Steve Nash

After dismantling both the hometown Lakers and Clippers in two consecutive series, the league's reigning two-time MVP is persona non grata with my family, the kind of player you hate when he's on the opposing team and love when he's on yours. White and Canadian to boot, with floppy hair and a kind of Energizer bunny perpetual motion that makes him seem in several places on the court at once, Nash has emerged as the star of this year's playoffs, a guy, who in the lieu of any big, bad opposition (although the specter of Shaq now looms large), could be the one to spring an upset in this year's seemingly wide-open race for the crown.

And it would be doubly fun to see him pull the plug on the Mavericks of Mark Cuban, who let him get out of town a couple of years ago as a free agent, the reasons of which he revealed in his online blog here. That Nash thrives in the NBA by virtue of his guile and quickness among players a lot bigger than he is, and the fact, as a point guard, he fulfills the basic principle of making his teammates better, is reason enough for me to be pulling for him. Hey, anyone who can make Knicks bust Tim Thomas look like Amare Stoudemire is a true hoops alchemist. Just call him the anti-Marbury.

The New Cars and Blondie at Gibson Amphitheatre

Don't know why this show should have a stigma attached to it, other than the fact the former are performing without Ric Ocasek and the latter have been hounded by the appearance of ex-members trying to horn in on their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. The idea is decent enough - put together a pair of '80s new wave icons into one hit-based package for the summer shed season and hope there are enough thirty- and fortysomethings willing to relive their youth to make it worthwhile.

That said, the New Cars — with Todd Rundgren, Tubes drummer Prairie Prince and bassist Kasim Sulton joining original members Elliot Easton on guitar and keyboardist Greg Hawkes — are a better live band than its predecessor ever was, with Easton and Hawkes providing the patented, precision art-pop hooks that produced a string of radio hits like "Just What I Needed" and "Let the Good Times Roll."

With Rundgren adding in his own material like "I Saw the Light," "Black Maria," "Bang the Drum All Day" and even the Nazz's "Open Your Eyes," it was more than a little like Ringo Starr and his All-Star Band, but I still don't see anything wrong with that. If rock & roll is about constantly being able to redefine and repackage yourself, you can't hold it against any of these guys for wanting to share their legacy, Ocasek or not.