A not so white xmas!!!
Today was xmas, which is celebrated in sweden on the 24th at nite. We went to St Olof´s church, like we do every year, to sing and bring in the good xmas spirit. My little sister and I had a great talk on the walk there. Boy did I miss her. We ate our typical swedish xmas lunch that included ham, meatballs, potatoes, cheese & bread, sausages, and this soda called "julmust", which is sort of spicy soda. It's hard to explain.
After a huge nap, it is common in every swedish household to watch an hour of Donald Duck, which starts at 3pm every year. This is merely a tradition since in the old days this was the only cartoon that was showed on regular TV in Sweden. Today of course, cartoons are showed every day, but it is TRADITION to watch it on xmas day. Sweden would go nuts if it wasn´t showed.
I must say the best part of my xmas was just spending my time with the family. I have been taking that for granted. I missed them a lot. Simple stuff during the day just makes me smile. Wrestling with our huge dog, hugging and talking to my little sister, discussing various topics with my parents, or going xmas shopping with my little brother. I sure needed this. But, Santa did bring me some great presents: videogames, a sweet knitted hat, a tie, a down vest etc.
After watching some TV with the family I decided to go down and visit my best friend Tobias, and his mother. They live right next door. I wish I could stay for longer. So many people to meet. I already know now I won't be able to see them all... AND WHERE IS THE SNOW!!!
After a huge nap, it is common in every swedish household to watch an hour of Donald Duck, which starts at 3pm every year. This is merely a tradition since in the old days this was the only cartoon that was showed on regular TV in Sweden. Today of course, cartoons are showed every day, but it is TRADITION to watch it on xmas day. Sweden would go nuts if it wasn´t showed.
I must say the best part of my xmas was just spending my time with the family. I have been taking that for granted. I missed them a lot. Simple stuff during the day just makes me smile. Wrestling with our huge dog, hugging and talking to my little sister, discussing various topics with my parents, or going xmas shopping with my little brother. I sure needed this. But, Santa did bring me some great presents: videogames, a sweet knitted hat, a tie, a down vest etc.
After watching some TV with the family I decided to go down and visit my best friend Tobias, and his mother. They live right next door. I wish I could stay for longer. So many people to meet. I already know now I won't be able to see them all... AND WHERE IS THE SNOW!!!
Home again home again jiggity jig
Oh what a stressful day it has been. We got home to Tarragona from our away game at Burgos at 6am. I slept for a few hours, then packed and ate whatever was left in the fridge (champagne and 3 eggs). After jumping onto the wrong train, I managed to get to the airport 40minutes before departure. I didn’t realize that the train to Barcelona from Salou was 2hrs long, and that I also had to switch trains which was another 20minutes from Barcelona to the airport, furthermore jumping onto an additional connecting 20min bus ride because apparently Barca Aerporto has two terminals. I did manage to pull off a new world record in fastest check in though. I was able to check my bags, go through security, and find my gate in less than 3 minutes. Hustle job done well. I was even able to browse through the tax free shop before boarding. After my 3 hour flight, I am exhausted. I was greeted by dad and my brother, and we all got a bite to eat before heading home. When I got home I was given a big hug by our dog Mojo, who is bigger than ever now, and I managed to kiss my little sister goodnite. Tomorrow will be a great one.
Updates on life
what has my experinece been thus far? I am learning spanish words little by little. The key to understanding Spanish for me is just to ask what simple words mean. Dog, beautiful, touch, cold. The last word is something I have been using a lot. Hace mucho frio aqui (it is very cold here). The gyms we use aren't heated and don't have double hung windows, and so typically morning practices are very cold ~5degrees celcius. MUCHOOOOO FRIOOOOO!
Other updates include learning how to fry chicken, becoming infatuated with deep house, roommate moving back to cali, bought new Kobe 5s and 6s, and ordered the ticket for a surprise visit back to Sweden for over xmas. My sister will be stoked, if she hasn't already figure it out that is. Anyways, I am just happy that I will be able to be with my dear family for the first xmas with them in 8yrs.
Overall, these last four months have taught me a lot about myself and my surroundings. Being mostly alone in a foreign country, in a foreign culture, is really a lesson in life. I have also learned about my own peoples, the peoples that I surround myself with, more digitally now than physically. I have learned about the clashes of cultures, about the difference of goals in life, the importance of values, and most importantly the way you act upon those values. For value are what defines us. I have learned about learning from mistakes, about forgiveness, about jealousy, and about letting go. I have learned that one's persons happiness might not be another person's happiness, and that ultimately we alone decide the description of that word. These are the things I ponder when not playing basketball, as I think we all do at some point. More to come.
So what has my experinece been thus far? I am learning spanish words little by little. The key to understanding Spanish for me is just to ask what simple words mean. Dog, beautiful, touch, cold. The last word is something I have been using a lot. Hace mucho frio aqui (it is very cold here). The gyms we use aren't heated and don't have double hung windows, and so typically morning practices are very cold ~5degrees celcius. MUCHOOOOO FRIOOOOO!
Other updates include learning how to fry chicken, becoming infatuated with deep house, roommate moving back to cali, bought new Kobe 5s and 6s, and ordered the ticket for a surprise visit back to Sweden for over xmas. My sister will be stoked, if she hasn't already figure it out that is. Anyways, I am just happy that I will be able to be with my dear family for the first xmas with them in 8yrs.
Overall, these last four months have taught me a lot about myself and my surroundings. Being mostly alone in a foreign country, in a foreign culture, is really a lesson in life. I have also learned about my own peoples, the peoples that I surround myself with, more digitally now than physically. I have learned about the clashes of cultures, about the difference of goals in life, the importance of values, and most importantly the way you act upon those values as well as being true to what you believe. For values are what ultimately defines us. I have learned about learning from mistakes, about forgiveness, about jealousy, and about letting go. I have learned that one's persons happiness might not be another person's happiness, and that ultimately we alone decide the description of that word. These are the things I ponder when not playing basketball, as I think we all do at some point. More to come.
Basketball Update
It is about christmas time. I think there has been a need to update you all on what is going on.
Currently, CB Tarragona is on a 2 game winning streak (if you can call it that), a shared 12 place overall, with a chance for a shared 8th place if we win next game. We have a game on Wednesday against a top5 Burgos, a very good and aggressive team, with a 6ft6 bulldog center/powerforward named Jerome Tillman. It is an away game, a 6hr bustrip away. Bustrips are usually not too bad, even if they are long and range from 2hr to 14hrs. They have these special mattresses on the bus, designed to lay across the seats, so you can pretty much sleep on it as if it was a bed. I did a rookie mistake of not bringing my pillow last time. That will NOT happen again.
I have been playing decent averaging 8p and 5reb per game in 18min of playtime. I have been starting the last couple of games, finding my niche for hitting short to midrange jumpers. I need to rebound a little better. And I need to focus on not getting fouls early as this is currently limiting my minutes on the floor. Efficiency wise I am doing alright, something I take pride in as a player. I am the 2nd team leader in efficiency in only 18min, and should probably be at the top if I played more.
It is about christmas time and I think there has been a need to update you all on what is going on.
Currently, CB Tarragona is on a two game winning streak (if you can call it that), a shared 12th place overall, with a chance for a shared 8th place if we win the next game. We have a game on Wednesday against a top3 Burgos team, a very good and aggressive team, with a 6ft6 bulldog center/powerforward named Jerome Tillman. It is an away game, a 6hr bustrip total. Bustrips are usually not too bad, even if they are long and range from 2hr to 14hrs. They have these special mattresses on the bus, designed to lay across the seats, so you can pretty much sleep on it as if it was a bed. I did a rookie mistake of not bringing my pillow last time. That will NOT happen again. Unlike college, snacks aren't provided so I usually stack up my bag with snacks, movies, and an updated Ipod before we depart.
I have been playing decent averaging 8p and 5reb per game in 18min of playtime. I have been starting the last couple of games, finding my niche for hitting short to midrange jumpers, especially in the short corner. I need to rebound a little better. And I need to focus on not getting fouls early as this is currently limiting my minutes on the floor. Efficiency wise I am doing very well, something I take pride in as a player. I am the 2nd team leader in efficiency overall in only 18min, and should probably be at the top if I played more.
Nov 8
Practice has been going well as have my last three games. According to my agent, I am the second best center in Spain in efficiency per 40min (last 3 games), problem is I am only playing about 18min per game. But have been able to average a double/double in my last three games. Imagine if I could play more. And I am not blaming Berni at all; last game (won) I was heading for a 20p, 15reb performance, but fouls kept me out of my game; I essentially took myself out of the game for once. Need to stay focused and play a little smarter.
Got an elbow in the chin today at practice and busted my tongue and jaw up pretty badly. My jaw is aching, I have a headache and I have trouble eating. But tomorrow is a new day to get better. We were told that our xmas break will be based off the wins and losses we have before then. I.e. the more wins we get the more days off we will get. A pretty good motivation. Still pondering my xmas plans. I sure do know what I want to do. I’ll go on my gutfeeling on this one.
Payday today. Always a good day when that happens.
Oh and I shaved. Oops
Movember
That season soreness is settling in. Ironically the only time this knee is not bothering me is when I am warm and playing on the court. They call it tendonotis (a form of tendonitis); it is just an inflammation in the knee tendon. I am still able to jump and cut, once I am warmed up. Ice and stim (as Phil Samco would say). I ripped through my shoes today, and they are barely two months old. Hmmm, I wonder what the life expectancy of a pair of basketball shoes are? The sweat and bacteria are eating through the glue of the shoes. I tend to sweat so much in practice, I go through two practice gears any given practice. Haha. Sexy I know. Got another fine today. I don’t even know what number that is, but at least they aren’t expensive (unless you get 3 technical fouls in a row in a month = 150 Euros). “Accidentally” kicked a ball into the stands. Oopsieee.
Salou is absolutely dead. Except for the adventure park, which is poppin until Nov 20th with a crazy Halloween theme. Gotta check it out when I have time. Anyways, every store is basically closed until spring… even the barber shop. I wanted to get a haircut, but now I changed my mind. Matter of fact, November = Movember. Not shave for a month? Can I do it?
Salou is absolutely dead. Except for the adventure park, which is poppin until Nov 20th with a crazy Halloween theme. Gotta check it out when I have time. Anyways, every store is basically closed until spring… even the barber shop. I wanted to get a haircut, but now I changed my mind. Matter of fact, November = Movember. Not shave for a month? Can I do it?
Luga & Navarra
One win and one loss. I was trying to wait to write because I wanted to upload the games from youtube, but apparently they are taking some time to process. Anyways, we won against Navarra (H) by 2p and lost against Breogan Lugo (A) by 30p! We are still struggling to put together a solid 40min effort. We definitely have the talent to beat any of the teams we play. Yesterday’s loss was nothing short of embarrassment. Our defense was lacking, as was our movement on the offensive court. But enough about basketball. Some say that the best way to finish off a game is with a short-term memory, that being whether you win or lose, play bad or play well.
The city of Lugo, where we played this weekend, apparently has according to the locals the BEST fish in the world. I never really enjoyed fish, except for perhaps tuna salad or salmon, but I must say that the fish they presented to us at the hotel really was one of the best ones I’ve tasted. I don’t even know what kind of fish I was eating, but it was damn good.
I feel extremely light. I am not sure how much I weigh, but it must not be more than 235lbs. I try to eat as much as I can, but it is hard to keep the same kind of meal plan on a schedule like I did in college. Nevertheless, I am still able to hold my ground against the bigs and grab high flying rebounds as well as run the court. But I want to get up to about 245lbs after season. Perhaps a stronger and agile 240lbs player, since I don’t want to lose speed. But I need to focus on the now, and keep getting better every day.
The city of Lugo, where we played this weekend, apparently has according to the locals the BEST fish in the world. I never really enjoyed fish, except for perhaps tuna salad or salmon, but I must say that the fish they presented to us at the hotel really was one of the best ones I’ve tasted. I don’t even know what kind of fish I was eating, but it was damn good.
I feel extremely light. I am not sure how much I weigh, but it must not be more than 235lbs. I try to eat as much as I can, but it is hard to keep the same kind of meal plan on a schedule like I did in college. Nevertheless, I am still able to hold my ground against the bigs and grab high flying rebounds as well as run the court. But I want to get up to about 245lbs after season. Perhaps a stronger and agile 240lbs player, since I don’t want to lose speed. But I need to focus on the now, and keep getting better every day.
Week update
So I have been to Africa. Well, that’s at least what I have been told. After our Tuesday practice we left for Malaga which was a two-hour flight away. There we stayed in a hotel over night, only to leave for Melilla the next early morning, yet another flight away. I am not sure why they planned it this way, but I am sure it has financial reasons. Melilla lies on the African continent, but yet still remains on Spanish soil. We never really see much of the cities we visit, since we basically just drive through them which I guess is sightseeing in itself if you think about it.
We lost our game (1-4) by 3 points. It is extremely frustrating that we lose games by 2-5points, even to the top teams in our league such as Lleida. We rebound fairly well, shoot better than our opposing teams, and have about the same amount of turnovers. BUT what separates us from our opposing teams is the amount of free-throws we take. Teams take almost twice (sometimes three times more) as many freethrows as us, which in the end matters, especially if you lose a game by just a few points. An interesting point about my own performance; although my minutes have gone down (which I am NOT happy about) I am averaging almost the same statistics as I did on the national team. I would want to average about 10points and 7reb on this team and take them to playoffs (which apparently hasn’t happened in 7-8yrs).
Otherwise I am doing well. I still have a bit of jumper’s knee, and a few bruises here and there as well as a nice shiner on my left eye, but otherwise things are going well. It’s getting colder. Got some nice gear today. It is always a great day when you get some free clothes hahah.
Jumpers knee
What a week it has been. Today was the first day I was able to practice, after I had acquired a stomach flu a few days ago. Probably was that chicken I had eaten on Monday. Oh well. Need to be a little bit more careful next time. Today’s practice went well. We ran a few different versions of the 11man drill, with and without dribbles. The managers keep tabs on specific statistics: 1p for a made shot, 5p for an assist, 3p for a block, -2 for a turnover, 3p for a steal, and 2p for def rebound and 3p for offensive rebound.
I noticed on Monday that my right knee was a little sore. When I woke up I also noticed that I wasn’t able to fully extend my leg, almost as if my leg had become frozen. I was worried it had something to do with my meniscus but it turns out I only have some gold-old tendonitis, specifically what is known as ‘jumpers knee’. I tend to wobble around after and before practice, but once that tendon is warm I am still able to play pain-free, and as a high flyer ;) I am lucky in that I have a lot of professional people caring for me, both here, and at home. I am able to ask previous trainers and physical therapists about almost anything I need help with. Ice, eccentric exercises, ice massage and ultra sound. And stretching of course. Dangit, I am so bad at stretching. I use to do hot yoga in college, and that really helped. Need to suck it up.
Game tomorrow. Leggo.
I noticed on Monday that my right knee was a little sore. When I woke up I also noticed that I wasn’t able to fully extend my leg, almost as if my leg had become frozen. I was worried it had something to do with my meniscus but it turns out I only have some gold-old tendonitis, specifically what is known as ‘jumpers knee’. I tend to wobble around after and before practice, but once that tendon is warm I am still able to play pain-free, and as a high flyer ;) I am lucky in that I have a lot of professional people caring for me, both here, and at home. I am able to ask previous trainers and physical therapists about almost anything I need help with. Ice, eccentric exercises, ice massage and ultra sound. And stretching of course. Dangit, I am so bad at stretching. I use to do hot yoga in college, and that really helped. Need to suck it up.
Game tomorrow. Leggo.
Found the recent games
Found the 3 recent games on youtube:
A barcelona visit
(Warning: long haha) Oh what a crazy weekend it has been. We wanted to go visit Barcelona for our off day since today’s practice was scheduled super late, so we would almost have two days off after our previous night game. We left late Saturday afternoon, about 3pm, and grab the train that goes from Salou to Barcelona in about an hour for 14 euros. What an incredible scene that train ride was. The track follows an amazing trail of beaches and oceans and big great mountains.
The waves were big on this afternoon, and anyone who knows anything about me knows that I LOVE to body surf, so I was out there for a while. After the beach, we decide to meet up with the rest of the crew in what looked like a town square. The city of Barcelona is one of the most gorgeous cities I’ve ever visited, and reminds me of ‘Old City’ in Stockholm, Sweden. The streets were absolutely packed as we walked to get some ice cream a few blocks from the beach. On our way I see this girl wearing a big Penn sweatshirt and then I see who it is lol Maeve Flynn – the only person I actually knew from Barcelona… the world sure is small after all. After what seemed to be hours of walking we finally meet up with the rest of the guys and decide to take the metro to what supposedly is the best restaurant in Barcelona – a place called “CDLC” (Carpe Diem Lounge Club), which is located right on the beach. We had a great hook up from a friend who works there as a part-time manager… (the best part is that she is moving to Salou to manage full-time at Tropical – the most popular club in Salou). Connections oh connections. I was skeptical at first, but this restaurant was one of the best I’ve ever been to. The restaurant was Asian themed, with red satin fabric everywhere as well as incredible but subtle ambient music and lighting. There were lounge couches set up where you could order meals and drinks, as well as a bar in the far back with cozier lighting. Check it out if you ever make it out here! We start the dinner with some champagne. I order the California sushi roll as my main dish, while my friends order everything from chicken wok to dessert cocktails. A magician comes up to our table and gives us an incredible card trick performance. These masseuse girls come up and give each of us a 10min massage. It was an incredible experience. The tab? 30 euros each. Not bad.
The waves were big on this afternoon, and anyone who knows anything about me knows that I LOVE to body surf, so I was out there for a while. After the beach, we decide to meet up with the rest of the crew in what looked like a town square. The city of Barcelona is one of the most gorgeous cities I’ve ever visited, and reminds me of ‘Old City’ in Stockholm, Sweden. The streets were absolutely packed as we walked to get some ice cream a few blocks from the beach. On our way I see this girl wearing a big Penn sweatshirt and then I see who it is lol Maeve Flynn – the only person I actually knew from Barcelona… the world sure is small after all. After what seemed to be hours of walking we finally meet up with the rest of the guys and decide to take the metro to what supposedly is the best restaurant in Barcelona – a place called “CDLC” (Carpe Diem Lounge Club), which is located right on the beach. We had a great hook up from a friend who works there as a part-time manager… (the best part is that she is moving to Salou to manage full-time at Tropical – the most popular club in Salou). Connections oh connections. I was skeptical at first, but this restaurant was one of the best I’ve ever been to. The restaurant was Asian themed, with red satin fabric everywhere as well as incredible but subtle ambient music and lighting. There were lounge couches set up where you could order meals and drinks, as well as a bar in the far back with cozier lighting. Check it out if you ever make it out here! We start the dinner with some champagne. I order the California sushi roll as my main dish, while my friends order everything from chicken wok to dessert cocktails. A magician comes up to our table and gives us an incredible card trick performance. These masseuse girls come up and give each of us a 10min massage. It was an incredible experience. The tab? 30 euros each. Not bad.
We leave the restaurant to meet up with a few people who live in Barcelona, to drop off our bags. As we get in separate taxis, MY cab (of course) ends up putting us on an address 200 numbers off. How does this happen? More walking. A quick change of clothes, and we are on our way to a hiphop club called “Otto Zutz”. The first hour or two of partying was fine, but once the clock hit 3am all I wanted to do was leave as my energy was just drained from all the walking we had done all day. I ended up not having fun at all. Note to self: take a nap and don’t walk so much the same day as a party. We leave at 6am, my legs numb and my brain feeling soggy. The train we were supposed to catch left at 8am. UGH!!!! We take a cab to the train station, only to realize that a train was coming earlier than we thought. As we wait for the train we see all these people wearing white. Apparently they were coming from some big rave concert, 40 thousand people large, called “Sensation” (w/ David Guetta etc.). Guess I missed out – love electronic music.
But the story doesn’t end there. As the train comes to a stop at Tarragona station, we realize it doesn’t go any further. The next train to Salou, where we live, wouldn’t come until hours later. So we said “to hell with it” and cab to Salou, a 15min car ride away. Bedtime? 9am.
Win against Palencia
We played a decent game against Palencia, and ended up winning the game by 4points. Unlike our other games, where we started out slow, we started this game strong, with a 25-7 lead in the 1st quarter; however, we lost focus at times and Palencia fought its way back, only to disrupt that big lead we had set the first quarter. Our big Latvian center had an incredible game, shooting 9/9 from the field. I had an average game with 8 points, shooting 3/6 from the field, 2/2 from the free-throw line, and ended up with 5 rebounds and a block, as well as a nice little tip dunk. My intensity has dropped a little; need to get back on that hustle and grind.
Double/Double with an L
35sec left of the game and we lose a 6point lead only to lose by one. Embarrassing! And we did not lose because of that minute, but we lost because of a horrible first quarter. The interesting part I guess was that one of my summer league teammates and Big 5 arch rival Antonio Pena, a grad player from Villanova, plays in La Palma. Me and my teammate J Mitchell have played this dude every year for our 4 years of college. It’s funny how small the basketball world actually is. Anyways, so we lost. I hate to lose! Absolutely hate it. It gives me that “what if” feeling in my gut, that I despise. I had a good game, sure. But not a great first half. What if? What if I had a great first half? God, these thoughts just have to leave the body at some point. On to the next one. We better win the next game. It would have been nice to start the season with a first game win. But all that really counts is that we make playoffs and kill this season. So on to the next one.
Personal stats: 25min. 13points. 46% from the field. 75% from freethrows. 12 reb. 1assist. 2 blocks. Highest value on the team: 27. Zero turnovers.
I had a good game. Or should I say a good half. 3 dunks. But still. What if? What if I had played a better first half. Hate going to bed with these thoughts in my mind.
New Shoes
The three pairs of shoes finally came in after three weeks of waiting. Until now, I've been wearing borrowed old and wornout adidas promodels size 14. Yeah, that's 2.5 sizes to small. Needless to say that my toes feel fresh and relieved today. Was not able to get myself the Kobe VI, since my shoe size limits the kind of shoes I am able to order. Sad indeed. The VI are superfly.
Nike Kobe V
Nike Hyperdunk 2010 (Low)
Nike Zoom Soldier IV
Popo
We haven't had any days off since Saturday. It was especially hard after our Barca game, since the practice schedule following the next week was filled with two-a-days (2 practices a day). But it is amazing how much an ibuprofen can help. Morning practices are often easy, and usually just mean lift and shooting drills.
I have had to explain to my american teammates how the Ivy League games are back-to-back; something that I don't think any other conference experiences. The reason of course being that the ivy schools wants to limit the time away from school. If you play a lot of minutes, this means that you usually are dead tired on Sunday morning... unless you are Jack Eggleston of course.
On the way back from our second practice we were pulled over by a Spanish police car. We did some mistake in exiting a roundabout, but the police had trouble explaining this to us. The ironic part was that minutes before we were discussing the fact that the American license is illegal in Spain. Anyways, the police were nice enough to acknowledge us as foreign Tarragona basketball players and let us go. In fact, they were trying to discuss basketball with us, but we had no clue what they were saying...
