1 win, 1 loss, and 42 points in 30 minutes

Two games in three days has really helped me to realize that my body is *gasp* OLD. Fitness wise, i would still put myself up there with the best of them...but my bones and joints defintely had an easier time recovering from excessive physical activity 3 years ago. But anyways, we played three games in two days.

The first game was against Klosterneuburg, currently the second place team in our league (we sit third, btw). Klo-burg has last years MVAP, who I had the pleasure of guarding the whole 40 minutes. I'm sure you are wondering what MVAP means...It doesn't take a rocket scientist to decipher it, but for all of you who accidentally stumbled upon this blog and have no real interest in sports, its the Most Valuable Austrian Player. Yeah, it's tricky and you're welcome! Generally the best players are foreigners (Americans, hell yes) so they invented an award to give to the best Austria player. Whatever.
I'm gonna direct you to the website for the game write-up, but I will still try to give you a breif recap myself. We started the day by going to our Saturday morning practice gym and getting a good number of shots up before returning home to nap. Basically the whole game was played within 6 points...somtimes we led, sometimes they led. Towards the end of the game, with no real strategy in place, our squad made some silly mistakes that led to an eventual 3 point Klo-burg victory. Our lack of experience was evident in the waning moments of the game and we paid for it. Down by one with 45 seconds to go, a player proceeded to foul (she made both free throws) and then shoot a quick 3 pointer on the next posession. After another Klo-burg posession and eventual bucket, Osier hit a last second shot to bring the final score within 3. None of our players were happy with the game, but fortunately we get to play them 3 more times this season, and if the standings stay the way they are, first round of the final four.

Our second of the two games was on Monday against Graz. We played, for the third time in a row, at the Mollardgasse in Vienna, which has served as our home gym. Graz is not a very strong team, so we were able to get everyone playing time and the final score was 90-53. I have never really in my career been one to score a lot of points...more of a consistent scorer. I'm just gonna say it: This game though, I had A LOT of points. 42 to be exact. That is more than I have ever scored in my life. Here's the real kicker: I sat out the entire second quarter. Sure, the team we were playing wasn't the greatest, but it was just one of those days where I was feelin it. Lets hope this continues through the next weekend. Again, the website has a little write-up, so check that out too. http://www.uk-flames.org/. Our overall record is now 3-2 following the first round of AWBL games.

I was fortunate to have two friends in Vienna with us from Friday to Monday morning. They rocked mine and Osier's jerseys at the Klo-burg game and were very entertaining. Sunday I took them to the Schönbrunn (my second time there) for a nice view of Vienna and to enjoy the amaing weather. It's still cold as hell, but at least the sun will join us for a few hours a day. Following our visit to the castle, we ventured through town to our favorite Asian restaurant, Bamboo, where you can make your own concoction for the chef to cook. They also have great sushi and a happy hour everyday, which we were sure to make it for. It's also one of the only places open on Sunday.

Today (tuesday) is our day off (minus the practice we RUN later) and we took our time to visit the MA35 to turn in our visa applications, which has taken a huge load off my back. Minus a few small things I may need shipped from the states, everything else seems to be in order and we will be able to remain legally in österreich for the remainder of the season. So anyone who wants to come visit, Yes, I will still be here.

Next Sunday is the first game of round two in league and we start with our favorite cross-town rivals, Flying Foxes Post. They ran off with the game last time, but we were two forwards down, so we sill see how we fare this time around.

That's it for now. I have to go fill out my rosters for BOTH fantasy hockey and fantasy basketball. The NBA starts tonight. Not that I can watch the games or anything, but its still something to read about on ESPN.com. And yes, I play fantasy hockey. Don't Judge.

We (Osier and I) have decided that you can wear anything you want in this damn country and it's ok. I never thought I would be the girl wearing legwarmers...but they are pretty awesome!

Catfish

To explain the title of this post: every time my google translator translates a german page to English, the name Wels (which is a city in Austria) is translated to catfish. So I will just do the translating for you.
The good news is we beat the catfish. Oh, yes we did. Check the website for the final score, but I think we won by 5. At one point, I think our largest lead was 14 points. I lied when I said Post was the only other team with Americans; Wels also has two American players, as well as an American coach, and as much as I wanted to approach them and ask "will you be my friend?", I held it together and decided against it...Wels is too far away to really be friends with the anyways.
Catfish was the defending cup champions from last season and this win could be considered our first "real" win against a somewhat decent team. Going into next week, where we play the second place Klosterneuberg on Saturday, we are 2-1. The season is very long though, and we will meet all these teams at least 3 more times after the first round of play.
Alright, this one was short, but its 11:45 and i still need to shower! Goodnight!

Hello, Winter!

The past week in Austria has definitely been filled with a variety of activities and we have been through many changes. Some of these changes are somewhat unimportant...like the changing of one's age. Some have really effected us immensely, such as the dropping of the temperature and the picking up of the winds. Some aren't even changes...we played basketball this week like we do every week.

After our University applications were denied and the hopes and dreams of a student visa were put out of reach, I began to research the legality of our stay here. Much to my surprise, I found that we have exactly 30 days from today to remain in the European Union without a visa. So naturally, we will be spending the next 4 weeks stressed out and wondering if our visa application, which we are allowed to do while in Vienna, will be done in time and if we have enough time to take care of the situation. Originally, we would have gotten a student visa, but because the University took so long with the admission system, we were unable to do that before our trek across the Atlantic.

Lets talk about the weather. Last thursday we walked across the street to the park, wearing our swimsuits and carrying oversized blankets, and attempted to bronze our sun-deprived skin a bit. After 20 minutes of overcastness, which 1) included a cliche parting of the clouds in which we turned to eachother and thanked Jesus AND 2) is not a word, we finally enjoyed a good 2 hours in the suprisingly strong rays of the sun. Unfortunately my ipod ran out of battery midway through, but the scenery around the grassy nole was enough to entertain my eyes for an hour.

Since that lovely day in the park, the wind has really picked up and the temperature has dropped 10C. Combine the two, and even the warmest outfit in the states will do you no good. Example: We went to our practice last night, in which we coach 5-6 girls for an hour and a half, fully clothed and with no intent of working out. My outfit consisted of shorts, sweatpants, a t-shirt, a long sleeve shirt, a fleece jacket, gloves, a scarf, and a knit beanie. Osiers outfit was similar, give or take a set of leggings under the sweatpants. We walked straight from the apartment to the bus and from the bus to the gym, a total of maybe 4 minutes outside. Any longer and I think I would have been in pain. BUT I did figure out how to turn on the heater in my room, which I have a feeling will be very useful in these coming months. My only question is What the hell happened to the fall season? Hello, Winter. It's supposed to snow next week.

My birthday was on Saturday...the big 23. Here is a rundown of the big day: We woke up at 8:15 AM to eat before practice at 10. I was surprised at the door by Bodo, Julia, and Katrin, who held possibly the largest chocolate cake I have ever received (and delicious...thank you mama Pöcksteiner!) We then continued on to practice, where I was presented with a box of milk chocolates! We were done at noon and headed home to shower and get dressed. We then hopped the bus/ubahn to Neubaugasse to have lunch at an amazing pasta restaurant called Vipiano. Following a hearty portion of Scampi, the girls bought me (what do you think?) a piece of chocolate cake! This particular cake even held the name "Death by Chocolate". It was just that, and even my chocolate-loving self had to SHARE. After walking around the city for an hour or so, including a trip into the Museum Quartier, we hopped the U4 and headed to the Basketclubs game on the other side of town. We arrived just as the U22 game tipped off and were treated to two games, both of which were entertaining. Our next stop post-game had to be McDonalds, which happed to be on the way to the American cinema. We rapidly ate our meals (Big mac, pommes, and coke) and headed into the Cinema. The movie that evening was "The Ugly Truth" and was the perfect nightcap for the day!

No, we didn't go out on my birthday. Here's why. Sunday we had our game against the reigning champions, Flying Foxes SVC Post. Gametime was set for 5 pm. Osier and I were ready. Post is the club in town with the money...they are the only other team in our league with American players. Before we were set to warmup, we were informed that two of our players would be sitting out the game because they were late to the game. I definitely have an opinion on this decision by our coach, but I won't share it here.

Post jumped out early by 8 points or so. Our first couple baskets came after a few minutes into the first quarter, but we battled our way back to a 2 point lead midway through the second quarter. After trading baskets, we headed into the locker room down by 5. The second half was a poor showing on our part and the game eventually got away from us as Post took a 20+ point lead and never looked back. Read the full story here: http://www.uk-flames.org/. It's hard to say anything about what "should" have happened in the game since we were nursing self-inflicted handicaps from the beginning. The good part is that we get to play them 4 more times this regular season.

This week we host Wels (catfish) in Vienna and travel to Klosterneuberg next week, both of which should be good games. Stay tuned!

Fun Facts: I will be watching "New Moon", which is the second movie in the Twilight series, on opening night, probably before most of the people in the states. Also, My birthday next year will be on 10-10-10 and will be my 24th...if you don't understand the coolness of that, please check the url of this blog.

Season Opening

After a good 7 weeks of practice and practice games, we have finally started the official season. We played our first game on Saturday, game two of the AWBL triple header in the Mollardgasse, our home gym. Here is a rundown of the big day:

The first game was a thriller between the Klosterneuberg Duchess and Wels. After holding a four point lead for most of the game, Wels let the game slip away in overtime. Both teams looked strong, especially K-Berg, which played overtime with two if its starters on the bench, including last years MVP. Wels definitely had some BIG players and, we surprised to find out, are coached by and American. sidenote: while looking up train tickets from Vienna to Wels, I learned that Wels literally translates to "catfish" in German. Weird.

Our game was the second of the evening. Each player was told to bring 10 fans. The turnout was great and the gym was full. The team we played never really gave us a run for the money. We scored the first 8 points and were up by more than 20 for 80 percent of the game. Check out the website for the actual numbers and scores. http://www.uk-flames.org/. Vienna 87, our opponent that night, was a very young team and also had players that had spent training camp with our team before deciding to play in the cross-town club. Every one of our players had the chance to play, and all those that did scored. We had a great time engaging the crowd in our game and having fun while coasting to the victory. I finished with a game high 23, while Osier had 22, despite only making one field goal. (Not really, but she did have about 15 free throws.)

The nightcap game was even less thrilling than ours, as reigning champions Flying Foxes Post dominated the team from Graz. We didn't even stay until the end of the game. Post, coincidentally, will be our next matchup, as we travel across town to their gym next Sunday. The support for our clubs was amazing, and there were even some TV cameras present, as our game will be aired on local Vienna TV within the next few days.

I also have a friend currently staying with us until tomorrow evening. She attended our game and (what a good sport) wore her Dirndl while doing so. She had come from Oktoberfest...but if you don't know what a Dirndl is, please google it. Tonights plan is to get schnitzel after practice, something I'm sure I will make every visitor to Vienna do. Recently, we have also been obsessed with Kebaps. Sooooooo gooooood! And cheap! Lastly, postcards should be going out this week, so if I don't have your (new) address, please send it to me and I will send something your way...eventually! Word. I will leave you with this link to the most amazing German song...enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7mGrPJvYhw

If you have facebook, check out more pictures from our season opening!