Mejia, Las Vegas: Approaching the game on fumes
LAS VEGAS -- I'm not going to lie. Waking up Sunday morning, after an evening chasing all the goings on in Las Vegas, I was too exhausted to write this. Like Charles Barkley after his three sprints up and down the court at the Thomas & Mack Center, I needed a moment.
Can I have that moment? Too late. Took it. A few hours of rest are necessary to be coherent.
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| Paris Hilton's birthday party barely makes a ripple with all that is going on in Vegas. (AP) |
Where else can you see Barry Bonds, P. Diddy, Dennis Miller and Michael Jackson in the same radius? I mean seriously? Is that even possible? It happened on Saturday night.
Name a celebrity, and odds are they were in Las Vegas soaking up the scene. Paris Hilton flew in from Austria for her 26th birthday party, hosted at the Hard Rock. While that might be the toughest ticket in town on any night, it was just another party here. Just another option. Just somewhere else to go.
The short trek from Hollywood turned All-Star Saturday night into an absolute mission. The strip was overrun by limousines and hangers on and people who wanted to see and be seen and all that good stuff.
Quite frankly, I grew tired of it.
What you do need to know is that running on fumes can be exhausting, and this will be the last of these reports. Your imagination will have to serve as a vehicle to figure out what went down in the past 24 hours, because there was just too much going on to do the experience justice.
Mark Cuban mused on his blog the other day: "The biggest question is whether the all-star game will be able to shut down the city. Complete, absolute gridlock. Sidewalk gridlock. Road gridlock. Free Buffet Gridlock. Two dollar slots gridlock. ... Will it shut down Vegas? Stay tuned."
Definitive answer? Absolutely.
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| P. Diddy takes in some Saturday night action with Ciara. (AP) |
Did I win? What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, so you don't need to know that.
What is worth pointing out is that nothing really terrible has happened the past few days, despite all the temptations that are around. I've seen fights and whatnot, but from everything I've seen and heard, no one who would make news by getting into trouble was affected. Consider that a victory.
As for Sunday night's All-Star Game, there's not a ticket in sight. Scalpers are going to make a killing if they're smart about it.
I'll be there, dragging. But, since I'm not pawning my credential off, I guess you can gather I've done all right. Still have the clothes on my back and the laptop I'm writing this on. Haven't gotten married, arrested or shafted.
In and of itself, that's a major victory. Viva.
