The sweat beads on the forehead have dried up, the shaky hands are finally calm, the nasty taste in the dry mouth has dissolved and the Alka-Seltzer, finally, after way too long, has kicked in.

	On the court, Shawn Kemp has struggled, but the Blazers have overcome.

For the Portland Trail Blazers, it seems, the hangover is gone.

The Trail Blazers, winners of eight straight, with a chance to accomplish the dual feat of winning a ninth in a row and cementing themselves as the best in the league when they play Eastern Conference power Philadelphia Wednesday night.

The topsy, turvy, tumultuous, titillating Trail Blazers, easy to praise and even more easy to condemn, because of who they are, who they should be and what they represent.

In a world of big money, they are the $10,000 bill, trumping all comers with a nearly $90 million salary structure that has folks like petty Phil Jackson preempting their championship by claiming they are "the best team money can buy," as if that is a goiter on the side of a very lovely face.

You'll notice that when Jackson knocked these same Blazers from the postseason last year, he didn't mention anything about the $121 million plus contract of Shaquille O'Neal or the $87 million contract of Kobe Bryant, like they were peasant farm workers who happened to stroll in out of the fields, pick up a basketball and knock Goliath upside the noggin with it.

As it turns out, that -- a loss to the Lakers in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals that Portland controlled up until the point they pulled an Exxon Valdez and spilled their oil all over the place -- was the reason for the aforementioned hangover, which this season never will be a DISTANT memory, but at least has dissipated some as the marathon reaches the 13.1 mile mark.

	Sabonis

	Davis

Early in the season, it was as if the Blazers simply could not get past that stunning, disheartening defeat, and each and every time something adverse happened, it was brought up, a felonious act that never gets wiped off the record.

It didn't help, of course, that Shawn Kemp came in top heavy, as well as bottom heavy and side heavy. It didn't help that Dale Davis wants a new contract, and the time on the court that is necessary to earn that. And it certainly did not help that center Arvydas Sabonis had not recovered from surgery on a knee that is supporting his 300-plus pounds.

Which is why this vast collection of multifaceted talent was about as consistent as one of those blood pressure machines (no charge) at your local pharmacy. (By the way, if you believe the readings on those things, you'll believe there is no rift between Shaq and Kobe.)

Throw in the fact that the Western Conference is, by all accounts, stronger than it EVER has been in the history of this league -- so much so that 11 of the 14 teams can legitimately make the playoffs, as opposed to the East, where just five SHOULD make the postseason -- and there is a reason the Blazers did not get off to the 45-11 start they Maurice Greened to last season.

It is, perhaps, the reason that the Blazers have been mentioned in every trade rumor this side of the Louisiana Purchase. But of all people, Trader Bob Whitsitt -- who reportedly is counseling George Bush on the merits of NAFTA -- preached patience, which is akin to The Pope telling us all to go out and whoop it up.

But even The Pope, apparently, likes to have fun -- wasn't that a Madonna song? -- and Trader Bob has proved an oracle, now that the Blazers are atop the Western Conference.

And let's face it, even though the West is the creme de la creme, it has its curdled parts. Shaq-Kobe is capable of becoming Hatfield-McCoy, the Spurs, even self-admittedly, are VERY good friends with Mr. Whipple and the Sacramento Kings have not proven over the course of an 82-game season that they are capable of playing defense -- although I hate to say anything negative about them, because they certainly do look imposing right now.

This is not to say the Blazers are immune to developing nasty, fleshy, pus-filled, inoperable warts.

Davis already had skipped a practice to iron the wrinkles out of his gambling skills in Vegas -- rumor has it his game of choice is seven-card stud, no peekie, the card after the Jack with the dagger wild.

Kemp has missed several practices, and if anybody is believing he simply sat down in a chair and fell asleep for 4 1/2 hours because of his new diet, I've got a pristine plot of land in Kamchatka that I'll sell you for real cheap. All I can say is, next time I'm in Portland, I'm asking the Reign Man where he buys his chairs, cause I gotta get myself one of those for Sunday afternoons watching John Tesh, the Vanilla Volcano.

	Stoudamire

	Wallace

And coach Mike Dunleavy's relationship with his players always is tenuous, particularly since there are so many skilled players on this team and only 240 minutes a night to go around -- which is kind of like being the unfortunate doling out the bread and water in Moscow when communism faltered.

But winning cures everything, and for now the Blazers are doing plenty of that. Rasheed Wallace isn't quite keeping quiet, but he certainly is playing well. Damon Stoudamire is running the offense and hitting his shots, including a confidence-building last-second deal that beat the Utah Jazz last week. Bonzi Wells may have supplanted Steve Smith as the long-term starter at shooting guard, which only makes this team stronger. And, perhaps most important, Sabonis is relatively healthy and playing well.

Most of us said it at the beginning of the season, that this Blazers team should finish off what they started -- and should have finished -- last season. Not that it makes us look like any kind of clairvoyant, given the talent level.

It was easy to jump off the bandwagon when they faltered, but in reality it only took some time. So I'll say it again: Get out the champagne.

Oh wait, one hangover with this team is enough.

Frank Hughes covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. He is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.