Goodbye France ...

June 25, 2007

NOTE: this is what I used to intro the team's blog today. I figured it was close enough for blogging efforts -- I do have to go out one last time and look for little goodies for birthday girls you know! I also have some lovely musings from this week, but will pull them all together on the flight tomorrow and post from MOSCOW!!!!

Well, it’s sad to have to type this, but by this time tomorrow we’ll all be gone from Antibes and the French Riveria. It’s been a fun trip, very productive on the court and the team is beginning to gel. They didn’t look very crisp when we first arrived, but that’s slowly changing and by the time Friday rolls around, they’ll be a well-oiled machine.

Speaking of Friday, Australia is the first team the U.S. will face. Nothing like being tested right from the start. While there are no ‘gimmes’ at this level, it would be nice to dip the toes in the ocean first. But what the heck, jumping right in has its advantages also. Australia, by the way, likes to name their teams and the U21 squad is called the Sapphires. They’re not the only nation that names their team. Much like in soccer, nations around the world have catchy names for their squads. We’ll report on this later after we arrive in Moscow and find the other nicknames.

Ok, the Sapphires just won a pre-U21 Worlds tournament in Spain, defeating Brazil 94-77 and China 93-52 before taking the hosts 75-68. They will be a good challenge for the USA on Friday.

After the three-game series against the French, the USA squad scrimmaged a local cadet boys team for the team’s final two-a-day. That was Friday night.

On Saturday we hopped in a bus and headed for a nearby town, Juan des Pins, where we all ate a delicious lunch of salmon or lamb (we had our choice), followed by a couple of hours to spend swimming, reading, walking around ... whatever. During that time a man had what appeared to be a heart attack and our team doctor saved the day. The lifeguards, who I’m sure are very capable and able when it comes to a drowning victim, were out of their league when it came to this. So after a few back and forths, he convinced the lifeguards to let him take over while awaiting the ambulance. He’s our hero.

After that bit of excitement we all boarded the bus once again and drove around the coast a little further to Cannes, home of one of the world’s (Sundance being the other) most famous film festivals. We toured around town a bit, with our bus driver pointing out all the pricey shops and the hotels where all the big stars stay when they’re here.

We were able to get out and walk around a bit to explore the town. All the Gucci, Prada, etc., shops were on the main boulevard that lines the water. All the little kitchy places were a block back. Guess where we shopped?

We then ate at one of the best pizza places in the French Riveria, La Pizza (that means The Pizza for those of you who don’t speak French), and it definitely lived up to its name. What a great way to end the day!

That was followed by a post-practice excursion on Sunday to St. Paul, a little old fortress town built up on top of a nearby mountain. It’s very quaint and rumor has it that Marc Chagall is buried there. It’s a very artsy town with a lot of art galleries and other very $$$ shops. But they also had some “normal people” priced shops to peek into.

After a few hours of shopping and walking the hilly cobblestone streets, it was time to board the bus again. It was time for a siesta, actually! We returned to the hotel and had about 90 minutes before it was time to leave for dinner (I smell a theme here ... eat, practice, eat, tour, eat ).

We were met by the French coach and a former player from Philadelphia who came to play when he was 24 or 25, played for the professional team here until he was about 40 and never left. But who can blame him!? He knows all the Philly guys and I believe he said he played for Jack Ramsey at St. Joe’s. For real.

So, they take us to this wonderful little Italian restaurant that is frequented by all the big stars who come through. Magic Johnson was just there two nights before us and rumor has it that Beyonce and Jay-Z were there the night before us. The restaurant’s name is Michaelangelo and the food and decor would surely have pleased one of the world’s most famous artists.

In a nutshell, we’ve been enjoying the calming sea breezes, the blue sky, warm weather, French cuisine, touring some of the sights, while at the same time getting ready for why we’re really here: the 2007 FIBA U21 World Championship (that and to eat, drink and be merry when not working).