Well, D.C. may have a longer history as a losing sports town ~ it's been nearly a century since the Senators spawed the saying "Washington" first in war, first in peace, last in the American League" ~ but we in New Orleans have an even deeper record of haplessness, as home to nothing but losers in pro sports throughout the entire pre-Katrina era.

No NFL team ever had a string of losing seasons remotely comparable to the hapless Saints. Admittedly, they put on an incredibly successful and inspiring season two years ago, but reverted to form and became yet again a source of disappointment last season. This time around, they weren't as woefully incompetant as in the past, but our expectations had understandably grown higher, and their recent mediocrity was a big letdown.

But now, this year, the Hornets' first season back in town after two seasons in Oklahoma exile, looks to be just about as unexpectedly successful as that of the Saints in '06 and potentially much moreso.

I'm telling you folks out in the rest of the country, who had very little opportunity to see the Hornets until the playoffs began, this is an incredibly skilled and entertaining basketball team. I hesitate to make any out-and-out predictions, but they are entirely capable of handling the Spurs, and then the Lakers (or, just maybe, the turncoat Jazz), and then...