Basketball, Training, Nutrition, Life…
February 7, 2012 by danny · 2 Comments
How we go…
1) I’m playing in a basketball league on Monday nights (35 and older league – that feels weird to say!). Last night was the first round of the playoffs (we have the #1 seed, just sayin’) and we were told the game started at 7:30. Well, it actually started at 7:00. So the refs said if you don’t start in 2 minutes you must forfeit. We had 3 guys there and another one of our players just happened to come watch… he recently tore his achilles tendon and was in a boot. The rules state that you must start the game with 4 players, so he walked out on the court in his street clothes for the tip and just stood there ’til the first dead ball, then walked back into the bleachers to watch. So that put us at 3 vs 5 for the first 5 minutes of the game until our 4th and 5th players showed up.
Our strategy? Dribble around and stall as much as possible until the other guys arrived. And it worked great! By the time they showed up, we were only down 6-3 (and that counts the 2 point technical foul we got right off the bat as our player with the achilles injury was not in “proper uniform”). We ended up getting the W, but it was much closer than the rest of the games.
Championship game in two weeks – I’ll let you know the outcome…
2) In a blogpost that I made the other day, I mention that I performed Bret Contreras’s,”The Sexy Challenge.” It went well and I actually wasn’t as sore as I thought I’d be… until day 2’s DOMS set in! I mentioned that I like to perform a challenge like this from time to time, but if done too frequently it can lead to set-backs. I performed the challenge last Thursday and my training program had me scheduled to do legs that Saturday (2 days after the challenge). Yeah right! My hammies were killing me so I flip-flopped a day in my program and did upper body on that Saturday instead. Sunday came around and I was still very sore. So, I FINALLY got that leg day in yesterday (Monday). This is exactly why I’m not a fan of doing this kind of “test” or “challenge” more than 2-3 times per year… it ends up messing with your program design and throws everything off for awhile (and has you limping around for days). I’m still glad I did it, but again, I won’t be doing anything like this for quite some time.
3) My wife just landed a very good as the General Manager at Mario Tricoci (hair salon for those of you that don’t keep up on these sort of things 
). I’ll still be able to train clients in the morning out of my basement, give basketball lessons on the weekends, continue my social media obligations, and write training programs for my on-line clients. BUT, I’ll be putting in a larger amount of time as “Mr. Mom” until we get day care ‘n all that figured out.
Going to be fun hanging with the twins, but if my hair is completely grey the next time you see me, now you know why!
4) Football is over, so it’s time for basketball to take center-stage. Let’s hope Deng can stay healthy, Rip can GET healthy, and D. Rose keeps on killlin’ it! I can’t wait for that Chicago-Miami rematch!!!
5) I’ve got some GREAT nutrition information to share with you all next week. A few times I’ve given you a sample day of what my eating looks like. Well, I thought it would be cool and beneficial to see a couple other examples from other people. My good friends Marci Nevin and Michelle Adams agreed to share a food log of what they eat for a day. It will be great for females to see what a couple other VERY healthy and very fit chicks eat while attempting to reach their health and physique goals!
And finally, I’ll be posting a nutrition interview that I did with Brian St. Pierre (one of my favorite “nutrition guys”).
So make sure you don’t miss all this great content – be sure to pop in next week to check it out.
Until next time…
NBA Playoff Predictions – 2011
April 15, 2011 by danny · Leave a Comment
This should be a great post-season. For the first time in a long time, there are legitimately a handful of teams that are capable of taking home the trophy. My good friends and NBA experts, Jeff Rinaldi and Matt McKenna break it all down. So let’s get to it!
Danny: I’ll start it off with you Jeff. Do you see any upsets in round 1 in the East?
Jeff: Well, I know one upset that WILL NOT happen and that is the dirty Pacers over the Bulls. Stern should think about folding the Pacers. I usually wouldn’t say this but the Bulls should go ahead and look to round 2. I seriously think the Knickerbockers are going to give the Celtics all they want. The Celtics better look out.
Danny: McKenna, your turn. Let’s take a look at the West – any 1st round upsets?
McKenna: I actually have two of them although beating Dallas in the first round is kind of a yearly tradition now isn’t it? I do like Portland though. They are athletic, deep, and just pose tons of match up problems for the Mavs. Kidd couldn’t defend me and rebounding could be an issue so the Blazers are my first pick. To me that isn’t a long shot (Insert Greg Oden joke here). The other upset is the Grizz over the Spurs. The Spurs are prime for a first round exit, they are old and have the potential to have injury issues as soon as the tip goes up. They also know they aren’t as good as either of their second round opponents and certainly won’t beat LA, so why prolong getting embarrassed by a good team. So married men keep an eye on your wives because a little French horn-ball will be on the loose earlier than normal this season.
Danny: Why you gotta do TP like that?! We’ll get to your finals predictions later. For now, give me one team out of each conference that is *capable* of making a deep run even if this team is not your first choice – or the “obvious” choice.
McKenna: I hate to do this Danny but the Magic terrify me and I think they can beat the Bulls. If they are knocking down jump shots and Howard is willing to break a sweat they will murder the Hawks and beat the Bulls in six. Nobody can keep Howard off the boards and once the game slows down in the playoffs controlling the boards is key.
Danny: You’re right, the Magic can be scary. But I’m not worried, just like nobody on the Bulls (or in the league) can slow down Howard, nobody on Orlando can slow down Asik… face!
And Jeff, any surprises?
Jeff: The Pacers! Just kidding. Dreadful team. I like the Thunder to get rolling and knock out the Spurs in round 2. Westbrook and Durant can carry that team. The whole West better look out.
Danny: And who do you think it going to make it to the conference finals, and fight for the right to go for it all? Let’s start with Mr. Rinaldi.
Jeff: Bulls vs Heat. Thunder vs Lakers. Chalk it up!
McKenna: I like the C’s and the Magic in the East. I’m hoping I’m right because if it’s the Bulls I won’t sleep for a couple weeks because Rose is terrifying. In the West I like the Lakers and OKC. I could even fathom the Blazers knocking off LA but Kobe, the most hated man in my household (tied with ARod of course) would never let me enjoy the playoffs.
Danny: Spoken like a true Bostonian! Time for the moment we’ve all been waiting for: who plays in the finals, and who takes home the hardware?!?
Actually fellas if you don’t mind, I’ll get things started…
I really don’t want to do it, but I guess I’m going to have to go with the Lakers. I still think they’ll be able to turn on that switch. Kobe is close to his last leg (last leg of dominance, that is), but I think he still has another year or two of great playoff basketball left in him. Odom has been really good this year and of course they still have Gasol and a much improved Bynum. Onto the Eastern champs… Da Bulls! I know you think I’m being a homer here (and I probably am), but I have really loved this team from the start. When the pieces starting to fall into place this summer, I knew it would be a great year. We (yeah, I’m part of the team) have shooters, scrappers, bangers, defenders, scorers, and of course, Mr. MVP! Believe it or not, I really think that Luol Deng is the “X-Factor.” When he plays well, the Bulls are the best team in the NBA. If he can give us ~18 ppg and be active on both ends of the floor, I like our chances.
Mark it down, Da Bulls in 7!!!
McKenna my friend, what say you?
McKenna: Well I know this will shock people but I like the C’s coming out of the East. They are flawed but this is their last run and I think the old guard will rise up one more time. Plus the Red Sox have gotten off to a rough start so that means the city of Boston is on edge and winning in their building will be tough. I also like the way the seedings fell and I think not having to see the Bulls till the Finals, if that happens, will help. They C’s can still defend and if Rondo stops pouting about losing hid best bud Perkins, he will be seeing him in the Finals for a reunion. That’s right, in the West I’m going with the OKC Thunder! I hate Kobe and karma has got to catch up with him eventually. Re-hashing why this guy is the biggest a-hole in professional sports is unnecessary but trust me he is long overdue for some comeuppance. The Thunder have two great scorers, one who shoots threes and is seven feet tall (Durant), the other (Westbrook) will be guarded by either Derek Fisher or Steve Blake so that is favorable. Ibaka and Perk can match up with Bynum and Gasol so the match ups are going to be good and the chance for a great series has me pumped. David Stern will be crushed he doesn’t get another Lakers vs. Celtics match up but it won’t matter because once the C’s raise the eighteenth banner to the rafters the title will return home and all will be ok in the world.
C’s in 6!!!
Danny: And Jeff?
Jeff: Excellent picks guys. I think we have a re-match of 1991 with Da Bulls vs the Lakeshow. Everything is in order. Young Derrick Rose like MJ, HUNGRY for his 1st title going up against a legend in Kobe (Like Magic) with 5 rings. Da Bulls win 4-1 sending Phil into retirement questtioning his Zen crap, as the team which made him famous ends his career. Rose wins MVP of the finals and Luol Deng (agree with Danny) plays the role of Pippen..an unsung hero. This championship opens the door to another dynasty which all Bulls fans deserve with their years of loyalty.
Danny: Great job guys! It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds. I just realized there was barely a word mentioned about the Heat! Have we lost our minds? Or are they just not there yet? Readers, what do you think? Leave your thoughts and predictions in the comments section below.
Theme Week: Basketball
November 30, 2010 by danny · Leave a Comment
I know that it is still really football season. I mean, we’re deep into the season and the playoff picture is starting to work itself out. Plus, da Bears are 8-3 and in first place… and I’m lovin’ it! But, high school and college basketball are now underway, as is the NBA. So I figured this week would be a good week for all things basketball. With that said, I’ll be including an older article or post for you to check out everyday for the rest of the week, in case you missed them the first time around.
Up first…
“Get Out of Your High-Top Shoes!”
P.S. Derrick Rose is playing as well as anybody in the league right now. Just sayin’.
P.S.S. I’ll be back tomorrow with some more hoop talk. Stay tuned…
Hesitation Moves on the Basketball Court
June 30, 2010 by danny · 2 Comments
If you want to be a great basketball player, you’ve got to have a complete game. I’ve talked about how to improve your dribbling skills in a previous post. Today I’m here focusing on changing speeds with the basketball. In all sports, those who effectively change speeds have a great advantage. Think of a pitcher with a great fast ball, but does not have a solid off-speed pitch. He won’t last long in the rotation. But give him a good change up, and he he can really pile up the wins. This is also true with a great running back. He must do more than run as fast as possible in a straight line. His ability to stop and start and be deceptive is just as important (if not more important) as his top-end speed. Think Barry Sanders.
Well, when it comes to hoops, it is no different. If you only have average quickness but change speeds well, just like that you become tough to guard – think Steve Nash. If you have good quickness and change speeds well, you become very quick – think Deron Williams. If you have very good quickness and change speeds well, you become unguardable – think Chris Paul and Derrick Rose. So, when working on your game, keep working on those handles. But do NOT forget to change speeds. Here are a few examples of what I am talking about…
Above ^^^ – stop and pop with a hesitation and stop and go to the basket. Next…
In this above video ^^^ – 1 stop and go to the right, 1 to the left, and 1 with a change of direction (between the legs) for a pull up J.
My skills with the video camera/computer are horrible, which is why the last shot got cut off. If Sue (not my mom) is reading this I know she is laughing at me. Sue – shush it! Remember, I’m going to be seeing you at our training session in just a couple hours and if you don’t watch it I will make you do nothing but Bulgarian Splits Squats for 1 hour straight!!!!!! Yeah, that’s what I thought. Anyway, I hope to really improve my computer skills in the months to come… but I just don’t get it. 
Next…
And in this last video you have Kobe using a hesitation move to make yet another defender look stupid.
Keep working hard on your game and make sure to change speeds on the court.
I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July weekend!
