Moiën Luxembourg!

In what has been a long off-season with its ups and its downs, I have found myself playing for a new team in Luxembourg called the Musel Pikes. I have been here for almost 2 months already which seems crazy because the time has really flown by. In these two months, I have gotten situated with my new home, gotten lost in the beautiful country that is Luxembourg, been on the wrong end of a few team jokes, brushed up on some of my French, and have met some really cool people.

On the Basketball court my new teammates and I have really come together and are looking to start the season off on the right foot this weekend. We start the season Saturday against the team BBC Nitia from Bettemburg Luxembourg. I absolutely can't wait to begin the season as it has been quite some time since our team has played an exhibition game together (about 3 weeks!). In that time, we have been practicing and making great strides in the right direction but it's time to show what we can do when it matters most!

I'd like to give a shout-out to my former team in Iserlohn who is currently 4-0 in their young season and looking very good via the highlights put together by Olaf's Dad. I appreciate the effort to put these together and I'm glad to see they are doing well.

I'd also like to thank all the young coaching staff at Amherst College for putting together the beautiful youtube site where some of my greatest memories are only a click or two away.

As always, I appreciate all types of feedback (good, bad, or ugly) from my posts and of course my door is always open to all.

I'm going to leave you with this unbelievable video because with such a huge weekend coming up that includes our first Musel Pikes Basketball game of the season, a HUGE Michigan vs. Michigan State football game, and the Detroit Tigers fighting to make the playoffs, it's about that time to get all fired up!!!

I don't celebrate that...

So if you haven't seen Josh Howard at Allen Iverson's celebrity flag football game yet, it has stirred up many emotions around the world. Although this comment may have been just messing around among friends on a relaxing summer afternoon, the comments that Josh Howard made a few months ago are something to remember.



This celebrity all-star game was very non-competitive and is strictly played for entertainment purposes, yet it is still a sporting event and the national anthem is being played for a reason. The line between official and leisure may be very small and unclear, but it is important to understand that with the national anthem there are principles. Whenever this song is played it is to be played in a serious manner. Just as when a sermon preaches or a school teacher teaches, the national anthem must require a great deal of respect and attention.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban posted many e-mails he received from Americans who felt personally attacked by Mr. Howard's comments and responded with venomous rage at the player's boss. In a Mark Cuban kind of way, the Maverick owner showed the world these hateful e-mails and included them on his popular blog.

I feel like the real issue here is what is going through Mark Cuban's mind to do such a thing. What kind of business man will stick up for an unpatriotic act by one of his employees who has a noteworthy criminal record? If the president of an organization like Microsoft were in this position, I don't think Mr. Gates would keep anybody around let alone stand up for them just because he or she came up with the best marketing scheme and brought in the most money for the year. This person would be gone in a second!

The NBA is a business but for some godforsaken reason, presidents and managers of teams do not require their players to meet the same expectations as everyone else in the organization. I am quite disappointed in Mark Cubans childish actions and his unprofessionalism.

Vince Young, We Need You!!!

There are too many stereotypes and misconceptions about professional athletes in major leagues such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and Major Soccer leagues around the world. One that I would like to focus on is the ease and simplicity of what one actually does for a living. A professional athlete may not literally work 40 hours a week like everybody else, but a professional athlete must work 24 hours a day. Every ounce of sleep, every hour of recovery, every calorie digested are going to play a role in an athlete's performance. Not to mention, every social interaction with fans, media, coaches, agents, and family. Which is why we need to let Vince Young take care of what he needs to do and get his mind right. Based on this interview, I believe Vince is going to make sure he finds himself and fine tunes his mental state so that he can continue to play the game he loves and battle back from his injury. It is a shame that something like this can get blown out of proportion so quickly with today's flatness of the world.

(Via AP)

I hope that this video helps sort out what actually was going through Vince Young's mind. I hope that he gets back on the field as soon as possible because the sporting world needs him. In case you forgot, this guy is one of the 10 current sports figures that has created what I like to call "Unforgivable Moments In Time" or UMIT's for short. Enjoy...

The Biggest surprise from week 1 in College Football

The biggest surprise from week 1 in College Football is easy; What happened to Clemson???

(Courtesy of Dave Martin/AP - NBCsports)

The same team that won 9 games last season and returned 14 of 22 starters looked like a team that with a brand new system on offense (sort of like Michigan this weekend). With the backfield of the talented James Davis and the play-maker C.J. Spiller, it should be expected that the Tigers would be able to put together some sort of running attack against the Tide this weekend. However, the team that finished 24th in the nation last year in rushing laid a giant goose egg in total rushing yards against the stingy big uglies of Alabama. I guess that's what happens when you loose 4 of your starting offensive linemen and have to fill the almighty important core of the offense.

Personally, I am torn between these two NCAA heavy-weights when it comes to who I would rather see go far this season. I have family who are Clemson alum and things were really looking bright for them this season as Coach Bowden has them on the right track to a BCS championship. On the other hand, I have watched Coach Saban grow up as a coach. From Michigan State, where he was a "in your face" tough S.O.B. type coach, through the NFL years, and now to where I think he belongs... Alabama. I believe Saban has all the tools of a legendary College Football coach and I would like to see him take the Tide as far as they can go this season!

So although there were no big Appalachian state-esque surprises this past weekend (however Michigan lost their season opener again), it was yet another great opening weekend of College Football. I am looking forward to a great season! Football is in the air.