Sports night

Michael & I caught our first Denver Nuggets game last week. It was my first (and only other) NBA experience since a handful of Blazers games while living in Oregon. We chose this particular game because it was against the Indiana Pacers. I saw the Pacers in Portland, too, just so I could see Isiah Thomas coaching on the sidelines. Never got to see him play in person, so it was the best I could do.

This time I chose the Pacers because, in the last draft, they got former New Mexico Lobo Danny Granger. I saw him play many times at The Pit in Albuquerque and couldn't pass up a chance to see him in the pros. Still, I decided it was only right to cheer on the hometown team, so I rooted for the Nuggets and for Granger. The Pacers were a bit sluggish, and their shooting was off. The Nuggets won 106-86.

But the best part of the game? Hot-shot star Carmelo Anthony? No way. It was Earl Boykins (B-B-B-B-B-Boykins! as the announcer was fond of shouting every time Earl "the Squirrel" scored). This guy is FIVE-FOOT-FIVE and amazing to watch. He and Carmelo "the Sweatband" tied for the highest score of the game (23 points).

Sadly, a kid sitting behind us asked his dad, "Why isn't No. 11 (Boykins) a starter?" The dad: "Because he's not good enough. He's too short." Michael and I looked at each other in disbelief, as Boykins had already scored well into the double digits at this point. I say it's better to be small in stature than small-minded.

After the game, we headed downstairs at the Pepsi Center to the log cabin-esque Blue Sky Grill to catch the end of the Rose Bowl. Before I met Michael, the only football I'd watched was my high school team, initially because I was in marching band and it was required and later for the social/checking-out-the-boys factor. I don't remember that I understood anything about the game then (beyond the obvious get-the-ball-to-the-other-end). I understood just as little when I played powderpuff my junior year and was outsized by the senior I was supposed to be blocking.

Now, I won't say that I've become a football fan, but I have definitely gained a comprehension of and appreciation for the game. Being married to a college football fanatic (namely, the Oregon Ducks, who got screwed by the BCS again! [See what's happened to me!]), it's pretty much become a required pastime at times, especially if I want to see my husband during football season. OK, that's overstating it, but I enjoy being a part of his passion, and I reckon he feels all smart and stuff being able to answer every little question I have ("Why do they grab the face mask when they know they shouldn't?" "Why does the guy with the ball run straight into a pile of other guys instead of going around them?" "Why does the clock keep counting down even though nothing's happening?")

But back to the Rose Bowl. Even I could appreciate the end of this game. No. 1 vs. No. 2. Both undefeated. A close game throughout. I pulled for Texas because I figured yet another USC championship would just be plain wrong. Despite the fact that Oregon's only regular-season loss was to USC and the fact that half of Michael's family are Longhorns, Michael still rooted for the Trojans (Pac-10 Pride, he says), though he was happy with the Texas win, as he would cheer for them under other circumstances and it was a well-deserved win. It was a nail-biter and great fun to watch.

Still, I'll take college basketball any day.

Loose ends

CAMERA: I was ready to trash the thing, which first conked out six months after purchase (and on the day of our wedding, I might add!) and had been returned to Canon twice for repairs under warranty. But you know me, never wanting to throw anything away (you'd think I'd learn after the soup-can episode), so I checked the Canon Web site to find out whether there was any kind of recycling program (there is, but for a fee). I decided for kicks to check out the "service notices" section of the site and found that Canon has offered to fix, for free and regardless of warranty status, problems with the image sensor, which sounds exactly like the problem I've been having. I mailed the camera back (postage-paid) and will get a new part if they deem that to be the problem (in the past they just "repaired" the part, which apparently was faulty). My only concern is that I'd taken to banging the camera on the floor when I couldn't get an image in the LCD screen, which was more and more often, so I could've ruined my chances of repair. Will keep you posted.

CAN: I finally gathered all the documentation on the exploding-soup-can incident and mailed everything off to General Mills. All they said was that they would take the matter under consideration, so we don't know what the outcome may or may not be, and don't expect anything for our pain and suffering but would greatly appreciate it. Will keep you posted.

KITCHEN: The cold kitchen no longer is! The furnace guy who visited deemed everything in proper working order but made some adjustments and closed off vents in the front two rooms, thus forcing more heat through the kitchen vent and the upstairs vents. It's like having a whole new turn-of-the-century apartment! Of course, it's also been unseasonably warm since he dropped by, but we have great faith that he fixed the problem, and we no longer have to wear our winter coats while flapping the jacks. We'll find out next week when the cold and potential snow return.