Mario, I Hardly Knew (it was) Ye...

One night several years ago, after a game against Houston, a friend and I went to the Fifth Quarter broadcast at Tony Roma's. While finishing my last of several beers, I got into a discussion with a guy about who would win next time the two teams faced, which was just a couple nights away. The guy was very nice, had a great sense of humor, and looked at me the whole time with an odd expression on his face, almost as if he thought I was pretending not to recognize him. It struck me as especially strange when I said that the Blazers would beat the Rockets and he said, "Naw, we gonna spank 'em." We talked smack for a few minutes, laughing and joking, then I said "good night" and headed out the door. As my friend and I pulled out of the parking lot, I said, "Damn, that dude looked familiar." He said, "That was Mario Elie." I asked him why he didn't tell me, he said that he thought I already knew. I wanted to turn around and go back in, but we were already out in traffic and on our way. I still kick myself for not recognizing him.