Winter Basketball. . .

The Winter season at KSSC is starting this Wednesday. Some issues with players and teams and other stuff has me playing against my old team -- which is sad, but also kind of awesome. What? Well, when you're playing ball, you only really interact with whomever your guarding, and a bit of chatter on the bench. When I'm playing ball against friends, I get to trash talk (a lot), because I know they know I'm joking and that I'm not actually looking to insult anyone. When you play against strangers, you can throw in a joke here or there (generally self-deprecating) but you can't say too much without being assumed an asshole.

I met a couple of my teammates at the KSSC meeting, and they seem like cool guys, and I'm also playing with some Trailhead-related people who are very cool. I get to be the captain (read: got to pay the $75 deposit on the ball) which is kind of fun too.

The three top teams from last season don't appear to be around, unless they've changed names and turned into 1 amazing team. . . There are two individual teams (mine and one made up mostly of former "high fives" players), and another of my teammates Bonney has a team made of up people from the X-ray department at the hospital, and there's a fourth team I don't know at all.

I've been shooting a lot at Queens, working on my left handed dribbling (how did I let it be so bad for so long?), and my shot is start to get a little more consistant. I'm trying to get 10-12' bank shots to go in; I think it's a much easier shot, once you figure out the angle; Tim Duncan's made a career out of them. I still love the fade-away, because it can be shot while closely guarded, and because no one else in Rec Ball ever shoots one. There's a lot of picture-perfect jump-shots, and some Shawn Marion-style chest-shots, but I think I'm the only one holding the ball behind my head as I shoot.

Too much about basketball? Hey, the season hasn't even started yet. . .

Take care,

Jay.