Sun Block

Though tonight is not technically a Game 7, it will serve the same purpose, as it will decide the outcome of the series. Obviously, if the Spurs win, they advance to the Western Conference Finals. But even though a Suns victory would "only" knot the series at three games apiece, there just doesn't seem to be any conceivable way the Spurs could win Game 7. They've already won twice at Phoenix during this series, so the odds are stacked heavily against them doing so a third time in four opportunities. It would also be only the second time at Phoenix this series the Suns would be at full-strength, with the other being a 20-point Suns win. And anytime a team coughs up a 3-2 lead to let the opponent off the canvas to force a Game 7, the momentum swing is so violent it can snap a team's collective neck.

As much as I hate to admit it, I think there is a tremendous amount of pressure on the Spurs tonight. If the Suns lose, people will give them credit for a hard fought series and will hold David Stern more accountable for their playoff exit than anyone on the Phoenix roster. But if the Spurs lose, especially given the late meltdown in Game 4, there will be enough goats in San Antonio to line both sides of the Riverwalk. And given their advancing age, this just might be the Spurs' last great chance at winning their fourth championship.

They absolutely need to follow the lead of their greatest player, as pictured above, and derail the potent Suns attack with the brand of smothering defense that garnered San Antonio their previous three titles. When it's all said and done, if the Spurs are to win and advance, it's once again going to be on the enormous wings of Tim Duncan.

Ga Ga for "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga"

I've been a huge Spoon fan since the first time I heard Girls Can Tell. In fact, to this day, A Series of Sneaks (which I went back and bought immediately after hearing Girls Can Tell) remains my all-time favorite album. It took me a bit longer to fully absorb Kill The Moonlight, but I eventually grew to love it, as well. But even though Gimme Fiction was pretty good, I never was as fully immersed in it as I had been with all previous Spoon albums, so I wasn't sure what to expect from their upcoming release, the bizarrely-titled Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.

Well, before I was even finished with my first complete listen to this new Spoon album, I was more than hooked. The first song to absolutely blow me away from this fantastic record is "Don't You Evah," the fourth track on the album, and the second in an absolutely amazing five-song run of audio perfection from tracks three ("You Got Yr Cherry Bomb") through seven. But it is that seventh track, "The Underdog," which just may be the breakout hit Spoon has flirted with for years (see, "Way We Get By, The") but never quite consummated.

Out of the 10 songs comprising the entirety of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, only "The Ghost of You Lingers" is less than stellar. I might even consider it Spoon's weakest track ever, though that's probably not something I'd like to admit within an otherwise glowing review. Still, credit Britt Daniel for being his typical bold self and releasing this seemingly inaccessible song as the album's advance track. Never one to take the conventional route, Daniel's genius lies in his willingness to take such daring risks. It pays off in spades nine times out of 10 on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, which in all likelihood will end the year as my #1 album of 2007.

Reconnecting After 30 Years

Actually, it's "only" been 29 years, but I figured it would be OK to round up in this instance. I just got back from lunch with an old friend I had not seen since he moved away after 6th Grade in the Summer of 1978. Holy "Wayback Machine," Mr. Peabody!

So, how exactly did this come about? Well, I recently stumbled upon my yearbooks from 5th and 6th Grade while cleaning out the garage, and started looking through them to see who signed their names. One of the guys who signed them -- my aforementioned friend, Chuck -- has a pretty unique last name, so I employed the miracle of Google.

Sure enough, said Internet miracle provided me with Chuck's e-mail address, and it turns out he works maybe 15 miles away from me. Given the fact that we both now live more than 300 miles from where we went to 6th Grade, this definitely falls into the "Small World" category.

I'm still in awe at how quickly we were able to comfortably converse during lunch, especially when you consider we had not spoken to each other since before the 28-year-old lady in the cubicle next to me WAS BORN. Boy, does THAT ever put it into perspective!

Chuck's still the same great guy I remember, and he certainly doesn't look 41. I have to admit being especially relieved by this fact, because right before Chuck showed up at the restaurant, I saw another man I thought might be him, but who looked to be in his mid-50s at the absolute youngest. It's good to know we at least don't SEEM like we're approaching middle age just yet!

I forgot to bring the yearbooks with me to lunch, so there were some names neither of us could quite remember to bring up, but that will give us something to do the next time we have lunch. As for today, we just caught up on what we've done career-wise since school, and also fondly recalled The Great Webelos Spring Break Trip to Big Bend of 1976.

I'm really looking forward to meeting up with Chuck again soon. It just goes to show you that sometimes faded memories can be quickly brought back into focus when you find someone to help you piece them together.

Cheap Shot Rob

The only thing that disappointed me more than the Spurs blowing a crucial Game 4 they controlled most of the night, was the ridiculous hit Robert Horry put on Steve Nash late in the game. Yes, they needed to foul, but there was no call whatsoever for something that flagrant. Not only have the Spurs relinquished momentum, they've relinquished their reputation. I still HOPE they win the series, but I am starting to doubt whether it will actually happen.

Thanks for the fuel, Amare!

Amare Stoudemire is a great player, but he's young, and he let his gum flapping get the best of him. No, he's not solely to blame for the Suns losing Game 3 to the Spurs, but there's no doubt it sure seemed to charge up the primary targets of his "play dirty" allegations: Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili. Tonight's game is HUGE, because if the Spurs can go up 3-1, it's all but over.