I have no title for this. McPherson and stuff.

I am now less than 14 hours away from playing basketball at my favorite place ever.
- If not for basketball, I would have never left this place.
- If not for basketball, I would have never found this place.



Safe to say, emotions are running rampant. Despite being cut from the team shortly before our first game and being forced to transfer [KWU debacle, circa 2005] in order to pursue my dream of playing college basketball in an actual game--I have nothing but fond memories of both McPherson the town and the college. I love it there.

-- The ankle is feeling better-ish. I ran on it for the first time on Wednesday. It's still pretty sore, and for an idea of what colors still appear on my foot and ankle, [click here]. Neat, huh?

But it's playable and shouldn't be as difficult in a half-court, 3-on-3 setting as Wednesday's full-court pickup ball was. Here's hoping...

Other topics:

- Had a lengthy blog written the other day, posted it and quickly removed it due to its controversial nature. Apologies to anyone who saw it and clicked, only to see it'd been removed.

- 10 days away from my favorite day of the year--Cubs Opening Day! You could say I'm excited.

- Effectively limited everything I look for in girls down into one specific trait--nerves. If I get nervous while talking to a girl, very good sign. If not, probably not a chance. Not sure why this never occurred to me, but I feel like I've stepped on a gold mine. Eureka!

- I'm really curious what everyone thinks of the new layout. I received an e-mail from Blogger, advertising its new features and felt like trying something new again. Any feedback is appreciated--as always.

Quote of the day:
"Worry often gives small things a large shadow." - Swedish Proverb

Word of the day:
criterion - Singular of criteria. Used it (in the flow, I might add) in the aforementioned deleted blog and wanted an excuse to throw it in here, too, because I've always liked the word. So there.

Do the right thing,
Derrick

Luck of the...inept?

In case you weren't aware, I hurt my ankle playing basketball Sunday night. Hurts. Pretty certain it's just twisted/sprained, not broken--but with no health insurance, can't go to the doctor, either way.

So I'm rehabbing like T.O. before the Super Bowl, trying to heal the best I can before attempting to play in a much-anticipated 3-on-3 basketball tournament on March 27 (10 days). At my favorite place ever.


But walking is tough. You know, swelling and all. I'm past hopping, but it's still a pretty severe limp. Annoying. There are some nice bright colors on the ankle/foot area. Might be neat, if not painful. Crossing my fingers it will pass in a week. Likely? Not so much. A guy can hope, right?

Those who know me well know that I don't take medicine--for anything. Not gonna start now, either. I have my reasons. And despite what some believe, they're legit ones. So I'll have to do it the old fashioned way: Ice, elevate, etc.

Also, it's St. Patrick's Day today. Truth be told, it would have completely slipped my mind if not for all the Facebook status posts about it. Truth be told, it doesn't mean much to me. Not a drinker, and even if I was...I can barely hobble to the door, so going out at all is out of the question. Not gonna lie, it sucks.

Still, I'm wearing my green, anyway. Not that anyone's here to pinch me if I didn't...

Either way, I could use some luck lately--and not just with this darned ankle.


Cheers,
Derrick

My Own Oscars...[sort of]

With a lack of topic ideas and last night's Oscars (which I only saw a minute or 2 of) in mind, I figured it might be fun to discuss movies a bit myself.

How about my own "Oscars"--favorites in various categories, etc. Doubt any of you care much, but let's give it a whirl, anyway.

Note: Individual awards will be lifetime achievement awards, of sorts. These are also limited to semi-recent movies or at least ones I've actually seen--sorry.

Note 2: I will provide links to each person/movie that I pick as a winner--just for fun. Just hover over the name and click for their IMDb profile. And also a short video clip of an amazing acceptance speech at the end. Enjoy!



Best Romantic Comedy:
Nominees:
10 Things I Hate About You
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
When Harry Met Sally
A Lot Like Love
Winner: When Harry Met Sally

Best Love Story:
Nominees:
The Notebook
Brokeback Mountain
A Walk to Remember
P.S. I love You
Winner: The Notebook

Best Horror Film:
Nominees:
Tremors
Saw (series)
Friday the 13th (2009)
House of Wax
Winner: Saw

Best Comedy Film:
Nominees:
Office Space
Dumb & Dumber
Old School
The Hangover
Winner: Office Space

Best Action Film:
Nominees:
Gladiator
300
Speed
The Dark Knight
Winner: Gladiator

Best Animated Film:
Nominees:
Shrek
Kung Fu Panda
Aladdin
South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut
Winner: Kung Fu Panda

Best Actor:
Nominees:
Ben Affleck
Will Smith
Leonardo DiCaprio
Denzel Washington
Winner: Will Smith

Best Actress:
Nominees:
Sandra Bullock
Julia Roberts
Renee Zellweger
Jennifer Aniston
Winner: Sandra Bullock

Best Acting Performance:
Nominees:
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Russell Crow, Gladiator
Forest Whitaker; The Last King of Scotland
Leonardo DiCaprio; Blood Diamond
Winner: Forest Whitaker; The Last King of Scotland [check this out--talk about inspiring!]

God bless,
Derrick

My Birthday Wish List

Birthday's tomorrow. Just for kicks, here are the things that top my wish list--not necessarily in this order.

1. A nice-looking damsel.
- Long hair
- Long legs
- No drama
- No baggage
- Age 20-30
- Really hot set of...morals.

2. A head coaching gig.

3. A new car. Well, truck.

4. New Basketball shoes. Adidas, size 13.
- Like this.

5. Anything Cubs
- Tickets
- Hats. Size: XL; top 2 choices: 1. This one. 2. This one.

6. Eric Church tickets
- Wichita, KS; March 26

7. New baseball glove. Big one.

8. Lose 32-36 lbs. OK, that one's on me. Ready, go!



While I'm posting...results of most recent poll:

Question: How do you interact with me most?
Facebook/MySpace: 8 votes (53%)
Text/On phone: 5 votes (33%)
In person: 1 vote (6%)
Don't know you/Random reader: 1 vote (6%)

Not surprised at this, but a little disappointing. I'll try to fix this; need to reach out a bit more to my people, I guess. ;)

Yay for pointless blogs,
Derrick

I love this game.

I love basketball. Have since before I can remember. I wasn't born with hoards of athletic ability, but a passion for the game I'll put up against anyone's.

As a kid, I'd shovel a foot of snow off the court to shoot in below-zero temps.

As a teenager, I skipped breakfast to shoot before school. I hid in the locker room after practice until everyone left, and snuck back into the gym for another couple hours of shooting--in the dark. I skipped class--a lot--to sneak away to the gym.

I even loved practice. I begged for two-a-days in High School. I loved four-hour practices in college.

When other kids were at parties or out on dates--I was on the court.

It's a beautiful game.

Whether it's a peach basket and a broom in a tiny, quiet gymnasium or two nylon nets 94 feet apart in a raucous arena--a there's a certain peace and tranquility that comes with being between those lines.

First ever basketball court--Springfield College, 1891

U.S. Airways Center; home of NBA's Phoenix Suns, built in 1992 (101 years later).


I'm ready to be a Head Coach. I'm a student of the game, and learning more by the day. Most importantly, I know enough to know that I'll never know it all. Many coaches feel they have nothing left to learn--and that's when they get beat.

Players will enjoy playing for me. Not only do I carry a passion for the game, but I make it simple and fun. Too many coaches complicate things by over-coaching.

It's an easy game. Intricate schemes, techniques and designs are essential, but at the end of the day, my offensive philosophy is simple--and something past players have heard me say often:

"Just go score." -- Too simple? Hogwash. Whether it's a fade-away J from the elbow, a tip-in put-back in traffic, or a tomahawk dunk on the break, a basket is a basket [see also: peach basket vs. nylon net].

So just go score. Get the ball in the hoop, go lock up on D...then do it again.

I digress...

Basketball feeds my soul. I go to it when I need to exercise, when I need to vent. I go to it when I need to think, need to cry, need to breathe.

I go to it in times of joy and times of sorrow--
I loved it yesterday; I'll love it tomorrow.

It's always been there for me, and I love it.
Always have, always will.

Just go score,
Derrick