Notes of LA

Another weekend come and gone. We're on the flight home from a championship run in the Best of the West Shootout. We are now the repeat champions of this tournament. We had a few memorable experiences. Andy Gudmundson was able to make the trip. He unfortunately hit it right off with Bret. These two were hatched from the same egg. At least they kept us entertained.

Play of the Day
We had a near "ESPN Play of the Day" moment. Late in the championship game, I had the ball near half court. I saw Bret breaking to the basket. With everything I had, I threw a lob pass.

Just as I let the ball go, I knew I should never have thrown it. Bret had turned his head and had no idea the ball was coming. Just as he came to a stop and turned to look for the ball, it came down square on his forehead.

Being that he was right under the basket, the ball bounced up to the basket, circled the rim, hung for a moment, then dropped out. The crowd (mostly LA fans) all let out a gasp of astonishment to what they almost witnessed. Then everyone, including players, broke out in laughter. LA got the rebound and had to call a timeout to regain their composure.

Luckily my bonehead play didn't cost us the game and we have a funny memory of the weekend. The best part was that I didn't get yelled at for making a bad play because everyone was laughing. Even Jeff, who immediately gave me the stink eye and was getting ready to yell, had to laugh when everyone else did.

Dinner at the Beach
Saturday night, we drove to Huntington Beach and had dinner at Duke's Seafood & Steakhouse. Wow. Great food with a view of the waves breaking on the beach. After dinner we wandered down the pier and watched as 15-20 foot waves were breaking. Poor Dean was freezing his tookas off. I think he enjoyed it. He's a "crackin' fella" from England. We enjoy having him on the team.

On a side note, Dean may be unable to join us for the remainder of our trips. Dean lives in Montana and the flights are so expensive, he has a hard time paying them himself. I have asked him to do what he can to raise money. We are hoping to get him with us the rest of the way.

Bret gets Lost!
Bret was driving the second van and kept getting lost. He kept losing track of me and ended up following the wrong van. The first time he was right behind me. I pulled in at the airport to pick up the team. I stopped and noticed Bret wasn't behind me. I waited a minute then called him.
When he answered, I asked where he was. He said, "I'm right behind you." I told him I was stopped at the curb and he was nowhere in sight. He thought he was still following me. He did it again coming back to the airport.

Other Notes
I so much enjoy these trips. I'm a 49 year old kid in a candy store. I look around at others my age and realize how lucky I am that, at my age, I still play and contribute to the #5 wheelchair basketball team in the country.

I get frustrated that my skills and conditioning have deteriorated to a point that I no longer play at the level I would like. Then I realize that playing with younger players who take up where I left off, keep me young. I don't need to do the things I could 10 years ago. I am needed more for coaching and teaching.

I still get enough minutes to help the team. Having Jeff and Bret on the team has extended my career as they take so much attention, the defense loses track of me.

I love being a member of the team and love my teammates. They're the best and I'm honored to count them as my friends.