So it is official for now, Winnipeg is now the new home to a blossoming NHL team and Winnipeggers could not be any happier or prouder. May 31 is the new unofficial holiday for Canadian hockey fans. As Gary Bettman, Mark Chipman, David Thomson and countless media press like Sportsnet, CBC, fan 590 and even the famous Stephen Brunt gathered at the MTS center to give a press conference regarding the purchase of Georgia’s own Atlanta Thrashers.

Photo by Jon Villa Photo

Brunt leaked information regarding this purchase on May 19 leading to Winnipeggers taking Portage and Main to start a street hockey game. A celebration that continued throughout all the reports indicating fans should “cool their jets”. Brunt has been an incredible sports reporter, very well respected, and has worked for The Globe and Mail since 1989. This confusion lead to a cluster cuss of reports as to who Winnipeg and Canada was to believe.

Journalists took to the streets of Vancouver to pester once Moose hockey players, on their thoughts of an NHL team moving back to Winnipeg. Many responded with recognition to Winnipeg’s love for the game, while others reminded reporters politely that they would like to remark but they had other issues at hand, like the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Drive to 13,000 is the new campaign designed to secure season tickets to present to the NHL Board of Governors by June 21. It is doubtful that Winnipeg will have a hard time in achieving this goal especially when the cheapest tickets range below the $40 mark. If Winnipeg is serious about the team, this should not be a hard task, especially since over 20 000 people are apart of the same facebook group regarding the simple “take over portage and main” idea the second a team is announced coming back to Winnipeg.

Over 6 000 people have signed a petition, also, to beg Truth North Sports and Entertainment to find a way to keep the beloved “Jets” name. The name “Winnipeg Jets” is not considered to be a bad start, since many great players like Bobby Hull and Teemu Selanne both wore the crest, however some are still in want of a fresh new start.

Personally as a young child in this city, it was my dream to marry a Winnipeg Jets player, and if you promise not to tell anyone it was Bob Essensa, so I’d welcome the name back with open arms. The only other name I’d consider being as great as the Winnipeg Jets would be the Winnipeg Falcons, strictly for its place in hockey and Winnipeg history.

Those who believe the only reason we were called the Winnipeg Jets was because of Bobby Hull can be corrected right now. Yes he was known as the Golden Jet, but that was his nick name prior to becoming a Jet, the name the Winnipeg Jets derived from a famous Western Canada Hockey League Team. It’s considered and looked upon that Bobby Hull was one of the first Jets, and most certainly was one of the most famous of the Jets, but the team was sadly not named after him. Even if it were though, how bad would it be to not consider naming it after one of the greatest NHL players of all time? Not bad at all, I say, not bad at all.

Though the name is posing a large concern for ticket buyers. Perhaps some do not want to buy tickets unless they know for sure that the team will, in fact, be named the Jets. Some people on the streets indicated “No Jets, No Tickets”. It is apparent that the outcry for the name “Jets” is larger than the outcry for a new name. How possible is it though, how easy is it going to be for Thomson and Chipman to talk with Bettman, yet again, and ask for another favor? Is it possible that Bettman agreed to the move of the new Winnipeg NHL team on the condition that they were not to be named the “Jets”?

When the claims came out this rainy day that Stephen Brunt was in fact correct in his report that the Atlanta Thrashers had been sold to True North, what held that press conference back? It didn’t appear that Bettman wasn’t too thrilled that Winnipeggers were already partying in the streets. Winnipeg’s own, Sam Katz, didn’t seem to mind that the busiest intersection in Winnipeg was closed down by avid Jet fans.

There is a proper way to conduct business in the NHL, I’m positive, there is also a correct way to play the game of hockey itself. Firstly, without waving the nationalist flag, it’s a Canadian birth right to love the game of hockey, especially in Winnipeg. Winnipeg is known for being the coldest city in Canada, in fact many times throughout the cold harsh winters, temperatures are estimated higher than the actual north pole. We are born on the ice, many of us learn how to skate before we can walk. This only poses the question as to why the NHL was removed in the first place.

I can give you three reasons off the top of my head: 1. Gary Bettman (and the owners), the traveling to Winnipeg posed as a large problem in the NHL due to the division the Winnipeg Jets were placed in. This is fixable, return to the idea of the original 6 and Winnipeg can play Canadian teams more often than southern American teams. 2. The Canadian Dollar. As of now the Canadian dollar is near par with the American dollar. The bank of Canada website indicates it’s at 0.9688, which is fantastic news! Also in the lock out with the NHL a salary cap has been placed on NHL players, Winnipeg will actually have a chance in continuing to bring good players to their team. Finally, 3. Winnipeg needed a new arena. Since the opening of the MTS center, taking away all claims of the 15,000 seating capacity, Winnipeg has hosted over 1,000 memorable events. Many still do miss the old arena with its concrete walls and scent of hockey sweat, but we live in a new day and age, and the MTS center is the cat’s pajamas.

So Winnipeg you have your NHL team now, what is going to happen with the Manitoba Moose? Sources say there are two large considerations. The first is St. Johns Newfoundland. They once had an AHL team on that lovely shore line, and I’d be proud to have a Canadian city holding true my NHL affiliate team. For those who do not know the Manitoba Moose are owned by David Thomson, and he will continue that ownership leading that franchise to become the new affiliate team to the new Winnipeg NHL team. Vancouver will be on the look out in the mean time for a new AHL team. Second recommendation for the Moose will be to Thunder Bay. Another great idea, since there is not much hockey between Winnipeg and Toronto, except maybe the Hamilton Bull Dogs, the affiliate team for the Montreal Canadiens.

Whatever the future holds for Winnipeg and hockey in general I know that Winnipeg deserves this team. They never should have lost on in the first place, and I’m thankful that so many young adults held on to the glory of their youth. So without further ado “HERE COME YOUR WINNIPEG JETS”

Sign the petition to keep the name “The Winnipeg Jets” – http://www.gopetition.com/petition/39649/sign.html
Drive to 13,000 Season Tickets – http://driveto13.com/
Keep up to date with the move of the Manitoba Moose and their new name – http://www.moosehockey.com

The IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championship begins Apr. 29 in the Slovakian cities of Kosice and Bratislava. This year’s edition will be the 75^th ever held but it will be the first one ever held in Slovakia. The Canadians will be looking to improve on a worst-ever 7^th place finish last year in Germany, due to the fact that most players on the gold-medal Olympic winning hockey team declined to participate. Canada has not won a men’s world title since 2007. Last year, the Czechs upset the Russians for the gold medal.

Here are some predictions and storylines going into this year’s tournament.

Group A: Russia, Slovakia, Germany, Slovenia

Russia won silver in last year’s worlds, but was expected to win gold for the third straight year. With a line-up that includes many from those gold medal winning teams plus possibly Ilya Kovalchuk, Nikolai Kulemin, Alexander Radulov and Evgeni Nabokov, Russia will be favourites to win gold for the third time in four years.

Slovakia will have Jaroslav Halak, Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra and the home fans cheering them on. Even though they finished fourth in Vancouver, the Slovaks have not reached the playoffs in the Worlds since 2007 and have not medalled since 2003. A medal might legitimize them as a top hockey nation again.

Germany used the home crowd to their advantage on their way to a fourth place finish in last year’s Worlds. While some of those players, including last year’s MVP goalie Dennis Endras will participate, a medal is out of the question.

Slovenia, coached by Matjaz  Kopitar, will not have his son Anze leading the team as he is out with injury. Without him, they have no chance and will likely be relegated this year.

Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Belarus, France

Even though they finished seventh last year, Canada looks very good this time around. While the goaltending of James Reimer and Devan Dubnyk may be a concern, they still have captain Rick Nash, forwards John Tavares, Jordan Eberle, and Evander Kane with defensemen Dion Phaneuf, Luke Schenn, and Brent Burns. The Canadians should contend for a medal this time around.

The Swiss finished in fifth last year (their best placing since 1998) but they still couldn’t win a quarterfinal for the first time since ’98. They are capable, however, of defeating the top countries in the world such as Canada last year and while they have a lack of NHLers, the Swiss will have a showdown with Canada for top spot in Group B. Top eight finish? Yes. Medal? Probably not.

While Belarus will have Mikhail Grabovski playing for them as well as 2002 Olympic hero Andrei Mezin, they will have a hard time trying to reach the playoffs.

France has former NHLer Cristobal Huet in net while also having Ottawa Senators prospect Stephane da Costa as forward. They lost to Canada in Paris by a score of 3-2, but Huet’s performance will determine whether or not France stays in the top division.

Group C: Sweden, United States, Norway, Austria

Sweden won bronze last year, but they have a younger squad this year. The Swedes will have Mikael Backlund, Magnus Paajarvi, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson along with Loui Eriksson and Nicklas Grossman. In the last ten World Championships, Sweden has won seven medals. There is a decent possibility that they will do the same this year, but with their youth, that isn’t guaranteed

The United States will also have a young team with only one player, goaltender Ty Conklin, over the age of 30. It will include defensemen Cam Fowler and Mike Komisarek but will also include three NCAA forwards in Chris Kreider, Craig Smith, and Andy Miele (However, there may be additions from NHL teams eliminated in the Stanley Cup playoffs).The Americans have been one of the most inconsistent teams in recent World Championship memory, ranging from a bronze medal in 2004 to a 13^th place debacle last year. A medal will not be in their grasp this year.

Norway has no full time NHLers on their roster but still have an assortment of players in the Swedish Elite League plus last year’s scoring leader in that league, Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, now with the New York Rangers. Also, goaltender Pal Grotnes has played well in previous World Championships. They finished in 9^th last year, and expect the same result this year.

Austria is a bit of a wild card. They were promoted to the Worlds after being relegated in 2009. No NHLers yet, but could Thomas Vanek and Michael Grabner join the team? If they do, they have a chance in avoiding the relegation round altogether.

Group D: Finland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia

Finland will be a medal contender that will include some of the members from the bronze-medal winning team in the Vancouver Olympics. Mikko Koivu and Tuomo Ruutu will be heading the offense for the Finns and they may still have additions some NHL additions yet to come. However, goaltending, a Finnish strength in previous years, is a bit weak this year with no Miikka Kiprusoff or Niklas Backstrom between the posts.

The Czechs are the reigning world champions and they should have most of last year’s line-up plus Jaromir Jagr, Martin Havlat, and Patrik Elias. A medal is also a distinct possibility for them as well.

Denmark finished in eighth last year, their best ever in a Worlds. However, without Peter Regin, Jannik Hansen or possibly Lars Eller, and retired captain Jesper Damgaard, the Danes will not have the same success.

Latvia will have no full time NHLers on their team, but chemistry won’t be a problem as half the team plays for Dinamo Riga in the KHL. However, they are more likely to be in the relegation round, than in the playoff round.

Medal Predictions: Gold: Canada, Silver: Russia, Bronze: Czech Republic

Teams to be Relegated: Slovenia, France

I suppose I owe you one, you know, to finish it all off. Actually, I’m not convinced it’s you the reader that I owe, or the editor of this blog, or even myself for that matter. I know what happened and who happened but I feel a certain obligation to the story because really it does take a life of its own in my eyes and what’s the value of a life if there is no end?

Coming home May 4!

We beat Amstetten 3 – 0 at home in the Budo Center to capture our third place series two matches to one. It was a nice match to play, I felt that it suited our team. We had an awful week of practice leading up to our embarrassing performance in match 2. It’s not any one person’s fault, it’s the collective. We had one week, ONE WEEK, to fulfill our duty as professional athletes but instead I felt as if the focus was shifted towards the warm weather and extravagances the city of Vienna has to offer.

What may seem odd is that I have no regret. I’m here to play volleyball first, that’s what the club pays me for, and I think I’ve done a pretty good job thus far but I performed poorly in match two and that hurts my self-rapport as well as others view of me I’m sure. With that said, I had a wonderful week in Vienna. It was so nice to engage in social activities with my teammates and new friends. There were so many things I got to see, to do, to be. So I can’t look at is as a bad week, I can only look at it as a learning experience.

Maybe you noticed I haven’t properly explained match 2 yet, it’s because I wanted to emphasis the positive experience first. Uhm, so we lost 3 – 1, it was the worst I’ve seen our team play. Amstetten deserves credit because they got a lot better in that week and we did nothing. They had control the entire match and before I could even internalize what was happening they were up 2 – 0. We had a spark of desperation to capture the third set but the complete mental, emotional and physical drain required left us exhausted for the fourth.

I wasn’t proud of how it ended or how I ended it. We were down something like 24 – 19, and had our first good reception in a long series of serves. I smashed a ball about 10 feet out of bounds on a perfect set. I mean, there was no chance we were coming back, but that’s no excuse to “give up” on the game. It was not my intention, it would and should never be anyone’s but it happened and it hurt a lot. I stormed off into the change room, without even shaking hands. Although, I did rectify this by going up to each Amstetten player individually after my pouting to congratulate them on a well played match and apologize if my behaviour was perceived as rude or immature. When we, Team Canada, had beat Serbia at World Championships 2010, it was the most I’d ever felt in a positive sense. This was the most I’ve ever felt negatively.

This weekend I let myself revel in the benefits of my lifestyle. I had 4 days off after the hotVolleys season and before national team obligations so I decided to splurge on a little trip to Paris. I reunited with a former exchange student who let me stay at her place for free. That’s right people, be nice to your exchange students because they live all around the world and someday you might be all around the world and wanting to travel thrifty.

I had a marvellous time. There’s really great photos on my Facebook, not that I’m encouraging anyone and everyone who reads this blog to add me on Facebook but I’m pretty sure the pictures are viewable by everyone so a little bit of creeping is appropriate.

I had a great experience here in Austria with the hotVolleys. The club treated me well, the city is beautiful and feels like home, and my team mates are some of the greatest guys I’ve met. I don’t know what I’m doing next year, I mean, I barely know what I’m doing two weeks from now but if you know a high level professional volleyball club that wants to splurge a bit on a young Canadian middle who touches 370cm, tell them to come to me.

Actually, scratch most of that, if you know anyone from anything that wants to employ me for a splurge-worthy amount of money, tell them to. It’s difficult to find work as a University graduate these days.

Thanks for reading, it has been a pleasure to tell of my experiences. Special thanks to Jo Villaverde for hosting and editing my blog and to my mom who would probably appreciate me mentioning her. Mom, you’re great!

Almost every light bulb in my apartment has burnt out. It didn’t all happen at once, it was more of a progression; first the light over the stove, then the lamp in my room, followed by the other lamp in my room, and now the main lamp in the living room. I think it’s one of those situations where I should report the occurrence to the hotel management but the phone is so far away right now.

We lost our series against Aich/Dob three straight. Personally, the game in Vienna didn’t go well for me. I’m not sure why, I just didn’t have it. The third and final game was a real great one to play. Their home town once again produced the environment that I loved. We went to five sets and had our chances to win but all in all we just didn’t perform well enough to take advantage of the opportunity that was given to us.

Tomorrow we start our best of three series against Amstetten for 3rd place. It’s a bit of a downer not to be in the Finals since it will be broadcasted live on Austrian TV. It would have provided quality exposure for me playing a team like Innsbruck but third ain’t too bad either.

Amstetten is a fairly strong team, we’ll be in tough, and I hope everyone comes out to play. Third place is also very important for the hotVolleys club because the top 3 teams in Austria qualify for MEVZA league next year. This is the first in 21 or 22 years that the hotVolleys have not been in the finals so missing out of MEVZA would make me part of the substantially least successful season in club history. I’d rather that not be the case.

We’ve been frequenting the daytime hotspot of Naschmarkt. We found a nice little patio spot to enjoy cappuccinos, chocolate cake and the aesthetic benefits of summer’s approach. I’m speaking of course of the beautiful ladies.

Peter, the other middle blocker, introduced me to a group named SK Invitational via YouTube and suggested we check out their performance at a downtown hip-hop club. So we got together at our Libero Phillip’s flat, had a few drinks and laughs then headed out.

SK Invitational

The club was sick. We had to walk through a rather fancy restaurant, through a hallway and down some stairs. It was a shoebox, literally. Just enough room for a DJ, the band’s equipment and about 50 people. It smelt of cigarettes, probably because of all the cigarette smoking that was going on, but it had a great vibe.

The band was awesome, they really rocked it and we had a blast and a half dancing around and displaying our hip-hop coastal allegiances. At one point I decided to visit the WC and that’s when I saw “her”. We literally bumped into each other by carelessness. (On a side note: people tend to bump into me, I wonder if these are the same kinds of people that walk into trees.) Anyway, as we both turned the corner and physically ran into each other, a conversation began.

Her appeal wasn’t in her dress or her makeup or… other typical points of interest a man may have for a woman at a bar. She wore a regular long sleeve t-shirt, jeans, flats and carried a bag on her shoulder, which is how I knew she was secretly awesome. But of course, secretly awesome girls tend to have boyfriends, and although he wasn’t around, I needed to separate myself before my heart strings were tuned to the melody of her.

I think I said something along the lines of “I can’t dance with you anymore, because you’re too beautiful and appeal to me on every level. This will only break my heart if we continue. It was very nice to meet you.”

Actually I know I said this because I wrote it down when I got home. I mean it’s not like part of me didn’t think she’d perhaps be so swooned by those words that she’d reconsider her availability but I think it was for the best.

Today is the end of my negligibly justified, self-imposed boycott of my own blog. The reason being; I had no spark. During my hiatus things were happening, some of those things were even interesting, but nothing struck me as, “Wow, this is something I’d like to share.” But if there’s one thing I have learned from the 17 episodes of American Idol I have watched since I last wrote; commercial breaks before important results insure viewers stay put. Thanks Ryan Seacrest, you’ve got the whole world figured out.

Here's a picture of a crowd. Not the actual picture of the crowd at the game but you get the picture.

Consider this the commercial break: I should speak about our quarter final against Hartberg. We played a best of three series, with games on two consecutive Saturdays. The first we won 3-1 at our home gym, the second we won 22-20 in the fifth set of an absolute crapshoot thriller of a game. I don’t mean any disrespect to our opponent, in reality they were a much better team that I had been told to expect.

I knew they could play, they showed me in the Austrian Cup finals, yet still I thought that these two matches, especially after we won the first, would be a cake walk. This mentality was like the perfect storm against my performance. I wasn’t aroused as I should have been, and I played two very mediocre matches, where I don’t feel as if I helped my team, which is an awful thing to feel.

The worst part for me was the announcer. He also just so happened to be the owner and/or head manager of Hartberg. A tall man, large, built like a refrigerator, and with a Jesus-esque long hair plus full moustache-beard down to the extremes of his sternum. Nothing about him would tip you off to his rapport in the community.

He waltzes in with ordinary black shoes, jeans or slacks, and some sort of short sleeve striped collared shirt, yet he had hundreds of people hanging on every word for two and a half hours as our teams went back and forth. We went down 2-0, and managed to come back, which doesn’t happen too often, but it was welcome under this circumstance. Anyways, what bothered me was that whenever I would make a mistake, or the opposing middle blocker would make a good player against me, I would hear, “Canadian Middle Blocker” encompassed in a stream of jibberish. I didn’t know exactly what he was saying, but it doesn’t take a genius to know that his comments were meant as personal attacks towards me, and given my mentality and play, I was rattled.

It’s a tough pill to swallow, knowing that you’re out here as a professional, representing your team and yourself, but also where you are from. Perhaps it’s a big deal for Hartberg to have success against me, or at least a deal that they’d want to play up to the ignorance of the audience. “Hey, look at this big shot from Canada, and how our players are just as good if not better!” That’s really something to get behind, no? They don’t need to know that it’s my first year, I’ve got a lot of growth, a lot of unpolished edges, and that realistically I’m nowhere near a top class player yet, but it’s nice to think well of what you have.

We’re in the semi finals against Aich/Dob, we just lost our first game. We rode the bus for 4 hours, had our pre game cappuccinos and sandwiches, then got ready to play. I’ll tell you right away, we lost in 4 sets. It’s never fun to lose unless you know that you are certainly outclassed and to use the match as a learning experience. This wasn’t so much the case today but I might chock it up as one of the most fun volleyball matches I’ve ever been in.

Aich/ Dob is a really good team and they play in a gym that is technically located in Slovenia. The town is small and nothing came across to me as particularly interesting until I noticed that crowd. It’s not like there is a huge grand stand, or that the amount of people there would fill a proper arena, there were only a few hundred, but what I saw was fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters all together cheering for their team. It was a family affair, and the whole town came out, well equipped with drums and noise-makers. The environment was breathtaking, and all I could think about was basking in the waves and waves of current exuded by the audience. It’s what I imagine the best drugs would feel like.

I can always tell when I am mentally ready to play. Usually it follows by being physically ready to play. I had injured myself a few days ago in practice, nothing serious, but thanks to quick and efficient action by my club, I got into the physiotherapists and felt perfectly fine to perform tonight. The service I received both from my club, and the therapists, is worth mentioning in my opinion. Warm up went well, and once the game commenced I knew I was in a good spot. Sometimes when I play, and I wish it was more but I don’t know how to harness it, I feel extremely calm. I am happy, I know what is important, my body reacts like it is important, and the nerves don’t make me shake, they make me strong. I could feel the crowd, drums pounding, whistles blowing, aggressive chants against me and mine… I loved it. The content didn’t matter, the existence did. I was able to think, which is a tough thing to do during competitions. As silly as it may sound, simple things can become nearly impossible in the heat of the moment.

I played a good match, it’s really too bad that we weren’t able to win. If I look at is as a process; we are a young group, they are much older than us. So perhaps if we can scoop up our next match on Wednesday at home it would play in our advantage to make this series a long one. We’re in really good shape, I’ve never really jumped this many times in a week before, so playing a bunch of long and demanding matches doesn’t really intimidate me. I know that some of the guys were bummed, but I’m going to stay positive here because… someone’s got to, right?

There are many things to consider; It was my first match with the team, as well as our new Brazilian outside hitter, and my new room mate, had arrived just two days before hand, so there is clearly some team chemistry issues that will be worked out as we gain more experience with each other. Regardless, it was in front of a large crowd, and televised on national television so it stung. Innsbruck played a very strong match and showed me how the higher caliber of professional volleyball is expected to perform.

As bad as that match was we needed to regroup quickly for Saturday where we played the currently 2nd placed team in Austria, AICH/DOB. The funny thing about AICH/DOB is that although they are an Austrian League team, their gym is technically in Slovenia. Something about the facility where they’re from being too small. We had a 4 hour bus trip over, but it flew past as I made good use of my mobile internet stick, and watched “Empire Records”.

SIDE STORY: I’m not sure you’d remember this, but I’ve been having an awful hard time accessing my Canadian funds over here. Many, many Austrian banks just won’t let me use my debit card, potentially because my pin is too long, and I can’t change my pin unless I show up at an RBC bank IN person IN Canada. But I figured that maybe I’d give it a shot over in Slovenia. Turns out, my cards are fully accepted in their bank machines, and now I know that if I ever need a few euro to go grocery shopping, I just have to hop a bus to Slovenia.

AICH/DOB is another very strong team. They actually had the chance of surpassing Innsbruck as the top team going into Austrian playoffs if they beat us in a way more convincing than Innsbruck. I think we were determined not to let that happen and it showed. We played an excellent match and ended up winning 3-1. Things were just clicking for us. Our serve receive was more comfortable with each other, our blocking was stable and strong and our attackers were finding ways to score. This was a really big game for us because going into it we were dead last in MEVZA league, where AICH was #3, so to be able to show that our team is improving and capable of playing well enough to knock down contenders. I think we’ve set ourselves up for a strong run in the playoffs.

I’m sorry, I should have explained this before but the top 3 teams in Austria play in a parallel league named MEVZA, which is pretty much for the top few teams in a few surrounding countries. It ensures higher quality matches for these teams because often the talent drops significantly from the top few teams to the middle pack and bottom teams in each league. In Austria the top 3 teams do not play in the regular Austrian league, instead they take the standings from MEVZA to determine who finishes 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The teams then join the rest of Austria for the playoffs. Finishing 3rd means that we will be set to play best of 5 against AICH/DOB in the league semi finals, provided of course that we are able make it through our first round match up against Hartberg, the 6th ranked Austrian team. Had we been mashed again, we would have crossed over against Innsbruck and in my opinion had much less a chance of making it to the finals. So this worked out well for us.

Last night I was lucky enough to be able to watch the finals of the Austrian Cup. In the cup, only Austrian born players are allowed to participate, and we’ve got a very strong group of Austrian borns here with the hotVolleys and they were expected to win. The game was played in Schwechats, which I’d say is a suburb about 15 minutes outside of Vienna. They were playing Hartberg in the finals, go figure? So it presented itself as a very good opportunity for me to gather information on the team we would be playing our first round playoff matches against. Apparently they only have one international player, an opposite, so this match would in fact be a good indicator of their talent.

I expected a clean sweep from what I was told by the guys and didn’t prepare for the extravagant release of Cortisol that would ensue at 10-13 in the 5th set. The Austrian Cup means a lot to our club, as the cash prize associated with the title is quite large. This was a definite goal of the team and going in as such heavy favourites made it seem almost a sure fire bet. But I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Hartberg, as they blocked, defended and served the lights out the entire match. It was agonizing to watch because I could tell that our boys were not performing to their ability but it also made me respect this opponent.

The teams went back and fourth until; hotVolleys 10, Hartberg 13 in the 5th and deciding set. At this point I was more nervous than when I was attempting to make Hostel friends that weekend I was stranded. Thanks to a great block by our setter Olivier, a couple huge kills by outside hitter Simon and some very passive yet in-court services by our young middle Stefan, the hotVolleys managed to pull through, much to the delight of our club manager who had been showing very visible signs of emotion throughout the match. It’s a great accomplishment and I want to congratulate my teammates for finishing the match and ensuring that I get paid on March 1!

I should mention that I had a visitor this week. I should also mention that being in Europe unites people in ways that I haven’t experienced before. Her name is Chelsea Bailey and is very good friends with a good friend of mine. In other words, we’ve met a couple times and don’t know each other all that well, but when I heard that she was doing a semester in France and planned on visiting Vienna I immediately offered her a spot on my couch.

I looked at it as an opportunity to help out a fellow Canadian traveler on their exploration of Europe but I didn’t know I’d have such a great time with the company. It kept me busy and up late, but was a great mental refresh from the everyday grind. We explored the centre of Vienna, entering many of the great museums, including one dedicated to Condoms. We also had an awful late night experience involving two bottles of wine, a post midnight departure, a closed metro station and a bus driver who didn’t speak English or know where we wanted to go but eager for us to hop on. There was a lot of walking involved and my feet would definitely be kicking me in the face if they did not feel so sore, but I really appreciated the time we were able to spend together, and that I will spend with my future company. I know… it sounds like the fruitiest line on Earth, but fruit can be sweet, right?

It’s a neat idea, and I can see the definite advantages of having their squad together more than just a few months before major competition, but what the ANT coordinators forgot to think about was the excessively social Canadian boy who would be left alone all weekend as a result of their program! To top it all off, we only had 3 training sessions scheduled from Thursday to Sunday, with Saturday off. Essentially, I had purpose in my life for a total of 7 hours over the next 4 days. I wasn’t sure if I would make it or not!

After Thursday mornings practice I decided to meet Erkan, a player of ours who is from Turkey, for coffee downtown. I’ve become somewhat addicted to public transportation here, and given that I had no plans until 6pm Friday evening, I jumped at the opportunity to feed my craving. Perhaps that’s a little too strong, I really just wanted to get out of the house and hang out with my teammate for a couple hours, which is what we did. We went to an Irish sports pub, had a beer and a burger, and watched some tennis.

The timing of the day worked out perfectly. I was changing rooms after practice due to the new player that is joining us, so by the time I had finished lugging all of my clothes and food from the old room to the new one, it was time to get ready and hop on the bus, to get to the train, to get to the meeting spot. The whole trip took about 30 minutes, which I consider a quite reasonable time to get downtown and adds to my list of things that I enjoy about living where I do.

I don’t recall much of the night, I believe I snapped a few photos, headed home to watch some “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and catch up on “Gossip Girl” / “90210” then went to bed. Just so you know; all of those shows rule and a big part of the professional volleyball experience is watching endless television series in the abundant amount of free, but physically exhausted, time you have.

Friday night: After practice I decided I had to go out. But where would I go, and even more importantly; who would I go with? I am new to town and essentially everyone I know is out of town, except Erkan but he’s got a wife and such. He probably wouldn’t be too interested in partying the night away in the fashion I had anticipated. But I’m a young buck, in a beautiful city, there must be a solution.

The solution: I decided to mosey on down to the centre, find a hostel and meet some other travelers potentially here on their own and looking to have some fun. This was one of the weirdest things I’ve done socially. I think that the idea was good in theory but in practice it’s really difficult to just go somewhere, meet people, and not come off as a crazy person who has fabricated an elaborate, well rehearsed story involving professional athletics, convenient timin, and performed with an endearing demeanor. Regardless, I had success. Not so much at the Hostel where I had a beer and spoke with a small group of people who seemed partially disinterested in involving me. Perhaps it was because I interjected in their conversation so rapidly or they sensed how incredibly uncomfortable I was interjecting in their conversation so rapidly. Did I mention that I interjected in their conversation, quite rapidly? Oh well; you live, you learn.

The bartender lady at the hostel suggested a couple nearby clubs I could go that were only a few stops away. I left the hostel, again on my own, and headed towards the train station. Across the street I couldn’t help but noticed a lady dressed quite suggestively and before I could clear the look of confusion off of my face as I blankly stared at here, she waved me over. I stepped towards her, she took my hand,and whispered into my ear the only English she knew, which I’ve decided is not appropriate tongue for this blog.

My eyes lit up, and I was so shocked by the realization of her ambitions that I nearly tripped on the curb as I stumbled back from her. This was my first encounter with a Vienese ‘lady of the night’. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Regardless, I had success” and I want to make this clear, NO, this was not my success. But I felt it added to the story, if I somewhat mislead you, my bad.

After walking quite swiftly away, and wishing for hand sanitizer like I never have before, I past scores more prostitutes, each working in the same suggestive manner as the one who had fooled me before, but I had learned and stayed my path. I got off at the stop the lady bartender had told me to, and started following the mass amount of people towards the staircase. Although I knew what general area I was in, I had no clue which direction I was pointing, so I decided to ask the two young ladies next to me whom I overheard speaking in English.

This was my success. They were students, one Croatian and one Spanish, and just so happened to be heading to the same club as I. We danced the night away, literally, it was about 4:30AM when we left the club, hung out at their place for a little bit and then I bid adieu. It turned out to be a great night, and I only had to adjust one part of my plan; train stations > hostels in regards to meeting people to party with.

The most convenient part of the night’s timing, was by the time my train got back to the bus station it was 5:40AM, right on time for the first bus of the day that takes me back home. I’ve made the walk multiple times from the train station to my place but saving 20 minutes is fine by me. It was getting quite bright outside, so I closed the shades of my now south facing windows and was lost in slumber until mid afternoon.

You might think, “Wow Justin, great story. I’m sure Saturday night was equally as great! Perhaps you even met up with the same people!” The answer is, “No.”

You may remember in a past blog me bragging about how fortunate I was at the Grocery store. Well, Saturday I got burned, hard, some may say; it was my worst nightmare. I thought I had 40 Euro left, and when my total of 36 came up I felt the same sense of pride as before, and figured I should almost certainly send a letter of application to the popular tv game show “Price is Right”. That’s about when reality hit… I had 22 Euro, total. Not only did I have to replace many items, such as my bottle of Nesquick, but I held up the whole line trying to explain to the cashier that I no longer wanted to purchase 1/3 of the groceries I had made her scan through. Brutal.

The night wasn’t so much better. Since I had zero monies, and only my 24 hr train pass, I thought I’d go downtown again for a drink and take out some cash at one of the many bank machines. Unfortunately, NONE of them worked. I tried about 10. Kind of embarrassing but that’s what you get for having an 8 digit pin, which I can not change unless I appear in person to an RBC location in Canada.

It’s fine, at least I’m guaranteed one meal per day with the team. So I walked around downtown for a couple hours and the absolute highlight of my day was that I found the place that rents Segweys, which I certainly will be hitting up after my first paycheck.

Oh and mom if you’re reading this, don’t worry, I have a few options regarding the monies situation. I promise.

Lately, my life has enjoyed the accompaniment of many positive things:

1. I’m in Vienna Austria, playing professional Volleyball.

2. Friday nights in Vienna are ridiculous. I believe I spent 100 euro at the club and 20 euro of my teammate Peter’s on McDonald’s after the club. So much for grocery shopping. I should probably mention something about Peter. He is the other middle blocker with the HotVolleys, lives in the same apartment hotel that Mike and I do, enjoys mixing music for his future DJ career, and long romantic walks on the beach. Perhaps I made up that last part but in general I am fortunate to have team mates that I get along with so well.

3. Team mates that I get along with so well.

4. After a quiet Saturday, Mikey (we call him Mikey most of the time) and his girlfriend invited me to join them on their journey to Vienna’s House of the Sea, and other downtown hotspots. The House, which is more or less a big fancy aquarium, was built in an old war watch tower, which had of course been renovated. The nice lady tour guide explained, after repeatedly apologizing for her poor English even though her vocabulary surpassed many Canadian high school students, that this tower housed a radar system that relayed information about enemy planes to a cannon tower that shot them down. There are 6 of these towers around the core of Vienna, and although impressive, they were quite inefficient accounting for only 2-3% of the enemy armada’s casualties.

It’s a huge stone building with loads of creatures and animals in it. During the renovation they added a glass room that shoots out of the building. It’s very hot, due to the sunlight, but houses these small monkeys that more or less run free throughout. I don’t think my explanation justifies how impressive this room is, so I encourage you to Google it. After this museum we decided to mosey on down St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Unfortunately, I was not educated on the significance of this building but I was so captivated by the architecture that I would often clumsily knock into people and small objects due to my lack in attention to the paths my legs were choosing.

I had 60 euro’s in my wallet that I had designated for groceries... I was pleasantly greeted by the grand total of 59.87 euro

5. GROCERY BILLA: Not sure if I’ve mentioned this but Billa is the name of the grocery store nearby, and I metaphorically won the lottery there the other morning. I had 60 euro’s in my wallet that I had designated for groceries, and after storming through the shop with little regard for cumulative price of the items I decided upon, I was pleasantly greeted by the grand total of 59.87 euro at the register. You know what? I was so close to posting this blog entry without writing this: You don’t know how significant this was to me. I worried from the second I walked out the door of my apartment until that last item was scanned through. I thought that I would look like a total idiot if I were debating what I shall keep at the front of a line, holding up potentially busy people, and trying to explain myself in a language the cashier may not understand. For me, this was an ‘epic win’ situation. I am glad.

I like to appreciate these ‘little things’ in my life, makes me think that ‘things tend to work out well for me.’ I find comfort in this, and I suppose that’s where I’ll end.