Two nights ago I sat down with an old friend of mine and we shared a gallon of wine.  We were reminiscing about the good ole' days when half of our friends weren't married and the other half didn't have live-in girlfriends.  As we went down the through the gallon we went about the usual emotions men go through that I don't need to explain.  When we reached the part of overwhelming sentimentality we decided to write a song about our friend Danny who we missed greatly.  It wasn't coming along very well because my friend kept talking instead of trying to write down lyrics or keep a tune.  So then I told him "shut the fuck up"  and he punched me right under my left eye.  It left me with a cute shiner and I wore it proud the next day and today too.  After the punch it put me in some sort of focus and we went on to write a pretty good half of a song.

I don't know if Manu's life parallels mine but as a Manu lover I like to pretend like it does.  Who ever it was that gave Manu the preverbal punch in the face I thank.  He on many occasions has spoken about focus-the teams and especially his.  There are probably less than 10% of NBA players who are smarter than Manu and even fewer who are more competitive so it is hard to imagine Manu not focused but I think that's what was hampering him.  It was his focus above all else.  Sure for a few weeks when he came back he needed to shake off some rust but that rust is long gone now and has been for a while.  He was just lacking that focus.

I feel so ashamed for ever doubting him.  He is my favorite player ever and I began to lose faith in him all the while claiming to be a loyal fan.  Guilt is a huge part of being catholic so suffice it to say that I've had a few sleepless nights after saying things such as "Manu is broke..."   I know I'm not alone.  Stampler is right when he says there are so many other sites that you can go to and bash Manu but this is a Manu loving blog.  We don't need to be blind to his sub-Manu play for the first half of the season but I am first to say I have been a bad fan.  So I herby apologize to my fellow Manu loving patrons and vow to never have doubt in anything that is Manu again.