MetroRiderLA

Photo by Fred Camino in the MetroRiderLA Flickr pool. Used with a Creative Commons license.

For the anniversary that marks the first generation of modern urban rail in Los Angeles, July 14, 2010, was a day like any other on the Blue Line. No fanfare, no recognition, just people going about their business. The inaugural run of the Blue Line was the talk of the town. The Militant Angeleno was there, and he provided footage. The 10th anniversary was marked with a modern train paying an homage to history.

There’s not much to celebrate this time around. Metro just raised its fares on the 1st, and the deadbeat state is again flaking on funding, and that of course means another round of service cuts. The 20th anniversary also comes full circle to the 1990 opening day. Then and now, the Los Angeles economy was mired in a deep recession — both in the wake of financial crises and real estate bubbles.

While the anniversary itself went by without fanfare, the Blue Line itself has proven to be an important backbone and setting the pace for our still-growing network with ridership well north of 70,000 on weekdays. It has also been a line that has seen the extremes of few major transformative developments and most of the communities remaining as they were in 1990.

July 14 offered a look at what is different and the same with a fully mature light rail line.

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Photo by Yours Truly via Flickr

Sorry for not getting this up sooner. We were out of town last week and unable to express our shock and dismay at the result of the real NBA Finals.

For a while, it looked like our prediction was about to come through. Boston managed to break through and gain a 3-2 lead going into Game 5. The Lakers then caught up in Game 6, and took it to a Game 7 … and won the whole thing.

Yes, an L.A. website could be shocked and dismayed that our home team managed to win back-to-back championships. Shocked and dismayed that our prediction proved inaccurate, but moreso because a small contingent of “fans” take it upon themselves to start a riot just for no other reason than fun.

For your actions in disgracing this city, the championship Lakers, the sport of basketball, and while we’re at it, the entire human race, those who trashed the area around Staples Center need to be declared enemy combatants and extraordinarily rendered. If that fails, let these specimens of crotch rot resurface at today’s parade and be pounded on by Ron Artest.

Anyway, in case you don’t know, the Lakers will hold their victory parade today at 11 a.m. along Figueroa Street from the Staples Center to Jefferson Boulevard. This is going to snarl bus routes downtown, so your best bet will be to take the Blue Line to Pico or Grand stations.

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Tipoff begins after the jump.

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Both images are used with a Creative Commons license via Flickr; click on images to see more details

Your defending champions are sure making this look like a series. The Lakers picked up a close win in the bowels of hell, aka Boston, beating the Celtics 91-84 at the Garden. Yahoo Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski said Game 3 was a combination of elder statesman Derek Fisher making the save and Boston’s Ray Allen looking atrocious.

In the NBA Finals (of Transit), the teams each have one game apiece. The Lakers made quick work of Boston and its feeble bus system, yet the green team roared back with the Green Line (and the Orange Line) beating L.A.’s mighty big Blue.

This time, in Game 3, we’re seeing the two best teams in the league in terms of mainline rail. Both systems have expansive commuter rail networks, and both cities are important hubs of the Amtrak intercity grid. Get ready for a barnburner!

Tipoff begins after the jump.

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Both images are used with a Creative Commons license via Flickr; click on images to see more details

After dropping Game 1, the Celtics played Sunday like the team that’s poised to unseat the defending champions and beat them for a 10th time out of the dozen times the teams made it to the Finals. Boston beat L.A., 103-94, on our home turf, to take Game 2. The series is now tied 1-1, and heads to Boston for 3 games.

Boston’s fortunes weren’t much better in Game 1. It looked especially sloppy against the well-oiled Los Angeles bus machine. Boston has gone throughout this whole playoffs season without a single team it could win on buses.

Yet it’s L.A. that must worry now, as Boston has been unbeatable with its urban rail game. L.A., with its productive Blue Line, has only been able to beat a team with no urban rail, Oklahoma City. Then again, OKC proved to be no match at all. L.A. then was upset by the Utah Jazz, and Portland really brought the goods in its series. L.A. also shows fatigue by facing two consecutive series that went to the max 3-2 limit.

Tipoff begins after the jump.

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Both images are used with a Creative Commons license via Flickr; click on images to see more details

The defending champs took Game 1 against its classic rivals, the Boston Celtics, here at the Staples Center, 102-89. The Lakers, which had a better record than the Celtics this season, come into the game knowing that out of 11 previous times these two teams have met in the Finals, Boston has won 9 times — including the last time they met two years ago.

These two teams begin a legacy on MetroRiderLA as well. This is the inaugural NBA Finals (of Transit), and we happened to call the correct teams into the Finals, despite missing the call on four series. Transit didn’t help as much in basketball as it did in baseball, where only one game’s results diverged.

For the NBA Finals (of Transit), the two cities compete on their respective transit services. For bus and urban rail, the services are judged based on proximity to the basketball venue. For mainline rail, it’s service to the team’s market area. Proximity to the arena doesn’t matter. The final transit matchup is based on information found on the agencies’ websites. If there is a fifth game, it would be based on the team’s records.

Game 1 focuses on bus services near the teams’ arenas. Boston infamously has won its games but losing on buses to each team it has faced so far. Meanwhile, L.A. has proven to have such a highly developed bus system that it has won its contest by default. How will the Finals play out?

Tipoff begins after the jump.

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