In a seven-game playoff series, Game 6 is never pretty. One team is out to close out the other, and the latter has to win two straight to prevail in the series. It's not quite as exciting as Game 7, because there isn't equal pressure on the two sides. But it's do or die for the trailing team, which has already shown, twice, that it can beat this particular foe. Everybody's got their game faces on. They've been going at it with the same opponent for too many games straight. People are playing through injury. Things get chippy.

We caught some of last night's pro hoops contest between the L.A. Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies on the tube, and it had all the grit and grime of a Game 6. The Clippers led the series 3-2, but their main guys were pretty banged up, and the referees seemed biased against them. L.A. lost by two points at home, and so now they have to win Game 7 on the road. They were pretty unhappy campers as they shuffled off the court.

We also watched the beginning of the Lakers-Nuggets Game 6 the other night before falling asleep. That other Los Angeles team was in the Mile High City with a 3-2 lead in the series, but its star, Kobe Bryant, was sick to his stomach, and the game wasn't close. And so back to California the caravan comes for a deciding game this evening at Jack Nicholson's house.

We've grown to love George Karl, the head coach for Denver, over the course of the series. They have mikes on the coaches these days, and Karl's exhortations to his team during timeouts have been nothing short of brilliant. "Nobody has to do anything special," he said to his charges at an early point in Game 6. "Just play solid basketball." And he was absolutely, 100%, spot on. Avoiding the temptation to get fancy was a key to the team's success that night.

And Karl's got Andre Miller on the court at the right times. Miller is a brilliant floor captain and an excellent solo performer, especially in the clutch. He's an even better baller in Denver than he was in Portland, and he was pretty darn good when he was here.

Speaking of Game 6, the Portland Winterhawks come home down 3-2 against the Edmonton Oil Kings. It's do or die for the Hawks at 6:00 today at the Rose Garden, where they lost in overtime earlier this week. They also lost in Canada the other night, and so they've got to go from a two-game losing streak to a two-game winning streak to become league champions. The Oil Kings smell blood, and so it isn't going to pretty.

It's Game 6. It's never pretty.