Equal Opportunity Championships

Recently, both of my spring adult league basketball teams won their respective league championships.  I wasn't really expecting this to happen so it was a pleasant surprise.  In total, I have played on EIGHT teams that have championships over the years.

In winning the championships, I updated a picture collage to reflect the two championship teams I was part of this season.  A friend of mine commented that "I was the Robert Horry of recreation basketball".

I know the friend was joking around but this got me to thinking about something.  Unlike the NBA (or other professional basketball leagues), recreational basketball leagues get plenty of chances to win league and/or tournament championships throughout the year.  NBA players get ONE chance to win each season.  If they don't win, they have to wait until next season.

For me, winning two championships in the span of a week is a first and a pretty rare thing for me.  All of my previous championships were very spread out.  But there are players that play in many leagues that could win multiple championships like I did.

My main point is that my eight championships isn't really all that unusual in recreation basketball.  There are just so many leagues / tournaments that you could win more "championships" in one year than some NBA players get in their careers.

All of this being said, sometimes the pursuit of a recreation basketball league or tournament championship can cause players to act irrationally.  They get frustrated at teammates, referees or their own play.   I hope to encourage players to remember a few things:

If you don't win this season, another season is around the corner pretty quickly.  You'll get another opportunity again very quickly.

Even if you win, you are not winning a "ring" like professional players.  If you're lucky, you'll get a t-shirt.  If you're REALLY LUCKY, the organizers might give you a team award or even individual awards.  For me, out of my eight championship teams, I have one t-shirt that reflects me winning anything.  The rest are just photos that I took.

Lastly, never compare your experience to others.  I've got a lot of differing memories of my various championships.  Some of them are hugely positive and some of them are not so positive.    However, if you're only won one championship and the experience was a super great one, then more power to you. No point in comparing yourself to someone else who has more.

Connections That Last For A Lifetime

Last night, my Monday night basketball league completed it's 2013 spring season with the championship game.  My team was fortunate enough to be playing in the game.  Even more fortunate, my team was able to WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP 66-61.

In looking back, my team had an improbable run.  My team had plenty of potential and chemistry but we only won one out of first five games.   I was forced to make some adjustments and fortunately things worked out.  My team gelled and won it's final give games of the season including the championship.

I'm extremely proud of my team.  We had seven players, five of whom had played in our league before.  We had two new players including one guy who had never played league basketball before.  The other new player was a girl.   She was real small of stature but she is baller and tough as nails.   We had to work hard at our chemistry but everyone played their roles and contributed to the championship win.

While my team's win didn't bring us any trophies or anything like that, I find that it brings lasting memories and connections for all of the players involved.  While I am not close friends with all of my teammates, going through our journey this season will forever bind us.   I don't know how much I will see this particular group of players in the future.  However, anytime I do see them, this championship will be something we can reminisce about for years to come.

Really, this holds true for all of the teams in our league.  All five of the teams finished with a 4-4 record.  Instead of randomly eliminating one of the teams from playoffs, all teams were invited.  It was a first in the league to have this happen.  This made for a exciting playoff and championship games.  So while my team earns the "champion" title, every team in the league had something to be proud of.

The Ties That Bind / 25th Anniversary Of The Class of 1988

Tonight, my old middle school had it's 30th Annual Benefactors Banquet.  Additionally, as it was my class's 25th Graduation Anniversary (Class of 1988), we were asked to attend.  Despite some efforts by me and some of my classmates, only two of us attended the banquet.  

Because of this, I wanted to briefly comment on the 25th Anniversary of my graduation from middle school.  After attending a K to 5 public elementary school, I went to a Catholic school from 6th to 8th grade.   

A lot of my friends from the elementary school went on to public middle schools.   Some of them questioned why I went to a Catholic school (it wasn't my choice, it was my parents).   My public school friends looked at the Catholic school students as "rich snobs".  

I had a difficult time adjusting as I was socially awkward as a youth.  I didn't fit in with some of the more popular kids and was bullied a bit.   I'll admit that I remember these experiences quite a bit.  Though if I do take a step back, I'll admit that I did have some friends and things were probably better than I remembered. I did get tired of being bullied and started pushing back though!  :)  

One positive experience was being part of the school's basketball and baseball teams.  The school had not formed teams during my three years there.  It seemed like they hadn't had teams in quite a while.  But a new teacher from another school noticed and started forming teams at the school. 

While our class team's (boys basketball, girls basketball and boys baseball) did not do anything spectacular in one year of participating in athletics, the school has retained it's sports program in the 25 years since. 

So while our teams will not be remembered for it's accomplishments, we can all feel proud to having been the ones that RESTARTED the sports program. 

Lastly, I'll have to talk about my relationships with my classmates.  While I did have some negative experiences, those are long in the past.  I have met up with a few of my former classmates over the years for many reasons.  I'll admit that it is good to see people and catch up.  From my perspective, I don't share a ton of experiences with my classmates due to being at the school for only three years and not being a "popular kid".  

But all of that doesn't matter now.  I take away my own positives and I know my classmates will do the same.  No matter where we are and what we are doing, the Class of 1988 will always be tied together in that particular moment in time.  

Happy 25th Anniversary to all of my classmates.  

 

The Boston Marathon Bombings: Making The Best Of A Bad Situation

It was a quiet day at work as a good number of people are on a company sponsored trip for the week.  I took an opportunity to grab some lunch with some co-workers.  When we returned to the office, the TV had news of some explosion.  I initially did not pay attention until I went to grab some water and saw that the explosion had occurred in Boston!  

It was then I got the full scope of the situation.  I was a little stunned at the events and wondered why or how this happened.  My thoughts immediately went to a couple of people I know in Boston.  One is an old high school friend that I haven't talked to in many years.  The other was a guy friend of my high school friend that I met years ago.

While I am not going to comment on the actual situation, I will say that technology and social media helped me get a good grasp of situation and check in on a few people.

I emailed the two people I knew in Boston and the guy friend responded a few hours later.  He indicated he was fine which was good.  Through social media, I found out an old co-worker just happened to be traveling to Boston for work.  Her plane could not land for a while but she was otherwise ok.

I also texted and later talked one of my close friends.  The friend lives alone so just wanted to see how they were.  We didn't chat too much about Boston but it was good to chat regardless.  Never underestimate having some good friends around you.

I send my thoughts and prayers to everyone involved with this situation.  It doesn't just involved people in Boston but also runners from many different locations.  While this is a difficult time, please understand that there are people, friends, and family from all over the world ready to support you.

Jeremy Lin And Taylor King

In 2006, an underdog Palo Alto high school boys varsity basketball upset a highly regarded Mater Dei high school team in the California State Division II basketball championships 51-47:

Jeremy Lin's NBA 3-pointer broke Mater Dei's back
By now, most of you know the story.  Palo Alto was led by Jeremy Lin and this game has been mentioned many times over as part of Jeremy Lin's journey to the NBA.  While most stories reference Mater Dei as a powerhouse, they don't mention how much of a powerhouse.

Palo Alto had only one player on a Division I college basketball roster (Jeremy Lin) while Mater Dei had EIGHT players that made Division I teams including one Taylor King.

King was a big 6'7" kid that was well known throughout Southern California and apparently had committed to Duke as an 8th grader.  When Palo Alto faced Mater Dei, much of the focus was on how Palo Alto would stop King.  Jeremy Lin was mentioned but not prominently.  

For all of the Lin fans out there, we all know Lin's journey.  For me, I always wondered happened to Taylor King.  Here is a recent article updating everyone what happened to him:

Back from the depths, ex-phenom Taylor King finding himself, looking for his game

The main point in talking about Taylor King?  Jeremy Lin recently went onto 60 Minutes to talk about his experience getting to the NBA.  He talked about how there may have been some discrimination because he was Asian American.  Indeed there may have been, but this path had made Jeremy Lin appreciate where he has gotten. 

In the case of King, it's an example of how much pressure highly touted players go through.  Jeremy Lin may not have gotten a lot of recruiting attention but that may have been for the best.  College basketball recruiting and NBA scouting is purely a business affair.  Jeremy Lin didn't have to fight off tons of colleges fighting for him, agents trying to get him to sign, etc.  

It is entirely funny how King and Lin's paths have diverged.  I'm thrilled Lin got to the NBA and is doing well.  I don't know King but sounds like he's had some struggles.  I hope he does get his life straight and if can get to the NBA, it would make for an interesting reunion between Lin and him (not sure if they would even remember each other). 

Maintaining Your Social Circles As You Grow Older

This probably could belong on my officiating blog but it doesn't really matter!  Tonight was the "End Of The Year" dinner for my high school officiating association.   For me personally, it was a rather quiet year of high school officiating.  After taking last season (2011-2012) off, I returned for the 2012-2013 season.  I was rather busy at work BUT still managed to work around 25 to 30 games.  I did some good games though had no playoffs.

The dinner is usually a time for many officials to catch up with other officials.    In a group of 160+ officials, you don't always see everyone during a season.   I got a chance to take to a lot of folks today which was good.

Among of the officials I talked to was an older guy (turning 60 this year though he doesn't look it).  We've always had good conversations and among the things we talked about was maintaining social circles as you grow older.  We discussed this due to some things we've seen within our friends and/or family.

Many people (like me) have a core group of friends that you talk to or hang out with.  However, as time progresses, you will have to adjust.  For example, many of my friends are now married with kids.  I don't spend as time playing video games or doing other things as much with these friends.  Fortunately, with my office moving downtown, quite a few friends are quite nearby.  So we end up just meeting up for lunch every now and then.

I'm also fortunate that I'm fairly active in other activities such as officiating (as noted above) and playing a lot of basketball.  My officiating and basketball provide me social interaction, exercise and the opportunity to see different gyms, courts and cities that I might not see otherwise.

The main point is that if we get into a habit of adapting and creating new social connections when we are younger, it will be much easier as we get older.  I see that older folks who aren't as social when they are younger have a more difficult time adjusting when they get older.

So while my core group of guy friends don't together as much as we'd like at the moment, I do my best to stay active with other people.  I'm lucky to have that opportunity.   I hope that everyone can do that as well.

Equal Rights / Those Who Don't Know History May Be Doomed To Repeat It

All this discussion on the rights for gays to marry got me to think about how we are still fighting for "equal rights" here in 2013.   Everyone is entitled to their opinion but sometimes I feel people have forgotten history.

In 2013, we take it for granted that we all have "equal rights".  However, did we forget that African-Americans had to right for their civil rights?  Or that Japanese Americans were interned in camps because of World World II?  How about the Chinese Exclusion Act that prevented Chinese from immigrating to the United States in the 1800's?   All of these things don't exist anymore because people realized they were wrong.

Yet, we are here discussing whether to "discriminate" against yet another group of people.   You don't have to agree with the gay (or LGBT) lifestyle.  But what someone else does is not really any of our business.

I'm not particularly political.  However, I do believe everyone deserves to be treated equally.

April Fool's Twins

For those that don't know, today is my birthday.  Yes, this is not an April Fool's joke.

Someone asked me on Facebook today if I was going to post something about my life experiences or things that I've learned over the years.  The answer is no (at least not yet).  I will post about something else that is still related to my birthday.  

Many years and a few jobs ago, I met this young lady that worked in our department.  She was an admin for our department's director and so she had frequent interactions with everyone that worked in our department. Most of our initial interactions were just "work related".  While the young lady was friendly, it was more of a business like manner than being super outgoing.  

Over the course of time, we got to know each other a little better and started talking about things other than work.  One time the discussions turned to birthdays.  I cannot remember how or why the discussion turned there.  I seem to recall the young lady mentioning she was born on "April 1st".  I went "Me Too".   To make a long story short, the two of us shared the same birthday (month, day, AND year).  

While sharing the same exact birthday (month, day and year) is not common, it's still possible.  Meeting someone that has the same exact birthday is a little unusual.  Because of this unusual thing shared between us, that led to another discussion:  "Where were you born?" 

This was where the surprise really kicked in.  Not only were the young lady and I born on the same month, day, and year.  We were born in the same CITY and the same HOSPITAL.  The only difference?  As we would find out later, I was born 1 1/2 hours ahead of her. 

It took some time but the "young lady" is now a close and trusted friend.   Despite our "shared birthday", we are quite different.  I'm the outgoing / energetic sort.  She's remained the quiet and more reserved one.  But we've learned to meet in the middle.  

I've shared this story verbally to a few people over the years.  I figured this year would be a good time to share to the "general public" as a feel good story.  I've muted a lot of details as my friend likes her privacy but I'm sure she doesn't mind me sharing the general details. 

I've always wondered WHY my friend and I crossed paths this way.   Really, it doesn't matter.  The friendship we share is all that matters.   However, one does have to admit that this story is definitely an unusual one.  

Coaching Basketball 101

I got an interesting lesson in basketball this past week that I want to share.    When it comes to COACHING any team (whether NBA, college, high school, kids or even adult recreation league), the coach's goal is win.  To do so, you have to "Maximize your team's strengths" and "Minimize your team's weaknesses".  

Nowhere was this true this week in two of my adult basketball leagues that I play in.  I am the captain / coach of my Monday night basketball league team.  The strength of my Monday night team is balance. All seven players are all about the same level.   Everyone has some different things they excel in.  One of our players is a great shooter when left open.  On the other hand, my Monday team is not all that explosive.  We don't have a definite #1 scorer that we can do to during crunch time.  

Early on, I worked the offense through our best shooter early on.  It worked pretty well early on but as the season has worn on, other teams have adjusted and our best shooter has slumped.  I haven't done a good job getting the team readjusted.  Additionally, I have not yet found a way to overcome our lack of a crunch time scorer.  Thus the team has one win and four losses.  Fortunately, the team's got another three games to recover in the season. 

On the other hand, I also play in a Thursday night basketball league.  The team is super top heavy with three good scorers, a solid fourth guy and four other guys (including me) as role players.  The team has done well and entered this week undefeated at 4-0.  This team's strength is that all of the players are fairly athletic.  We have a good PG (our captain) and two guys who can score at will.  The role players fill in with defense, rebounding and occasional scoring.  If there is a weakness is that we are not the quickest on the perimeter.  Plus, we are not real good in the half court.  We are much better in transition.  

The regular captain was gone this past Thursday so I took over captain duties.  Additionally, another one of our scorers was not present so we were left with six guys.  We chose to go zone defense early and let the other team just dominate us early as we fell behind by about 12 points.   When the other team is scoring like that, it is hard to get your transition offense going.  

The zone defense had made my team a bit passive so a switch to man-to-man was in order.   The other team was a little short on guards (only two present at game, one was out of town) so I stuck our #1 scorer (and also best defender) on the other team's best shooter.  The other team was forced to try and dump the ball into the post which was effective.  But the other team's offense became one dimensional and my team slowly chipped away. 

We were fortunate to get away with the 67-63 win even though we were missing two of our top players.  But it was one of those things where we maximized the strength we had (good defender) and minimized our weaknesses (only six players, 1 top scorer).  

People who just play basketball think it's just a one-on-one game but the reality is you need to take advantage of your strengths and avoid the weaknesses.  

Calm In The Midst Of Chaos

This afternoon, I left work around 4:30 PM to catch the subway home.  I had some plans in the evening and wanted to get home early to make a decision on my commute plans (train or car).  I figured that if I got home at a reasonable time, I would have time to choose between either option, depending on how I felt.

The plans didn't quite go that well.   As soon as I got to the subway station, I heard an announcement of a delay.  Some accident had occurred and one station (in my direction home) was closed though trains were running.

At this point, I had a choice.  I could go with the regular subway I took or take an alternative system that was also underground.   I'm quite familiar with the alternative system.  I just knew it would definitely take a while for me to get home.  The regular subway is about a 20 minute ride (30 total minute commute).  The alternative is about 30 to 45 minute ride and almost an hour total commute.

I chose to take the regular subway and it was pretty clear I made the wrong decision.  Tons of people were waiting for trains going in both directions.  Not only was one station was closed, it turned out that most of the trains going my direction were getting turned back early.  All in all,  no one was happy.

I remember being a little frustrated initially.  I was hoping to get home and then head to my destination early. Now it seemed like I would not get home early AND would likely be late to my ultimate destination on time (let alone early).

I hopped on a train going home but I got off after about four stops.  The subway was turning back a lot of trains early.  Tons of other folks going my way were also getting dropped off.   Some were frustrated.  Some were calm but had a difficult time trying to figure out which trains were going which direction.

For me, I remained cool as a cucumber and even struck up some conversation with some folks.  After all, there was absolutely nothing I could do.  I figured I might as well enjoy myself while I waited.  At the station I was at, taking alternative transportation was possible BUT just too time consuming.  I chose to be patient and just ride out the situation.

After about 20 minutes, a train was finally going my direction so I hopped on with just about everyone else who had been waiting.   I continued chatting with a few the folks.  There were a few people just like me.  They weren't too overly stressed and we all just had some fun joking around.

When the train finally arrived at my station, I departed.  An older lady that I had been talking to complimented me for "keeping a good attitude and giving her some laughs".

That comment reminded me that I do have a good ability to remain calm under stress.  I can't really explain how or why I have this ability.  When things are seemingly falling apart (especially when it comes to basketball playing or coaching), I just put aside all the emotions and focus on WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

While I do have this ability, I sometimes forget and start getting frustrated or worried.  However, today was a good reminder that there is no pointing worrying about "WHAT IF".  You need to be centered and deal with "WHAT IS".

Not everyone seems the game the same way as you.........

If you play a lot of basketball but have never been a coach or a team captain in any capacity, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot.  It will teach you a great many things about the game of basketball you never thought of.  

One of them is an incredible amount of patience.  As a long time coach and captain, I'm pretty relaxed with my teams.  Win or lose, I'm usually pretty chill.  But tonight my patience got a bit exhausted.   It was because my team has had trouble putting the pieces together.  As a coach, I have a vision of how the team can play but the vision hasn't been 100% realized.  Much of this is on me but to be fair, these adult teams don't practice.  We all just show up to play and I try to piece the puzzle together.  

But one lesson that is learned by coaching is that you understand that not everyone seems the game of basketball the game way as you do.   It's easy to get frustrated but you have a ton of players who have varying experience levels.   You just have to address each person individually.  

In any case, we've got a few games left to play so the season isn't over yet.  

Learning To Love Snowboarding

When I was young, I never participated in snow sports or activities. About ten years ago, my friends and I went skiing. However, I had sprained my ankle and could not ski.

It wasn't until the past five years I got another opportunity. This time I went with a group of people who wanted to go snowboarding. I took a lesson and endured some hard knocks in learning how to control my board.

Since my initial introduction, I went snowboarding about three other times. I can't say I loved the sport. It's expensive, you need to drive hours to get to the right facilities, and it hurts like heck when you fall. Going once a year or so also didn't help. Hard to apply any knowledge with something you do so infrequently.

This weekend, I'm snowboarding again for the first time in about two years. Can't say I was looking forward to it. However, after getting past my nerves, I felt like I got the hang of snowboarding. I went on some beginner slopes fives times and felt like I improved each time.

Now as I get the hang of snowboarding, it's a little bit more fun than in the past. I do look forward to my next adventures in snowboarding.

The falls still suck though! I also hate getting off the lifts. I still haven't gotten the hang of it and so did a few other people as well. Definitely have to work on that next time!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Coaching Days

In the past couple of days, I decided to upload a couple of old basketball I had to YouTube.  They were of me coaching some youth basketball teams back in 1995.   In getting the videos uploaded, I got a chance to look back at some old memories including my team's championship in 1995.

However, I also got a chance to look back at those youthful and innocent days during the 1990s overall.  Two guy friends and I devoted a lot of time to coaching during those years.  Between the three of us, we coached multiple teams and were able to win a few league and tournament championships.

But it was the memories of just being together that I appreciated.   While the three of us coached different teams, we all made efforts to go to each other's games.  If time permitted afterward, we would go out to dinner and just talk about the game or anything else that came to mind.  It wasn't always possible due to scheduling conflicts but it was fun when we did get together.  It wasn't just between the three of us friends.  The school we coached for had multiple teams and we all spent plenty of time watching other teams play as well.

As with anything, things changed over time.  By the year 2000, me and my two guy friends had stepped away from coaching.  I had burnt out and wanted to focus on other things.  My friends had intentions of starting families and that took priority.

However, recently, I caught up with my two guy friends individually.  Last week, one of them stopped by my work place for lunch.  Tonight, I watched my other friend coach his son's team in a playoff game (they won and are now in the championship).

Those coaching days were ones to remember.  Thanks to my guy friends for being part of it.   I definitely appreciate it and it was great to get a chance to reminisce about our youthful days!

Winning With Grace & Class

The Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets played in an NBA game tonight in Houston.   I was interested in the game because of Jeremy Lin.  When Linsanity occurred last season,  Lin did not get a chance to play the Warriors.  Tonight was the first time Lin faced his former hometown team as a starter.

The Rockets simply outplayed the Warriors and won 140-109.  Lin had a great game with 28 points and 9 assists.  But what got a lot of fans up in arms on both sides was the actions by both the Warriors and the Rockets.

The Rockets were shooting great all night and tied an NBA record by making 23 three pointers.   The Rockets were going for 24 but missed a few shots late in the game.  Before they got another opportunity to attempt another shot, one of their players drove in, dunked the ball and then showboated a bit.  The officials gave the Rockets player a technical.

From then on, the Warriors were very displeased.  One of the Warriors players was given a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected for trying to stop a Rockets player from shooting a three pointer.  The Warriors were then instructed to foul the Rockets before they could even attempt a three pointer.  Ultimately, the Rockets did not get an opportunity to make a 24th three pointer.

In my opinion, running up the score or having some fun at the expense of a team down 30 is a no-no. The losing team is already upset and rubbing things in does nothing to improve the situation.  While Rockets fans were calling the Warriors classless, I respectfully disagree.

My opinion is that if you have a game won, win it with some class and grace.  After all, it doesn't matter if you win a game by 1, 10, 30 or 100 points.  It's still one win.  It doesn't matter if you get your team in the record books.  It's still one win.  All records are ultimately going to be broken anyway.

I've been on all sides when it comes to these types of games.   I've coached, played and officiated blowout games.  The feeling is not good for the losing team.  If you've never been on the side of a team losing by a lot, it's a feeling you don't WANT to feel.  But if you have felt it, then you understand why you never want another team to feel the same way.

I hope all teams (professional or otherwise) takes some lessons.  One day, you or your team will get beat by a lot and then you'll understand.

Champion Vs Runner Up

Today was a big day for NFL fans in general but also for SF Bay Area football fans as well.  The San Francisco 49ers were playing the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl.  The 49ers have not won a Super Bowl since 1995.  A win would have given the 49ers their sixth Super Bowl Championship in the history of the team.  Unfortunately, things didn't quite go the 49ers way and they lost 34-41.

While there will be plenty of analysis of the game over the coming days, winning a championship cements a team's place in history.   Thus the Ravens will be forever noted as the Super Bowl champions of the 2012-2013 NFL season.   But how big of a difference is there between the champion Ravens and the runner-up 49ers?

The Ravens have earned bragging rights, championship rings, endorsement money and a championship trophy.  The championship is also an important thing when judging whether certain players were "very good" or "elite".  Additionally, if any of the players on the Ravens are Hall Of Fame worthy in the future, winning a championship is taken into consideration.

But let's not forget the 49ers.  The sting of losing the game will be with the 49ers for a while.   They don't get the pride of being a Super Bowl champion.  The endorsements and other perks may not be available to them.  However, the 49ers DO GET RINGS for being the NFC Champions.  Yes, it is a consolation prize.   While most of the players may not be satisfied with being runner-ups, some players will treasure it greatly.  The good news?  For most of the players, they will get back to practice in August and get another shot to try to get back to the Super Bowl.

I always remember a story from the San Francisco Giants 2002 World Series season.  The Giants had won the National League championship and played the Anaheim Angels in the 2002 World Series.   The Giants had a chance to win their first World Series championship in 50+ years but lost to the Angels in 7 games.  While it was a disappointment to all involved,  a veteran player (Shawon Dunston) commented a few years later that he was proud of his National League championship ring.  Dunston had never gotten a chance to play in the World Series until 2002 and thus chose to keep things in perspective despite the tough loss for the team.

Some years ago, I was playing on one of my church basketball leagues.   One of my friends was leading and giving a message to all the teams / players.  He asked us a pretty basic question:  "Can you remember last year's NBA champion?  How about the past 5 years?  10 years?"   Even for a basketball fan like me, I couldn't name all the NBA champions in the past years at that time.

What was the main point? From youth basketball teams, to NBA / NFL teams and the teams in my adult leagues, everyone wants to be a champion.  Yet, even if a team wins (or loses) a championship, a few months later, it will be mostly forgotten over time except for those involved and the fans.

As a fan, I was disappointed the 49ers couldn't win the Super Bowl.  So I can imagine how the players might feel.  However, I hope they take this experience in perspective and realize how much of a blessing it was to JUST PLAY in the Super Bowl.   Never take it for granted that you will get another chance to play again.

The Grace Lee Project

There is a very popular Asian-American blog (Angry Asian Man) published by a guy in Los Angeles.  The blog compiles a lot of news and other happenings in the Asian American community at large.

One day, around July or August of 2004, there was an interesting posting.  A lady by the name of "Grace Lee" was filming a documentary called "The Grace Lee Project".   The goal of the documentary was to explore many different Grace Lee's around the world.   The director felt the name "Grace Lee" was pretty generic but did a name define a person?  Of course not.  So, she sought out many different Grace Lee's to interview for the documentary.  On that quest, the director had heard about a particular Grace Lee in the SF Bay Area and decided to have a note posted on the Angry Asian Man blog.

As it turned out, I knew of the Grace Lee the director was looking for.  I made a decision to reach out to the director and tell her what I knew of the person she was looking for.  We met up at some point in August 2004 and I was interviewed for about an hour or so.

About six months later, "The Grace Lee Project" made it's debut at the SF Asian American Film Festival in March of 2005.   The documentary would go around the film festival circuit, be released on DVD and play on the Sundance Cable channel for a time.

My hour long interview was edited and condensed to about five minutes though my Grace Lee is featured fairly prominently in the film.   I understood the editing because my knowledge of Grace Lee was a little broad and not the most specific.  I think there were other people that could have made better subjects BUT I was the one who knew and volunteered.

All in all, the experience was interesting.  It's a rare thing for a "regular guy" like me to be in a documentary that has played all over the world.  In fact, there have been acquaintances (college aged) who have mentioned that they saw the documentary (and me) in one of their Asian-American studies classes.

If you're curious, check out the film trailer here:

The Grace Lee Project Trailer

Website:
The Grace Lee Project

What Christmas Means To Me....At The Moment

The past few years, I've had a few friends note to me that they feel "blah" around Christmas time.  As someone who has gone through it lately, I can understand why.  Christmas is commercialized and the media bombardment makes it feel like "everyone is happy" around this time.  

The reality is that not everyone is thrilled around Christmas.  Christmas is about commercialism, gift buying and families.  However, for those of us (including me) who aren't married, gift buying isn't done as much.  Much of my adult friends have agreed that we don't need to buy presents for each other anymore.  If we do buy anything, it should be for the kids.  My opinion is that many parents (and their families) buy enough presents for the kids.  I have chosen to take a hands off approach to buying presents for the kids.  Of course, that means, I'm not out as much buying things.  That can make someone feel like "something is wrong".

On the other hand, I'm blogging to put a positive spin on things.  This year, I actually had to shop a bit more than I did in the past.  I had a few gift exchanges to go to and actually trying to buy something for parents and my cousin's kids.   But that itself doesn't make me happy.

I realized that just because it's Christmas doesn't mean anything has changed.  I can still do my usual things and be content with it.  For example, in the course of 8 hours, I officiated a few basketball games, went to a lunch party and played some basketball.

One thing I realize is that ANY holiday is a time to renew friendships.  The lunch party and playing basketball was less about the activity and more about just seeing some of my friends.

The same is for my family.  One of my cousins and I talked last year.  Our family is just not big on everyone getting together.  Last year, my cousin decided to invite my family over to dinner on Christmas.  We went over in the evening and just hung out for a few hours.  We are doing this again in a few days as well.

For anyone who feels like Christmas is blah, it's fine.  I understand why.  But there are others who may feel the same way.  However, there is no need to dwell on it.   Just take a deep breath and remember how blessed you are with everything you have.

A Friendship Quote And Thought

“Some come and leave, fulfilling a single purpose; others, for a time or a season to teach us by sharing their experiences; and last, a select few who participate forever with relationships that endure through eternity.”

Around the time of my senior year in high school, I made the acquaintance of an unlikely person in one of my classes.   This particular person, by all accounts, was one of the (if not THE) smartest person in our small 625+ student high school.  On the other hand, you had me.  I actually was a pretty good student during my senior year  (above 3.20 GPA throughout) and even becoming the student of the month at one point.  Yet, I saw myself as more of a jock.  After all, I did garner four athletic awards through my high school career. 

This acquaintance would be my "best friend" for many years.  I would call this friend to talk about anything and everything.  Even I had some local friends I hung out with as well, I always returned to my "best friend" from high school even though the friend resided in Massachusetts.  

This all changed about eight years or so ago.  I felt my needs weren't being met and a rift developed.  Without getting into the gory details, the long standing friendship broke.  I was pretty bitter and upset over it.  

However, as the years have gone on, I have realized the split was probably the best for both my friend and I.  My friend had done a lot for me and it was our time to move on to bigger and better things.  I was a little too young to realize it. 

But now that it's a few years later, I fully realize the split was good for me as well.  Instead of focusing on someone thousands of miles away, I have cultivated many local friends, many of whom I have known for years. 

I've got a few friends I can talk to regularly and things are much better  While I would like to say my current friends will be my friends in the years to come, I fully understand that changes will come.   In fact, a funny story I want to share. 

One of my old friends from college recently had a baby.  We used to talk semi-regularly but with the baby, things have been difficult.  Then all of a sudden, an old online friend from years back popped back into my life.  We talked last weekend for a little while.  

To me, I realized that friendships can last a long time but you'll have to ride through different things throughout the years.  Sometimes when a person steps away, another person will step right in.  

It took me years to realize this but it has made me understand that there is always people there for you.  You just have to be open to them.  

Sending Out Positive Vibes

It is definitely a bit of a dark day today.  Without writing a multi-page blog, I want to encourage people to love everyone that is around them.  It could be family, friends, co-workers or just a stranger.  In a moment of crisis, what people need is to know that people out there are supporting them.

I normally would blog and analyze today's happenings.  I don't feel it is the right time or place.   I feel that by loving my friends and others, it will be more beneficial than purely blogging.

Thanks for reading!

Just Another Game

My Monday Night Basketball League concluded it's season with a consolation game and then my team followed up by playing in the league championship game.  Unfortunately, we played a pretty good team and ultimately lost 76-64.  My team came out a little flat to start and fell behind right away.  We spent the rest of the game trying to catch up.

On a personal basis, I played some limited minutes and didn't score in the championship game.  I did the best I could in the few minutes I had on the court.  On a team with a lot of perimeter players,  my offensive skills didn't fit into the team that well this season.    I'm also not a great rebounder or defender but helped out where I could.  I think one little thing people don't notice is that I am a help defender.   I felt I could have helped out a little more as our team played man to man the entire evening.

Regardless, one thing I noticed about my team was they may have been tense.   The starters came out a bit flat and didn't have as much energy as they normally did.   That led to a bit of frustration as we fell behind and struggled to come back.

I say that because I have been there before.   In years past when I played in championship games, I remember thinking about the game constantly, worrying about how I would do and generally just fretting about how "important" this game was.   That led to a lot of struggles and my play in championship games has been spotty.

However, part of the struggles is that I'm not a "star player".  My game depends on teamwork and when some players feel the pressure they put it on themselves to win the game.   I've noticed that either I don't play much in championship games or I don't get as much opportunity to participate on offense.

The one exception was during the Summer of 2011.  We had a solid and balanced team and everyone touched the ball.  We won a hard fought 73-72 game in overtime.  I scored 24 points but we had three other guys (19 points, 15 points and 10 points) in double figures.  I just happened to have a good game in the championship but I was also the one who only scored 2 points in the playoff game the week before.

I remember the Summer 2011 championship game very clearly.  I showed up to the gym early to warm up a bit.  I remember being focused but very relaxed.  A teammate joked that I might get the ball early as I "had been here before".   While I just laughed, it turned out to be true.  I scored 9 of my teams 18 points in the first quarter.

I understand everyone wants to win and get the title of "champion".  I'm fortunate to have six of these "championships".  However,  my experience from the 2011 championship is that you need to let your game come to you.  When you are relaxed, you will definitely play better.

So I'm sure my teammates are disappointed with the loss but they are still young.  They will definitely get the opportunity to play in championship games again.  I hope they will take the experience and learn from it when the next opportunity comes along.

As for me, I get the rare opportunity for a quick turnaround.  I'll be playing on Thursday in another league championship game.   My Thursday team is definitely the underdog and we will have to play well to win.  Unlike my Monday team, my Thursday team doesn't really have a superstar scorer. We all have to pitch in to do well.  Our Thursday team came out hot last week and I am confident we can do the same this week as well!