Luke Waltons Forehead presented by the Sports Dude.

First let me say this will be short, I am leaving work today early so I can get on the road. Basically I have 2 days worth of crap to do in about four hours here. I would love to break the game down, but there is no time. It pretty much came down to the last five minutes, Spurs made shots, the Pistons didn't and the season is over. All I would like to say is thank you guys, it was fun. No that is not a sarcastic thank you, but an honest to goodness, bottom of my heart thanks. I have enjoyed watching you overcome huge odds, defy history time and time again and would like to say thanks for the memories and all the near heart attacks you gave me.

Lastly I would like to say this fans, this team is down for this year but not out. Something tells me that, Larry Brown or no Larry Brown, this team will have a great coach next year. Do you really think Joe D. will follow up LB with a hack? I think not. Also, I know Joe will look at the lack of a bench and tweak where it is necessary. Arroyo, Campbell, Ham, Dupree - those four, if you ask me, are all gone. If Campbell decides to not retire, then bring him back, but otherwise no thanks. They need a real guard off the bench, I was never sold on Arroyo. They also need another small forward type scorer, maybe a healthy Delfino, maybe a free agent. Either way, I think Joe will do the necessary things to rebuild and get us back.

How about a little day dreaming here for a second? Larry leaves, Flip Saunders gets hired and Joe D. pulls off the ultimate deal - Darko, Arroyo, Dupree, Delfino (some combo of that) straight up for Kevin Garnett. Yes, day dreams are fun, and it is definitely a dream.

Lastly, I would like to close with this - these five starters will win another championship, that is all but a guarantee. The hunger next year will be even stronger, and even though other teams will retool during the off season, this still will be the best starting five in all of basketball - it just needs a better bench.

Well, thanks guys, it was fun, now I got to go in vacation too! Later and talk to you all in a week - the sports dude.

Okay, call me a slappy, but damn it guys - can you not do anything the traditional way? You know, win the easy way and save me from taking all this heart medication after each quarter you play? If you take away the "brain freeze" that Rasheed had with 5.8 seconds left in overtime, the Pistons have played better and been the better team for four straight games now. Obviously, they were much better than the Spurs in games #3 and #4, all but blowing them out of the water. They had a four point lead with a little over a minute left in O.T. in game #5, but were unable to convert and then we all know that 'Sheed melted down. Now, they got game #6 under their belts. That is four straight games where they have out played the Spurs, minus 5.8 seconds. How huge is that 5.8 seconds? Well, I will have to get back to you about that on Friday.

But, being a Piston fan, we all know that "this is what they do." I just wish they would do it a little differently, because my heart really does need a break! I guess all I can say is, if the Pistons continue to dominate the way they have, and yes I say dominate because even though the scores have been close they have clearly been better than the Spurs. Like I was saying, if the Pistons continue to dominate like this I see no reason why they will not make history again, defy the odds and win this damn thing. They just keep defying the odds, staving off elimination when it seems impossible to do, and just continue to make history for themselves. Say what you want, but win or lose game #7, if anyone says this team is a "fluke" I will personally hunt them down and punch them in the mouth. Why? Because "this is what we do" here in the "D" - we stand by our team, the team that has always been doubted, and we protect it. There is no way you can justify using the word "fluke" now with these guys. They love to have it the hard way, they love the backs so far against the wall it is suffocating us thing and they love to give me heart attacks a few times a week. One more game boys, are you up for it? Something tells me they are, something tells me they are.

Now, one side note on the game here, all I can say is I am glad that Danny Crawford can not officiate game #7. He was in there last night, which means it was his second finals game, which means he is done. Look, believe it or not, I really like the way this Finals has been called, I am not crying and complaining about the overall series here. But when I saw Danny Crawford was out there last night I decided to watch him just as much as the game. Final conclusion from that? Yeah, he's a Piston hater, for what reason I don't know. The tech he gave on the Pistons during a time out at their bench. It is a time out for Christ's sake, you can say whatever you want to your team during those! But nope, he gave them the tech for smarting off in their huddle. Rasheed's fifth foul, where Robert Horry drove to the lane and tripped on his own feet, remember that? Nope, Rasheed had his hand on his back, so clearly Horry was pushed over. Look, I am a six foot white guy that is 160 wet and that hand Rasheed had on Horry would not have even knocked me down! How the hell could it knock down Horry? Danny Crawford, that's how. I could go on, but this paragraph is already too long as it is. All I can say is good-bye Danny, glad we don't have to see you anymore this year.

The next side note on the game is I knew they would force a game #7, I just knew it. You want to know why? Because I am leaving on vacation Friday afternoon, heading up north to the family cottage in the middle of nowhere. Thursday night is going to be a huge packing night for me, so I just knew they would force me to pack while I watch the game. You know what that means? I'll get to the cottage on Friday night, go to unpack my clothes, and find out I was so distracted by the game I packed my wife's shit in my suitcase, not mine. Well, I guess if you are going to cross dress it may as well be in the middle of nowhere where no one can see you. Scary sight, huh, me in a tube top? Let's just keep it to ourselves all right?

Well, go Pistons and hopefully I will have a few moments to post again Friday before I take off, later! The sports dude-ette!