Goodbye NBA?

We've had a lot of questions about Lenten sacrifices. We'll dive in and answer them in a momentarily. So many questions, so little time.

Meanwhile, I've been pondering my own sacrifice of the season. I
think of my Lenten sacrifice the way my mother used to handle Christmas gifts: lots of small surprises we didn't expect, a couple of things we asked for, and the one big gift.

So as Lent goes on, I can give up things left and right, all day long as the opportunities arise. There is a parking space right next to the door of the super market but I'll skip parking there and park farther away. That sort of thing. I can sacrifice my time and energy in ways I didn't see coming. All because of my added awareness from the one big gift.

So...what am I asking for for Lent?

Two things spring to mind. I could stop working on the blog for the whole sheebang. That seemed like a really good idea for about five minutes. The truth is, I would love it. Oh well.

The other thing popped into my head last night while we rooted for the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Los Angeles Lakers. I could give up basketball. I would hate that. We're heading into the playoffs and all the teams take every game very seriously from now until the finals. Last night's game was a good example of what I'd be missing. Sister Mary Fiacre stayed awake during the whole thing because of all the yelling.

(Here in LA we've had to listen to a lot of stuff about how Kobe Bryant has 'matured', meaning he is a better team player, mentoring his younger teammates. Last night when LaBron James stripped Kobe of the ball in mid court and ran uncontested to a slam dunk, the look on the face of Mr. Bryant spoke otherwise.)

I was very excited at the start of this basketball season because it seemed to me, as pointed out by Mr. Charles Barkley, that off season trades had somewhat leveled the playing field, giving more teams a fighting chance. But the truth is it seems now as though it just plain leveled things flat and the season so far has been ....not so exciting. Chicago still doesn't have anyone who will drive to the basketball, the Clippers still don't have any defense, the Lakers still fall apart under pressure and Steve Nash's back is killing him.

All that may change during the second half of the season. I would miss it all.

Not only would I miss it all, the game would still be on in our living room area, because Sister St. Aloysius, who I have converted from baseball to basketball, would be watching with Sister Mary Fiacre who enjoys the fast movement and the colorful costumes. I would still pray for the souls of the Laker Girls and the Lovabulls without seeing them debase themselves.


So this is a definite possibility.

My fear is that since the first part of the season has been so dull that I almost never make it through an entire game anymore, I won't really miss it if I give it up now.

I suppose I could go offer my services as assistant coach for the eighth grade boys team. I would really hate that.