33 Hours and Seven Cities Later...

Ok, I am finally back in the USA!!

Our Women's Senior National Team (see LEFT) won the FIBA Americas Tournament thereby ensuring a bid to the 2008 Summer Olympics! They defeated a scrappy Cuba team (one team that nearly handed us a loss only four days earlier) and proceeded to celebrate! It was a fun time, indeed!

Chile is an amazing place! We stayed in a small city called Valdivia. Valdivia has three rivers that run through it. It has some American influence: McDonalds, Blockbuster Video, Coca-Cola, etc. The food was pretty good. I had chicken and fish and tried the empanadas as well as the churrasco (steak) which was pretty tasty. I even had a taste of their Pisco Sour (alcoholic drink, pretty strong)! They also had a "treat" which was basically marshmallows! REALLY GOOD! I brought some back! The hotel was pretty basic, with the exception of the "Camp living" that some of our staff had to go through... it did make them more of a tight knit group indeed. The television was great... a few channels had English, most had Spanish. I am going to miss the soccer channels!

The gym we played in was pretty small but the Chilean fans made sure to pack the place. They played Argentina one night (their rival), and I am sure there were fire codes violated! Chile lost to Argentina in overtime; a win by Chile would have put them into the medal round...

Anyway, back to the trip... the team was great! Major kudos go out to the players and coaches! They were all FIRST CLASS in all they did. Coach Anne Donovan and her staff (Mike Thibault, Dawn Staley and Gail Goestenkors) did a phenomenal job molding and meshing a team that played/practiced together only a few times before their first game! Each game USA got a little better. Kara Lawson and Katie Smith made some big shots; Seimone Augustus, Delisha Milton Jones, Cappie Pondexter and Becky Brunson provided the energy off the bench to extend leads and rest for our starters. Swin Cash and Courtney Paris were consistent and wonderful to watch play.

The cast of Katie Smith, Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker, Sue Bird and Tina Thompson were great! They were focused and worked hard at each end of the court. They were fun to hang out with too!

So, our trip back to the USA took us on a journey.... here are the following cities/airports we stopped before arriving in Colorado Springs:

Valdivia (photo of their airport to come)

Orsono, Chile

Conception, Chile (to re-fuel)

Santiago, Chile (to change planes)

Lima, Peru (where I found out the Rockies defeated the Padres to make the NL Playoffs)

New York City, NY

Denver, CO

Colorado Springs, CO

33 Hours Later....

All in all, it was an amazing trip. I actually get to be home in Colorado for a month... then it is onto a college tour (15 days and 8 colleges) for our Senior Women's Teams... there will be more to report....

Until Then... Vaya con Dios

Still in Connecticut

So, today is Tuesday... I am here in Uncasville for a few more days... then it is a trip to Valdivia, Chile to help the USA Women's Team on their quest to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

In this tournament, there are eight (8) teams from North, South and Central America (teams, meaning countries) who will be battling for ONE INVITATION to the Olympics. So, if Team USA does NOT win, they will have to play in a "pre-Olympics" tournament where three spots will be open for the Olympics.

Our team is slowly being put together, as a handful of our Women's players were still playing basketball in the WNBA (congrats to Paul Westhead and the Phoenix Mercury!!). Now that the season is over, some of those players will head over to Connecticut to catch up with our team. In fact, we already had Swin Cash (from the Detroit Shock) practice with us! Amazing!

Mohegan Sun is an amazing casino... there are several slots and places to play all the various card games, etc. In the hotel, there are about six channels dedicated to HORSE RACING... kinda ridiculous! However, I think many people like to come here to throw down some moola on a horse or two or three or four! In fact, I saw a chance to bet on a horserace in Australia!

Our USA Team will play Australia for the last of the "pre-Tournament" games in the USA. We will head to Chile on Thursday then play a few "friendlies" in Chile.

Best wishes to the ladies and staff.... wish us luck!

E.

Aunt and Uncasville...

Greetings from Uncasville!!

I am here in Uncasville, CT, with the USA Women's Senior National Team. I am the "official" host of the Australian Women's Basketball Team, and it has been a wonderful experience.

After working with the USA Men's Senior National Team (and winning the Gold Medal and qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics), I immediately headed out to New York City to start assisting with the Women's Team. We were in New York City for about six days (including September 11 - an eerily rainy and blustery day ALL DAY)...

After working with the US Team, I went to meet up with the Australian Women's Team. They were invited to come play in a few "friendlies" (scrimmages) in the USA team's preparation for their Olympic Qualifier. My responsibilities have included to meet up with Australia, arrange their hotel needs, set up meals and assist at their practices. It has been really fun, and the entire team has been awesome!

Jan, the head coach, is really friendly and quite smart! Their assistant coaches do a wonderful job with the team, and the medical staff really keep the team strong, healthy and flexible.

The "glue" to the team is Marian Stewart... she is Australia's team leader, and she does everything our Women's Director (Carol Callan) does. There is no stone unturned with her in charge. I feel like I can do a much better job doing the "fine toothed comb" detail when traveling, now that I got to meet Marian. She is wonderful.

Anyway, we got to practice at Princeton University, where I saw, PETE CARRILL (former Princeton Men's Coach, and assistant with the Sacramento Kings)! He is one of basketball's best coaches - he taught the backdoor cut offense that Princeton used forever and that Sacramento and other teams have been able to adopt. Unbelievable I would just see him at the campus.

Princeton's campus is really cool -- very "remote" and quiet... I still cannot believe that NYC is only less than two hours away from this place!

We played one "friendly" against the USA Team yesterday in Trenton, NJ. The USA team overpowered the Aussies, but the Aussies are still pretty good.

On Wednesday night, there will be Game #2 between Australia and the USA. This game will be in Uncasville... home of the Mohegan Sun! It is a pretty HUGE casino/hotel! I cannot believe how awesome the place is! Maybe I will go hit the Star Wars Penny Slots... Go Darth!

Anyway, I will write more before my trip to Chile... yes, I said.... Chile!!

Adios!

Ellis

FAMOUS PERSON SIGHTINGS (NYC/NJ/Connecticut) - Al Sharpton (in an elevator with me and Anne Donovan; isn't it odd I met Al Sharpton AND Michael Vick in ELEVATORS?!?!), Pat Summitt (rode with her in a taxi to and from the airport... wonderful woman), Pete Carrill....

Who is this???

So....

We are playing Canada, and doing very well. The team is working hard and learning from each other. I think it is pretty amazing to see this group of guys together!

Anyway, I was flipping through the photos from today's game, and what do I see??

Pretty cool!! I think I see me in this photo!

GO USA!!

E.

Vegas!!

So,

I made it back to Colorado Springs yesterday, excited to be home, yet looking forward to three more weeks in Las Vegas starting on August 10th... My Birthday! This will be the third consecutive year I will spend my birthday somewhere other than my HOME... and NEXT year will be spent in Beijing! I am getting used to it!

Anyway, my trips were really awesome. I learned a whole bunch about teamwork from the U21 Women's team. This team went to France and Russia, and were the perfect example of a TEAM... They won the World Championship without having ONE PLAYER named to the All-Tournament Team! The group for this age (Born before 1986), won gold medals in each of the four Regional/World Tournaments... they finished UNDEFEATED in Competition Play... they LOST ONLY ONE GAME in FOUR YEARS!! Talk about domination! Talk about sheer madness! They were great people, too...

My trip to Washington, DC was not too bad. I was more of a support role for the two teams we had training there. One team was headed to the Pan Am Games in Brazil... the other was headed to Slovakia for the U19 Women's World Championships... The team in Brazil won the Gold Medal and the team in Slovakia is playing right now... good luck to those ladies!

In Washington, I went by Embassy Row, almost every day. It was cool to see all the different embassies... my fave was Croatia, because I have a great friend from there! :)

I went to Las Vegas next for the Men's Senior National Team training. It was quite a great time... We had 17 of the best players from the NBA working out in a "mini-camp" format. They practiced two days and played a scrimmage on the last day.

One of the fun things I got to do with this team was play "dummy zone defense" against our offense. I was with a group of the perimeter players (guards and small forwards), and my role was to defend the wing side... now, the "offense" consisted, on my side, of Kobe Bryant, Mike Miller, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant... I was instantly lit up for shots about every time the ball came that way.... Each time Kobe got the ball, he would say, "Ellis, you are too slow" or "you gotta get up on me"... it was funny! I tried my best to get there, but the guys were just shooting like it was no one's business... I had a good time, b/c even Carmelo would get on me to do my best! I did my best, under the circumstances, and I definitely won't win any awards for Defensive Player of the Year... It was fun!

Ok, well, I will report more from the 2nd Stop in Vegas real soon!

Live... From Moscow!

(From July 5, 2007)

Hi!

I know it has been a while since I wrote, but our internet connection is off and on and has been this way since we got here.

I am in one of the nicest arenas in Europe, Spartak Arena... where the Women's Champions, Spartak play. It is a quaint but nice arena!

Right now, our team will be playing in the quarterfinals of the Women's U21 World Championships. We play Belgium tonight, and if we win, we play the winner of Russia and Hungary!

So, here is a mini-recap on the trip...

In France, we went to Cannes! This is the place where the Film Festival is held. The town is right on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The views are spectacular! When I get back, I will share some photos... We went to another place called San Paluo... it is a "fortress city" -- built up on a mountain with a wall about 20 feet high... I guess so no intruders can get in... It was a really nice place! Now it is just a tourist trap... but definitely worth it...

On our trip to Russia, we had 13 missing bags, which was pretty frustrating since four of the bags were mine... we didn't have game gear or practice gear for the first day... no worries, as the bags arrived the next day... the bags were a sight for sore eyes, indeed!

In Moscow, we went to Red Square and to the Kremlin! I have some cool photos of St. Basil's Cathedral as well as the surrounding area. It is pretty amazing to see all the places that I read in the school books... Red Square is totally different from 15-20 years ago, when the Soviets and Communism were strong! I think it is pretty amazing to have been there.

What was also amazing was our visit to the US Embassy... Finally, a visit to the USA! We practiced there and did a little clinic with some Embassy kids... THEN, we went to an INVITE ONLY event at the Russian Ambassador to the US's house! About 4000 people were invited!

We went and personally met the Ambassador, gave him a shirt and pen and ate some really good food... This was a party that had some pretty VIP types from the political world... Supposedly Newt Gingrich and Kasparov (the chess player) were there... I didn't see them, but I saw a lot of military leaders from various countries. It was unbelievable we got that opportunity and one I shall not forget...

I will write more later, but just wanted to let you know I am alive and Moscow is cool!

Bloggy From France!

Bon Jour!!

Well, I know it has been a while since you got one of these emails, but HERE WE GO AGAIN! First off, I would like to thank you for your feedback and your willingness to read about my adventures with USA Basketball. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing.

Now that we have the technicalities over and done with, let’s get onto the story!!

GREETINGS from Antibes, France!! Today is Saturday, June 23, 2007 and we are six hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone of the United States. We have been here for almost a week, and we have been playing basketball every day. Our team is the Women’s Under 21 (U21) World Championship Team. The players consist of the TOP women’s college players. We have Courtney Paris from Oklahoma, Abby Waner from Duke, Essence Carson from Rutgers and several others! Most of our players have received All-Conference accolades. Plus, they are cooperative and fun to work with!

We arrived on Sunday evening and had EVERY bag except for the one bag we really needed… the BASKETBALLS! So far, no sign of the basketballs, and I am thinking someone from the airport in Frankfurt, Germany is playing with OUR basketballs. The other thing is that I have called and called to get information on the bag, but almost always get an answering service telling me to call back later… sounds like the USA!! So, we played our first game in a small country named MONACO. This place is one of the most beautiful places in Europe! Some of the James Bond films took place in this country. We saw very beautiful houses that were built in the mountains, and then we saw some HUGE yachts out on the ports for the Mediterranean Sea. Along the drive we saw the castle where the Prince of Monaco lives. VERY NICE! Our game was fun, and the players played well against the French National U21 Team. I enjoyed the 45 minute ride to the country of Monaco and hope to one day stop and stay for a little while. There is a Marriott there! Anyway, we played our next game right across the way from our hotel. Our hotel is similar to a college dorm, with small rooms and even smaller bathrooms. It is pretty cool, though. We have been making the most of what we have. Our “American Fast Food Count” is at McDonald’s with 3. We haven’t seen anything else resembling American Fast Food, as we are staying in Antibes. Antibes is a coastal city with some really neat looking forts and huge walls. Supposedly, the walls were built during the First World War to protect against attacks at sea. We haven’t been able to tour much around Antibes, but I have had quite an experience finding change for US Dollars. France is on the Euro system, and NONE of the Antibes banks make change! They have CHANGE stores to provide that service. I was on a quest to make change, and got the change, but then had to get coins for the Laundromat. It was quite an adventure to ask for change in English, when NO ONE understood what I was saying. Basically, I would point to the bill then point to the coins and give one of those, “I hope you understand me” looks… it has worked so far. I have made pretty good friends with the guy at the magazine store every day, when I ask him for 5 Euros worth of change. FUNNY STUFF Each day I have been doing laundry, and now we have “officially” opened a CLUB SUDS – FRANCE. Nick Arison and I opened a CLUB SUDS – JAPAN in Sapporo last year, so now there are two franchises out there. If you don’t know what a CLUB SUDS is, it is a Laundromat. A CLUB SUDS is usually based on size. The Japanese CS was really small and narrow, but performed its function very well. The French CS has an attendant from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. All she did was take the ONE dryer for her “work” laundry and make three of us wait on her. What a bunch of garbage. However, I don’t know how to explain business etiquette to a French person. Oh well. Since we spend so much time there, we figure to have some fun and give the “mat” a better name. So, CLUB SUDS it is… there is a possibility we will have a CLUB SUDS in Moscow as well as Las Vegas, so LOOK OUT! We played our third game in a wine town called La Garde. It was VERY nice, about 135 km from Antibes. We got to the gym that doesn’t have any air conditioning! I had to film the game, which every seat had an occupant in, and sweat along with the players. My watch had the gametime temperature at 94 degrees! I don’t remember playing in a gym like that before. Fortunately, our team doctor (Dave Walden), gave me 1.5 liters of water to drink. It was gone by the time the second quarter ended. I even tried some wine called MUSCAT FRONTIGNAN…it was very good, and NO I didn’t have much more than a few sips… HAHAHA! Anyway, that is just a small recap of the French Experience… I hope you enjoyed, and will definitely keep you posted as the days go along. I know one thing, I won’t wait too long to write again. Today, we are going to hang out in Cannes… the place where the Film Festival is held every year!

First Blogs

Greetings from Tokyo!

Things here are going well. We are staying at the Four Seasons Hotel, and the rooms are pretty spectacular! We are on the final week of the trip, and I am excited to be getting closer to home, yet I am kinda sad to see it all go. This trip has been phenomenal!

This is the first BLOG for me! I was recommended to do my stories on here, so more people will have access to it, and then I won't have to keep sending emails. So, let me know what you think!!

I will write more as the day moves along.

Peace!

Ellis