YOUR "CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE LAKER-HATER'S SOUL" QUOTE OF THE DAY: More precisely, of the yesterday

"I don't even have to look at the calendar to know that it's spring coming on summer, with Phil complaining about the officiating," Van Gundy said. "It happens like a rite of passage every spring. And it's interesting. His team shoots more free throws (than opponents), I'm going to guess probably 80 percent in his career. But it's those ... Lakers always getting screwed.

"And I'm really surprised at some of you guys that are probing journalists. If he was a fisherman, he'd have you guys mounted on his wall. He throws the bait out there and then you guys scurry over there and throw your mouths on there, so he can hook you with this whole idea of physical play, Eastern Conference, Jeff Van Gundy mentality.

"Yeah, really. Shaq is a finesse player compared to Yao. And Karl Malone and Kelvin Cato, who's more physical? And you have the Patron Saint, Rick Fox, who never touches anybody. And then you've got Bryant who is bigger and stronger than Mobley. You've got a guy nicknamed `Glove' for a reason. And then you've got the flopper, Fisher, bumping and grinding. So who's the more physical team?

"If you guys would probe a little bit, we're the ones trying to run a little bit. We're the one who scored more than 100 points when we played in the regular season. The only physical team in this series is them.

"Basically, what he's trying to say in his own way is, `You have no right to compete against us. The fans and the media and TV want the Lakers in the Finals, and I expect the league to accommodate us.'

"We were thankful that they sent three men of integrity to referee the game (Saturday), and now we will see who the league sends in here tonight. When Phil asks the league to jump, we'll see how high they jump. And that's all I've got to say."

Stoopid Rockets lost anyway, but it's a nice quote.

UPDATE: Oh, here's a better quote from Jeff:

"If you think O'Neal's fouling out, you haven't been watching the NBA very long," Van Gundy said. "He's not fouling out. One, he's a smart player. And two, he's not fouling out. Yao may foul out, but O'Neal is not fouling out.""If you think O'Neal's fouling out, you haven't been watching the NBA very long," Van Gundy said. "He's not fouling out. One, he's a smart player. And two, he's not fouling out. Yao may foul out, but O'Neal is not fouling out."