Honorary turkey day

I will give you a brief update on our last game this past Wednesday. The outcome was not in our favor and we trailed for the whole game. The closest we came was within four points, but we couldn't close in on their lead any more than that. I shot the ball poorly, to put it bluntly. I had opportunities to lessen the opponent's lead while we were gaining momentum, but I couldn't close the deal. That's part of the game I guess, but it doesn't help with the frustration factor.

On a better note, we got to have a little Thanksgiving dinner. Tyronn's fiance was here visiting for two weeks and she cooked some authentic New Orleans food with gumbo and jambalaya . It was amazing to have a home-cooked meal. Then the team had a little surprise. Coach wanted us at the restaurant for a team meal later that day. We thought it was going to be the usual meat and potatoes meal, but we arrive to see a huge cooked turkey. They did it just for Thanksgiving and essentially for Tyronn and me. That was very thoughtful and I couldn't stop thanking them for that. My teammates were saying that Tyronn or I had to cut the turkey so I put my vote in for Tyronn because, to be honest, I never had the honor of cutting the turkey. My dad or mom had always done it. My plight for Tyronn to do the cutting did not last long because all of a sudden my teammates starting chanting my name for me to do the honors. Realizing I was outnumbered, I gave in. While I was cutting, the owner of the restaurant comes up to me and asks me if it's prepared well because he said, "We didn't know how to prepare it so we looked on the internet." I thought that was great. Needless to say, I have not eaten that good in a long, long time. Overall, it was a good Thanksgiving although nothing can replace the day spent with friends and family.

We play again tomorrow at home so hopefully we can get back on track.

Take care and God bless

Out of the smoke, back on the court

Well it's already been over a week since I wrote last and I have two games to catch you up on. Unfortunately, my ankle was swollen and not in the best shape after I played limited minutes in our game on Saturday the 13th. Therefore I didn't play in our game that following Wednesday. The team we played wasn't supposed to be very good so coach wanted me to sit and rest for our game against a strong opponent the next Saturday. It was a strange feeling because I can't remember the last time I missed a game (maybe high school). And to top it off I had to leave the game early for a doctor's appointment that could not be rescheduled. The game was taking longer than expected so to not make a scene and walk across the court during the game I didn't sit on the bench for the second half. I sat in the stands near the exit to be able to make a quick exit. Maybe because I had never experienced it before but watching my teammates from the audience was a weird experience. It took me out of the teammate role and more into the fan role. The guys rolled past the team by about 30 points so they handled business.

The doctor appointment was the same old hazy office visit. I don't really know if the treatment was helping that much since this ankle injury was taking much longer to recover than it should in my opinion. I missed about four days of practice and it was starting to get frustrating. After the first two days of quick recovery, my ankle seemed to hit a wall in the healing process. Some of my teammates were also starting to make jokes that I was faking so that didn't help the process either. So finally last Thursday I did some shooting and it seemed to feel strong. I came out on our road game last Saturday and I couldn't miss so I guess my ankle was feeling pretty good. I finished with 21 points although we lost the game. We were in the game up until the middle of the fourth quarter and we just let it slip away. It's frustrating because we mostly just beat ourselves.

It was my birthday this past Friday, but it wasn't anything too crazy with practice and a road trip. I received many birthday wishes though and I really appreciated that. I am blessed so many people thought of me. All of my teammates came up to me and did their birthday tradition, which consists of a hug and a kiss on both cheeks. To be honest, I was a little uncomfortable, but that's the way they do it.

We have another game this Wednesday at home against another team at the top of the league standings so it should be a good one.

I hope all is well with you and you are enjoying the winter weather of the Midwest. It was 60 here yesterday so I'm not looking forward to the cold weather that is expected to hit here soon.

Take care and God bless

Visiting the doc

We got the win last night. It was close throughout three quarters, but we pulled away in the fourth. I only played limited minutes because unfortunately I twisted my ankle in practice a couple days ago. I was heated about it, but I have been blessed with no injuries until this point and that's the way basketball goes sometimes. Coach said he only wanted to play me if he needed to so when we got into foul trouble at the beginning of the fourth I came in and did what I could. Although I wasn't 100% and the ankle was sore after the game, I still felt good about the minutes I contributed.

I've had to visit the doctor a number of times to get treatment on my ankle and that has been a series of interesting experiences. The office is down this little alley and while approaching the door there is a pungent scent in the air. The whole office reeked of a hemp smoke shop. It was only a small, two room office, but the doors were always closed off to one of the rooms with the exception of the occasional entrance and exit of a nurse. I don't know what was going on in there, but your imagination is as good as mine. This doctor also does acupuncture so I got a couple needles in my ankle. I don't know if it really helped, but interesting nonetheless.

Well, that is all for now. We have another game Wednesday at home. Hopefully I will be in full swing.

Take care and God bless

Always full of surprises

We came up a little short the other night and lost my 4. We started the game slow, but we had a good second half run and made the game close at the end. There is one funny, unique story that I would like to share. During the second half of the game, one of the Americans on the other team was talking to me while we were lining up on the free throw line. He said, "Man, it's messed up. I was going to the bathroom during halftime and they locked me in the bathroom without knowing. I had to go through the window to get out." Locks over here are a little different than in the states. If you lock the door with a key on one end, it locks both sides so there really isn't any way of getting out. No one noticed he was gone until the 4th quarter. I had to kind of chuckle because that doesn't happen everyday. "How did no one notice that one of the two black guys on the team was missing," he said. That's crazy. I just thought I would share that with you. Our next game is home on Saturday so hopefully we can get back on track.

Take care and God bless

The long road trip was worth it

Our most recent game was this past Wednesday. It was another long road trip of about 10 hours, but we came out with the win by about 15 points. I shot the ball well and had a couple dunks and ended up with 31 points. It felt good to play well so hopefully I can keep that up. I have a feeling I won't get as many good looks at the hoop next time though :) It was funny because before the game Tyronn asked me if everything was okay saying that it looked like something was on my mind. I said I was fine and I really didn't have anything bothering me. He said, "I think your going to go for 30 tonight." I should have him say that every game I guess.

We had some interesting practices this past week. Our gym was being used for a handball tournament so we had to practice in a school gym a couple days. That was about the time it was starting to get cold over here too - poor timing to have practice in a gym that doesn't have the heat on. It was tough being focused when practicing in the morning in a gym that you can almost see your breath and with floors that don't have any traction. That's the way it goes sometimes I guess - definitely some interesting experiences over here, that's for sure.

Our next game is home this Monday. It's against a team that is on top of the standings in the league so it should be a good game. I hope all is well back in the states. I think about all of you often.

Take care and God bless