the constant.

Its been one heckuva week. As always, your recap of the latest happenings in “Steveville” …

* The week opens with a Scheyer championship! I meant what I wrote on my Facebook posting … for the most part. Truth be told, I was scared sh*tless when Hayward had the shot from midcourt to win the game. But what a win for Duke. Someone is going to steal a 10 year player in Scheyer. I pray its Milwaukee. Speaking of which …

* Stay classy, Amare Stoudamire. Stay classy. Way to club a defenseless player in the back and not only end his season, but any shot Milwaukee realistically had at getting out of round one.

* But the Bucks are in, thanks to three “onions!” victories post-Bogut injury. At worst, they’re the six. If they draw Boston, the conventional wisdom is they can still care the C’s. I actually prefer to draw Atlanta. The only way Milwaukee advances is if BJ, Luke and Stackhouse are on fire from three land. They can do it against Atlanta, because they don’t have to defend the interior game.

* “Lost”. I can’t even begin to describe how much I loved last Tuesday’s episode, “Happily Ever After”. It might have been my favorite hour of original television since the “Swingtown” pilot two summers ago. What I loved the most about it, was that not only did the whole point of the series become clear … its how it became clear.

Because you learned what “The Constant” is.

Its not a fixture. Its not a moment in time. Its not a fixture to hold onto as you travel through time.

Its your time travel companion.

It’s a person. Your one true love.

Your “constant”.

Absolutely loved it. The scene with Desmond and Penny in the stadium, holy crap. I was in near tears when D fainted as he touched her hand. And the chance he took – knowing full well in the flash-sideways that they were together “in another life, brother!”, and she didn’t seem to know, knowing full well that it “violated the rules” as Eloise put it … taking the risk … in a word, amazing. And Penny’s reaction. A knowing “wait, this feels so right because its happened before …” look. I never, and I mean never, thought any scene in this show could make me more ridiculous than when Sawyer gave Juliet the flower in “LaFleur” last year. I thought that was the limit of my emotional response to a television show. (Save for Jimmy Smits’ last episode on “NYPD Blue”. The end to his story arch in season six was epic. I still remember calling my mom from a Applebee’s in (lovely) McAlister, Oklahoma, giving her instructions on how to program my VCR in my bedroom as I headed home for Thanksgiving. That’s a moment recapped elsewhere on this site. Anyways, my point? Oh yeah.)

And then came last Tuesday. “There’s a coffee shop at Sweetzer and Melrose. I’ll be there in an hour”.

Holy freaking crap.

I literally came unhinged when she said that. This show is just so freaking spectacular. Where do you begin? Every week ups the ante to an insanely new high level. That scene in the stadium, the “alternative” of Jack and Desmond to open season two, you just have to love it.

I haven’t met my “constant” yet. At least, I don’t think I have. Or if I have, it hasn’t really been in a “true love” type of manner. If I did and whiffed on seeing what should be, screw me.

But everyone has their “constant”. Their one true love. Leave it to “Lost’ to hammer the point home in a manner not even I can screw up understanding.

* The weekend was arguably my best weekend in two years. Ever since the Chiefs beat denver in a perfect storm at Arrowhead. Friday, I met up with some good friends at Dixon’s in Lee’s Summit for some rock solid chili, some all-you-can-eat tacos, and dollar draws. (Hooray!) Saturday, spent a solid 5 hours at the ‘rents, getting some trees knocked down, cleared out, to get the backyard in shape for summer.

Then Saturday afternoon, the first tailgate of the season. Heath’s birthday celebration! As good as it gets. A solid 15, 16 person tailgate. Me getting crap from the lovely Shannon for my “drinking” … and then her admitting “wait a second, you haven’t had a drink in 5 hours. You really aren’t as bad as I thought …” Running into the ex-roommate Gregg and Brent and assorted others.

(I still love that people are shocked I’m not as hammered out there as they expect. I almost never get tanked at the Sports Complex. For one thing, its too costly to keep drinking inside the stadiums. For another, I still have to drive home. Why is this a shock? I don’t get it. I guess).

But best of all … I am no longer the only left-leaning person in any tailgating group! Brett is even further left than I’ve been in the last few years. Nothing shocked me more than that. A formerly staunch Republican defending Obama. I am still in shock. I have my issues with Barry … and I will always oppose any person or party that wants to establish a theocracy … but man, Brett shocked me. In a good way.

* And then came Sunday. Got a call about 11:30am from Dusty. Pretty much the conversation:

(dusty) what are you doing?
(steve) watching tv. Ready for phil to break out. and you?
(dusty) same. You wanna watch this over here?
(steve) sure. Coverage starts at 1, right?
(dusty) I think so.
(steve) I’ll be there.

Sunday … might have been my favorite day of the last year. Seriously. It was like old times. Just me and DJ, on the deck, enjoying the afternoon while watching a huge sporting event. Sunday was one of those moments in life, when you just know everything worked out perfectly.

Had a blast watching Phil win the Masters for the third time. Really enjoyed the grilling, the mac and cheese, even the “I knew when the TV was on the deck, I’d see the two of you with the shirt off trying to get a tan” blast. Damn right! It was 80 on a Sunday in April! Couldn’t ask for better weather!

It might not have been the “deck”, but it worked. Nothing else matters.

Phil wins Augusta. The Royals are 3-4 after the opening week. The Chiefs schedule is still up for speculation. The Bucks are in the playoffs. (The Stars, sadly, are not. Great job firing Dave Tippett guys, just brilliant. In a “you are mother f*cking idiots!” kind of way). And we’re staring tailgate 350,001 in the face sometime this summer. Hopefully sooner rather than later. I want everyone to truly enjoy 350,001. I’m aware two great chicas in my life are expecting in September so that limits them … but I really want 350,001 to be a celebration. Not of my “chemical dependency”, but of the friendship we all have.

“There’s a coffee shop at Sweetzer and Melrose. We can meet there in an hour …”

Yes. Yes we can …