EL BLOG ILUSORIO DE RUDY: Hellenic Semi-Finality

19.9.09

Hellenic Semi-Finality

Poland may be far from my home, yet it is now a locale of comfort. When I jump onto the court, I am noted by the many Spaniards and they shout my name. It is as if I were in Portland's hallowed Rose Garden. This inspires me to play minutes and to leave things on the court. (Sometimes these things are portions of my skin, which is admittedly somewhat painful.)

And so it was with the semi-finality of today's match with Greece! My mates shared my enthusiasm— all of our cylinders were afire, and we hit-and-run the Grecians for a most dominant victory. If we can defeat Serbia on the morrow, we shall bring Spain its first ever European gold medal in basketballs. Wish us luckiness! (The game will be visible on espn360 at 12:15 PST.)

Fotos from FIBA Europe.

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"El Blog Ilusorio": In the Orbs of Others!

Rudy's Hypothetical Rules of Basketball

1. In ten years, nobody will remember the details of score, assists, or rebounds. They will only remember who won them a chalupa.

2. Any shot worth shooting is worth shooting twice.

3. When not shooting on offense, you should be communicating, passing, and running. Also, yell “Foul!” repeatedly. Why? How can officials summon help if you yell “Good D!” or “Our opponents are superior!”?

4. If legitimately called for a foul, say, “A good call!” (Do this no more than once a game.)

5. When in possession of the ball, have a plan. Further, have a back-up plan, because the first plan won't work (unless you are Brandon Roy).

6. Use cover or concealment as much as possible. (Both Oden and Pryzbilla provide these in abundance.)

7. On defense, ignore words and direct your eyesight to the ball. (Opposing Cleveland, LeBron James told me he would pull up for a jumper. I advanced upon him. Then James drove baseline with great speed. Both of my ankles gave way!)

8. The faster you begin an opponent’s blow-out, the more shots everyone will get.

9. Be polite and professional to everyone you play against. Then destroy them, for they wish to defeat you.

10. Practice shooting in a dimly-lit practice area with someone shouting unflattering threats at you. (I found this useful in Europe, where partial power outages were not uncommon.)

11. You may feel sad about snapping another team’s back with a clinch alley-oop or a clutching 3-pointer. But sadness is preferred to losing. And the winning will then bring happiness. (In the case of defeating the Lakers, the happiness will be most pronounced.)

12. Purple is not my color. (It may not be anyone’s color.)