LIFE

Life isn't fair...mom and dad have told me that more times then Lindsay Lohan has gone to rehab. When times get tough, you have to work even harder. Life is like a nude beach, it's a game of "GIVE & TAKE." Getting VIP, skipping the line of 200 people on New Years was "take" but waking up on New Years Day at 10am, lifting weights and then doing defensive drills for an hour was "give." Never will everything be crystal clear and perfect. Sacrifices have to be made in order to be successful. I graduated from Boise State, but I've learned more from life experiences than any Biology class. I hate being around people who blame the system or others for their mishaps. "I should be playing overseas but the coaches I've had were always hating on me." I just nod my head and say yep...when I should recite what one of my favorite coaches once told me, "you want sympathy, you can find it between shit and syphilis in the dictionary." There is no such thing as an "out" with our team here in Groningen. Nobody enjoys getting up at 7am to lift weights, but it could be the difference between making things happen and watching things happen.

I can speak for about every pro hooper overseas when I say the toughest thing about our job is being away from family and friends. Over the years the people who you know the best are typically the people who you spend the most time with...which in our case is teammates. The sad part is you go to war with these guys day in and day out...then the majority of the time rarely see each other after. Kevin Steenberge who I spent almost every single day with in Leeuwarden...I haven't seen once since that season. My Boise State teammates who I shared so many memories with I rarely see, even the two who are playing in Holland. Last weekend after we played Bergen Op Zoom, Tiedemann stayed in Groningen and Mark Sanchez made the drive over here. We were able to all three get together for the first time this season. These moments you really have to cherish because they don't come often.

The Memphis Grizzles had to make it a rule there would no more gambling on team flights. OJ Mayo apparently owed Tony Allen some money, the two got into a fight and Mayo got touched up. Every time we play hearts, spades, hold-em or monopoly deal we always have money on it. You have to play for money to make it more interesting. It magnifies the trash talking, competitiveness and energy. We don't play for huge amounts but after winning the college football regular season AND bowl games...it's pretty safe to say I've won more than double of anyone else on the team. It's just like a basketball game, we will do whatever it takes to win. You see the window in this picture...John will act like he's stretching his neck and then look at the reflection to see my damn cards! RUTHLESS out here.

Basketball is going good over here, we are unbeaten in the 2011 and still in first place at 18-2. We are one win away from punching a ticket into the semi-final of the Dutch cup in Almere at the end of March. The Dutch Cup is not as meaningful as the championship, but winning both this season would be special. Lately, we've only been playing one game a week which means more practices. Players hate one game a week because it tends to make the days go by slower. Coach is good about giving us time off to rest, as long as we continue to go 100% in practice. Europe is much different than America in the amount of games you play during the week. The NBA started their regular season one month later than us and as of today...we've played 20 league games and they've played 41. There are some benefits to less games, more time to hang out with teammates, possibly travel a little bit. Also we can lift weights four days a week, which is nice. We only have two games left in January and both are on the road...this Saturday in Weert and then Thursday the 27th in Amsterdam.