Winter is still here

We're getting to that time of year when it feels like winter will never end. There is still not much car stuff going on. However, I did just receive a UPS shipment containing a recent Ebay purchase:

Ebay deal!

I felt like a kid at Christmas when I opened the boxes! Anyone with a keen eye might notice that these are the exact same wheels as those I now have on the car. Well... now I have a set for summer as well. Yay!

I know I am not very objective, but aren't these some of the coolest looking OEM wheels ever?

Moving to basketball, my men's team won last Friday in a real nail-biter. We were down by one point with 17 seconds to go and the other team had the ball, but a teammate managed to get a steal, then got fouled and scored both free throws. Then when the other team got the ball, they mistakenly called a time out when in fact they had none remaining. This earned them a technical foul and we scored two more points to win by 3. My offensive performance was less than stellar, but I played a strong defensive game. I focused on boxing out, thinking of the girls and how I have been trying to convince them to do it.

Speaking of the girls, we have our last regular-season game this Saturday against the undefeated first place team. I just hope that they can give it their all, so we will have no regrets.

In other news, Alex and I bought our plane tickets for our June vacation to China. I look forward to finally going to China after all these years working in Chinatown with mostly Chinese clients. Although there are no car activities planned (or even any driving!), it should be a great experience.


Cool cars spotted:
E92 BMW M3
Porsche 997
Nissan 370Z
Lexus IS-F
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8

Mitsubishi Delica Off Road Express

Bentley Continental convertible
AMG E63
Mini Countryman

Basketball-intensive week!

I just got home from the "Felins" basketball tournament in Repentigny. It has been a basketball-intensive week. Last Wednesday, we played a regular-season game against Joseph-François-Perreault and, despite a somewhat lackluster performance, managed a win, bringing our record to 8 and 3. Our final regular-season game will take place on February 19th against the undefeated first place team. Even if we don't win, we should finish in a position where we will make the playoffs. I realized that, although we had a bunch of games coming up in the same week, the one I had been nervous about was the JFP game. After that win, I was not too worried about the tournament, as the result did not count in our regular season.

As for the tournament, I was interested to see how we would measure up against AA-level teams from all around the province. There were 16 teams in our age category, so the setup was easy: if you lost the first game, you would be relegated to fighting it out for a position between 9th and 16th. Our first game was Friday night against Collège l'Assomption. I benefited from the help of Darlington, the coach of one of the city teams who has coached several of my girls before. The girls played a strong game. They were down by 4 at half, but thanks to a modified full court press (3 girls up, 2 back), they shut down the opposing team in the second half and pulled off a 7-point win.

Our second game on Saturday did not go as well. We were up against Langevin, a very tall and well-organised team and the pressure defense did not faze them. Alex was on our bench and pointed out that I was yelling at the girls a lot. It's hard to figure out when you are yelling so they can hear you out on the Court and when you are yelling because you're angry. Her comment made me think about what I say and how I say it. We ended up losing by our largest ever deficit, by a score of 47-18. Our defense was not great, but even if we had had a great game, I do not think we would have won. As a result of the loss, we were no longer in the running for the tournament win.

For our third game on Sunday, I told the girls to just go out there and have fun, as the result did not matter. We were playing against Roger-Comtois. We reverted to our old-fashioned man-to-man defense and the other team was unable to score very often and we gradually eked out a lead in a low-scoring game. I tried to keep things light and keep my comments positive. The girls looked like they were having more fun and played a solid game. We ended up winning 31-20 to end the tournament on a high note. Two wins in three games was not too shabby. Also, I just noticed online that Langevin went on to win the whole tournament, so it's not like we lost to a lousy team.

Here is a table showing the tournament results (our team is Reine-Marie):

I am tired, but quite satisfied with the results. I have to thank Alex for joining me for the whole weekend and helping me manage the team. Thanks Alex!

More Diamond news

Since my last post, the Diamonds have played two more games. The first game was against a team that we had beaten earlier in the season and was a lot closer than I would have liked it to be. We were up by 2 with one minute to play, but the girls kept their cool. The other team had no choice but to foul and this led to 2 more points on foul shots and a 4-point win. Not a great game, but good practice for playing under pressure.

Last Sunday, we had an early morning game against the undefeated first place team. We had lost our first game against them by 10. The beginning of the game was a disaster. We were down 14-0 after the first quarter. The girls played better in the second quarter, but were called for a bunch of fouls. When one of my top players fouled out in the third quarter after having been elbowed continuously by the other team's player, I strongly protested the call. This resulted in a technical foul, my first ever as a coach. I don't think the ref's call was justified, for the player's foul or for mine. This results in the whole team losing a point in the championship, which makes me even angrier at myself. Surprisingly, the girls began to play better and better and began to close the deficit. At the end of the game, the score was 40-35. I was quite impressed with their level of play. It's really, really too bad about that terrible first quarter. I have to find a way to make the girls play well right from the start of the game.

We have a game next Wednesday followed by a tournament in Repentigny over the weekend. This should be pretty exciting as there will be 16 teams in our class.

Basketball Diaries

Last week was a basketball intensive week. The girls had three games in three days, and I had a game of my own on Friday night.

The Diamonds’ first game went off without any problems. For once, the team led the whole game and they won by 19. My newest player turned out to play as well as I had hoped she would. I found out however that one of my best players would face a one-day suspension at school on the 14^th (day of the third game) and that she would therefore not be allowed to play.

For the second game, I found out that the suspended player’s mother would not be allowing her to play in the near future. I find it sad when parents automatically respond to discipline problems by taking the child out of sports. The girls played very well in the first half and built up a nice lead. Despite some hiccups in the second half, they held on to win by 10 points.

On Friday, I was again without the suspended player and another player was to miss half the game due to detention. I really wish I could have had another go at this one, because the team was unable to hold on to a small lead and lost by a single point. I had not prepared the girls for scenarios like what to do when the other team has a 1-point lead and has the ball with 30 seconds to play. It was too late to call a time out and I had not ever explained to them that they would have to really go after the ball and commit a foul if necessary. Hopefully this loss will not affect the standings for the playoffs. With four games remaining, the Diamonds are now 6 and 2. I really hope I can get my suspended player back soon, as we have two more games in the next week.

My own team played remarkably well on Friday. Despite having only 5 players (no subs), we pretty much dominated the game. We led by as much as 30 and held on to win by 20. I think that coaching has given me a better understanding of the game and that, as a result, I am able to better contribute to the team’s offence.

Alex organized me a super birthday party on Saturday night, complete with BBQ burgers (thanks Carl for the BBQ work) and Singstar, the Playstation karaoke game. I had a great time. Today, it’s back to work, on what one psychologist has called the most depressing day of the year (Blue Monday). It was -22 degrees this morning, but at least the sun is shining!

Oh, and I sold the blue Civic yesterday. I was not too sad to see it go, especially since the buyer plans to make it into a drag racer. I was more glad to pocket a few dollars! Usually, when I get rid of a car, it is pretty much ready for the scrap yard. All in all, the blue Civic served its purpose as a fun to drive and reliable point A to point B car.

Cool cars spotted:

BMW M6
Bentley Continental
Porsche 997
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 2

New Year... looking back and looking ahead

I don't know why I haven't posted yet in 2011... I had enough free time during the holidays (although much of that time was used up playing Gran Turismo 5, where I currently sit at level 18). I guess the truth is that there has not been much exciting stuff going on. This doesn't mean that life has not been fun (relaxing is quite fun, IMHO), but simply that there have not been too many exciting events.

Basketball has been on hold, for both my men's team and my girls's team. The girls have three games this week, however, so I will be back in the thick of it. I hadn't realized it when we scheduled the season, but we will have had no practices after the holidays before these three games. I will have to be more careful with the scheduling next year. All three games are against teams we have beaten in 2010, so I am hoping for a decent result.

I have been greatly enjoying the M3 and have racked up over 3 000 km since I bought it. What an awesome car! I honestly don't know where you go after having an M3... a Bentley? a Porsche 911 Turbo? It's hard to imagine a better sports car for daily driving.

Running:

I have not gone running in weeks. For some reason, I am not motivated to go out. I am barely getting any exercise, except the 3 km walk to work. I'm glad basketball is starting up again this week, as at least I will see a little action!

News of Alex:

Alex is back in town, which makes my life more pleasant. She is working full-time on various projects for her current and former professors. Concordia has assigned her a very nice office, even though she will only start teaching in the Fall.

Cool cars spotted:

AMG E63

AMG C63

E90 M3

Subaru WRX STi

Porsche 997 Carrera 4S

Pre-holiday trip to Maine

Alex and I decided to travel to Ogunquit, Maine for a little 4-day getaway before the holidays. We both needed a bit of a vacation and this is one of our favourite spots. Of course, this gave us an excuse to take our first road trip in the BMW. The hotels are much more affordable in winter, and the seafood tastes just as good. Walking on the beach is still fun in the cold, if you bundle up a little.

Here are a couple of pictures of Alex at the beach.

No snow!

Beach life!

Although it is only a couple of degrees warmer than Montreal, we were happily surprised to see that there was no snow on the ground at all. This motivated me to take the car to a car wash, as I realized that we had the dirtiest car in Maine shortly after our arrival.

The car has been a joy to drive. The check engine light came on the other day, I believe because the fuel door was opened with the engine still running. My friend Rob lent me his code reader/reset tool to shut it off. Also, I got royally stuck in the alley behind my building when I beached the car on a mound of snow (as I pushed the car while my neighbour gunned the gas, I noted that the Magnaflow exhaust sounded pretty sweet!). Despite these small issues, I am very happy with the car's winter abilities now that I have winter tires on it.

As I hoped (and expected), the car is great for road trips: super comfortable and supportive seats, cruise control and a nice sound system make for a relaxing journey. Alex is enjoying it as well. We are still debating whether to remove the tint from all the exterior lights. I like the stock look, while Alex finds the all-black look to be distinctive. I told her I am willing to wait a bit before making my final decision.

Both of us have to put in a last burst of work before the holidays, which I suspect will be over in a flash. I suppose my next post will be a 2010 retrospective of some sort... Stay tuned!

Busy week

Although there were no basketball games in the past week, it was a busy one for me. On Tuesday, I went to Quebec City to look at, inspect and buy this BMW M3:

New car!

It's a 2003 six-speed M3 with 103 000 km that had never been winter driven. It's fully loaded (except for the navigation system) and features aftermarket 19" Beyern wheels, a Magnaflow exhaust, Eibach Pro Kit springs and a K&N induction kit. It also features tinted corner lights, tail lights and windows, all of which I am not too fond. The dealer inspection turned up very few issues and I bought the car. It also came with the OEM 18" wheels.

What can I say about this car: it's simply amazing. I remember thinking the first time I drove one of these cars that if you had to have one car to do everything, this would be the one. The level of luxury is better than any car I have ever owned (which is unsurprising, as I've never really owned a luxury car) and the performance is amazing. Also, the comfort level is surprisingly high, despite the stiff suspension and chassis. The quality of the interior is better than on the 2006 325 I went to look at a couple of days ago. For roughly the same price as a 325i of the 2006 and up generation, I got an older generation M3. I think it was worth it to go a bit older to get the car I really wanted. Besides, the mileage is the same as the 2006 and newer cars I was looking at.

My first priority was obviously to winterize the car. After finding out that many wheel-tire combinations that I was considering would not fit, I decided to simply buy four similar tires and use the 18-inch OEM wheels. I lucked out by picking up some slightly used 245-40-18 Gislaved winter tires yesterday and got them installed. I actually prefer the look of the OEM wheels to the Beyern's. The car seems as if it will be easy to drive in winter, thanks to the great weight distribution, the Dynamic Stability Control and these cool tires. Alex is excited, even though she hasn't seen the car yet.

On the first night I brought the car home, I realized one of the two remote keys did not work. Fortunately, I found information on the web about how to reprogram a key which allowed me to fix it myself. Today, I installed some nice Rubbermaid winter mats. I had to cut the driver side one to accommodate the floor-hinged gas pedal, and, if I do say so myself, it looks pretty sharp. The final step will be to get an anti-rust treatment done in the next few days.

In other news, I participated in the "Noel du Pauvre" charity run in Trois-Rivières on Friday. Last year, I ran the whole day without taking any breathers in the bus that follows the runners (for those who need a break) to run a total of 72 km. This year, I was not able to go the distance. By lunch time, we had run 31 km. After lunch, I had pain on the side of my knee that would simply not go away (actually, it went away for a while after I tightened up the laces on my right shoe, as recommended by Nolin). By then, I had realized that there was no way the group was going to beat the mark of 72 km set last year, as there was too much time being spent stopping to raise funds (which, of course, is the whole point of the event!). I ended up quitting at the 43 km mark and sitting in the bus for the final two hours. The group managed 12 more kilometers, to reach a total of 55. Our little group of 20 or so runners raised 17 000 $ to fight poverty (compared to 18 000 $ last year). The day was fun, but not as fun as last year, when Alex was very efficiently driving the sweeper vehicle and the group managed more periods of serious running. I regret not being able to finish, but I don't regret stopping when I did, as my knee feels almost 100 % only two days after the event.

News of Alex:

Alex will be back for good on Wednesday! I can't wait! A guy can only spend so much time alone watching TV and eating pizza.

Cool cars spotted:

Maybach 57S

Nissan GTR

Audi R8

AMG C63

AMG G55