WUNDER-BALL!
SLAM heads to Germany
By Jake Appleman
I got a call from Ben almost three weeks ago. Saying that, like a Miller Lite slogan, it was a good call would be like saying that the 50 LeBron dropped on the Knicks was decent.
As it turns out, SLAM and Adidas wanted someone to go to Germany and hang out with the USA under-18 national team at the Albert Schweitzer International tournament, taking place in Mannheim this week. Apparently, I was that guy.
I’m still blown away that this is happening. (Big shout to Mats, Team USA, SLAM, Adidas and anyone else who had a hand in making this happen.) I’ll be flying out tonight and I’ll be at the tournament through its conclusion on Saturday. Then I’ll head elsewhere in Deutschland to meet a lot of extended family for the first time.
(Note: the tournament started on Saturday, but due to other commitments, I wasn’t able to go immediately.)
I’ll be missing the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, which is sort of sad, especially if CBS has Bill Raftery doing games. (Note: Does anybody else want Bill Raftery as their extra surrogate grandfather on thanksgiving? “How are the mashed potatoes coming, grandpa? “They’re good, I added, ONIONS.” “Will we have leftovers?” “brING YOUR LUNCH!”)
Anyway, I’ll miss a few tourney games, but I think I’ll live.
(Note: If this Dirk Nowitzki injury is a German SLAM curse–I did the cover story on Dirk last year and am leaving right after he gets injured and returning shortly before he was originally supposed to come back–then I pass some of the blame to Mark Cuban for not emailing me back. Can’t a guy try and ask a billionaire and his star German for some Hefe-weizen input? I mean, this is about German hops, right?)
Tags: lebron, nyc
on 14 Apr 2008 at 6:50 pm # Farran
Thank god we can still get coffee.
on 14 Apr 2008 at 7:40 pm # Dennis
Awesome, behind bars where you belong, go grope some big boys now.
on 14 Apr 2008 at 8:31 pm # Margie
I love happy endings to lost kitteh stories. BTW, this track workers Mark Dalessio and Efrain LaPorte went through the area making “meow” sounds.is the key to success, along with knowing that a lost cat rarely goes far from where it parted ways with its person or home. You may sound nuts to other humans, but catspeak works much better than “here, kitty, kitty, kitty”. Those guys are my heroes du jour. It wasn’t even their cat!
on 14 Apr 2008 at 9:21 pm # Nanny
What about people who flash themselves at kids? Should they be known as sex offenders? I think if you commit any sort of offense that is sexually based you fall under the title ’sex offender’. The example you gave would be classified as not only a ’sex offender’, but more specifically a ‘rapist’.
on 14 Apr 2008 at 10:12 pm # Archibald
This was played at the beginning of Video Games Live.It’s pretty cool.
on 14 Apr 2008 at 11:02 pm # Preston
And more power to them! I hope they get it.
on 14 Apr 2008 at 11:53 pm # Nella
Really? He dry humps them and grabs their tits. How is that not offensive?
on 15 Apr 2008 at 12:44 am # Roly
If you dumped old stuff in the ocean.. you would get a fine.. Try it..
on 15 Apr 2008 at 1:34 am # Morgana
That will really screw the area over though. NYC is allready painfully expensive to live in as it is!
on 15 Apr 2008 at 2:25 am # Kaylie
I didn’t say it wasn’t offensive. What I did say is that he should not be placed in the same category as some guy who violently penetrates a woman all the while beating, cutting, or strangling her.
on 15 Apr 2008 at 3:15 am # Delma
That’s both funny and disturbing at the same time.
on 15 Apr 2008 at 4:06 am # Liane
Lol ms pac man about to get RAPED
on 15 Apr 2008 at 4:56 am # Maureen
talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time. I hope he makes it alright.
on 15 Apr 2008 at 5:47 am # Aveline
I don’t know … calling a “groper” a sex offender is like calling me a “baker” because I can toast bread.