Last year, I reached the finals of the San Francisco Comedy Club's annual competition. While I didn't place, I was pleased with my performance and appreciative of the large crowd. You could say I was just happy to be there.

This phenomenon exists in sports, particularly the NBA. This year, Cleveland had a celebration and trophy presentation on the court after they won the Eastern Conference championship, as if there wasn't an additional playoff round yet to play. They all wore Eastern Conference Champions t-shirts and Eastern Conference Champions caps while the owner made a tearful speech holding the Eastern Conference Champions trophy. Then, the Cavs lost four straight games in the NBA Finals.

My Finals appearance last year was reminiscent of the 2002 New Jersey Nets. They made great strides that year to become a serious contender, then were blown out by the Lakers in the Finals. I like to think I combine many attributes of those Nets: the pallor of Keith Van Horn, the checkered, drug-riddled past of Kenyon Martin, the successful romantic relationships of Jason Kidd, and the speed and agility of Todd MacCulloch.

Like the Nets did that year, I ran into a juggernaut in the finals. The tough duo of Mike E. Winfield and Nico Santos was like a shorter, gayer version of Shaq and Kobe. Second-place finisher Debbie Campo played the Robert Horry role: normally a solid performer, but unstoppable once the Finals arrive.

I hope that this year is more like 2003, where the playoffs were wide open and the Nets returned to the Finals. Of course, they still didn't win, but they did take two games in the Finals. That's what I'm looking to accomplish: make a strong showing, build my fan base, and then trade for Dikembe Mutombo and announce plans to move to Brooklyn.

The show is on Wednesday at 8 PM, at the SF Comedy Club at 50 Mason. Tickets are $10, and the field includes such local luminaries as Mo Mandel, Joe Tobin, Chris Garcia, Ali Mafi, Patrick Bulger and at least seven others. Yes, last year's problem of too many comics in the finals has not been solved, as rumors persist that the Finals field will include some comics who failed to advance out of the semi-finals. Let's hope the field is no larger than last year's group of 14. After all, a twelve-man roster was good enough for the 2003 New Jersey Nets.