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Many kudos to Kurt and Jeff who are doing an incredible job of running TrueHoop while I'm away.

They're doing such a great job (and yes, of course the Celtics/Lakers rivalry is alive and well) that I'm sure no one has wondered what I'm up to. But dammit, I'm going to tell you anyway.

The truth is this week is for travel; equal parts business, family, and friends in Seattle and Portland. There has been a little skiing. There have been meetings, talking about blogs. There have been good dinners.

But most importantly for TrueHoop, there was a great trip to see the Blazers pick off the Lakers last night.

A kindly TrueHoop reader who works for Global Spectrum--I'd say his name but I don't want to subject him to oodles of free ticket requests--treated my and my stepdad to club box seats. Those come with free parking, and a little bracelet that entitles you to an infinite amount of food from a swanky little buffet.

So we noshed little salmon cakes, brisket, Caesar salad, potato salad, popcorn, potato skins, frozen yogurt, fresh fruit, and more, as we watched weird stuff, like Brian Skinner being the feisty difference in the paint, and Steve Blake outplaying Kobe Bryant. By the time Darius Miles reached out his meat hook to swipe the ball and the game away from Smush Parker, I was almost too full to leap out of my seat and cheer, but I did anyway. I even gave a high-ten to the dude on my right.

And, yes, it's a messed up moment in Portland Trail Blazer history. (Incredible thing that I learned at this game: the team has only had the dance squad at about half the games this season, as a cost-saving measure. I wonder if they still detail the players' Humvees and Bentleys while they're in practice.) I have been reading the Oregonian and Portland Tribune, and there's lots more to say on the topic.

But it was great to have a moment, as a basketball fan, of simply cheering. If you can't get up out of your seat and whoop and holler once in a while--what's the point of following basketball at all?