Summer is Serious Returns

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  All my hoopers -- no matter where you live -- here's your shot to go to Barcelona in September with Nike Basketball.

  Grab your phone, and have a friend record your skills --your nicest dunk, your range from three, your best ball handling -- show off your A-game and you might be selected!

  Upload, and share your video via social media (Twitter, Instagram, FaceBook) with #SummerIsSerious (#SearchForTheBaddest if you're outside of the US). And don't forget to register here to make it all official.

  If the kind folks at Nike Basketball like your game, you'll get a player card, a nickname, and earn a spot on The Baddest Draft Board (100 spots). After that, you never know what might happen -- you could find yourself on a plane to Barcelona with the Swoosh!

  It's pretty easy. I did it last year. And if you get selected, the payoff is is well-worth it.

  Questions? Let me know!

IMPORTANT LINKS:

Summer Is Serious and Draft Board

Event Information and Registration

My entry from last year:

The player card Nike made for me.

The video I submitted.

Maui -- This Time With Mom

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Sunset from our cool little condo. 

  It wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind.

  What I had in mind was this: take an almost-week-long vacation to Hawaii with my mom, and, enjoy beautifully warm and sunny weather, sit by the pool, play in the ocean, see some whales, get away from rainy Portland, and re-charge the batteries.

  Here's how our six days on Maui played out...

  After nervously checking the weather report for weeks leading up to our trip, my mom and I arrived to a sunny and warm island. I breathed a sigh of relief. By the time we drove the 20-plus miles across Maui to Lahaina (which is known to be dry and protected from very much rain), however, the sun was gone and the rain had started.

  And so began our week-long trip as sun chasers.

  I had never been on a warm-weather winter vacation (winter, of course, always coincides with basketball season -- which has kept me occupied since I was a youngster, until this year), so I was looking forward to a change from the gray and damp winters.

Hanging out at Kaanapali Beach.

Whale Watching
  One of the draws to Maui in the winter months, is that it's the middle of whale season in the warm waters of Hawaii. I had hoped, if we were lucky, that my mom and I would catch a few glimpses of some humpback whales.

  It turns out, that whale watching was something we didn't have to try very hard to do.

  On our first morning, we took a walk/run a couple miles up the coastline to Kaanapali Beach and Black Rock. When the sun unexpectedly made an appearance, my mom and I decided we'd set up camp for a while and take in the sights in front of us. There were lots of snorkelers in the water, and plenty of action along the beach.

  Several minutes passed, and I heard my mom 'wow' in amazement. There was a whale breaching just off the beach, within a couple hundred feet. A crowd quickly gathered, and we all watched this particular whale put on quite a show: slapping its tail, poking its nose out of the water, and breaching a few more times.

  Throughout the rest of our trip, just a glance out into the water was an almost guaranteed whale sighting. And each time was just as cool as the first one.

Turtle

A sea turtle out for a swim.

  When I think of sea turtles, I initially think of Finding Nemo. Who doesn't? The surfer dude, Crush, is one of the many-memorable characters from the Disney movie.

  On a stormy morning walk on the Kapalua Coastal Trail, my mom and I happened upon one of Crush's long lost relatives. We poked our head over the edge of a cliff, just to check out what was going on in the water below, and there 'he' was.

  It was pretty cool to watch him operate for a while -- swimming around. Just as a big wave approached, he dove deep to avoid being washed into the rocky shore.

  Amazing how nature works.

Out on the water. 

The Perfect Day
   There was one day where it all paid off: our last full day on Maui.

  One thing that both my mom and I really wanted to do on this trip was go snorkeling. Neither of us had been. And here was our opportunity -- to do it together.

  Rainy and stormy weather had cancelled the tours all week. Lucky for us, the day we planned to go, there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

  After reading up on who would offer the best snorkeling tour, we decided on Pacific Whale Foundation.

Almost time to snorkel!

  We boarded the ship at Lahaina Harbor early in the morning, and set out for Lana'i. The trip to Lana'i took about 90 minutes (while the entire tour lasted about five hours). Along the way, there was nothing blue sky and blue water. Absolutely beautiful.

  Humpback whales made frequent appearances off in the distance. Many times in groups of three -- a mother, a calf, and a looming male (more often than not, not the father). Naturalists on board explained what we were seeing and why.

  There was one calf, about the size of a Volkswagen bus (as explained by the naturalists), who was learning how to breach. Clumsily lurching its body out of the water, and falling back in. While the mother, about the size of a school bus, stayed close by.

Humpback whale calf breaching -- amateur cameraman at the helm. 

  Snorkeling wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. Essentially, you just had to stick your face in the water, and there it all was. You didn't have to search for fish, reefs, or much of anything. Under the water, it was a whole different world.

  It took a few minutes to get used to breathing with the mask on, but it was a fairly smooth transition.

Time With Mom
  My mom and I have had some memorable adventures together. Whether it's been climbing Mount. St. Helens, trudging through muddy trails on the Oregon Coast's Neahkahnie Mountain Loop, walking on the ice roads in Sweden, exploring the cobblestone streets in Prague, or just having coffee together in Lake Oswego, she's always a special companion to have.

  Vacationing together on Maui was just the same.

  Sure, we would have loved a few more sunny days. But you know what, how can you complain? I was in Hawaii, spending time with my mom. And you can't beat that.

  While we were chasing the sun, maybe we thought that it wasn't what we'd had in mind. But it turned out, that it was still exactly what we were looking for.

  My mom and I were able to enjoy beautifully warm and sunny weather (for a couple days). We sat by the pool (though sometimes through rain-bursts). We got to play in the ocean (a little). We saw our fair share of whales (and a sea turtle!). We recharged the batteries (until we hit the horrendous traffic jam on the way back to the airport). And we got to spend some more memorable time together.

  It doesn't get much better than that.

More sights from our trip...

Aloha!

Watching surfers and whales.

Kapalua Coastal Trail.

Kapalua Coastal Trail.

Morning run into Lahaina.

Looking for the sun down at Big Beach. Molokai in the distance.

Sad faces: rained out again!

Enjoying a beautiful sunset. 

Hanging by the pool, watching the waves. Doesn't get much better!

Sunset time at Kapalua Coastal Trail.

Whale watching in Kaanapali.

Another look from our lanai.

Back on Kapalua Coastal Trail.

Perfect setting. 

Looking for whales off in the distance. 

On board, headed to Lana'i!

Fun day on the boat, headed back to Maui. 

Another gorgeous sunset.

At Last, a Holiday Season at Home

Christmas day with my nieces -- 2013.

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  Over the years, my family's Christmas Day tradition has become hopping in the car late Christmas morning, driving a couple hours to my brother's house, and spending the rest of the day enjoying each other's company.

  It was always a great way to see everyone before I had to get on a plane back to Europe.

  Even though I had no flight to rush back to this time around, this year was no different.

  As I sat in the back seat of my dad's squeaky truck on the road to my brother's, my knees jammed into the back of my mom's seat, my toes cold, I suddenly flashed to being in the back of an airplane instead.

  And here, I had just been thinking, that it hadn't really felt like Christmas yet, because I hadn't been on an airplane.

  For the first time since I was a senior in high school, I wasn't traveling to get home for Christmas. And the first time in just as many years, that I didn't have to hurry off immediately following the holiday.

Portland during the holiday season.

  I was already home.

  As I sat in the truck, I flashed back to a few of my more-memorable holiday travel experiences over the past 15 years.

• My freshman year in college, saying goodbye to my family Christmas morning at the Portland airport; to head back to Boulder -- for practice Christmas evening. Ever try to find a place to eat Christmas dinner in a college town during Winter Break? Good thing for my teammates, as we were all in the same boat.


• Flying home to Portland from Florida after a horrific loss to the Gators my junior year. My teammates and I raced to the airport, and through security just in time to make our respective flights home to our families. Then, returning to Boulder several days later to a not-so welcoming practice back will always be in my memory bank. There are a handful of college practices that vividly stick out in my mind, and forever will. And that is one of them. We ran off our holiday turkey, pies, and other goodies in that practice alone.


• As a pro, the anxious feeling as the holiday break approached, mostly to learn when we'd be going home (and how many days we'd be able to spend in the States). You never wanted to ask too soon (as to not appear too anxious to leave), and it was always to helpful to inquire after a game won. Somehow, I never got quite enough days Stateside. I was always wanting a few more -- even the year I got three weeks home.


• Having to scramble the year I played in Poland (2006) to get my visa, while at home, to return for the second half of the season. Mis-communications, holiday madness, and poor planning, didn't allow me to return to Jelenia Gora in time to play in my team's opener after the break. An unforeseen extended holiday break. But as I remember, my team lost the game I missed. 


• 2010 in Sweden, I thought I wasn't going to be able to make it home -- because the break in between games was so short. Thankfully, my team and management were incredibly understanding, and went out of their way to work with me. Five days at home was a quick turn around, but it was well worth it. I got back to Luleå the day before our game. I was jet-legged, to say the least. My coach wouldn't let me play because I looked so bad during pre-game. Good thing my team was plenty-capable that season -- they took care of our opponent with ease as I cheered from the bench.


• And finally, 2008, I thought I'd be spending Christmas in Amsterdam, and then maybe Vancouver BC (then possibly Seattle). That year, it seemed the whole northern hemisphere had been slammed with snow storms. Lucky for me, the Portland airport was closed down -- no flights in or out. With my flight cancelled, and hundreds of people trying to get to the northwest, I thought I'd be stuck in Amsterdam til after the holiday. I must have been living right, because I somehow made it home. I ended up on a flight (as a standby traveler) to Vancouver BC (after failing to get on the flight to Seattle from Amsterdam earlier that day). But still, with the Pacific Northwest covered in ice and snow, the airline was unsure if flights would be continuing on to Seattle (where my parents were loyally driving from Portland to pick me up). I made the connection to Seattle, and there my parents were, waiting for me, as I exited the terminal. 

Snow storm I returned home to in 2008.

  While it may not have felt like Christmas for me leading up to it this year, it certainly felt like Christmas on the 25th. With family and wonderful food, lights and decoration, and of course presents; I can definitely say the holiday was just as great as ever.

  And I didn't even have to get on an airplane to get that feeling. But I sure was happy to be sitting the cold, uncomfortable seat in my Dad's truck.

  Hope you had a wonderful holiday, and happy 2014!

My Perfect Timing: Boulder Floods

Boulder Creek Flood. The 500-year mark is mid-way up.

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***Note*** Flood relief effort information listed below!

  I recently ventured out to Colorado for my annual visit to friends, former college teammates and coaches, and one of my favorite cities, Boulder.

  And as luck would have it, my visit perfectly coincided with the One Hundred Year Flood (or 500 Year Flood, or 1000 Year Event, depending on who you talk to).

  Needless to say, plans were changed. Everything that had been penciled in for my four-day visit was quickly thrown out the window.

The view from Folsom Field on Saturday afternoon.

A Fall Visit
  In previous years, I usually visit Colorado mid-summer. But since I wouldn't be headed overseas this fall, I delayed my visit to the Rockies so I could see the Buffs (and Ralphie) in person on the gridiron. So I had yet to see my 'Colorado people', nor get my thin air fix this year.

  College football has always been my favorite sporting event to watch in person, and nothing beats a fall afternoon at Folsom Field watching the Buffs play. Game day Saturdays in Boulder were always a favorite of mine when I was a student at CU, and hopefully will become a more common occurrence for me as an alum.

Weather was clearer south of Denver.

  I was slated to touchdown in Denver Thursday night, the 12th.

And Then Came The Rain
  The rain started early in the week, and by Wednesday, it had become a continuous downpour. Thursday I awoke to news of flooding hitting the Boulder area.

  I spent the morning and afternoon trying to decide if I still was going to make the trip. Rains had hit Boulder hard, and flooding was already widespread, with a lot more rain on the way. The University of Colorado campus was already to be closed on Thursday and Friday.

Saturday afternoon at Folsom.

  I doubted that people dealing with flooding would be up for visitors, nor was I too confident there would be a football game to go to on Saturday. Not to mention heading into an already-declared disaster area was a major cause for concern.

  I weighed the pros and cons, and decided to make the trip anyways. It would be worth it to see some friends I hadn't seen in a while, disaster area or not.

Boulder Creek Path.

One Extreme to Another
  So I spent more time in Denver than I typically do. Boulder and Denver are only a mere 30 miles apart from each other. But in this case, those 30 miles represented a vast discrepancy in rain totals (19-20 inches for Boulder, versus 4-6 inches in Denver over a three day span).

  Those not familiar with Colorado, 20 inches of rain is the equivalent of two years worth of rain for the Boulder area. All coming in three days. And it has seemed that Colorado has been in a perpetual drought in recent memory, with wild fires being a constant summertime concern.

  20 inches of rain; dry, arid ground with limited vegetation. No wonder there was flooding.

  So I steered clear of Boulder until Saturday afternoon.

Boulder Creek, and the Boulder Creek Path become one.

  The skies lightened, rain had stopped, and there was even a little blue sky behind the Flatirons.

  The football game between Colorado and Fresno State had been cancelled. But there was to be an event at Folsom Field hosting and feeding displaced families by the athletic department and its student athletes. A great way to turn a negative into a positive. A friend and I stopped by to see if we could be of any help, but there were already many helping hands.

What Boulder Creek usually looks like. With Flood Marker.

Boulder Creek

  We then visited the flooded area below CU's campus, Boulder Creek. Boulder Creek has a long history of flooding. I remember spring time always being the most-susceptible because of the fast snow melt turning into runoff from the mountains looming over campus. Waters rise quickly. 

  The bike path that runs alongside the creek always seemed to be a flood danger. 

  I had never seen the waters so high, and so fast (more pictures here). And this was after the water had receded quite a bit. But the effect was evident. Mud and debris were scattered throughout the usually clean streets.

Short video at Boulder Creek.

  Coincidentally we came upon a giant teal marker (made from recycled glass, of course) that stands near the creek at Arapahoe and Broadway -- the flood level marker -- marking the 100 year flood level (5 feet), the 500 year flood level (7.5 feet), and the Big Thompson flood level (10 feet). 

Flooding below Broadway.

  The flood waters surpassed the 500 year level Thursday night/Friday morning.

The Damage and the Clean Up

  The rain hit again Sunday, and people in Boulder, Longmont, Aurora, and Lyons were again struggling with flooding. At best, homeowners had a little water in their basements or crawl spaces. At worst, they had to evacuate and didn't know the extent of their home's damage.

Mean looking skies Sunday afternoon.

There have been 10 deaths reported, and 200 people remain unaccounted for (as of Thursday, September 19th). Property losses for residential property alone are estimated at $900 million. And now there is concern of oil spills and fracking fluid contamination.

  The cleanup will be a long, expensive effort.

  There are several relief organizations aiding the effort -- listed below -- if you are interested in volunteering, or donating supplies or funds.

By Monday, there were blue skies.

  The good news is this: the Colorado skies are blue once again, and the ground is drying out. Relief is coming, and Coloradans will bounce back, just like they've always done.

  Until then, I look forward to my next visit to the Rocky Mountain Region. Here's hoping I'm able to see Ralphie and the Buffs in action!

WAYS TO HELP:
United Way Foothills Flood Relief Fund -- Allows you to donate or volunteer in Boulder and Broomfield Counties. 100% of funds raised through their effort will be used toward health and human services to those affected by the recent flooding in the area.

CU Flood Fund -- For those who want to give directly to people affected related to the University of Colorado.

Boulder Flood Relief Website -- Donate supplies, volunteer if you are in the area.

Another video at Boulder Creek.

Boulder Creek is to the right of the picture, below campus.

Flood damage in Boulder. The Flatirons in the distance.

Below Broadway.

Roped off area.

Flood waters extend out into the park.