Two clues gave away that this is indeed a special day for Ronny.  The first?  Even by his standards, Turiaf had a little extra spring in his step walking around the locker room before the game.  The second?  The chocolate birthday cake with "Happy Birthday Ronny" written on it.  Looked delicious, too.  I asked Sasha, who's locker is next to Ronny's, if he thought cake would be a good pregame snack.  "Ronny on a sugar rush?  I don't know if he needs it," he said.  Then Sasha revealed something potentially interesting about Turiaf: the guy isn't afraid to down a little coffee before a game. 

Could this be the secret to Turiaf's now legendary energy?  Could his pep be- gulp!- artificially enhanced?  Is Ronny Turiaf a juicer?

"I have one cup, cream and sugar," he said.  Whew.  I was worried the guy mainlined espressos or something.  As if on cue, Lamar Odom walked buy, carrying a cup of his own, further validating the legitimacy of Ronny's habit.  So fans, worry not.  The Energizer Bunny is pure as the driven snow. 

Other notes:

• Big days for LO and Luke Walton, who both saw their teams (Giants, Chargers respectively) advance in the playoffs this afternoon.  "I called it three times last week," said Odom, who had an Antonio Pierce jersey hanging in his locker.  Walton, like most Chargers fans, loudly assumed the refs were trying to cheat the Bolts, especially on that Cromartie interception returned nullified by a penalty. 
• No Vlad, no Sasha tonight.  Vujacic isn't sure he'll make the trip to Seattle, either, since it might not be good for his back.  He attributes the back trouble to the ankle injury, which caused him to change his stride, move differently, etc.  Certainly a good theory.  I just told him he's getting old.  "I know," he smiled.  "23?  I'm not so young anymore."
• Inactives tonight: Mihm, Vlad for the Lakers.  Brian Cardinal, Casey Jacobsen for the Grizzlies. 
• Interesting audio tonight, in which PJ talks about Kwame (what you hear at the beginning of the clip is in reference to 54, but is only half of the answer PJ provided- I had some tech problems at the start of the media session), as well as how they'll monitor Drew's minutes.  Right now, Jackson said, he's just too productive to take out of the starting lineup.  He also talks about the small forward situation.  Not too much new there, but given how things are going, Jackson said he doesn't think he'll mess with the formula too much. Download phil_jackson_1.13 preMEM.mp3

No AK tonight, so it's just me.  I'll try to keep things moving smoothly, though.

BK