“Do you have any kind of funny taste in your mouth?” the doctor asks, his voice soft. He is peering into the face of Rudy Tomjanovich, 29-year-old starting forward for the Houston Rockets. The four-time all-star is lying in the emergency room of a Los Angeles hospital. The date is Dec. 9, 1977.

Yes, Tomjanovich says. It’s very bitter. What is it?

“Spinal fluid,” comes the soft reply. “You’re leaking spinal fluid from your brain.”

That’s simultaneously awesome and awful!