The Los Angeles Lakers are headed to the 2008 NBA Finals. They sealed their fate by beating the San Antonio Spurs 100-92 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals. After stealing Game 4 at San Antonio, the Lakers came home to end the series in front of their home fans.

Not surprisingly, Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers. Bryant had 39 point and was a beast down the stretch. He proved without a doubt that he’s the best player in the NBA and that his 2008 Most Valuable Player award was well deserved.

The Spurs, who are the NBA’s defending champions, couldn’t get the breaks to go their way this series. After a controversial ending to Game 4, the Spurs got up by 17 points in the first half against the Lakers in Game 5 but were unable to hold on.

The Lakers will play the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals, which has the Boston Celtics with a 3-2 lead over the Detroit Pistons. The Celtics and Pistons will play Game 6 in Detroit. If Detroit wins Game 6, the two teams will play Game 7 on Sunday.

The Lakers are headed back to the Finals for the first time since 2004. Los Angeles hasn’t won a championship since the 2002 season, when they won their third in a row that year.

Remember a couple years back when NBA commissioner David Stern instituted the “dress code” for the NBA players? At that time I thought it was a little ridiculous that someone would need to tell grown men how to dress. But hey, I guess a lot of the NBA stars hate suits too!

Here’s some highlights from how the Lakers finished off the Spurs on Thursday night …

Sex and the City: The Movie premieres on Friday and people all over the country will be flocking to see Carrie Bradshaw and friends on the big screen. Sex and the City was a very popular TV series on HBO for the relationships between the women, the high fashions and, of course, for the sex.

Will Carrie finally end up living happily ever after with Mr. Big? I guess we’ll have to head to the theater this weekend and see.

Of the characters on Sex and the City, I think most of them hated suits just like us here at I Hate Suits. Though Carrie (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) loved her Manolo Blahnik high heels and quirky clothes, she worked from home as a writer, so she hardly ever wore suits. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) was the only one of the four women who wore a business suit every day … after all she’s a lawyer. Sexy Miranda (Kim Cattrall) would rather be in lingerie than a business suit. And prim and proper Charlotte (despite Kristin Davis’ alleged sex pictures) would rather be in a Ralph Lauren sweater set than a suit.

Check out Sex and the City: The Movie this weekend and let us know what you think.

Recently, Mount Everest has been in the news a lot. The Olympic torch made a trip to the mountain. Then two old guys were able to ascend Mount Everest. A 76-year-old man from Nepal, Min Bahadar Surchan, and a 75-year-old man from Japan, Yuichiro Miura, were able to get to the top of Everest.

If you love the outdoors and you love mountains, have you ever thought about climbing mountains for a living? It’s an odd way to make a living – but definitely not impossible. Only a few hundred people have ever climbed Mount Everest, and while they don’t get a pot of gold at the top of the mountain, the notoriety associated with such a feat can be turned into cash.

For example, a lot of mountain climbers write books about their adventures. Other ways to make money from your mountain climbing exploits include making motivational speeches, selling the rights to your story or using your new name recognition to start a new business.

Sir Edmund Hillary, who was the first person to ever climb Mount Everest, became a millionaire in his lifetime. A lot of his money can as a direct result from the fame he gained when accomplishing his goal.

What are you waiting for? Head to the latest hill and get to practicing!

More than ever, people around the world are concerned about the environment. And not only are businesses being concerned out of the goodness of their own hearts, a lot of businesses are being forced to care. With strict rules regarding aspects such as harmful emissions, a lot of businesses have had to take extra care to make sure they are within the rules.

This new focus on going green is actually creating a lot of jobs. While environmental scientists are more popular, many other less skilled jobs are available in the green sector. For example, businesses are hiring people to test the surrounding groundwater to make sure there is no pollution occurring.

If you are in a dead end job and you want a new challenge, consider going into the green industry. The best way to do so is to further your education, however that isn’t necessary. A lot of green related opportunities offer on the job training. If you are dedicated to learning, businesses will teach you what you need to know.

A recent report indicated that in 25 years, one in four jobs will be in the environmental field. While that might be a bit optimistic, green jobs are definitely the wave of the future. Getting into the field now could secure you a long lasting and well paying job.

Photo credit: Flickr

Chicago Bulls forward Joakim Noah was charged with possession of marijuana and having an open container of alcohol early on Sunday. Noah was hanging out in Gainsville holding a notorious red cup. The cops found an “amber drink” inside. Gainsville police say Noah was arrested on the open container charge at 1:50am on Sunday morning. During a search back at the police station, the officers found marijuana in his pocket.

Noah could face up to six months in jail (yeah, right!) and a $500 fine (chump change) on the pot charge.

If the Bulls had a coach, I’m guessing that he might be upset. But since, they don’t have a coach …

(Hey, maybe you can apply for the job!)

Noah was an integral part of the Florida Gators team that one back-to-back NCAA basketball championships. He was selected by the Bulls with the ninth overall pick in last June’s NBA draft.

With the NBA playoffs in full gear, a lot of people wonder how they can get a NBA related job. While it’s not easy getting such a job, one exciting field that many don’t consider is refereeing. Becoming an NBA referee is a difficult task, but it’s possible if you have the dedication and the willingness to pay your dues.

The first thing you want to do if you want to become a basketball ref is to go to a referee school. There are a number of camps and clinics that provide beginner, intermediate and expert tips. ProBasketballRefs.com and Officiating.com are two very good resources if you are looking for camps or clinics in your area.

Once you learn the ropes, you will likely have to start at the bottom of the ladder. Many professional refs started out by refereeing rec leagues and church leagues – and oftentimes for little or no pay. Once you get comfortable with your refereeing skills, you can begin to climb the ladder.

The most difficult aspect of becoming a professional basketball ref is the dedication required. It usually takes years to climb up one step on the ladder. For example, if you are a ref in a rec league, it’ll likely take you a couple years to go to the high school level. Once you are at the high school level, it’ll take even more years before you move up to the college level. However, if you stay dedicated and you remain willing to learn your craft, there’s really no limit to what you can achieve on the basketball court as a referee.

And make sure you don’t take bets on games or you’ll end up like Tim Donaghy.

During the summer months, there are a lot of people looking for seasonal jobs. While a lot of these people are students who are off for the summer, there are a lot of other groups who look for seasonal work at that time of year. For example, educators who are off for the summer could look to make some extra cash. Retirees are also well represented during the summer months because there are a lot of seasonal jobs available that don’t require a long-tern commitment.

What are the best summer jobs? There are a lot of different fields that are hiring during the summer but not all gigs are created equally. The aspects to look for in a good summer job are a job that offers good flexibility, a low amount of stress and good pay.

One place to look for work is at hotels or resorts. During summer months, a lot of people are vacationing. That means hotels and resorts need to hire extra people to accommodate. Another place to look is amusement parks and water parks. Like hotels and resorts, amusement parks and water parks need seasonal workers to fill in during the summer months.

If you want a job where you are in control, consider starting your own lawn care business. You can charge people in your neighborhood to cut their grass and take care of their lawn. In the warm summer months, people are more open to paying for professional yard work. Additionally, you can open your own childcare operation that is specifically geared towards the summer months when kids are out of school.

The great thing about seasonal summer jobs is that if you don’t like the job, you can always move on and look for something better.

Photo credit: Flickr

Now isn’t a good time to be looking for jobs on Wall Street. If you have a Wall Street job, you’re probably worried about the status of your job. With the struggling economy of the United States, Wall Street has become a harder place to survive.

The main problem for Wall Street is people currently don’t have a lot of extra money for investment purposes. A few years ago, a family could dabble in the stock market and save money for a rainy day. Today, a lot of those same families have to spend every incoming penny just to stay afloat. To compound the affects of the struggling economy, rising energy costs and gas prices have put a pinch on a majority of families in the United States.

Wall Street related companies are making job cuts to try to make up for less business coming their way. This week Morgan Stanley got rid of 1,500 employees – most of the eliminated jobs were in the fields of asset management businesses, investment banking and trading.

Another company, Lehman Brothers, is expected to cut approximately 1,500 employees on Monday. After this latest round of cuts, Lehman Brothers would have eliminated about 6,500 jobs in the last year. Rumors also have JPMorgan Chase looking to make major job cuts.

If you are interested in working on Wall Street, you should wait until the economy turns around. Almost every economist believes that the economy will stabilize and recover at some point, which might even be in the not too distant future.

This week we present girl of the week # 1. This sexy brunette hates suits! She hates suits so much she screams it out loud and strips down into a bikini. Enjoy.

A recent report by Forbes found some interesting trends in the hourly job market. While some hourly jobs can end up paying quite well, there are some hourly jobs that aren’t so hot at the moment.

According to the report, the highest paying hourly job is a sales representative. Sales reps make about $28 per hour. Though the pay is good, a lot of sales rep say that the stress level is high, which results in a lot of turnover in this industry.

Other hourly jobs that pay well are administrative assistants, auto technicians and customer service representatives.

Those three professions average anywhere from $15 to $20. Many variables go into exactly how much someone should expect to earn in these lines of work, including experience and the state the job is in.

The most sought after hourly jobs are restaurant jobs. Being a waiter is a job that many people look into, however this line of work is famous for having an extremely high turnover rate.

What are the worst hourly jobs at the moment? With the down turn in the economy, construction workers and retail workers are losing jobs left and right. Since less and less people have disposable income, people aren’t building as much as they used to and they also aren’t shopping as much. Now isn’t the time to look for jobs in the construction field or the retail field.

Photo credit: Flickr