The Slice: Get your slam dunk excuses right here

Think you might need an excuse for your performance at Hoopfest?

Feel free to borrow one.

“My shorts didn’t feel right.”

“I was worried about damaging the self-esteem of the guy guarding me.”

“My wife is a witch and her mother put a spell on me that made me miss all my shots.”

“My teammates lack court vision.”

“I spent too much time as a kid doing homework and getting good grades.”

“It turns out I’m a bad basketball player.”

One advantage of a staycation vs. a go-somewhere vacation: You don’t have to keep saying, “Actually, Spokane is not near Seattle” and “Our area doesn’t really get all that much rain.”

You know the coals aren’t quite ready out back: When a smoke-spotting neighbor knocks on your front door, worried that your house is on fire.

21 mostly obscure movies with “Lake” in their titles: 1. “The Lake House.” 2. “Bunny Lake is Missing.” 3. “Zombie Lake.” 4. “Lake Placid.” 5. “Barbie of Swan Lake.” 6. “Fever Lake.” 7. “Lake Dead.” 8. “Lake Tahoe.” 9. “Lady in the Lake.” 10. “Lake of Fire.” 11. “The Secret of Hidden Lake.” 12. “The Goddess of Lost Lake.” 13. “Mosquito Lake.” 14. “Eden Lake.” 15. “The Lake Effect.” 16. “Pirates of the Great Salt Lake.” 17. “A Month by the Lake.” 18. “Lake City.” 19. “Lunker Lake.” 20. “Paradox Lake.” 21. “Three Sisters on Moon Lake.”

Warm-up question: Do you think certain HBO subscribers will steer clear of the new series “Hung” for much the same reason some people are threatened by politicians who clearly are smarter/more sophisticated than they are?

Today’s Slice question: What’s going to be your second-half-of-the-year resolution?