Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone.

Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus or whatever else there is to celebrate at this time of year.

Regardless of the one you celebrate, it really is a special time of year and hopefully every one of us at one point or another during the holiday season takes a moment to really step back and gather in all the things that make this time of year so incredibly special. It sounds cheesy and cliche obviously, but it's true...

I'm currently home in Ohio, which does an equal job of reminding me: 1. why I left and 2. just how hard it was to leave and stay away at the same time. I love so many people here and so many things about this place that I'll always call home. But there's lots of places to see and things to do on this planet, and I plan on seeing and doing as much as you can jam into one lifetime...as well as make it home as often as possible of course...

I saw Four Christmases a few weeks ago - $5 out of $7. I also rewatched Traitor last night on DVD, which reconfirmed my opinion that that is a GREAT movie. I heard Valkyrie sucked, specifically that it was like Jerry Maguire trying to kill Hitler for two hours...but nevertheless, I plan on seeing it anyway. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised.

I am genuinely excited about the NBA right now. The Celtics are out of this world and the Lakers and Cavs aren't far behind. Paul Pierce, Rajon Rando and Mr. "Anything Is Possssssible!!!" Kevin Garnett are simply playing out of their minds, which is how you should play when defending your title. After all, it's yours until someone takes it, so don't let them take it. I love watching the Suns and I am definitely excited and encouraged by the addition of Jason Richardson. Watch out for those Suns. I also love the Trail Blazers. Absolutely love them. If they're on TV, do yourself a favor and sit down and watch them. I also love Chris Paul and his excellence at the point guard position. Call him Guinness cause he's brilliant. I'm gonna see CP3 Sunday night in Indianapolis when the Hornets are there to play the Pacers. Don't get me started on LeBron. It simply isn't fair from the moment he steps on the court. Dwayne Wade is secretly (b/c of the Celtics, Lakers, Cavs and LeBron) having a great, great season so far (leading the NBA in scoring and single-handedly making the Heat relevant). I haven't enjoyed the NBA this much ever really, the only thing that's even close is the boyish/teenage love I had of Michael Jordan and those 90s Bulls teams. The Run and Gun Phoenix Suns of the last 3-5 years are a distant 3rd (even though they were extremely fun to watch, I didn't care near as much as I do now or with MJ).

As for college basketball, haven't followed it much to this point. I do know that the Sun Devils of Arizona State are 10-1 and flying high. Catch James Harden on Sportscenter or at the top of next year's NBA draft if you don't see an ASU game this year. The kid is the real deal and hopefully will lead ASU to a deep NCAA tournament run come March.

Looking forward to seeing THE Ohio State Buckeyes take on Texas in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale on January 5th. I was lucky enough to come across some great tickets thanks to a cousin of mine on the inside at O State. She also got me tickets to the SC game in LA in September. If you remember correctly, that was a 35-3, lopsided to say the least, game that we'd all just as soon forget. Hopefully this game vs Texas will be a LOT different...

The NFL is a complete crap shoot, I can say with absolutely no confidence who is gonna win the Superbowl. With a gun to my head I'd say the Steelers...

Hope everyone had a great day today.

Until next time...