In basketball, there is every reason to be grateful...

Tonight provided a rather mixed blessing for me. In basketball, my hometown team, the Rockets, cruised to its 18th straight victory in front of my own eyes while my high school alma mater -- the Mighty Vikings of Dulles High School fell at the last minute despite a glorious beginning and a season many (myself included) never expected. And in a quick trip to college hoops, Baylor pulls off another victory in an already surprising season while UH failed to reign it in against UTEP. But first the Vikings...

Dulles had great things going for itself...they had never been to a state title game, and it was bittersweet revenge for them given their infamous Craig Ehlo Moment in 1999 against Beaumont Central (Ehlo was the Cleveland Cavaliers player who was guarding Michael Jordan against the Chicago Bulls when MJ scored his now famous Shot in 1989). The Vikings even led 12-4 against North Crowley High School, which beat much heralded Duncanville High School to get to Austin. But then the unfortunate -- star player Willie Warren -- stood in its way. Warren, the nation's fourth-best point guard according to Rivals.com and already committed to Oklahoma, led North Crowley with 27 points, with the choker being a dunk that was not even contested. The result: North Crowley 73, Dulles 67.

To an end, while disappointed, I am more than grateful for what the Vikings have done and proven all season: honest, good-natured basketball that puts teamwork, integrity and charisma ahead of personal ego, greed and money. I have personally met a number of these talented individuals -- some of which I first met in my last year at The All-American School -- before and have been impressed by their solid gameplay. I myself never got to experience a state championship, and for those that were a part of the team this year, I am more than proud that they got to experience what I never did, and there is nothing to be ashamed of and everything to be grateful for; very few in life get to experience the real thing. In fact, few high school players go on to play college basketball, even fewer get to play in the NBA, and even a very minuscule minority of those players go to Springfield, Massachusetts. It would have been very nice to see a state title this year, but there is always next year and as long as head coach Mike Carrabine and his staff have good heads on their shoulders, there are going to be more good things happening, and even those who may doubt that claim will side with me eventually.

All in all, I offer my congrats to the Dulles High School boys basketball team of 2007-2008!

While I was thinking last night of my former Dulles cohorts, I was at the Toyota Center in the wake of downtown watching the Houston Rockets break a new franchise record, winning its 18th straight against a similarly good team, the New Orleans Hornets, winning 106-96. Much like Dulles overcame the odds with a stunningly good season, the Rockets are exceeding expectations despite the loss of Yao Ming. While I believe Yao Ming is the heart of the team, I believe the Rockets should continue to make a difference even in the infinite possibility that Yao returns during the playoffs, preferably the NBA Finals. Because if you combine the Rockets' current starting lineup with Yao and an excellent bench along with our consistently impressive gameplayYao's injury, you will get a team built around teamwork that can overcome challenges the way they did in 1995, when a sixth-place finish in the West did not stop us from earning back-to-back titles. And we can all recall when Rudy T made it clear: "Don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion!"

Finally, in college hoops, Baylor rallied to beat Texas Tech in an 86-73 showdown. Thanks to LaceDarius Dunn's 38 points, the Bears are looking at a trip to the NCAA tournament, and they have come a long way from the infamous scandal that befell the team several years ago. Many good things have been happening at Baylor, and I know a number of good connections from there. But the same could not be said for UH. In spite of a great season that appears to have finally vindicated "Turnaround Tom" Penders, the Coogs were beat at the last minute, going from an 80-76 lead to an 81-87 loss against UTEP. In spite of this, UH will go into the coming week's CUSA tournament with the third seed while UTEP clinches seed No. 6, and the Cougars have proven themselves as a quality team focused on character and learning lessons from losing (a hard lesson learned tonight), not futile vapidity and arrogance (which cost the Patriots an undefeated season).

To sum it up, basketball is a sport of logic, speed, teamwork, acrobatics, and creativity. Winning in it takes time, and it is a lesson that begins with a good head on your shoulders, a willingness to sacrifice all the free time you deserve, and the ability to deliver the winning plays. "In the paint" and "fast break" are terms that set it apart from other sports. Even if a team does not win the O'Brien Trophy, even if does not earn the right to close out "One Shining Moment", and even if it does not get to take home a state title banner, there is no reason to be ashamed of oneself. In fact, we all learn better from our shortcomings, and from the hard lessons learned tonight, in winning and in losing, we can all aim to strive to achieve more than we ever imagined. Remember, victory never comes easy, and even if you consider yourself the best of the best, never take anything for granted...make no regrets, achieve what you can with your God-given talents, and consider yourself a moral victor, because when we all cooperate, we all win together!