Time flies when English is spoken

With the exception of my several month "vacation" I do believe this is the longest I have gone without a post.  Many of you have asked why (oh i love you my little blog fiends) and to be honest there are a few reasons.

1.)  This is not Bulgaria, bad stuff does not happen to me everyday.

As I reread some of my blogs I realize just how many things went WRONG while I was over there...I mean come on grape jelly??  Man those were tough times (the jelly I have now has pictures of strawberries and it is squeezable...im oh so grown)

this isn't me obviously because she is....eating grape jelly

2.)  This is not Bulgaria, I can talk to people and they can respond.

While it was entertaining to see all the blank stares and confused faces when I would speak english to those in the Balkans, it is nice that someone can actually tell me where I can find the latest Ke$ha CD (It's for my brother he loves her music).  But seriously talking and interacting with the fans and my teammates has been great.  I have been able to hang out with them off the court and meet new people as we venture into the city every now and then.

3.)  This is not Bulgaria.

Just wanted to reiterate that one more time.

Ok enough of that, now here is what HAS happened in the 2 weeks or so.

We have had 3 games in that stretch with 2 of them being against top teams in our league.  I played pretty well in the second one scoring 10 points and 8 rebounds but we could not get a win as we fell to Norrkopping (Pronounced Nor-shupping).   

Losing those two games was a tough pill to swallow because regardless of whatever excuse I could come up with on wh I wasnt playing great (I had just gotten there, i was still learning, the sun was in my eye, the devil made me do it and so on and so forth) the fact of the matter was I just wasnt doing enough to help our team win.  

Our next game we played against 08 Stockholm.  This was a game that was a must win for us because we just dropped 2 in a row and this team was lower in the standings. 

It was time to kick it up a notch...

My man Joe

Logi Gunnarsson showin me some love

Shout out to the photographer for all these great photos...

After a game with huge point swings for both sides we came up with the victory 83-78.  Thanks to the help of my teammates who put me in great positions to score I had a team high 19 points and 8 rebounds.  That win seemed to help us gel a little more as we figure out how we all fit together on the 94' long hardwood (ay yo).

Our next game was to be played against LF Basket a team that sat 2nd in our league and had only lost once at home.  If there was ever a place to get a win to boost team moral it would be here.  With our Captain Leslie coming back from injury we seemed to be one step closer to having all the pieces we needed to make a serious run in the league.  The game starts...

Annnnnd we find ourselves down 23 points.....

So much for that....

Enter Logi Gunnarsson.

Our veteran point guard decided it was time for us to stop watching the game and actually play.  With 9 straight points we go to halftime with a 14 point deficit and a sour taste in our mouths.

But that second half I saw something that I have always longed for in a team.

Fire.

I saw refusal to lose, refusal to quit, angry but focused, vocal but constructive, we were ready to take this game.  We looked at each other and we knew...

It was time to kick it up a notch...

we continued to push and battle and narrow the lead to 10...

then 6....

tie game...

we take the lead!  But it is quickly taken back and a back and forth battle within the last few minutes ensues.  We find ourselves down one with 25 seconds left and the ball for the shot.  Do or die time.

Ball is entered to William Walker on the right side of the basket.  He backs down his man...one dribble...two..turns pump fakes...bumps him...fade away shot...

oh the suspense ;-)

GOOD!! With 7.6 seconds we find ourselves up 1 and defending.  We stop there last ditch effort to score and beat LF Basket 86-85.  I finished the game with 17 points and 4 rebounds and a feeling that I was beginning to gel with the team here in Solna.  

After the game we relaxed and talked for awhile.  One of my teammates Alex and I decided to go and find something to eat....

I almost didn't make it.  

I remember before I came here I said, "Im excited to experience true cold."

Dude SHUT UP....

It was colder than getting dissed by Britney in 7th grade when I asked her to be my girlfriend...

(I wrote her a note it said...

Will you go out with me?

Yes           Maybe                No (Yes)

She ripped it up in front of the class...I'm over it...sort of...)

I literally never wanna experience that type of weather again.  

On the way to the airport we picked up a paper to see what they wrote about the game.  (Lulea, the city where LF is located, is very serious about their basketball)  In the paper I notice that I see my name.  The article is in Swedish so I asked one of my teammates what it meant....

What was translated should never have been told to me....

"Adam Constantine has the coolest style in the league."

...

As if my head wasn't big enough already...

The beast is now awake....

I believe you have seen him before...

Time to kick it up a notch...

And with that, we are caught up to today.  Our next game is another big home game Sunday at 6 against Sodertalje pronounced (Sod-uh-tail-yuh) who sits 3rd in our league.  You can watch the play by play at www.solnavikings.se   There are some of the games that will be broadcast on the internet and when I find that out I will let everyone know.  Until then..

Hall Kaften!!!

wait that means shut up never mind...

Ajdö!!! 

"This is my story.  This has been my dream.  This is my pursuit.  And I won't stop until I succeed."