Go Phoenix!

What Is This?
This is basketball god Steve Nash shaking hands with the Spurs after beating them with one eye.

Hate It Or Love It?
Don't you love it when your favorite team beats its hated archrival?

Sports are about pride. And I don't just mean playing sports. For fanatics like me, even watching sports is a nerve-wracking, heart-stopping and pride-crushing experience.

At least that's how it was after watching my beloved Phoenix Suns get brutally knocked out of the NBA playoffs year after year by the universally hated San Antonio Spurs. Imagine Voldemort defeating Harry Potter in each of the seven books.

It seemed like the Suns couldn't catch a break against these guys: there was Joe Johnson's eye injury one year, Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw's suspension another year and Tim Duncan's unlikely 3-pointer after that. In fact, the Spurs won 16 out of 22 playoff games against the Suns since '03. The Spurs and Suns were, once again, set to meet in the playoffs and I couldn't help but wonder if the result would be the same.

Not this year. The Suns swept the series 4-0 and thoroughly dominated the Spurs in almost every respect. No longer could my two friends/die-hard Spurs fans Andrew Shu and Ailin Zeng rub their victories in my face. It was my turn. As the weight of those past four playoff eliminations lifted of the Suns' shoulders, the weight of always cheering for the losing team lifted off mine. Victory was sweet.

And that steak dinner Andrew Shu owes me for a friendly wager on the series will be even sweeter.

As Seen On TV

What Is This?
This is me outside Staples Center, home of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Hate It Or Love It?
Don't you love it when a place you see on TV lives up to its billing in real life?

TV makes things look good. Usually, that means expectations are set high and the thing in real life can't possibly live up to what you've built up in your head. It's kind of like the Great Gatsby syndrome (if you didn't get the reference, read the book. It's good). But on the rare occassion something lives up to its billing, its a great feeling.

For those of you who don't know, the Los Angeles Lakers are kind of like the New York Yankees of basketball. And Staples Center isn't just an arena. It's a Mecca of sorts for basketball fans around the globe.

Did You Know?
The L.A. Lakers are named the "Lakers" because they are originally from Minneapolis, near the Great Lakes.

On Friday night, I actually got to go to Staples for a Lakers game. Let me tell you this: Staples is all that it's cracked up to be, and then some. The rundown buildings on the outskirts of Downtown L.A. miraculously transformed into the blaring music and flashing lights of L.A. Live within a city block. The whole scene had me at hello. This was the place I'd seen on ABC and ESPN for the past eight years. There I stood, across the street from the holiest place in basketball, eyes like saucers and a jaw that might as well have been unhinged. The night only got better from there as Selena and I witnessed Kobe Bryant do his thing and the Lakers dismantle the Philly 76ers. I'm proud to say I soaked in every minute of that night; the Lakers game experience definitely lived up to the hype.

Sometimes, you just have to be there.

Basketball fans: Kobe or Lebron? What about Kobe or Michael? Let's hear it.

Ballin'

What Is This?
The game Paper Toss, what else?

Hate It Or Love It?
Don't you love it when you sink a ridiculously long Paper Toss shot? (Bonus if it's in front of five or more people)

There's a sports star inside all of us. Think about it. When you're done with a paper towel in the bathroom or finished with a piece of scratch paper at your desk, do you walk over to the trash can and place it in? Only if you're dunking that paper with authority. You know the drill: You're Lakers star Kobe Bryant, down one point. You run the 3-2-1 countdown under your breath and then let the wadded paper go from way beyond that imaginary 3-point arc. You fade to the side a little and hold the perfect follow through for extra style points. Most of the time, your shot clanks off the rim and you have to do the walk of shame across the room to clean up your miss. But sometimes you bury it. And you feel good not only because you saved yourself that extra 10 feet of walking but also because for a second, you're not a kid done drying his hands or an office worker disposing of his spreadsheet. You're a champion.