BACK ON THE ROAD AGAIN

"Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war." -- Donald Trump

NEXT GAME WEDNESDAY APRIL 1st, 2009 AT 6PM IN PRAGUE

GAME TIME

The final series is at 2-0. It's a best-out-of-5 series. The game is in Brno this evening at 5pm (CZ Time)

Click here to watch it LIVE online

Let's go Gambrinus!!!!

DUCK DINNER

On our day off today, the team got together to enjoy a delicious meal sponsored by a friend of the team.

We drove out to a small town outside of Brno to enjoy a perfect dinner:

DUCK, RED AND WHITE CABBAGE, AND BREADED DUMPLINGS

And then for desert PALAČINKA with either fresh fruit" (out of the can,but still good), chocolate or creamcheese



DUCK + DUMBLINGS + CABBAGE + PALAČINKA = A LOT OF HAPPY FACES





TWO THUMBS UP TO THE CHEF!!!!

2-0 GAMBRINUS BRNO- USK PRAHA

We did it. We were able to come out strong on the road. We won 84-70.

My team was really doing a great job of fast-breaking and defending with high intensity.

I personally was able to set a personal record of fouling out in only 16 minutes....WAY TO BE AGGRESSIVE... lol.

And last but not least, our fans were doing their absolute best out there in the stands. Thank you guys!!!

Next game on Saturday at 5pm in the Brno Arena ;)





The team getting ready for the game... shooting freethrows





The fans getting ready for the game... creating a Brno atmosphere in Prague






The team on the court






The team in the stands









IN THE END: EVERYBODY TOGETHER-
CELEBRATING ANOTHER BRNO VICTORY

1-0 GAMBRINUS BRNO- USK PRAHA

Today we were able to hold off a fighting Prague squad 78-66.
Tomorrow we'll have a normal practice, and on Wednesday we are going to head out there.

Best-out-of-5 series.

BACK AGAIN

I am sorry for being absent for a whole week... but I think I do have a good excuse.... my hubby was in town :) That's legit, right?
Well, this past week has been quite eventful:

Starting with my husband's arrival on Sunday evening.

Then completing the semifinal round with a second win against Valosun Brno on Wednesday.

Ongoing preparation for our upcoming Finals opponents USK Prague.

Sightseeing in Brno. Hiking up to the Špilberk Castle and overseeing the whole city.

Watching the whole first season of Lost for a second time this month so my husband could get into it as well... I love to drag him into my addictions... BAD GIRL!! Isn't it sad how people always look for a partner-in-crime... we don't like to be bad on our own.

And then there was a trip to Vienna on my day off yesterday to take my husband to the airport in Vienna.
Thanks to my teammate Zsofie we were able to actually combine this always "dreadful" event with some pleasure... Zsofie lent us her GPS for the day, so we could find our way around Vienna easily and do some sightseeing. THANKS SHORTY!!!

It's crazy... we've always thought that saying "see you later" would get easier with each time, but in reality... it doesn't! By now, we should have become pros at it, but seeing my better half pass through security ALWAYS gets me choked up! Big 6'2" baby!

Here are some photos from last week:

At the top of the Špilberk Castle

Eating a serving of Adam's Ribs for CK 130, which is like 6 bucks!!

At the Stephansdome in Vienna, Austria

In front of the Hofburg on the Michaelerplatz

On the "Heldensplatz" in Wien... in English: the Heroes' Square in Vienna

A Beautiful Side Of Sports

Today we had our first game in the Semifinals in the Czech Playoffs.
We played at home against our town-rivals Valosun Brno and were able to come out on top with a final score of 95-55

After the game the "foreigners" (that's how players from a different country are called in overseas bball terminology) all sat together to get our stretch on and swap stories: Tamika Whitmore, Maiga Hamchetou, me and our "enemies" Nicole Louden and Britany Miller.

The two "enemy" girls were being great sports to sit with us and laugh, considering that they had just gotten their butts whooped... hihi... just kidding!

No seriously, this reflected one of the most beautiful things about being an athlete: our sport unites strangers of all types of ABCs: Ages, Backgrounds, Colors and brings them together.




Brings them together to be cute!





Brings them together to be silly!

LADYREBELS FALLS TO SDSU

Unfortunately the dream of becoming MWC Champions ended today for the Lady Rebels.

As far as I could follow the game through the Live Ticker, the ladies were fighting for their lives at the end of the game, but couldn't overcome the deficit of 18 points from the beginning of the 2nd half.

Nevertheless, GO REBS... let's hope for a postseason invite.

UNLV LADYREBELS

I just read that my Lady Rebels just advanced to the Semifinals in the MWC Conference tournament. CONGRATS

Game is at the Thomas&Mack Center on Friday 13th, 2009 at 2.30pm.

GO AND SUPPORT LADYREBELS BASKETBALL

Good luck and
GO REBS!

DEPENDENCY

After quite a busy week, I was looking forward to a relaxing Sunday at home.
Watching the Euroleague All-Star Game online, as well as catching up on some emails, and following my old team from Italy (Cras Basket Taranto) at the Coppa Italia-- that's a weekend tournament where they fight for the Italian Cup... last year we had fallen short and lost in the finals with 1 points with a last second layup of Shannon Johnson. I also had some shows to catch up on online, and some chats "lined up" throughout the day.

But guess what?

My internet was down.... AAAAAAAAAAhhhhhh!

An absolute nightmare for me while I am over here... and I believe that many other overseas players will understand the severity of such an event. The second I turned on my computer and the internet logo didn't come on, I knew that I was in trouble.

All of a sudden I had the urge to get ALL THESE THINGS done online, but most of all and worst of all, my phone runs through the internet. So I wasn't able to make any phonecalls without spending a fortune. I don't have a houseline, so it would have been ridiculous to ask anyone to call me on my cell, so there I was, ISOLATED from the WORLD... in my little one-bedroom apartment in Brno!

It actually scared me. Or rather, I scared myself!! The way I felt helpless all day long. The way my mind was creating all kinds of things that NEEDED to get done right there and then. The way I was making sure that my family and friends would know that I was okay, and that I would be back on "the net" soon. WOW!

Luckily I was able to remember how I used to live life a couple of years ago, and I resorted back to skills like reading a book, or taking a walk in the city.

Today at 5 p.m. I got the word: the internet is back on!!
The apartment complex had gotten a new provider (I'm not going to call names... even though deep down inside I want to ruin their business and warn everyone to not ever use their services again...after what they had done to me).
My landlord called me a few minutes ago and apologized. She said that there had been a big problem. "OH REALLY, NO KIDDIN'?" was my response while grinding my teeth. But believe me, she knew the truth. I think after I had called her yesterday to let her know that I wouldn't be able to make it throughout the day, she made sure that I would be the first to know.

Alright, so as my life is back to normal now, I am going to catch up on some things real quick.

My cousin from Germany is actually coming to visit for a couple of days today, and she should be here any minute. I am really excited. I haven't really hung out with her since we've been young teenager, so I am expecting a fun-loaded time.

QUARTERFINALS END

As of Saturday night the quarterfinals are officially over for my team.
We traveled to Prague and came home with a 88-48 win.
The Sparta girls did not make it easy for us, and they even won the first quarter, but at the end we were able to pull away with another great point difference.
I want to wish the Sparta girls all the best for the next round in the fight for the 5th place, I truly believe that they can do very well.

2 DOWN, 1 TO GO

We have just gotten our first two wins in the Quarterfinals of the Czech Playoff Round.
We had 2 home games in a row now against Sparta Prague: yesterday and today.
The results were: 107-55 and 96:35
Now we'll have to travel to Prague on Saturday to fight for the 3rd win, which would conclude this Best-out-of-5 Series.

Just wanted to check in. Tomorrow morning is early practice (at 10.30am), sorry but that's early if you have an evening game ;)

ASHTON? YOU THERE? AM I GETTING PUNKED?

After we won the Czech Cup yesterday (pictures will follow shortly) we had an optional practice today... and look who showed up:

















Looks like someONE didn't get the memo! Hihihihi