southampton: holiday 2012

© anita aguilar

primed : a semi-perfect season ends, playoffs begin

a sixer's grand entrance. 
march 23, 2012
© anita aguilar

sixty-six is...

a sphenic number (positive integer made of 3 distinct prime numbers),

a triangular number (objects can form an equilateral triangle) and, as a multiple of a perfect number, 

it is also called semi-perfect.  

to my mind it is nearly perfect as the number of games in an nba regular season. 

the playoffs finally start this weekend, and for this first round i'll have my eyes trained on the eastern conference: my team (celts) play the hawks; the sixers take on chicago; and the knickerbockers get things on with the miami heat.

i'll be adopting the potus primary opposition strategy for the western conference--i'm not going to engage until their contender is decided. or until the lakers play the thunder. (ok, that's second round.) 

it should be a fun few weeks. or rather, months. if my math is correct, this elongated playoff format, assuming a minimum 4 games per series, is a comically long 60-game affair, only 6 games short of the (semi-perfect) shortened regular season, with finals set to start mid-june. 

i'm not sure i can hang in for 60 more?

will wait (and hope) and see...

***

on a lucky night in late march this new yorker attended her very first, very fun "away, away" game: celtics @ sixers. it was not a good night for my team, not merely for loss of the game, but the loss of mickael pietrus from a head injury--it was a scary moment, late in the first half. 

but otherwise the wells fargo center and the sixers crowd and whole of that night left quite a good impression. "wells fargo" isn't a majestic name, and that center may not ever achieve the sporting stature of madison square garden (at least not in my lifetime), but it has great feel: it's expansive without seeming cold. they keep the lights on there, so you could see the court and the crowd. to be able to see more helped make the experience feel different, more communal. even more impressive? from my seat, and at a price under $100, i could see paul pierce's teeth. without a zoom lens.


and: the cheesesteaks are primo. i'll never truly forsake the hot dog, but the madison square garden offerings are only remarkable for their squishy-bunned mediocrity (people, foil is not our friend here). on friday nights since, i practically crave the cheesesteak at the wells fargo center: the salty, shredded beef, the melted cheese that they serve on long, warm rolls. the added ketchup, for zing...


*sigh* 


i might need to taste-test shorty's (new to my 'hood) this weekend. 

***

if you're interested, here are some shots from that fun night, taken with the canon g10