GET THE POPCORN READY

You're an investor with a nice suit but don't have a dollar to your name. An enthusiastic teacher with no students. A surgeon who has become blind or a taxi driver who lost his car. Imagine you work your ass off in law school, graduate with honors but can't find a job. Perhaps, a basketball player who has put thousands of hours of hard work into their game, but can't see the light. I don't know if I'm speaking for all professional basketball players right now, but when I'm injured I feel worthless. Depressed may be a bit strong, but when you're sent to a country to do something...and you can't do it- you feel useless. My body is my basketball career... let's be honest if I didn't have my shooting hand I wouldn't be in Europe right now. I recently strained my calf which is a very minor injury, I was out for 9 days...but missing 3 exhibition games almost felt like Christmas with no presents. Days go by slower and watching practice can be brutal. I have no clue how people do it for months at a time, luckily I've never had a serious injury... as I'm typing right now I'm also knocking on wood if you were wondering. People throughout the world without jobs right now must be extremely frustrated. Everyone back home waiting on a bball contract overseas, keep working your ass off and most importantly stay positive.

As many of you know BOISE STATE has four guys playing in Holland this season. It seemed like 2005 was yesterday when Coach McClouskey said, "BAUSCH, we have a recruit coming into town, pretty boy from Cali." I looked back shaking my head, "and...." Coach Mac seemed to think I had a way of persuasion unlike anyone else. One of these days I'm going to prove him right by selling a juicy steak to a vegetarian, a bible to an atheist or maybe some bling bling to a red-neck. Coach then snaps back "AND BAUSCH, Tyler Tiedeman, he was drafted as a pitcher outta high school, signed at Arizona, blew out his arm, went to junior college and can shoot the piss outta the basketball!" Whenever I hosted a recruit it meant getting free dinners, showing them a great time, maybe introducing them to a girl or ten and ultimately hoping they would commit to our school. Being a Boise guy, I knew about half the city...so I got quite a few of the recruits. To make a long story short, he signed at Boise State, we lived together, won a WAC championship together and now this season will be competing against each other at least four times. Jason Ellis (The Warrior) has re-signed with us and Mark Sanchez signed with the first team I played for in Leeuwarden. NCAA football season has begun and OUR Boise State Broncos just happen to be #3 in the entire nation. That means bragging rights to say the least. No matter the start time in the wee hours of the morning, there's a high probability the four of us are staying up and skyping each other during every big play!

Our pre-season games have gone well despite some injures. We beat a really good first division German team and a couple first division Belgium teams. Pre-season basketball is kind of like going to the movies or foreplay. Since the former is slightly more appropriate I will elaborate on that one. Ideally, you would like to show up one or two minutes before the actual movie begins. However, you need to get there early so you can get good seats together (assuming you are not going alone). Since your early, you must watch the previews and advertisements before the flick begins. Sometimes after watching a preview your like, "DAMN I WANNA SEE THAT MOVIE (alley-oop dunk and 20 point victory)," but then every once in awhile your like, "THAT is either a red-box or a rental... definitely not worth my $10 bucks (9 assists and 26 turnovers)." The main feature is about to begin on Tuesday when a powerhouse from Kazan, Russia comes to town for euro-league. No more previews or ads, get the popcorn and a great seat because the show is about to begin!

I recently did a two hour photo shoot for professional photographer Ewoud Broeksma. One of the photos was going to appear in a large newspaper here in Holland. At first I agreed...then I realized the majority of his photo shoots all lack clothing. Instead of bailing, I went through with it and said what the hell. After the article was published, you could say I took the wrath of some jokes. From friends laughing calling me Zoolander to even our normally quiet GM Albert having something to say. "Hey Matt, I have gotten a dozen calls today from Gay magazines wanting you to do photos!" I admit, it's pretty gay of me but when I'm 50 years old, drinking a Budweiser on the couch while watching tv...I will be able to smile and say, "hey 25 years ago I was actually in shape."