My Family Visiting

Hey everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I know I did...my parents came here to Italy to be with me for a week. It was so nice to be able to spend time with them. They arrived here last Saturday and watched me play on Sunday night. As you read in my previous blog entry, the game went well. The rest of the week together we spent enjoying each others company and doing some site-seeing. I was able to show them around a little bit and even translate some for them to buy train tickets. I showed them around Milan, Pavia, and the coast.

Visiting some fantastic places here in Italy with them was a lot of fun, but what I really enjoyed was simply having them here for Thanksgiving. We made a feast for dinner...well, my mom did most of the cooking and my dad was her helper. I did most of the sitting around and talking. It was funny seeing them try to find everything that they needed to make the meal. I think 2 or 3 times my dad needed to go back to the grocery store because what they thought they were buying was not actually what they needed. Think about trying to go to a grocery store and having all the labels saying something in gibberish...you basically have to guess based on appearance. The grocery stores don't have all the same things that we were used to back in the States, but after some improvising my parents got all they needed and made a spectacular meal. I seriously have to say that it was one of the best meals I ever had. I definitely appreciate a home cooked meal, especially since it has been so long since I had one!

We spent the rest of that night chatting away and reminiscing. But sadly their trip couldn't last forever. They checked out Rome for a couple days before heading back to the U.S. It was such a treat to have them here for a week.

Well, our team is about to fly out to Naples for our road game this week. I will post a blog after the game to let you know how it goes.

God bless you all!! Talk to you soon.

Photo: Compliments of Andrea Spallarossa

Victory

We had a game this past Sunday. It was a very exciting win for us! The team we played was a very good team in our league. They had players with a lot of experience at the top leagues in Europe. We battled hard throughout the game and went into halftime with the game tied at 37. I was able to get to the rim and hit most of my jumpers as well, so that felt good.

The 3rd quarter however started a little off for the Pavia team (us). We found ourselves slipping behind as the quarter progressed. We were just missing some shots and had a few turnovers. I think we were down by 14 at the start of the 4th quarter, but we kept our confidence and we believed in ourselves. We kept fighting and battled our way back halfway through the quarter. We put on a press and got three consecutive steals to take the lead 69-68 with about 5 minutes to go. We continued this effort to cap off our run with a 91-81 win. It was a great victory for us as many players stepped up and hit big shots, free throws, and also got big defensive stops.

This game was especially fun to play well in because my parents were here visiting and got to see me play.

I have to go now though because they are still here and we want to spend the time together. Talk to you soon!

Ciao tutti!! Hey everyone!! I hope you are all doing well! Just thought I would say hi halfway through the week and throw some random tid-bits at you.

I am doing well. Practices are tough, but our team is playing well together. We still have two-a-days three times a week, so that keeps me busy. As you all know, I usually eat pasta and/or pizza everyday, but for dinner tonight I made myself grilled chicken sandwhiches and potatoes. It was a nice change of pace! It was tasty, although...they do not have BBQ sauce here in Italy so I had to eat them plain without any sauce. So that is a little depressing, but I will get over it I think.

I am looking forward to this weekend because I am getting some visitors for the second time since I moved to Italy. My parents are coming to visit!! I am really looking forward to seeing them and spending over a week together. They are amazing parents and people. I am so thankful that they love me so much and are coming to visit me over Thanksgiving! Thanks mom and dad...see you soon!

Well, I think it is about time I go have some gelato (ice cream)...talk to you soon!

We played against Venice this week. Venice is a very good team in our league. The game was a defensive battle from the start. We fell behind early in the game but fought back with aggressive defense and intensity to tie the game at 31 going into halftime. The second half started similar to the first...low scoring and a scrappy defensive battle. This continued throughout the rest of the game as we slipped behind by 7 or 8 points. We couldn't make a run to get back and ended up losing by 12. Personally I had a very rough game on offense. I couldn't get any of my shots to drop. Every shot I had at the rim seemed to rim out, and I found myself frustrated and forcing a couple shots. Everyone has their off days, and this was one of mine. We are going to shake this one off though and get ready for next week's game as we return to our home court.

I hope you all are doing well. Thanksgiving is around the corner...remember to be thankful for the things, and more importantly the people, you have in your life. God Bless!!

Game 6

It was yet another close game this weekend. We won 74-73. It was tight the whole way. We had the lead for most of the game, but couldn't pull away to get any breathing room. It was a hard fought game. I felt like we definately played with a lot of heart throughout the contest. Udine (the team we played) was a very solid team with size and talent. This was a great win for our team!

Sorry it took me so long to write...I have been busy. I actually had my first visitor from the US come last week, so that was a really nice change of pace. Anyway...our game last week was on the road against a team named Latina. It is on the south side of Rome. It was a nice 7 hour bus trip down there. I didn't mind the ride being so long though, because it was nice seeing more of the country.

The game was a nail-biter the whole way through. Both teams were scoring well throughout the game. We had a 45-43 lead going into halftime. I personally was getting to the rim well and finishing my drives strong, but missed a few outside jumpers. The game came down to the end...we were down 5 and needed a stop on Defense. We put on the press and I got my hand on a pass and deflected the ball out of bounds off an opponent. We then ran an inbounds play and I got fouled and made both free throws. Down 3 now. We put on the press again, and I got another deflection. This time, however, they recovered the ball and we were forced to foul. They made one free throw to go up four and clinch the game. Like I said, we played well on offense, but we definately could have used a couple more defensive stops late in the game.

This Sunday we are home against a solid team. We are looking forward to getting back out on our home court. I most likely will post a blog a day after the game so that I won't put it off as long as I did this week.

Talk to you soon. God Bless!

Game Online

I think our game is online today. It starts at 11:15 am central time (Minnesota/North Dakota time). The website is www.starchannel.it. First, click on the LegaDue symbol. Then at the top of the page that opens there should be four games. Our team is the Nuova Pall. PV and we are playing against AB Latina today. Click on that one. I have never tried this, but I heard it works farely well. If you try it, give me feedback to let me know if it worked. Thanks. I think our games should be on here most of the time, but I am not 100% sure. Talk to you soon.