Road leads to BG Dorsten!

I have finally signed! It was a long, complicated road to this season, however, I signed with BG Dorsten this past Wednesday, October 25th. There were some problems with my agent and then I found the light at the end of the tunnel, thanks to some old friends in Luxembourg. BG Dorsten made an offer that I could not refuse and here I am!

I must say that at first it was a bit strange because of the fact that this team was a long time rival of my last team, TSV Wasserburg. I enjoyed almost three wonderful years in Wasserburg, before going to France. It was a hard decision to leave, but it was something I had to do. I had really enjoyed Nice, France, however, this season their president left, the biggest sponsor, and a lot of things changed!

Now the road leads me here to BG Dorsten. I feel more comfortble here each day. The girls on the team are great people and a lot of fun. The coach is from Slovekia and knows a lot about basketball. He is a tough coach who definately challenges us to get better.

Our first game was last night in Marburg. We won, 94-77! It was fun to play again! We showed signs of really good things, and hopefully it will continue when we get to know each other better. There is a lot of work that must be done if we will contend for the German championship. You can follow the results of the German league at www.dbbl.de

I am excited about FIBA Euro Cup starting in two weeks on November 8th. Our first trip is to Wales, England and there we will play the Rhonda Rebels. Our bracket is in Group H with Trogylos Basket Priolo (Italy), Coca Cola Rhondda (UK) and Villenueve d'ASCQ Lille Metropole (France). You can follow FIBA Euro Cup at: www.fibaeurope.com -and click on EUROCUP WOMEN.

Donnovan laying low

In her opening run as Team USA coach, the legendary Anne Donnovan appeared hopeless as whe watched her team drop an ugly semifinal game 75-68 to Russia. This snapped a decade-long international winning streak and took away the chance to compete for the gold medal. Instead, they had to settle for the bronze medal game and grab a desperation win against Brazil. The loss cost the Americans the automatic bid to the 2008 Olympic Games, sending them to a qualifying tournament in Chile next year.

Donnovan returned to Seattle and the topic of the World Championships was publicly avoided since returning from Brazil. She buried herself in her normal duties as coach of the Storm, and was spotted last week dropping in on Sonics training camp. She was seen taking thorough notes on Bob Hill´s coaching style.

When asked about her thoughts on the future of Team USA in the 2008 Olympics, she said the following, "I get very excited about this [national] team because I think we've got a great foundation and great players to add. When I look at the programs of Russia and Australia, they're not going to be adding the same significant people that we will. So our outlook is still pretty good."

Who are the players they will add that will make a big impact? Lisa Leslie? She is getting older each year. And what about young talent? There is no experience in these players on the international scale to make the major impact that is needed. Unlike the veterans torch carriers, the new generation in the USA are taught to be individualistic and have not learned what it takes to win.

Donnovan, it is good to be optimistic, but the reality is that the USA is no longer the power house they once were. It will be a dog-fight at the 2008 Olympics; no doubt about that.