The Front Row: The Celtics’ upper hand

BURNING QUESTIONS: With at least three and as many as six games left in this fascinating NBA Finals, I have a lot of questions that I hope this series can answer:

Was it surprising to see Kevin Garnett outshine Kobe Bryant in the last two minutes of a tight playoff game? (Answer: Yes, but not entirely. It was just refreshing to see KG approach crunch time like he’s the best player on the floor.)

Will Bryant come back with revenge on his mind for Sunday’s Game 2? (Answer: Most definitely, unless he completely freezes out his teammates because of the Lakers‘ dismal fourth quarter.)

If Paul Pierce’s jaw-dropping four-point play to start the second half was a legal offensive move, does that mean the officials botched that infamous offensive foul call in the Detroit series? (Answer: Yes. Absolutely.)

Was Pierce’s Willis Reed-esque return in the third quarter the most inspiring, goosebump-inducing moment of the NBA playoffs so far? (Answer: It was actually his back-to-back three-pointers to cap his remarkable run.)

Does it seem like Doc Rivers has prepared bits for those “Wired” segments? (Answer: It wouldn’t surprise me. Everything Rivers says sounds like dialogue from a generic sports movie.)

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MORE BULLET POINTS: So much is going on in the world of sports right now, so let’s hammer these out, rapid-fire style:

So, it’s perfectly acceptable for a horse like Big Brown to race while hopped up on more steroids than Jose Canseco, but human athletes like Barry Bonds and Marion Jones are considered cheaters? OK, just wanted to clear that up in case George Mitchell decides to investigate this Triple Crown run.

In a related matter, would anything beat seeing Big Brown getting grilled by some sanctimonious politicians in some farcical Congressional hearing? I hope it happens, simply to see the future headline “Mr. Ed Goes to Washington” appear in every national publication.

Congratulations to current Arizona relievers Ryan Perry and Daniel Schlereth, who were taken in round one of yesterday’s MLB draft. Perry went No. 21 to Detroit and Schlereth was tabbed by the hometown Diamondbacks with pick No. 26. Fellow Wildcat T.J. Steele went in the fourth round to the Houston Astros, who actually drafted him once before in 2006.

These three players have been vital to Arizona’s run through the College World Series, which continues today against overall No. 1 Miami. The three-game set kicks off at 4 p.m. with coverage provided by ESPN and 1290-AM in Southern Arizona

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