Well, things could be worse. I could still be up on that balcony waiting around until next April.

I know it stinks to get knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, especially when we really should have won Games 1 and 4. What are you going to do? The way I look at it is, we made the playoffs for the first time in five years. That is a good thing. That is a great thing. We have a lot to build on and have a bright future.

You heard it here first. Yao is going to begin dominating Shaq every time we play the Lakers. It was just fun to be back in the postseason with all the excitement that surrounds it.

For all you 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders who took the TAKS April 27-29, congratulations. You did it. From everything I've heard, you guys really SLAM DUNKED the TAKS.

I had fun coming out to over 42 of your schools to get you pumped up for it. To the over 20,000 of you who I got to meet, thanks for inviting me to your schools. I had a great time. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) is the standardized test that all 3rd - 5th graders in Texas public schools take each year to measure their academic progress.

I visited schools all over the Houston and surrounding areas to perform an hour-long program extolling the virtues of a solid education and to explain how students can Build Their Future by studying and preparing for the test. Hope to see more of you next year.

The weather has finally broken. Spring is in the air and I'm looking forward to a summer filled with outdoor fun. A little swimming, outdoor hoops and traveling are in my near future. I will be taking some breaks from the sunshine to come inside and follow my second favorite team, the Houston Comets.

Sheryl Swoops and Tina Thompson are looking awesome. My girlfriend, Haley, is celebrating her 9th birthday July 10 during the Comets vs. Sparks game at Toyota Center (7:30 p.m.). She has some of her best friends from around the WNBA coming to the game to celebrate with her. Doppler from the Seattle Storm, Monty from the Sacramento Monarchs, and San Antonio's Silver Fox are just a few of the visiting mascots you can except to see celebrating with Haley. Get there early for their pregame autograph session.

Hope to see you at a game this summer. I'll be the big, fat, gray bear in the stands eating everyone else's popcorn.

Until next time,

P.S. Be Big!