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So first, a BIG “Thank You” to everyone who commented on my MAGIC tickets quest and to everyone who wished me a “Happy Birthday.” I DID have success in getting tickets (more on that in a moment), and I DID have a very nice birthday with my family. Thank you, again.

If “40” is the new “30” and “60” is the new “45,” then I guess I’m about “25” right now, despite being chronologically “37.” It’s not all bad, despite being closer to “40.” Plus, “37” has always been my favorite (lucky?) number. So I’m planning on this being a VERY BIG year for me. Look Out!

Now, my wife was a little shocked by my email late Friday (apparently she opted-into my database long ago – who knew?). Her comment with the first direct email she received was, “Does this mean I’m going to get hundreds of these?!?” Ah… no, dear, of course not.

Turns out, she only got about a dozen (dozens more only responded to me – sparring her and me, thankfully – they’re on the blog now and many are very funny). But in that dozen she got, were about 4 different offers for Orlando MAGIC tickets. She went ahead and contacted a couple of the offerees, selected one, and bought the tickets (thank you, Alan). She still paid quite a bit more than I would have, but my veto powers were stripped from me with only 24 hours to go before my birthday and no other shopping having been done. To truly understand the magnitude of this situation you must first come to appreciate that my wife is one of those people who normally get their Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving. Yes, she’s one of them. To say she was in panic mode Friday night is a supreme understatement.

Her and my kids came back Saturday morning from getting the tickets with a bag of “goodies”: a MAGIC drum (noise-maker); a Superman bobble-head; gift wrapping paper; and so on. Of course, I knew what was going on – my wife and I were in on it, but we dared not tell the kids. They LOVE to surprise Daddy! When my son showed me his bobble-head, I promptly asked him where he got it (just to test him thinking fast on his feet). “Got it at Target, Dad.” Oh… and is that where the wrapping paper came from too? “Yep, Target…you know we just LOVE Target, Dad.” Very suspiciously put, hmmm.

On Sunday morning, I was allowed to sleep-in until 9:30 (oh, for the days in college when I could get up and just roll out to lunch!). At that precise moment, I was handed cards and a gift-wrapped envelope with the tickets in it. I feigned surprise – the kids loved it! From there, it was mostly just family time the rest of the day. Lots of basketball playing in the pool, and Winston (our black lab puppy) FINALLY learned to stop barking when we don’t want to let him into the pool to swim – he’d stay in the water all day if we let him.

My wife and I left the house Sunday night around 6:30 for the 8:00 game as we’d heard about the carnival atmosphere outside Amway Arena. We were NOT disappointed. Pictures will follow later this week (you really ought to subscribe to our RSS feed now, so you don’t miss these).

The noise in the arena was RIDICULOUS! The MAGIC themselves, however, were a bit of a disappointment. They started the game well, but quickly fell behind in the 2nd and 3rd quarters and didn’t start making 3-pointers until it was too late in the 4th. No one was able to truly contain Kobe the entire series. While his supporting cast was slightly better than LeBron’s in Cleveland, they will be hard-pressed to repeat next year if their free agents do what I expect them to do. As for Orlando, we have most everyone locked-up (Hedo is the lone exception) and the average age of our starters is around 27. With a new arena being build for next season, I think the “agony of defeat” will motivate our young guys into the Finals again next year. Just a hunch.

And by the way, I’m so glad you folks in California have learned to “just get along” – only 5 police officers were hurt and about 25 people arrested in the “celebrations” last night. I’d say that’s marginally better than 7 years ago, when you won it last and burned police cars, vandalized 70 cars and 11 people were arrested. Anyway, “enjoy” it while it lasts. I think Master Phil is headed back to Montana on his motorcycle to end on a “high”-note – pun intended.