Oh. Wow.

We're in the business of wasting both words and brain power on the Rockets and Blazers but I missed last night's game with a case of youth and a dose of a bloody knee. Dried blood is still stuck to much of my leg and tawdry bits of flesh slink from my scab like tentacles. In short: it's pretty fucking cool. My knee's gone octopus. 

I didn't watch the game but that is a good thing. I'm normally against highlights, as they dilute the essence but highlights from last nights Blazers-Rockets game were a work of art. The reason sports highlights exist in the first place. The announcers didn't even make jokes. They assessed the situation, something amazing happened. Time commenced and another amazing thing happened. Jubilation followed but was ousted by yet another amazing occurrence. Three lead changes in 1.9 seconds, our favorite stars (YAO!!!) on display, and dramatic tension occurring in thirty seconds but taking a big part in the great narrative of the season/life./ The Blazer's balls is what will set them apart. 

On a side note: Yao Ming is leading the NBA in highlights this season. Seriously, his fundamentals are manifesting themselves in extraordinary ways! 

Allen Iverson plays tonight! Allen Iverson plays tonight! I feel as if I have forgotten everything about Chauncey Billups and feel terrible about it. He was my least favorite of the Piston Fab Five of Billups/Hamilton/Prince/Wallace/Wallace but was perhaps the most extraordinary performer. He won the 2004 Finals MVP but that was a team effort. All of the Pistons sort of sacrificed themselves for the good of the team but this got shredded before the '05/'06 session of season. In the first half of the season Billups played basketball as magnificently as the game can be played. His averages for the year were 18.5 and 9 but that does little to encapsulate the effect he had on the team. His confidence immersed the totality in a furious expression of jubilee. Think of his '05 Chauncey as the greatest drummer who ever lived. He'd parade down the court, hit a jumper from 27 feet out with 18 on the shot clock, and the rest of the game would become a dance off.