All Day Erryday!

Probably the biggest outdoor basketball tournament in Japan is the All-Day tourney, sponsored by Nike. The 1st one I played in back in March sometime. The scenario was less than optimal, as I was slated to play with a team that last it's 1st game, hence preventing me from joining them on day 2 (when I had the day off.) As it turned out, a youngin asked me to run with him and his boys the night before and I accepted. We faced an early exit, as we ran into the eventual champions "Underdog" in our 1st game.

As the days turned to weeks turned to months, I amassed a good number of basketball friends by way of 'gettin it in' at every open run I could get to. As the 2nd All-Day approached, I received a few different invitations to run. After some intense deliberation, I decided my 1st choice was to join "Underdog" the very team I'd lost to that went on to claim the title in the last tournament. I'd much rather beat em than join em, however, in this case, Underdog's roster consisted of all the fellas I'd gotten to know well by way of the Rising Suns experience.

The guys were gracious enough to offer me a spot, so we laced em up, and got it on! Our opening game was versus a squad called 1st step. Apparently they had 3 or 4 guys on their roster that play/ed pro ball out here. If that's the case, we all should've been offered contracts when it was said and done, cause they never really contested us. I think we bounced em by double digits.

Game two~ The Semis of the tournament (we had a 1st day bye on account of being the previous champs) matched us up with a team called 420. Which is absolutely hilarious because ganja is HIGHLY illegal out here. As in you can get 5 years for a spliff.

Anyhow, we went ahead by about 9 or so on em with about 5 minutes left in the game. But they mounted a comeback and got it down to a one point game with about 40 seconds left. We were at the line shooting 1 and 1. I snatched up the miss and threw it out to our point guard, who proceeded to throw a cross court pass that sailed a good 5 feet over our player's head. TURNOVER.

There was about 20 seconds left when they came down court, penetrated, shot a jumper. And that's when my biggest moment of the tournament came as I outjumped 4 others to come down with the rebound. They fouled, we converted, game over!

Honestly, I didn't really contribute much to our teams' success throughout the tournament, but like my daddy used to tell me, "Just be there when I need you!"

We ended up manhandling a team called Proline in the finals. Winning by about 15 or so. My man, ST was the MVP. And Each of us got a free pair of kicks for bringing home the title!

I've been in this country 9 months, and I've already got 2 new pairs of shoes from hooping. Why can't life always be like this!!

Pictures can be found at http://alldaymag.com/photo_gallery/19th-allday-photos-day2-part2.html

Legends 3 on 3 Grand Championship

Most of the guys I played with on the Rising Suns play in a professional 3 on 3 league here in Tokyo called "Legends." It's kind of like a Japanese version of And 1 without the above the rim aspect.

Fresh off our trip from Paris, I made it a point to get out to as many of their games as possible. Not only to check out my boys and Show Love, but also size up the competition!

The 1st event I attended was RIDICULOUS! Basketball aside, the setting alone was chilling. They were in the center of this ancient Greece looking like stone coliseum. The only thing missing was the chariots and lions! The gladiators, however, definitely showed up.

The way the league is organized is, they change teams at each event. The winner of each game gets...(something like) 3 points. Leaving each of them jockeying for position game in and game out, in hopes of qualifying for the Grand Championship.

When the regular season is finished, the top 4 scorers get to choose their respective teams. Those 4 teams compete in the finals which are held in, get this, a night club! With the captain of the winning team getting a grand prize of $10,000. Needless to say, these boys put it all on the line when it comes down to the finals.

It turns out, my man Mitsui is the 2 time defending champion. He qualified for the Grand Championship as a captain, as did Atsushi who was our point guard on the Rising Suns. Although they didn't qualify as captains, S.T. and Matsu also laced em up as members of qualifying teams.

Unfortunately, I ended up getting on the wrong train after work, (yes, I live in Japan!) This cost me a good hour of competition. So I basically missed the semi's. When I arrived Atsushi just happened to be outside and I could tell from his walk alone, he didn't fare so well in the earlier game.

As it turned out, the only one from the Suns to make it was none other than Mitsui (the reigning champ.)

When I walked into the club I was amazed! They did a great job of designing the venue according to their vision. There were 2 huge screens showing the game from above the action, while a few thousand people looked on from every angle possible.

Hosted by the street ball legend himself, Mamushi, who is a great host and hilarious M.C., the scene was set for a much anticipated championship game.

Mitsui (M21) was set to meet Chihiro in the finals. I've played with this dude Chihiro a few times, and the kids got one of the quickest 1st steps I've seen in awhile. Not to mention he plays with a passion that borders on fury.

After killing time with an off-key J-pop band and an entertaining ex-Legends vs present Legends game, they finally got down to business. All the hoopla ceased. And when that ball was in play, the Lion inside of Chihiro was finally cut loose.

The boy was everywhere. Grabbing rebounds, making steels, going to the cup at will. No one could hold him. M21's squad tried to stay in it, but all it took was one cold spell that put them down 10.

They could never recover. Partially on account of having to shoot 3's to make up any kind of ground. But mostly due to the unrelenting tenacity Chihiro's squad brought to the table. They weren't missing. And if they did, they rebounded. Simply put, the game was over midway through the 2nd (of 3) period.

When the final horn sounded, streamers and confetti rained down all over the court as Chihiro's squad ended up with a 25 point victory. I felt bad for my bredren, cause of course I was rooting for him to take home the title. But I must say, Chihiro's approach to the game won over everyone in the building that night.

What was even more powerful, was watching him cry like a baby when it was all said and done. To watch someone go from one extreme to the other in such a short period of time was truly compelling. But shiiiiit, bring me a check for $10,000 dollars and you better believe you're gonna see some tears from ya boy!

All in all, it was dope to see the pinnacle of the league. After getting to know the guys and feel out the scene here in Japan, it was nice to have a little insider's perspective on the entire event. With the way things have been going out here, who knows...perhaps next year I'll be writing this from inside the locker room.

Bless

Play Baaaallll!

Well the last, and most important, event has arrived in my brother's stay. Being the die-hard NY Yankees fan that he is, the only shrine he had left to take in, was the old home of GODZILLA!!! And if you think I'm talking about the monster, you definitely need to start tuning into Sportscenter a lil more. Godzilla would be the one-and-only Hideki Matsui. The Yankees DH, (who just happened to hit a solo home run last night to win a game for them! Go Yanks!)

Anyhow, the beauty of this passion of his, is that it guided us to one of the most legendary sports complexes in Japan. The Tokyo Dome! And it did not disappoint, I promise you that.

Even better, the Yomiuri Giants just happened to be playing their arch rivals, The Hanshin Tigers. A team who's raucaus fans have a reputation for being the wildest in all of Japanese sport. Everyone we spoke to prior equated this to Red Sox vs. Yankees back home. Both my brother and I rolled our eyes at such a notion. "How little these people know about baseball to be making such a claim." Man, did we ever get our bubble's burst!

We arrived at the dome midway through the 1st inning. Both of us pretty amazed by the layout of the place. Bub's a bit deeper into his baseball, so hearing him say 'it was impressive' added a lil extra belief on my behalf. (Isn't that how it goes with little brother's?)

There were all types of cultural nuances, that presented themselves throughout the night. Some of which amused us, others which made us say, "Damn, they should do that back home." (Yes, 'home' is still America people!) Between innings, they had cheerleaders that would come out in foul territory and... do what cheerleaders do. (I don't know, How do you describe that?) The concession stands were rather intriguing. You could buy edimame, octopus, and I think squid, but don't quote me on that one. Aaand, the aisle vendors, get this! Every single one of them was a girl. And I'd say, maybe 4 out of the 57 were ugly! These people are not fools!

But what was cool about the aisle vending, was how easy it was to order from them. They walk by and raise their hands while scanning your section, you just raise your hand and they'd jog up to you. There's no need for the psychological game of "I will attract this man's attention," we play back home.

And surprisingly the prices of everything remained reasonable. Japanese are extremely kind in most cases, in terms of the usual inflated price scale that accompanies American "This is the only place you can get what you need" situations. From train station snacks to temple shops, the prices remain the same (for the most part) across the board.

Oooooh, how could I forget?!? The craziest part was, when we entered the stadium. My brother, had not finished his Vokka by the time we entered (Wuss!) But we figured, we'd ride that 'dumb tourist' role out as far as possible. You can imagine our amazement, as we entered THE STADIUM, with drink intact. All they asked, was that we step aside and pour it in a cup. We looked at each other and said..."DAAAAAAAMN!" As the realization set in that we could've came much better prepared had we known!

The game itself was a gem. Both pitchers, were having their way with batters throughout. But I'll come back to that.

What was more captivating, was the SPIRIT of these fans. I have never seen anything like this. Some of you may have read the piece I wrote after the Brazilian soccer game I attended between Butafogo and Flamengo a few years back. But even this, surpassed their passion and thoroughness of fanfare.(yes, I just said 'thoroughness of fanfare!') No Joke, there was not a single at-bat that passed without the fans STANDING and CHEERING.

The way it works is, all the Giants fans had seats from right field to center. And the Tigers fans from left to center. And they were evenly split. When your team gets up to bat, you stand and you cheer. And Cheer and Cheer. And they kept going from the 1st pitch to the last. What was crazy about it, was how polite the fans are. In true Japanese form, they were very orderly in their approach. When your team hits you go..HARD. When they field, you allow the other teams fan's the space to cheer. I just couldn't imagine such a thing in America. Especially seeing as how we allow about 9 fans in from the opposing team in some cases. But here, it worked, and worked to a T. We had a crew behind us that had 2 Giants fans' and 2 Tigers fans' in it. They taught us the songs/chants for both sides and we sang along when we could!

But back on the field, the score was 1-0 Giants off of an early home run. The Tigers were down to their last 2 outs in the 9th, when the passion of their fans seemed to carry over to the team and literally seize the energy in the Dome. Crack! Home Run, next batter, Crack! Homerun, a few later, Craaack!! HOME RUN!! It was unbelievable. 5-1 Tigers on 3 9th inning homeruns. That place went absolutely bananas!!

The Giants got up and were quickly retired to end the game. Or so it seemed... Although play was undoubtedly over, we lingered for at least a good 10 minutes before heading towards the exit. Both my brother and I were utterly amazed to see that EVERY SINGLE Tigers fan was still in their seats. Well, AT their seats. Still singing, still chanting, yet now moreso in a rejoiceful state as they had captured victory. I'd never seen anything like it. I'm telling you not a soul wearing (Tigers) yellow left. When I looked at the exits, there was no flow of people, no movement at all. Unbelievable. I don't know how long they stayed, but we agreed, we'd never seen fans like this in ANY situation.

Simply put, Baseball in Japan is Serious Business! It was a delight to see it 1st hand.

And don't you know, just for good measures, I ran into my man Takaku from the Rising Suns as we were leaving the stadium. Moments like that make me think of the odds. There were 55,ooo people in that stadium. What were the chances that we would cross paths?? Gotta love this life!

FOOTNOTE: This was the end of my brother's stay. I talked a lot of trash about "My liver will be glad when you're gone." But I'll tell ya, it was sad to see him go. We had an absolute blast. But hopefully, that won't be his last visit to Tokyo!

Bless

The Last Hurrah

With only one full day left in Paris, I rose with quite the dilemma on my plate. Go spend the day exploring around one of the most historic cities on Earth, or go watch the conclusion of the tournament. Being the diplomat that I am, I decided to stop by the tournament for a little bit before venturing off to soak in more of the sights.

By the time we arrived, the stands were filling up. There was a good sized line to get in as well. I walked over to where we were the previous day, and there was not a seat in sight. At the last second, one opened up, but we were a party of two. Ever so Magically, the 2nd seat became available, as a man offered his seat to us so we could stay together. (and who says the French are all assholes?)

It didn't take but 5 minutes to realize we lucked out! Every single seat was taken, and security was on their jobs, not letting anyone linger in any area not designated to do so. And from the looks of things, Quai 54's security had been in the gym much more than we had, preparing for this one. It was about this time that Emma and I looked at each other and gave that look of surrender as we both acknowledged, we were in this for the long haul. There would be no sightseeing today.That being said, this tournament better deliver some history of it's own.

And Quai 54 did not disappoint. The team we lost to ended up making it to the final 4 before being eliminated by the eventual champ. There was definitely some strong ball being played. What separated the successful teams from not was height. The best teams ran with shooting guards who were 6'6", 6'7". And had a full arsenal on the perimeter and post.

We, (Japan) got a lot of love throughout the day. Not only did the MC, "Mokobe" give us multiple shout outs throughout the day, but everyone affiliated with the tournament was genuinely intrigued about our squad and what's going on with the basketball scene out here in Japan. It felt like this was a mutually beneficial exchange, as Quai 54 was excited about reaching further into the global sphere. All the while we were pretty happy for obvious reasons.

The tournament itself is an incredibly entertaining event. Basketball often times taking a side to halftime shows and fan games that captured everyones' attention. My personal favorite was a kids dance-off, where they brought out youngins who looked to be ages 6-10, and had them request a song and then do their thing, right there at center court. You should have seen these kids... they'd sound all shy and bashful when they were on the mic. But when the music dropped!!! Oh My Goooodness! They got so serious wit it. You couldn't tell them they were not in a Beyonce video. Not only was it cute, but it was a nice touch that complemented the sometimes barbaric efforts on the basketball court with a sense of humanity and culture.

However, the highlight of the day had to be just before the last semifinal game. People who could see over the stands started go crazy. Creating a buzz that carried throughout the stadium. The music dropped, and outta nowhere came LUDACRIS!!! It was nuts! Everybody was leaping up and down off the top of the bleachers as he played "Stand Up...Stand Up!!" And just when we thought it could get no better, out stepped....USHER!! Everyone was in disbelief! The two of them lit it up.

It was crazy though, cause after the show, when there was still a buzz in the crowd, the MC started saying..."Yeah Japan! Yeah Japan!! Is Quai 54 for real? Or What!? What do you think of Quai 54 now?!!" All I could muster was, "Woooww!! This is the truth!"

The championship game ended up being NY (Sean Bell All-Stars) VS. France (La Fusion) under the lights at Porte du Choisy. In the 1st half, NY's point gaurd Kareem "Best Kept Secret" Reid (former Arkansas PG) single handedly kept his squad in contention. In the previous games he appeared to be lethargic and often times disinterested. But that all made perfect sense once he unleashed the lion on these boys from France. But the bigs from France kept finishing on their end. Leaving it at about a 5 point game at half.

The 2nd half was all France, as they found their touch from the outside, burrying 3 after 3 after 3. Kareim Reid hit a couple in the beginning, but they eventually wore him down. The final score was something like a 20 point game, maybe worse. But my French friend confirmed, their roster was so talented that no French Club could afford to have all of them on one team. Needless to say, they were the creme de la creme. But we'll be back next year, with a lil something extra wit us, this go round!!

That night finished off in the perfect fashion. A long-time friend of mine, Native, whom I met out in Egypt, came through and we made our way down to Chatelet to grab a bite and catch up on old times. It didn't take us but 30 minutes before we dove to the depths of humanity.

Native is without question the most talented artist I know personally. With a wide range of influences which he's accumulated as he's globetrotted, his work has always had a great deal of depth to it. It turns out, Paris has been real good to him, he'll be heading to the Motherland in a few months to complete a few murals for on a stadium being sponsored by France's famous footballer Thierry Henry. But from what I gather, that's just the tip of the iceburg on his path.

Anyhow, I've always known Native to be a true intellectual. The type of guy to dap you up and appear to be so hood on the street, but then you catch a glimpse of his library and you realize this dude is a Genius. That being said, I never miss an opportunity to pick at his brain.

We discussed a good deal of topics, ranging from the inevitability of death and how we've come to define this stage in life we're in right now. Coupled with the Artist's Mind and the importance of utilizing the time we have. I'm never one to recount specifics which is a shame cause the brotha dropped jewels all night long.

However, the grandest of topics we touched on was Existentialism. The question arose, which came 1st Existence or Essence. I'm a mystic, so I was heavily on the essence side, but when he got to breaking down his perspective I was like SHIIIIT! Don't even tell me these are all definitions humans created in attempt to give purpose to their lives. It seemed as if every attempt I made to justify my perspective, (that we are all-knowing and one with Creation/Creator before being incarnated) got slain quickly by the simple statement, "But you had to exist for that to happen." It was intriguing and scary to say the least. But that's why I love building with good people. And Native is certainly that.

And just like that, the 1st light of day made its' way to the sky. This the backdrop to Notre Dame. It was a quick trip, with a myriad of emotions, but Paris certainly left its' imprint on my soul. I can only hope to return again...SOON!
~Bless~

~Gameday~

After all this travel and preparation, the last thing we needed was confusion surrounding our game. But please believe, that's exactly what we had, right up to the last second. The night before, the 1st word was we'd be playing at 4. There were all types of beautiful explanations offered and it seemed like we were being placed in a prime position, in terms of visibility, on account of our groundbreaking participation in the tournament.

That changed to a very alarming 11AM start as we left the meeting the night before. But this changed AGAIN to "You need to arrive at 11, but won't play til the 4th or 5th game."

As it turned out, we started to get loose at about halftime of the 4th game...that's when we discovered we were actually playing in the 6TH GAME! For all my athletes out there, you know what it's like getting into your zone, mentally preparing to go to battle and locking in that focus. Needless to say, it was quite frustrating to have to ease up on the throttle and return to a degree of normalcy for the next hour. This after sitting in the sun for the last 7.

But it was what it was, and none of that had any relevance when the jump ball went up (at 7:30). The team we were matched up against was from France. It was clear from the start that our lack of size was going to be a factor. Either a plus (if we could outrun them) or a minus if we could not defend the post. I told the guys, don't stress, your 1st shot will probably bounce of the top of the backboard somewhere because of nerves, but we'll settle in and find our rhythm eventually.

We'd spoken the night before about establishing ourselves in the first 3-5 minutes to wipe clear any doubts that may be there. True to form, we did set the tone for the game, unfortunately for us, it was BRICK-CITY. We were getting great looks. Penetrating and dishing. Finding the open man. Taking the same shots we'd been hitting for the last 2 months. But this go round, none of us could connect. 3 minutes in, we were down 9-0.

After Matsu hit our 1st jumper, ST heated up, burrying 3 3-pointers to bring us as close as 5 at one point. But in the 2nd half, a few defensive lapses and continued poor shooting did us in. I ended up 1-4 from the free-throw line. And in a classic case of self-fulfilling prophecy, my 1st free-throw hit the backboard so hard, I saw a few people duck behind the glass!!

Free-throw shooting also did us in as this (so-called) rough tournament was officiated a lot tighter than any of us had expected. We ended up losing by about 15. It sucked. After all the wworkouts and energy we put in to get there, to have it all come to a screeching halt was quite the disappointment. I think what made it most frustrating is we didn't play a good game. Had we had a good showing and still lost, then so be it. But to not play to our potential when the spotlight's on,really sucked. But Cest La Vie...

For all of us involved it was a great learning experience in both life and basketball. As a team we got solid confirmation of what we'd already suspected....we were short and it cost us. Again, we could have won games with that roster, but our margin for error was slim to none without the bigs to crash the boards and defend.

On a personal note, it was a great experience for me to go out and compete against a roster full of professionals and still hold my own. Someone mentioned I had the talent to play in the B league in Paris, which came as a pleasant surprise, but a move I don't forsee coming to fruition anytime soon. For the time being I've got my hands joyously full here in Tokyo!

AFter the game we were all starving, but Jason decided we needed to go the Eiffel Tower straight away because there was no telling where everyone would be tomorrow. A rationale I respected 100%. At 9:55 I discovered that the grocery store was closing at 10, thus giving rise to the windsprint of my life! I will make it!! And I did just that..jogging up at 9:59, where I received a not so warm welcome from security who forbid me from entering the store. I begged and pleaded with the man, but to no avail. I smiled and gave him one of the "Thank You's" That translated to "Fuck You very much!" and kept it moving.

As I headed toward the train station, I saw the fellas and put in my request with Jason to grab some food real quick. Access denied. He was dead set on getting there as soon as possible. I bit the bullet on this one...not the least bit happy about the situation, but still being understanding of his vision and commitment to us throughout the process.

Once inside the turnstalls, a light shone from heaven and a choir sang out..."Aaaaaaaaahhh" God himself manifested right before my eyes...in the form of...a vending machine! YESSS! Atsushi, Emma and I all stopped to get snacks to tide us over for the journey. When we walked down to the platform... the team was gone!

UNBELIEVABLE! What could this possibly accomplish? We all still need to meet at the tower, so what are they just gonna wait for us at the station? Why couldn't they just wait for us there so we could all go together? No big deal, we'll see em in a second.

We got to the station and there was no sign of them anywhere. Forever optimistic, I said, "Come on, we'll just walk to the Tower, I'm sure we'll find em over there."

To make a long story short, we got there, and looked at every single tourist in the face all to no avail, as they were nowhere in sight. And there we were, at the Eiffel Tower, the most anticipated moment of my whole trip and none of us could stop and appreciate it the way we wanted because there was an underlying sense of urgency/disbelief/frustration with the way things had unfolded. We snapped a few pictures, searched high and low before resigning to the fact that we were not going to find them.

By now we were so hungry, it didn't even matter anymore. So we ended up hunting down a restaurant where we could finally sit down and feast. I must say, it worked out pretty well because Atsushi used to live in LA, so his English is on point. And he's a hilarious dude, so we ended up laughing the night away over pizza and some drinks.

As we were eating, I glanced to the left...did a double take...and shouted.."NO WAY!...NO WAAAAAAAY!!" Standing there across the street from us, were friends Emma made at our hotel a couple days before who were from Oakland. A father who looked to be in his mid 50's accompanied by his 2 sons, both of them cuties. They joined us and we all shifted to a kiddieland frequency, which was just what the doctor ordered after such a grueling night.

We later caught up with the team as they were heading to the station, and they told us we were the lucky ones, cause they were all hungry and in no mood to be sightseeing!! God works in mysterious ways!!

True to life, we've got those good days and bad days. But it's better to have them in Paris than at home!!
Bless

Day 2: Soakin in the Sights

After lots of Pain Au Chocolat, we were off to the gym to get our last run in before the tournament. We took the subway to an undisclosed destination where I started to do my typical, "I'm not sitting here on this corner looking stupid, waiting for a ride. I'm in Paris!" And without saying a word to anyone, I started walking towards a bridge off in the distance. Just as I started to creep up on it, I turned back, and everyone was waiving me back...our ride had arrived.

My instincts were solid though. As we drove across the bridge, my jaw dropped...there was a breathtaking biew of the Eiffel Tower just 20 paces away from where I'd stopped. I gave everyone that look like, "See!"

At the gym we got a nice lil prep for the tourney as 2 monsterous brothas were playing for the other squad. One was about 6'8" the other 6'"5 with hops like none other. We banged with em, sometimes successfully others, not so much. But all in all it created a nice momentum prior to the big day.

Turns out, Jason offered a roster spot to the 6'5" guy. This created a buzz amongst us as a very serious void was on the brink of being filled. We stayed after and talked strategy and such and really generated a good feeling about our mindset and preparation for the game.

Well, an hour later, that move was axed and we were back with our original 6.5, with Jason standing in as an emergency role player. No problem Mon!

From practice we headed off to Champs Elysees, Paris' most famous street. We stepped off the train, looked up the street and all of us reached for our cameras immediately!

This...was to the left----->

<----This was to the right And everything in between was gorgeous too. Holla at me if you'd like the link to all the pix.. I'll gladly pass em on. The fun part of this whole adventure was taking it all in with the fellas. Up til now, everyone had been pretty reserved...(well, except when we got the J's) But this time everyone was bright-eyed and child-like. Snapping pictures, Hootin, Hollerin and making every noise in between!! This with the Japanese versions to match! Once again, the Eiffel Tower managed to sneak up on us. In the matter of just one turn, there she was...in all her splendor. We set up shop and took it all in for a good while. Truly humbled by the moment.

Not long after, I ditched the fellas. I had a date with a hottie. A timeless Love of mine, that dates back centuries. It had been awhile since we'd connected, so I had to lose them in order to give her her due. When our eyes met, my heart dropped. and my adrenaline flowed as she worked her magic on me the same way she'd done to many men before me. Mona...You Sexy Bitch you! I see you watching me no matter where I go. I know what your eyes are saying. I remember. Meet me outside of Ancient Sculptures at 10 o'clock. We've got some lost time to make up for!

She didn't say anything. But she didn't have to. She was feeling me... I could feel it!

From her we strolled through the Louvre (which is an absolutely enormous museum for those who don't know) to find Venus de Milo. Hooker! See that's my I roll with Mona, she knows how to keep a brotha guessing. Venus on the other hand all her chestesses hanging out for the world to see. Beautiful though, I must say. It's a bit overwhelming to take in so much in such a short period of time.

Perhaps that is why Jason's phone rang. And 3 minutes later we were all scurrying out of the Louvre to make it to a last second meeting back at the Quai 54 park.

If there were any feelings of disappointment at having to leave tourism heaven, those were quickly erased as soon as we got our official Quai 54 jerseys. Jordan brand, with headbands and socks to boot. It was so refreshing to receive 1st class treatment. Quai 54 definitely does a great job of taking care of its' participants.

This was also the 1st time we got to size up the competition. Key word in that sentence SIZE. There was some Gorilla Monsoon lookin brotha out there. Chiseled like Vin Deisel, but 6'9' to go with it. No fear up in here, but just a recognition that we've got to come like some real warriors to pull off some victories.

Absolutely starving, we closed out the night at an all you can eat Chinese restaurant. That's when the question was posed. 3 seconds left, down by 1, who's taking the shot? Atsushi got 2 votes, ST 2, my vote was with Mitsui (the boy's got ice in his veins) and that was that. Back to the cozy confines of the Etap hotel.

Oh...it was there, that we had our final team meeting. Settled on our starting 5. And discussed areas of focus for Saturday's game. Everyone seemed to be on the same page and it was nice to sit down and discuss our approach. However, in hindsight, that was a meeting we should've had 3 weeks ago. One of many lessons learned in this, the 1st go round as The "Rising Suns."
Hopefully not our last!

Departure/Arrival

Alas, the time to leave had come! However, there were still some fireworks to enjoy before departure. I met with our point guard ST at Gallery 2, the lone basketball gear supplier here in Tokyo, and picked up our newly tailored Jersey's.
As you can see, the jersey's are hot! White joints, Jordan Brand, with the Rising Suns logo on the front. This created a nice little buzz as I commenced to packing my things. Big ups to Gallery 2 for the sponsorship!

A few hours later we all met up in Narita Airport. 1/2 excited about the destination 1/2 dreading the actual journey to come. In total we flew for 15 hours. 3 to Taiwan, and 12 to Paris. Factor in the train rides to and from the airports, and you've pretty much got yourself a full day on mass transit. But when it's a free trip to Paris on the line, somehow, ya just don't mind such trivial things. As a unit, we all remained pretty upbeat and excited. Crackin jokes and laughing throughout almost all of our waking hours. And I stress waking, because I timed my fatigue up just right. Staying awake for the 3 hour flight and then passing out from right after the 1st meal to just before the final meal on the the 2nd flight.

I've never been one to criticize plane food. 9 outta 10 times, it's delicious. I don't know if it's because I'm now traveling in Asia or if the airline was just too cheap to invest in such things as legitimate chefs, but 2 of the 3 meals we ate were tasteless. The worst of which was when I asked for the "Chicken."
I was utterly displeased when I pealed back the foil to see some ground beef looking like stuff atop my rice. I asked the stewardess..."Uhhh, Miss? Is this Chicken?"
She said "Yes.." (as if I was an idiot)
Well, "What's this brown stuff?"
"Gravy"
All of my cultural inhibitions and attempts to be considerate flew out the window as my Japanese teammate, Atsushi, looked at her and said "GRAVY??!"
I hollered, "THANK YOUU!! I was over here thinking maybe I'm some kinda ignorant American who doesn't know anything about Asian cuisine, but you confirmed...this is NOT Gravy!! Thank YOU!"
We laughed, I ate, and it certainly lived up to expectations..nasty.

We touched down in Paris at about 6:30 AM. We were all happy to be there, but you would never had known it had you looked at our faces. However, things started to shift when a Frenchman approached, accompanying Jason, (our organizer) shook my hand and said, "I'm Fred...You're Driver!" I said, "Wooord?!? I like the sounds of that?" And this was just the beginning, as we stepped out of the airport and saw the official Quai 54 van there to pick us up. And in an instant things went from what was previously a dream, to a very very pleasant reality.

Just our luck, as timing would have it, we got stuck in rush hour traffic on our way into the city. A trip that should take 20 minutes was shaping up to be and hour and a half. But this was destiny! (or something like that) Fred decided to take us through the city instead. What a blessing in disguise.

As soon as we exited the freeway, I could feel the shift in energy. The 1st wave to hit me was just how edgy Paris is as a city. The streets had character, but even greater, the people have got SOUL! And it was oozing from their walks, clothes and antics. 5 minutes in and I was suddenly aware of just how docile the city of Tokyo is. And that's not a bad thing whatsoever.

I was steadily trying to make every light post or tall structure into the Eiffel Tower as we drove, but to no avail. But all those ambitions withered quickly as we drove across the Seine River and got our 1st glimpse of NOTRE DAME. Absolutely Breathtaking. From near and far a truly magnificent piece of architecture.

This got the ball rolling for us, as we continued to pass relic after relic with seemingly every block. The Pantheon, where many of the "greatest" thinkers and artists are commemorated. And countless other monuments and statues which attested to the rich history that characterizes Paris.

The moment we got to our hotel, I set out to find a patisserie for my 1st of many rendezvous' with the true love of my life "Pain Au Chocolat." I must say, French people got it right...They eat Chocolate for Breakfast! All the pastries and desserts looked incredible too. It was around this time, that I realized I could be a very happy man if I lived here.

Soon after, we walked over to the park to get our 1st glimpse of where the tournament was being held. They were still in the process of painting the court and putting the finishing touches on it. Even still, it was an impressive sight.

But not nearly as impressive as it was to see the pair of Limited Edition Quai 54 Air Jordan's awaiting us when we returned to the hotel. That was a stunner for all of us. But we were all smiles when we saw those boxes. I've seen prettier J's, but somehow, when they're free, they just look and feel a lil nicer than they would have.

After a lil rest, we hopped on the train to go play ball at a park across town. 5 minutes into our train ride a real cool guy sat between Atsushi and I and delighted us with stories about the city and insider's information. Our conversation was perfectly timed because it immediately put to rest any preconceived notions that French people are ill-willed or mean-spirited. Most notably to Americans. It was clear, this guy had such a good heart, and we'd soon see, so do his fellow countrymen. (and women)

Our basketball adventure got cut short, as the rains dowsed us early and often. We shot around in the rain for a bit before eventually making our way to our French guide/coach's neighborhood to eat a nice greasy dinner at the local sandwich shop. That's one thing I didn't realize I missed until I had it. A nice greasy sammich! But this one prolly clogged the arteries up good enough to last me til my next trip abroad!

Unlike Japan, it doesn't start getting dark til about 10 o'clock out here. So we were all in disbelief when we had to rush to catch the train before 12:30 to get back to the hotel. As fate would have it, I stepped down off of a cement structure and rolled my ankle on the curb. Talk about scared, I was speechless for the next 10 minutes. All I could think of was, "Damn! What if I came all this way, to end up not playing at all?" But about an hour later everything was cool.

And just like that...our 1st day in Paris was in the books!

Countdown No More

We`re leaving out tomorrow. And there was only one glimpse of exhileration.... as I clocked out from work for the last time this week!! Don`t get me wrong.. I Love My Job! But somehow, it just doesn`t size up to playing in one of the biggest basketball tournaments on Earth.

If you haven`t recently, you should check the Rising Suns website. There are some cool videos up, that will give you an idea of what we`re getting into. Of course I`m doing every last push-up, pull-up, and sit-up I can squeeze in before departure. But ultimately, it will boil down to that moment when the jump ball goes up and where everyone`s heart is.

It was dope, my `best friend` from the neighborhood is a guy named Katsu, who works at the Yakatori stand down the street. He speaks no English, and I no Japanese. But through our telepathic powers, (the website) I managed to convey to him what we`re getting into. As I left his stand today, he gave me that stern look, pumped his fist, and said Gambatte! Which translates to Good Luck and Fight Hard. (Or something along those lines) And the look in his eyes was one I will carry along with me to Paris. Cause I could see in him a great deal of Sincerity and Pride. As if he said, Represent!

Only time will tell what becomes of all of this...but one thing is for sure... We`re Ready!

The Gaijin Experience Vol. I

As some of you may know, I've been selected to play for a Japanese basketball team, the 'Rising Suns.' We're currently in training to prepare for our forthcoming trip to Paris, France to play in the biggest (in every sense of the word) streetball tournment on the planet, Quai 54. www.lequai54.com

'Gaijin' pronounced (guy-jin) is Japanese for foreigner (or something like that.) As one of 2 Americans' on an all Japanese squad, this is my attempt to offer a unique perspective of what it's like to wrestle with the language barrier and still find universal ground on the court.

With the tournament just 16 days away, I'm a do my best to give you a sense of the build up and preparation that the team, and management is putting forth to not only make this dream come true, but also give us the best opportunity to shine when our moment comes in Paris! Buckle in my friends...cause the ride has just begin....