I woke up a few days ago and saw that I had a new e-mail from my mom. Not entirely unusual; I think she mastered the art of electronic communication a few months ago. Still, pretty rare.

What was unusual was that the e-mail was a forward from a Google alert she received on “Michael Lazarus.” Somehow, she figured out how to set up a Google alert system so she could keep track of my Daily articles and columns. (For some reason, she’s interested in my suggestions on how to improve IM Sports or how the rain is impacting a men’s tennis match. Powerful stuff, I know).

Pretty impressive, considering this is the same woman who can’t figure how to use the tabs on her web browser — or that there are web browsers other than Internet Explorer, for that matter.

The story gets weirder, though. The alert was from Twitter. Not only do I not have a Twitter account, I don’t believe my mom knows what the word “tweet” means. Yet a man named Michael Lazarus has a Twitter account.

The fact that there is another Michael Lazarus out there is not surprising. On the block I grew up on, there was a Michael Lazarus who lived five houses away. I’m told he received a few teddy bears on my birthdays.

But this is where the story gets downright creepy. The topic the other Michael Lazarus was tweeting about? Pac-10 basketball — a topic I regularly cover in this column. His most recent tweet: “I’m now convinced the Pac-10 is finishing in a 10-way tie at 9-9.”

My most recent column: “The Pac-10 has so underperformed (or met expectations, depending on who you ask) that most likely the only conference team who will receive a bid to March Madness will be the winner of the Pac-10 postseason tournament.”

In other words, the Pac-10 will beat each other up and only send one team to the NCAA tournament. Or, in the other Michael Lazarus’ words, “a 10-way tie at 9-9.”

So there is another guy out there, with my name, writing on the same things I do, coming to the same conclusions I make. Only he’s doing it on one of the biggest social network sites in the world and I’m — well, other than my mom, I have no idea how many people actually read my columns.

So who is this guy?

Based on his profile picture, he looks to be a middle-aged, balding white man. His Twitter bio says he lives in Los Angeles and is the Sports Product Manager at Yahoo! He is a “crazy college basketball fan and dad-to-be soon.”

Seems like a cool dude.

This is where the story comes full circle. I think I may be looking at myself in 20 years, and you know what, I kind of like what I’m seeing. Good job, a family, love of sports — sign me up. It definitely beats a lot of other possibilities.

I really don’t know what a Sports Product Manager does, but it can’t be that bad. I like all three of those words. Plus, doesn’t Yahoo! have an all-you-can-eat buffet in its headquarters? I could get used to that.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Should I really be basing my life decisions off of some guy if the only connection I have to him is reading his Twitter account for five minutes?

Umm . . .

I don’t have an answer for that. All I know is other than male-pattern baldness and living in L.A., that Michael Lazarus is a decent aspiration for this Michael Lazarus. And if you’re listening, Mr. Lazarus, keep on tweeting, and if you feel like retweeting my column, it would be much appreciated.
Are you Mike Lazarus’ mother? If not, let him know that you too are reading at mlazarus “at” stanford.edu.