Tag: Israeli ebonics

Why Eurobasket Sucks

Eurobasket.com is the largest website in the world that exclusively reports on overseas basketball. Most people have never heard of it, but it is required viewing for anyone playing abroad. It actually does a decent job of aggregating the scores and stats from leagues all over the world, but it does so using the ugliest, clunkiest website known to man.

The site is, quite frankly, hard to look at. The layout is hopelessly cluttered, there is no intuitive way to locate old posts, and it is chock full of obnoxious advertisements. Also, the main page is extra awkward because they shoehorn video clips into the middle of the headlines.

One of the front page video clips you can access is a 2 minute highlight of Yugoslavia vs South Korea from the 1996 Olympic games. It has 5 views on youtube, and I think I account for 3 of them.

Timely! At least can’t accuse them of chasing trends.

Continue reading “Why Eurobasket Sucks”

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The bad, the good, and the peacock

We lost the opening game of the finals in dramatic fashion. We were up big in the 4th and blew it at the end. I was invisible offensively and had a costly turnover with under a minute left. Then to top it off I broke my glass water bottle in the locker room. This is the same locker room where I broke the screen of my phone earlier in the year. I need to be very careful of what I bring to that cursed place next game.

I was thinking that night, “I wish there was something I could take to rid myself of this horrible, sinking, aching gloominess.” It gave me a better understanding of how people get hooked on pain killers. Thankfully I didn’t have any narcotics handy. I had to deal with the hurt the old-fashioned way, which for me involves staying on the internet until I literally can’t keep my eyes open and then falling asleep before the negative thoughts can overwhelm me. Continue reading “The bad, the good, and the peacock”

Team Meetings

I have a serious bone to pick with the concept of the team meeting. Maybe it is my tendency to view everything through the most bitter lens possible, but I believe they serve no purpose. They are only called when things are going bad. Everyone knows things are going bad. The problems with bad teams usually run deep, and a 45 minute meeting is not going to be enough to change the tide. Call me pessimistic, but that has been my experience.

I have been on some bad teams, but maybe none more dysfunctional than my team last year. The Calabasas Coyotes circa 2002 had some serious head cases, but that is too long ago for the memories to stick out. I also had some classic team meetings in college, but I’ll have to really think about those details before I write about them. So we are sticking with Haifa for now. Continue reading “Team Meetings”

How To Ruin a Negotiation Without Really Trying

1. Be angry from the moment you wake up.

From 10 AM on I was working myself up about my meeting with the team owner. I decided that there was no reason that he should have charged me for the car that he let me use for a month. There was no reason I should have to pay for a flight when we never the discussed the details before hand. There was no reason I had to go in there and be a kiss ass when I had not been paid in over 2 months. I was ready to really get into it with this guy.

2. Don’t Listen to Anybody’s Pre-Meeting Advice

Maybe my agent sensed the fury growing within me, because he called me around 11 AM. He told me that he had talked with the owner, that I needed to accept whatever money he offered me, and that he would work something out later. I asked him why everything always got pushed back around here. He insisted that nothing good would come of bringing the ruckus right now. Continue reading “How To Ruin a Negotiation Without Really Trying”

Water Heater, Texting, Team Meetings

I was sitting in my underwear on the computer, as you are going to find me pretty much every afternoon, when my landlord and another guy busted through my front door.
Me “Dude, you need to knock!”
Land Lord “What? I try calling you but your phone is off!”
Me “My phone is right next to me! You can’t come barreling into people’s houses without knocking!”
LL “We thought no one home.”
Me “Well maybe knock next time to be sure.”
LL “I try calling you.” Continue reading “Water Heater, Texting, Team Meetings”

Rehab

     Had one of my typical, hectic Israeli trips yesterday while trying to find a physical therapist. I was “scheduled” for a 10 AM appointment, but I quickly found out that Gabbi (team manager) really had no idea where he was taking me. There was heavy rain throughout the drive, and we were stuck in traffic for 20 minutes. Both those things set an ominous tone for the morning. I was also coming off a night of 3 hours of sleep, so every irritation was amplified. Continue reading “Rehab”