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Serendipity

Due to social circumstances, we're hosting a dinner party at my address this evening-Game 7 between the Celtics and Bulls or no Game 7.

Ordinarily, this blogger would be in severe psychic distress about this scheduling conflict. Just as ordinarily, he would attempt to middle the problem by keeping half his mind on his guests, and half on the game. There's a large art work in the TV room which allows a reflection of the set's picture to be viewed from the kitchen. The image is backwards, but that doesn't matter for basketball (Yes, I know that's nuts, but it is helpful, especially during football season, when it gets dark when you're making dinner and the reflection gives a clearer picture).

A distracted host is an offense to the laws of hospitality, however, at least, the laws as they are commonly interpreted at my house. The game-guest divide could lead to post-game stress all around.

But these are the Celtics and Bulls!! No worries!! These are the teams that have forever given the lie to the old slur that all you need to see of an NBA game is the last two minutes. The last two minutes of regulation in this series is the game's introduction. It's the equivalent of the TV program montage with the voiceover "in our last episode..." It has about as much impact on the final outcome of the contest as the National Anthem.

The first guests are slated to arrive at 6:30 and dinner will be at about 7:30. Game 7 tipoff is around 8:05. Even allowing for lengthy chat over coffee and dessert, it's likely the event will be over by 10:30 at the latest. My best guess, allowing for the extra commercials that TNT will stuff into the timeouts on such a momentous occasion, is that there will be AT LEAST 7 minutes left of the fourth quarter at that point in time.

I won't have missed a thing. And to think I blasted the Sox and Yanks for the length of their games last week.

posted by Michael Gee @ 5:55 AM