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What am I watching here on TV? I guess it's the NBA Finals. That's what it says on TV. That's what the commercials are promoting. But it's not the NBA that I used to love and obsess over. Those days seem long gone. The days of my beloved Phoenix Suns (Phoenix, AZ was my home for nine years), led by Charles Barkley, Dan Majerle, and Kevin Johnson. The days when Hakeem Olajuwon, Robert Horry, and the rest of the vile Houston Rockets always seemed to have the Suns number in the Western Conference playoffs. The days when, the Suns and Sir Charles did finally make it to the finals, Air Jordan and the rest of the Bulls were there to stop them (such bittersweet memories). Oh yeah, Sun vs. Bulls. That is how I remember the NBA Finals. The best of the West fighting it out against the best of the East.

Now, I have taken a significant hiatus from basketball fandom, ever since moving from the Valley of the Sun to the Eastern Shore of Maryland 12 years ago and being subject to local coverage of the Washington Wizards. I found myself uninterested in the NBA, merely keeping up with things via Sportscenter and the internet. But I have suddenly found myself engrossed in this sport again. And time and time again, throughout the Playoffs and into the Finals, I am asking myself, "Why?" What has grabbed my attention? What is reigniting the basketball flame that used to burn so strongly within me? What is keeping me from changing the channel? I am having trouble coming up with an answer. And the first two games of the Finals are certainly not helping. Sure, there have been moments of greatness. Moments of real excitement. But so many moments of lackluster talent, poor decision making and terrible...let me emphasize TERRIBLE, shooting have shrouded those moments. Yet, I can't stop watching. I can't stop staying up way passed my bedtime (for a father of two, sleep is precious) to see the outcome of these games. Why? Maybe it's because of LeBron James. They say he's the next version of Michael Jordan. I hope he is. It would be great for a struggling sport. But I have my doubts. Just as quickly as an amazing overtime performance had me screaming "All hail the King!" has two terrible performances in the Finals had me asking "Really? This guy?" Or maybe it's the great underdog story that has developed. A team and a city that has never won an NBA championship facing the formidable (and seemingly unstoppable) three-time champion Spurs. I don't know.

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