By Lynn Saternow

Herald Sports Editor

OK, I’LL ADMIT that I’m not a big NBA fan. I’ll watch some of the Cavaliers games in the playoffs, but I really don’t have the same kind of rooting interest that I have for the Indians or Browns.

And one of the things that really bothers me about the NBA is that the league is becoming just like professional wrestling. They think that they have to have all kinds of fireworks and loud music and scantily clad cheerleaders to interest the fans. OK, may the cheerleaders are all right!

But why do they need that stuff? Isn’t watching giants slam a ball through a hoop enough?

A recent game between the Spurs and Hornets was held up for almost 20 minutes because they had a hard time putting out a flaming hoop. Because of pyrotechnics, sometimes games start in a fog because there is so much smoke in the air. I can’t believe the players want to breathe in that stuff, let alone the fans.

Another problem with the NBA playoffs is home-court advantage. Almost every team wins at home and there have been few upsets this season. Why is that? Don’t teams play as hard on the road?

Obviously, teams need to realize that the regular season is very important since your record determines home-court advantage. Too many times during the regular season it seems that some players just go through the motions.

The Cavs and Celtics are going to Game 7 today, so it would be a good time for Cleveland to pull off an upset on the road. I figure if LeBron James scores 80 points, they can win!

ä It will be very interesting to see what happens to Barry Bonds who is charged with 15 felony counts stemming from his alleged lying to a grand jury.

It was a shocking revelation when Bonds’ lead attorney proclaimed: “Barry Bonds is innocent.” What else would he say?

It’s pretty obvious that the government is going to make an example of Bonds, since there surely have been people who lied to grand juries before and weren’t charged.

But when you have a case of this magnitude, it may make people think a little more before lying in the future.

Will Bonds beat the rap? Only time will tell.