I'm not sure how many people are still following this, but I'll give it a shot anyhow :) This season I really wanted to stay closer to Andrea so I focused my attention on staying in the United States and trying to make the roster for an NBA D-League team. This past September I tried out for the Erie Bayhawks, an affiliate with the Orlando Magic, for a one day tryout in Erie, Pennsylvania. It was about a 10-hour drive from Portland, Maine, but Andrea came along and we had fun together. We stopped along the way and saw Niagara Falls - what a beautiful sight! I was invited to training camp and after two weeks of camp and multiple cuts to the roster, I officially made the squad. I'm living with one teammate in an apartment. All the guys on the team are in the same area so that's convenient. It has been a roller coaster as far as our wins and losses, but I feel we are growing together as a team. Right now we are 5-6 on the season with another two games this weekend. A big difference from playing overseas is the game schedule. Instead of playing one or two games a week like I did overseas, we are playing 2-4 games a week. I'm enjoying it and I'm looking forward to this weekend when I get to see Andrea since we are playing in Maine on Friday. The only thing is that we leave early the following morning to catch a flight for another game at home in the evening. That is not ideal, but it's what has to be done. According to the schedule there will be more of those quick turnarounds this season. Thanks for all the support for all of you who are out there.
Take care and God bless,
Mike
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Where does the road go from here?
Hello all,
It has been a crazy couple of weeks since my last post. Game 2 went into overtime and we came out victorious. They missed some close shots at the end and we sealed the deal with free throws. With us up 2-0, we only needed one more win to reach the finals...and a battle that would be. Games 3 and 4....and 5, did not go in our favor, however. It seemed like the beast woke up from its slumber and they were determined to win the fight. We got out-rebounded in games 3 and 4 - they were just the aggressors. Game 5 on the road was a tough one. We fought hard and didn't give up but ended up short in the end. So now what?
Well, the last few days have been good catching up with supporters and saying "good byes". It's always a difficult transition. I want to thank all those here in the Netherlands for their genuine support. And those back home, I couldn't do it without you. It has been an honor and a pleasure playing here the past two years. I don't know what next year will bring, but I wish you all the best. I leave tomorrow to go back to the states to see my lovely wife. This is a period where I usually "go dark" from social media for awhile, but I'm sure you will be hearing from me soon. It has been an amazing journey and time will tell what God has in store.
God bless,
Mike
It has been a crazy couple of weeks since my last post. Game 2 went into overtime and we came out victorious. They missed some close shots at the end and we sealed the deal with free throws. With us up 2-0, we only needed one more win to reach the finals...and a battle that would be. Games 3 and 4....and 5, did not go in our favor, however. It seemed like the beast woke up from its slumber and they were determined to win the fight. We got out-rebounded in games 3 and 4 - they were just the aggressors. Game 5 on the road was a tough one. We fought hard and didn't give up but ended up short in the end. So now what?
Well, the last few days have been good catching up with supporters and saying "good byes". It's always a difficult transition. I want to thank all those here in the Netherlands for their genuine support. And those back home, I couldn't do it without you. It has been an honor and a pleasure playing here the past two years. I don't know what next year will bring, but I wish you all the best. I leave tomorrow to go back to the states to see my lovely wife. This is a period where I usually "go dark" from social media for awhile, but I'm sure you will be hearing from me soon. It has been an amazing journey and time will tell what God has in store.
God bless,
Mike
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Into the semis
Since my last post we are now in the semi-finals. The first round was a little nerve-racking. We won our first game at home and then lost on the road in game 2. That brought us to a must-win game 3. It was definitely a suspenseful one and was decided in the last minutes of the game. We had a late steal and free throws to seal the deal. The win gave us high spirits going into the semis on the road against the 1st seed and my buddies Ross and Arvin. We came out aggressive and won. After no points in the first half, I hit some shots in the final quarters. I hit a baseline shot using the backboard that should not have gone in - God definitely had his hand in that one. The second game of the series is tonight and it will be a battle. Until next time...
Take care and God bless,
Mike
Take care and God bless,
Mike
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Playoff picture
Hello friends and family,
I hope this finds you all well. The regular season is all over and we finished in 4th position with home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs that start Thursday. It's only the best-of-3 games for the first round so every game counts. We have been playing well as a team as of late. We made it to the cup final a number of weeks ago but lost. However since that game it seems like we have been playing well as a team.
Our last regular season game was a thriller. The winner determined who would be the 4th seed in the playoffs. It was close for most of the game, but we ended up winning by four. God came through in a big way and I hit a three-pointer to put us up by one with about 1:30 left to play. The guys put in a great effort.
I'm glad to hear it's finally becoming spring back in the states after about 7 months of winter. :) It's been beautiful weather over here as well for the most part. Other than ball, I've still been playing as much music as I can and reading to relax as well.
I will let you know how the playoff picture goes.
Take care and God bless,
Mike
I hope this finds you all well. The regular season is all over and we finished in 4th position with home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs that start Thursday. It's only the best-of-3 games for the first round so every game counts. We have been playing well as a team as of late. We made it to the cup final a number of weeks ago but lost. However since that game it seems like we have been playing well as a team.
Our last regular season game was a thriller. The winner determined who would be the 4th seed in the playoffs. It was close for most of the game, but we ended up winning by four. God came through in a big way and I hit a three-pointer to put us up by one with about 1:30 left to play. The guys put in a great effort.
I'm glad to hear it's finally becoming spring back in the states after about 7 months of winter. :) It's been beautiful weather over here as well for the most part. Other than ball, I've still been playing as much music as I can and reading to relax as well.
I will let you know how the playoff picture goes.
Take care and God bless,
Mike
Monday, March 3, 2014
Quality time
Hello everyone,
I appreciate you keeping up with me although I have not done well at keeping up with this blog. Andrea was able to come and visit for another week and just left yesterday. It sure is tough to let her go. The days are getting longer though with more daylight in the evenings so I know it won't be long until I see her again. Since my last post I was also able to spend some time with Ross. After our game against each other a few weeks back he stayed over. We had some great conversations that I will always remember.
We have been doing alright in league play. We are still in 6th place, but we are only two games from 4th place. This past weekend we had a tough loss. Overtime was needed to decide the outcome against the 2nd place team in the league. To top it off we lost by a three-pointer at the buzzer. Unfortunately, that is how it goes sometimes. We just have to keep pressing forward.
Tomorrow we have a semi-final game for the Dutch Cup. It is a two-game series decided by point difference. I will let you know how it goes.
I hope all is well with you.
Take care and God bless,
Mike
I appreciate you keeping up with me although I have not done well at keeping up with this blog. Andrea was able to come and visit for another week and just left yesterday. It sure is tough to let her go. The days are getting longer though with more daylight in the evenings so I know it won't be long until I see her again. Since my last post I was also able to spend some time with Ross. After our game against each other a few weeks back he stayed over. We had some great conversations that I will always remember.
We have been doing alright in league play. We are still in 6th place, but we are only two games from 4th place. This past weekend we had a tough loss. Overtime was needed to decide the outcome against the 2nd place team in the league. To top it off we lost by a three-pointer at the buzzer. Unfortunately, that is how it goes sometimes. We just have to keep pressing forward.
Tomorrow we have a semi-final game for the Dutch Cup. It is a two-game series decided by point difference. I will let you know how it goes.
I hope all is well with you.
Take care and God bless,
Mike
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Holidays with the wifey
Hello friends and family,
Since my last post we were 3-1. We won our last EuroChallenge game but didn't win enough games to move on to the second round. We had a game on the second Christmas day (Dec. 26th) and didn't play well. Our opponent was a solid team but it's unfortunate we didn't give them our best fight. Our next game is home this Saturday.
Andrea was here to visit for about 10 days so that was amazing. On Christmas Eve we went to church together. I really miss being able to go to church with Andrea. Also we went to Barcelona for five days and that was a lot of fun. By walking around and taking the Metro we saw a lot of the city. One of the funnest things we did was take a cooking class and learn how to make paella and sangria. It's so much fun being able to travel with Andrea.
For two day we also got to see Ross, his wife, Carli, and Arvin up in Groningen. That was great being able to spend quality time with them. Andrea and I also got to spend quality time with friends here in Leiden. Overall, the time went too quickly for Andrea being here - as it always does - but we had a wonderful time together.
That's all for now. I hope all of you are doing well.
God bless,
Mike
Since my last post we were 3-1. We won our last EuroChallenge game but didn't win enough games to move on to the second round. We had a game on the second Christmas day (Dec. 26th) and didn't play well. Our opponent was a solid team but it's unfortunate we didn't give them our best fight. Our next game is home this Saturday.
Andrea was here to visit for about 10 days so that was amazing. On Christmas Eve we went to church together. I really miss being able to go to church with Andrea. Also we went to Barcelona for five days and that was a lot of fun. By walking around and taking the Metro we saw a lot of the city. One of the funnest things we did was take a cooking class and learn how to make paella and sangria. It's so much fun being able to travel with Andrea.
For two day we also got to see Ross, his wife, Carli, and Arvin up in Groningen. That was great being able to spend quality time with them. Andrea and I also got to spend quality time with friends here in Leiden. Overall, the time went too quickly for Andrea being here - as it always does - but we had a wonderful time together.
That's all for now. I hope all of you are doing well.
God bless,
Mike
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Up and down we go looking for the straightaway
Dear friends and family,
Since my last post we have been up and down. We won our home game against a team at the bottom of our league, but we played poorly. Then we were on the road in Denmark for another EuroChallenge game. With an amazing 4th quarter we got the lead and ended up winning by two. That was a great win and made the 10-hour bus ride back to Leiden a little better. With another game on the road for our next game we faced the team in first place in our league. We didn't come to play with our fire and lost. Another EuroChallenge game was up next. We fought hard against a strong French team but lost by eight. Our next game is on Saturday at home against Rotterdam. The hard-nosed play we showed in those EuroChallenge games needs to translate over to our league games. That consistency is what we need.
In other news, I finally got back to the music school to play the drums the other night. I really enjoyed that because it's been too long since I've played. Also, a young guy on our team, Yannick, went to play for another team in our league. I wish him the best with the next chapter in his life.
God bless,
Mike
Since my last post we have been up and down. We won our home game against a team at the bottom of our league, but we played poorly. Then we were on the road in Denmark for another EuroChallenge game. With an amazing 4th quarter we got the lead and ended up winning by two. That was a great win and made the 10-hour bus ride back to Leiden a little better. With another game on the road for our next game we faced the team in first place in our league. We didn't come to play with our fire and lost. Another EuroChallenge game was up next. We fought hard against a strong French team but lost by eight. Our next game is on Saturday at home against Rotterdam. The hard-nosed play we showed in those EuroChallenge games needs to translate over to our league games. That consistency is what we need.
In other news, I finally got back to the music school to play the drums the other night. I really enjoyed that because it's been too long since I've played. Also, a young guy on our team, Yannick, went to play for another team in our league. I wish him the best with the next chapter in his life.
God bless,
Mike
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