I think this may be the first time I’ve posted without some kind of picture. But truth is, I got nothing to show, but I am all excited because I got to come home tonight and watch the Celtics beat the Lakers in Game 1 of the NBA finals. Oh yeah! In the third quarter it really looked like Paul Pierce was badly hurt — had to be carried off the court — and when he came walking back out the tunnel a few minutes later the crowd at the faux-Garden came to its feet and roared. I am happy for Paul Pierce. This is the finals, Boston and LA, for the first time in 21 years, and he’s finally in it.

There were many good things that happened when I was visiting the fam back in Massachusetts. The best thing was seeing my nephew Leo, who was born at 25 weeks back in April and is now more than double his birth weight and growing gangbusters. He seems to be knocking down his development milestones faster than they can set them up.

I’ll also remember watching the Celtics and Red Sox with my uncle, who was visiting from Pakistan, where he lives. I don’t know if he grew up playing pickup games of any and all sports on a daily basis, but he seemingly knows and loves them all. Gary even watched some of the Stanley Cup finals with him (though usually we were flipping between at least two games if not three). Most evenings, after the day’s comings and goings had come to an end, someone would flip on a game, being that it was one of those rare moments when the Celtics were still in the playoffs this late, baseball season was in full swing, and hockey was down to its final, most meaningful games of its season. We’d alternate among the games using a loosely weighted system based on the score and time/innings remaining. With the Sox on a west coast swing, the games tended to be slightly out of phase and lasted late into the night. One by one we’d drop off to bed. Uncle Jim would be the last one to go, even though he gets up at the crack of dawn. He’d be there as long as it took if the game was close, subject to frequent quiet outbursts of excited appreciation anytime someone made a good play. Watching the teams in home territory, in good company, is now a treat to be quietly savoured.