drewhousman

More Bad Luck

The bad luck continues. I broke my nose during the first quarter of Monday’s game after attempting to double team their big guy. This did not have the intended effect, because instead of passing the ball out he decided to move my face out of the way with his elbow. It did not feel good. I knew instantly my nose was broken, so I was just hoping I didn’t have a concussion. I felt pretty dazed for a while but I never felt nauseated and I never lost consciousness so I figured I was OK on the head injury front.

I contemplated going back in the game for the second half, but I got talked out of it by people who were thinking more clearly than I was. That ended up being the right decision because we won by 20. A total of 0 players from the other team asked if I was alright. Real classy Hod Hasheron. Hopefully we can beat them tonight at their place and advance to the semi-finals. I have to wear a mask. I’m hoping I pull a Richard Hamilton and love it so much that I wear it for years. Continue reading “More Bad Luck”

My Shower Woes

I know what area of my body is bound to be the cleanest at any given time. It is always my chest. This is because the majority of my bathing the past few years has taken place inside of extremely tiny showers, and I don’t really feel like doing a complicated maneuver to be able to wash my legs. I stretch pretty much all day every day, and I still have a hard time soaping up my whole body in these minuscule Israeli showers.

You would have to be a veteran cirque du soleil performer to be able to comfortably maneuver in the shower that I am provided with. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was all the auditions for Cirque consisted of. They wheel out a classic Israeli shower and tell people they have to clean themselves without knocking over the soap container and breaking the cap, without bumping into the handle and causing the temperature to get thrown completely out of whack, without banging against the glass so hard you are legitimately worried it might crack, and without becoming claustrophobic because the ceiling slants downward and just barely clears the top of the shower door. That ceiling is really eerie. It gives the illusion that you are completely sealed into a tiny, watery prison. Continue reading “My Shower Woes”

Practice Fight, Media Consumption

Practice got a little out of hand today. One guy made a drive to the basket, another guy hit him with a hard foul, and then they got in each others faces. Then, guy #1 had the audacity to put his hands on guy #2’s neck, sort of holding him back, in a gesture that said “im older than you, so you might want to back the F up.” Of course, that sent guy#2 into a frenzy, and fists started flying. I’ve always said that these Israelis get too comfortable putting their hands on and around peoples faces. That kind of thing might send me over the edge too. Continue reading “Practice Fight, Media Consumption”

Back on the Court, Thoughts on My Lamp

I am back! I made the decision to fly home and rehab my foot. I think it was a wise choice. I might have gone crazy fighting with the trainers out here when they insisted I do squats and leg presses.

I got back to Israel last Tuesday, and played that night. I didn’t feel 100 percent, but at least there was no pain in my foot. I played 18 solid minutes and came through with some clutch free throws in the last 30 seconds. I hit 3 out of 4 to help seal it, but a teammate still told me that I had let him down, because “white boys ain’t supposed to miss free throws.” A fair point.

Our team is going to be on TV tomorrow, 7:30 in Israel, 9:30 AM PST. You should be able to watch it if you go to this site and click on the basketball looking things: http://one.co.il/

Now it’s time to analyze what is written on the side of the box that my lamp came in. Continue reading “Back on the Court, Thoughts on My Lamp”

Team Meetings

I have a serious bone to pick with the concept of the team meeting. Maybe it is my tendency to view everything through the most bitter lens possible, but I believe they serve no purpose. They are only called when things are going bad. Everyone knows things are going bad. The problems with bad teams usually run deep, and a 45 minute meeting is not going to be enough to change the tide. Call me pessimistic, but that has been my experience.

I have been on some bad teams, but maybe none more dysfunctional than my team last year. The Calabasas Coyotes circa 2002 had some serious head cases, but that is too long ago for the memories to stick out. I also had some classic team meetings in college, but I’ll have to really think about those details before I write about them. So we are sticking with Haifa for now. Continue reading “Team Meetings”

College Speech

I was cleaning my room and found the speech I made at the basketball banquet my senior year of college. Thought it would be interesting to throw up here. It’s kind of sappy, but whatever. It got laughs at the time. At least I didn’t skip the event entirely to go to a Nas concert, something I actually considered. Continue reading “College Speech”