Category: Basketball

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”

The Rule

Thanks to everyone for the amazing feedback. I will try to post more often to satisfy my slightly increased reader base. To kick things off here are some thoughts on race and basketball, featuring more Jeremy Lin talk! But, I refuse to use any more Lin puns. This thing has flown off the rails. I saw a sign at tonight’s game that said “Lindemonioum” and I could only shake my head.

Jeremy’s race is obviously a talking point. No Asian American has ever done what he is doing. He has had to deal with all kinds of unfair stereotyping. I remember subtle racism from a waitress in Vermont. We were eating our pregame meal and the waitress was going around asking for our choice of main dish and a side. Jeremy got through picking his steak, but before he could name his side the waitress interrupted with “don’t worry, I know you are getting the rice!” She was dead serious. Jeremy was always good-natured about these things. We laughed about it a bit and then kept the conversation moving, but I am sure it had to bother him a little. Continue reading “The Rule”

JLin!

     This Jeremy story is having a profound affect on me. I can’t deny it. I could not fall asleep until 7 AM, I dreamt that we were kicking it after his game, and I woke up with regret that I didn’t enact my plan to make a personalized player app for him this summer.

     Fortune really does favor those who work hard, are prepared for their opportunity, and have an unwavering faith in their abilities. He really, truly thought he was going to make it in the NBA, and that’s the reason he is now the biggest story in Manhattan since George Washington’s inaugural presidential address. He arrived in New York and changed their constitution so profoundly we should call him Alexander Hamilton! (Sorry, been reading a biography.) Continue reading “JLin!”

1/4 Season Update

Things have been going well enough that I haven’t been compelled to write about something that was bothering me. Here are some things that have happened and things I have thought about since my last entry:
-ODWB gave me a clock as a holiday gift. I was grateful, but I am still suspicious. It seems like every night that I come back late there is some sort of work going on early the next morning. Once it was painting the hallway (which you wouldn’t think would be that loud, but he found a way to make it obnoxious and un-sleepthroughable) , once it was the roof. If he thinks I’m not on to him he is very wrong. Continue reading “1/4 Season Update”

More Summer/ More BBall

To begin, I need to mention that I also visited Seattle and Chicago this summer.  While I was in Seattle people kept telling me it was the first time the temperature had risen above 75 in something like 200 days.  I found that hard to believe, but I was happy to be there when it wasn’t overcast.  I met some awesome people and basically spent the whole time at a pool, on a lake, playing a board game or out on the town.  It was pretty amazing.  Some highlights: Continue reading “More Summer/ More BBall”

Game/My Apartment

I have had a resurgence the past month and actually resemble a real basketball player at this point.  I have averaged 16 and 4 the past 3 games and we picked up 2 crucial wins.  The most recent game was especially fun because the crowd was really into it.  It was tight pretty much the whole way and featured a few memorable moments.  The first came in the 3rd quarter after we had finally built up a little momentum and seized a 2 point lead.  Then they came down and our big guy got called for a foul.  This guy is pretty much the Rasheed Wallace of the league.  He definitely has accumulated enough techs and pissed off enough refs to become a target for their calls.  As I have noted before the refs here are remarkably awful, but the disrespect our big man shows is still over the top. Continue reading “Game/My Apartment”