Hello Everyone,
Looks like I need to change the title of the blog. It now needs to say Hungary basketball. I arrived in Hungary on September 23rd, which was Sunday. It was a decision that was made mutually by both parties. The team was not a good fit for me with the system and type of play and they were looking for someone who was more of a post. It was a unique situation where I actually played with Mulhouse on Saturday in Blois. After the game they took me to Ollie, which is the airport south of Paris. I then got in a cab which the team paid for and was dropped off at Charles Dagulle airport.
A couple things made this unique. First, the entire team sent me off at Ollie. This usually does not happen, but Hungary wanted me there by Sunday and France needed me to play Saturday in hopes of getting there first league win. In my short time with Mulhouse I met some really great people and players that I will for sure keep in contact with, so it was nice that they all got to send me off. The coach was will nice through the whole process. He assured me many times that it was not my play that got me released there were a lot of other factors like how young the team was, the type of play (more of a 1 on1 type system), and need for more of post player. He also said he would keep in touch and make sure everything is good in Hungary. The second unique part of the trip was the cab ride over to the other airport. The cab company called a cab over to get me. There was another guy waiting and since it was 2 in the morning I said we could take him as well, what I did not know was he was picking up a friend in the parking lot a little ways down. My first sights of Paris were shared with two strangers who did not speak English in a cramped taxi cab with a bag on my lap. The funny stories just keep piling up. I had to spend the night in the airport due to the timing of everything. My plane departed at 7:15 and I did not arrive in Paris after the game until around 2 AM. I did not find it so bad due to the fact there were two homeless guys sleeping there as well. At least my stay was only for one night.
I am a little disappointed that I did not win any games in regular season with Mulhouse. I really felt like it was a team that was going to be good for me at the beginning. With me being the competitor I am that is a little disappointing even though it was not entirely my fault. However Mulhouse plays the young French national team next week so that should be at least one win they can get. Also, I was not able to meet up with my cousins in Germany or my dad’s friend. That is also a little disappointing due to the fact I missed them by literally one day.
I flew into Vienna and drove to Kormend with a team manager. Kormend is the city I am playing in. It is about 2 hours from Vienna and around 3 hours from Budapest. The city is very small, only 12,000 residents. It is a very different from the bigger city of Mulhouse. I am within walking distance of the gym and the restaurant which I get one meal a day. There is another restaurant which I get one meal a day as well, but you have to drive to. That is nice bonus and they also pay for cable and internet which France did not. The facilities are also very different, starting with the apartment. In Mulhouse I was in a brand new apartment with two bedrooms and it was very nice. The apartment here was built in 1872 and I only have one bedroom. I believe the last resident was an elderly lady because there are nice dishes and tea cups everywhere. The amenities are fine though I have a bed, a bigger TV, a DVD player and an oven/stove (I won’t have to use that much with the meals I get). Many people in the world don’t have that so I can’t complain. The weight room is about a five minute drive from my apartment, while the gym is less then a block down the road. The gym can hold probably 3,500 at max. The team says it is filled to capacity every game (they don’t have much else to look forward to in this little town). I think the thing I will miss the most being here instead of France is the proximity of bigger cities. In Mulhouse I was an hour or two from really big and nice cities where in Hungary I am pretty far from any major cities.
On Sunday I had a light workout mostly learning the offensive system and got some shots up. The team here is looking for me to play a very similar role that I played at butler: setting on balls, popping out shooting the three and creating mismatches with bigger guys. They are a little concerned with my weight though. I am not as beefy as I was at butler due to a number of factors. First being I had a wrist injury most of the summer that prevented me from lifting real hard, second I did not have the mandatory program and strength coach directing me. Lastly, I worked real hard in getting myself in shape for another level of basketball witch also contributed to me losing weight. I am confident that I will be able to still provide the defense on bigger guys. I always excelled at butler because I used my speed and brains. My first practice went well; we played a little and worked on the system, mostly focusing on defense. I am not making in projections because last time I did that I was not very correct. There was word that a player I grew up with, Tyler Best, would be coming to play on the team as well. I have since heard word that might not be happing but there will be two other Americans. I will try and keep my schedule of updating every Sunday however there may not be much to talk about in this small town. The season starts October 6th, and we play in a preseason tourney this week. I will include the team website in the next post.
Let’s go Cubbies, colts, and I see Purdue football has had a good start as well.
This is BC gone for now
Sep 26, 2007
Sep 16, 2007
What a difference 2 games can make!
Hello Everyone,
LIFE
I witnessed my first handball game this week. It is a sport that is played on the gym floor on a court about 5 feet wider and 10 ft longer then a basketball court. It is played 6 on 6 not including the goalies. The object is to throw a ball smaller then a volleyball into a goal smaller then a soccer goal. If I tried to explain anymore you would just get confused. They do have penalties though and it is like hockey where they go to the penalty box and play 5 on 6. Mulhouse lost after leading pretty much the whole game.
Since the handball game was really the only thing I did all week I decided to talk a little bit about the city of Mulhouse and what I have noticed in living here for about a month in a half. I will start off with what the city has a lot of, Crosswalks and roundabouts. The crosswalks are all over the place. There is like one crosswalk every 100ft. The thing about them is they actually get used quite a bit. There are people walking all over the place. I wonder if that continues in the winter because from what I heard it gets pretty snowy and really cold here. I am actually glad they use a lot of roundabouts instead of stop signs. I’m sure it is because all the cars are stick and you don’t want to go down to 1st to 3rd every half block. They also have a lot of pizzerias. This is probably something I have just taken for granted in America, when I started thinking about all the pizza places in Indiana there are quite a few as well. I would have to vote pizza as the world’s most popular food, at least here in Europe and America. The population of Muslims is really high in the city. There are actually five on the basketball team. There are always these church bells going off at the weirdest times, like 11, 3, 5, 8, and I could never figure out why. Then I spoke with one of the teammates about when they have to do the prayer thing it just so happened those were the times (duh Brandon). An interesting thing with the Muslim religion is for forty days they can not eat or drink while the sun is up. That time is now and five of the teammates have to participate (they are allowed to eat on games days). Another thing about Mulhouse is you are never to far away from a pastry shop. In fact on my 7 minute drive to the gym I pass about 7 stand alone shops, not including the grocery stores that sell them as well. Another thing I have noticed in not only Mulhouse, but Basel and Freiberg is the city within the city. All three downtown areas have a downtown where no cars are allowed to drive thru. As I noticed yesterday when walking through Mulhouse they extend pretty far with a ton of shops. It is not just a straight shot either they go every which direction. They are some shops that are by themselves then there are some that are like a little mall. It is really interesting and easy to get lost in it. All three cities had these areas and I’m sure it is like that in a lot of European countries.
The Team
I know I was spoiled with some great teams at Butler, but this team is really frustrating right now. We play with little heart, little discipline, and little will to win. Of course when we lose everyone is mad and talking to everyone else (I’m not included because I don’t know French). The most frustrating aspect is not having much ability to change this. Of course I still play as hard as I can and lead through example, but that does not do much here. On one hand it is hard to bring 9 guys together, pay them, show them an offense and say go win, but on the other hand as a team we should at least show some of the qualities I listed above that we are lacking. If we are losing because of the offense or teams being better I could live with that a little easier, but that is not the case at all.
Of course after the paragraph above you can tell we lost again. We lost by 17 at home. We shot the three ball terrible, we did not play any defense (they shot 51%), and everyone kept talking to the refs like they were the reason we were losing. Personally, in the first half I played well defensively taking two charges, stripping the ball 3 times, and one steal. I only took three shots in the first half 0-2 from three and made one lay-up. The second half he did not start me and I sat until about three minutes left and then I sat the whole fourth until 2:30. I guess he was trying to switch it up and see if we could do anything different. I shot one more three in the second half I missed, had to force up a shot with the shot clock going off, and I shot four free throws making three. I ended with 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. I am still trying to figure out how to play in the offense to be most successful. Personally, I know I need to be a little more aggressive to the basket and draw some more fouls. That is something I will be working on this week in practice. After the game my agent’s partner in France was at the game and we spoke after. He mentioned they might have interest in releasing me which he made it sound like it would be a good thing because the team needs a LOT of work. The general manager talked with me for a minute and said he would see me on Monday for practice. I guess that meant they were going to keep me for another week (at least). It is a lot easier to change your foreign player then it is your France players. What a difference a couple games can make. In preseason we were playing really well and now well who really knows. My spirits are really high because I know I have been giving everything on the court. It is a business and I understand that so again I will just go back to work this week and help this team improve as long as I am on it.
I have figured out how to post photos on the blog itself so when they upload photos from the game I will add some during the week.
Future
One of my dad’s firefighter buddies is coming over for vacation this week and is brining a package for me. I believe I will be meeting her in Basel sometime. Also, my cousins will be in Munich at the end of the week so I will be driving there on Sunday to visit.
This is BC gone for now
LIFE
I witnessed my first handball game this week. It is a sport that is played on the gym floor on a court about 5 feet wider and 10 ft longer then a basketball court. It is played 6 on 6 not including the goalies. The object is to throw a ball smaller then a volleyball into a goal smaller then a soccer goal. If I tried to explain anymore you would just get confused. They do have penalties though and it is like hockey where they go to the penalty box and play 5 on 6. Mulhouse lost after leading pretty much the whole game.
Since the handball game was really the only thing I did all week I decided to talk a little bit about the city of Mulhouse and what I have noticed in living here for about a month in a half. I will start off with what the city has a lot of, Crosswalks and roundabouts. The crosswalks are all over the place. There is like one crosswalk every 100ft. The thing about them is they actually get used quite a bit. There are people walking all over the place. I wonder if that continues in the winter because from what I heard it gets pretty snowy and really cold here. I am actually glad they use a lot of roundabouts instead of stop signs. I’m sure it is because all the cars are stick and you don’t want to go down to 1st to 3rd every half block. They also have a lot of pizzerias. This is probably something I have just taken for granted in America, when I started thinking about all the pizza places in Indiana there are quite a few as well. I would have to vote pizza as the world’s most popular food, at least here in Europe and America. The population of Muslims is really high in the city. There are actually five on the basketball team. There are always these church bells going off at the weirdest times, like 11, 3, 5, 8, and I could never figure out why. Then I spoke with one of the teammates about when they have to do the prayer thing it just so happened those were the times (duh Brandon). An interesting thing with the Muslim religion is for forty days they can not eat or drink while the sun is up. That time is now and five of the teammates have to participate (they are allowed to eat on games days). Another thing about Mulhouse is you are never to far away from a pastry shop. In fact on my 7 minute drive to the gym I pass about 7 stand alone shops, not including the grocery stores that sell them as well. Another thing I have noticed in not only Mulhouse, but Basel and Freiberg is the city within the city. All three downtown areas have a downtown where no cars are allowed to drive thru. As I noticed yesterday when walking through Mulhouse they extend pretty far with a ton of shops. It is not just a straight shot either they go every which direction. They are some shops that are by themselves then there are some that are like a little mall. It is really interesting and easy to get lost in it. All three cities had these areas and I’m sure it is like that in a lot of European countries.
The TeamI know I was spoiled with some great teams at Butler, but this team is really frustrating right now. We play with little heart, little discipline, and little will to win. Of course when we lose everyone is mad and talking to everyone else (I’m not included because I don’t know French). The most frustrating aspect is not having much ability to change this. Of course I still play as hard as I can and lead through example, but that does not do much here. On one hand it is hard to bring 9 guys together, pay them, show them an offense and say go win, but on the other hand as a team we should at least show some of the qualities I listed above that we are lacking. If we are losing because of the offense or teams being better I could live with that a little easier, but that is not the case at all.
Of course after the paragraph above you can tell we lost again. We lost by 17 at home. We shot the three ball terrible, we did not play any defense (they shot 51%), and everyone kept talking to the refs like they were the reason we were losing. Personally, in the first half I played well defensively taking two charges, stripping the ball 3 times, and one steal. I only took three shots in the first half 0-2 from three and made one lay-up. The second half he did not start me and I sat until about three minutes left and then I sat the whole fourth until 2:30. I guess he was trying to switch it up and see if we could do anything different. I shot one more three in the second half I missed, had to force up a shot with the shot clock going off, and I shot four free throws making three. I ended with 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. I am still trying to figure out how to play in the offense to be most successful. Personally, I know I need to be a little more aggressive to the basket and draw some more fouls. That is something I will be working on this week in practice. After the game my agent’s partner in France was at the game and we spoke after. He mentioned they might have interest in releasing me which he made it sound like it would be a good thing because the team needs a LOT of work. The general manager talked with me for a minute and said he would see me on Monday for practice. I guess that meant they were going to keep me for another week (at least). It is a lot easier to change your foreign player then it is your France players. What a difference a couple games can make. In preseason we were playing really well and now well who really knows. My spirits are really high because I know I have been giving everything on the court. It is a business and I understand that so again I will just go back to work this week and help this team improve as long as I am on it.
I have figured out how to post photos on the blog itself so when they upload photos from the game I will add some during the week.
Future
One of my dad’s firefighter buddies is coming over for vacation this week and is brining a package for me. I believe I will be meeting her in Basel sometime. Also, my cousins will be in Munich at the end of the week so I will be driving there on Sunday to visit.
This is BC gone for now
Sep 9, 2007
Not the start we wanted!
Hello Everyone,
LIFE
This week continued with the rainy, cloudy, and cool weather. Some of the trees are beginning to get a little color as fall is approaching fast. I have seen and heard that the cubs are playing well. Of course they would when I travel to another country. If I was a betting man though i would not put my money on them, they have disappointed me to many times. We will check back on this in October and see if I should stay not being a betting man. Hopefully they can prove me wrong. The sport I am missing the most is college football. My Saturdays are not the same without me checking out three or four games (the internet just does not do it). The rugby world championship is being hosted here in France this month. It seems to be a big deal with a lot of the restaurants advertising it and decorations around the cities.
The highlight of the week was doing a radio commercial for the team. The captain and I had to read off a paper. I basically introduced myself and said one small paragraph in French and he took the rest. I did not butcher it to bad. I did introduce my self as “Brandon Crone the American” that way when they were listening they could understand the accent. I also got a small oven this week which completes my kitchen. I was able to go to the store this week and pick up some basics. I have decided to buy my meat fresh everyday due to the extra time I have everyday, and I pass three stores to and from the gym. I absolutely love the bread products here and all the yogurts. I have been able to try more meals with the team traveling and let’s just say I’m not starving at all.
We flew to Bordeaux, France for our game on Saturday. We left at 5:15 in the morning and arrived there about 11. They make wine everywhere in France, but Bordeaux is a famous area. The airport even had grapes growing as its landscape. They had huge wine bottles for statues, they also had some nice statues downtown along with a huge park. The hotel was very different from a US hotel. Due to the rugby world championship games being played in Bordeaux, hotels were very limited. We had to go with a cheap one close to the airport. It had a single bed in the room and then there was a bunk bed above it. The room was smaller then any of my bedrooms in Indiana. The toilet top was disconnected in the bathroom and I got a rather comical picture standing in the shower with it. Luckily I won the coin flip and got the bottom bed. Again the meals on the trip were good and we did not go hungry. One of the big difference with traveling with the team here is when we fly we have to rent vehicles. We had a Mercedes that sat five and a minivan that sat seven. 7 of the player are 6’6” or taller so you imagine how cramped the cars were.
The Team
We had a fairly good week of practice. We are on the season schedule for practice where we practice once on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while we practice twice on Tuesday and Thursday. I would like to scrimmage a little more in the practices. We seem to stop a lot or only to play to like three points. Hopefully we will get into some more playing.
The game did not turn out so well for us. Right from the beginning I could see that it might be a long game. We were not getting any stops defensively; we were not getting any of the loose balls, and every rebound they were getting. It was as if we were in slow motion. Offensively was not much better. We were pretty stannic, not using any of the screens or moving the ball. We flat out were not ready to play which is unfortunate because the team was not that talented but they got on a roll and gained a lot of confidence. After that they could not miss. We were down 23 points at halftime 22-45. The second half was a little better, but we were still unable to put to many stops together. We played even with them and the final was 58-82, or something around that. Personally, I shot the ball from three not to bad 2-4, but missed a couple bunny lay-ups in the first half. Left one short on a fast break and missed a reverse. I’m still trying to figure out the offense and taking the right shots at the right time. There are some things I need to improve like getting to the free throw line and rebounding better. I remember stating early on that this would be a team that would never quit; I believe I misstated that as we seemed to give up. It was hard for me with being a rookie and not speaking the language to say much, but we will defiantly need to get that fixed or it will be a long season. I tried to pick it up defensively getting a couple of steals and playing hard, but it did not transfer over. On a side note the Gym was very small (maybe would sit 1,000). There coach was also American and there American player was “Kent” who played at Ball State two years ago.
We have a week of practice and then have our first game at home. The only thing we can do is learn and grow as a team. I believe it can happen and I’m excited about getting back to work and improving.
This is BC gone for now
LIFE
This week continued with the rainy, cloudy, and cool weather. Some of the trees are beginning to get a little color as fall is approaching fast. I have seen and heard that the cubs are playing well. Of course they would when I travel to another country. If I was a betting man though i would not put my money on them, they have disappointed me to many times. We will check back on this in October and see if I should stay not being a betting man. Hopefully they can prove me wrong. The sport I am missing the most is college football. My Saturdays are not the same without me checking out three or four games (the internet just does not do it). The rugby world championship is being hosted here in France this month. It seems to be a big deal with a lot of the restaurants advertising it and decorations around the cities.
The highlight of the week was doing a radio commercial for the team. The captain and I had to read off a paper. I basically introduced myself and said one small paragraph in French and he took the rest. I did not butcher it to bad. I did introduce my self as “Brandon Crone the American” that way when they were listening they could understand the accent. I also got a small oven this week which completes my kitchen. I was able to go to the store this week and pick up some basics. I have decided to buy my meat fresh everyday due to the extra time I have everyday, and I pass three stores to and from the gym. I absolutely love the bread products here and all the yogurts. I have been able to try more meals with the team traveling and let’s just say I’m not starving at all.
We flew to Bordeaux, France for our game on Saturday. We left at 5:15 in the morning and arrived there about 11. They make wine everywhere in France, but Bordeaux is a famous area. The airport even had grapes growing as its landscape. They had huge wine bottles for statues, they also had some nice statues downtown along with a huge park. The hotel was very different from a US hotel. Due to the rugby world championship games being played in Bordeaux, hotels were very limited. We had to go with a cheap one close to the airport. It had a single bed in the room and then there was a bunk bed above it. The room was smaller then any of my bedrooms in Indiana. The toilet top was disconnected in the bathroom and I got a rather comical picture standing in the shower with it. Luckily I won the coin flip and got the bottom bed. Again the meals on the trip were good and we did not go hungry. One of the big difference with traveling with the team here is when we fly we have to rent vehicles. We had a Mercedes that sat five and a minivan that sat seven. 7 of the player are 6’6” or taller so you imagine how cramped the cars were.
The TeamWe had a fairly good week of practice. We are on the season schedule for practice where we practice once on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while we practice twice on Tuesday and Thursday. I would like to scrimmage a little more in the practices. We seem to stop a lot or only to play to like three points. Hopefully we will get into some more playing.
The game did not turn out so well for us. Right from the beginning I could see that it might be a long game. We were not getting any stops defensively; we were not getting any of the loose balls, and every rebound they were getting. It was as if we were in slow motion. Offensively was not much better. We were pretty stannic, not using any of the screens or moving the ball. We flat out were not ready to play which is unfortunate because the team was not that talented but they got on a roll and gained a lot of confidence. After that they could not miss. We were down 23 points at halftime 22-45. The second half was a little better, but we were still unable to put to many stops together. We played even with them and the final was 58-82, or something around that. Personally, I shot the ball from three not to bad 2-4, but missed a couple bunny lay-ups in the first half. Left one short on a fast break and missed a reverse. I’m still trying to figure out the offense and taking the right shots at the right time. There are some things I need to improve like getting to the free throw line and rebounding better. I remember stating early on that this would be a team that would never quit; I believe I misstated that as we seemed to give up. It was hard for me with being a rookie and not speaking the language to say much, but we will defiantly need to get that fixed or it will be a long season. I tried to pick it up defensively getting a couple of steals and playing hard, but it did not transfer over. On a side note the Gym was very small (maybe would sit 1,000). There coach was also American and there American player was “Kent” who played at Ball State two years ago.
We have a week of practice and then have our first game at home. The only thing we can do is learn and grow as a team. I believe it can happen and I’m excited about getting back to work and improving.
This is BC gone for now
Sep 2, 2007
Season Starts in a week
Hello Everyone,
LIFE
I updated my blog just a little too early last Saturday, due to the fact that it became eventful. Not only did I get all the house chores done (laundry, dishes, swept), I bought an 11 euro grill. It is a grill you would take to the ball park to tailgate, but it did the job with my fresh steak and onions. I also headed to a night club with a couple of my teammates. It was about 15 min drive and the place was nice had three dance floors. One for techno, Hip-Hop, and the other had a private party going on. Smoking is mandatory, of course I did not, but I got enough second hand to last me for three years. The cut-off T-shirt was also a hot item for the men. I might have to try that one, show off the TatsJ (yea right). I splurged and bought an 8 Euro jack and coke ( I am having trouble typing that I keep trying to put dollar), which with me being a very frugal person that was a big purchase.
The week was pretty rainy and cool it is starting to look a lot like fall here. On Monday, I sat through a sponsorship presentation (via PowerPoint) at the newspaper facility for Mulhouse. The club was trying to get money from the big companies, of course it was much like college where I just stared and pretended to know what was going on. Of course this time if I tried to understand it, it would not have worked. The team has a website www.FCMbasket.com. It is currently being updated with a better look, but I believe it should be completed next week. I have not been on it yet, but I assume it is in French so some of you can research that while others copy and paste into a translator (As my farther found out it does not always give the right answers). After the presentation they had champagne toast and snacks. The sweet bread was to die for while the salt bread I tried almost did kill me. The rest of the week went by fast with us playing on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday we took pictures in the new uniforms which I like a lot. The material is real light weight. We took some action shots while jumping of a trampoline. The pictures have the potential to be really neat.
I had a chance to visit Basel, Switzerland over the weekend. I made a couple mistakes that made it a little uncomfortable. The first being I wore sweats and it turned out to be a nice and sunny day, and I also wore a black shirt. The city had some really nice buildings and reminded me of San Francisco with the trolley going up and down hills, the roads going every which way again. As I was trying to find a place to park downtown I turned down the wrong road and started driving in the middle of downtown where I believe it was walking only. I made a quick U-turn no harm was done. I found a Parking garage and walked the city, of course getting an ice cream and taking some pictures. They had a river cutting through the city that provided some beautiful landscape. Speaking of pictures, I blew my machine up when I did not plug it into a high enough converter. I am in talks with Kodak to get another plug. Hopefully, I will be able to post pictures soon. When I was leaving, I got trapped in the parking garage (not for going in circles, MOTHER) and had a line of cars trying to get out behind me. I reversed and luckily someone spoke English and pointed me toward the machine on the opposite wall which you had to pay for the ticket through a machine then bring the ticket back to the other machine (kind of complicated). When I went to the machine (Switzerland has their own currency and only accepts Euros if they are in paper form) all I had was 2 Euro coins. I traded with a gentleman in line and needless to say I found my way to Mulhouse.
The Team
GAME ONE
We played an early game on Wednesday at 5PM. In the four games we have played up to this point we have definitely shown we are a second half team. We fell behind by 13 at halftime with 2 of our players with three fouls and 3 others with two. Needless to say the officiating was terrible. The second half like hinted above was a lot better where we put together some stops and put some points on the board. I did not play that well offensively. I was shut out the first half with time on the bench for fouls. The second half was much of the same where I had 1 three and 1 lay-up. I tried to be there defensively though picking up two charges and some steals. The team really reminds me of the Butler team where we are not always the most physical team, but to this point we have found a way to win. I ended the game shooting a whopping (2-14). I guess it brought me back to earth a little bit, but the great thing was I had a chance to play better the very next night.
Game Two
We played the same Pro-B team we played the week before. The game was going to be a little difficult from the beginning because we had two of our starters out with injuries. We actually started this game out very well building a ten point lead 14-4 with 4 minutes in the first quarter. Then they started clawing back playing very physically and tough D. Our back up point guard was struggling handling the ball and lost our flow offensively. In the second half they pulled away by about 10 before we started a late rally. We pulled it within 2 points with two minutes to go and this is with 23 turnovers in the game. We could not get any good shots off and had a couple more turnovers and lost by five. Personally I got started at the free throw line in the first quarter. I was intentionally fouled on a fast break and they received a T after it as well on the coach. I shot the four free throws only hitting two of them. I went back to the line hitting 2-3. I knocked down a long three and had a few bunnies. I ended the game with 1 charge, 3 steals, 15 points and 4 fouls. The nice thing about having the championship starting is I will not have to try and remember my stats for the blog. I can just go to the websites where they will be posted.
Future
We were suppose to play in a weekend tournament this week, but due to the injuries on the team and the same guys playing extended minutes they decided to opt out. I believe that was a good move as the championship starts Saturday the 8th.
I would also like to use this blog for things bigger then myself. The great thing with phones and internet I can still receive information from home whether it is good or bad. Some bad news I received is my uncle is going in for more cancer treatment. I would like to ask all the readers of this blog to keep him in your prayers as he continues to fight off this terrible disease. Second bit off information is that my cousin has turned a corner in her life and is headed down the right path. I would also like you to keep her in your prayers as she takes this critical step with her family and church family.
This is BC gone for now
LIFE
I updated my blog just a little too early last Saturday, due to the fact that it became eventful. Not only did I get all the house chores done (laundry, dishes, swept), I bought an 11 euro grill. It is a grill you would take to the ball park to tailgate, but it did the job with my fresh steak and onions. I also headed to a night club with a couple of my teammates. It was about 15 min drive and the place was nice had three dance floors. One for techno, Hip-Hop, and the other had a private party going on. Smoking is mandatory, of course I did not, but I got enough second hand to last me for three years. The cut-off T-shirt was also a hot item for the men. I might have to try that one, show off the TatsJ (yea right). I splurged and bought an 8 Euro jack and coke ( I am having trouble typing that I keep trying to put dollar), which with me being a very frugal person that was a big purchase.
The week was pretty rainy and cool it is starting to look a lot like fall here. On Monday, I sat through a sponsorship presentation (via PowerPoint) at the newspaper facility for Mulhouse. The club was trying to get money from the big companies, of course it was much like college where I just stared and pretended to know what was going on. Of course this time if I tried to understand it, it would not have worked. The team has a website www.FCMbasket.com. It is currently being updated with a better look, but I believe it should be completed next week. I have not been on it yet, but I assume it is in French so some of you can research that while others copy and paste into a translator (As my farther found out it does not always give the right answers). After the presentation they had champagne toast and snacks. The sweet bread was to die for while the salt bread I tried almost did kill me. The rest of the week went by fast with us playing on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday we took pictures in the new uniforms which I like a lot. The material is real light weight. We took some action shots while jumping of a trampoline. The pictures have the potential to be really neat.
I had a chance to visit Basel, Switzerland over the weekend. I made a couple mistakes that made it a little uncomfortable. The first being I wore sweats and it turned out to be a nice and sunny day, and I also wore a black shirt. The city had some really nice buildings and reminded me of San Francisco with the trolley going up and down hills, the roads going every which way again. As I was trying to find a place to park downtown I turned down the wrong road and started driving in the middle of downtown where I believe it was walking only. I made a quick U-turn no harm was done. I found a Parking garage and walked the city, of course getting an ice cream and taking some pictures. They had a river cutting through the city that provided some beautiful landscape. Speaking of pictures, I blew my machine up when I did not plug it into a high enough converter. I am in talks with Kodak to get another plug. Hopefully, I will be able to post pictures soon. When I was leaving, I got trapped in the parking garage (not for going in circles, MOTHER) and had a line of cars trying to get out behind me. I reversed and luckily someone spoke English and pointed me toward the machine on the opposite wall which you had to pay for the ticket through a machine then bring the ticket back to the other machine (kind of complicated). When I went to the machine (Switzerland has their own currency and only accepts Euros if they are in paper form) all I had was 2 Euro coins. I traded with a gentleman in line and needless to say I found my way to Mulhouse.
The Team
GAME ONE
We played an early game on Wednesday at 5PM. In the four games we have played up to this point we have definitely shown we are a second half team. We fell behind by 13 at halftime with 2 of our players with three fouls and 3 others with two. Needless to say the officiating was terrible. The second half like hinted above was a lot better where we put together some stops and put some points on the board. I did not play that well offensively. I was shut out the first half with time on the bench for fouls. The second half was much of the same where I had 1 three and 1 lay-up. I tried to be there defensively though picking up two charges and some steals. The team really reminds me of the Butler team where we are not always the most physical team, but to this point we have found a way to win. I ended the game shooting a whopping (2-14). I guess it brought me back to earth a little bit, but the great thing was I had a chance to play better the very next night.
Game Two
We played the same Pro-B team we played the week before. The game was going to be a little difficult from the beginning because we had two of our starters out with injuries. We actually started this game out very well building a ten point lead 14-4 with 4 minutes in the first quarter. Then they started clawing back playing very physically and tough D. Our back up point guard was struggling handling the ball and lost our flow offensively. In the second half they pulled away by about 10 before we started a late rally. We pulled it within 2 points with two minutes to go and this is with 23 turnovers in the game. We could not get any good shots off and had a couple more turnovers and lost by five. Personally I got started at the free throw line in the first quarter. I was intentionally fouled on a fast break and they received a T after it as well on the coach. I shot the four free throws only hitting two of them. I went back to the line hitting 2-3. I knocked down a long three and had a few bunnies. I ended the game with 1 charge, 3 steals, 15 points and 4 fouls. The nice thing about having the championship starting is I will not have to try and remember my stats for the blog. I can just go to the websites where they will be posted.
Future
We were suppose to play in a weekend tournament this week, but due to the injuries on the team and the same guys playing extended minutes they decided to opt out. I believe that was a good move as the championship starts Saturday the 8th.
I would also like to use this blog for things bigger then myself. The great thing with phones and internet I can still receive information from home whether it is good or bad. Some bad news I received is my uncle is going in for more cancer treatment. I would like to ask all the readers of this blog to keep him in your prayers as he continues to fight off this terrible disease. Second bit off information is that my cousin has turned a corner in her life and is headed down the right path. I would also like you to keep her in your prayers as she takes this critical step with her family and church family.
This is BC gone for now
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