and potential victors, but rather a team who might do well, but eventually fall.

Game four of this series takes place on May 24th. The Magic might come to the table and actually challenge this Celtic team, or they might do as Lebron and the Cavaliers, and give up when their down. Who knows? But with the way the Magic have played thus far, it won’t be surprising if they give up and lose by double digits.