Devotional – 111909

Material taken from commentaries written by J. Alec Motyer and John Oswalt along with a sermon preached by Erik Thoennes at Grace EV Free La Mirada on November 15, 2009.

Our church is currently going through the book of Isaiah (one of my favorite books of the Bible). As I mentioned before,I took a course in Isaiah while going through graduate school at Talbot. This week Erik Thoennes (one of the elders at our church) preached through chapter two of Isaiah.

Here are some observations of the chapter. It’s an indictment on human pride. Throughout the chapter, the author continues to point out the things that Israel relies upon or things for which they have left the Lord. In verse 6:

“For you have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, because they are filled with influences from the east, and they are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike bargains with the children of foreigners” (NASB).

This is Israel’s reliance on the validity of human insight and human resources. In verse 8 Israel, “worships the work of their hands” (Idols) and therefore is relying on their ability to manipulate the divine. It continues throughout the chapter:

v. 12-18 The author is contrasting all the “high” things in creation:

v. 13 Trees, v. 14 mountains, v. 15 high tower and fortified walls, v. 16 ships of Tarshish (ships of Tarshish were the largest ships, capable of the greatest voyages and cargoes).

v. 18 “But the idols (things mentioned above) will completely vanish.” All of human artistic achievement, which brings self-worth, will be gone.

v. 22 “Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?” The “Breath” that is mentioned in this verse alludes to the breath given to man in the Genesis account of creation (Gen. 2:7, Is 42:5). It was the Lord, the maker of all things, who gave (and gives) the breath of life. How foolish it is to trust in the one who receives the breath rather than the source of the life Himself?

It would be so easy for me to stand back and think that Israel was idiotic for doing these things and finding personal value in their own achievements and accomplishments. Then I look at areas in my life that resemble idolatry. I have desires for personal achievement and they are lofty. Being ambitious is not evil. It only becomes evil when they take the place of honoring God in everything that we do. Ambition could also become evil if we believe that we could some how approach God in our own righteousness through personal achievement. And this is something that I struggle with at times. I want something I could point to and show that I’ve achieved something of value on my own. But “apart from Him, we can do nothing.” This Biblical truth is the hammer that crushes human pride. No matter how much we achieve personally, it will never bring the satisfaction of relying on the Lord’s grace, humbly approaching Him without absolutely nothing to offer, and accept that our value rests is not in things we achieve but in the goodness that God showers us with. I pray that I get this more everyday.

“Our attempt to make humanity holy actually ends up making us unclean. Our attempt to give ourselves significance renders us worthless.” (John Oswalt)

Friends in the Motherland

Thanks John and Renee for the shout out while you're in Thailand. My mom would have been lovin' it. This certainly makes me want to travel some more.

Here is John and Renee's blog entire while at Thailand:

We enjoyed a late night stroll through downtown Bangkok on our first night in Thailand. The night air was thick and steamy. Shoppers, diners, vendors, stray men, and, sadly, countless young women standing alone crowded the sidewalks. A band strolled by in the street blaring amplified music from a synthesizer and giant speakers on wheels. Groovy dancers in orange construction vests bobbed and twirled in their wake. Steam rose from carts where shrimp, chicken skewers and whole fish fried in pots of oil or batter.

To read the rest go to John and Renee's blog here.

2010 NBA All-Star Ballot Part II of II - West

For Part I click here.

The West:

Forwards
Carmelo Anthony: He's playing like an MVP and keeping Denver in the title contenders conservation. People talk about Lebron's strength and size at small forward. Carmelo doesn't get enough attention in that area. His combination of size and quickness makes him almost impossible to guard. I'm glad to see that he wasn't content with one good playoff run.

Dirk Nowitzki: Now I vote for Tim Duncan for this spot annually like clockwork. I don't even look up Duncan's numbers because I know what he means to his team and what he brings to the table both offensively and defensively. But if you look at Dirk's and Timmy's numbers this year - TD: 15/12/2 and Dirk: 26/8/3. Dirk, as of now, is having a better year. You might be saying, "didn't you just say it's not about the number?" Yes, it's not solely about the numbers. But the disparity can't be ignored and coupled with the Spurs slow start and Dallas' decent start, I have to give the edge to Dirk right now. Furthermore, Dirk had some major personal issues to deal with over the summer. He didn't even pick up a basketball but went backpacking Into the Wild style for almost the entire summer. But instead of eating the wrong berries and dying a slow and lonely death like Christopher McCandless, he came back to the NBA and is playing at an All-Star level and will make 20 million dollars this year. I think that is a much happier ending, don't you? On top of all that the All-Star Game is at Dallas this year. Way to overcome your issues and perform in front of the home crowd, Dirk.

Center:
With Yao out for the year and Shaq getting traded to the Eastern Conference the door is wide open for the up-and-comers.

Andrew Bynum: This is another coin flip and the other side of the coin is Chris Kaman. Here are the numbers: Bynum - 20/10/2 shooting 55% from the field and 76% from the line (great for a center) vs. Kaman's 22/9/2 shooting 57% from the field and 73% from the line (also good for a center). There isn't that much of a difference in regards to numbers (the difference is most people expected Bynum to have a strong year because he's healthy but no one expected that Kaman would be putting up these numbers). When this happens you usually go with team success. Lakers vs. Clippers? Do I need to go any further? Lets move on.

Guards:
Chris Paul: He's the best point guard in the game today. Another MVP candidate who probably won't get the award because he's on a crappy team. It's sad really. New Orleans was an up-and-coming team only a couple of years ago but regress because expectations became too high and the owner is more concerned with the luxury tax than wins. Despite that, Paul is dropping 26/10/4 and shooting a whopping 63% from the field and a sizzling 68% from 3-point land. I doubt he keeps those shooting percentages up the entire season. But if he gets anything close to that by the All-Star break he's got to start.

I hate to see special "once in a generation" type players like Paul stuck on crappy teams. If you don't believe me that Paul is a "once in a generation" type of player, compare his first four years to the first four years of all the point guards who ever came in the league and you only come up with one other player comparable - Magic and that's it.

Even though Boston creamed my Lakers in 2008, I was slightly (ever so slightly) happy for KG. KG was stuck in lottery hell with the T'Wolves for years wasting away his talent playing for nothing. He gets traded to Boston and transforms an entire franchise over night, rejuvenates the careers of Paul Piece and Ray Allen, saves Doc Rivers' job, and restores the Celtics to their former glory. And in so doing, creates one of the best "What if" questions - "What if KG had the same type of supporting cast as Tim Duncan?" Would KG be considered better? Would it even be a debate? One wonders, right?



Pipe Dream Warning: Anyway, my point being is that it isn't right that Paul is stuck on a crappy team. Here's my solution. Paul has an opt out clause after the summer of 2011. Everyone is making a big deal about the free agents for 2010 (Lebron, Wade, Bosh etc. - But I'm guessing that most of them stay with their respective teams [because they could offer them the most money] and all the hoopla was for nothing. Players say that "winning is the most important thing" but at the end of the day their actions say otherwise. If it's true that "winning is the most important thing" then why not sign for less money so your team will have cap room to get more players? But I digress.) People should be making more of a deal with Paul's pending free agency the following summer because he might actually leave. He's clearly frustrated but is playing the good solider by not complaining and just playing hard. Now, what if the Lakers could convince Kobe and Pau to take less money (both contracts are up in 2011 - unless Kobe signs an extension this year) because they want to go after Paul?

Both players look at each other and say "Holy S***!, Chris Paul!!" Pau says, "Kobe, you've already made a ton of money and you're getting millions more with endorsements." Kobe says, "Okay, if you take less I'll take less." Pau, "Deal." Jerry Buss, "Done and done." Kobe will be 33 by then and Pau will be 31. If they look at it from a career standpoint, Paul setting the table for them instead of Kobe and Pau creating for themselves will add another four or five years to their careers because Paul will only be 26 by then. Not to mention another four or five rings. Bynum will only be 24 in 2011. So you have Paul and Bynum picking and rolling teams to death for the first 40 minutes of the game and having enough SportCenter highlights to fill the week, while Kobe and Pau take over the last 8 minutes? Scary thought.

Depending on how much less Kobe and Pau take, the Lakers still won't have enough for a max deal for Paul. But here's the kicker, every team with cap room this summer is intent on spending it, all of it. This will leave most, if not all teams, with little to no cap space for the summer of 2011. Now Paul has a choice to resign with New Orleans for a max deal and live in lottery hell throughout his prime like KG did with the T'Wolves or he could sign for less with the Lakers and follow in the foot-steps of Magic Johnson and dominate for an entire decade. If winning is truly the most important thing, then every player in this situation takes less money for the ultimate goal of winning championships for the rest of their careers but of course, I'm dreaming. It's still fun to dream.

Kobe Bryant:

He gets his own blog, which I will post at the end of the week. I'm despicable I know.

2010 NBA All-Star Ballot part I of II - East

Here is the 2010 NBA All-Star Game ballot. The fans vote for the starters (this is the first year you could text your vote) and the coaches vote to full out the rest of the roster. Coaches cannot vote for their own players.




Every year fans ruin one or three spots on the starting roster. Although I'm a Laker fan I want to give my picks and my justification for them. I like trying to be objective in my evaluation (that's why I'm not picking the Lakers' starting five) even though you may not agree with everything I'm saying, I'll give sound reasons for my starters this year.

First, it's only be a few weeks into the season. It's probably a little early to be thinking about the All-Star game already. But since the ballots are out, why not at least start talking about it. Second, my picks are based on who is playing the best right now. Of course this could change in two/three months time. But if we HAD to pick the starters today, based on the few games that have been played already, who deserves to start? I'm not a fan of the "he's exciting to watch so I'll vote for him even though there are three or four guys playing better than him" mentality. Finally, there are tough choices to be made when there are only a limited amount of spots and a larger number of great players. Someone is not going to make the cut although they might be deserving. When there are several deserving players for a particular spot, I like to use character as one of the deciding factors. Something that most people don't even consider. You could make arguments until the cows come home but at the end of the day this is just my humble opinion. You don't have to agree with me. And if you don't, I really don't care.

The East:



Lets get the easy ones out of the way.

Forwards:
Lebron: Do I really need to say anything?

KG: Now KG might not be putting up his Minnesota numbers and other forwards, like Chris Bosh, are putting up better numbers. But you can't statistically measure what KG brings to the table in the form of defensive intensity and keeping Boston operating as one singular unit. That can't be measured by numbers. KG doesn't care about stats and that's a lost virtue in today's game and should be honored with a starting spot in the All-Star game.

Center:
Dwight Howard: He's the best center in the league. I chuckled when the Cavs traded for Shaq "so he could guard Dwight one-on-one." Really!? Maybe if it was 2001 but it'll be 2010 when the playoffs start. And Shaq currently weighs about 500 pounds. Wouldn't it be ironic if the Cavs and Magic meet in the playoffs again (likely) and realize that they can't stop Howard with Shaq alone (more likely) and employed the "hack-a-Howard" with Shaq on the team? All those years of Shaq complaining of such a tactic? What would be the comical scale? An 8 or 9?

Guards:
Dwyane Wade: He's picking up where he left off last year when he was leading the lead in scoring. He'll be in MVP talks all year and has the Heat to a surprising 6-1 start. He's one of the most exciting players to watch and by all accounts seems to be a decent person with a crazy ex-wife.

Derrick Rose: Okay, I have to admit this might be a mistake at this point because how can you choose someone over Rajon Rondo who is currently shooting 59% from the field, leading the league is steals (3.10) and dropping 9 dimes per game? Here's my reasoning, there were a few experts who predicted the Bulls were not going to make the playoffs this year. By all accounts, it looks like that might not be the case. A big part of that is Derrick Rose. Yes Rondo is putting up better numbers but again, it's not all about the numbers.

Factoring in the immaturity issues that Rondo apparently has and Rose gets the edge. I'll fully admit that if Rondo gets the starting spot it wouldn't be a bad choice. You could really flip a coin on this one. But I'm guessing since Boston is a title contender that Rondo will get it anyway.

The Groomsmen

Originally posted on Feb 9, 09

I know that this is about a month over due but I was busy getting married. I wanted to give out a special thanks to the people closest to me who shared with me the biggest day of my life.

Jordan Wessling: Jordan is one of those guys that is too smart for his own good. He has a passion for philosophy. Sadly, it used to be theology but that’s another story. Every time we get into a conversation I can always count on him to tell me at some point that I’m, “sooooooooooo irrational.” Jordan is always trying to think about philosophical ideas and studies like his life depends on it. He’s the only guy I know that can study for the GRE for forty hours a week and actually feel like he’s not missing out on life. He’s an Asian in a white man’s body.

But when it comes down to it, I can also count on Jordan to give godly advice. His passion for being rational is motivated by a desire to be godly with that rationality. He honors God with his conduct and desires to glorify God with his mind. We can have deep theological and philosophical conversations and in the next minute we can talk about basketball, girls, and Boomtown. Having Jordan as a friend has enriched my life is so many ways. Thank you Jordan, for being one of my groomsmen.

Chris Hunt: Chris and I have a lot of the same desires although we have nothing of the same personality. We spent five weeks in Israel a few years back and have enough inside jokes to last us a lifetime. He has been a great example to me in how he treats his wife (Katie [Hunt] also treats him well). Chris and I were living in an apartment together when we were going through graduate school when he was dating Katie Cook. They were truly a godly example of a dating couple. It doesn’t surprise me that he is a good husband and that she is a good wife.



A side note for you girls, when you take good care of your husband their close friends notice and deeply appreciate it. I told Katie, Chris’ wife, that it was a blessing to know that Chris will always have good support from his wife. Chris deeply desires to be a godly man and to be involved in ministry. His wife Katie empowers and “makes him feel a hundred feet tall,” so thank you for being an example to me of how even a young couple can display years of wisdom.

Aaron Brown: There is something about Aaron that, I believe, is a gift from the Lord. He has the ability to look into a situation and discern exactly what may be going on and cut to the heart of the matter with good insight. I can always count on Aaron to give godly advice in any situation. Also, he is not afraid to confront people, especially me. He has called me out several times when I’m acting inappropriately or behaving ungodly. That is a mark of a true friend. There is something else that I didn’t realize until we graduated and Aaron moved back East. Because of Aaron’s gift of discernment, whenever he’s around I just knew that everything was going to be okay. I knew that he was going to give me some good and godly insight into the situation to help me understand what was going on spiritually and psychologically and allow me to be at peace with it and to deal with it appropriately.



Thank you Aaron for always being playful and fun but never compromising godly values in the process, for being a friend that would admonish and rebuke when necessary, and to be willing to do anything to support me in my time of need throughout the years.

Dominic Avila: I’ve known Dom since 7th grade. His older brother, Brice, sadly died in a motorcycle accident when we were in junior high, and that incident prompted us to start going to church. Since that time, we’ve had several peaks and valleys. Both of us grew up in a broken home. Our moms were the only ones around for us and we had to go through the school of hard knocks. But whatever it was, whether it be running around the streets of East LA, playing street fighter, playing chess into the late hours of the night, working out, training for basketball, or going to church – we did it together. There was a time, however, when Dom strayed for while and I had my worries. But he came back to the Lord and hasn’t looked back since. Both of us love studying the Word of God, playing basketball, and the Lakers. That is a three-cord bind that cannot be broken.



Thank you, Dom for being there for me. For admonishing me when necessary and pushing me to be a godly husband. I know that we’ll always be in each other’s lives and that our children will grow up together learning about all the stupid things we used to do (and some we still do) with Bryan. I know that both you and I want to stop the cycle of growing up in a broken home and be there for our family and future children. And I know that we will be there for each other.

Bryan Benavidez: What in the world can I say about this fool other then that he’s a fool! I’m just kidding (of sort). The big care-free-hairy-jolly-giant-headed-goof-ball I’ve known since the beginning of time, it seems. I bagged on him for six years because he choked Dom’s wedding speech. Here's the scene:

(Bryan was walking up to the front like he was walking to Brickhouse, all week he was saying how he was going to "rock the house" when it came to the best man speech.)

Bryan: In all the years I've known Dom, I've never seen him as emotional as I saw him last night . . .

deep awkward pause for about two painful seconds because he's trying to hold back his emotions like a broken damn. It doesn't work, his eyes begin to tear up and he couldn't say a word and ends the speech by lifting up his glass to toast and says . . . "shell we"? I said to myself, "THAT was rocking the house!?" I've been bagging on him ever since.



But when it came time for him to do the speech at my wedding, I have to admit, he came through. I was deeply touched with everything he had to say and the memorizes that were brought up. It really summed up our relationship nicely. We could be having a great time together talking about love, life, and the Lakers. Immediately though, we could also become serious, real, and transparent with each other. Bryan is a hard worker providing for his wife and three wonderful children. He’s been through some of the most trying situations but manages at the end of the day to always have a reason to smile (although that reason is probably me).

Thank you, Bryan for being the best friend you could possibly be. There is so much history between us and so many memorizes. I know that I could fill books with stories of God’s redemptive and comical journey for us. I won't forget the support and encouragement you gave me during the weekend of my wedding. Continue to laugh the way you do because it’s that laughter that reminds me, there’s always a reason to smile. And above everything else thanks for paying back the money you owe me. You forgot to pay the interest but thanks for at least paying the principle.

Devotional - 110609

Our church has a tradition that before we preach through a particular book of the Bible, we first read through it (sections of it anyway). This is known as a Reading Service. It’s quite impacting. If “faith comes by hearing” the word of God, it stands to reason that we should do this more often. During our devotional time we read to ourselves. We don’t actually hear it audibly so Reading Services are a great reminder of how powerful it is to simply hear the Word of God being read.

We are starting a new preaching series on the book of Isaiah. Lemma tell ya, I’m more than giddy. Our pastor Erik Thoennes did a wonderful job reading the first six chapters. While reading aloud, the proper intonations, emphasis, and pauses at times when it’s called for in the text, gives insight and understanding without commentating. It’s a wonderful way to learn Scripture.

During my graduate work at Talbot School of Theology, I took a course on the book of Isaiah and read John Oswalt’s commentary. I remember the course and the commentary rocking my world. In short, Isaiah demonstrates in his account that God blazes in holiness and will not overlook sin. At the same time, while God does not overlook sin, He constantly and consistently offers an opportunity to repent. Even when repentance is refused and judgment is passed, the Lord still offers hope in the form of a faithful remnant. The enormous amount of patience the Lord has for us blows me away, especially now that I am a teacher trying to teach young students how to walk straight.

There is an amazing aspect about God as I read through Isaiah. Namely, God is fully and completely merciful and wrathful at the same time. This drew me back to when I was at Biola University studying Theology Proper into the late hours of the night. A.W. Tozer says this, “The harmony of His being is the result not of a perfect balance of parts but of the absence of parts. Between His attributes no contradiction can exist. He need not suspend one to exercise another, for in Him all His attributes are one. All of God does all that God does; He does not divide Himself to perform a work, but works in the total unity of His being.” In understanding the Scriptures, we better understand the properties of God. In understanding the properties of God, we better understand the Scriptures. It's part of the beautiful cycle of sanctification and growing in the knowledge of the Lord.

It brings great comfort to know that God never stops being merciful towards us. At the same time, it’s sobering to know that God blazes in holiness and will not overlook sin. If God is not divided in Himself, it stands to reason that neither should be His people between their affections towards the things of this world or God being the ultimate objective of our affections, adoration, and loyalty.

What A Weekend part II of II

SATURDAY:

I figured that the weekend was young and so was the season. There was nothing to worry about. My Saturday morning routine is playing basketball at the La Mirada Community Center. The regulars were there but the place was thin. We had just enough people to play full-court. My team lost every single game and I played terribly. I was so frustrated that I busted a Lebron and stormed out of the gym without saying anything to anyone. Not exactly a good witness.



I didn’t give up on this weekend quite yet. After I got back from basketball, Dom called me up again to meet up at The Boat for a late lunch (or at least that’s what we called it so we could go restaurant hopping later. Note to you guys: if you were thinking about taking a girl to this place don’t. It’s strictly a guys place and the girls were complaining about the lack of food choice (burgers with chilly, lots of it – I think that’s pretty much a guys meal) and more big screen televisions playing sports, which caused Dom and I to stair into them like the little girl from Poltergeist. So to appease the ladies, we decided to go to Old Town Pasadena. The wife says, “It’s Halloween, it’s going to be weird over there.” Simultaneously, I was thinking “It’s Halloween, it’s going to be cool over there!” Go figure.

At arrival we started out at Louise’s. It was coffee around except for Dom. He had mozzarella sticks. The wife and I tried some Zabaglione. It was crap. We had some good and edifying fellowship, talking about life, and how we think the Lakers will repeat this year. We also talked about up and coming movies we were looking forward to. Dom and I wanted to see Ninja Assassin. The girls said, “That’s boy’s night out.” I guess they were waiting for an inspirational movie like Blind Side.

Afterwards, we went walking around for a bit, witnessed a car accident, and watched a fat spider-man pass out balloons while we were waiting to be seated at Cheesecake Factory. If you’re counting we’ve attended three restaurants in five hours. Word! On the way home I wanted to take a picture with the 90-year-old Green Lantern. The wife didn’t see the point. Killjoy.

SUNDAY:

We went to the early service at our church in the morning, listened to a great sermon in Isaiah, and wondered if my sister in-law-Becky was going to bring another boy with her to church and call him her “friend.” I like talking to her “friend(s)” because they make things sooooooooooo awkward I find it absolutely hilarious. Why can’t they just be normal and have a normal conversation? Why do they feel the need to try and be witty? Do they not know they are talking to the Master of Wit himself? Teenagers these days simply don’t know how to play it cool. But I digress.

After a Sunday afternoon nap I went with my buddy Andrew (Bubba) to the Lakers’ game, hoping that they would redeem themselves from the terrible game on Friday. I haven’t hung out with Bubba for a while and it was a good time catching up with him. We talked about life and how his family was doing. It was a fun game and we even got in a Sasha-hate section, which just made my night. In addition, there were a couple of drunk guys in the section scouting out, “You suck!” to anyone and everyone (they were scouting out other things but I won’t repeat them here). It always adds another level entertainment when you have a couple of drunk guys in your section. We even got on the JamboTron. I hope they were season ticket owners.



Kobe dropped 41 and we got the win. Not bad. On the way to the car, Bubba insisted I finally try the “sewer dog” his treat (he actually bought four of them, I’m not making this up). Well, since he was buying I had to try one. I didn’t have the girls telling me how gross and unhealthy they are. I KNOW how gross and unhealthy they are but what’s life if you don’t try a “sewer dog” at least once? It was great. Probably worth the months it shaved off my life.

What a weekend in deed. Just when I thought it was going to be a terrible one it turned itself around. This made me come up with a new motto: “If life gives you lemons, then make Mike’s Hard Lemonade.” Beautiful. I think I’ll start my diet tomorrow.

What A Weekend part I of II

FRIDAY:

In the afternoon I took a fitness test. All but two categories were either above average or well above average (e.g., cardio, strength – I’m flexing as I’m typing that one, etc). My body fat was only average, sad day. We’ll have to work on that but not this weekend. Overall I’m in good health. I don’t know how else to celebrate good health other than completely tanking it for the weekend.



It’s been a while since the wife and I spent any time with Dom and Jess so I decided to make a phone call and get us some Laker tickets for Friday night’s game versus the Dallas Mavericks (that’s how I roll). Dom and I decided to meet up early and eat the ESPN Zone at LA Live. This way we could really do some catching up instead of just yelling at the refs and Sasha Vujacic.



The traffic on the way was dreadfully painful despite the fact the wife and I left two hours early. It’s Friday night and people are hitting the club scene, so that’s LA for ya. Dom and I have never been to this particular ESPN Zone but they have T.V(s). EVERYWHERE playing every game you could possibly imagine. There was a T.V. at every table. Do we need to research to see if a bunch of guys thought of this idea? I think we could figure that one out (Can you imagine the meeting that took place here? A group of fat guys sitting around in expansive suits coming up with a restaurant idea and saying, "Hey, why don't we put T.V(s). EVERYWHERE and play every single game possible all at once? Guys won't even care what's on the menu!" This was definitely one of those "Why didn't I think of it first" moments for me.) They were showing the Boston/Chicago game. Needless to say that guys didn’t contribute much dialogue and the girls were slightly frustrated. I’m sorry but when you decided to marry Dom or myself, you have to know that basketball is a part of life (I’m planning to devote an entire blog to this).



After dinner and about three words between Dom and myself, we entered the game from the Star Plaza entrance. Why do I mention the entrance? The reason being, if you’ve never been to a Laker game you don’t know that entering through the Star Plaza right before game time encompasses enough scandal (e.g., drug dealing, scalping tickets, soliciting prostitutes, etc) to last about three Sopranos episode. My regular season ticket entrance is on Figueroa Street. It’s pretty uneventful on that end except for the fat guitar player at the corner jamming away with his 600-watt amp and the “sewer dogs” that they sell on the corner (more on this later).

I was pretty excited. It was my first game of the year and we’re favorites to win the Western Conference for a third straight year. Then the game started, at least for Dallas, and my Lakers rolled over with a lifeless effort, which had the entire crowd shaking their heads. I thought to myself, “Wow! I went through LA traffic, paid for these seats, and paid a drunk parking attendant an additional $10 (he was so drunk you probably couldn’t tell what kind of bill I was giving him) for this crappy game!” My only enjoyment of the night was booing Sasha profusely. Interestingly, there were a couple of middle-age Korean ladies sitting next to us. One of them leaned over to Katie and asked, “Are you guys season ticket holders?” Katie replied, “Yes, but our normal seats are on the other side.” The Korean lady says, “Good, I’m a Sasha fan and I didn’t want to endure your husband profusely booing Sasha, even when he gets on the JamboTron, for an entire season.” Well, I’m glad one of us was relieved. This on top of Boston destroying Chicago the same night. Am I heading to a 2008 repeat?

All of us went back to the car dejected, but on the way there, I smelled the “sewer dogs” (a hot dog wrapped in bacon served with grilled onions and peppers with all the fittings) cooking on the grill. I didn't bother asking how it got that name. I'm sure that I don't want to know. But it was calling my name. When I was thinking about getting one, the girls collectively voiced how grossed out they were at the very idea of eating one of those things. Well then, I can’t even comfort myself with a “sewer dog” over a loss like that. Not a good way to start the weekend.



Click here for part II.