The Unstoppable Jeremy Lin

Good morning everybody.  Today's post is going to spotlight the new sensation in New York City that is Jeremy Lin, and then it will trail off into a ramble as we all wonder how we are going to survive until next Valentine's Day...  :P  As I typed here recently, it is going to take me a few more weeks to get into the full spirit of basketball season, but something is happening up in Gotham that is going to help me along.  As I was flipping through the channels yesterday, Stephen Colbert hit me with a great line.  In reference to Jeremy Lin, Colbert said, "You know that times are hard when a Harvard Economics Major has an easier time getting a job as an NBA point-guard than as a Wall Street bond trader."  Evidently Mr. Lin went undrafted after his college playing days ended, and he was released by the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets before finding a spot to sleep on his brother's couch (this is very similar to the story in which I ended up on my sister's couch for a few weeks this past summer after failing to find a teaching and coaching position, but I have yet to hit it big time either sports betting or playing poker...).  ;)  The Knicks signed Lin to gain some needed depth at the point-guard position, and after some recent injuries he got his shot and has taken over New York City by storm.  His most recent heroics came last night in Toronto when he drained a three-pointer with less than a second remaining in the game, breaking a tie and giving the Knicks a 90-87 victory over the Raptors.  This comes on the heels of a two-point win by New York over the Timberwolves in Minnesota in their last game.  The game prior to that, which is the game when he appeared on my radar, he outscored Kobe Bryant at Madison Square Garden in a 92-85 triumph.  The Knicks are currently riding a six-game winning streak and Lin has been an instant celebrity.  It will be interesting to see if Lin is just a flash-in-the-pan or if he is going to be force for years to come.  He seems to be a character guy and I am rooting for him.

As I give you a little mini-ramble here, I hope that all of you enjoyed your Valentine's Day yesterday.  I followed the facebook posts yesterday, which included the sister of a co-worker of mine getting proposed to - very nice...  I also saw photos of cards and flowers and heart-shaped pizzas as Hallmark enjoyed one of its favorite holidays.  I worked last night, which started a five-day stretch for me that was extremely humid as San Marcos, America is preparing for a 75-degree day today on the 15th of February.  The chance of rain that is accompanying it doesn't make the weather ideal for going to Bikini Hill, but it beats 3 feet of snow and 20 degrees below zero, trust me...  Speaking of weather (like that segue?), I saw at the Weather Channel's website that a new show will be debuting on February 23rd.  'Lifeguard!  Southern California' will be hitting the airwaves, and the ad that I saw features a photo of a female lifeguard running along a beach 'Baywatch' style...  I predict that this show will become one of the network's highest-rated programs (see, I just can't help myself when it comes to making predictions).  ;)  Speaking of predictions, the friend of mine who was kind enough to give me a job when I struck out in the education field this past summer was FULL OF PREDICTIONS after work last night.  Of the three that he threw out there, I believe that the most-likely to occur is that Peyton Manning will never play football again.  Now read that carefully - I didn't say that I THINK that Manning will never take the field again.  I just said that of the three, that one is the most likely.  His second call was that Robert Griffin III won't see the field in his first two years in the NFL (not counting preseason games).  I jumped all over this one, saying that Griffin would see the field in special situations or even in a slash role (wide receiver, etc...), and that's IF he didn't get starts as a quarterback.  The third one, which really made me smile, is that he said that I couldn't stay off of facebook for two days, and that he was willing to bet me.  He was actually willing to bet on the Griffin prediction, but offered a much bigger wager on the facebook one.  I don't know how this wager would be monitored, but it reminds me of one my favorite quotes that I coined about myself:  "People have underestimated me my whole life."  ;)  Have a great day and we'll see you on Friday.