Names we can safely remove from lists

That did not take very long - the Rockets matched the offer sheet Carl Landry signed with the Charlotte Bobcats. No surprises there, except that maybe now Luis Scola will demand a pay-raise (and no argument here, he'd deserve it).

The really good news is that we now no longer have to hear the name "Buddy Baker" for the next 2-3 years! Yes, "Buddy Baker" is the clown acting as Carl Landry's agent. A wannabe Scott Boras/Drew Rosenhaus type who missed the day they taught about "leverage" at Agent school. But now he gets to collect his 5% or whatever and leave us Rockets fans alone.

... at least I can tell Danny McGrath to remove his name from the list of "People to Kill."

I sure am glad we called that guy...

Another undefeated February for Rockets?

After reviewing the 2008/09 schedule for the first time earlier this week, I wanted to punch the NBA schedule-makers. A straight-shot, right to their collective baby-maker(s). But then I noticed something... as bad as November and April might be, we could see the Rockets taking part in yet another epic month of February. It was kind to us last year... check out this year:

Chicago
@ Memphis
Minnesota
@ Milwaukee
Sacramento
New Jersey
Dallas
Charlotte
Portland
Cleveland
@ Chicago

8 home games. 3 road games. Only Dallas and Portland really concern me here. And Dallas is backsliding. Portland is scary, but a healthy Yao can handle a one-legged Great Oden's Raven. At worst the Rockets go 9-2 in February next year. It gets better... here's the three games immediately before February:

@ NY Knicks
Philadelphia
Golden State

Sure, Philly gave us the January Debacle last year. And Golden State is always a bad matchup. But these are home games. And no one is scared about the Knicks.

But, wait... there's more. Here are the three games to begin March:

@ Minnesota
Toronto
@ Utah

We are beating Minny and Toronto. And we really, really hate the Utah Jazz. Hopefully Crazy Pills Artest does, too. So let's just chalk that up as a "W" today. Utah is goin' down. Rockets just need to keep their head on a swivel, cause that's what you gotta do when you find yourself in a vicious cock fight.



I'm quite sure no one in Utah would be surprised if RonRon tried to stab someone with a trident. But it's okay... the Jazz have it comin'.

The Best of the Dream Shake (2007-2008)

Lee and I continue to struggle with the concept that the Rockets' epic 2007/2008 season is over. We have to wait until October to see resident badasses Yao Ming and Luis Scola take the floor as teammates again. That's a long wait. On the flip side, there are now fewer opportunities to bitch about Rafer sucking, Tracy taking too many 3s or how much we hate the Utah Jazz. Well, actually, we can still bitch about Utah. And... we will.

Because of this... and because we are completely devoid of original ideas at the moment... we now present you with the "Best of the Dream Shake (2007-2008)" - or essentially what we considered to be our best or favorite things we wrote in the past 6 months. Yes, I know that Best Of lists and "Greatest Hits" collections tend to suck. But these are the things we wrote that sucked the least. And they are (in no particular order):

10 Things I Hate about the Utah Jazz.
Of course I'm leading off with this.

Why I hate the Utah Jazz.
Yes, we like to repeat ourselves. For emphasis.

Reminiscing with Yao and YouTube.
YouTube clips... because we are lazy.

Petition to Remove Rafer.
The very first post. The reason this blog exists.

The Rockets and Married... with Children.
Because Al Bundy and Tracy are way too much alike.

Time for an 80's Mid-Season Review.
80s Movies and awards... before the Rockets got good.

Inconceivable! Rockets/Kings (Game 8 of the Streak).
Because Steve Novak, for one night, was the Man in Black.

Major Mistakes and How You Correct Them.
Also known as Lee predicting The Streak. Yes, really.

Shane Battier Knows White People.
Because Shane is the whitest man alive.

Gratuitous Post Du Jour.
The Rockets and Family Guy.

You've all been naughty, but.......
Christmas gifts for the (then underachieving) Rockets.

These were our favorite posts to write, read, re-read and shamelessly beg other blogs to link to. I think it worked out in the end. So, commenters, were there any that I should have included above???

And yes, dear readers, prepare for more zaniness and completely off-the-wall entries from us once our hangovers subside and we try to get through the long offseason. The 2009 Rockets are going to kick ass.

Things that suck...

This is a great weekend for basketball fans everywhere. There's the NCAA tournament - where there is a chance that for the first time ever all four of the #1 seeds might make the Final Four. It's not going to happen (Texas will probably beat Memphis, if only as payback for Memphis not covering and costing me money in Vegas.)

There's also the NBA playoff race to consider. If you haven't noticed, the Western Conference is a complete clusterf--k. The Rockets did not play Friday. And yet... they dropped from 2nd place to 5th place simply by being idle. But... somehow they also gained one game on the 1st place team. I have a degree in mathematics and yet this statistical anomaly still makes my head spin! It's unfathomable. To the extent that the Rockets needed that 22 game winning streak - or else we'd be in 9th place and wondering what the hell happened.

Now, here's the sucky part of the weekend...

I'm at the office. On a Sunday.
Yeah, we're playing a little "catch up" here.

And there is nary a TV or radio in sight. Guess who won't be watching the Rockets/Spurs game. Or the Texas/Memphis game. Or the Kansas/Stephen Curry game.

Cockgobbles!!! I guess I'll just have to gamecast everything from down here in Storage B.

Oh, and Rafer... I do believe you have my stapler.

edit: More things that suck - we just gave up 35 1st-Q points to the Spurs?!??! 35??

Rockets/Mavs - "17" is legal in Texas!

To get the proper perspective on what is now a SEVENTEEN game winning streak - we go straight to the voice of authority. Chef.

Hey, Chef, what's the right size for a winning streak?

17.

But what if our best player gets injured and is out for the season after only the 12th win?

17.

But what if everyone says that we can't win without Yao and we're only winning because our schedule is soft?

17.

Okay! Thanks, Chef!

The Rockets absolutely destroyed the supposed streak-breaking Dallas Mavericks last night. No, they didn't have Dirk, but we'd have won even if he played. We didn't have Yao - and you don't hear us bitching about it. We've won five straight after having our season declared dead by such NBA luminaries as Stephen A. Smith, Charles Barkley, Jalen Rose and most of the blogosphere.

Our daily Luis Landry update? 29 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks and a handful of soul-crushing dunks by that Landry guy.

And holy hell - the Mavericks made Rafer look like CP3. Shooting, passing, dancing around... Dallas could not stop Rafer Alston. Rafer had a SEASON-HIGH 24 points to go with his 4 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. The best part? During the game Marv Albert was openly fellating Rafer. 2 seconds after tip-off, Marv said that Rafer was having an "excellent season" (Marv must have been busy doing something else in November/December). Then, after halftime, Marv said Rafer is "having a career year" (no, he's not, but he was an absolute badass last night).

Then again, Reggie Miller said that Carl Landry's "weakness" is rebounding. Yeah, apparently Landry is a poor rebounder. Do the TNT guys watch any game film at all? Landry's weaknesses are free throw shooting and an inability to hide his God-like tendencies among normal human folk. That's it. The dude rebounds. He just doesn't have to when we shoot 54% and the other half of Luis Landry gets the available rebounds. Teamwork rules.

Speaking of ruling... I rule!!

I predicted a win against Dallas. I backed it up by taking a bet. And now that bet is paying off. Sometime later today, the unfortunate victims at The Big and The Brown will be posting my recap of last night's game. And, oh yes, I went back to the Toni Braxton story. Picking on Jason Kidd is fun and necessary all at the same time.

Don't mess with the Rockets, Texas (or me). Just stay out of my way. Or you'll pay. Listen to what I say.

17 wins in a row. Rockets are 41-20. Playoff bound.
Dallas? Not so much.

This is an injustice!

This here blog has been operational for not quite four months now.

In that time, we've managed to dedicate about 35% of our time to telling you that Rafer Alston sucks (he does. He really, really does. Trust me.). We've also spent another 35-40% of our time telling you how much of a badass Yao Ming is (and in contrast, how much of a coward T-Mac has become).

That leaves about 25-30% of our time - which we dedicated to abstract, obscure and totally off-the wall pop culture references. Like... here. here. here. here. and here.

And yet, I see this completely unoriginal and obvious movie comparison link:

http://www.fannation.com/blogs/post/155059

and then I see that it has been linked by SI.com's "Hot Clicks" today.

Really? Comparing the Houston Rockets to Rush Hour 3? Not even Rush Hour 1 or 2? How obvious and unoriginal does one have to be? Yao is Chinese... ooh, that's new!

What about us?!?!?

Keep it up. Make Yao any angrier and the appropriate movie comparison will be this one:

THERE WILL BE BLOOD.




I smell an Academy Award. And a huge post-season.

Inconceivable! (Rockets/Kings)

The Rockets are slowly trying to kill me. I am starting to think that watching Rockets games is the modern evolved version of "The Machine" from The Princess Bride. Last night's game just sucked one year of my life away.

So allow me to explain... wait, there is too much. Allow me to sum up. The Rockets escaped and got lucky and won their 8th in a row. Barely.

Anyway, sticking with the theme - let's compare some characters from last night's game to the movie itself:

Tracy McGrady? Definitely Prince Humperdinck.

McGrady is the man in charge, with all the power and authority to play the game however he wants. And yet in the end, his cowardice seemingly overwhelms everything. Afraid to take the big shot, afraid to try to take the ball to the basket, afraid to make a decision.

Seriously, you pass the potential game-winner to Novak?!?!

Rick Adelman, definitely Inigo Montoya. Before he sobered up.

Adelman was definitely in the revenge business, trying to get even with the team that fired him two years ago. But leaving Steve Novak in for the entire fourth quarter -- while keeping both Scola AND Landry on the bench? That is his "I know something you don't know - I am not left-handed!" moment. Fortunately, Novak didn't kill him.

Yao... Fezzik. Is there really any other choice?

"Everybody MOVE!" Hell, I could even see Yao doing the rhyming thing on the bench. Anybody want a peanut? Problem is, like Fezzik, Yao was a little too slow in the post and didn't have time to hit anyone in the head with a rock. And yet he still finished with 25 and 14.

Ron Artest? The Count. Though I cannot verify that he has six fingers on his left hand. And yet I *can* be sure that someone is looking for him. The dude is crazy.

Artest's 4th Q last night was the equivalent of torture. Slow, plodding - and yet we could not stop him. I could definitely imagine him saying this to Rick Adelman last night after the Kings took that one point lead:

Crazy Pills: [Adelman stands up after getting stabbed by a knife thrown by Artest] Good heavens. Are you still trying to win? [Adelman falls back against the wall]

Crazy Pills: You've got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance. It's going to get you into trouble someday.

And yet... the Rockets won. Because of?

Steve Novak, the Man in Black.

He looked weak the whole 4th Q, and no one could explain why Inigo, er, Adelman needed him so much and was so stubborn in keeping him in the game. Then at some point, Novak took Miracle Max's pill... and had just enough strength left to sink the game-winning 3-pointer, win the game and save the day.

Rockets now head into the All Star break on an 8 game winning streak.

Yes, I know I left out Rafer from this story. I didn't want to include the kissing parts.

How many in a row is that?

For those that are more visually inclined... the Rockets have won this many games in a row:

ya see - even Robert Horry remembers where he came from and is rooting for us!

just 30 more in a row... and I can make the necessary Clerks joke!

37!?!?! In a row?!?

... oh hell yes!

An overview of my weekend

Last night... no Rockets game to watch. Naturally this led to the decision to drink heavily and play cards. Success!

Today... headache. Wake up at 10:30am, only to have to drag my ass to the office. And do some real, actual work. On a Saturday. Yup, and I'm gonna need to come in on Sunday, too it looks like (yeah, we didn't lose anyone, but I do need to play a little "catch up" before Monday). Maybe I can play a little Tetris while I am here (??).

Nevertheless, I will be making time to get home by 7:30pm so that I can sit on the couch and watch Yao and the gang destroy the Atlanta Hawks. Joe Johnson is an all-star? Maybe Tracy will show him what a real All Star looks like tonight.


Shawn Bradley - he shouldn't have been standing there! Ahhhh, the old Tracy McGrady. The one I hope shows up tonight. Go Rockets!

10 Things I Hate About You (Utah Jazz)

In light of Heath Ledger's surprising death this week...

Hey, FU - it is a really good movie. Anyway, here are 10 Things I Hate about the Utah Jazz:

1. Jerry Sloan.
Seriously, does anyone really like this guy? He's a complete bully. His players respect him only because he does know a lot about basketball, but there has to be a better way to get the message across. He constantly berates his own players, the referees, and even the fans. He encourages his players to flop and play dirty. He is homophobic and vengeful. I'm actually glad he's never won NBA Coach of the Year. Fuck him and the tractor he rode in on.

2. Karl Malone and John Stockton.

Yes, I threw a party the day Karl Malone retired. I admit it.

These two fuckers made me hate basketball for a long time. Hakeem, Otis, Horry and Clyde constantly had to deal with their dirty tactics and flopping. Karl Malone was the worst. He was a 6'9", 260 lb. power forward who would fall down, flail his arms and whine whenever a 6' tall, 180 lb. guard had the audacity to touch him. Pussy. Ask Isiah Thomas. Malone is a coward and a wuss.

Stockton gets a little more respect, but he was still pretty much everything that was wrong with basketball in the 90s. He had no problems throwing elbows, stepping on your feet... anything to get a slight advantage. If you tried his own tactics on him, he'd act like he got shot, fall down and bait dumbass referees into calling an offensive foul. Sam Cassell was dragged down by his jersey in the playoffs - but Stockton undercut him and got the foul called on Cassell. What a hypocrite. Damn I hate the Jazz.

3. Larry Miller.

Yeah, the owner. F him, too. He's always got a problem with something. And I can't overlook the Heath Ledger/Brokeback Mountain/Miller refusing to let it play in his theater issue, either. He was the enabler for Sloan, Malone and Stockton. And now he encourages dudes to stab blind men in the front for money. Speaking of...

4. Carlos Boozer.

If this were a college basketball blog, there'd be a few "I hate Duke, too" posts, but it is not. I can still hate Duke alums (you're cool though, Battier). Boozer, however deserves whatever bad things karma has waiting for him. Cleveland drafts you in the second round, they WANT to help you out and pay you more - even though they didn't have to. So what do you do? You agree to a contract verbally... then turn around and sign with Utah when Cleveland lets you out of your rookie deal. You, Boozer, are an asshole of the first degree. And you are one of the few things that make me regret having HDTV. You are one ugly mofo.

5. Game 7, May 2007.

This is more of a Tracy McGrady issue... but it also fed my continued hatred of Utah. Dammit Tracy, why couldn't you at least attempt a layup!?!?!

6. Shandon Anderson.

Ugh... 10 years later and you still annoy the piss out of me. You make a name for yourself by playing typical Utah Jazz basketball. Cheap, dirty and unncessarily physical. The worst part is that the Rockets had to sign you later just to avoid having to play against you. Which only served to backfire against us because you actually were never any good.

7. Game 6, June 1997.


Of course, what you don't see in this video is Malone tackling Drexler as he tries to guard Stockton. Naturally, the referees are asleep. Way to lose to the Bulls in the Finals though. Good job, Utah.

8. New Year's Eve parties.

I see this on Deadspin... Seems like a pretty fun party, huh? Exactly. The Jazz even find ways to fuck up what should be a totally kick-ass NYE party! The players actually got embarrassed by these pictures and made public statements that the party was tame and that family members, wives and kids were at this event... so very, very lame. You probably served punch and pie instead of alcohol, too, huh?

Yes, Kirilenko did not hook up with the girl in the photo. Even though he gets one free pass from his wife a year. Weak.

9. Your freakin' name.

The "Utah Jazz" were originally the New Orleans Jazz. Which makes sense. New Orleans... music... mardi gras... jazz. Seems like a good time. Then they move to Utah. And somehow *keep the same name*!?!?? There is no jazz in Utah. Your city is freakin' boring. I guess you just didn't have the creativity enough to come up with an original name. God your team and your city is lame.

10. Karl Malone.

I hate him so much he gets two mentions. Fuck you, Karl Malone.



Jimmy Kimmel's "Karl Malone" is probably smarter than the real one. Have fun hunting little mexican girls you oversized redneck.

Rockets v. Jazz - today at 6pm. Go Rockets!

Time for an 80's Mid Season Review!

Well, provided I get this up before 9:00PM CST today we will still be at the mid-season mark. The Rockets have had many ups and downs. They started the season 6-1 and had a 6 game winning streak going until 2 Saturdays ago. That's 12 wins, so the rest of the season they have gone 10-18, not exactly enough to get you in the playoffs in the Western Conference. That being said, from the very beginning of this blog Dave and I have asserted that this team will not completely gel until after the All Star break. You've seen signs of it as of late, 8 wins in the last 10, 10-5 in the last 15. For now though, the good guys are 22-19, 3 games over .500, 6.5 games out of first in the Southwest Division, and 2 games out of the playoffs. I stand by my prediction that they will be in the playoffs AND win at least the first round. I think when it is all said and done we get to the sixth seed. Now, let's get to some Mid-Season "Awards"

Since the Rockets have played like a bad 80s movie this year, I thought it only fitting to give out some awards that were created from some of my favorite moments/characters of the decade:

The Daniel LaRussa Award: For kicking ass when few give him any chance, even when he proves over and over that he’s “The Best Around”: Yao Ming, though he's busy practicing so he is unable to attend.

The Officer John McClane "yippe-kay-a mofo" Award: For being a complete bad ass: Yao Ming (Note: This is Yao's second award, he is really cleaning up)

The Ferris Bueller Lazy Man of the First Half Award: "I feel like taking the day off and everyone but a select few like my sister will still love me": Tracy McGrady

The Sloth Award: Goonies is one of my favorite movies and sloth is one of the all time greatest side kicks. He's there in the clutch at the end and always seems to make a difference when you least expect it: Shane Battier

The Darth Vader in Jedi Award: A "Beautiful black visage removed to reveal a feeble, crusty old white man": Shane Battier

The Gopher from Caddyshack Award: For being scrappy, resourceful, having the ability to annoy the shit out of other players, for being just plain bad ass and you could see singing “I’m Alright, Don’t Nobody Worry ‘Bout Me”: Luis Scola

The Jimmy Edwards Wizard Award: While short and young, Jimmy Edwards dazzled when no one thought he could do it. Against all odds/playing for Oregon and somehow not knocking up a cheerleader, he rode to the top: Aaron Brooks

The Mogwai Award: You think, what harm can it do, until you realize little things like it's name meaning Evil Spirit in Cantonese/has a history of being a fuck-up, it can't go near bright light/make layups, can't take a bath/hit three pointers and can't eat after midnight/not turn the ball over at crucial times: Rafer Alston

The Howard the Duck Award: Lots of hype as it was made by LucasFilm, unfortunately only had one good aspect, Lea Thompson/shooting while not being guarded, it bombed in every other way though/can't dribble, throw an entry pass: Luther Head

The Rad Award: Great movie when I was a kid, and Lori Laughlin turned a cheesy 80s movie into a long career. Much like our award winner has turned only being able to rebound into a few million dollars in the NBA: Chuck Hayes

The Tom Cruise in The Outsiders Award: For the guy who you think looking back; "How the hell did he end up being the biggest star of that group and we didn't realize it right away"? : Carl Landry

The Goose Award: For the guy who is a fantastic sidekick and is always there keeping his friend loose/laughing on the bench. A guy who you will be really be sad to see go: Dikembe Mutumbo

The Doc Brown Award: This is given to the craziest guy around, a guy who you aren't quite sure about until it all comes together in a time machine made out of a Delorean/champion: Daryl Morey

The Norman Dale Look-Alike Award: Coach Adelman, plus he has a drunk son/assistant coach just like Dale did in Shooter.

The drive for five... and maybe more

Four wins in a row. And counting.

Rockets face the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow night at the Toyota Center. Correction for emphasis: The 19-17 Rockets face the extremely awful and barely fit to be a NBDL team 5-29 Timberwolves tomorrow night.* The Rockets (barring Yao Ming being hijacked and taken back to China overnight) should be on a five game winning streak as of Saturday morning.

As Col. Jessup would say: Rafer, you're in charge. Private Head doesn't make 4-of-6 on his next 3-point Proficiency Report (i.e. tomorrow), and I'm going to blame you. And then, I'm going to kill you.

There is no freakin' way we should even let the Timberwolves finish within 10 points of us.

* Thanks for sending KG to the East Coast, Mr. McHale! Much appreciated!

Tracy has an ouchie

McGrady... hurt again. Possibly out for a week. Of course, T-Mac is being "cautious" about this new injury.


(though, I am tempted to ask him if he is "hurt" or if he is "injured" - as Coach Sam Winters explained the difference quite eloquently 14 years ago. If he's "hurt" he can still play.)

And what the hell is that he is reading in the trainer's room?? I'm surprised Tracy doesn't have pictures of his family around his bed - he's there often enough to make it a part-time office. Anything to make him feel more comfortable, right?

Of course, as much as I like making fun of McGrady for being the NBA equivalent of Mr. Glass, the fact of the matter is that the Rockets need him. The Rockets are 11-42 without McGrady since he joined the team in 2004. That's a pretty awful record (it actually looks like our game-by-game free throw numbers!). It's clear that McGrady's mere presence on the court is quite valuable to the team. If only he had the proper motivation.


I'm sure Les Alexander's figurative stock does not go up by a quarter of a point when McGrady is in a suit on the sidelines........

What do we do in his expected absence? Friday sends the Rockets to Memphis. If we can play the way we did the last time we faced the Grizzlies, we should be okay. Of course, McGrady was the ultimate distributor in that game. Without him, we now rely on Rafer and Stevie and our midget rookie. That could be ugly. I still say we chalk up a win Friday.

After that, Toronto and Golden State come to Houston. We should match up pretty well with Toronto. So long as we can neutralize Chris Bosh. Golden State is a matchup nightmare for us. Especially with no T-Mac. Don Nelson will likely expose the Rockets for what they are - the least athletic team in the NBA. We are young, but we have no athletes (except McGrady). How is it we've gone a decade without drafting at least one "live body" who can cut/slash to the basket and create offense for himself???

(note: we then go to Boston on the day after New Year's. Chalk up an "L".)

Anyway, by the time McGrady returns, I say we're staring at 2-2 without him, and 15-17 overall. There is still much work to be done.

You've all been naughty, but...

Christmas Eve. Santa and his elves are making last minute changes to the gift-giving lists. Who has been naughty? Who has been nice?

With a 13-15 record, good for 10th in the Western Conference, the Rockets certainly cannot expect "playoffs" to be found under their collective Christmas trees.
[insert Jim Mora rant here]

Nevertheless, it is the holiday season, and I should be in a good mood. With that in mind - here's the gifts I want to present to the Houston Rockets:

Yao Ming

A six-pack of Guinness. For you are going to need to develop a drinking problem to survive this season it appears.


Brilliant! (Oh, and Yao - ignore these guys' advice. DO drink 6 beers at the same time. It's good for ya!)

Shane Battier

For the whitest man I've ever seen, here's what you've been missing all these years. Dr. Dre with Snoop -- the Chronic.


Just don't offer Yao any gin and juice when he's busy drinking his Guinness.

Chuck Hayes

For the man with no hands, a pair of gloves. Some would even call them Mittens.
If anything this should hide what your hands look like right now...


Rafer Alston

Rafer... as much as I want to just give you $50 and a bus ticket and tell you to get the fudge out, I'll remain in the spirit of the season and give you the Better Basketball DVDs. Maybe you can learn fundamentals. This way you can then make an actual post pass to Yao when he's open!


Mike Bibby is like good and stuff. You, Rafer, are not (he's got a DVD instructional video - what do you have?!?)

Luis Scola

Uhhhh, a haircut? Nah, just kidding. For you, I give you season 1 of Family Guy. You might recognize one of the characters. You might seem to have something or ten in common.

and watch for this guy:

Rick Adelman

For you, our dear head coach, I am kind of stumped as to what to get for you this year. I don't know you that well, and I still sorta hold a grudge for you running JVG outta town. I also heard your son got busted for a DUI?? For you, I give you entry to a parenting seminar:

This might also come in handy when you have to give positive reinforcement to Stevie, Mike James and Chris Rock's little brother (Aaron Brooks)...... when you have to tell them that while you still love them, you won't be playing them very much.

Tracy McGrady

You, Tracy, I save for the last. For your gift is the most important, and also the most difficult to find. For you, T-Mac, I give you the Wizard of Oz on DVD. For you my friend need to find some courage. And fast. Or else you will be known as the Cowardly Lion in these here interwebs.


After you are done viewing the DVD, Tracy - I have already scheduled an afternoon where you and Travis Johnson can discuss the finer points of the movie. (God doesn't like ugly, by the way. I'm not sure about Santa's take on that trait.) You can then apply the heart/courage analogies to your professional life!

Merry Christmas, everyone!