Bonjour tout le monde,
I am sad to say this but this will be the last blog I will write. Our season has come to an end. If you read the previous blog, you knew that we had to finish the season on two consecutive wins in order to finish third and move up next year. Unfortunately, we lost our very last game on the road by 4pts. This means we finished tied for 3rd but due to point differential in our head-to-head match-up with the other team, we are officially 4th. It was quite a disappointment. We were up 10pts with 4mns left.
Everything seemed to be going our way until we had a mental breakdown mixed with turnovers and a lack of aggressiveness. What can be done? You live and you learn. There has to be a winner and a loser. It is obviously never fun to be on the losing side but there are worst things in life. There are also things which put everything back into perspective. Luckily, one of those happened to me this week.
I was asked to show up at a primary school and have kids play/discover basketball for the past couple Thursdays. After the first time, the kids loved it and all wanted me to come back for a second time (which was planned). Most of them said they really enjoyed playing and were thinking of pursuing the sport or at least play it during recess. This had already brought happiness to know that I had a little impact on a few of them. But the best was yet to come. As they saw me waiting on a bench during recess the next week, they were all ecstatic about getting another chance to play basketball for an hour. Once again, everything went well. The children loved it. When it was time to bring them back to the school, I was sitting on a bench which still allowed me to either as tall or taller than most of them. Then, a little girl comes up to me and asks if I will be coming back next week. I answered regretfully that I cannot and I hoped she had fun. She then put her arm around me and gave me a kiss on the cheek and said “thank you for coming”. Such a genuine act from a child that only saw me twice for an hour really touched my heart. The older you get and the less you see such genuine behavior. People will say things just to be politically correct. That act from the heart is hard to find now a days and this kid proved that there is still light in this dark world. That loss seemed so little compare to that child’s genuine happiness.
However, there are some genuine acts from kids you rather not go through. I went the second Thursday with my glasses on. A kid runs up to me, says hi followed with a “you are very ugly with glasses on sir”. OMG!!! What do I respond? How do I respond? Should I be offended by it (even though many people have said they look good. Damn it!! That was probably the politically correct answer to say). Should I yell at him for being rude (even though he is simply expressing his opinion)? I really couldn’t believe it. I was in shock. I really did not know how to deal with that type of situation. I never did it as a kid nor have I seen any kids insult anyone older on their physical attributes to their face. He seemed like the bully of the class so I preferred to back down and let him have that one. I was not scared but I simply preferred to take the high road LOL. Nevertheless, karma had my back. At the end of the session, a kid asked me to shoot from half court. I took his ball and chucked the ball at the rim. However, I completely missed the rim and backboard and as timing could not be anymore perfect, that same child for some reason started running underneath the basket. And yes, it happened. The ball landed right on his head putting him to the floor. He was in tears, I was laughing and the day could not have ended in a better way.
I wanted to thank you for following me this year. I hope you enjoyed the blog! My goal was to share my overseas experience with you. Hopefully, it was not too boring as I did not want to just speak about basketball. With that said, have a great summer everyone and see you soon!!
En vous remerciant,
Jonathan Moscatelli
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Salut tout le monde,
So I might have promised that i was going to write a blog two weeks after my last one. Unfortunately, I hurt my ankle and did not play which means I did not have much to write about except for the fact that we went 1-1 during my absence. However, the win was huge as it was the 3
rd place team whom we are chasing in order to move up next year. Thanks to the win, we are now 3
rd.
The end of the season is going to be a very tight one, almost as exciting as the NBA!! (insert sarcasm) Nevertheless, it will be a good finish. All the top teams are playing each other. Some minor teams have potential to upset some of the good teams (which will be the case for our final two games. We play away and have our fair share of difficulties playing on the road). The top two teams are guaranteed to stay but the 3
rd place is up for grabs between us and three other teams!! The good news is if we win our last two games, we are guaranteed to keep that 3
rd place to ourselves.
A couple weekends ago, we played La Similiennes de Nantes on the road. They are the first placed team. It was a must win for us in order to keep our hopes alive to move up next year. We started the game off horribly with a 9-0 run on their behalf. We came back strong and finished the first half up 9. Staying true to ourselves, we struggled as usual in the 3
rd quarter which allowed them to come back in the game to the point of them taking the lead. The 4
th quarter was a seesaw battle until we took a 5pt lead which then was sealed by a 3pter with 48seconds left by yours truly (give me a second, I need to pop my head it is getting so full of itself). On a personal note, I ended up with 16 shooting a horrible percentage but a shooter has to keep shooting right!
Last weekend was another important game as we played St. Rogatien de Nantes whom we were tied with at the time. Playing at home gave us an energy boost and were far more confident. We started with a very strong quarter, ending the half up by 14. As usual, our 3
rd quarter was very mediocre which allowed them to come back within 8. However, we dominated the 4
th quarter as we ended the game up 16. I finished with 23pts. After the game was the sponsor dinner since it was our last home game. The food was very good with some very very very good wine shall I say (we are in a wine region so it is not that hard to find good wine for cheap).
Thank you for tuning in for my second last blog. We have 2 games left. Cross your fingers for us!!
Take care everybody!!!
Au revoir et a bientot!!
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March. 22, 2012
"Hi everyone,
First off I want to apologize for taking so long to write this blog. It has been a while. Unfortunately, I cannot blame it on being busy but mere laziness. Things have been quiet.
Basketball is going pretty well. We lost a tight one to Challans by 3pts a couple weeks ago. I played minimal minutes as I was hit with the flu. We had a big game last weekend though. We played the #1 team, Chantonnay, which we had lost by 9 in their gym. However, referees played quite an important role in that game and our team was going through a rough time due to the fact that we had lost 2 players and were only 6 players with one center. Therefore, we were highly motivated and were seeking revenge pretty bad. Turns out we had the best game of our season. We played together from start to finish. Our team got out to a big lead right from the get-go and never looked back. We ended up winning by 22pts. I also had my best game. I finished with 32pts scoring 6 three pointers. The home crowd was very happen not only because of the win but because of the style of basketball we played. Only 6 games are left in the season. It is a very tight race for the final 3 spots (the top 3 teams move up to a higher division). We are currently tied for 4
th with only 1 more loss from the 3
rd team (which we play in a couple weekends!). Therefore stay tuned!!
As for France…what can I say *sigh*. I received a priority post letter a couple days ago. Only thing is my buzzer does not work therefore every single time I receive this type of mail, I miss it which means I have to go to the post office to pick it up which is not a big deal. However, on this one, I really believe they asked themselves “How can we make things complicated? Oh I know, let’s bring the letter to a city 45km away”. Since I have French in my blood, my first reaction is to call, complain and protest (quite possibly go on strike if I have to lol). I explained the situation, asked them to mail it back and for the person to call me on my cell phone so I can go downstairs and pick it up. But you need to know that in France, asking someone to make an effort that is out of their job description can be very very very very very very difficult and demanding. Therefore, I went to check the mail and what do I see? The same paper I received a day earlier saying the postman came by and no one answered the door. Livid, I call them again and the lady says she will try to send the priority letter to a closer agency. However, they are not allowed to do so (another step to make things more complicated). Therefore, I am 110% I will have to drive 90km to pick up a beep beep beeeeeeep letter!! They better be ready to deal with the most French person they’ve ever dealt with. With that said, France is a great country (if they stick to croissants, wine, cheese and complaining).
I hope you enjoyed this reading. I will see you in a couple weeks I promise!
Au revoir tout le monde!!
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Feb. 9, 2012
"Salut le monde entier,
Nice to meet with you guys again, especially those who are faithful to the blog (the whole 5 people who are reading this). How is everyone doing? Have you dropped your new years resolution yet because I have lol. I just hope that everyone is on the right path to reaching their goals!
As for our team’s goals, we are facing some difficulties. A couple weekends ago, we lost our game against LeMans. It was a disappointing loss because it was a game we should have won. Both teams got as much as a 10pt lead. It was a wild finish which saw us losing by 2pts, unable to get a shot up to tie/win the game. I ended up with 20pts and 6 rebounds.
Our second game last weekend was a wild one. This year keeps showing me things that only as kids you think it will happen. I am sure that every child who has played basketball has dreamt of a situation where the referee gives multiple technical fouls which changes the the game. Well, this was as close as it would get. First off, our team captain, the most polite and exemplary player got hit with two intentional fouls which got him kicked out in the 4th quarter. Needless to say, his fouls were nowhere close to being dangerous. Both teams traded baskets until we took a 9pt lead with 3mns left in the game. As the other team was on a run, for some reason, their worst player (who just got into the game 30seconds ago, I did not really understand the coaches strategy) got angry at a foul which wasn’t called. Without a warning, the referee gives him a technical. This infuriates him even more which allowed him to receive a second technical. BAM! Second player gone from the game. All of this happening in front of their bench, one of their players (yes you guessed it, their second worst player who might have played a whole 15seconds during the game) tries to be Mr. Justice and decides to head towards the referee yelling at him. His teammates were forced to hold him back which obviously allowed him to receive 2 technicals. BAM! Third player tossed out. After 10mns of arguing and shooting free-throws, the play resumed. Nevertheless, 30 seconds after the incident, a kick ball was not called. One of their players decides to yell like the Hulk, literally. No human speech was emitted from his vocal cords but a simple AAAAHHHHHH which was loud enough to stop the game as everyone was shocked by such a scream. And you guessed it, another technical handed out. Our 9pt lead had all of a sudden became 20 without a second played. We ended up winning by 21. What a finish!! I ended up 23pts and 6 rebounds.
On a totally different note, the weather has been the main news topic alongside with the presidential elections. Reading this, you might want to believe that we have had incredible cold weather with snow storms every day. However, this winter, we just had 2 days of snow (a week apart) which has resulted in maybe 10cm on the ground. Most of it has melted the day of BUT because our little snowplows do not go on country roads, all high schools have been closed due to the fact that school buses cannot drive on half a centimeter of snow. Man I wish I went to school here! The country is paralyzed. It is quite funny especially living in Canada for 11 years and having to have WALKED 9km from my high school to home in a real home-made Canadian winter storm (I am sure one of the readers remembers that day).
I hope you enjoyed this blog. Hopefully, something else crazy will happen in the next 2 weeks. I am always trying to keep you at the edge of your seat (insert sarcasm).
A bientot,
Jon
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Jan. 26, 2012
Bonjour a tous !
I hope everyone is getting back into rhythm with their routine whether it is work, school, watching shows on internet (yes that is mostly my life) or whatever it is you are doing. Since we are talking about internet shows, I wanted to let my dear American friends know that thanks to their new law, SOPA, my days are very frustrating trying to find links to shows. A law I find ridiculous as it is just another way to control the media and control the flow of information within the US which is basically just another way to make the country even more ignorant then what it is. Sorry for offending anyone knowing that not every single American is ignorant. However, teaching children the map of the world by putting the US at the center of the map (when it is known as the western society) might be the definition of egocentrism. I do not hate the US but when they make such a big fuss about copyright, infringement, etc when the Hollywood personalities are still making their millions, I believe there are bigger issues within the country then the ability to watch a tv show online for free. Nevertheless, my life just got THAT much harder due to this law and I am outraged! (I am kidding obviously).
As for basketball, we finished the first half of the season with an 8pt victory at home. It was a good win as we had to in order to stay close to the leaders. We started the game off with sloppy basketball. Maybe it was the fact that we had not played a meaningful game in over a month and we had to win, therefore the other team took a 14-3 lead. We managed to take back the lead before the end of the first quarter to then end the half with a 10pt margin. We kept a 12-16pt lead all the way through the game until the last few minutes, where they came back to 2pts. A steal followed by 2 free-throws by yours truly, Jonathan (this is why sports is played, to brag lol), allowed us to make a mini-run and finish with a very important win.
Last weekend, the second half of the season began. We faced the first team we played which makes it interesting to see how far we have come. Our first match-up was a tight one until the end. This time, we were able to start off strong and actually not let them back in the game. Hence, we won by 27pts. As for my performances, I ended up with 17 and 22 respectively.
With that said, good luck to everyone in your projects and see you in two weeks!! Take care!
Au revoir,
Jon"
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Jan. 13, 2012
-The New Year- Hi everyone! Happy New Year and best wishes to everyone. Hopefully, everyone had a great break and was able to spend it with their families. As for me, I was able to see family I hadnt seen in a while. I obviously misssed the cold canadian Christmas (NOT) as the weather has been mild here. My winter clothes are collecting dust and I am starting regretting paying that 1kg surcharge fee at the airport for my suitcase. Damn you global warming!!! What is everyone's new years resolution? I am usually not a big believer in this as people stick with them for a month, then all of a sudden, forget about them. However, this year, I decided to do just that lol. I am not cutting my hair till february or until I cannot look at myself in the mirror anymore. I have never seen how my hair grows since I was 8 years old. I figured the time is now since the only person I have to impress is my 70 year old bakery lady. I will not say she is not a catch but lets just say she is too young for my liking! I am just kidding people!! As for the bball season, we started practice on the 3rd of January. We had a meaningless game as it was the Coupe de France. We played a team which played two levels above us meanign we started with a 14-0 lead before tip-off. Both games played to lose as none of us wanted to add an extra game on the schedule. Therefore, a blow out (which i was hoping for) turned out to be a tight game as both teams were not making any efforts in defense. I am pretty sure both teams turned over the ball as often as they shot it. Coaches agreed to use this game as practice by agreeing to play man to man defense in the first half and zone defense in the second. Needless to say, it was an ugly game. We lost by 2pts. The game ended on a direct pass from one of players straight to the other team with 6 seconds left. I am pretty sure the other team was hoping we would score instead of being the recipient of a perfect uncontested chest to chest pass. It is definitly a weird feeling to play in such a game. The real season is starting this weekend. It will be a tight race to the finish line. Wish us good luck (or break a leg)! Bonne Annee, Jon"
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(Nov. 22, 2011)
"Speechless”
Salut les amis,
I first wanted to apologize for missing out on last week's blog but I have a real good escuse: lazyness. I kept procrastinating, which is really not like me, to then deciding I will wait for this week to write it. The last three weeks have been quite eventfull as we went from a 9 player roster to only 6. As you can recall, our 6'10 center got injured which was then followed by a player quitting as he did not feel comfortable being there anymore to then having a player
not qualified anymore. This means we lost 2 players for good and one who is on his way back. As always, timing could not be more perfect as that we weekend, we faced a 2nd place team with whom we are fighting to take their spot. The rule says 8 players have to be on the game sheet which meant we had to put the injured and the non-qualified player on the game sheet in order to be within the rules.
The game was up and down as they started on a 13-0 run which we answered right back with a 21-0 run. This might seem very weird as even I cannot ever recall having such lopsided runs right from the get-go in my bball career. By half-time, both teams entered the locker room tied up. However, the combination of having only 6 players and referees not helping the cause took its toll and we lost the game by 9pts. At the end of the game, somethingvery surprising happened which I have never seen before. The referee came to see our coach and apoligized saying "I was not very good today". I did not know how to react. Should I be glad he realized he was unfair? Or should I tell him what is on my mind since he knew he was bad yet gave our coach a technical 2mns left in the game on an absurb foul (giving them 2 free throws even though the player passed the ball. Referee said he did not shoot because he heard the whistle and decided to pass which once again left me speechless) and being a 5pt game which then turned into a 9pt game. I can count on a fingerless hand how many times CIS referees have advantaged our Guelph team in my 10 years at Guelph (inside joke if you dont get it) but damn, I never seen this type of unfairness at that level. It had me speechless. However, at this point, we were 5-2 at this point in the season.
The following weekend was a Coupe de France game. For the people who have been following me faithfully, you know what it is. For the readers who just drop by, I will explain. It is just national tournament where teams from all levels face eachother. Therefore, it is not a meaningful game especially since no team from our level has ever made it close to winning (not being pessimistic but just realistic). We were facing a team from Rennes which plays at a higher
level therefore we started the game with an advantage of 7-0 before tip-off. Personally, I could careless if we won or lost that game. For us, it just means an extra game maybe two if we are lucky enough in the season to then face a team where we have no chance of winning. Many teams dont play to win which is what I assume our advesaries did since we ended up winning by 25pts. Therefore, we have another game right before the break which turns ou to be against the #1 team of the level above us. It will be a "fun" game to play in.
Finally, last weekend, we played Cholet JF which as an important game also as the are right in the mix of things and could play an important role at the end of the year. It was a tight game through the first quarter. We then took a 10pt leading to end the half with a 5pt lead. That lead increased as much as 17pts near the end of the 3rd quarter. They scrambled back to 8pts but were never able to get closer. We ended up winning the game by 10pts. We are now 6-2 good for second place tied with two other teams. The next 3 weeks will be very important to start separating oursevles from other teams. It will be a big test but I believe we can do it.
I hope to see you guys soon.
A la bien,
Jon aka Bin"
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(Oct. 31, 2011)
"Frustration"
Hello everyone,
As I told you in the last blog, I was very confident in the french that they will find a way to entertain me somehow. I was indeed right as they did not miss a beat on demonstrating their incapability to deal with minor issues.
However, before we start, I hope everyone had a good halloween and is recuperating by drink lots of water (if you know what I mean).
Bref, revenons a nos mouton. I had to get someone to fill up 2 different forms which will go to the same "area" of the government, which will be in the same file which requires the same information however treated by two different "parties". Go figure why it cannot be dealt by one person since it is one file with the exact same information. First issue. Then, the woman who filled up my documents spelt my last name, on one of them, as Muscatelli and Moscatelli on the other. This happens especially as it was done by computer. Typos happen. However, one day, I received 5 letters from the two parties which seemed quite odd. These incompetent people sent me back all of the documents, which I had sent them, AND wanted me to prove that I am Jonathan Moscatelli and not Jonathan Muscatelli. You need to know that in those documents they sent back are a photocopy of my french citizenship and an official paper of my social security number (with my name written on it obviously). I also have to send a paper stating that I am living alone and not with a Jonathan Muscatelli. Therefore, not only they think I am lying about my name and are unable to figure it was a mistake by looking at the documents I sent them, they also think I am living with someone whose name is Jonathan Muscatelli. I rather stay speechless about this situation or the blog might be banned.
As for our basketball season, we were undefeated until this past weekend.
A couple weekends ago, we won our 5th straight game by 15pts against Indre-Bass. The team was not very good. They were athletic but it did not come into factor once we went into a zone. Quick story though. I tried to take a charge, got hit in the head and fell to the ground. As im protecting myself under the rim, a guy steps on me and falls yet I was called for the foul. When I asked the referee what did I do, he answered I shouldnt have been there. I politely told him to go F*#@ himself in english and kept running. I finished with 13pts and 2rebs. I am in a bit of a shooting slump which happens. We lost our 6'10 center to a pulled muscle. This is a big blow. Hopefully, we can limit the damage without him.
Last weekend, we lost to Challans by 4pts. They were a decent team. They shot the lights out from the 3pt line. We were also short handed. Our big man did not play, as I just mentioned, and I also did not play due to a sprained ankle during practice. I should be back during the week hopefully.
We are now 5-1, second of our championship. Hopefully, things will get a little better.
Thank you for joining me. I hope you enjoyed it and we will see eachother in a couple weeks! Take care everybody!!
Au revoir,
Jon aka captain Sparrow"
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ISSUE V (Oct. 18, 2011)
"Salut, How are my favorite readers doing? I hope your last couple weeks have been more entertaining then mine. For this reason, this blog will be very short and just about basketball.
Lets go back to a couple weekends ago when we played against La Chevrolière which is a team from Nantes. They are an upcoming team from a lower division therefore it was a dangerous game as we did not know what to expect. We knew we should win but with teams like these, if you give them a little confidence, who knows what might happen. And this is exactly what happened at first. We took a 10pt lead, let them back in the game to then take a 9pt lead at half. Beginning of third quarter was no better as we let them come back to 2pts. However, the rest is history as we finally took a lead which they could not come back from. We ended up winning by 26pts.
I finished the game with 22pts and 7rebounds. It was probably one of my best game so far as the other team went into a "box and 1" type of defense meaning they put a defender on me and he did not let me go. That definitly boosted my ego lol.
Our second game this past weekend was also against a team which just moved up a category. However, they were much better. They have been playing together for a while which could be seen by the way they moved the ball around. It was a tight game until mid 3rd quarter. We went up by 20pts but as usual (and which I havent figured out why), we let them back in the game giving them confidence. Nevertheless, we won by 11pts. We are 4-0, tied for first with 3 other teams. This is going to be an interesting season!! We have been playing better as a team. Every game, someone new steps up and our communication on the court is getting better each game. It is still far from perfect but some type of progression is better then none. There is a really good atmosphere amongst us. I know that I can head to practice knowing i'm going to have fun and have a good laugh at some point. Its a good feeling
Personally, it was my worst game. I ended up with 16pts and 2rebs. I did not shoot the ball well at all (3/7 from the field). I dont want to use this as an escuse but I think I was coming down with the flu. Im just kidding! Even though I am sick as I am writing this.
Well, that is all for this weak folks! Sorry for not having any comical story about a french "adventure". Im sure one will come up soon. Enjoy ur week. Good luck with whatever you are doing and take care of yourself!
Au revoir les narvallo!
Jon aka Bin" ***********************************************************************************
"Salut tout le monde" - ISSUE IV (Oct. 3,2011)
It feels good to meet again with everyone. Alot has happened within the last couple weeks. I hope interesting, positive things happened to you guys also. I will try to keep it short and sweet so you will not be bored by the end of the reading.
Many Canadians think of France as this beautiful, perfect country where habitants wear berets, drink wine and eat croissants and baguettes on a daily basis while painting the Eiffel Tower. Well, news flash to everyone, the Eiffel Tower is not visible from everywhere in France! Berets are no longer cool unless you are 80 years old with missing teeth and there arent that many painters. I will admit that we do drink wine with almost every meal and we do buy fresh baguette every morning. However, France being a perfect country is just a misconception. Our customer service is the best in the world at NOT helping their customers and deferring your problems to someone else (who most likely doesnt know the answer either). Let me give you one of many examples I could have used. I wanted to open an account with an electricity company named "EDF" which stands for Elictricity of France (you will need to know this to understand the humour in the story). As with any large company, you call, you wait and you end up with someone who has an accent different than the one of the country which your calling (which is perfectly fine as long as they are competent).
She then asks me for my address which I give including postal code and department (equivalent to a province in Canada). And this is where she surpises me with an unexpected statement being "I need more information, i cant find your street". My village literally has 5-6 streets. How can someone not find it. I answer her its in France, Europe which definitly didn't make her laugh. She then repeats she needs more information. I asked her if she wanted the colour of my building because I do not know what type of other information she needs. She then said call back another day because she couldnt find the street. This is only one example amongst many which I have encountered over the first few months. So please people, stop fantasizing about France as if it was a perfect world. Yes, it is a beautiful country, rich in history and culture with an amazing landscape but visiting and living are not the same at all. I am also not saying I am having a miserable time. I mean, we are in october, its 30degrees outside and im playing bball for a living!
Since we are talking about basketball, our season officially began last weekend. Our first game was an away one against La Beaujoire (which is situated in Nantes). I was told we were going to take mini buses which is the equivalent to a van in Canada lol. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed in our rides. This did allow us to talk between eachother and I found out that the sister of one of my teamates plays in the WNBA for the New York Liberty and his other sister plays in NCAA for Missouri. I also learnt that he used to play with 2 players which are now on the National team. Talk about having bball in their blood!
Back to the game. We won by 10pts! It was a good win against a decent team. It felt good to play a game which had a meaning. I ended up with 23pts and 5rebs.
Our second game, this past weekend, was at home against LeMans Jalte (see pictures). I thought it was going to be a tough game because we had a horrible week of practice but we came through and ended up winning by 10pts also. I finished with 21pts and 6rebs. We are 2-0 which is a good feeling. Hopefully we will continue on this path.
Thank you for reading! Oh and one more thing. Dont think I forgot to explain my new nickname "Captain Sparrow". I am not sure if you remember but a month ago, I got hit in the eye which opened my eye lid. I had to wear a bandaid over my eye (see picture) which then led to captain sparrow.
Take care everyone! Good luck in reaching your goals!
Au revoir,
Jon
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"Guelph basketball in France" - ISSUE III (Sept.19,2011)
"Coucou!
How was everyone's last couple of weeks? I hope something good happened to everyone and if not, stay positive!
I am sorry for not posting anything last week but I think I will start posting the blog every two weeks because our season is starting which means we only have one game a week. This might be a little boring to the reader especially as we start going through a routine. I also realize my life is not as exciting as a Kobe Bryant or LBJ (even though my game on the court is very similar to both of them lol).
Anyways, enough with the hilarious jokes and back to reality. Last weekend, the village (if we can even call it that) was dedicated to the club. We had to meet all of the teams of all ages and do a few drills with them. Something which was not expected was to be looked upon by the younger kids. A few asked for autographs which made me laugh. It definitly was an awesome feeling to see the kids running to their parents to show them what they just got (an autograph on their t-shirt by some canadian player that they will not remember in about 11months). However, I was in the same situation at their age and it brought me much happiness at the time. I even remember a few names so who knows!!
We also had pictures of the team taken with all of our sponsors. I posted a few pics so you can see our colourful jerseys. Please do not judge the surrounding as we did not receive the official pictures.
The weekend concluded with 2 games. One was against a rival in our group and the other was against one of the most talented 23years and under team in France (they will be the future professionals of the Cholet pro team who was vice-champion last year and french champion 2 years ago). Many players have passed through that team, 4 of them are now on the National France team and play in the NBA. Who knows, I might have played against the next future french star?
We lost both games unfortunately. The first game was lost by 1pt. We had 3 players foul out in the 3rd quarter and since we were only 8, we played the whole second half with 5 players. Needless to say, these were the worst referees I have ever seen in my life literally. We almost finished 4 vs 5 which is ridiculous but this made for an entertaining and weird game to play in. From a personal point of view, I went for 22pts with 4 three pointers.
We also lost the second game (against Les Espoirs de Cholet) but by only 15pts. When I say "only", it is because people were predicting a 40pt loss which could have been believable when we saw they were 12 players deep with an average height of 6'7 while we were 8 with an average height of 6 feet. The home crowd was pleased of the fight we put up. I scored 33pts and shot 5 for 7 from the three point line. Their coach remembered me from 11 years ago which made me happy. He knew exactly who I was because he was interested in recruiting me and wanted to know what happened to me since, apparently, someone from the french federation was suppose to follow me in Canada to get me to do try outs for the National team (depending on my parcours).
We finally had our last pre-season game this weekend against the team we lost by 1. Unfortunately, once again, we lost by 2pts. Referee wise was MUCH MUCH better (it really wasnt) since we had to referee ourselves the game. There was one referee but he isnt qualified to ref at that level so we were asked to also call our own fouls. This never happened since both teams wanted to win so once again, another controversial game. But they did beat us again so we better step up our game when we face them during the season.
I hope everyone enjoyed this blog! If you rather shorter yet more often blogs, feel free to let me know through tweeter or facebook or whatever social network you want (there are way too many! I am currently talking to the same person through 4 different social networks. What a waste lol).
Take care everyone and God Bless.
Bonne journée,
Jon aka Captain Sparrow..my new french nickname..if you want to know why, you will have to wait for the next blog ;) "
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"Guelph basketball in France" - ISSUE II (Sept.5,2011)
"Salut tout le monde,
I hope everyone had a great week and that you are excited for this week's blog. For the people who are back to read it, thank you very much. I really really appreciate it and for those who didnt bother to come back, well, i have nothing to say since they are not here to read it lol.
As we left off last week, I told you that we had 2 games this weekend. Well this week was pretty busy so let me start from the beginning and then I will tell you the results (feel free to skip towards the end if you don’t care about my life).
The club put me in a temporary apartment for the first 2 weeks. Last weekend was the last so I had to move to another one which is next door on the second floor. This meant everything had to go from fridge, oven, stove, bed, couch and EVEN the washing machine. For people who are not acquainted with France, you need to know that everything is old. Elevators exist only in modern buildings which means I do not have that luck and a set of stairs awaits me every day. Also, the stairwell is not large enough to have 2 midgets walk next to each other (no offense). Just imagine how fun it was to move a fridge, oven and washing machine up these stairs. It was an ideal Saturday...not! However, everything went well. There are pictures of the apartment so you get an idea of the French life style (please notice the washing machine touching the toilet).
Enough about my boring life and back to basketball. Tuesday's practice was going well until our center fell to the floor holding his calf screaming. This did not look too good. He went the next day to see a doctor which told him it was most likely a pulled muscle but he needs to get an ultrasound so we are still waiting for the results. This meant we were down to 8 players on the roster.
Fast forward to Saturday's game. We arrive at the gym to see that the court is made of cement, rims are 10.5ft (instead of 10ft, official height) and distances between the rim, free-throw line and three point line are disproportionate . First thought in my head: "I am not diving for a ball. The superhero cape will stay in my back pack for tonight" lol. The other team plays in a higher division. They had the luck to have a full 12 player squad with men looking more like they belong in the Mr. Universe competition. They were from Paris which meant very strong and athletic which was quite obvious.
We held our own for the first half with only an 8pt deficit. Not so bad considering we had the worst rim to start the game off and we had our 6'10 center missing. We started the second half strong (as a team and individually) until I got an elbow in the eye lid which cut it open. I decided to call it a day. No point in being a hero for a meaningless game. I still finished with 14pts in 15mns which isnt so bad. We ended the game with 7 players, five guards and two power forwards. We lost that game by way too much. Numbers will not be mentioned lol. Sunday could not come fast enough to redeem ourselves in the Coupe de France which means it is an official game that counts for a national trophy.
The way this national tournament works is you face teams from higher and lower levels. However, if you face a lower division team, you start the game with a 7pt deficit and if you face a higher division team, you have the 7pt advantage. Therefore, the score was 7-0 for the other team before the tip-off. We played well even though our center (injured), starting point guard (still not qualified to play official games) and I (woke up with one functional eye) were not able to play. We won by 15pts which actually means 21pts (remember the deficit before the game even started). Therefore, we ended the weekend with a 1-1 record which is positif considering what we went through. We still have alot of work to do but we are still raw as a team. Practice will be very much needed to reach our goal.
We have another busy weekend with 2 friendly games against good teams. Wish us good luck!
Thank you for tuning in. Hope to see you next week. Have a great week and keep reaching for your goals!
A plus tard,
Jon aka Bin
Ps: if you have comments, feedback or you want me to talk more about life then bball, or whatnot...feel free to let me know through facebook or twitter (@31Bin). Thanks."
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"Guelph basketball in France" - ISSUE I (Sept.1,2011) "Hi to everyone who is reading this blog!!
First of all, I am sorry if this might seem a bit boring to anyone. It is my first time writing a blog. Hopefully it will be more interesting every week as our basketball season picks up.
For anyone who doesnt know who I am, I'm Jonathan Moscatelli. I played basketball for 4 years at the University of Guelph. I was born in France so after my last year in Guelph (which was last year), i decided to go back to my home country to keep my dream alive and to reach my goal: play professional basketball. This has been a goal I've had since I first touched a basketball and nothing was going to stop me! Not even three surgeries in my knee could have (even though it almost did lol). However, this is in the past and a new chapter is starting.
Our basketball season officially began August 8 which meant 3 weeks of training camp before our first game which happened to be last friday. We practiced 4 days a week but we did not touch a ball for the first 2 weeks. Practices consisted of running the first half followed by different types of circuits which included core workouts, footwork and strengthening. No need to say, I LOVED the first 2 weeks...actually. After all the croissants and baguette I ate prior to that, exercise was much needed. I must say these 2 weeks of training camp got me well prepared.
The following week was only 5 on 5 in order to get used to eachother. We only have 3 players returning from last year because the team staff was very disappointed with the team's results. They had potential to win the championship and move up a level yet they did not. Therefore, this year is almost a full new squad ready to win and go to the next level. Practices went well. It is not easy to get used to 8 new players, especially to a different type of basketball which involves alot of movement, cutting, etc..
We then had a game last friday against a team of a lower division. This was a good way to see the players mentality and how we are as a team. We ended up winning by 30pts but it showed us some weak and strong points. We did not start the game off well at all. I believe everyone was a bit nervous and most of us did not know what to expect. We are in the top 2 regions in France for basketball which are la Maine et Loire and Rhone-Alpes. I come from the Rhone-Alpes so i am happy i am able to play in the second strongest region 10 years later. To come back to the game, not many of us are from this region, as i said, so we did not know what to expect except for some very high quality basketball. They turned out to be decent especially for the level they play at.the first quarter was tough, players did not know the systems very well and we are still in the process of learning eachother. However, the last 3 quarters were much better. The team reacted well to the challenge.when we faced adversity in the first quarter (apparently referees hate our team due to our fans, do i need to say more), the team responded well and stayed positive and kept battling hard. We then took an 11pt lead at half which grew after every quarter. From a personal point of view, i finished highest scorer but i was not satisfies with my shooting. However, my cardio felt great which might be the only positive personally in this game. The game is over with and we have to look forward towards the next ones which are this weekend.
Hopefully, you will be back to read the results.
If you are reading this, you survived the first blog. I am sorry for the english mistakes (it is my 2nd language lol). I hope you liked it and that you will keep on following from across the ocean.
Au revoir et a bientôt,
