Okay, y'all, this last weekend has been crazy.  Saturday was Final Review for the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M, and to break it down for those of y'all that don't know what I'm talking about, it's the unofficial graduation ceremony for Aggie cadets.  Basically, we hold two parades, back to back.  The first is the entire Corps, and that takes a little over an hour and a half to complete.  The second is when all the underclassmen put on their rank for next year for the first time (i.e.:  I'm a junior cadet next year, so I get to wear a white belt--as opposed to the black ones freshmen and sophomores wear--and a cross signifying my new position as a chaplain for my outfit next year).  All in all, it lasts about 4 and a half hours, and with the humidity we had in College Station on Saturday, I was sweating like a pig.  Sunday was the last day to move out of the dorms, and as I'm sure many of you know, that's a chore in and of itself.  Anyway, the good thing is that I live about 20 minutes away from school, so I made it back to spend the rest of the day with my (larger than average) family.  Seriously, I'm the oldest of 9 kids, so I practically needed earplugs to protect myself from the squealing when I walked in the door!

As some of y'all know, I'd vowed not to wear any Spurs paraphernalia on game nights in order to appease the playoff gods.  So far, so good for game 3.  However, I'd at least intended to watch game 4, since I'm a Spurs fan and all.  Wouldn't you know it, my folks planned a night of fine dining for my mom's Mother's Day gift RIGHT AT GAME TIME!  I was ticked, but what's a guy to do?  I went and pretended to be interested in truffles and teacakes whilst my Spurs waged war with the invaders from louisiana not more than 2 and a half hours down the road.  Needless to say, I was in basketball hell.  When we made it home hours later, I set a speed record to the radio to learn the fate of the Silver and Black (we don't have cable TV at my house--peachy, just peachy!).  When I heard we were up 20 in the 4th quarter, I think I smiled my first genuine smile of the day.  THAT'S my SPURS right there!

Since game 4, I've been doing what every good Spurs fan does in the playoffs--prepare for and attempt to predict the next game.  I've spent a lot of time observing the media in this series, and I couldn't help but notice the 180 a lot of analysts have done.  Before the series began, the hornets were supposed to be in way over their heads against the defending champion Spurs.  Then, after deceptively convincing routs at home, the hornets were supposed to be simply too athletic, talented, and hungry for the archaic Spurs to handle.  Yet, after another mini-series of annihilations by the home team, many (though not all--see john hollinger's piece of blasphemy at espn.com) in the media are quick to jump back over to the defending champ's corner.  No, I'm not gonna sit here and bash the media--that's pointless anyway and we all know that if they had their way, the Spurs would've been ousted by the suns in round one as some twisted example of poetic justice.  I will however, comment on what momentum does to teams in the playoffs.

Momentum is a funny thing.  I've seen it in the NFL (see:  2007 new york giants in the playoffs), MLB (see: the damn 2004 red sox beating the yanks), and NASCAR (Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Cup last year), just to cite a few instances.  But momentum in the NBA playoffs is a different beast.  It can swing slowly over the course of a couple of games, or it can shift withing the course of a single possession.  The Spurs, in particular, have had both good and bad experience with momentum in the playoffs during the last decade.  Let's look at the '03 and '04 seasons, respectively.  In both years the Spurs faced the lakers in the 2nd round, and in both series, the Spurs took a 2-0 lead.  But the lakers reversed that momentum so quickly in the next two games of both those series that it looked like SA's number was up and the lakers were simply too good to be outdueled in a 7 game series by the Spurs.  Both game 5's appeared to be headed toward blowouts, with SA building a huge lead in '03 and the lakers storming out front in game '04.  Both series featured furious comeback attempts and down to the wire finishes in game 5.  But in '03, Robert Horry's missed shot spelled the end for the lake show, while derek fisher's prayer in '04 doomed the Spurs.  The same happened to the Spurs in '05 against the pistons, with 4 consecutive blowout wins by the home teams produced a scintillating game 5 battle that shifted the momentum in the home team's favor for good.

As I prepare to watch game 5 tonight, the one thing that comforts me is the fact that THE SPURS HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE.  Even if the hornets triumph tonight, I have confidence that the Spurs will not panic, and will find a way to win games 6 and 7, because that's what champions do.  The hornets' faithful, on the other hand, cannot possibly have this kind of confidence in their team.  They're outrageously talented, and with the proper tutelage (and I'm NOT talking about byron scott), they could evolve into the next great force in the league.  But they've not had to face the pressure they're gonna face tonight.  Sure, they can assure themselves that things are different at home, and they'll probably come out like gangbusters in the first half.  But in their hearts, they know the series has changed.  They know the Spurs have figured out what they've been doing, and are sucking the life out of their game like cold-blooded vampires.  Peja KNOWS there's no such thing as an uncontested shot anymore with Bruce covering him.  cp3 KNOWS no matter how much he scores, TP is matching him practically point for point at the other end.  The hornets KNOW that they are not long for this world when Bruce hits the corner three.  The hornets KNOW if they can't stop an 80% Manu, they have no prayer against a healing Manu.  Chandler even sacrificed himself to the proverbial dragon by volunteering to single-handedly guard Tim Duncan, even though he KNOWS a healthy TD cannot be stopped.

Deep down, no matter what history says, the hornets can sense the tide has changed.  You can see it in their comments, in their body language, and in their eyes.  The Spurs MUST recognize the fragile mental state of this inferior franchise and suffocate them while they have a chance.  As surely as the suns knew it was over when Timmy hit the 3 in round 1, the hornets will know it's over if they lose tonight.  Don't let 'em breathe, San Antonio!  DON'T LET THEM BREATHE!

GO SPURS GO!!!  The Drive for Five is STILL Alive!