It's worth it.

Sports—it’s a risky business, and injuries, they are just another part of the game. Unpredictable and always tragic, they seem to be equally inevitable, especially the longer and the harder you play. I love the game as much as the next obsessed guy, but when you see a player, a teammate or a friend go down writhing in pain and reaching for an ankle or knee, it makes you question whether or not it’s worth it. Sadly, I witnessed just this in our first league game back against Herner. Roli went down with 3 minutes left in the game, desperately clinging to her knee in obvious pain. Tuesday she had surgery to repair a minor tear in her knee that will keep her off the court for another 3 weeks. Whether it’s a twisted ankle, a torn knee or a broken bone, we’ve all suffered something in the name of the game we love. Maybe you don’t get it, and that’s okay—playing a game so competitively isn’t for everyone. But you can’t tell me it isn’t worth the risk. Because the day you see a player, or a teammate or a friend battle back from a lengthy and painful injury after hundreds of hours of rehab, that day when you see their exhilarating smile the moment they can play again, is the day you’ll know, unequivocally, it’s worth it. I can’t wait for that day in 3 weeks when Roli is cleared and despite the risk, steps on the court again with the biggest grin.

Aside from the injury, which came after we had already established a comfy 20-point lead, the game was uneventful. The final margin was 25 and once again we were tied for 3^rd. I finished with 11-7-5 in a game impressively dominated by our posts.  The following weekend, however, we’d be traveling to Rotenburg who beat us back in October in one of our worst performances as a team. Even with Roli sidelined and even with that previous 4-point loss dangling over our heads, we strongly believed we were the better team. We began the game focused offensively, scoring 26 points in the first 10 minutes, but we were still far from perfect throughout the game, particularly on defense. Despite maintaining a 15-point lead most of the 2^nd half, Vlasti was frustrated with our defensive lapses and zone offensive woes. We won by 16 and Charmaine, one of our remaining German players forced to play more minutes in Roli’s absence, had a phenomenal game! She had 25 points and 5 steals and seriously made like 7-8 shots in a row at one point. I had 27 points 5 rebounds and 6 steals and was ecstatic we were able to secure another road win.

So Morty and I have sorta been bored lately. And not just your usual dose of boredom that naturally infiltrates anyone’s life from time to time, no no. I’m talking the hard stuff, the mind-numbing boredom that generates wall staring, excessive list making and promotes irrational snow shoveling ambitions. I realize that might sound…unreasonable, being that we live in Europe (you don’t have sympathy, I get it). Seriously though, there are days when, aside from practices and workouts, I don’t leave my apartment—my incredibly dull, yet strangely enticing apartment. You’ll be pleased to hear that instead of simply conceding to my boredom and moaning about it to you, Morty and I decided to be proactive! All that really translated to was seeking advice from German teammates about potential activities to engage our childlike attention spans. I was quite delighted with the list we compiled subsequently, and I think you will be encouraged as well. The list goes a little something like this: visit the zoo, visit the animal shelter, bowl, go-cart riding, and visit our library. Good right? I know I know, I was wildly excited anticipating my cured boredom. Numero uno on the list, and if you know me this was an obvious choice, was visiting the animal shelter. After some brief investigating, I discovered we could potentially become dog walkers there so we raced over to find out Monday. Naturally no one there spoke English, so I implemented my well honed gestures and, remarkably, was able to convey we wanted to volunteer as dog walkers.  Next thing I knew they were handing me a leash with a dog without so much as asking for my dog walking credentials (that’s right, I’ve got creds). Boom, I’m a dog walker, just like that. I’ve walked some really cute dogs so far, but it’s always bitter-sweet having to put them back in their cage. The zoo was next on the list, but I don’t presently have enough time to thoroughly elaborate on this experience, so I will have to save it!

Tomorrow we play at home against Donau-Ries. We are currently tied for 3^rd together. Donua-Ries has spent most of the season in 1^st place, but has lost their last 2 games, joining us in 3^rd. We sorta stunk it up against them the first time around, so I know we are all really looking forward to this opportunity.

Following the game Morty, Bri and I are flying to London! We decided we would take advantage of playing on a Friday and having the weekend completely off, and after significant deliberation we decided on LONDON BABY! I booked us this cool little hotel in Westminster just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the sites. I cannot wait to finally get the chance to use my fake british accent. I am kind of out of practice having never really needed it before, but I'm sure I'll totally blend in with it. I came up with this formula where you mix some "chaps" in with some "rubbish" and "bugger" and a sprinkle of "blimey" and "bloody" and you really can't go wrong. Obviously I would be remiss as a fake Brit if I left out their greatest addition to the english language--dodgy. It's just brilliant and I will be nothing short of brilliant this weekend repeatedly using it out of context. Good day, chaps!