The Boys are Back in Town Part 2

FRIDAY:

It was game day and a big one at that.  This was a game against a team that had won 5 out of its last 6 and were led by a player named Darius Hargrove who leads the league in scoring and happens to also be signed to the same agency, Strategic Sports Management (a little shameless plug for my agent Jamie Knox) after a little playful banter between the two of us it was clear that this game was going to have multiple trash talking opportunities.
















Time to kick it up a notch.

















Before Maxwell, Paul and I headed out to the game I told them we were going to watch the movie 300 so I could get "in the zone."

  They put all sharp objects out of my reach.

















After the movie and a brief but intense Jam session that sent 3 of my neighbors up to my door to inform me (in swedish) that my music was too loud, we headed down to the arena. (...ok its a gym but how much cooler does it sound when I say arena??)

I can't tell you how much it meant to see them in the stands and as I was warming it up it was entertaining to see them walking around the gym cameras in hand, and taking pictures of everything like they founded a black paparazzi organization.

Max was taking pictures of me warming up and asked if I could shoot on his side....sure why not.  I continue to shoot and he asks if I could hold my follow through up a little longer.....umm ok I guess.  Then he asks me if I can face him and dribble....OK DUDE this isn't the latest issue of 'Blacks in Sweden' I have a game to warm up for!! (To my knowledge there is no such magazine.)

















Soon enough the game starts and we are off to the races.  I open up the game with a huge dunk and look over to see Max and Paul going crazier than Lady Gaga in her music videos.

This is gonna be a good day.

















The game is a back and forth battle and I am on the front lines of each end.  On defensive our guard forces his man to the baseline and as he goes for a layup. I come across for the block which leads to a Solna offensive fastbreak.  I trail the play keeping my eyes on the ball the whole time.  When I reach the 3point line I see the shot go up and I sprint towards the basket.  The ball bounces off the rim and I proceed to record my second dunk of the day.  And a tip dunk at that.  (Thats going on the end of year highlight video)

At halftime we find ourselves down by a small margin and I have 6 points and 9 rebounds.  We need to come back alot harder in the second half if we want to beat this team.  We come out in the second half and its still a back and forth game.  In the middle of the third quarter I see that we are down 5.  Its a dead ball situation and I'm tired.  I look over at Paul and he sees it.

















For a moment its just the two of us.  He doesn't say anything, he just gives me a nod but it tells me all I need to know.

Time to kick it up a notch.

















We are on the defensive end and after a good possession of hard defense I grab the rebound and we sprint down to the other end.  Walker drives down the paint dishes me the ball and go up chest to chest with a guy and finish with authority.

Down 3.

















We set up our defense, force another missed shot, I grab the rebound and I find myself part of a 4 on 3 fast break (for the basketball ignorant 4 on 3 means we have 4 offensive players against 3 of their defensive players) the ball is passed to me just as I'm passing the free throw line...with the defender in between me and the basket it is too far for me to try and dunk it but my momentum is moving me too far forward to shot a jump shot...yes ladies and gentlemen there was only one option...

a floater...




















Down 1.

















I stared at my hand in disbelief but I actually just consciously shot my first floater.   We race back on defense, but I'm still in disbelief.  I snap back to reality just in time to see Oli guarding his defender as he drives to the basket.  I race over there right as he lets a floater of his own go....

















I jump up as high as I can and record one of my most electric blocks of the season...
















My knee hits the back of Oli's head and I fall forward landing on my wrist and my knee,  in pain I get pack up and run (limp) down the court where my teammate finds me wide open for a jumper.


















Up 1.

















Jamtland calls a timeout...I turn to the crowd with my hands raised and look at Paul and Maxwell as they cheer wildly.

















I look at the crowd and for a second I just pause to take it all in.  This is why I play this game.  For the people I love.  For the love of the game.

I will remember that moment for the rest of my life.

















Unfortunately my knee did give me considerable amounts of pain...but I finished the game strong and with 14 points 13 rebounds and 2 blocks I was happy when we came away with the 80-76 victory.

After the game and a delicious meal of Pizza Stugan we went and hung out with my team for a long time and decided to just stay up until it was time for me to take them to the airport (630am...fun).  This is what had us laughing until we cried...

Some of the best memories will be from the trip that my brothers came out and saw me in Sweden, and as I drove away from the airport after having dropped them off I noticed there must have been a hole in my roof that water was coming in from because my cheeks were wet...




















It followed me into my apartment.

















However as sad I was I realized that my job here isn't finished yet.  I realized that there was one momnumental task ahead of the Solna Vikings that I couldn't wait to experience.

















The Playoffs.
















Until then.

The Boys are Back in Town Part 1

I'm 5 years old, it is the night before christmas and I have to go to bed.  I lie down but I can't go to sleep.  I close my eyes but they pop back open.  I try and count sheep but they turn into presents and stockings and christmas food.  My mind is running at a million miles an hour...








Man I can't wait till tomorrow morning...
















Fast forward 17 years and the same feeling has recaptured me once again.  Only this time it's not for Christmas, my brother and best friend from home are coming to visit me in Sweden!!!  I have to go to bed.  I lie down but I can't go to sleep.  I close my eyes but they pop back open.  I try counting sheep but they turn into Paul and Maxwell and the food we are gonna cook.  My mind is running at a million miles an hour....











Man I can't wait till tomorrow morning.
















Alarm blaring.  I shoot out of bed, start breakfast and put my shoes on.  Then I realize that not only is it not time to go but I also haven't put pants on either.  Calm down dude, you're an adult.
















I get to the airport and anxiously await there arrival.  I thought about bringing a sign to the airport to hold it above everyone so they could see it when they walked out but I remembered that not only am I an average 40 centimeters (15 inches) taller than everyone here, but also the chocolate to their marshmallow.





I should be ok.











Even though they were on separate flights they landed within 20 minutes of each other and they both walked out at the same time.  After months of only seeing them on a computer screen I was elated to see them in person.















After being on a plane for most of the day for them they were ready to sleep immediately.














Big No-No.

Did make them Pan!cakes when they got here

I made them stay up until that night because in order for them to get on the right sleep schedule they couldn't take a nap....

Not a happy camper

dude the Pan!cakes weren't that bad

That day went by fairly painlessly...for me.  Maxwell gets a little hostile when he is tired and Paul, well imagine how angry a grizzly bear that is starving and hasn't slept for a week would be, and then imagine how tough a person would have to be to kill that grizzly bear with his bare hands.  Now imagine THAT person hasn't slept for a week.  Well that person still wouldn't try and keep Paul from sleeping when he is tired.








And that was my job...













Sweet.
















The highlight of Sunday was definitely dinner.  BBQ chicken with vegetables and mashed potatoes will cheer up anyones mood.

That -itis hit them harder than a fully juiced Barry Bonds.

(for my dear swedes and lighter skinned americans who dont know what the "-itis" is its when you have a really really good meal and feel the need to go to sleep right after.  If you haven't had this feeling please give me a call and I will personally cook you a guaranteed -itis meal)












And with that there first day in sweden drew to a close.















Monday:




The next morning they were well rested and basically on the right sleep schedule.  I joked with Paul aren't you glad that I kept you up??
















His stare and lack of smile told me to move on.
















Now monday was a game day so we took it easy and headed out to Upsalla for the fellas to see me play in a professional basketball game for the first time.

Wasn't exactly the best game for them to see.














We weren't clicking as a team and we ended up with a loss.  Fortunately they would still be in town for another game on Friday, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

After the game we needed to eat.  I got the guys some food but wanted to give it to them discreetly because I wasn't sure if food was allowed in the gym.  I put it under my jacket and decided to try and be slick with it.  This is how that transpired....











I walk out to Maxwell and Paul.  I turn to Max and say, can you take my JACKET out to the car for me please??  I think you will need it out there..... (*wink*)














He looks at me for a second then replies, "Why would I wanna carry your jacket? Carry it yourself."














...clearly he isn't getting it....

















I try again...















Hey max I know you're HUNGRY but can you take my JACKET out to the car I think it will help your HUNGER.....(*stare*) (*wink*)

















How is your jacket gonna help me with my hunger?? Am I supposed to eat your jacket??













.....somebody come pick this dude up and take him home....














Finally Paul says "Dude he has our food under the jacket...."
















"well why didn't you just say that?"















After reading this the CIA just sent me a letter saying they have declined my application to be a covert operative.



















We head back to Stockholm and conclude our 2nd day in sweden.  They hadn't seen too much of Sweden and Tuesday would be a great day to make sure we saw some real parts of Sweden.

















Tuesday:





We wake up and eat another great breakfast and decide to head out to Gamla Stan which means Old Town in swedish...(Hej guys aren't you proud?  I'm not just a dumb jock using your culture for basketball I'm learning something too!)  Since I had no idea how to get there by car we decided to take the train....















Now I must pause and stress two important points.





The first is that Paul, Maxwell and I  are very smart individuals and separately we can figure out anything.





The second is that we have ridden on trains numerous times and separately we all know how to blend in with the surroundings.















The keyword in both of those sentences is "separately."















First we almost miss it so we have to sprint to get to the nearly full train.  We squeeze inconspicuously into the train car.  When I say inconspicuously I mean three giant African-American males barged into the car laughing and talking loudly.  We look around and see everyone staring at us like we were that guy at the party that wasn't invited but came anyways.










But we don't let that dampen our spirits we still decide to talk and act silly in spite of the stares.  We are in control and we know it.
















Then the train starts to move.  















For some reason ALL OF US forget to hold on and the movement sends us crashing back into some lady who EXTREMELY upset.  I wish I could explain to you how upset...well imagine how angry a grizzly bear that is starving...















We finally make it to Old Town, and have one of the best days of my life.  I'll let the pictures show you a glimpse of what we saw...

After a full day of tourism we called it a night.














Wednesday:


We watched Slumdog Millionaire which is an AMAZING movie and decided to tour downtown Stockholm.  My point guard Oli was our guide and he showed us around the city.  No where near the extravagant adventure that Old Town was but it was what we needed.


















Thursday:



Since I had two practices that were pretty close together in time we just stayed at home and watched Slumdog Millionaire for the second time.  It was even better.  They helped me film part of The Bachelor's life (shameless plug) and we watched Transformers 2 after an amazing Mexican style dinner. Glorious.





















Friday:




To be continued....



;)

Until then.

Three in a Row and the Start of a Show

And we're back....

Now there is a reason for my delay...its another project...I think you'll like it...but its at the end of the blog so you have to read it all first (or just scroll to the bottom and see it but come one I work hard on these!!!!)

This past week or so has been quite busy, no more dinner parties, no more burning chicken, no more distractions, it was back to basketball and after that loss to Sundsvall we needed to get back on the winning side.

We started with a game against our cross town rival 08 Stockholm.

With only a 20 minute car ride from gym to gym that separates the two I heard tales of a rivalry that has gone back many years before my professional career.  This year though 08 has had a down year sitting near the bottom of the league.  We had just won two out of three but we were anxious to continue our streak as we near playoffs.

With 08 having two of their top players out due to illness and other reasons we knew that we had to jump on the team quickly and step on the gas.

The limp of a beginning was not what we had hoped for....we went into halftime with a less than 10 point lead and a feeling that we needed to get something going to make sure we got back in it in the second half...

Logi Gunnarsson and David Hult took care of that.

With 22 points and 17 points respectively they along with the rest of our team carried us to a 30+ point blowout of the injured 08 Stockholm and a confidence booster as we headed into another huge match up against LF Basket in the following days...

Now if you read back to my previous entries you will read the entry of when we went up to LF and had one of the closest games of the year winning by one point off of a last second shot by William Walker.

This game brought no less excitement.

In a game that took place on our home court it was imperative that with a team like this we get out to a good lead or at least a fighting chance in the beginning...

we are down 10+ in the second quarter...

We are such a dramatic team...

We come out in the third quarter not discouraged but focused and ready to eat away at this lead LF has built...

We chip away and continue to push forward,...narrowing there lead and then building one of our own..

We finally build a 7 point lead with only 30 seconds remaining!!  That means that the game is over!!!

Except that it isn't...I swear I sneezed and the buzzer was going off and it was a tie game and going into overtime!!!...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Most teams when they build a lead like that and then let a team comeback the odds are against them in overtime...

But we aren't most teams...

We battled, hit huge shots, got crucial offensive rebounds, and delivered monumental defensive stops.  We did what we needed to do and we won.  With our point guard Olivier Olunga scoring 25 points and showing he is one of the top point guards in sweden we got the W.  2 in a row and 4 out of our last 5.....things were looking up.

We got ready for our third and final game of this....blog....session (???)  against Sodertalje...another team we lost to early in my half season here.  It was time for some payback...

WHY ARE WE DOWN 19 WITH 7 MINUTES TO GO IN THE FIRST HALF????

I swear most teams would have given up....

This ain't most teams...

We fought and battled our way back into the game and when the final horn sounded....we came out victorious...

We now have a huge game tomorrow against Upsalla and we look to get a W!!!!

Now to those of you who read this and get lost with all the basketball jargon here is something for you.  I am starting a new web series called the bachelors life... here is the trailer!!!

If you like it then go to facebook and like this page!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/thebachelorslife

 The first episode is already being filmed will be coming out in a couple weeks!!

This week also my brother and one of my best friends from home will be in town...it will probably be a nice quiet time for all of us to just relax and hang out...

YEAH RIGHT!!!!!!

Im sure there will be some blog worthy material....

Until then!!!