So THIS is why they tell me to keep my cell on...

[JetMetFan]

Thanks again from all of you. I'm still trying to believe all of this happened.

It's funny but in some ways I guess it was supposed to happen this way. Normally when I get on the bus to work I put my cell on silent since I'm not supposed to use it during the ride. Friday night it was on vibrate...which meant I heard/felt the call from my son as I was getting on the bus. If I'd made it all the way into NYC then checked my phone there's no way I could've done the game. Other factoids:

*As nice as the locker area is at MSG, high school officials don't get food. Tons of water and Gatorade - and very hot showers - but no eats
*We had no alternate. The guy scheduled to be the alt had to work Saturday. I kept joking with the timer & shot-clock operator (both officials whom I know) that they were one pulled hamstring from being out there.
*At halftime, one of my partners says, "Hey, did you see at courtside that guy...Malik Sealy...busting on us on TV!" My other partner and I looked at each other and he says, very slowly, "Umm...Malik Sealy is dead. Do you mean John Salley?" Yeah, thankfuly, it was John Salley.

[jump stop]

MSG is the bomb. Saw a Knicks game several years back. Congrats.