Kevin Millar made a little wager on the NBA Finals. (Don’t worry, the b-ball bet wasn’t anything approaching Pete Rose-levels.) And by the looks of it, he took the Lakers.

That would explain why the Orioles’ first baseman showed up to the plate last night in a new blonde hairdo, accompanied by the sweet melodies of “Ice, Ice Baby”.

BROMOBLOG breaks it down that Millar lost his NBA bet to former Red Sox teammate Jason Varitek. As a result, Kevin came up against the Houston Astros with the new hair and a new at-bat song courtesy of Vanilla Ice. Video proof of his plate appearance is after the jump.

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In video linked by Jason this morning, here’s Kevin Garnett once again during a postgame interview with Michelle Tafoya last night:

Note the long, painful pause before Garnett explodes with “Anything Is Possible!”

(Video now surely will be taken down, so here’s a screen shot)

To many, that appeared as a genuine reaction from Garnett as he was overcome with emotion. But if you know anything about Garnett’s association with Adidas, you realize that that reaction was anything but off-the-cuff.

Instead, it was designed to celebrate his shoe endorsement. Except Garnett got it wrong. Very wrong. Read more…

A guy, Brian Scalabrine, who didn’t play one second of the NBA Finals holding court with the media after Game Six:

I surely hope he isn’t expecting any job offers from the league’s other 29 teams if he gets cut in camp next season.

Three words for Scalabrine: Seen. Not. Heard. (H/T to Henry)

Like most Angelenos, I only watched about 2 1/2 quarters of the Lakers-Celts Game Six debacle last night. I’d really like to meet the sheeple non-Boston fans who watched the entire game here in L.A.. Both of them.

Though I didn’t have the stomach to watch the celebration in The Garden, I thoroughly enjoyed Boston fans keeping up appearances outside (as noted by Jason this morning).

And from what I saw from the NEW YORK POST today, it appears I wasn’t the only one who didn’t feel like acknowledging yet another Boston sports championship.

I wonder how David Stern feels about that, in his hometown?

Game 7 is no longer necessary. In laying out the Los Angeles Lakers 131-92 Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics are now your 2008 NBA champions.

And when the game clock finally flashed 0:00, no one got more caught up in the moment than Kevin Garnett.

(Judging by where KG is puckering up, no wonder the Celtic logo’s smirking)

Oh, no doubt it was also a special night for Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Doc Rivers, Brian Scalabrine and the rest of the Celtics team & fans. And Pierce should be expecting a new endorsement deal from Gatorade:

(Doc Rivers gets a bath. Shouldn’t the Celtics be drinking green Gatorade?)

But it was KG who was the most emotional once the title was theirs.

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Although the Lakers have already played their final home game of the season, many L.A. fans were planning on heading back to Staples Center tonight, hoping to watch their team stay alive in the NBA Finals. But for those on the 10 or 101 or 110 heading downtown, you might as well turn around - the viewing party’s been nixed.

(Sorry, Jack - Find somewhere else to screech tonight)

Kevin Modesti of the L.A. DAILY NEWS reports that Staples will not be showing tonight’s Game 6 on their big screens. Fans had previously been allowed inside the arena to watch Games 1 & 2 in the Lakers-Celtics showdowns.

So, why not tonight? Because Lakers & Celtics fans can’t play nice.

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• THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER wonders are those reflectors in Terrelle Pryor’s shorts, or is he just glad to see us?

• THE SCORES REPORT is hip-notized by this girl shaking her money maker while working the Wii Fit. (Bonus: She’ll be doing it again on MTV Tuesday.)

• Darren Rovell of CNBC saw signs that the NBA wanted the Lakers & Celtics to go to a Game 6 - signs in the rolling ads at Staples Center court.

• DEADSPIN remembers the fine acting abilities of Tim Russert, as the late NBC politico tries to score some Boston College tickets.

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I’m happy to report that I’m back in Los Angeles for the summer, after five delightful days driving from Miami. First day back, I was at Game 5 of the NBA Finals, which extended the inevitable Boston series triumph by at least one more 48-minute epoch (has a team ever looked worse in a win than Sunday @ Staples?)

Before the game, I waited for Jerry Buss to pull up with a limo-full of teenie strippers drank in the *electric* atmosphere outside the arena, which featured a chance to admire an embarrassingly outdated display of ABC NBA broadcasters. Best part: Getting to let Stephen A. know how the vast majority of respirating, bipedal NBA fans felt about his past on-air contribution.

The fan photo-op broadcast desk was part of an RV-display that featured cutouts of ABC’s NBA broadcast team, which as you can imagine had passing fans bursting with excitement. One small detail: Smith and Bill Walton aren’t on ABC’s coverage of the NBA Finals.

It’s also nice to see the (Celtics-operated?) Staples-area parking guys weren’t in a mood to gouge Game 5 attendees. Let’s see, buy a quarter-tank of gas, or park for the game?

I traveled around Los Angeles (Pasadena down to Venice) quite a bit yesterday to acquaint myself with how my town was feeling before the game. I was surprised. No car flags, no lines outside of sports bars, no buzz. I know it was Father’s Day, and the Lakers were down 3-1, but I expected at least some excitement around town. But it’s been exceedingly flaccid, especially compared to the early ’90s championship Shaq-n-Kobe era.

Apparently, the country is similarly laissez-faire. The ratings have been better than last year’s putrid numbers, but as Barry Horn of the DALLAS MORNING NEWS wrote, “(ESPN/ABC and the NBA) dreamed of a return to double-digit ratings with Lakers-Celtics, but the numbers have been a disappointment. America knew Michael Jordan. Apparently, Kobe Bryant is no Michael Jordan.”

Rocco Mediate as a poker player, from WICKED CHOPS POKER:

More golf coverage after the jump … Read more…

When we were growing up, we saw this ad in all the comic books:

(We’re hopelessly old. Shut it.) We weren’t quite sure yet who this Dr. J was and who his fine sidekick with the jumper might be, but we knew we needed a Spalding rubber ball. When we got one, we needed Dr J. to shoot it for us, too, but he didn’t come in the box.* (Note that Rick says, “You don’t need magic.” He didn’t come in the box, either.**)

However, Julius Erving may want to staple a copy of that ad to his lapel when he heads out on the town to avoid having a couple approach him at a Finals party in LA, thrilled to finally get their picture taken with Bill Russell. As you can imagine, Erving took it all in good spirits. (No, not really.) Read more…

• 100% INJURY RATE washes up video of the Texas Rangers turning Shea Stadium into their own personal Slip ‘N Slide.

• BOBCATS PLANET punches up a clip of a Celtics fan getting a warm reception by the Staples Center crowd.

• It pains LOHUD YANKEES BLOG to reveal that the Yankees have sprained their Wang.

• MIZZOURAH (by way of EDSBS) takes a bite out of comparing Big 12 football squads to potato chips & similar salty snacks.

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