"Durmstrang" is a flipped German expression, "sturm und drang," literally "storm and strife." It refers to a literary, musical, and artistic movement centered in Germany in the 18th century. "Sturm und drang" was a reaction against rationalism, emphasizing subjective experience, the creative ability of individuals, and veneration of nature.

Putting on my former-philosophy-major hat here, the LW's boyfriend experienced what ethical philosophers sometimes call a "superogitory" act, an act that goes beyond the normal ethical obligations. Strictly speaking, the host was not ethically obligated to repay the boyfriend, and the boyfriend would have been wrong to insist that the host repay him (which, of course, he didn't). Superogitory acts are in the same category as heroic acts: acts which go beyond what a normal person is expected to do. They're special cases, and they're tough to figure out because the normal ethical or etiquette rules don't apply.

A similar case would be if you accidentally broke a cherished vase at a friends house through no fault of your own (say, because you slipped on a wet spot on the floor). Nobody was really at fault in this situation, but the "best" thing to do would be to offer to replace or repay the owner of the vase, even though you aren't obligated to do so. The offer is the important part, and the vase owner can take you up on the offer or not. Offering to pay for the vase and expecting the owner to refuse you is, of course, pretty clearly disingenuous and wrong.

In the LW case, the host's offer to repay the $1000 was commendable, an above-and-beyond offer (i.e. superogitory), and the rest of the family's involvement needlessly complicated the situation, which should have been solely between the boyfriend and the host.

I agree with you 100% on seeding based on conference. I disagree with you that winning your NHL division means something.

At best, the division champion banner is meaningless, something for fans to cheer about and local columnists to jump on the bandwagon over. At worst, it messes with the playoff seedings by bumping good teams in strong divisions to lower seeds, possibly giving a playoff berth to an undeserving team (a mediocre team in a bad division).

I say eliminate the divisions in basketball and hockey, and just rank the teams based on conference, which is what matters at the end of the regular season anyway. Adjust the schedule accordingly. Regional rivalries will still exist (though I think the leagues overemphasize them), and it solves the problem of weak division champions gaining an arbitrary advantage.

I'd love to see England's 6-foot-7, 155-pound English striker Peter Crouch -- the guy who does the robot dance after he scores -- go shoulder to shoulder with Haslem, who's 6-8, 235.

I'd love to see that, too. Especially in the 70th minute, when Haslem has to lug his 235 pounds down the field for the umpteenth time, while Crouch is already upfield and ready to recieve a cross. There's a reason why soccer players don't look like NBA players: all that weight is a liability.

I know you're a (former?) hockey fan, King, and I know that you probably write about hockey more than your readership probably wants (which is never, apparently), but I'm just tired of hearing about how much the NHL is ignored. Trust me, we hockey fans know. We hear it every night on ESPN, or when any major sports columnist, or hell, even the Onion mentions hockey.

In case I forget that my favorite sport is the whipping boy of the sporting media, believe me, I'll be reminded of it when I go to watch a playoff game at a sports bar. Sometimes they don't even try to find the game, other times the staff will disinterestedly put it on the small screen in the corner. Even this invites insulting remarks from people nearby who were not paying attention to the early-season Royals-Devil Rays game. Here in San Francisco, the best hockey bars are for out-of-area teams (the Red Wings, primarily), not the Sharks.

It's apparently a source of boundless mirth, how unpopular the NHL is to you and the rest of the sporting world. But could you please just shut up about it? We get it. I don't expect anybody to get excited about the Stanley Cup playoffs. I don't expect you to devote any space to hockey in your column. I just want to enjoy my sport in peace, without hearing the same thing over and over and over again. It's really tiresome. I imagine it's how a really tall person feels, whenever they hear, "How's the weather up there?" or some other lame, obvious joke.