SCOTT JACOBS

If you need any further proof that the United States of Sports Lovers is a forgiving society, look no further than the Philadelphia Eagles, and their potential QB quandry.  And you’ll find right dab in the middle of that mini-controversy, Michael freaking Vick, the man who was disowned by most sports fans before the NFL finally let him back in the league last year.

But the hypocritical nature of sports usually rears its ugly head when the off-field actions become hazier and the on-field help becomes apparent.  Vick was apparently pretty impressive after Kevin Kolb got knocked out of the game versus Green Bay with a concussion.  The much maligned Vick was supposedly pretty good (notice I keep saying things like apparently and allegedly– simply put I wasn’t watching the game) and showed flashes of his vintage pre-dog killing self.  You know, the electric, do everything quarterback that was going to forever change the game.  Well that was Vick I’m told on Sunday.  He was 16 of 24, throwing for 175 yards and running for 103 yards in his former Atlanta Falcon style.

The Eagles lost.  But they came close.  That’s not the storyline.  Nor is Vick’s out of nowhere resurgence.

No, the story is Vick the person and the fact that football fans and the media are already stirring up a potential QB controversy.  Look, word is that Kolb may not be ready for next week’s game against the pissed off Lions, so Vick may get the start by default.  But it astonishes me on so many levels how just one season after crucifying the man who spent months in prison, America appears ready to hop back on the Michael Vick Experience.

Everyone’s preaching second chances and how much he has improved his image and his life, but I have a hard time embracing a man who was considered the scum of the sports world just under a year ago.

Maybe this amounts to nothing.  Maybe Kolb comes back, plays fine and all this goes away.  But what if it doesn’t?  What if Kolb isn’t fine and Vick plays, and plays well?  Many have floated out the wild prospect that the first game of the Kolb Era could have potentially been his last.  Which is, quite frankly, mind blowing considering all the hoopla that surrounded him this offseason (And o yeah, the Eagles trading Donovan McNabb to Washington because they had their QB of the Future in place).

Look, this situation is tricky.  Eagle fans embrace their own, and most have even grown to accept Vick and to root for him.  But boy does the situation change if Vick starts elsewhere.  Are Eagles fans and is the NFL for that matter really ready to put Michael back in the spotlight?

If this doesn’t show you that we forgive and forget nothing will.  After Kobe’s rape allegation nightmare the sports world was convinced his star would never shine as brightly again.  Two championships and an Olympic Gold Medal later Bryant is once again a national star and even more amazingly a global icon.  His advertisement dollars have returned and he is easily one of the biggest names in sports.

Ray Lewis is doing Old Spice commercials years after people made him the most villainized athlete in sports.

Which is why Tiger Woods (assuming he ever gets his golf game back to elite status) will once again regain his throne as the king of golf.  It seems clear now: people love hating a star who screws up, but what they love even more is embracing his heroic return to greatness.  Our fickle nature goes both ways.

Which brings us back to Vick.  If our change of heart with previously troubled stars is any indication then Vick will be back in the limelight in no time, as if that whole dog thing (what happened again?) never happened.  Which is sad and confusing and more and more predictable with the overflow of cases that continue to stream in.

Because in America, as sports fans we claim to care about the personal lives of our favorite athletes, but in reality they can erase any wrong with a return to dominance in their respective sport.

So let’s call a spade a spade, sports fans: If Vick dominates on the field again, you’ll cheer his name, maybe buy his jersey, and given some time, probably forget the reason you absolutely despised him in the first place– Which however way you look at it, is amazing and uncomfortable at the same time.

Photo: AP

SCOTT JACOBS

Kobe Bryant is a stone cold killer on a basketball court.  That much we know.  But like his Pre-Pau Gasol days, we also know that he can’t single handedly win games against the NBA’s elite without at least a little bit of help.  Last night Kobe played assassin at the TD Garden, but it wasn’t enough, as his supporting cast failed to show up in a pivotal series swinging loss to the suddenly surging Celtics.

Black Mamba did more than his fair share, lighting up Boston for 38 points– including an otherwordly 19 in the 3rd, but it barely put a dent in Boston’s lead, because the rest of his team was completely and utterly useless on this night.

The Lakers shot under 40%, a terrible time to have an off-shooting night, and missed 9 foul shots, an awful time to brick free points and it cost them dearly in the end, because their defense simply could not stop the ever-confident leprechauns from Beantown.

Boston shot nearly 57%, but it  was their overall team effort that shut the door on L.A.’s late attempt at a come from behind victory.  Four Celtics scored in double figures, paced by Paul Pierce who led the way with 27 as Boston inched closer to banner number 18.

But sealing the deal and winning another title in what seems like an endless series of parades for Boston, won’t be easy.  They’ll have to do it in L.A. where the Lakers have two home games left in their season– if they’re lucky that is.

To even get to a series deciding game 7 the Lakers will need to shore up their defense.  Boston simply outclassed them to every loose ball in the fourth quarter, including a series of big time rebounds– one which included Pierce ripping the ball from Bryant as Kobe steamrolled into the lane off of a missed Ron Artest foul shot.  Simply put, Boston wanted this one just a little more than L.A.  And that’s why the Celtics head back to L.A. as the first team in this exciting finals series to reel off two consecutive wins.

There were a few dynamite plays, but the one that truly epitomized this game came in the closing moments with the Celtics clinging to a 87-82 lead.

Garnet chucked the ball to a streaking Pierce who caught it in stride, but found himself running out of room on the sidelines.  With a split second decision to make and the game still in question, Pierce lobbed the ball to an open Rondo, who beautifully put it in the whole, cementing the victory.

The common theme to the game, and that play?  Teamwork.  Boston used it all night to their advantage.  L.A. was a one man show.

It’s no mistake that the Lakers are on the verge of elimination.

Simply put, they no longer look like the better team.

Photo: Getty

SCOTT JACOBS

The man with the million dollar smile and the multi million dollar contract sat on the podium, taking questions from reporters just minutes after a discouraging game five no show, in which his team’s season was on the line (but you would have never knew it by the way he played).  You could see his frustration, but you couldn’t tell if he was crushed.

Dwight Howard may be called Superman, but for much of these NBA Finals he was anything but.  And if Superman was selfless, Dwight came across as selfish the more and more this post-season progressed.

He had his flashes of greatness, moments that left you in awe, like his dominant game four performance in overtime against the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals where he simply torched Cleveland’s bigs for 10 points in OT, refusing to let the Magic lose.  His game for the ages performance in game six of that series, 40 points and 14 rebounds, knocked the Cavs right out of the post-season and clinched a finals berth for Orlando for the first time since 1995.

But just like 1995 the Magic lost in the Finals, and I know I may not be popular for this opinion, but I put much of it on Howard.  Unlike Howard who never seems to put it on himself.

Yes, he’s only 23, and yes, he didn’t even go to college, so he’s still relatively new to this whole “handling the pressure” thing, but if I had to give Howard a grade as a team leader, it wouldn’t be all that high.  What bothered me most is it was never anything he could have done better.  It was always someone else or the team.  The great ones take it upon themselves, but you never seemed to hear from Howard during this surprising playoff run that he would, “work harder” or “play smarter” or that his foul shooting “cost the team the game.”

For a player who has so much talent, and so much potential, it was somewhat disheartening to see that Howard still has a lot of growing up to do.  Even though he didn’t pick up a technical in the Finals, Howard needs to learn to control himself better.

As for the tendency to disappear when he doesn’t get involved early?  Well, let’s just say Shaq never did that.  Howard claims that he wants the ball in his hands, but oftentimes he doesn’t seem to do everything in his power to make that happen.  I know the Magic are a jump shot happy team, but Howard can’t let that style take him out of games, especially important ones like the NBA Finals.

Just imagine the story we’d be writing today if Howard had an offensive game.  Take away his baby hook and wide open dunks and Howard has no offensive game.  His athleticism has gotten him this far, but he’s going to have to expand his offensive capabilities if he wants to become an elite player.

There were some games were you couldn’t help but buy the hype that the future of big men had arrived.  But there were other games where the big man looked lost.

That’s the problem.  For a team with no great players, and many good ones, the Magic need consistency from Howard not just defensively, but offensively to make the leap from good team to title team (and Patrick Ewing, his big man coach, is one hell of a former player to learn from).  They need Howard to run to the post, out-muscle his defender for position, take the ball up strong, and establish a presence down low.  Against guys like Anderson Varajeo, Howard looked like a stud.  But against the stronger Lakers Howard had moments in the series where he looked flat out confused.

And his foul shooting, well we won’t even go there.

What Howard needs to do this offseason is develop a much more well rounded offensive game.  Rome wasn’t built in a day, but he needs to add an 8-10 foot jump shot.  He needs to learn better how to catch the ball in traffic and go up strong.  For such an imposing dunker, didn’t it seem like there were times where Howard played really small?

Howard’s dilemna is that he doesn’t have the body frame of a Shaq to push people around, or the shooting touch that Tim Duncan came into the league with basically right out of college.  Maybe Howard would have developed a jump shot had he gone to college, maybe not.  But if he wants to make that step, that transition to greatness he needs to take the bitterness that yesterday’s loss provoked and turn it into motivation.

He needs to hit the gym, and work his tail off to improve.  Guys like Kobe and Wade have a desire and a hunger to get better, and their work ethic backs that up.  For Howard to become great he has to want it.  Right now he’s a good player with a larger than life nickname.  You would think Howard wants to be more than that.

Behind those pearly white teeth and that muscular physique is a man that needs to grow up.  He needs to become a leader, to put the pressure on himself so that he can take it off his team-mates.  Howard has the talent, no one denies that.  But does he have the drive?  Does he have the selflessness?

The sky is the limit for Dwight.  But for Superman to really start to fly he has to take that next step.

The fate of a franchise’s fortunes for the next five years and beyond are riding on it.

Photo: Getty

SCOTT JACOBS

They asked if Dwight Howard could stop joking around for just a few months, and finally get serious. They wondered if Stan Van Gundy, “the Master of Panic” was a good enough coach to take his team beyond the conference finals and into the championship.  They figured it was inevitable that the NBA was going to get their dream final of LeCleveland and the Black Mamba.

They were wrong.

Five years ago the Magic were the worst team in the sport.  Tonight, they’re kings of the Eastern Conference, sending The King home, and leaving Cavalier fans doomed to the thought of another post-season closer to his impending free agency.

There’s no question that Dwight Howard is a sensational talent, but tonight (and this series in general) he finally put everything together, going from great player to arguably elite.  Howard brought his cape tonight, and he looked like the Man of Steel.  Superman scored 40 points and 14 rebounds and completed his ascent from Defensive Player of the Year to Simply Unstoppable!

Van Gundy and Orlando finally came to their senses, and realized that Cleveland was powerless (and kryptonite-less) against Howard, feeding him the ball like a fat kid going after cake, and Howard delivered, out-muscling, out-hustling, and out-hustling Cleveland’s interior to the tune of anything he wanted.  When the Cavs doubled him, Howard found the open three point shooter.  When Cleveland let him go one on one, Howard destroyed Cleveland’s bigs.

And he made his foul shots too going 12-16.

Welcome to the show Howard.  His 14-21 shooting was just a tip of the iceberg for the Magic, and an Orlando team that looked like a nice story going into the post-season following a 59 win season, is all of a sudden four wins from their first NBA Championship.

Without All Star Jameer Nelson, the Magic were still able to shed their soft image, and bring the defensive toughness they needed to really make a move in the East.  Yes, they caught arguably the biggest break of the post-season with the Celtics playing KG-less, but no one can ignore the Magic now.   They’re for real, they earned this, and this team is no fluke.

They’re not a gimmicky team any more that lives on the perimeter.  Now they’re a mentally tough team that goes inside first, and burns you on the outside with their lethal three-point shooting.

Mickael Pietrus had another terrific game, nailing three more triples, and finishing with 14 points.  What a find he’s been for Orlando.

But it was a team effort for the Magic.  Whether it was Howard camping out in the paint and mutilating the Cavs inside or one of Orlando’s many slashers taking it to the basket and creating mismatches all over the court, the Magic exposed Cleveland, and sent the Cavs home.

We were all witnesses this series to the maturation of Dwight Howard.  Yes, he picked up some bad fouls in tough spots, but big men tend to do that.  What Howard did this series was seize the moment, use his size and power to overwhelm the Cavs while lifting the Magic (a perceived good team) into the NBA Finals.

I have to admit: I didn’t think Howard was an elite player going into this series.  Too many times in the past he had settled for bad shots, or wasn’t aggressive enough.  But that all changed after game five of the conference semifinals, when he called out Stan Van Gundy, demanding the ball in crunch-time.  Since then, he’s been a force (including the show he put on in overtime in game four), and the Magic, not surprisingly have gone 6-2.

“We’re not satisfied,” said an elated, but focused Howard on the podium after the win (and who can blame him either?  This team believes).

Whatever happens in the Finals, the NBA can’t be disappointed about this matchup.  Yes, BronBron versus Kobe would have been amazing star power, but Orlando is no slouch.  Not any more.  Not with a superstar of their own in Howard, and a supporting cast that just might be good enough to get him an NBA title.  Not with a “team” that plays together, shares the ball, and plays hard every night.  The Magic don’t have any prima donnas and when Howard stays out of foul trouble, and when the Magic are hitting their threes they are a tough out.  Beating the Lakers, who have a lot more talent than Cleveland will be a tough challenge but it won’t be impossible.

Will they do it?  I’m not ready to predict that just yet.  But these NBA Finals should be great.  No, wait, make that amazing.

Shaq’s done it before, and he did it again. Throwing down a rap against another player. His keystone lyrics were, “Kobe couldn’t do without me,” and “Kobe, tell me how my ass tastes,” which he got the crowd to chant at the end of his performance.

He also had some fun lines in the middle of the rap:

Ain’t nobody in the world do it bigger than me
That’s like a white boy trying to be more n*gger than me
That’s like a homeless cat having more fingers than me
That’s like Patrick Ewing having more rings than me
That’s like you singing to yourself you’re better than me
That’s like Kareem saying to himself he’s better than me

Here he is after the 2002 Western Conference Finals dissing Vlade Divac, telling him to “Go where people know your name”:

Here’s some more videos of Shaq rapping:

from 1996:

Here he is in a dance-off with LeBron and Dwight Howard at the 2007 All-Star Game:

And here is one of Shaq’s actual raps off one of his CDs. This is “Shoot Pass Slam,” off his debut album, “Shaq Diesel”:

Stephen A already has decided on MVP:

Kobe is the league-MVP right now, hands down. It’s so obvious, it isn’t even worth discussing, although I’ll have to tomorrow night on NBA Shootaround.

LeBron is leading the league in scoring and is also leading Kobe in rebounds per game and assists per game, so it would seem that there is some debate. Today’s contest may have furthered that debate depending on the outcome. I’m just here to talk about the first half, though.

And about Damon Jones’ hair!

I listed the top 10 worst hairstyles in sports last year, but if I were starting from this year, Jones might make it. He looks like a skunk.

More on the game: Near the end of the first, there was a delay because heavy rains had caused a leak in the ceiling of the arena. Or so everybody thought.

The game was delayed for a while while employees went up to check. …and found the dripping wet clothes taken off by workers for the team’s ceiling company and laid to rest up there.

Anyone else, if you’ve got something to say in this random weekend post about Kobe vs James, comment on it. I’ll be back with stuff that makes sense all week.