Well, since this is the time of year to give to your "significant other", I thought I would go on a buying spree and offer some of my favorite (and not so favorite, I'm equal opportunity) players and teams some Valentine's Day presents.  So without further ado:

*****To the Phoenix Suns I offer a gift that will at least keep on giving in the short term, that being a healthy Shaquille O'Neal.  I think everyone is in some form of agreement that if Shaq is healthy this was one heck of a deal for the Suns which should finally allow them to get over the hump and win that elusive title.  The next thing I would offer the Suns would be an insurance policy that the new management will not take one of the more lucrative franchises in the Western Conference and ruin it (those of us who live in Arizona are still worried that when this team runs it's course we won't see another one like it for a good long while)

*****To the Dallas Mavericks, I give the gift of a clue.  While I saw this trade coming a mile off, I still can't imagine why the heck they pulled the trigger on this one.  Jason Kidd has always been and always will be one of the best point guards who will never win a title, and that reason is quite simple, at the end of the day, despite all those wonderful stats, if you look below the surface, Kidd is all about Jason Kidd, he is not about his team.  Then you add to that problem the misdiagnosis of the real problem in Dallas (it isn't the point guard position), and I figure this particular gift of a clue would be quite appropriate given the circumstances and the looming trade.

*****To the US Senate Subcommittee who wasted hours of time and millions of dollars, I would, with respect, offer the gift of a college US History course specializing in Civil Rights and the development of the legal system.  That travesty of a hearing today, in which half the senators were blasting Clemens, the other half Macnamee, was the biggest joke I have ever seen since the Clarence Thomas hearings.  It was SO obvious most of these "lawmakers" had their minds made up before the hearings, and they made no effort to conceal this whatsoever.  Now, while the court of public opinion may take the stand of Guilty until proven Innocent, in the legal system, regardless of if it is a court of law or a senate hearing room, these representatives of our judicial system should realize it's actually the other way around.  Watching that joke today made me actually embarassed for BOTH men.   And at the end of the day, not one step forward was taken in any direction, so what was the point again?  Go back the beginning, Senators, and relearn the basics (this would be a '101' class, of course).

*****To the WWE's Vince McMahon, I would give the gift of Roger Clemens and Brian Macnamee in a PPV steel cage match, winner has to give the loser a shot of steroids in the #### on live television.  Look at it this way, LOTS of people would buy that PPV, and when it was all over we would know that SOMEONE took those damn roids and we can all stop debating it!  (Though I would have Pete Rose do a run-in to cause interference because he bet on the outcome but didn't want to admit to it)

*****To the Dallas Cowboys, a team I do not particularly care for, I would nonetheless give the gift of a padlock.  Hey, SOMETHING's gotta keep Parcell's from his continual raiding of the Cowboy's cupboard!

*****To ESPN I would give the gift of imagination.  Need I say more ?

*****To the New England Patriots, I would give the gift of ensuring Randy Moss signs with another team.  Hey, you KNOW an implosion is coming sooner or later, and the Patriots are just too damn much fun to watch.  I really dont want to see them get turned into "just another team Moss wrecked".

*****To the Boston Celtics, I would give the gift of another title were it in my power to do so.  Having grown up watching the Bird/Magic battles of the 80's, to see this once proud franchise be so far down, only to climb so far up again, is heartening.  I would love to see them win another title (even though I despised them when they played the Lakers LOL)

*****Last but certainly not least, I would offer the following gifts to all the readers of these blogs:  (1) Open Mind, to see beyond loyaltiesand rhetoric.  (2) A reminder to tell that special someone just how important they really are to you.  While this is something that should be done more than just Valentine's Day, this day is nonetheless a special one, don't forget there is someone out there who does love you, don't forget to love them back, ok?

Thanks for reading, now go take your Valentine out for dinner! :)

Dal