They surely don’t love these games

It looks as if it’s time to get all our NBA items in, pronto, because the final series is going to expire before the milk in the refrigerator.

Which doesn’t mean it isn’t already going bad.

Let’s just say David Stern doesn’t want to see a movie poster reviewing the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers.

“Hideous ... Brutal.” -- Mike Wise, Washington Post.

“Unwatchable ... Disgusting.” -- Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star.

“Either this is the best Rope-A-Dope I have ever seen or this series is over.” -- Sean Elliott, San Antonio Express-News.

Sean Elliott? The former Spur is blogging the series for the hometown paper, and he’s pretty good.

“LeBron James in foul trouble once again? When they don’t have him on the court, I can’t figure out how they can score. It would take John Wooden and Pete Carril to design an offense for them.”

Trivia time

The Dodgers’ Nomar Garciaparra was voted “Best Athlete” for Tu Ciudad magazine’s Best of Latino L.A. issue, earning 44% of the vote to Oscar De La Hoya’s 36%.

Which Southern California high school did Garciaparra attend?

Bounced balls bounce back

Other than scheduling Game 2 of the NBA Finals Sunday night against “The Sopranos” finale, the league’s worst idea of the season might have been the new synthetic basketball that was subsequently dumped after a rash of player complaints.

About 100 of the balls have turned up at a charity in West Virginia, the Charleston Daily Mail reported.

The NBA donated many of the obsolete balls to World Vision, an international Christian relief organization for children that has a U.S. operation with a storehouse in Philippi, W.Va.

The basketballs are to be distributed to schools and various nonprofit groups in Appalachia.

Just make sure they get one into the hands of the next Zeke from Cabin Creek.

Or maybe not.

Some NBA players complained the synthetic balls caused tiny cuts on their fingertips.

From the inbox

An e-mail landed Wednesday with the subject line “Certifiably Crazy; Media Advisory.” We’ll give you a moment to compile a list of athletes you think the bulletin might have been about before we tell you ...

It was a horse.

Certifiably Crazy, the champion New York-bred turf horse of the last two seasons, was retired because of an injury.

Doggone it

Five-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg pulled out of a return to grass-court singles on English soil because of a dog bite.

Borg, 51, who won his last Wimbledon title in 1980, was set to play 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash on Friday in Liverpool. But Borg reportedly was hurt trying to stop a dog fight at his home in Sweden when his Golden Retriever was attacked by a German Shepherd and Borg was bitten on his right leg while trying to intervene.

Unlike John McEnroe, this dog’s bite apparently was worse than its bark.

Trivia answer

Garciaparra graduated from Bellflower St. John Bosco in 1991.

And finally...

Former Angels broadcaster Mario Impemba, calling Justin Verlander’s no-hitter for the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night, as cited by the Detroit Free Press: “The 0-2 -- high fly ball -- right field -- Ordonez backing up. He is there -- No-hitter for Justin Verlander -- the first Tigers no-hitter since 1984 when Jack Morris no-hit the White Sox ... what a scene at Comerica Park.”

robyn.norwood@latimes.com