Line It Up

"I can see it in the faces
We got trouble in the streets tonight
And power keeps us in our places
And it doesn’t matter if you’re left or right
You lay it on the line"
--Layin' It On the Line, Jefferson Starship

I remember the Loose Cannons (Chet Forte alongside Steve Hartman, before Philly Billy Werndel and ultra-negative Kobe-lover Mychal Thompson earned the moniker) used to do a "Line of the Day" during the basketball season, honoring what they determined to be the best performance of the previous night in the NBA (they contrasted that with the "Jon Koncack Award," commemorating the absolute worst performance of the night). I've decided to give a late start to my own version of the former award, and with fewer than 18 games left in the regular season schedule, I think games are starting to mean something (especially for the struggling Lake Show).
I'm guessing that in the span of the next few weeks, very few of the award winners will end up with two points, but that's exactly what last night's recipient did. Here are the unimportant portions of his line: 1-4 FG, 2 pts, 4 reb, 1 stl. Here's the important number: 11 assists. Shaun Livingston earned his first career start last night (and we bid a sad farewell to the Rick Brunson era), played 25 minutes and dished out 11 of the Clippers' season-high 34 assists. I think somebody recently predicted several big games for the teenage point guard (oh wait, that was me, in yesterday's blog), and he's already starting to deliver. Obviously the key will be remaining healthy, as he's only played in 16 of a possible 68 games thus far. His pass-first mentality rubs off on the other guys too, as four other guys had four or more dimes, including my favorite Clip, Quinton Ross. Ross had his 19th start and put up a respectable 10 points (5-of-9 from the floor) to go with 3 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. I'm not giving up on the Lakers yet, but the Clippers are definitely more fun to watch right now.
Just read the little news story on Whitney Houston's latest trip to rehab. Evidently she's back after a year-long absence from the the rehabilitation facility. At the bottom of the story it mentions two little tidbits: Bobby Brown has a history of drug and alcohol arrests, and the couple has a 12-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina. If it isn't bad enough that the little girl is named after her father, she also has to deal with the fact that her parents are Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston. That might have been pretty cool if she was alive in the early 90's (like when "The Bodyguard" came out or when Whitney sang at the Super Bowl), but now she has to live in a world where her parents are an absolute joke. Bobby is the epitome of the wife-beater and Whitney is a broken, drugged-out (evidently) woman. I thought the same thing about Barry Bonds' son as he accompanied his crutch-bearing Dad after the impromptu press conference on Tuesday and wondered how he handles being at school when people no doubt disparage his father and talk about the steroids and the girlfriends and all of that. I wouldn't wish that sort of existence on anyone.
Quick Sweet 16 thoughts: Louisville-Washington and Arizona-Oklahoma State could be two of the better games in recent memory, and both go off tonight. Duke-Michigan State is the big one tomorrow, so it's quite nice to have the day off and time to kick back and watch all the games. Texas Tech will win, but will not beat the UW-L'Ville winner. The winner of the 'Zona-Ok St game will beat Illinois. Carolina and Duke will win out and will provide an epic national semifinal (a total of one point separates the two after their two meetings already this year; Timmy Chung had the pleasure of attending both). Let's go with Carolina over Louisville, Roy Williams getting his first title in a close one over Pitino's boys. I don't know, I picked New Mexico to win two games, so I obviously don't have a clue about what's going on in this tourney.
From a Maundy Thursday devotion: "It is truly the greatest feast on earth, to which we are asked to come as we are. No need to dress up, no need to stand out, no need to pretend—simply to believe, knowing that we are sisters and brothers of the one who sits at the head of the table, finding joy in the assurance that we are welcome and that we will be fed."
This goes right along with our discussion at bible study last night, based on the Ephesians passage discussing the fact that we are all one body (of believers) and should therefore be peacemakers, living to build up the body and bring it together. The "table" is the place where that entire body can come, with no walls between us and no pretense. Sets the stage for a "good" day tomorrow and a lovely weekend with family. Blessings.