Hibachi!

Can you imagine life without the Internet? Neither can I. I mean, how else would I be able to keep abreast of the 2006-07 NBA season in France without it? Aside from the one dude who works in my building who inexplicably wears an Allen Iverson jersey at least 3 days a week and a few random Tony Parker advertisements, the NBA is not big news here and games are only on expensive cable stations.

In my mind, there are two big stories in the NBA so far. The first is the Phoenix Suns, whose run-and-gun style in the West has led to multiple impressive winning streaks. Sports Guy Bill Simmons makes a strong case that they could be the first "legendary NBA team" since the 80s Celtics and Lakers. Scary to think what would have happened had the Dallas Mavericks held onto Steve Nash instead of letting him go to the Suns a few years ago: Dallas is right now the 2nd best team in the league and seems to match up reasonably well against the Suns.

The second big story is the wacky world of Gilbert Arenas, the shoot-first point guard for the Washington Wizards who is an amazing scoring machine. But the story here is less about the points and more about his zany style. He apparently has the habit of yelling the word "Hibachi!" after hitting big shots (after the Japanese Hibachi grill), was once seen taking a shower in full uniform at halftime, and has invited several nicknames for himself, including "Agent Zero"and "The Black President". I miss basketball.

French for the Day: the word for being "on call" (for doctors) is "en garde", learned from the nephrologist in the lab who wrote me my certificat medical.