Dec. 28, 2000

The following is not a typical athlete's journal entry. You will not read about how many points were scored, who won, or who was difficult to guard. Mostly because of what you'll read about below. Instead, you will experience The World According To Me. I'll be posting new entries regularly, so stay tuned ...

Hola! This is my first overseas World!! I am now playing hoops in Spain on a team in the Canary Islands. Originally my plan was to go play right after the New Year. However, this opportunity was too good to pass up. I can't tell everyone how excited I am to be back on the court. I've played in two games so far and I haven't stopped smiling since our first win in Barcelona ... I have the quintessential perma-grin! All the pearly whites are visible.

There will be more on my Spanish life later in this World, but first I must do my duty and keep you up to date on the happenings in late November/early December:

Wicks

I went to New York City to see a screening of the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Sue Wicks went to the movie, too, while she was home from Israel. It was one of the most action-packed movies I have ever seen. We were invited to a party after the movie at a club in New York. Performing at the party was the Rap group Wu-Tang Clan. Sue and I decided to skip the party and I'm glad we did. Apparently one of the members of Wu Tang (nicknamed ODB) made an appearance at the party. That would seem appropriate except that he is wanted by Los Angeles police after fleeing a rehab center. He even told the crowd, "I can't stay on stage too long ... the whole **** world is after me." Kinda bold move if you ask me (which he didn't).

I attended the Ivan Rodriguez golf tournament in Puerto Rico for the fourth straight year. The tournament raises money for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. As always, I had a wonderful time and enjoyed the sun, surf, golf and poolside conversations. I was also there for the Felix Trinidad fight. Trinidad is Puerto Rican so we watched the fight in the perfect environment. Even though it was shown on a big screen television, I felt like I was ringside when the fans cheered and screamed support. I've never been a boxing fan, but the fight was one of the most exciting sporting events I've seen on TV.

Williams

Sales

Wolters

Chefs beware! Kara Wolters, Nykesha Sales, Rita Williams and myself displayed our culinary skills for a show that will air on the Food Network. Kara prepared the menu and delegated the courses to the rest of us. She gave me the very difficult task of making garlic cheese bread. (Apparently my reputation in the kitchen precedes me.) Kesh did the dessert (brownies out of a box), Rita did the salad (lettuce out of a bag), and Kara did the main course. I'm not sure exactly when it is going to be on TV, but it will be worth watching ... if just to show you how NOT to impress folks in the kitchen.

Baloncesto en Espana

Sauer

My teammates are a lot of fun and like to enjoy themselves. Some of them speak a little English and they are teaching me new Spanish words and phrase every day. One of my goals when I return to the U.S. in April is to be fluent in the language. Paige Sauer is one of the Americans on my team. She graduated from UConn in 2000 and now plays for the Los Angeles Sparks. We have a great time together and just ignore the looks we get from the Spanish people who are shocked to see a 6-4 woman (me) and 6-5 chica (Paige) strolling down the street.

I'm getting used to the different culture. All shops close from 2-5 p.m. as people go on siesta. Also, they eat dinner around 10 p.m. We practice twice a day and our second practice is from 8-10 at night. Needless to say, I'm getting to bed pretty late. We are 5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time so I keep in touch with family and friends mostly on the Internet. One thing is for sure -- it isn't hard to adjust to the 80-degree temperatures and ready access to the beach. (Speaking of the beach, the women there go topless. I'm not quite used to that!) I'll keep everyone informed about my team and my progress as our season continues. Another thing is for sure -- this experience should have me good and ready when the WNBA season starts in May.

Autograph Etiquette Installment # 406:
In Puerto Rico, a man came over and shoved a napkin in Bobby Bonilla's face and asked for an autograph. Bobby was very accommodating and signed for the fan. However, after getting the signed napkin, the man complained that Bobby's signature was messy and he couldn't read it!! YO, beggars can't be choosers!!

Genius Advice:
I was browsing through my parents' book on how to deal with different ailments and illnesses and saw the advice on how to deal with jet lag: "Pretend you're not on a plane." I really hope they got the book on sale!

Welcome To Spain:
While I was waiting in the baggage claim in Spain for my luggage, I looked at the poster hanging in front of me. It was for Sioux City: "The area's main attraction. This is a recreation of the Wild West, with gunfights, lynchings, saloon gals, lassooing tricks, and so on. The evening show with barbecue is great fun for children." I would expect this in a Texas airport but definitely not in Spain!

Safety Tip of the Week:
Always wear a helmet when riding a bike, scooter, skateboarding or roller blading. It is also completely necessary to wear a helmet when on a motorcycle. For more information, check out Headfirst.org.

Movie Etiquette:
If you are one of only a few people in a movie theatre and have your pick of seating ... don't sit directly behind the only other person in the place. That's a bad, bad thing to do.

Generous Donations:
Many readers of USA Today offered to donate medication to a cat that was featured in the newspaper. People offered their leftover doses of Propulsid. What is the medication used for??? It relieves the cat's constipation. Nothing worse than a constipated cat!

Hammon

N'SYNC is OK!!:
Ten people were injured when hundreds of screaming Japanese girls swarmed around a bus carrying the Backstreet Boys. Don't worry, Becky Hammon was not there. She was back in New York singing "Bye Bye Bye." I guess I should add "Boy Band Concerts" to my list of places you need to wear helmets.

Finally time to give the ever-popular SHOUT OUT to:
Lula, Lova, Estelle, Tonya and all my teammates in Spain.
Big Obnoxious Bullies.
Anyone named Carlos.
Jeff: still working on finding that volleyball partner for you.
Tony Twist: good getting to know ya.
Welding cousins.
Interesting conversationalists who can't spell "re-me-ber."