What a strange and wonderful week for the Vancouver Grizzlies.

They saw their record rise 125 percentage points, all the way to, well, .125 for one brief and shining moment. Sure, it was only one win. But when you've lost your first seven by blowout margins, any win is cause for celebration.

Along with a near-record lack of team scoring, a franchise record for individual scoring, and a B.C. boy coming home to a thunderous ovation, the strange week continued with lightning, a solar eclipse and a snowstorm.

Sure, the storm was in Vancouver while the game was played in Seattle, but your faithful servant had to drive through it to get to the game. And the eclipse is just one of those cheap sports metaphors. But there really was honest to goodness lightning. And a thunderous ovation.

Against the Clippers, Vancouver raced out to a 20-point lead and figured the only way they could lose was through divine intervention. Bingo. During the first of two overtimes, mighty Zeus sent forth a bolt of lightning so great as to render GM Place in total darkness, save for the auxiliary lights.

But this being the NBA, the show must go on. Playing in minimal lighting, the Grizzlies got their paws Clipped 99-92 in double OT.

Not one to use darkness as an excuse, Blue Edwards said, ``It was great. It's like being on the playground at 12 o'clock at night.''

The Grizz picked up their first win of the youngish season against the likewise winless Suns, led by Victoria's own Steve Nash. With the crowd clearly behind the only Canadian on the court, it was almost like a home game for the visitors. But as then-Phoenix head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons said, ``We're not very good at home, either.''

Suns forward Robert Horry understood the fans' fascination. ``It's supposed to be like that,'' he said. ``He's Canadian. He's in his homeland. He's supposed to get some props.''

Once the game started, the terrible two combined for the second-fewest points in a second quarter in NBA history. But when all was said and done, Edwards cast a mammoth shadow over the Suns (hence the witty solar eclipse reference above) and willed his team to victory, with a Grizzlies record 34 points on 12-for-14 shooting.

Fan favorite, but seldom used, Lawrence Moten went for 20 points, including the winning three-pointer. Still, Edwards couldn't help getting in a good-natured jab at the man they call Poetry. ``We get on Moten a lot because he's the kind of guy who gets the ball and passes up a lot of shots,'' he said. ``He's gotta go through his (routine), between his legs. I'm like: `Lawrence, just catch and shoot the gol-darn ball.' Only he didn't say gol-darn. We now have a pretty good idea why they call him Blue.''

The Grizz dropped a 104-96 decision in Salt Lake City before their 10-point loss to the Sonics.

Going nine minutes without a field goal at one point, Vancouver still managed to stay close to last season's Western Conference champs. But 25 turnovers didn't help.

Edwards chalked it up to inexperience.

``Seattle is illegal every time,'' he said, referring to their supposed defensive prowess. ``All they do is double and trap everything. They want to get you to play in a hurry. If you do that, you play right into their hands.''

Vancouver has been playing into a lot of opponents' hands this year. But in this very strange week, the fans found a little ray of hope. Losing to the Clippers, Jazz and Sonics by a grand total of 25 points, the Grizzlies are showing signs of life. Throw in the three-point win over Phoenix, and they're not even the worst in the league.

Strange and wonderful, indeed.

Spirit of the West will appear regularly throughout the NBA season.