Hello everyone. I have been behind on my blogs lately and needed to catch up. Since my last blog we have played two more games. Last Sunday we played at home against Valencia and last night we were in Barcelona playing against FC Barcelona. Both games we came out on the losing end of. The first one against Valencia was a heart breaker. We were up the entire game and even by 9 with around 5 minutes to go. We found ourselves down one and with the ball in the final seconds when one of my teammates, Bernie Rodriguez was fouled going to the hoop. He made both clutch free throws to put us up by 1 with 7 seconds to play. Valencia called a timeout and drew up a nice play which resulted in a bucket at the buzzer to beat us by one. It would have been a big win for us against one of the top teams in our league, but wasn’t supposed to be on that day. We can beat them down the road at their place though. I played well finishing with 17 points and a high valuation, which is a statistic they use here that incorporates a bunch of stats into how effective and valuable you are on the court. The loss put us at 1-1 heading into the next game at Barcelona.
We flew into Barcelona Saturday night and got to see a little bit of the city but not a bunch. We went on a team walk Sunday morning before the game since we didn’t have a shoot around and were able to take in a small portion of the city. I wasn’t able to see any of the famous or major points of interest but hopefully i will later. I am told Barcelona is one of the greatest cities in the world. The arena was old and small but set up in a way that I liked. It reminded me somewhat of the Barn in Minneapolis where Minnesota plays. I was surprised FC Barcelona doesn’t have a bigger arena as they are one of the top teams in all of Europe and possibly the world as they beat the Mavericks last Tuesday night in an exhibition game. Their arena is right next to FC Barcelona’s Futbol stadium which was impressive to see from the outside. It reminded me of an NFL stadium. It would be great to take in a match there someday. I am posting a picture of the stadium I took last night to the end of this post. The game didn’t go so well. Barcelona is a very deep squad with some of the highest paid players in all of Europe. We were down only 5 at the end of the first quarter but then went into half time down 17. We cut it to 12 early in the third but could never get any closer. It was a great experience though playing against the defending league champions and seeing what the top team is all about. I finished with 8 points and another high valuation which was a positive. I didn’t shoot the ball well though, so hopefully I can change that next game. One of Barcelona’s players is an American from Rock Island who played at Indian HIlls JC and then Cincinnati name Pete Mickeal. After the game i caught up with him and talked about Iowa and the midwest for a quick second. He seemed like a good guy.
Today was a day off so we slept in since I didn’t get home until 4 in the morning. We went the grocery store today and are having some of the guys and their girls over for dinner tonight. Huge win for the Hawks on Saturday. I wasn’t able to watch it but followed along on twitter and ESPN.com. I couldn’t believe we pulled that one off. I am told that basketball practices have begun and the team looks great. I was able to talk to Coach on the phone for about a half hour the other night. It was great to catch up with him and talk about my experiences here as well as the team back at Iowa. We are excited for the season to start and to watch some games. Iowa sporting events always give us something to look forward to over here! Erin and I have been having a Harry Potter marathon and are on the sixth movie tonight. I have also been catching up on Homeland and Dexter. Both shows are pretty intense and give me something to do on the road trips. I am trying to learn more spanish but it has been more difficult than I imagined. They speak so fast over here it is difficult to pick up on words but I am sure it will get easier. The weather is still great but has cooled off to the 70’s the last few days. Not as cold as good ol Iowa. I do miss an Iowa Fall though!
Until next time..Adios!
Basketball and Life Overseas 