I’m Not Sayin’. I’m Just Sayin’

I highly doubt Bill Simmons reads this particular nook and/or cranny of the internets. But I did see something on ESPN.com that made me wonder…what if?

Today I read Simmons’ piece on the NBA Finals, which is also running in ESPN The Magazine. As you can see, it opens thusly:

I mean, Celtics-Lakers? Really?

When I woke up this morning, I half expected to see posters of Eddie Murphy’s “Delirious” concert, Larry Bird’s milk growth chart (don’t ask) and the eternally underrated Heather Thomas hanging on my walls. Actually, I thought this would make for a cool column: me remembering my 1984 bedroom decor, singing Larry Legend’s praises, taking potshots at Kareem and Magic, insulting Lakers fans and hitting Send.

Now rewind to my post from last week, “I Love the 80s Strikes Back,” in which I espouse a similar train of thought, though on a completely different set of tracks:

Doug Collins is coming back to coach the Bulls, and I couldn’t be more excited! Combined with the pending Celtics-Lakers matchup in the NBA Finals and baseball teams slowly returning to powder blue uniforms, one thing has become clear: the ’80s are back, baby! And it couldn’t happen soon enough.

(On a sidenote, are the Bulls going to wait another 19 years to officially hire Collins? This thing is taking forever.)

Now I’m not formally accusing The Sports Guy of copping my idea (if so, it’s a very brief cop). But since that particular posting was linked by SI.com, it is theoretically possible. Or it could be like George Harrison, who was ruled to have unintentionally copied the song “He’s So Fine” when he wrote “My Sweet Lord.” It was just one of those subconscious things.

And then there is final, and most probable, possibility: perhaps great minds just think alike. Or something.

On a final sidenote, there actually was a real case of plagiarism that came out of Canada today about some columnist who was using whole chunks of a piece by Rick Reilly — coincidentally, it broke on the same day as Reilly’s ESPN.com debut.

The guy in question, David Pratt, was nailed for breaking the cardinal rule of plagiarism — always make sure you steal from somebody nobody has heard of. Like me.