American Flight 442, bound for Miami, made an emergency landing at LAX today after the pilot "reported smoke and the smell of fuel in the cockpit." Egads. All passengers are safe, according to CBS 5/AP, but it seems that "the plane was carrying hazardous material in its forward cargo area," which... isn't that unusual? Anyway, whether or not the material was the source of the smoke has yet to be confirmed. This brings up......

American Airlines flights leaving the San Francisco area will soon be testing an in-flight program that eschews cash. From Sept. 10-Sept. 30, certain flights from the carrier will allow you to purchase cool stuff like $3 headphones and $[way too much] snacks using your major credit or debit card--and ONLY those cards. No legal tender allowed....

"Ain't nothin' but a ballgame fellas, ain't nothin' but a thing."

That's probably what Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson were telling their teammates Tuesday night on the flight home to Oaktown after letting the Dallas Mavericks slip the hangman's knot in game 5, 118-112.

With the series now a little tighter at 3-2 in favor of the Warriors, the C word (choke) hangs over Tuesday's bobble like Adonal Foyle's contract against the Warriors salary cap. We're still seeing all this as a win-win though. Game 5 was an incredible game for playoff-starved Warriorphiles. Both teams played spirited ball. The Mavericks faced down elimination from the very brink of defeat. The Warriors had a chance to close out their opening round best-of-seven playoff series with the Mavs, but couldn't quite pull it off. The game featured great defense, clutch shots, a little intrigue (again), last-second heroics, and playoff drama -- everything a hoops fan expects from the postseason.