We start at 1:30, the first luncheon gets underway. We get into the Scottish stuff and into a wee bit of scotch.

You're a little shocked. You're a little disappointed. I even got angry at first. But then you have to start thinking about the person. Bird obviously needs some help in dealing with this situation, so then you start having compassion for him as a person. You stop thinking about the basketball part of it.

He's a wee bit more mature [this season]. Like everyone else, when you start a new season, your on-field play is the only thing that counts.

As we get closer to the mid- to late-fourth quarter and even the first quarter, we'll start to see how much rebuilding we need. The next big move is going to be up, and it is going to be related to the hurricane.

But as to its impact on our operational effectiveness and what's already underway here, it's negligible.

This gets 2006 off to a superb start.