Now that I’ve got my feet wet using Flash, I decided to study hard for about the last year and have learned how to do HTML and CSS. I can also tinker with PHP & Javascript now.
As a result, I decided it was time to make the Shaka Dula website a bit more … interactive. So look for the new updated website coming soon!
My y0ungest son is hardcore obsessed with basketball and, in particular, Like Mike.
His favourite part? The “Basketball” Video by JD and Lil Bow Wow.
I have to say that he has good taste. 
I’ve heard that song about a dozen times in the last few hours, but it’s okay cuz I like it. lol.
In a few years, I’m gonna introduce him to Jurassic 5′s basketball song.
So the dust has finally settled and, as we start to gear up for the preseason a few things have become clear:
1. No matter WHAT LeBron does, he’ll be criticized by everyone but knowledgeable basketball fans. The latest Twitter feed, #bronsmentalnotes, is the perfect example of the venom being thrown LeBron’s way. He’s become the lightning rod for any negative reaction towards virtually any player right now. Bosh fans, Bron fans, Amar’e fans … everyone and their dog is tossing barbs at Bron.
2. LeBron is angry about it. The joke right now is that he tweeted that he’s taking notes on everyone who is talking trash about him. Laugh now, cry later. This goes towards any Laker and Cavs fan in particular but also, in general, to all naysayers who are calling LeBron a loser and what not. If things come true for LeBron, then we’re in for a real treat this year as his stat line of 27,7 & 7 could MAYBE increase to a full on triple double? I have a feeling that LeBron is gonna terrorize the League this season and any fantasy managers worth their weight in salt will make Bron #1 overall. You heard it here first.
3. Miami has become Public Enemy #1. Even myself, a true LeBron fan, has a hard time seeing anyone wearing a Heat jersey right now. For me, it’s the bandwagon aspect of it, which is really funny because I’m left with no choice (as a LeBron and Bosh fan) to cheer for the Heat this winter. But for other teams (the have nots), seeing a team with 3 superstars in their prime destroy them while their teams languish with sub-500 records will be painful to watch. And teams that are creeping up there (Celtics and Mavs, I’m looking at you), well their fan bases will also be upset when they compare what Miami has with what they have at home.
Really, there’s no way around it. The Heat are the villains this year. For better or for worse. Regardless of letters, ads, TV opportunities and appearances that they make at functions …. they’re in a position where they just can’t win.
I don’t know. I find it hard to go from hating these guys whom I have admired for the last 6 years and simply turn on them on a dime. I have a hard time cheering against them. I’d rather hate Kobe.
Basketball Shoes: $125
Ankle Braces: $89 each
Leather Basketball: $75
Beating someone half my age 1-0 in a 1 on 1 basketball game: Priceless
There are some things money can buy.
And sometimes, the sweet taste of victory and the sound of humbled silence are priceless.
Comments off
Last night, I dreamed that I was playing basketball.
I know, surprise, right?
Well, in this game, I was playing with Charles Barkley, Ahmad Rashad, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Dominique Wilkins, Scottie Pippen, Muggsy Bogues and Craig Seger.
We were playing in a sold out gymnasium that had a high school feel to it in that it had bleachers only on one side of the court. It was for charity.
Craig Seger showed up in a red-headed afro wig, purple satin tighty shorts, rainbow tank top and knee high red-white-and-blue socks. Everyone laughed at him and called him a clown. And he took attention away from Ahmad Rashad who, in my dream, was no better than the average punk streetballer who you meet in your city courts ….. and he shot like Carlton from Fresh Prince.
After warm ups, we began to play. Me, MJ, Pipp, Ewing and Ahmad vs. Starks, ‘nique, Sir Charles, Muggsy and Seger.
A few plays into the game, MJ passed to me on the baseline and I went up for the shot – short corner, easy money. Well, Barkley destroyed my shot. He grabbed his own block, passed the outlet to Muggsy and he rifled it to John Starks on the opposite wing. Starks raced up the court with the ball and tried to cross over Pipp on the wing but he stepped on Pipp’s shoe by accident. His fibula cracked at the midway point and he collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony. His leg was all lumpy where the break was and everyone was like “ew”.
Then I woke up.
I was sweating (as though I had played basketball) and I grasped at my ankle to make sure it was ok. Then I jumped out of bed, ran to my front window and checked to make sure my car was not towed overnight.
Don’t ask, I had just woken up from a dream. Go with it.
Then, upon seeing that my car was fine, I hopped back into bed and was asleep within a few minutes.
Man, Barkley and MJ can BALL!
Comments off
Another year gone by.
Tonight, I celebrate with family. But while I am physically drinking it up and eating my fill, my mind will be on this blog and all that has happened over the last 3 years. Man, I can’t believe it’s been 3 years already! I am grateful that this little experiment has lasted this long and I hope that it continues to be a success for many more years.
I am making a few basketball related resolutions for myself this year and they are as follows ….
1. To get back in shape – again! – after my slew of injuries this year and to get my body back in good health
2. To Blog more
3. To sharpen my skill set even more – learn how to dribble better, shoot more consistently and play even better defense!
And my wish for all of you, tonight, for this upcoming new year is that you be at least .500 in everything you do, that you never get dunked on and that your balls always bank in.
Happy New Year Everyone, Let’s have a good 2010!
Comments off
My son ran up to me today during “quiet time” and proclaimed ….
“Guess what, Daddy! I’ve been named King RJ of Basketball!”
I turned to look at him and said “Oh yeah?”
And he screams out “Yeah! I’m gonna go rule my people now!”
So all y’all fools better start forgetting about LeBron and start acknowledging the NEW King of Basketball!
Or else he’ll cross you over …. or pop a cap in yo ass! hahahahaha.
Comments off
I’m gonna write this down because I don’t ever wanna forget it. It was just way too funny ….
So a few nights ago I dreamed that I was at my local YMCA playing some pickup basketball when Rasheed Wallace showed up. I don’t know WHY he was there, but he started shit talking me and telling me to play against him.
I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge. So I accepted the offer.
We began to play and I was, surprisingly, holding my own fairly well – it was a DREAM, remember? He would post me up and I would either get help or go underneath just enough to bother him into a turnover or miss.
On offense, I just passed the ball. hahahahaha.
And, for some reason, Michael Jackson’s “Just good friends” was playing on the sound system in the gym. The song was set to repeat over and over.
Anyway, at one point, he began to get upset with me and started to play dirty. Remember that scene in Along Came Polly ? The armpit scene?
Yeah, Rasheed did that to me.
And then I woke up singing Michael Jackson.
I was confused at first, like “What was THAT all about?!?!?” but then I just let it go and enjoyed the fact that I got to play against Rasheed and that I had an awesome MJ tune stuck in my head.
Even if it was a dream, there’s not many people that can claim to have played pickup ball against ‘sheed. Especially here in Canada!
So I felt like that was worth noting.
Comments off
Well, it’s that time of year again .. and before I get wrapped up in the binge eating, sleep deprivation and family gatherings, I just wanted to send out a big shout out to everyone out there who frequents this blog!
I don’t know how many of you there are out there, but regardless, if you find this site informative, funny, silly, interesting or even just plain bizarre then thank you from the bottom of my heart. I write so that others may be entertained. And while the content isn’t always new or meaningful, I appreciate the fact that there are people out there who find it interesting enough to keep coming back.
If I can kill a few minutes of time and make someone chuckle, then I have done my job.
Merry Christmas to everyone out there in Cyberspace land!
Comments off
With the Alumni Tourney now squarely in my rear-view mirror, I’ve been revisiting some of my high school days as a baller. Last night I was sitting around when the name Vic Pruden came to mind.
Vic Pruden, for those who do not know, is a Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame Coach. I found this on eteamz.com, which appears to be the website he created …
Coach Vic Pruden’s involvement in basketball spans more than forty years, with twenty-five years as an active coach at the high school, club, provincial, university and national levels and always as a student of the game. His coaching record has been highly successful, with an overall win/loss record of over .700.
Vic inaugurated both the men’s and women’s intercollegiate basketball programs at the University of Winnipeg, winning six out of seven conference championships and competing in the national finals twice with the women’s team.
Another highlight of Vic’s coaching career included two years working with junior age elite athletes, identifying and developing potential players for Canada’s National Women’s team. Bev Smith, the current Canadian national team coach, was one of those players.
His commitment to studying the game resulted in a book, A Conceptual Approach To Basketball, which was published by Human Kinetics in Champaign, Illinois, in 1985. More recently, Vic has developed a 4-on-4 developmental game, based on his book, for boys and girls under 13. He continues to work with coaches and individual players.
He coached my High School Team in ’93-’94; my senior year. I was originally excited to have a capable and experienced coach at the helm when I had first heard about it in late summer. He had a lot of accolades to his name and it even made the local news that Coach Pruden was running our team. It got air time on TV and got a news article in the Free Press. After all, he had coached the Winnipeg Cyclone of the WBL when I was a kid – that was our foray into professional basketball – and it was a big deal that he would go from Pro Sports back into High School Hoops.
Up until that point, our coaching had largely consisted of ex-players who came back to volunteer for some reason or another. It seemed like a revolving door and we never had any sort of continuity or consistency with it all. As a result we were left to, pretty much, develop our own skill set. And I, being one or 2 years into basketball as a player, trained myself on the streetball playgrounds. I learned a lot just by playing with older cats, but picked up some bad habits along the way.
Enter Coach Pruden.
He was tough, and repetitive. Every practice, we would start with reverse layups, focusing on footwork – inside plant, outside finish. We’d follow it up with Form Shooting from the low post blocks – we had to make 10 in a row. Then we would go into other drills and practice other skills. But every single day, we’d do reverse layups and form shooting. It was fun at first until I got to learn the footwork. Then it got boring. But we did that for the entire season, even in playoffs! And thus began my hatred for the man who tried to teach me better.
I remember one winter day during Christmas Holidays we were practicing at Lipsett Hall, an army gym near an army base. I had arrived late – not an uncommon occurrence for me when I was in HS. And I proceeded to catch up with my reverse layups and form shooting. I had had a bad day at that point and was not in a good mood. When we went into 5 on 5 offensive work, I got the ball in the block and proceeded to do one of the post moves that I had worked hard to develop during the offseason. Well, he didn’t like that too much and proceeded to let me know, very loudly and very critically. Coach Tackie still laughs about it today “POST MOVE? WHAT IS A POST MOVE?!?!?”
I was a shy, angry teenager then and didn’t take kindly to his ridicule very well. And that is when my hatred for the man reached a breaking point. I contemplated quitting the team that day but decided not to in the end. My teammates were always there for me (thanks Steve) to help me out. I guess they knew how much I needed basketball. So I rode out the year and did my job and what I was asked to do. No more, no less. I got the starter’s share of playing minutes and did as I was told, sometimes very reluctantly. When my season was done, I was glad to have let it go and never looked back. Years later, I found out that I was nearly kicked off the team for the attitude that I played with on and off the court.
A few years later I got into coaching and promised myself that I would do things different. Listen more, be more sensitive, challenge them in a more fun and friendly way and all that. But as time went on, I became a disciplinarian and, though I didn’t realize it at the time, I found myself going to tactics that my old coach used on me. When I coached a Grade 11 and 12 inner-city boys team that was severely lacking in discipline and basic skills many years later, I resorted to reverse layups and form shooting to get them up to speed as fast as possible. It was then that I had realized 2 things:
1. I had become my old coach in that I was tough, boring and rigid – just like he was.
2. The skills that I was taught as a teenager were 100% useful and transferrable across generations!
At first, it vexed me that I was using some of the tactics my old coach used on me. I had had such a negative experience as a teen and I wanted to distance myself from those days as much as possible. I moped about it for a few days, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn’t Coach Pruden that was the issue; it was me all along. And as I’ve gotten older, I’ve mellowed out a lot and had many a chance to rethink my stance on my old High School Coach. He may have been tough on me and made things more difficult than I had wanted, but without his teachings I would never have become that player and coach that I did become.
He taught me that a good player is made through hard work, and a firm grasp on the fundamentals of the sport. He taught me that variations (streetball) are a waste of energy and do not necessarily accomplish more, flashy though the moves may be. He taught me that giving someone pity does not help them as people or as players and that you have to be emotionally and mentally tough to keep playing the sport at a high level past your high school days. And most important of all, he taught me that tough love isn’t just for parents.
About 3 years ago, I saw Coach Pruden at a High School tournament when I was coaching my inner city team. He was coaching the Varsity Girls Team. For the LONGEST time I had told myself that if I ever saw him again, I’d tell him how much I hated him for his coaching style and how he knew the game but had lousy people skills and that he ruined my senior year. But over the previous years I had learned to appreciate his lessons and now had no opinion on him, positive or negative. After all, he may have taught me a lot and I could see it now, but the emotional scars from my senior year remained.
When I saw him that day, I decided to approach him – unsure as to whether or not I would say what I had wanted to say for nearly a decade. I have been told and have heard many times that when we see someone from our past like that, it’s usually for a reason and that it’s so that we can exchange thoughts on something. We don’t normally get that opportunity very often as people die and move away at the drop of a hat. So I decided that, rather than wait til he was dead, that I would let him know NOW …
I waited til he was available and smiled at him on the sideline. He came over, I shook his hand and I said ….
“Hi Coach. You may not remember who I am, but you coached me in my senior year at Silver Heights. I just wanted to thank you for coaching us and for teaching us what you did. I learned a lot from you and it took me along time to appreciate that. The things you taught us helped me become a good player and I have also used your lessons as I’ve gone into coaching and use many of the same drills that we used. I just wanted to come over and say thanks for the tough love and that I appreciate all the things you showed us and the time you put into our team. Thanks for not cutting me and for not giving up on me.”
I was kind of surprised by my comment. It just sort of blurted from my mouth and I didn’t even rehearse it beforehand.
He just stared at me and his eyes welled up with tears for a second. He never said anything in response. He just shook my hand and smiled a big smile, nodded his head at me and half turned away to deal with an assistant coach.
I was filled with gratitude and never felt so attuned with life as I did then – at least, not until my kids were born. I knew he was busy prepping for his upcoming game and so I turned and walked away from the gym with my team. I haven’t heard from Coach Pruden since, though I hear he’s still at it, teaching teams about the sport and life in his own way. Looking back on what said to him, I am glad with what came out.
It’s difficult, sometimes, to appreciate the things that we are taught as kids. Our view is narrow and we are so self centered that we usually miss the point of what is being shown to us until we revisit the experience later in life. Especially with people who volunteer to do something, whether it is coaches or organizers, they put a lot of effort into their craft and ask for nothing in return except that their work pays off in the end – and perhaps the occasional thank you to replenish their tanks.
In the grand scheme of things Pruden’s time at my High School was, quite literally, a blip in the timeline. He was only there for one season. We never shared any one on one time. He never called my house and asked about me as a person. He never took an active interest in my personal development …. and yet somehow the impact he had on me was pretty huge. I get perplexed by the whole thing sometimes.
You know, a lot of our experiences in High School are disposable. But I am grateful for my Grade 12 year – not for the classes or the people I met but for my time with basketball. I got some tough love, and while it may not have been what I wanted, it was definitely what I NEEDED. I was taught some very valuable lessons that I still carry with me today.
Comments off
Sometimes things move WAY too fast for my liking.
With the Alumni Tourney now done (what an awesome weekend) it’s time to jump right in to the Christmas season ….. I devoted about 3 straight weeks full of late nights to the tourney, simply to make things work on my end. And now, between work, family matters, basketball and the fallout from the tourney, things don’t seem to be slowing down any.
And this is BEFORE Christmas rolls into town.
I’ve GOT to find some time to write about things …. I have pictures, movies, thoughts, artwork …. all these things I wanna share … but no time.
Don’t even get me started on my LACK of PS3 time …
Comments off
It’s been a minute since I posted anything about the Husky Basketball Alumni Tournament. Today I realized that the tournament is actually on Friday which makes it either today or tomorrow, depending on when you read this.
I’ve had a chance to really dig deep into my experiences on the basketball team in High School and the overall feeling of everything is gratefulness for the time I played AND for the short period of time that I coached. It’s a process and I find old wounds healing ever quicker from this whole thing.
I am extremely nervous (don’t wanna embarrass myself) and excited at the same time. Seeing old faces, playing basketball and celebrating history that we all had a hand in making ….. it’s crazy.
It is gonna be a super wicked awesome weekend!
Comments off
I have been down over the last few days with my PC having gone to the doctor’s for a quick upgrade. Thanks, Paul!
But now she’s back and better than ever!
Why, she’s so good, you could say she’s like Astro Boy! Only a boxier, non-mobile version. With no emotions … or machine gun butt …… or rockets …. look, the point is that she’s way better than before! This computer is ready to kick some ass and take no prisoners!
As I take it for a joyride, I can’t help but be amazed at how much faster, quieter, more accessible it is … and now hopefully I will be able to surf the web and post to my blog with a bit more confidence and speed.
Comments off
Since I opened up my blog for comments nearly 5 weeks ago, I have received 46 Spam messages in my comments section.
This is unacceptable and, rather than remove the ability to comment on my blog, I am adding a captcha feature that will require users to authenticate potential comments with a random series of characters before entering the submit button.
It is an annoyance, but it is better than me having to surf through spam messages and delete them manually.
My apologies for the inconvenience this may cause, but the alternative is simply not an option at this point.
Comments off
Reminder of the upcoming Husky Basketball Tournament that is happening December 4th – 5th, 2009 at Sturgeon Heights.
I already know that over 75 people (mostly alumni) have joined Coach Tackie’s Facebook page that is responsible for getting the word out. SEVENTY FIVE people!
So you know that each year’s class will come to represent with Pride!
Mark it down on the calendar and don’t forget!
Comments off
James A. Naismith, the father of basketball was born in Almote, Ontario on November 6, 1861.That makes TODAY his birthday!
Mr. Naismith invented the sport of basketball in December 1891 at a local YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts. He is also credited for having introduced the first helmet to American Football!
Though the NBA has bastardized some of the rules to suit their own financial purposes, the rules of the game were quite simple – 13 in total.
I’d like to offer up a complete summary of his life and works, but there are so many other places on the net that have already done that.
I’d rather just note that today is the birth date of Basketball’s daddy and that we ALL owe James Naismith a hearty, genuine THANK YOU for having introduced us to a sport that has, quite literally, changed our lives.
Comments off
Henry Abbott over at TrueHoop.com roasted Kevin Durant early in the pre-season, even if it was unintentional. Then, a few days later, Kevin Durant Twittered his opposition to the article and got defensive.
Everybody that is doubtin me as a player and my team as a whole..all i can say is that we all are tryin and workin our hardest!
What more do u want? let me be the player i am…i come to practice everyday..and push myself to my limit, God has put me n a gr8 position!!
and then he followed that up with
I love all the REAL basketball fans who appreciate hardwork, passion and love for the game..and not jus “plus and minuses”…wateva dat is!
And then a heart-felt open letter was typed out TO Kevin Durant, basically talking about how he wasn’t lying – and that stats don’t lie.
Fast forward to tonight.
After going 3 of 21 from the field against Portland on November 1st (16 points, 5 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 turnover), he follows that up with TONIGHT’S performance versus the Lakers.
10 of 24 from the field, 0 for 8 from 3 point range for 28 points with 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 turnovers!
I watched the last quarter and the entire overtime and was appalled by a few points:
1. How BAD the Thunder are
They shot airball after airball after airball and simply could not capitalize on a Lakers team that was anemic on both ends of the floor. A lot of this can be blamed on youth and a lack of chemistry, but wow. It was like watching a men’s league game!
2. How POOR Kevin Durant’s decision making is
He hoisted up a three pointer from about 4 feet out from the line with 10 seconds to go in regulation instead of taking it to the rim on Ron Artest! And then in overtime he missed all his shots, passed the ball to no one on plays designed for him to score and jacked a contested shot with Kobe and Bynum on him in the final 7 seconds of overtime! ANd then he whined and pouted when the plays were done!
3. Maybe Henry Abbott wasn’t off the mark on his assessments and posts!
He nails the stats, and then KD goes out and proves him right!
He passes when he’s supposed to shoot, shoots when he’s supposed to pass, helps his team LOSE games and then wonders why sports writers and basketball purists like myself think he’s teh suxxor of team basketball!
If he just listened to his coaches instead of all the fans out there kissing his ass telling him he’s the best thing in basketball, maybe he’d improve! If he just stopped worrying about how it makes him FEEL and looked at it objectively, then maybe he’d see that everyone sees ultimate talent being misused. And that includes all the fans that stand up and say crap like “who are you to say anything about him!”
I mean, everyone needs to stop the righteous indignation and call a duck a duck. The kid may have the height, talent and speed to be a pro, but his brain is somewhere else right now. He’s not interested in doing anything more than what HE thinks is best for the team. Don’t believe it? Look at his Twitter replies above – or any of his Twitter posts this year, for that matter.
Such talent …. such potential …. and it’s all just wasted (for the time being).
And I don’t give a crap WHAT he replies and tells me. Stats (and win totals) don’t lie.
——
Some additional notes about this Lakers game:
Comments off
Happy Halloween to everyone out there in Basketball land!
I hope you all had a great day of trick or treating, cuz I sure did.
On another, more somber note, there were 7 games on the schedule and not a SINGLE ONE was on when I channel surfed this evening … I mean seriously … I pay over 90$ a month for cable PURELY so I can catch some NBA and there are nights when mother****ing poker and darts take the evening stage! Those damn things belong on The Ocho!
And instead of being able to watch San Antonio or Dallas go at it tonight, I had to settle for watching Rocky Horror Picture Show and a lame boxing match!
Oh well …. I hope you guys like this LeBron James jack-o-lantern that I found on the web tonight …. I call it “The Jack-O-Bron” lol.
Comments off
On the advice of my friends and family, I visited the Sports Injury Clinic today. This, after being unable to put any weight on my leg for 2 whole days. I went in for an X-Ray and proceeded to wait for 4 1/2 hours. When it was all said and done, I was told that I have fractured my ankle. Not only that, but it appears that my body was trying to heal a previous fracture in the same general area!
In the image above, the fracture occurs at the Medial Malleolus. MY fracture occurs on Talus bone, right around where the line ends.
The prognosis is 4-6 weeks minimum before I can get back. I have a follow up appointment in 3 weeks where we will see how the healing is going. If everything goes well and my body does its job properly, I can begin a 2-3 week rehab regimen.
You better believe that I am gonna do my rehab and that I am gonna strengthen the muscles in my feet this coming offseason!
And no more playing without my braces. This is the end of ankle injuries for me – of the serious variety, anyway.
The one bright side to the appointment is that the doctor says that I can make a full recovery and go back to playing like normal. That and the fact that I caught it in time before I did anything stupid, like play on it or something.
It’s gonna be a LONG month …
Oh, by the way, do yourself a favour and DO NOT go to google to search “fractured ankle” because the first 10 images or so are of compound breaks and fractures where the bone portrudes from the skin …. I actually got a wee bit squeamish at seeing what COULD have happened if more weight had been added to my leg on the fall …
Comments off
I have had this picture in my Rec Room for a long time and decided to finally post it for y’all to see. It is originally from a basketball card that our old coach (Mr. P.) gave us as a memento of our season.
This was my Grade 11 year at Silver Heights. We were SO bad … and yet we had SUCH potential ….
I’ve come such a long way as a basketball player since those days …. which brings me to my Thanksgiving thoughts ….
I am grateful that I was introduced to basketball and that I had a chance to play in school. I grateful that I was able to make the sport MEAN something to me and that I was able to make it work for me as a person.
I am thankful for old coaches. Not only did they teach me about the game, but they also gave me valuable tools that have helped me become a better coach and person. They paid for my basketball camps when I could not afford them and they provided me an avenue to keep improving and stay out of trouble. I am grateful that saw enough in me to give me a shot and put me on the team, even when “common” sense dictated otherwise.
I am thankful that I put in the necessary work to become decent at basketball because the sport would have been less fun had I been less dedicated to making it fun.
I am thankful that I was never truly satisfied with the roles that I was tasked with playing and that I was always looking for ways to improve my own game. I am grateful for being inquisitive and going out of my way to find and develop skills; I have become a fairly versatile player because of that. I am grateful that I learned how to play the game properly and that I have been successful in doing so.
I am thankful that basketball is an outlet for all my emotions and that I have been able to release all my frustration, aggression, angst, fear, sadness and confusion on the court over the years.
I am grateful that I have such great memories of playing basketball, both IN High School and ESPECIALLY since I have been out. The people, teams and experiences I have had playing since graduation have been some of the most memorable of my entire life.
I am thankful that there were people out there who helped my love for the game GROW; I am thankful for their lessons on sportsmanship, game theory, commitment, conditioning and nutrition.
I am thankful for my current teammates and their families – that we’ve been able to make this thing work over the past 10 years and that things still look bright for the future. I am thankful that we are able to share and be a community; that is a luxury that is very rare in senior men’s leagues.
And I’ll tell ya what, as nostalgic as it is to see this picture, I am thankful that I never have to experience High School again.
Happy Thanksgiving, y’all.
Comments off
Taking a cue from a new friend, I have decided to try something new.
Originally, I had made my blog open to comments from people who signed up for an account ONLY. This was, in part, due to the tendency to have spam posted onto your blog. It was something I read about a few months ago to do with online safety and spamming tactics.
Problem was, I wasn’t having any interaction with anyone from the outside world – I guess people didn’t wanna subscribe to hear me wax poetic on topics that are already being discussed ad-nauseam by the other (more educated and credible) talking heads out there.
But after 2 1/2 years of blogging about it, I have decided that it is time to open up my Blog to other users who may share the same sort of feelings I have about Basketball.
It’ll be an experiment, I think. And if it fails, maybe I’ll shut it down and make the comment feature accessible only to registered users again. But for now …. here I am, world!
Comments off
When I was in Grade 11 my parents made the ($175) sacrifice and bought me a pair of Patrick Ewing Shoes (as shown above) in the middle of a tournament (Glenlawn Invitational) one wintry Saturday afternoon.
I wore them for the next game (an hour and a half later) even though they gave me some nasty blisters and I proceeded to wear them into the ground for the next 12 months. At one point in Grade 12, I decided that I needed a new pair of shoes and went out and got my Nike warrior shoes – the shoes that NEVER quit, I will blog about them in a future issue – and I stuck with those for nearly 6 years – I still have them! The Patrick Ewings were placed in a corner for sentimental reasons and never again saw the light of day.
Well, I was cleaning out our closet a few nights ago and came upon my VERY old and VERY worn Patrick Ewing shoes. I’ve been keeping them in storage for over 15 years and have come across them many many times. They have survived 2 moves, a marriage and 2 kids. Whenever talk about getting rid of them surfaces, I put on my imaginary steel pot helmet, get out my imaginary spear and I FIGHT for them saying things like ….
“I’ll keep them til they’re retro cool” … or …
“I’ll fix them up and wear them right” … or …
“I can’t throw these out, they’re history …. a part of my youth” … or …
“I love Patrick Ewing. I can’t throw out his shoes. How would he FEEL?” … or …
“I just wanna wear them one more time before I get rid of them”
The problem is that I’ve had them for over 15 years and have never fixed them up. The shoes are not autographed nor did they ever belong to Patrick Ewing himself, and I will never wear them ‘one more time’ simply because they are heavy, uncomfortable and lack the necessary arch support for an aging gentleman such as myself. Plus, they’ll never be COOL retro like…
“Hey, nice kicks dude, those are awesome! Are they originals?”
No, these shoes are old, discoloured and torn. If worn, they would elicit this response …
“Dude, are you homeless?” … Or …
“Did you walk through time to 2010? Cuz those shoes are nasty and ancient!” … or …
“Yo, make sure you get those shoes sprayed before coming into my house. I think one of them hissed at me.”
Seeing my old Patrick Ewings with no laces, fabric torn and soles ripping or separating from the boot made me realize that there is a time to live and a time to die. A time to reap and a time to sow, a time to break down and a time to build up and a time to keep something and a time to toss it out.
Tonight, I became okay with the fact that my Patrick Ewings are old and ugly; They smell of teenage feet. They are not as nice as I remember them being and they will never go through a washing machine and come out looking brand new. No, tonight, I became okay with the fact that I have to throw out my old high school basketball sneakers.
I will photograph the hell out of them (for sentimental reasons) and will keep those pics til the end of time – or a terrible computer crash that wipes my hard drive clean.
I hope Patrick Ewing isn’t upset by this ….. I hope he understands …
Then again …. maybe I’ll keep them one more year …. in case hobo-chic comes into style or I decide to actually fix them up ….. cuz really, I do have a garage that I can put them in …
Comments off
I was watching WGN a few nights ago – it’s an imported channel here in Canada – and I saw an ad for the Bulls. I had seen this ad before and thought “Ach, the Bulls SUCK! Why would I want to watch an ad so far removed from the upcoming season?” after which point I’d change the channel to something else.
But this time I was feeling ULTRA lazy and didn’t change it. Instead, I just stared at the TV in kind of a haze, just waiting for the ad to end.
Then, all of a sudden, I heard a familiar voice. I sat up and listened more intently, trying to make out the voice amid the myriad Bulls highlights and fans cheering they showcased …. was it? … YES! It was Chuck Swirsky!
He has changed his phrases a bit but they’re still as cheesy as ever. It was a fun ad and I find myself now purposefully watching WGN in hopes that I will catch another Bulls ad just so I can hear his commentary again.
Hearing him calling a Bulls game brought me back to my Chuck Swirsky Bobblehead and all the good times I had watching and imitating Chuck Swirsky’s oddball commentary. His trademark “Sick Wicked and Nasty!” as well as “Get out the Salami and Cheese Mama!” were phrases that actually made me watch unwinnable Raptors games for …
I know a lot of people are cold on him, but I’d rather have Swirsky than Bill frickin Walton (“Throw it down, big man” is the best he can do?) or Walt Frazier (a NY legend but bland as rice cakes commentator) or even this guy ….
(worst sportscaster EVER!)
I mean, he may have polarized a fan base, but the man had personality and he at LEAST tried to make the games fun. He and Jack Armstrong were great together and that new guy that replaced him has not been able to fill the shoes left behind.
~sigh~ … I miss Chuck Swirsky.
At least I still have my bobblehead …
Comments off
I looked back over the posts of the last few weeks and realized tonight that I forgot to add a few juicy details about our Team this year ….
We’ve decided to play in Division 1/2 as opposed to the usual Div. 3 we normally play in. This is a HUGE development for us as it means that we are basically playing against former CIAU players, including a 6′-11″ and 7′-0″ player (both on the same team!). It means that, every single game, we will be outsized at nearly every position, not to mention the possibility that we may be out-skilled as well in certain aspects …
The decision to move up was KIND OF self-initiated, though I COULD say that we were kind of lightly goaded into it. It al started at the general meeting where the Commish insinuated that we would be able to hang with the higher seeded teams based on our performance during the last 8 years or so of playing. So we took a vote and found that a bunch of the guys were curious, hungry and eager to go for it.
A few of our guys brought up very valid reasons for NOT going (mainly the lack of championships and our lack of size) but it was agreed that this was, ultimately a test and if we did not perform to our liking, we would reassess our decision next summer. I think it is a logical approach to the situation, which is why I had no problem agreeing to being moved up to the Elite Division.
What this all means is that, for the first time ever, our team is playing at the highest possible level of competition in our Men’s League!
That’s a good thing. And I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t proud (for myself AND my team!) to put that out there as a matter of fact.
I mean, we’re trying this out for one year to see how we fare. If we do well, we might stay. If we get rocked, well … experiment over and then we get to see if we are who we thought we were.
I know a few of our guys have been talking about staying competitive and POSSIBLY playing at this level to see what it’s like – it’s been an on again / off again conversation over the last few seasons. A couple of years ago, I pondered whether or not that would mean that we would have to split the team into 2 separate entities in order to accommodate this particular scenario. Though I came close a few times, I never actually pulled the trigger on that. And I am glad I waited.
We also have a few (old) guys on our team who are content where we are and have even thrown the idea around of moving down to Div. 4 just because the older you get and the busier your life gets, the harder it is to keep up that conditioning and that drive to be the best always …. I don’t know … it’s a juggling act. I know that PHYSICALLY, I’m not what I used to be and that has me a bit worried / stressed …. I mean, I don’t wanna be embarrassed or made to look foolish (I can do that plenty well on my own, thanks) … but at the same time, I have to at least TRY it, right? And in the end, it is JUST a game ….
I want to keep this team together for as long as possible and if it means moving up or down or staying put, I will do that. I like to think that everyone on our team has a voice and we do nothing unless we can attain a consensus. And even then, we discuss the decision to make sure we are doing it for the right reasons as well as possible outcomes and detours after that.
Now all that aside, this will be the toughest season to date and right off the bat, we will have our team unity, our heart, desire, effort, skill and egos tested. It will be interesting to see whether or not we are able to stay true to who we have been and whether or not this pulls us closer together or breaks us up.
I’ve known the majority of my guys for the better part of a decade and have seen them grow up from gangly teenagers to the fine men they have become. More than anything, they (we) are warriors. I believe that this year will be tough but positive and we will come away from this as a closer knit group that is able to play with any team, any time, anywhere!
The Div 1/2 marathon starts this week!
Go Shaka Dula!
Comments off
So it has finally come true. The dates are set for the FIRST EVER Sturgeon Heights Alumni Tournament!
December 4th and 5th, 2009 – Mark it down on your calendars, fellow Huskies, cuz it’s finally going down!
Members from each graduating class will be banded together as teams and play against alumni from different eras in order to figure out WHICH graduating class had the best players over the last 10 years!
There is a Facebook page that you should all be aware of: Bball Huskyforlife
From there you can keep up with the happenings that lead up to the Sturgeon Heights Alumni Tourney. That will include a history of the various players that have played at Silver/Sturgeon Heights at every position over the last decade. A very informative and educational read. It lets you appreciate the history of the basketball program we have and all the people that have helped to make it what it is along the way.
We can also see how small our basketball community is. Sometimes people don’t even know that the people they are playing with are/were actually Huskies!
So get it straight, write it down and make sure you RSVP at the Facebook Page for the Alumni Tournament. It should be a very fun time!
Comments off
