STILL A FREE AGENT

As the Christmas break is slowly coming to an end, I just wanted to inform you that I still haven't signed with a team yet.... I am definitely eager to see which uniform I am going to wear in 2011 and which team I am going to be able to represent in the new year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I hope that everyone is able to enjoy this time together with their loved ones.

What I have learned in these last couple of days of "pre-holidays" is that it is not about the amounts of gifts you will give and/or receive, but about being with people that you love and enjoying precious moments with them!!!! So I want to remind you to not stress yourself out with the "superficial" things of the holidays, but indulge in the little ones: i.e. baking cookies with your sisters, setting up the Christmas tree and breaking some of the ornaments, putting up candles that smell like apple cinnamon, planning Christmas dinner, having a cup of eggnog, skyping with your parents, wearing green and red outfits, etc....

I myself don't want to spend too much time on the computer now, so I am going to get back to my family now, but I want to leave you with my favorite Christmas song this year: When I went to my church's Christmas Concert a couple of days ago, and they were "SAAAAAANGIN' this song.... and in this video Mariah is doing the same:


MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

HOHOHO...

... From 24h Fitness... Where I'm making room for some extra CHRISTmas cookies this upcoming weekend ;)
Hope all of you are well.
Linda

UPDATE

Hello everyone.
I am sitting in my living room right now, the Christmas tree lit, and I am about to order a movie ("The Lottery Ticket"... hoping to get a good laugh in). We celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday today, and it was the first time that I got to see my friends and family again since I've gotten back.

This has been the first time in years, to be exact 12 years that I am enjoying an early Christmas AT HOME... it definitely wasn't planned, but as Dorothy said "there's no place like home".

It was funny, because all of my friends at church were super careful on how to talk to me... after the "incident" in Valencia... just to find out that I am doing well. I do believe that God is in control of everything, good and bad, and that this situation is going to turn out for the better eventually.

I still check on "my" Valencia girls each game day, and follow live stats, but besides that I am moving on from my life in Spain. Still missing the friendships I shared with all of the girls on the team. The weather here in California has been outstanding- thank God, and it's been definitely an upgrade to the rainy and windy days right before I left Valencia :)

Right now my agent is putting in overtime, trying to find a team for me for after Christmas. I've been getting some very good and interesting offers, and I am excited to make a decision soon.

Make sure to check in with me again to see where life is taking me in 2011.

Much love,
LINDA

No Place Like Home!!!

TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE

Halfway through writing this blog, I started to get bombarded with emails... emails from supporters, friends and fans of Ciudad Ros Casares.... and I am overwhelmed by all the love that you guys have been pouring my way.

I am sad to annouce that my contract here with the basketball team of Ciudad Ros Casares has come to an end today.

To all the fans: I want to thank you for your support, for visiting my website and being actively involved in my life as member of "your" team. For smiling and waving back to me everytime.

To the organization: Thanks for the opportunity you've given me to be a part of this team and to experience this beautiful city.

To the staff (too many to list each of you individually, sorry): Thanks for making everything run smoothly behind the scenes. For smiling, when you don't feel like it. For working hard without getting the applause: Muuuuuuchas gracias. Sin vosotros, nosotros no somos!!!

To my chicas: I will miss you dearly... we've had a great time.... and I will keep you close to my heart forever!!!! Make sure to enjoy the journey and go ahead, do one extra set of abs (25) for me.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!!!

P.S.: The video above is a last tribute to my efforts of the past couple of months to understanding Espanol... being that I live in California it'll definitely be an enrichment to my social skills

THE ANSWER

Brad "BELLICK" from Prison Break....

 TELL ME I AM WRONG!!!!

DOPPELGÄNGER

I tend to always meet people who remind me of somebody else that I know, or know of (for example: Monica Bello and Michael Jackson, Ticha Penicheiro and Liene Jansone, etc)... most of the times my friends laugh at me and say that I am absolutely wrong!!!
But I still believe in my ability to find people's doppelgänger! And I won't stop.

So here I have another one... this time I am asking you to participate.
Here is a picture of our teammanager Jordi... WHO DOES HE REMIND YOU OF?

HINT:
It's an actor from an US tv series ;)

TAKE ONE MORE STEP

Happy Sunday everyone, time for some soul food again.

Enjoy, and I'm going to take a nap now before our game here against Girona tonight.

As I've been sidelined for a week now due to a spasmed back, I feel like this is some nice encouragement for moments when things might not necessarily go your way.

Enjoy!

"We get knocked down, but we get up again." 2 Corinthians 4:9

Failure can feel like a punch in the gut. And when it keeps happening it's tempting just to give up. But you can't; you must "get up again."

Failing doesn't make you a failure, quitting does. H.E. Jensen said, "The man who wins may have been counted out several times, but he didn't hear the referee."

A failure-free life feels safe, but it fosters boredom, apathy and low self-esteem. Ever noticed that the Devil never reminds you of what you've learned? No, he wants you to keep reliving the painful details. Learn the lesson, then forget the details! Victory requires building on what you've learned and moving on. Theologian Brooke Foss Westcott said, "Great occasions don't make heroes or cowards, they simply unveil them…

Silently, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or weak, and at last some crisis shows us what we have become."

This article ran in The Wall Street Journal: "You've failed many times although you may not remember. You fell the first time you tried to walk. You almost drowned the first time you tried to swim. Did you hit the ball the first time you swung the bat? Heavy hitters, the ones who hit the most home runs, also strike out a lot. R.H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York caught on. English novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before publishing 564 books."

H. Jackson Brown gives us two rules for winning: Rule One: Take one more step. Rule Two: When you can't take one more step, refer to rule number one.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

SEASON OPENER!

UNLV Lady Rebel Seniors 2002

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today the day has come that every college student-athlete in the United States is waiting for..... THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON & the end of pre-season.
Enough with the long running session in the early mornings, endless weightlifting, and training without the ball.

I want to send my best wishes to the LADYREBELS.

Below I added this season's schedule... go out and support women's basketball in Las Vegas.

GO REBS!!!

2010-2011 SCHEDULE ( Click on an event for complete event information )

Date	Opponent / Event	Location	Time / Result
11/08/10	vs. Grand Canyon (exhibition) $	Las Vegas	5:30 PM PT
11/12/10	vs. Southern Utah	Las Vegas	5:00 PM PT
11/19/10	vs. San Diego	Las Vegas	5:30 PM PT
11/21/10	vs. Nevada, Reno	Las Vegas	2:00 PM PT
Hyatt Place Lady Rebel Round-Up
11/26/10	Pacific vs. Rutgers (Lady Rebel Round-Up)	Las Vegas	5:00 PM PT
	vs. Oregon State (Lady Rebel Round-Up)	Las Vegas	7:30 PM PT
11/27/10	Consolation Game (Lady Rebel Round-Up)	Las Vegas	5:00 PM PT
	Championship Game (Lady Rebel Round-Up)	Las Vegas	7:30 PM PT
11/30/10	at Nebraska	Lincoln, Neb.	5:00 PM PT
12/05/10	at San Jose State	San Jose, Calif.	2:00 PM PT
12/12/10	at North Carolina	Chapel Hill, N.C.	TBA
BTI Classic
12/18/10	SMU vs. Texas (BTI Classic)	Las Vegas	12:30 PM PT
	vs. South Florida (BTI Classic)	Las Vegas	3:00 PM PT
12/19/10	South Florida vs. SMU (BTI Classic)	Las Vegas	5:00 PM PT
	vs. Texas (BTI Classic)	Las Vegas	7:30 PM PT
12/20/10	Texas vs. South Florida (BTI Classic)	Las Vegas	5:00 PM PT
Duel In The Desert
12/18/10	Louisville vs. Marist (Duel In The Desert)	Las Vegas	1:30 PM PT
	Nebraska vs. Houston (Duel In The Desert)	Las Vegas	4:00 PM PT
12/19/10	Houston vs. Louisville (Duel In The Desert)	Las Vegas	4:00 PM PT
	Nebraska vs. Marist (Duel In The Desert)	Las Vegas	6:30 PM PT
12/20/10	Marist vs. Houston (Duel In The Desert)	Las Vegas	4:00 PM PT
	Louisville vs. Nebraska (Duel In The Desert)	Las Vegas	6:30 PM PT
Pepsi Rainbow Wahine Invitational
12/28/10	vs. Cal State Bakersfield (Wahine Invitational)	Honolulu, Hawaii	7:00 PM PT
12/29/10	vs. Columbia (Wahine Invitational)	Honolulu, Hawaii	7:00 PM PT
12/30/10	at Hawaii (Wahine Invitational)	Honolulu, Hawaii	9:00 PM PT
01/05/11	at BYU *	Provo, Utah	6:00 PM PT
01/08/11	at TCU *	Fort Worth, Texas	TBA
01/11/11	vs. San Diego State *	Las Vegas	8:01 PM PT
01/15/11	vs. Air Force *	Las Vegas	3:00 PM PT
01/18/11	at Colorado State *	Fort Collins, Colo.	4:45 PM PT
01/22/11	at New Mexico *	Albuquerque, N.M.	1:00 PM PT
01/26/11	vs. Wyoming *	Las Vegas	7:00 PM PT
02/01/11	at Utah *	Salt Lake City, Utah	7:00 PM PT
02/05/11	vs. BYU *	Las Vegas	2:30 PM PT
02/09/11	vs. TCU *	Las Vegas	7:00 PM PT
02/12/11	at San Diego State *	San Diego, Calif.	TBA
02/16/11	at Air Force *	Colorado Springs, Colo.	TBA
02/19/11	vs. Colorado State *	Las Vegas	3:00 PM PT
02/23/11	vs. New Mexico *	Las Vegas	7:00 PM PT
02/26/11	at Wyoming *	Laramie, Wyo.	1:00 PM PT
03/05/11	vs. Utah *	Las Vegas	3:00 PM PT
2011 Mountain West Tournament
03/08/11	MWC First Round	Las Vegas	TBA

CLASSIC

This photo was taken in our locker room today.... it doesn't need much explanation!!!!!

POWER ELECTRONICS

For whatever strange reason my teammates here have started to call me "abuela", which is the Spanish word for "grandma"..... Well ooooookay, to be honest I could actually name a few reasons...lol... like going to bed early, driving slowly, not walking too much in my free time, etc..

Even though I consider this a positive and endearing name to be given, I am still trying to fight it at times, trying to go wild and live on the edge. After all, I am still a REBEL!!!

So today I decided to head out to the Power Electronics game... it started at 8.45 PM(!) and I was at home at 11PM!!!! That's almost midnight!!!!

Power Electronics is which I like to call "our mens team".... even though there's not much cooperation at all, nor any benefits we gain from their presence in the city, hahahaha. Oops, I take it back!! Sushi Town has been giving us a 15% discount, and I love going there!!!!

I do like to show solidarity though and support OUR MEN with a cheerful voice and clapping hands.... and I can proudly announce that they gave CSKA Moscow "the business" tonight... good job chicos!!!

Alright, it's reeeeally getting late now and "Abuela" Fröhlich needs to head to bed.... until next time.

GAMETIME... against Bourges. Let's go Ros!!!!

HEADING BACK WEST

After a successful night in Orenburg, we are happy to announce our return to the West today... at the moment we are enjoying a 4 hours layover in Moscow, which is much better than the 5 hours that we spent at Domodedova airport on the way here two days ago, or two nights, maybe even three days??????
Oh gosh, I don't know... this trip has been so confusing... we've been all over the place.. and three different timezones... I feel like the people in "Lost" who are timetraveling on the island... not knowing what's going on.

Anyways, just a few more hours and we are back on CET... Central European Time, baby!!!

We are not heading back to Valencia quite yet though, but directly to Barcelona where we are going to enjoy some extra hotel time. Barcelona is home to many of our players, so I am happy that they will be able to get to see their families. I am not a hater!!!!

On Saturday will be playing against CB Olessa and then head back "home" to enjoy our first day off in..... I don't know how many days/weeks.

It's been a long couple of days, and I am looking forward to returning to the four walls of my Ciudad Ros Casares apartment... and to hopefully get some sun on our day off :)

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip to Orenburg... enjoy:

after waking up at 5am and traveling a total of 17 hours on 3 planes,
we've proven to be some real troopers

GAME TIME... by the way... she missed that shot! ;)

E, Becky and Ka-Tee acting a fool in front of Becky's Russian ride

having dinner with two of our opponents, Becky and Tina....
Good times! Many giggles! See you again in Spain!

just a sign... funny translation

Becky and Ka-Tee get inspiration from the Russian Teambus for future
home decorations

getting "our stretch on"... at 8am Spanish Time... no need to describe the atmosphere ;)

if our pointguard has this much legroom on the plane....
can you imagine our postplayers?

NONE!!!! it should be forbidden... it's not humane to sit like this for hours!!!!

SUNDAY THOUGHT

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life...” Psalm 23:6

It's a Sure Thing

Let’s break this Scripture down: ‘Surely goodness and mercy.’ People may disappoint you, but God’s goodness and mercy are sure things! ‘With [God] there is never the slightest variation or shadow of inconsistency’ (James 1:17). Our devotion to God may falter, but His devotion to us never does: ‘If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful...’ (2 Timothy 2:13). David didn’t say, ‘maybe, possibly, I hope so, I’ve a hunch’. No, he said, ‘Surely’ and that’s a promise you can stand on. ‘Shall follow me.’ That sounds like another promise God made to His people: ‘all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee...’ (Deuteronomy 28:2). Note the words: ‘follow… come on… overtake’. You can’t get away from them!

God’s goodness and mercy followed Jonah to the bottom of the sea, Daniel into the lions’ den, and John into exile, opening heaven to him.

Stop and look back. Think of the scrapes God’s brought you through, the messes He’s helped clean up, the doors He’s opened, and what do you see? Blessings you don’t deserve, can’t escape, and are new every morning. With God, it’s a sure thing! ‘All the days of my life.’

Think of the days ahead and what do you see? Days at home raising a family? Days in a dead-end job, struggling to get ahead? Days of loneliness and poor health? Days of caring for a sick loved one? Days of battling disappointment and depression?

‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.’ Goodness to provide, and mercy to pardon; you’ll never have a day without them!

SUNDAY THOUGHT

Hello, I just came up with the idea to share my favorite devotional of the week with all of you on Sundays :)
Whatcha think? I hope you are going to enjoy it.

Today's SUNDAY THOUGHT comes from Bob Gass's Online Devotional.

It's about self esteem, and where it SHOULD come from. Please feel free to comment and share your opinion.

ISAIAH 43:1
“I have called you by your name; you are Mine.”

Your Self-Esteem Must Come from God

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “Though you are one of the teeming millions in this world, and though the world would have you believe that you do not count and that you are but a speck in the mass, God says, ‘I know you.’” How wonderful is that? Take a moment and consider the things in life that rob us of self-esteem. Words such as, “I don’t want you; I don’t love you anymore.” Or “You’re unsuitable for the job; sorry, we have to let you go.” Or, “You keep making the same stupid mistakes. You’ll never get it right.” Or, “Why can’t you be like your brother, or your sister, or so-and-so?”

Understand this:
(1) Your self-esteem cannot be based on what you do for a living. Because when you can no longer do it you’ll feel worthless. Think about some of the famous people you know: athletes, artists, speakers, etc. When they can no longer do what they do they get depressed, even suicidal.

(2) Your self-esteem cannot be based on what you own. Recently the U.S. housing market lost up to 40% of its value in one year. Millions of people saw their social status go down and their financial security go up in smoke.

(3) Your self-esteem cannot be based on other people’s opinion. Because it will always make you vulnerable to rejection.

What’s the solution? Discover what God thinks about you and build your life on it.

“Thus says the Lord, who created you…who…redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.” It doesn’t get any better than that!

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

Well after Ljuba, Taj, Becky, Edwige and I ended our own little World Championship here in Valencia on Friday by playing three practice games against the Young Mens Team back-to-back-to-back, today in the Czech Republic the real World Championship has officially come to an end.
Congrats to the United States for winning it all!!!!
Great run, Czech Republic... Dobre Holki... and congrats to my new fellow athletes from Spain!!!
Last but not least, congrats to Belarussia... it was nice to see 3 out of 4 teams in the top positions to be from Europe!!!

On the sidelines of the final games, FIBA has held a conference on women's basketball in Karlovy Vary to discuss ways of making the sport better, and more appealing to a wider audience. In reference to that I found this interview with Mr. Patrick Baumann (FIBA's Secretary General), who was commenting on some of the results of that conference.

In the comment section, let me know what you think :)

http://www.fibatv.com/page/Video/0,,12805~1664034,00.html?tabb=interviews&pnumber=1?WT.mc_id=fibacxt

POSITIVITY

Well, this "fin de semana" we are having COMPLETELY off ... the last double-off day till Christmas, so I think it's well deserved.... and NOW day#1 is slowly coming to an end.

It's been a good one: woke up late, talked to some friends, spent some time at the pool with some teammates, went to Lidl, watched tv and last but not least spent some time on the computer.

While doing the latter, I came across this video. I love it!!!!!

I am not a big rap fan per se-- probably because in half of the songs I don't understand a word they are saying (English is after all my second language, so please forgive me!) and then the ones I DO understand, I don't agree with the message. IN MY OPINION most of them (NOT ALL!) talk about too much negative stuff, glorify worldly stuff and mislead their fans to yearn for stuff that is unnecessary for leading a happy life.

Anywhoosers, enough about my opinion... so I came across this rap video today, and I felt like sharing it on here...  IT'S DIFFERENT:

VAMOS A LA PLAYA

Before you scroll down to view the picture, please click on the link below, and let the music run while you are looking at the photos below:

I don't know about you, but I love me some Valencia ;)