Day 3

Warming up

Had to get y early as the women were first on the court for a WCBB game against Argentina.Argentina are not strong so we knew it would be a win. Do you play nice or do you blow them away? There is a middle ground. You don't want to slam them with full court press and aggressively challenge every possessions....like China did the other day against Algeria and beating them 88-16. That was a little rude. The issue is you need that game to try varieties of offences and use it to get better at fundamentals. You know GB, Germany, Netherland and USA won't give you anything easy so try things now. It is inevitable that the score will be lopsided but it's a reality of the situation Argentina is in with the number of spots for teams to qualify and be here for the Paralympics. Why is Australia, a much stronger team, not here? Because of rules regarding geographical representations based on past performances and World Championship rankings. Since Australia didn't have a good tournament at the last Worlds in 2014, then the area called Oceania comprising Japan, China and Australia got only one spot and China got in. This is also why Algeria is in with a very weak team.

Family and friends cheering the women to victory 

Anyway, they tried things and won. They also managed to get every Canadian player to be on the score sheet with Melanie Hawtin getting in with only a few minutes to go. The players were aware of that possibility so as Mel and Jamey Jewells were racing up on a fast break, Jamey had the ball, veered right and took the defender with her and handed the ball to Melanie who got it in. A very nice sportsmanship gesture.

Game 2 is in the books

So now they face Germany tomorrow morning. It will be tense. Check it out with your morning coffee at www.cbcsports.ca/paralympic with live streaming.

Many people likely notice,  and some ask, why do I constantly wear clothing and t-shirts with Canada written on it. Well if you figure out how many Games I have been part of and the clothing package we receive and have to wear then you would correctly assume that I own A LOT of clothes with Canada written on it.
Another question is "where do you stay?" Many think I'm in a hotel. I stay within the Paralympic Village, with all other Canadians on our team. Tiny rooms but I am not there much.

Here's a picture of my room and the package I received. I didn't include the opening ceremony pants / shirt / jacket...as I'll likely not wear them again. There is a very nice rain jacket this year as well but it's downstairs in my backpack.

My fancy bed for 3 weeks

All the clothes I get ...or have to wear for the same 3 weeks. Luckily we have 1 day turn around for laundry

Oh, and by the way: I broke down. I decided to go for the easy meal for lunch and not walk all the way to the dining hall as our good friend Ronald has his place of Good Eats closer at the Village Plaza. Salad, coffee (of course) and a yogurt with granola. No Big Macs or fries.