Thirteen Years Ago

Good morning and Happy Memorial Day everyone.  It was thirteen years ago this Memorial Day that I was fortunate enough to be in the Alamodome when Sean Elliott hit the 'Memorial Day Miracle', completing a huge comeback for the San Antonio Spurs over the Portland Trail Blazers, as the Spurs marched toward their first NBA Championship.  When I moved back to Texas from Las Vegas in 2007, the Spurs went on to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers to win their fourth championship, and it would be a nice sendoff present for my trip back to the desert if the Spurs could secure their fifth title next month.  With that segue, let me give you my predictions for the NBA's Eastern and Western Conference Finals and the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals before getting into today's ramble.


Recap of the second round of the NBA Playoffs:

Actual Result                                                                                       My Prediction

Celtics over 76ers in 7 games                                                       Celtics in 5 games
Heat over Pacers in 6 games                                                         Heat in 7 games
Spurs over Clippers in 4 games                                                   Spurs in 6 games
Thunder over Lakers in 5 games                                                 Thunder in 7 games

Third round of the NBA Playoffs:

Series                                                                                                       My Prediction

#2 Miami Heat vs. #4 Boston Celtics                                        Heat over Celtics in 7 games
#1 San Antonio Spurs vs. #2 Oklahoma City Thunder      Spurs over Thunder in 6 games


Recap of the third round of the NHL Playoffs:

Actual Result                                                                                         My Prediction

Kings over Coyotes in 5 games                                                      Kings in 6 games
Devils over Rangers in 6 games                                                     Devils in 6 games

Stanley Cup Finals:

Series                                                                                                         My Prediction

#6 New Jersey Devils vs. #8 Los Angeles Kings                     Devils in 7 games


A few sports notes before I continue rambling today.  As I've stated before, I am a Spurs fan, and not being the superstitious type AT ALL, I will continue to pick them to win each series in six games since they've won each series to this point when I've done so.  Also, I am not a LeBron James fan AT ALL (this time the 'AT ALL' being serious), but I will continue to keep picking the team that I think will win each series.  The Kings have looked OUTSTANDING in the hockey playoffs to this point, but the Devils have been there before, and this pick is my hunch...  :)  Today is my 2nd day off in a row, and is 1 of 6 that I will NOT have to work in the next 10 days - WOO HOO!!!  I am nine weeks out from when I get to move back to Las Vegas and I have A LOT to get accomplished before doing so...  One chore that I have to complete before moving is downsizing my belongings because I will not be able to bring everything that is currently in my apartment back to Vegas.  I did take a first step last night by giving my two outdoor chairs to my neighbor.  She's a sweetheart and deserves them...  :)  Shortly after I moved into my apartment back in August, I was hammering some nails into the wall to hang up my dry-erase boards (where I plan my life), and I didn't realize how thin the walls were here yet, and it was pretty late at night, and she had class the next morning...  Anyway, I felt bad about it, which brings us to last week...  My brother and his wife were in town, and I set my alarm clock on Sunday so that I would wake up in time to make a family dinner in San Antonio.  I woke up on time and made it to San Antonio in plenty of time for the dinner.  After I had been in San Antonio for about an hour, I realized that my alarm would be going off in twenty minutes - you see, I woke up before my alarm was set to wake me up, and I forgot to turn it off.  Oh, and another thing, this alarm is REALLY FREAKING LOUD!!!  I proceeded to eat dinner with my family, and when I got back to San Marcos, America, my neighbor was sitting outside hanging out with a few of her friends.  When I asked her about my alarm, which was set to go off at 5:30 p.m. (remember, I worked until 4 a.m. on Saturday), she replied, "yeah, I heard it go off at 5:30, and then I went to sleep, and it will still going off when I woke up at 7:30, and then after a while I guess it gave up..."  Yeah, I hope that you enjoy my chairs kiddo...  :)  This week I was smart enough to buy some all beef hot dogs (Ballpark Franks), and I am not buying chicken hot dogs again, fyi...  I have a memo to Kraft, and anyone else who makes numerous products, and packages them in similar packaging - DON'T DO IT...  One of my longtime favorite foods in Kraft Macaroni & Cheese.  Well, Kraft decided to branch out and make different types of macaroni and cheese.  Of course they put them all in the same-sized, very similar looking blue and yellow boxes, and I was tripped up for the first time this week when I mistakenly bought the four-pack of 'thick and creamy'...  "Smmmile, it's thick & creamy" - that's how the macaroni is presented.  Translated, that means, "this is NOT the original mac and cheese"...  Little did I know...  I have a food tip for you from my friend Lauren:  evidently, wheat bread is better for you than white bread.  I have a food tip for you from me:  wheat bread DOES NOT TASTE GOOD!  :P  I hope that you have a Happy and Safe Memorial Day and I'll see you again on Wednesday.