I get a moment of panic whenever I wake up and the sun is out. It lasts until I can confirm what time it is and that I am not late for something. It was 6:55. The room does not receive wireless or phone reception. No phone reception means the alarm function on my phone is out of commission; the phone doesn't know the time. I learned from Mr. Lee last night that the hotel is a 3 star hotel. I guess those are the two missing stars.
I am again alone at breakfast. I sketch out a practice plan while eating hard boiled eggs and bread that is past its prime. I am very particular about bread and I get the feeling China is not. There is no coffee. That should have deleted another star, maybe two as far as I am concerned. This is another time where I miss Coach Chiampi. He is excellent at understanding game flaws and addressing them at practice. This team also needs that special flair that he brings when he talks. We are an excellent good cop-bad cop combo.
Our heart holds no secret that our actions do not reveal. I scroll the saying of the day across the top of hotel note paper. I forgot to bring along a notepad, but I don't feel too stressed about it as I only need one copy and no one sees it but me. Offensive tweaks. Defensive fundamentals. Today's passing words are "dor sheow chen"...how much?. The guys will need it later tonight after the game as they hit the town again.
The arena is just down the street. It is a beautiful building with a large park next to it. The bus ride there is just 10 minutes. I am still trying to figure out how these arenas host events, yet have no parking spaces. Practice is a little sluggish. I raise my voice and drop a few choice words into my sentences. I try to raise the level of intensity in the group. They need to compete at a higher level in practice to simulate the game. In my mind, practice flies by. I am shocked when Mr. Lee tells me our time is over and we must hurry along to lunch. I want to say forget eating, we need to stay here and get this right. I do not, however, want to create an international incident over sautéed beef and boil rice.
The afternoon takes forever. The assistant manager of the hotel takes pity on me for not having a plug in computer device and allows me to use her computer in the lobby for a minute. I zip a quick e-mail to Joan about my incommunicado situation. I think about a walk, but decide to try to get a nap. That doesn't go well as I am restless. I really want to win tonight's game against Canada. They are loaded with American players and I think they are the best team for this type of tournament. Their coach was the fellow from the airport on day one who was helpful with connections and such. He is from Dallas. Need I say more Eagles fans?
Back to Louisiana to pass some time. Seems the doe eye rookie detective and the assistant district attorney are childhood sweethearts who can not seem to decide whether a relationship would be a good thing at this stage of their careers. Conflict abounds in their personal lives, and professional as well, as the detective is ostracized by her peers for her handling of the case.
Finally....Gametime: Canada
The team is tight. You can see in the faces of the players how much they need to win tonight. They have pride. They know they are clearly the underdog here and want to prove themselves worthy of the invite. The locker room has beautiful oversized leather chairs which would look great in my den, but seem out of place for large sweaty men. There is never a white board which puts me at a great disadvantage. I like to list the game points, quote of the day, match-ups, etc on there. I also like it so I don't have to read off a paper during the pregame speech. The board keeps me on track.
The arena is maybe 75% full. The crowd stirs as even they are restless waiting for the local dignitaries to arrive. The game will not start until certain people are in attendance. We are chomping at the bit to get underway.
The jump ball sails high in the air. Really high. So high two 6'9" athletic guys could not get to it. That rarely happens, but it seems like another thing is just out of our reach. The second try at it goes our way. We run to the rim and convert. At this point, I am thinking about the Flyers and the unbelievable streak they had in the recent playoffs. In every game, the team that scored first lost the game.
We execute and play well. Nate is on tonight and makes a couple jumpers and we are rolling. The first quarter comes to a close and we are up 8. The huddle is a mixture of excitement and intense desire to keep doing what we are doing. I hardly say a word as the players take ownership of their situation.
The second quarter isn't as crisp, but we maintain the lead going into the half. I just hate to give a little light to a team we could have buried. The locker room's relaxing decor is of no use to the Aussies right now. There is a sense of urgency. Guys are getting on one another not to let this thing slip away. To stay the course. We are in a little foul trouble for the first time. Both James, the point guard, and Kyle, a forward, have three fouls. My contribution to the halftime chat is that the rest of us need to cover for James and Kyle. I remind those two how playing smart doesn't mean playing passively. I also add that our bench did not match the intensity of the guys on the floor and to be successful in the second half I would need to see a much better response from them when they were called on.
The second half is a slow bleed. The play (there really is one play every time where I think if only this went differently) was a long pass from James to Chris. Chris had been defending the apex when James stole the ball on the wing. We were down one point and Chris's eyes were on wide knowing he was about to light the gym on fire with a breakaway dunk. James's pass sailed just out of reach as Chris was at the foul line and the chance was gone. Canada converted the next possession. We turned it over and then fouled. The dunk would have put us up one. In the blink of an eye, we were down seven and that was that.
Final: Canada 83- Australia 68
Tomorrow we travel an hour or so to the next city. I am hoping there is cell phone and wireless internet reception. I am also hoping for our first win. I am flying home for the wedding before the next game. This may be my only chance to win. Why you may ask? A sponsor has pulled out of the second half of the tour and games may be cancelled. If that is true, then I have been told by the tour's big boss, Mr. Hahn, that there would only be one game after the 22nd and I would not be brought back for one game. So, a lot rides on tomorrow's game. In the meantime, this experience has been incredible. Even if i can't call someone and tell them.
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