Guard and Protect My Heart

I think anyone who is a loyal reader of this blog knows how I love pop culture and all the absurdity surrounding it. Last night, I lost one of my favorite reality TV characters ever. His name is Kasey, and I have embeded a video to help you understand why I love him, and why I will miss him from the Bachelorette:

Video Blog!

This Changes Everything

When a person spends as much time in his office as I do, you want to start to enjoy some creature comforts. An iced tea machine. A fan. A fridge. I have no moved it up a bit, or, as Peyton Manning would say, "next level," with a new couch. Yes, I will never have to go home now because I can do everything right here in the office. I didn't buy a full on couch for fear that I would spend most of the day sleeping a la Don Draper, but it will add a bit more comfiness to the office.

It is very comfy, and I can't wait until I can shut my door in the middle of the day and fall asleep. There really is no telling what I can accomplish now!

I don't know if you know this, but there is a kind of a big game tonight between the Yankees and the Phillies. Also, I am not sure if you knew this, but there is an even bigger game between the Celtics and the Lakers. There is a lot of history going down there. First, Phil Jackson has never lost a playoff series where his team has one the first game like in this series. On the other side, in all five game sevens of the Finals that matched the Celtics and the Lakers, the Celtics have won every time. In a battle of the streaks, I am going to go with the Celtics.

You may think I am going with the pick because of my man-crush on Oliver Lafayette, and you just might be right. Yet, there are issues beyond just loyalty here. I just think the Celtics are better. They are operating on two days rest after the last game. They have the best defense in the league. They are more balanced with a better bench. Correspondingly, I don't think the Lakers bench can do what they did the other day. Moreover, outside of Kobe and Pau, none of the Lakers guys really scare me. Finally, it always seems that when a team loses a key player (like the way the Cs have lost Perkins), they can turn it on for one game before the injury catches up to them. I am betting that tonight is the Celtics night to have that one game.

So, there you have it. My fearless prediction is that the Celtics will prevail and our boy Oliver will not be asking for more porridge, but for more champagne!

Fascinating Stories Of The NBA Finals

One of many great articles about our boy, Oliver! I am not sure if there is a better story in the D-League. A guy who was cut fights his way back to the very top and becomes an NBA player. I could not be more proud we had him wearing our jersey. He is such a great kid, and he deserves all the great things he is receiving right now! Check out the story on the link:

Fascinating Stories Of The NBA Finals

Stress? What Stress?

Well, I am pleased to announce that I passed my stress test with flying colors. No serious issues with my ticker, and the doctor's advice was for me to stop whining and toughen up a bit! Seriously, whatever I am feeling seems to be more nuisance and something I will just have to live with, and I am okay with that compared to going on some type of medication. Thanks to all who sent emails with well wishes!

Now, on to more fun things like basketball. It was quite a blowout last night in LA, but I still think the Celtics are going to pull this out. They are the better team, and I don't think Artest, Vujacic, and some of the other bench guys can put two good games together. Moreover, I think the older, more experienced team -- the Celtics -- will take advantage of these two days and come out much fresher. They have lost both games which had only one day rest between games, but fared far better with more rest between games like before game 7. So, I think our boy Oliver is going to come back to the Fort with a big fat ring and hopefully a new contract! What do you guys think? Lakers? Cs? Let me know!

That's it for me! Be back with more when the feeling strikes!

Stress Test

Well, I am sad to say that age has possibly not only caught up to me, but passed me by. I'm currently in a hospital room waiting to hop on a treadmill for a echo stress test which will tell me if my heart is okay. Some time ago, my heart began to really flutter and bother me. After a few weeks, I called in one day to my doctor, and they told me to rush to the ER, where I was told I had a premature heart beat. The result is that it makes it feel like my heart is ready to jump out of my chest.

So, I've had to cut things like caffeine out of my diet, but I still feel it. The doctor has brought me in to take a look to make sure it isn't something more. I will be running through a lot of different stages to see if my heart is working right, and I can leave -- hopefully -- with some knowledge that I'm not going to drop dead at any moment from a massive coronary. Wish me luck!

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At the Airport

Sadly, not much to report from the elite camp. Sean and Ryan played okay, but nothing too great. Frankly, really no one played well. They looked exhausted from yesterday's workouts, which were very drill heavy.

All in all, I thought the guys played well, and I think V and Steve got a lot out of coaching the teams.

As for me, I got to see the nations capital, which was something I'm ashamed to say hasn't happened in my 37 years.

Tomorrow, I go to play in the Mad Anthony's tournament, and hope all five that read this will show up at Sycamore for a very good cause.


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Open Tryout Day Two

In the battle of the Mad Ants brain trust, Steve Gansey beat Vitaly Potapenko's open tryout team by one point. Here's all you need to know about the match up: Gansey pressed the whole game, and V made two players quit. Enough said.

As for players, I have to be honest, none really stood out. There may be a couple of guys who I thought might be worthy of a late draft pick, but I'd rather spend those picks on guys I see at our open tryouts.

Well, time to get ready for the elite camp. Let's hope our two boys continue the good work.


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Elite Camp

After a long wait and what seemed to be way too many drills, I finally was able to see Sondy and Ryan play against and with some of the D-leagues finest.

I thought Ryan had a good day. He hit threes and did what he does. Tomorrow, I'm hoping that he can do a few more things and try to put his imprint on the game more. In games like these, he will be stuck not getting the ball if he is not more aggressive.

As for Sondy, I thought he was the mist impressive player in camp. He made jumpers, great post moves, and looked Walton-esque with some of his outlet passes. I'm sure I sound biased, but there was no better big out there. The best part was that he didn't just make himself look good, he made others better. A big day for Sean, and I could not be happier for him.

Tomorrow is another day of the open tryout and elite. More tomorrow!


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Tryout Camp Day 1

That man? Yes, assistant coach extraordinaire, Steve Gansey. He is currently running drills for the elite workouts. They have been running drills for what seems to be days, and I am bored as can be. Let's get to some games!

This morning they had the open tryout portion, and the only thing I can tell you is that both Steve and Vitaly split their games. Tomorrow, they face each other, which should be fun to watch.

As for players, there was some decent talent, but I can't say anyone stood out. I hope to have something more for you tomorrow.

In other news, I ran the National Mall today, and it was just fabulous. My favorite location was the Lincoln Memorial, but it was all great. Look forward to doing it tomorrow!

I just reread that, and I must admit that I am not offering much, but what can I tell you? I haven't seen much!

Hope to have something better for you tomorrow!

Tysons Corner

Well, I'm sitting in a Wildfire after dinner, and I thought I would post a quick blog.

I had my usual tonight at a steakhouse -- a rib eye steak cooked medium rare with some creamed spinach. The creamed spinach was good, but the steak was undercooked and way too fatty. I should have ate at the Palm.

Right now, I'm doing what I usually do when I am on a trip. Hanging by myself and watching people. Frankly, the people watching is weak, but hope it improves when I head to the national mall tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am going to tour DC in the morning, and, by that, I mean I am going to run the mall. I really enjoy seeing sights like that. I can get my exercise and tourism knocked out in one fail swoop.

After that, I will head to the work outs. Not sure what we will see, but you usually see at least 10 decent players. Of those ten, you might get 5 that can play in the league. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.

I'm sure all of you are dying to get my thoughts on the world cup. Well, I am decidely bored by it. First, it annoys me that people don't care about soccer for four years, and then they are suddenly experts or wakin up early to see the games. Seems a little fake to me, but what are you going to do.

With that said, i suppose i am calling the kettle black because the fact is that I do enjoy soccer. When I was overseas, I used to go to games and watch them. The best was when I was in Argentina and Maradona came back to play for Boca. He was fat, out of shape, and probably drunk or coked out of his mind, but he was still pretty good. So, obviously, I'm rooting for Argentina. Anything to keep that whack job Maradona in the limelight!

Okay, enough ramblings from me. More tomorrow about the tryout!

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How About Some Credit?

How about all the blog posts? Can I get some love for all this blogging?!

Bulgaria Takes Another Mad Ant Point Guard

I am not sure what it is about Bulgaria and our old point guards, but it seems they have taken another one, but for a vastly different reason:

Bulgarian National team is preparing to welcome it's new American gain - Earl Calloway (191-G-83, college: Indiana). 191 cm tall guard will observe the tradition every summer in Bulgaria to arrive at least one pretty new foreigner, obligatory born in United States of America. Bulgarian basketballalready has one full roster of Americans, who proudly play around the world with their Bulgarian passports.
Priest Lamar Lauderdale, Roderick Blakney (ED., Moo Moo Blakney and Jeff Potter were teammates with the Cincinnati Stuff), Ibrahim Jaaber, KZell Wesson, Kiki Clark, Andre Owens, Earl Rowland. Maybe somebody is missing. The list is long. It's a question of time 26-years old Calloway to join the group.
Bulgarian National team head coach Rosen Barchovski wants to get familiar with his style of playing. Earl will join the camp of the squad for the games in Group C of Eurobasket 2011qualifications in August. There Bulgaria is in the company of Portugal, Georgia, Poland and Belgium.Barchovski will choose between Calloway and Rowland, who played for his second motherland since last summer at European championship in Poland.

Earl Calloway was born on 30th September 1983. Last season he spent in Spanish ACB club Cajasol Seville. Earl played college basketball in Indiana, his career in Europe began in 2008, when he signed with Croatian Cibona Zagreb

Here is what I see happening here. It is clear from that list of Americans, that the Bulgarians will give out a passport for a certain price. When I played overseas, I had all types of opportunities to pay a certain sum and get citizenship from a Euro country. The benefit of this is that I would not have counted as an American player (teams generally can only have two), and teams can stack there rosters with American players. That passport will guarantee you more money and a longer career if you choose that path. I suspect that Earl's agent is having him follow the same path. I might be wrong, and I am just guessing, but that was my experience. Either way, maybe we will see Earl playing in the next Olympics for the Bulgarian national team!

Elite Camp

The hardest working player in the D-League, Sean Sonderleiter, continues his climb up the ladder of greatness (hyperbole is no stranger to my game), as he will be headed to DC this weekend for the NBA's elite camp. I will be honest, I have no idea what this is for. I think there may be some scouts in attendance, or it might be to pick the remaining roster of the D-League summer league team (for which he should be a shoe in member), but it is fun to see some good players there. To be honest, I am not sure that the list is as good as the one last year, but there are some good players there, and I hope some scouts as well to see what these guys got.

For Sonderleiter, I hope he shows what I see every day (he's in Fort Wayne working out with young superstar coach Steve Gansey) -- that he is the most skilled post player in the league. He can score in a number of ways, and he has really worked to take his game to a whole other level. Or, as Peyton Manning would say, "That's next level."

Our other representative is the sensational shooter, Ryan Ayers. Ryan is a kid who is just scratching the surface of what he can do on a basketball court. In fact, one of the things he lacks is confidence. He can do a lot of things, but I think he tries to just stay within himself, and it keeps people from seeing how he can put it on the floor, defend, rebound, and get to the rim and finish. He could really be a good player, and I hope we get him back.

Well, that is the preview of DC. I will be blogging, tweeting, and whatever else I can do to keep myself busy and you informed!

Great Show

I am sitting here hanging with Mrs. Potter and watching just a spectacular show. This show has completely changed its cast, but it stays just as good as ever. Coach Taylor is as close to reality in terms of a high school coach I have ever seen, and the story always stays so fresh and interesting. Mrs. Taylor is the high school principal we always wish we could have -- tough, fair, and caring. Anyway, it is a great show, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

On the basketball side of things, I had a great visit in Van Wert today. I spoke to a business group about the team, and they did something that I just never saw very much of in the west coast. They took the time to say the Pledge of Allegiance before the meeting. I have been to a few different meetings like that, and it always strikes me as a wonderful way to start a meeting. I mean, I don't remember saying the Pledge on a consistent basis since I was in grade school. Anyway, I thought I would share what a great group I met in Van Wert and what a nice experience I had.

Today

Off to Van Wert, Ohio for some meetings and a speech I have to give. I always dread speaking in public, but once I get going, it usually isn't so bad. Can't say how it is for the listener, but not that bad from my end.

Last nights game -- what a turnaround. No way I thought Ray Allen could miss every single shot. In fact, the way it normally goes, a guy struggles all game long will usually find the mark in a critical point, but Ray just couldn't find it.

If the C's expect to win, they can't have one of the three having big nights. Then Pierce has to pick it up. KG has to do that every game. They had a chance to win, and probably would have if Pierce or Ray could have done anything.

As for the Lakers, they are just good. Fisher -- one of the great actors in the game today -- does all the little things, and Kobe of course can take a good defensive possession away at any moment. I think it will be tough for the C's to recover from that one.

That's it from here. Have a great day!
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At the Gas House

Not sure if any of you have noticed, but I have been in a deep blog slumber. What have I been doing, you ask? In a steady stream of meetings, like the one I'm waiting on now.

This time of year is nothing but selling season, and it keeps me busy as can be. As a result, my blog game suffers, as I'm exhausted and don't believe anyone wants to hear about our sales stories.

Yet, it is becoming time for the summer hoop season. I will be in DC for the league open tryout, and I will blog a lot there. So you have that going for you, which is nice. More later!

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