I loved the Gold Medal hockey game. I was on the edge of my seat. I jumped off the couch when Parise scored the tying goal. But when Crosby knocked in the game winner I felt no pain.

My test for how much of a fan you are of a team or situation involves measuring the amount of pain you feel in a loss. Anyone can jump on a bandwagon but how do you feel when it spins out? When the Texans lose I'm pretty beat up. After the USA lost I simply fired up the barbecue and cooked dinner.

We're starting to get some complaint calls about the Rockets not playing hard enough or just well enough. This year for the organization is like playing at the YMCA when there is no one waiting. The pressure is off because no one really expected anything. It's like the whole administration gets a pass because of Yao and TMac. The players certainly don't have the same feeling because you never know when you can be shipped out or left out of the future plans.

Certain things have become too important. Wine had become too important. Athletics for sub 6-year-olds have become too important. And information on NFL teams prior to the draft has become over analyzed and over interpreted. How else can you explain the reaction to Rick Smith's "you can't keep everyone" comment in describing the Texans free agency situation.

Because Smith made the comment in the same conversation that involved Kevin Walter the national media thought it meant Walter was gone. And you wonder why there is such a thing as 'coach-speak.' Media take little phrases and blow them up into huge headlines, especially on slow news days.