The highs and lows of educational progress.

Summer school at 9:30 a.m. isn't necessarily a low, but today it wasn't too pleasant. Fresh off of a holiday weekend, I wasn't too thrilled to roll out of bed, into my car, and down the street to the various buildings of higher-education -- regardless, it definitely beats driving 20 miles to my dad's office at 8 a.m.

I really don't mind summer school that much. Sure, it sucks, but atleast I'm getting a class out of the way, and ideally, I might even learn something. Plus, it makes me feel productive. I guess what I'm trying to say is this: summer school ain't that bad, but it's not fun either. In the end, life is all about making sacrifices. Summer school is just that, a sacrifice.

Lots of interesting things going on in the world of sports. Most relevant is the departure of Suns season-saver, Tim Thomas. I realize this is a big piece of the championship puzzle to lose but I can't blame him. If another company offered me 7 more figures to work for them, I'd leave too. This will definitely help the Clippers. Could it have been that Sam Cassell and Tim Thomas thought it time for a re-union? Perhaps. But I'm hearing that the Zen-Master coaching LA's other team might be trying to look for his veteran leadership. If this is the case, and Sam ends up with the Lakers, isn't it conceivable that the Kobe, Phil, Sam triangle could end up being one of the most successful yet unusual sports triangles in NBA history? I can just picture Phil smirking after calling a time-out, waiting patiently with his clipboard until Sam is done yelling at all the young players for various on-court mistakes. This might be a Grade-A Lakers season should this occur.

Sidenote: the Farmar pick by the Lakers caught me by surprise but all and all, this might be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

So what do the Suns do now?

That's a great question, and I don't know if I can provide a great answer. We have some wiggle room after attaining some draft-day cash - maybe we can work something out with Carlos Boozer? I don't know? It's hard to replace someone like Tim Thomas. Real hard. I still think we'll be extremely competitive and well-rounded. I don't necessarily think a move for Jamaal Magloire would be a bad decision. In fact, I think I'd like that.

In other news, the Bulls were able to get Big Ben. Four years, $60 million - not bad. But as others have pointed out, that might be wasted cap money if they fail to surround him with the scoring he had in Detroit. Either way, that team looks more prepared on defense immediately and either way, I'm still not seeing anything past the second round. Unless of course, they make some additional significant moves.

And finally . . .

the World Cup.

The table is set -- France and Italy this Sunday for what seems like the key to the universe at this point. I'm incredibly excited.

My prediction? France 2-0.

It's official, I love soccer. No, no . . . not U.S. soccer, I'm talking soccer soccer, futbol soccer.

There's nothing quite like it. It's difficult to explain but I'm captivated by it.

That's all for today. Cheers.