Three years ago, at right about this time of year, I was with my wife in the Italian city of Perugia. It's a great place. First of all, it's built right on top of a mountain, which affords it excellent views of the surrounding Umbrian countryside. Second of all, it's home to a couple universities -- including one specifically for foreign students -- which gives the city a cosmopolitan air greater than its otherwise modest population might suggest. And third, it features the Corso Vannucci and Piazza IV Novembre, great public spaces that allow for a late-afternoon constitutional or just some outdoor relaxation.

It was into the latter of those (i.e. the Piazza) that my wife and I walked on the afternoon of January 5th and where we were struck by what, as an American, I'm prepared to call an odd sight: a giant, ugly witch walking around and handing out Vin Brulè -- or, what Americans might call "mulled wine." Of course, it wasn't an actual giant witch -- just someone dressed as a giant witch -- although I'm not sure that made it any less strange for us.

Now, here's the thing about being a stranger in a strange land: while this wine-toting witch was definitely bizarre to my wife and I, it was almost impossible to tell -- at first, at least -- if this was strange to the Italian people who surrounded us. As no one was running and/or screaming away from the her -- that, and the fact that she was serving free wine -- I decided she couldn't be all bad. Still, that didn't really explain anything.

As it turns out, the witch is/was La Befana, an old woman who, according to the infallible Wikipedia, "delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5) in a similar way to Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus." Any American reading this will know that Epiphany Eve isn't exactly a big deal here in the States. For Italians, though, it's a real-live holiday. And while that's not saying a lot -- I mean, basically everyday is a party in Italy -- it did make me think: Really anything can be cause for a holiday.

I was thinking about this in the context of NBA basketball. I mean, if there were a country whose holidays were exclusively NBA-related, what would they be? Which would be the most important? There are probably a whole bunch, but here's where I'd start:

March
NCAA Tournament
Sure, it's not an NBA event proper, but this is where fans can watch future NBA-ers at work and begin to dream about "what might be" come the NBA Draft.

Mid-April
First Round, NBA Playoffs
Of course, the entirety of the playoffs is a good time, but the first round is particularly exciting both for the quantity of games and also the new-found intensity of the players.

Mid-May
NBA Draft Lottery
"The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune": that's what some teams and their fans must prepare to suffer on this day. Three years ago, despite finishing with the league second-worst winning percentage (.293), the Boston Celtics got stuck with the fifth pick. The Blazers and Sonics benefited, picking Oden and Durant with the first and second picks, respectively.

Late June
NBA Draft
"Hope is the thing with feathers," says Emily Dickinson. Maybe that's true. But during the NBA Draft, hope is the giant tall person shaking hands with David Stern. Unless you're a Pistons fans, that is. Darko Milicic anyone?

Early-October
NBA Preseason Begins
Even intelligent fans -- that is, those who know enough to understand that preseason performance isn't necessarily predictive of regular season performance -- can't help but start dreaming when a second round pick or journeyman free agent goes off for 30 points or 15 rebounds on October 17th.

Late-October/Early-November
Season Begins
It's New Year's Day in mid-autumn.


And though it might not be worth its own holiday, here's my pick sheet for Week 12 of the Pick One season:

Date: Monday, January 11, 2010
Player: A.J. Price - IND
Opposition: vs Toronto
2009-2010 Averages: 6.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1.7 APG (18.4 PRA)
General Thoughts: There are like 10 picks I'd like to make tonight. Danny Granger and Troy Murphy are both back and are home against Toronto. Kenyon Martin and Chauncey Billups both make decent plays versus Minnesota. None of which is even to mention the fact Oklahoma City plays host to the Knicks, making James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and even Jeff Green all relevant. So who'm I picking? Indiana rookie A.J. Price. With T.J. Ford absent from the rotation, the 52nd pick in last year's draft is providing PRA of late.

Date: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Player: Randy Foye - WAS
Opposition: vs Detroit
2009-2010 Averages: 8.4 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 1.8 APG (11.8 PRA)
General Thoughts: Mid-season roster turnover is rarely a positive thing for a team. For the Challenger, though, it's typically of great benefit. Case in point: the Washington Wizards. Lead Man Gil Arenas is out indefinitely. Guard Mike Miller has recently re-aggravated his calf injury. But Randy Foye -- Randy Foye's making the most of his opportunity. As of Sunday afternoon, his two most recent PRAs have been 35 and 30, respectively. He's the starting point guard for the Wizards, and he has little in the way of immediate competition.

Date: Wedneday, January 13, 2010
Player: Danny Granger - IND
Opposition: vs Phoenix
2009-2010 Averages: 24.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.5 APG (32.7 PRA)
General Thoughts: I reserve the right to change tonight's pick to Willie Green, Scoring Machine, but with Iverson's status uncertain for the moment, I have to abstain from that for the time being. Instead, let's looks to Indiana, where two of the Pacers' most important players have recently made their respective, triumphant returns. I'm going with Granger, on account of I feel like Murphy's greatest asset -- being a jump-shooting big man -- might be neutralized to some degree by Phoenix's athletic big men.

Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010
Player: Kendrick Perkins - CHI
Opposition: vs Chicago
2009-2010 Averages: 12.4 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.2 APG (21.8 PRA)
General Thoughts: Is it wrong to hope that someone remains injured? I hope not, because Perkins' Pick One success is predicated to some degree on the status of the injured Kevin Garnett. Garnett's most recent game was 12/28 at Golden State. In the five games since, Perkins has averaged 25 PRA -- i.e. about 3 PRA above his season average. Chicago's not necessarily an ideal matchup -- Joakim Noah is a good defender and excellent rebounder -- but opportunity is calling and I'm not letting it go to voicemail.

Date: Friday, January 15, 2010
Player: Nate Robinson - NYK
Opposition: vs Toronto
2009-2010 Averages: 13.0 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 3.2 APG (18.6 PRA)
General Thoughts: Two weeks ago, Robinson wasn't even part of the Knicks' rotation. Coach Mike D'Antoni, for reasons semi-unknown, had relegated Krypto Nate to the deepest, darkest corner of the bench while simultaneously giving playing time to the likes of Jared Jeffries and Jonathan Bender. Now, I actually like Bender quite a bit, but his basketballing resume has some holes in it. For whatever his faults, Robinson produces. Given the minutes, that's what he should do tonight. I'm saying about 23-25 PRA.

Date: Saturday, January 16, 2010
Player: Antawn Jamison - WAS
Opposition: vs Sacramento
2009-2010 Averages: 22.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.0 (31.4 PRA)
General Thoughts: Tonight's slate brings one thing to our attention: Almost the entire Detroit roster is nursing an injury of some description. Will Bynum, Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Tayshaun Prince: as of Sunday afternoon, all have missed time within the last game or two. Nor is it clear when any of them will return, which is what makes it difficult to pick any of them tonight against the Knicks. I'll go with Jamison instead. He's the team leader in Gil Arenas's absence. He should be good for about 34-36 PRA tonight.

Date: Sunday, January 17, 2010
Player: Jason Terry - DAL
Opposition: at Toronto
2009-2010 Averages: 16.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 3.6 APG (22.2 PRA)
General Thoughts: Some posters in the Pick One forum have been vocal recently about the degree to which Challengers simply follow my, the "Expert's", picks. Maybe that's true. But sometimes -- like tonight, for example -- the exact opposite is true, or at least seems to be true. For example, as of the afternoon of Sunday the 10th, Jason Kidd has been selected at a rate of 17%. But he's a good pick. I mean, who's gonna guard him? Jarrett Jack? Jose Calderon? Hmmm, not so much, is my guess. I'm totally on board with picking -- except for the fact that I already did. So I'm going with Terry instead.

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