When Did You Know?

I wasn't more than 7 or 8 years old at the time and my family was still residing in our old house in Quezon City (the Philippines). It was the Christmas break for my brother (who was no more than 12 or 13 years old) and I, who were home one day while our parents were out at work. Playing alone in the guest bedroom, I climbed into the back closet which our parents used as storage space and filled with knick-knacks. I probably had a few Matchboxes and building blocks with me and was exploring the closet like a city engineer looking for new roadways to 'pave' for my toys.

Pushing deep past a few old hanging coats and clothes I stumbled upon a nest of new toys, attractively shimmering in their colorful plastic and carton packaging. These would be the toys, I discovered a few days later, which Santa Claus would carefully wrap up and gift to my brother and I for Christmas eve.

That was the moment I realized that Santa wasn't the white-haired, big-tummied Caucasian fellow in the red suit who flies all over the world delivering toys on Christmas eve. But instead of getting disappointed, I cherished that moment and saved my little 'secret' of knowing 'Santa's' real identity (I don't remember sharing that secret with my brother -- at least not immediately -- but he probably knew years before I did). It was exciting to have this secret ... particularly while my parents still did not know that I already knew.

A few years later, when I had a regular allowance to collect and save, I found myself hiding Christmas gifts from my parents (and my brother) too. And although my parents never revealed themselves as Santa to me they had a knowing smile that Christmas eve I gave my first presents to them. The gifts weren't much (in fact, I don't remember what they were anymore) but the smile on my parents' faces was priceless. They were my Santa. And at that moment, I was theirs. :-)

What about you? When did you know who Santa was?

File Under: Being an Ass Isn't a Crime, but ...

Let me begin by admitting that I am no fan of Lakers head coach Phil Jackson. I find him arrogant beyond my spare tolerance. Most of the greats are, in my opinion, one shade of arrogant or another. They are great at what they do, win more than most and, while standing atop the world, often let others know just how great they are. Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant ... they all had / have their mean streaks which found them regularly staring down the competition. And sports fans, as we are wont to be, generally accept the cockiness (and some off-court transgressions) so long as it's backed up by (on-court) excellence.

Without a doubt, Jackson has earned the right to be cocky. World championships 11 in all won coaching the Chicago Bulls (6) and Los Angeles Lakers (5) make him the winningest bench tactician in NBA history and gives him respect accorded only the best of the best. But all that jewelry don't make him the president of personnel operations for the Miami Heat. A few days ago however, in an ESPN radio interview, Jackson speculated on the future of Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra by suggesting that Spo will lose his job to team president and former head coach Pat Riley soon if Miami does not pick up their game.

"The scenario that sits kind of behind the scene, is that eventually these guys that were recruited - (Chris) Bosh and (LeBron) James - by Pat Riley and Micky Arison, the owner, are going to come in and say, 'We feel you (Riley) can do a better job coaching the team. We came here on the hopes that this would work,' and whatever, I don't know," he said. "That's kind of my take on it, is that eventually if things don't straighten out here soon, it could be the Van Gundy thing all over again."

Jackson was referring to Miami's 2005-06 Championship season in which then Heat coach Stan Van Gundy resigned following a disappointing 11-10 start -- despite the fact that the talented team featured rising star Dwyane Wade and veteran superstar Shaquille O'Neal. Riley stepped down from his front office post, stepped into the coaching trenches and steered the Heat to its first-ever NBA championship. Pundits, however, saw Riley's substitution of SVG as contrived -- a move which beefed up Riley's career title haul at Van Gundy's expense.

But that was not the case, insists SVG, who currently coaches the Orlando Magic. "To second guess another coach and comment on a situation he knows nothing about -- it's inappropriate. And it's also ignorant," Van Gundy said. "I don't mean that commenting on Phil's intelligence. He's obviously a very smart guy. I mean it as ignorant (in that) he doesn't know what the situation was and he doesn't know what the situation is now.

"I don't think, unless their relationship has changed drastically, that (Jackson) and Riley talk on a regular basis. So I doubt he would have any information whatsoever on what's going on in Miami."

So what does Jackson know about what's going on in Miami? Probably not a whole lot. But Jackson, dubbed by his supporters as the 'Zen Master,' does know a thing or two about psyching out other people to suit his needs. Recall last April when Jackson suggested that first round Playoff opponent Kevin Durant (of the Oklahoma City Thunder) was getting a lot of calls and going to the line a lot for free throws. Jackson was drawing attention to both Durant and the referees and making them seem -- to the media, at least -- like they were getting or creating unfair advantages. For that statement Jackson was fined by the league.

It wasn't the first time Jackson stirred a hornets' nest. But each time he does, a veiled agenda never seems to be too far behind. In undermining Spoelstra's efforts, the Zen Master perhaps is trying to break Miami's psychological well-being. Already struggling with high expectations created by the fantasy-like union of Wade, LeBron and Bosh in South Beach, the Heat have their hands full trying to win games amid league-wide scrutiny and acrimony (not to mention all the injuries). By questioning Spo's work, Jackson is kicking a team that is already down (8-7 in their first 15 games) and getting deep into their heads.

Nice work, Phil.