Maine Man (& the Morning After)

And I really am getting too old for this shit. No, really. First night back in the gym -- new city, new season, new game...but only three of us showed up to start things out (which maybe wasn't such a bad thing after nearly three months without dribbling a ball or taking a shot). Ended up playing "21" against a couple of guys who, if you added their ages together, wouldn't be as old as me -- but it was OK: I scored my points, shot the three and drove to the hoop, played some token "D," and only hurt my back a little. But what the hell. It's a game, goddamnit; it's supposed to be fun! And it was. Sorta. Even if it is gonna hurt in the morning....

Morning? Hell. It hurts right now. But at least I didn't embarass myself, or collapse with a heart attack. So I guess it still qualifies as a good night.

Good night....

(The Morning After)

And my back is killing me. I've got NO business trying to take 20-somethings hard to the hole one-on-one off the dribble! My job these days on the basketball court is:

1) get back on "D"!

2) stay between your opponent and the basket on the perimeter, take away their best option, use your head and your feet, challenge every shot, and...

3) play good, alert "help" defense away from the ball.

4) Box out potential weakside offensive rebounders, and rebound what you can.

5) See the whole floor and make good, quick, crisp passes.

6) Set solid screens for your teammates.

7) Knock down open spot-up "J's" & "Treys."

8) OK, drive hard to the hoop at least once a night, just so they still have to respect that. But CHOOSE YOUR SPOT!

9) Clean up as much garbage as you can.

10) Be a calm, mature, stablizing leadership presence on the court (a true "Veteran").

And if I can just do those 10 simple things well, and stay reasonably healthy and injury free by playing often and playing within myself, there's no reason I can't KEEP playing this game for a long, long time....