PCTI Basketball Training: Bash Bro II

Wanted to treat everyone to a BASH Bros rendition of PCTI Basketball Training on the Friday going into Memorial Day Weekend! Here is Bruiser's response:

         I haven’t played much since about March last year because Allison was having a pretty difficult pregnancy as in not having any energy or feeling good and required me to do a lot and took up my ball time. Which kinda sucks because up to that point I was playing 3 times a week and feel that if I could have played in the last PCTI, It would have been the most prepared I’ve been for a PCTI. I was feeling like I did when I played at T-Rec where I could shoot the mid-range with confidence, put the ball on the ground and get to the hole and had a good overall sense of the flow of the game. To make a long story short(er), we then had our baby in June but there were some complications and as a result, Allison has been in pain on and off since then. This means I had to pick up husband/daddy duties since she wouldn’t feel good/have the energy/be capable of doing them. This resulted in long week days and sometimes weekends being taken up with all of that and I wouldn’t have the energy or want to get up at 5am to go hoop. With that being said, I’ve picked it up lately and I’m currently trying to play at least 2x a week, hopefully 3.  I’m in the phase of getting foot speed and defensive technique back as well as working my way back to being confident when I have the ball on offense.  I usually try focusing my energy on defense and I’m doing that more so right now and letting the offense come as it will.

         I work out in Spring Hill and there is a Williamson Rec center out here. Ever since I’ve been coming here, there’s been a pickup game that goes on every Monday, Wednesday & Friday morning. I went in the gym one morning, asked if I could play and that’s been my only consistent ball ever since.

         Varies. There are some good players out there and then there are some people just wanting to be a part of it. Anywhere from guys that played ball in college to people you feel nervous passing the ball to. There are high school kids sometimes and there are some guys that are like 50. All sorts of shapes and sizes. Of course, I typically get matched up with a guard that played ball in college who sprays threes and is the best offensive guy out there.

         Depends. A lot of times, for some reason, guys look to me to run the offense and pass me the ball no matter where I’m at on the floor. This is frustrating to me because I’m not comfortable in the position at the time and it’s completely different than PCTI. I can’t just post up every time during the pick-up game because that’s just not how pick-up games go. Right now I’m mainly just focusing on defense, rebounding and conditioning. My offense is coming along, plus I go and shoot for like 15min after a workout everyday just to try and get somewhat of a shot back.

         I love the consistency. Most of the guys are out there all 3days we play and whether they are good or bad, just enjoy playing in the morning. I dislike the competition at times. A lot of times the teams are completely uneven or I’m guarding or being guarded by someone that lowers my will to play hard because I feel (whether true or not) that I don’t need to put forth the effort. This makes me not be in the game as much, which makes me not run as much, which makes me not get in shape, which lowers my overall game, which makes playing pointless, which makes me feel like I’m wasting time, which makes……

Editor's Notes: While he feels like these games can be pointless at times, I think this will be huge in getting Bruise ready for July. For being on the opposition am worried about Bruise coming back on a tear.

PCTI Basketball Training: Cockman

Finally someone that hoops consistently... or did. From Donley:

I'm going to preface this whole thing by mentioning that I recently moved to Cincinnati (2wks ago).  So I'm going to respond to these questions from the aspect of living in ATL, but know that now that I live in MY CITY I will be playing a lot more - example, 3 days after the move I was hit up and played in a 3on3 tournament so the opportunities for good/fun hoops will be more frequent which I'm excited about. 

·  On average, how often do you play? 

o 1.5 times/wk -- one league that pretty much went year round with multiple sessions and as much as I can Sunday mornings at LifeTime for pickup 

·  How did you get involved in the game(s)? How does it get put together?

o Leagues - fortunately when I came down with Kimberly-Clark from Wisconsin, reputation for being somewhat athletic followed. For those of you that have experience this phenomenon, your name gets out and people needing to fill out rosters come calling. Being in a new place it's becomes hard to turn down the first person that asks name and then it's a crap shoot in hoping they can play and their team is not a bunch of duds.  Getting out of those dud teams is just a life lesson in knowing that sometimes you have to be a dick...just be nice about it.  Fortunately the team I played with was decent, but I'll get more into that in question 3.

o Pickup - ran into a guy at league that remembered me from wrecking weights at LifeTime, so he threw me on the invite for the Sunday morning run.

·  Whats the make up of the group? Age, skill, size, etc

o Leagues - most teams are mid to late 20s, my team however consists of mostly late 20s - early 30s team members with the caveat that we have a 44yr old 6'8" 250lb dude that played at Kennessaw State (career scoring leader for 20 years and can still fill it up. The tough thing with this team is that I was the second smallest player as we rolled out 6'9", 6'8", 6'7", 6'7", 6'6", 6'5" and then me and another dude.  Skill wise there were a solid 5 with a heavy drop off because some of the bigs were only that...big.

o Pickup - mostly dads and basketball lifers that refuse to let people ruin their run, which was perfect.  A lot of former college players and even some former d-league guys would show up every once in a while. Assertiveness is a must to stay on the invite list, which can be challenging starting out when you're more of a role guy.

·  What is your role in these games? How does that differ from your role in PCTI?

o Leagues - Distributor/Shooter - mostly initiated the offense because the overall basketball IQ was lacking and was a spot-up guy.  SUPER opposite of anything I am in PCTI, which has at times left me less confident on the block and around the rim in previous PCTIs.  

o Pickup - whatever, whenever, however that keeps me in the game.  With ex-D1 guys and extremely skilled players there is always a better option than me and I don't care to admit that as long as I contribute.  I always start out Hops-esque with playing hard D and not shooting unless I'm wide open, once a session I will get it going and throw up 10-11 of the 15 which every player enjoys to know those games still exist. 

·  What is one thing you love about it? What is something you don't like?

o Leagues - the schedule of knowing that I'm playing every week in a good game with people I enjoy playing with.  There is nothing better than playing with a group you like.  Probably because I was the actual boss of some of the players, I was the de facto leader of the team and I crush that role.  The one thing I didn't like about the team is the amount of zone we had to play because of the lack of shape the rest of the team was in (although with extreme length it worked out well), because it gets you out of that 1on1 D.

o Pickup - I love that everyone there LOVES to play.  With it being a lot of working fathers/husbans, the jovial nature of everyone's attitude lends itself to playing in a positive environment.  Everyone has played in negative environments where all it consists of is arguing and stoppages, at this point in my life when I come upon those situations I just leave.  One thing that was tough with pickup happens to everyone that isn't Abe, you get stuck on a bad team and can't get in a flow.

That was probably way too wordy for what you wanted, but hell, I'm in a new job and don't have much actual work just yet. 

Your's so very truly,

The Cockman

Editor's Note: The pick up game seems perfect. A group of talented players that hate the arguing and other BS that comes with a lot of pick up games. I don't like leagues for multiple reasons but having to play 2-3 zone because of fat people really rustles my jimmies. Would like to hear about his games now that he is back to The Blue Chip City.

PCTI Basketball Training: Bees?!

Here is what Beas said:

1.  I have played 5-6 times since PCTI PDX.

2.  The weather is getting nice, so I am starting to go to the outdoor pick up games.  I tried a game @ 24 Hour fitness yesterday and I left after one game.  It was disgusting.  A bunch of "cool" guys who are too "cool" to pass or play defense.  It was basically a three point shooting contest where both teams would jog back and forth, then a 3 would be launched. 

3.  Most of the outdoor games are guys around my age, or a little younger.

4.  I play fairly similar to PCTI.  WHen the games are not competitive I get into a huge funk and usually contemplate never playing again, very similar to PCTI PDX. 

5.  I love competing and playing with others who share the same love. I can't stand playing with "cool" guys, guys who think it is cool to be illiterate, fat people who refuse to run back for defense, and oners, trash talkers, etc.  Long story short I need all my PCTI homies to move to PDX. 

Editor's Note: We've all been there. Y ball (or 24 Hour) sucks dick. This is one thing that inspired this series, because if you don't have a pick up game you are involved in, you are in the spot(light) that Beas is in. Prayer's sent...

The More You Know

It's around this time in the lead up to PCTI each and every year that I begin to start talking myself in to believing that this is the year that I'm going to finally get mature enough to not brat out at the refs. So far, it hasn't worked. Although I think my behavior has maybe got somewhat better since my infamous meltdown in Arizona.

With this in mind, this morning over my coffee I Googled "most misunderstood basketball rules." Most of the results were the same variation of a list that has been passed around among high school referees associations from state to state. Since our PCTI refs typically are high school level refs, I figured I would share.

This list is pretty lengthy but there's a lot of stuff in here that I never knew, which is kind of embarrassing. For instance, a kick ball has to be intentional, a moving screen has to involve contact, an inbounding player can move around with the ball and jump up and down even when the ref says "stay still," a player can go out of bounds and be the first one to touch the ball after coming back in bounds, and the hand really is a part of the ball. Also, pretty much all parts of what constitutes a travel confused me...but I'm pretty sure I get now why some officials (the ones doing their job correctly) call me for travelling every time I make a move in the post.

If I had to guess, I would say Sabin probably knows these rules the best with Spotlight being a close second. Obviously Dan, despite being the guy who gets praised for his basketball IQ, would be last.

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(this is a cut and paste job)

Most Misunderstood Basketball Rules 

This is a list of basketball rules that are often misunderstood by coaches, players, and parents. This has been developed over the past twenty-five years, officiating thousands of basketball games, listening to erroneous comments from players, coaches, and mostly from fans, and thinking, "I wish I could stop the game and explain the real rule to them". This list is not meant to only train officials, but rather, it is meant to educate players, coaches, and fans.

It is my hope that many of you will find this list useful in some way. Perhaps some of you may use the list, or a portion of the list, with your own local board. At the minimum, I'm sure that this list will spark some lively, professional discussion.

1. It is important to know the intent and purpose of a rule so that it may be intelligently applied in each play situation. A player of a team should not be permitted an advantage which is not intended by a rule. Neither should play be permitted to develop which may lead to placing a player at a disadvantage not intended by a rule.

 2. A player cannot touch the ball, ring, or net while the ball is on the ring or within the basket. A player cannot touch the ball if it is in the imaginary cylinder above the ring. These are examples of basket interference. It is legal to touch the ring or the net if the ball is above the ring and not touching the ring, even if the ball is in the imaginary cylinder above the ring. It is legal to hang on the ring if a player is avoiding an injury to himself or herself or another player.

 3. The backboard has nothing to do with goaltending. Goaltending is contacting the ball on its downward flight, above the level of the rim, with a chance to go in. On most layups, the ball is going up after it contacts the backboard. It is legal to pin the ball against the backboard if it still on the way up and not in the imaginary cylinder above the basket. Slapping the backboard is neither basket interference nor is it goaltending and points cannot be awarded. A player who strikes a backboard so forcefully that it cannot be ignored because it is an attempt to draw attention to the player, or a means of venting frustration, may be assessed a technical foul. When a player simply attempts to block a shot and accidentally slaps the backboard it is neither a violation nor is it a technical foul.

 4. The front, top, sides, and bottom of the backboard are all in play. The ball cannot pass over a rectangular backboard from either direction. The back of a backboard is out of bounds as well as the supporting structures.

 5. The traveling rule is one of the most misunderstood rules in basketball. To start a dribble, the ball must be released before the pivot foot is lifted. On a pass or a shot, the pivot foot may be lifted, but may not return to the floor before the ball is released. A player may slide on the floor while trying to secure a loose ball until that player’s momentum stops. At that point that player cannot attempt to get up or rollover. A player securing a ball while on the floor cannot attempt to stand up unless that player starts a dribble. A player in this situation may also pass, shoot, or call a timeout. If the player is flat on his or her back, that player may sit up without violating.

 6. During a fumble the player is not in control of the ball, and therefore, cannot be called for a traveling violation. A fumble is the accidental loss of player control when the ball is unintentionally dropped or slips from a player’s grasp. After a player has ended a dribble and fumbled the ball, that player may recover the ball without violating. Any steps taken during the recovery of a fumble are not traveling, regardless of how far the ball goes and the amount of advantage that is gained. It is always legal to recover a fumble, even at the end of a dribble, however that player cannot begin a new dribble, which would be a double dribble violation. A player who fumbles the ball when receiving a pass may legally start a dribble.

 7. The shooter can retrieve his or her own airball, if the referee considers it to be a shot attempt. The release ends team control. It is not a violation for that player to start another dribble at that point. When an airborne player keeps control of an attempted shot that is blocked and is unable to release the ball and returns to the floor with it, that player has not traveled; it is a jump ball. If, in this situation, the shooter releases the ball, then this is simply a blocked shot and play continues.

 8. Palming or carrying is when a player gains an advantage when the ball comes to rest in the player's hand, and the player either travels with the ball, or dribbles a second time. There is no restriction as to how high a player may bounce the ball, provided the ball does not come to rest in a player’s hand. Steps taken during a dribble are not traveling, including several that are sometimes taken when a high dribble takes place. It is not possible for a player to travel during a dribble.

 9. A player inbounding the ball may step on, but not over the line. During a designated spot throwin, the player inbounding the ball must keep one foot on or over the three-foot wide designated spot. An inbounding player is allowed to jump or move one or both feet. A player inbounding the ball may move backward as far as the five-second time limit or space allows. If player moves outside the three-foot wide designated spot it is a violation, not travelling. In gymnasiums with limited space outside the sidelines and endlines, a defensive player may be asked to step back no ore than three feet.

 10. The defender may not break the imaginary plane during a throwin. If the defender breaks the imaginary plane during a throwin, the defender’s team will receive a warning. Any subsequent violations will result in a team technical foul. If the defender contacts the ball after breaking the imaginary plane, it is a player technical foul and a team warning will be recorded. If the defender fouls the inbounding player after breaking the imaginary plane, it is an intentional personal foul, and a team warning will be recorded.

 11. The inbounding player does not have a plane restriction, but has five seconds to release the ball and it must come directly onto the court. The ball can always be passed into the backcourt during a throwin. This situation is not a backcourt violation.

 12. If a player's momentum carries him or her off the court, he or she can be the first player to touch the ball after returning inbounds. That player must not have left the court voluntarily and must immediately return inbounds. That player must have something in and nothing out. It is not necessary to have both feet back inbounds.

 13. If a blind screen is set on a stationary defender, the defender must be given one normal step to change direction and attempt to avoid contact. If a screen is set on a moving defender, the defender gets a minimum of one step and a maximum of two steps, depending on the speed and distance of the defender.

 14. The hand is considered part of the ball when the hand is in contact with the ball. This includes holding, dribbling, passing, or even during a shot attempt. Striking a ball handler or a shooter on that player's hand that is incidental to an attempt to play the ball is not a foul, no matter how loud it sounds or how much it hurts.

 15. Reaching in is not a foul. The term is nowhere to be found in any rulebook. There must be contact to have a foul. The mere act of reaching in, by itself, is nothing. If contact does occur, it’s either a holding foul or an illegal use of hands foul. When a player, in order to stop the clock, does not make a legitimate play for the ball, holds, pushes or grabs away from the ball, or uses undue roughness, the foul is an intentional foul.

 16. Over the back is not a foul. The term is nowhere to be found in any rulebook. There must be contact to have a foul. A taller player may often be able to get a rebound over a shorter player, even if the shorter player has good rebounding position. If the shorter player is displaced, then a pushing foul must be called. A rebounding player, with an inside position, while boxing out, is not allowed to push back or displace an opponent, which is a pushing foul.

 17. A defensive player does not have to remain stationary to take a charge. A defender may turn away or duck to absorb contact, provided he or she has already established legal guarding position, which is both feet on the playing court and facing the opponent. The defender can always move backwards or sideways to maintain a legal guarding position and may even have one or both feet off the playing court when contact occurs. That player may legally rise vertically. If the defender is moving forward, then the contact is caused by the defender, which is a blocking foul.

 18. The mere fact that contact occurs does not constitute a foul. Incidental contact is contact with an opponent which is permitted and does not constitute a foul. Contact, which occurs unintentionally in an effort by an opponent to reach a loose ball, or contact which may result when opponents are in equally favorable positions to perform normal defensive or offensive moves, should not be considered illegal, even though the contact may be severe. Contact which does not hinder an opponent from participating in normal defensive or offensive movements should be considered incidental.

 19. A ten-second count continues when the defense deflects or bats the ball in the backcourt. When a dribbler is advancing the ball into the frontcourt, the ball maintains backcourt status until both feet and the ball touch entirely in the frontcourt.

 20. During a throwin, even under a team’s own basket, if the throwin is deflected, tipped, or batted by an offensive player in the frontcourt to an offensive player in the backcourt; or after a missed field goal attempt or a missed foul shot attempt, if the ball is deflected, tipped, or batted by an offensive player in the frontcourt to an offensive player in the backcourt; these are not a backcourt violations. In both cases team control, a player holding or dribbling the ball, has not yet been established.

 21. During a throwin or jump ball, any player; or a defensive player, in making a steal; may legally jump from his or her frontcourt, secure control of the ball with both feet off the floor, and return to the floor with one or both feet in the backcourt. The player may make a normal landing and it makes no difference whether the first foot down is in the frontcourt or the backcourt. These three situations are not backcourt violations.

 22. The closely guarded rule is in effect in frontcourt only, when a defender is within six feet of the ball handler. Up to three separate five-second counts may occur on the same ball handler, holding, dribbling, and holding. The count continues even if defenders switch. The five-second count ends when a dribbler gets his or her head and shoulders ahead of the defender. 

23. The intent of the three-second rule is to not allow an offensive player to gain an advantage. Referees will not call this violation if the player is not gaining an advantage. There is no three-second count between the release of a shot and the control of a rebound, at which time a new count starts. There is no three-second count during a throwin. There is no three-second count while the ball is in the backcourt. Allowance shall be made for a player who, having been in the restricted area for less than three seconds, dribbles in or moves immediately to try for goal.

 24. The head coach may request and be granted a timeout if his or her player is holding or dribbling the ball, or during a dead ball period. A player saving the ball in the air can ask for and be granted a timeout even if that player is going out of bounds. The key is whether or not the player has control of the ball.

 25. On free throws, there is a maximum of two offensive players and four defensive players in the six marked lane spaces. The defense must be in both bottom spaces on all free throws. The shooter and all the players in the designated lane spaces must wait until the ball hits rim or backboard before entering the lane. During a free throw, no opponent, including bench personnel, may disconcert the free thrower. 26. Kicking the ball is intentionally striking it with any part of the leg or foot. An unintentionally kicked ball is never illegal, regardless of how far the ball goes and who recovers it. It is also illegal to hit the ball with a fist.

PCTI7 Countdown

Countdown Clock

PCTI Basketball Training: The Fil-A

Wes's response:

On average, how often do you play? 5v5 once every 2 months maybe once a month. 2v2 weekly
How did you get involved in the game(s)?  How does it get put together? Random pickups with college friends and then I got the 2v2setup with some folks from work
Whats the make up of the group? Age, skill, size, etc 5v5 late 20s avg high school players, avg height ; 2v2 poor players late 30s
What is your role in these games? How does that differ from your role in PCTI?
What is one thing you love about it? What is something you don't like? far different. More confident & more control. % don't change; like that I'm more involved in game action & more confident; don't like that it's not as competitive

Editor's Note: 2 v 2, shoot me. Whatever stroke you enjoy I guess. I know that Wes' does work nights which makes finding a good game a little bit more difficult.

PCTI Basketball Training: TyPo

Here is what TP sent for his hoops play:

I have not played a pick up game since my injury last april. My hope is to be back playing mid - may and by game time I should be running games again regularly. Luckily the gym I joined in knoxville runs games 4 days a week, so I definitely have access to as many games as I can handle when Im ready to get back at it. Prior to that I was basically a pick up junkie. I would play any where with anyone at any skill level. I had an in on and "invite only" pick up game in Chattanooga on monday nights that was stiff competition (this is where I got injured). It was mostly people age 22-30. 3/4 played college ball and a few had experience overseas in semi-pro ball. This was by far the best pick up basketball I have been a part of. I also had weekend games in knoxville, my father in law is on the school board in Maryville, so on saturday mornings he would open the gym, and Ben and I would do our best to get some decent players in there. Sometimes it was good sometimes not so much. MOST of the time but not always, Ben and I were the 2 best players in the gym.. probably unconsciously by design... Playing pick up basketball is probably my favorite thing to do and i will play with literally anyone that can get a game together. The good thing is that I feel like I'm good enough to play with really anyone and not be team cancer, but I'm also bad enough to play with anyone if you know what I mean. Only thing I can really say negative about pick up is pointless arguing (court B at the T-rec... ew). 

Editor's Note: This obviously really sucks for TP, but from updates from the BW I get, he seems to be progressing nicely. I fully expect an in depth post from someone in mid to late June with a progress report.

PCTI Basketball Training: The Doctor

I was inspired a little over a month ago to write a post to talk about the games that I play in to condition myself for PCTI, since that is literally 95% of the reason I play in these games. I thought of some questions for Bin to answer since he plays in the games with me. Then I thought, while everyone is probably sitting on the edge of their seat to find out about the type of hoops I have, I bet they have their own games. Then I got really excited as I sent the email out. First, this was the quickest response I have ever gotten for something PCTI related. I have a majority of the answers by the second day. The other part that got me fired up was most people came back and said they were really excited to see what others are doing along with share about their experience.

I really had a vision of everyone taking the (Tim) Raines and telling about their hoop experience in a free form style. This did not happen, but everyone answered the questions that I sent. If you have forgotten, here are the questions I asked:

·        On average, how often do you play?

·        How did you get involved in the game(s)? How does it get put together?

·        Whats the make up of the group? Age, skill, size, etc

·        What is your role in these games? How does that differ from your role in PCTI?

·        What is one thing you love about it? What is something you don't like?

So I am going to break this down into each individual and will post at least 1 per day. I did break it down into three groups as well: 1 time or less per week, 1-2x per week, and 3+ times per week. I hope you enjoy the answers as much as I did. First up is the singer formerly known as the Act Man.

Joe: I love this idea. However, I haven't had a game in years (un)fortunately. So my answers would all be N/A.

Editor’s note: While he may not have a consistent game, I don’t believe for a second he isn’t playing at all. Then again, that calf injury from 2012 hasn’t fully healed yet.

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A Tag Team is Brewing

It's no secret I try and incorporate wrestling into every aspect of my life, every chance I get.  One of my favorite parts of wrestling, and sports for that matter is building teams, factions forming, etc. With the new and old blood being injected into PCTI, and everyone under one roof, it's safe to assume there will be many of both when we walk away from Cincinnati.

That said, there is one tag team brewing organically that will burst onto the scene the second they hit the floor together in July, and that's the Nature and Rainbowboys... These two have the potential to be dynamic together as skinny, high energy, hell raising hustle guys that can fill it up offensively.  They are almost identical in what they bring to the court (except one conventional, one is not), and push their bodies to the put of exhaustion (except they never get tired), driving the other team crazy all the while.  Off the court, they both share similar interests as fake outdoorsy people that think the Pac NW is an enjoyable place.

In a way, they kind of resemble the prior WWF Tag Team, High Energy of Owen Hart (RIP) and Koko B. Ware... Nature being the golden boy look who is a on court tactician with superior athleticism, and Rainbow as the awkward, ugly annoying, Koko B. Ware.

Will be interesting to see what their chemistry is like on the court, but expect this combination to be a deciding factor one way or another for The Brats.

Hope a Reds game is on the agenda because I need one of these in my life Donley. I also hear there's "all you can eat" seats....

Q&A with PCTI's Most Versatile Participant

First, this has been a terrific segment in the history of the PCTI blog. In many ways, this series of interviews has helped us to get to know our teammates better and also allowed participants an opportunity to express themselves uninterrupted.

Second, BC rarely gets an adequate amount of praise for his contributions on the court. And yet, he is routinely among the most valuable and sought-after players in PCTI. I've often wondered about this and he has the opportunity to address it in question 3 below.

Third, although known for his wit, BC is also one of the most thoughtful and introspective players in PCTI. You'll see below that he cares deeply for PCTI's future but also enjoys the competition and discussion of said competition. This is an underrated part of BC's overall personality and character.

Without further delay, I present one of my favorite PCTI participants, BC:

1) Give us an update on family, career, hobbies, and what's going on in your life. Also give us an update on your personal PCTI preparations.

Man, it's been an unusual year. At the last PCTI, I was preparing for a major transition: moving to Kentucky without definite plans of what is next. My wife Angie got a nice opportunity in TV here (the rare TV job where it actually made sense to move down in market size) and so far things are working out really well for her, not to mention it's nice being back closer to both our families. It took me considerably longer to figure out what I wanted to do, with many fits and starts over the past half of a year. I even spent three months around Christmas sorting mail overnight at UPS. Not that I was considering that as a career, I just needed to make some money and do something. I have continued to work in local TV since I got back, but only part time. I have turned down a few full time opportunities in local TV because I think as long as we're in Lexington, it doesn't make a lot of sense for me. In the past few months I've transitioned in to marketing and by the time PCTI rolls around, I will have started my own marketing company (with one employee: me). The easiest way to explain what I'm trying to do is that I want to take all the bullshit skills I use in PCTI in the blog or on the videos and find companies to pay me to do the same thing for them...we'll see how it goes.

As for PCTI training, I'm playing basketball two to three times a week. Availability to find the time to play is easily the biggest benefit to having a lot less work than what I'm used to. The game isn't great as far as pace goes (it's decent in terms of competitiveness) but at least I have the ball in my hands often. I'm also making an effort to lift more than I have in several years.

2) You have various nicknames that have been bestowed upon you in PCTI and in general life, including BC, Bambi, Big Pun, BBC, The Brat, etc....what is your favorite and why?

I like them all because I think they're all hilarious. Danny has set the tone with making BC basically my name and I'm cool with that. I think I prefer Big Pun or Big Brent Carney because they're both so stupid. Bambi is money because you can't watch the PCTI tapes and not see it.

3) You have had some detractors over the PCTI years who have criticized your game for whatever reason. Yet, you are consistently drafted in the first round every year by various captains who all respect your game a great deal. How do you square the criticism with the fact that most captains won't let you fall out of the first round?

I certainly wouldn't hold it against anyone, because I'm not too sure what to think of my standing in PCTI either. I keep expecting a free fall one of these years, but I guess I've done just enough to avoid it. I bet if you asked people to rank the top five best scorers in PCTI, I'd be lucky to make a handful of the lists and yet I think I'm right there with the top scorers in this thing after Abe, of course. In general my stats just don't match with the sort of player I appear to be or maybe to put it better, I'm way down the list of players that the opposing team would fear. One thing that will always hurt me is that my game looks awkward, soft and just flatly not that great on tape. But I've found a way to put up some decent numbers across the board in six years. My guess is that each captain wrestles with the juxtaposition that 80 percent of the players look like better players than me but I've outperformed 80 percent of people, at least to this point.

4) Who is your favorite teammate in PCTI and why? Who is your least favorite teammate and why?

Favorite is tough. I really enjoy playing with everyone and seriously delight in that aspect of PCTI every year. I play a lot of basketball through the course of a year and basically none of it is with guys I like playing with and most of it is with guys who have no idea what they're doing, so the bar is set low for me to appreciate a PCTI teammate. I think I get particular satisfaction out of reuniting with my former high school teammates, Actor and Spotlight (and once upon a time, Mike Hite). It's funny how the little things we learned and the hours we spent practicing together still carries over all these years later. That's especially true for Act since I got four years with him.

Least favorite is Abe. And I say that out of respect. We're almost never on the same team since I'm typically a part of the 2-3 snake picks and he's picked first. I struggle guarding him and when he's on defense and assigned to me he doesn't pay any attention to me until a shot goes up, which gets in my head. He just gives me jumpers and the vast majority of the time it works. Granted, when it doesn't I have got it going and that's led to a few of my scoring outbursts through the years. But when that happens he just comes down and scores, thereby playing me to a draw. Also, his elbow cost me a game in Denver and came right after I scored a few buckets in a row. However, the trip to urgent care did give me a front row seat to watch a 40-something female physician openly, unapologetically, and totally realistically hit on Beas for the better part of an hour while I took my eight stitches.

5) Who is your favorite off-court PCTI buddy and why? Who is your least favorite off-court buddy and why?

The most important thing for me in a PCTI off court buddy is the ability to talk about the games from that day, even if we've already said all there is to say. In the moment, I can't get enough analysis. I think you, Danny, Ben and Donley are all good for that. In a more social aspect, I really enjoy Spot and Beas but I hate the idea of the QuadPod, so that's tough to square with. Smo and I both drink about the exact same (which is not much) before we get loose, so I'll miss him this year, too.

6) You've been MVP, captain, DPOY, all-tournament, double-double machine, and ascended to the Chairmanship of the BOD. Is there anything missing from your resume that would complete it?

I actually have not been MVP and I'd really like to break through and get it. For me it is about getting locked in from the beginning and finding that fine line between playing within myself and playing with sustained aggressiveness. If I do that and knock down some shots, I'll get it one of these days. What bothers me most is that I'm only a .500 level player. I need to get more wins. The way I see it, I've personally played four consecutive below average PCTIs and that kind of eats at me. I've found a way to mask it at times but I need to get back on track and provide my captains a better ROI.

7) What would you like to say to those members of PCTI who have been less-than-supportive of the BOD's efforts and ideas for the betterment of PCTI?

I've actually been meaning to put out a post on this but haven't got around to it, so this seems like the right place. I want to officially relinquish my role as interim commissioner, effective immediately upon arrival in Cincinnati. I've done what I needed to do and Dan the Ratings Man has proven that he in fact did not lose his fastball, he was just going through a valley. I'll continue to stay on in an advisory role but by the time we turn the page to PCTI 8, everything will once more go across Dan's desk. And if you got a problem with that, I got a BIG problem with you.

8) PCTI goes through normal doldrums during the course of the year and that is to be expected in any organization. But it also seems like PCTI suffered through a 3 year negative trend of reduced participation by email, blog, video chat, and other media. Thoughts on why this occurred and how to reverse the malaise in the future?

You know, I didn't think this until the lead in to this year, but I think the biggest thing that hurt PCTI these past few years was the lack of competitiveness on the court. Even though every weekend has been a great time, I think the better the basketball is, the more likely it is to go from a fun vacation, to a year round experience. I'm really enthusiastic about this year because I think the ball will be better and I really think that's going to give us a better weekend than any of us realize. Also, I'm really looking forward to having everyone under the same roof.

9) As PCTI's resident Ron Burgundy, how much pressure do you feel to get everyone involved with the camera and do you prepare questions/thoughts beforehand? Who is the best PCTI interviewee? Who would you like to see interview you?

I don't even remember how doing that came to be in the first place. Personally, the only reason I do it is because I know it's really a good thing for the finished product of the videos. If it were me, I'd much rather be warming up for the games. Plus, at PCTI I'm on vacation from doing on camera interviews and wouldn't mind if it stayed that way. The nice part is, everyone does a really good job with their part. Somehow it always winds up being a good blend of people answering the questions seriously and providing some insight with guys being goofy and ridiculous. The post game stuff is great because it's proof that people really do care, both when they win and lose. I'd be totally cool with Actor taking the (roman) reigns from me to try to breathe a little new life in to it. If he can sing on Instagram on a daily basis, he could handle this.

Honestly, one person I loved to interview (with the exception of last year, when he was just so defeated) was McKinney. He always gave thoughtful answers that weren't too long or too short. As someone who interviews people for a living, you get to appreciate that, even in a totally irreverent setting. As for who interviews me, I think you're doing a standup job at present.

10) What can we expect from you both on and off the court this season? Any particular goals for either? Any last words or
parting shots?

The first thing to look for is me being there for 100 percent of the activities for the first time since PCTI II. I have my lack of steady employment and being an hour away to thank for that. One of the reasons to get out of TV for me was that it was always such a pain in the ass schedule-wise.

On the court, I really want to play well. I spend way too much time in my head and this year I hope to relax a little more, focus on making winning plays and quit thinking (and bitching/bratting) as much as I have in the past. Sometimes I think all this talk about everything that I lead in our 361 day off season further clouds an already fragile mental toughness.

For my game, it's as simple as making a few more shots. If I can score six points a game by way of non-twos, either knocking down a three or getting to the line, I can jump from a 10-11 point a game guy to a 16-17 point game a guy. It worked for me in PCTI I and II (granted, a long time ago) and I got to get back to it. Off the court, I'm gonna take my usual approach of teaching anyone who wants a lesson how to drink. Shoutout to Rhinegeist Truth beer. Also, my parents are Ohio natives and Cincinnati Chili has been the culinary staple in my family since time eternal. I look forward to gauging Bruiser's appreciation or lack of for it.

As for how the teams shape up, I think most everyone has hit the nail on the head in their analysis. The other team has us beat in terms of scoring punch, which over the past few years has been the only predictor you've really needed. But as a few guys have pointed out, that maybe (hopefully) will be less an issue with deeper benches this year. The past few years when you fell behind to the team that could figure out how to score quickest, it just took too much mental and physical energy to crawl out of the hole. The other cool part about this year is that we have four X factors. Two guys who are returning after time away and two rookies. How that works out should go a long way towards determining who has the edge. Kind of like PCTI I when I had no idea what to expect, my first hope is that we have a deeply competitive series. After that, I hope and expect my squad to take it in six or seven.

Sabin

Q&A: Hops - All Good Things Must Come To An End edition

I like my blog posts like my IPAs. That is, to feel the hops at the end. My thanks to Anthony for color coding his responses.




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1. Well, you're the last guy to go. I haphazardly chose the order for this one by one, so read in to it what you will that you were last. Before we launch in to the hoops stuff, lets get caught up on what's going on in your life. I wish I would have started asking this question from the get-go but only thought to with the last few people I conversed with. What's new with job, wife, living situation, etc? 

You referenced in news that you need to lead with your best because you may not have the viewers by the end, so it seems appropriate that I am here. Maybe it’s because you knew I would get answers back to you as quick as or quicker than anyone else so not a lot of lag time for the last one. Not much is new. I am still doing financial planning (so investments and insurance) at Northwestern Mutual. Still married with no kids to Carrie. Living about 2 miles south of downtown Nashville. Still am a drunkard for the most part.

2. You gonna bring any proposals to the table this year in regards to hosting?

I’ll bring something, but not Nashville. I will probably just endorse a spot already listed. My top list of places I would like to see it hosted next year: 1. Austin 2. LA 3. Seattle/Spokane 4. Some beach town 5. Dallas 6. Chattanooga. I am so pumped for Cincy and what Donley has in store. It’s going to be hard to live up to the standards of Portland and Cincy, so good luck to whoever has to plan 8.

3. If I had to summarize your career arc in PCTI, I'd say it started high, took a dip, and after last season returned to its initial height. I don't know if the stats back this up but your game has never really been about the stats anyway. I think everyone in this thing typically tries to build on success and expand what we do before being reminded that the best way to be successful is to stick with what got us there. How would you size up where you fit in to this thing now? 

I think you are exactly right, I am not too worried about stats and can enjoy myself as long as my team is winning and I am helping out. I am also a headcase, so when things are going well and my confidence is up, I can help in a lot of ways. When things go bad, I really hurt my team. After the first 2 years, I wasn’t working out and so I would wear down (especially my knees) after a couple games. I also got away from playing defense and a swing man that makes hustle plays. Last year I felt great going into the weekend and think it showed with me being a positive impact for the majority of the time.

4. Building off of that, how do you help your squad this year and what are your team's greatest strengths? 

As of now, this is the most confidence and best physically I have felt since the first two PCTI’s. I am working out consistently and playing 2-3 times a week every week. I will help my team by flying around on defense and help getting the ball moving on O. I think our team’s greatest strength is we have a very balanced scoring attack with guys who love to move the ball. I also think we have 3 of the 4 best defenders in PCTI.

5. What worries you about either where you guys may have a shortcoming or where we may have a particular advantage? 

The only thing that worries me not having Abe that can create his own shot when everyone else seems gassed. Granted, that doesn’t worry me too much as I think if we are in a good flow, we will get good shots. I think an advantage we have is outside of the Doc, we have the 4 best people at bratting out and 2 rookies who have potential. Wait, is that a disadvantage?

6. I think the biggest surprise after six PCTI's has to be that half of our weekends have been so one sided. Not to mention three of the past four years. I don't think it's possible to state how important a competitive weekend is for the overall experience, even if we perhaps don't realize it at the time. Of course, there's nothing you can do to guaranteee that. It's on the team that's getting its asse kicked to turn things around and so far we've yet to have a team rally out of a hole in the series to come back and win. That leads me to this question, do you think this year will be a repeat of recent history or do you think we're going to return to the epic three day wars reminiscent of PCTI I and II? 

I think we will go back to a competitive weekend of 6 or 7 games. Here is what I think the reason is (I why I am in favor of 8 players per team). In Denver and Portland we had 6 players per team. That means people get tired quicker and play gets sloppy. In this situation, the teams have to match up perfectly in order to be competitive. With 7 or 8 people, you add another layer in there and the margin or talent spreads out that much more. All that being said, I would be surprised if this is a 5 game or less series.

7. Since its inception, you've worn the C on your jersey when it comes to nightlife. Give us a story or two from one of those nights out that maybe has been lost to history or just never brought to light. I think we all know that look some of you have when there was some debauchery from the night before but nobody is saying much come game time. 

I take pride in going out every night. I now usually go out for a couple drinks on the nights we have games the next day, but come Saturday I am getting housed. As far as night memories, here are some I can remember. Angeleeeeee has lost it’s luster since Spot got hitched, but that was one of the best. The group of cougs from Scottsdale was a fun time. The first year when me, you, Abe, and Joe went out and we were just sitting at a table having a beer and Joe jumped out of his chair to stretch because he started cramping was hilarious. My favorite that people may not know about was in Lexington, Abe and I went out but at some point got split up. Next thing I know the bars are about to shut down and I get a call from Abe. He left with this girl to go smoke and didn’t know there was going to be 3 or 4 other people at her place. He had gotten high and didn’t know where he was. It took us 20 minutes to find each other, but we did and embraced like we had been separated for years. We celebrated with Waffle House.

8. If you guys decided to rebrand as the pentapod and had the pick of the rest of PCTI to add as your fifth member, who are you picking? 

In my dreams, Sabin starts drinking, loves it, and is embraced by the QP. As of now, Ben would have to be the leader, but I think TP will make some noise. Last would be Dan the Nutrition Man.

9. Most underrated player in PCTI is? Most overrated? 

This is an interesting question because this can be answered by over the life of PCTI or this year. This can also be talent to draft position or what someone brings to the court vs. what their reputation is. I don’t really care to look at the history and where people were drafted and how they played as of now, I will answer based on this year’s draft. I think based off what we saw last year from Don Don and him being drafted 6^th he would have to be most overrated (now it really seems like I hate his game). I think he said it best that when he tries to force things and does not focus on creating havoc with his hustle and athleticism, he is not nearly as good. Having Abe and Joe  may free him up to do that this year. You could make an argument for Dan but captains have valued his intangibles and defense, so I guess he is properly rated? As for underrated, I will prove that I should be drafted higher than the 9-11 spots. Bruise could make a push for that depending on how effective he is.

10. This is the very last question of the Q&A, which for the record I plan on bringing back every year. As a founding father and an integral part of the Bored or Directors, I'm giving you free reign to comment here on whatever you choose. Take it away. 

I appreciate being considered part of the Bored. I’m basically the tie breaker for if/when you and Dan can’t agree on something (rarely). This is good with me because it means less work for me and I still get credit. I like to think of myself as an idea guy and just pass that along to Dan the Video Editing Man. To wrap up, I just want to say that I value this weekend over any other. The fact we are going into our 7^th year and not slowing down shows how much we all love this weekend. Everyone I tell about the weekend is completely jealous, not to mention the numerous requests I get to be a part of this thing. I have honestly thought of trying to email E60 or some columnist about it because (especially in summer) I think it is so cool and interesting, someone would do a special on it. In fact, I want to do a 30 for 30 style doc on it and the evolution of it, but that would take a ton of time and effort. I jokingly said that I hate everyone’s game in Donley’s Q&A but I love playing with everyone in this because of everyone’s passion for the game. I also want to win in 6 games or less to take over the PCTI overall wins lead. Love the Q&A and glad you are planning on doing it every year.

Q&A: Donley

Right around the time Donley posted about the lodging for PCTI 7, I contacted him for an extended Q&A session. (It's even extended from my original plans, as I realized posting it that I actually asked 16 questions, not 15.)

What follows is a nice preview of what to expect in Cincinnati as well as one of the better recaps of PCTI 6. 

Thanks in advance to Donley for all he's doing to get us set up for this year's trip. 

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1. So, Cincinnati...It's been a long time coming. Since you're the point man for PCTI VII, we're gonna make your Q&A a little extended. So before we get in to the hoops segment of things, lets talk about Cincy/The Nati/The Ambrose Asylum/The Queen City.

The city itself has seen a massive turnaround in the last 10-15 years. Most people probably don't know that the last time I really lived here, in High School, white dudes under the age of 18 had a curfew in the city. As in, I wasn't legally allowed in certain parts of town after like 7:00 I think. The city, like most, had some rough parts of town and one night in 2001 a young black, unarmed male was shot and killed by a white cop. Legit, actual riots ensued and the city probably hit it's rock bottom. Since then money has poured in to revamp the downtown area and they have done wonders - the banks is a cool spot on the river with massive restaurant/bars between the two stadiums, OTR is home to multiple breweries and some of the best food in the city as well as a high end hipster nightlife, there is a brand new casino, and then a lot of history thrown in. So, long story there but I'm loving getting to know my city again and can't wait to share it with the group.

2. Before we get down to the fun stuff, lets knock out the most important aspect: the gym. Anything you can reveal at this point?

I don't want to get into too much until it's actually locked down (hang-up is potential floor work being done), but if we can get the place I want it will be just about a mile from our house. No one will be disappointed I can guarantee it. Naturally the people running the thing are hilariously in love with PCTI, standard.

3. I should have said before the first question that most of us know by now that many of the PCTI plans come together in the final weeks. With that said, anything else about the basketball portion that you're looking forward to, struggling to get locked down, etc.?

Not really, the stats group from I and II are rolling up from Lexington which will be incredible. I am planning to have the games earlier in the day (10:30 tip) to allow for the afternoons to be fully open versus waiting around all morning to play in afternoon games...which I HATE. There are a few other odds and ends that have to be ironed out but nothing substantial. I'm just hoping like hell that this gym won't be scheduled for floor work those days because it will be incredible.

3. There's been a lot of chatter about the roommate draft. Obviously, that's contingent on having our lodging locked down. You've considered many options, where does that stand?

N/A at this point. I've actually, at different points in time, had 3 separate hotels booked for 4-5 rooms before committing to the house. And with the house and not really understanding the layout exactly, it's hard with any degree of certainty that you're knowing what you're getting into picking roommates, even though people will be sharing rooms.

4. For some people (Bruiser, Ratings Man Dan, Wes) food is the most important part of the weekend. Do you have any spots already in mind, whether it be breakfast, lunch or dinner?

I think food has occupied my mind more than anything else in planning the weekend. There is a nice brunch spot called Hangover Easy that's phenomenal, rooftop lunch spots will be regular, and Sat dinner will be fantastic. The good thing is that there are so many options for food down here that you really can't go wrong. I will warn folks about Cincinnati Chili though, it's not what you're used too and could potentially cause some on floor problems if consumed without respect to the chili.

5. Last question before we move on to the usual stuff: Any drinking spots/off-court activities you're eyeing?

Most definitely, there are pockets of awesomeness in different parts of the city. There are a few must-go spots, but I'm not trying to over plan the weekend so that everyone can go enjoy any spot they find some interest in checking out.

6. Alright, as the bridge to get us back to the on court stuff, tell us about what's going on with your life. You guys have moved around a bit and your boy is getting bigger. Will he make an appearance to watch dad hoop a la Mike Hite in PCTI II

The last 3mo have been crazy. I mentioned it in my previous post, but I took a job with Starbucks Corporate here in Cincy. If anyone is interested in what I do just ask me because it's not worth typing it here to bore everyone senseless, just know I'm important AF. Within about 5wks, I accepted the job, bought a house, sold a house and completely moved the whole family (relocation help, but still brutal). Needless to say, getting into planning for PCTI has been a nice reprieve from the regular stuff even though it can get tedious. Little Man G will definitely make an appearance as will my dad, who may be the biggest hit of the weekend for some folks. I've talked about this weekend too much over the years for the family's interest not to be peaked to the point where they have to check it out. But I've already told them expect to see me as much as if we were in Portland. And good thing Smo isn't coming because I wouldn't be able to bring my kid within 100ft, am I right?

7. Me and you may not be the first people that come to mind for some people when thinking about what went wrong for our squad last year, but if you were on our team you know just how much the two of us were struggling to find any sort of consistent rhythm for the entire series. I'm not sure there was a time in any of the five games where one if not both of us wasn't riding the struggle bus. What went wrong for you a year ago?

First off, our team had a lot of short-comings, but I felt we were right there in every game except game 1. Even though some of the others ended with a wider margin, each game felt like we were 5pts down with a cap and unable to get any closer. Our biggest problem was starting the offense and finding a good shot, which when I look back is no one's fault really it's just that between Beas, Spot, yourself, and me we all tried to do too much alone. I'll break it down a little further, I think Spot played really well both shooting and finishing when he got in the lane, but would get lost for long stretches and then when we got tired we saw more bad 3s early in our possessions. I thought Beas played harder than anyone all weekend, but when things went dry offensively he took it upon himself to score (probably the right call) and that kept us more teammate reliant players out of rhythm. You played really well on the glass, but like Beas would try to put it all on your shoulders at times on offense and got forced into some bad shots (see impact on teammate reliant players from earlier). To both your credit and Beas', you both carried us at times when we were on the brink of being blown out - which neither Spot nor I were able to do. I personally struggled game 1 with the shakes (which I get sometimes when I'm short on protein), but other than that was standard with a few streaks of good scoring but overall a poor shooting percentage and I couldn't figure out how best to play off everyone in that collection of players. Each year I have had a 'dud game', like an 0-9 or 1-10 type game that just jacks up my stats for the whole weekend -- I think it was game 4 last year and it always kills my team. And without fail, it will happen this year so just watch out. Then there was Wes and McKinney, who just weren't able to really add to the scoring needs whatsoever.

I'd like to go back and watch the games again because when we swung the ball to start a possession was the only time we got in a good rhythm. But overall, the chemistry was bad, the environment wasn't great within our team and we just didn't get it done. At one point Day 2 Beas had dropped like his 3rd dime to a cutting McKinney who promptly blew yet another reverse layup and as I ran down the court I remember seeing Beas' face - it looked like the Sandlot boys after Benny hit's Smalls that first pop fly, and inside Beas' head was a thousand voices saying "Beasy, he's a sqaure man. HE'S A SQUARE". The tough part was that Beas was fighting really hard to get us a win and his frustrations read on his face and body language, which seemed to put Wes and McKinney (two of the most easily derailed players when it comes to confidence) into even a more uncomfortable 'I can't screw this up" mentality - and an eventual brat-out all-timer from Beas. But Fuck it, we lost and I could have done more, no excuses.

8. How do you turn things around this year?

By getting out of the way of everyone else

9. How do you like your squad and where do you see yourself fitting in?

I love team Over the Hill. Sabes being back has infused some much needed energy into all things PCTI and I'm interested to see where his game is come the weekend, but he's too prideful to not show up as the best basketball player he can be at this point. Abe - GOAT, done. Joe might be the best teammate in PCTI, he does everything really well and can drive a team's energy which is something I thrive off of in-game. I think Spotlight will have some huge games just getting wide open looks on kickouts. Bruiser is such a wild card at this point, I really think the late round pick and the overall snubbing of his existence in PCTI will be taken out on somebody (word is he said TP will wish he'd never been born), I'm just glad he's on my side because he can average double digit boards if he wants to and rebounding is huge. I'll be the guy setting screens and just running around recklessly. Oh hey Wes.

10. When you look across the bow at the other team, what jumps out at you?

You do BC. I realized looking back that we've never played against each other and I don't plan on leaving your hip the whole fucking weekend. Go ahead and start calling me El Diablo because Cincy going to be your hell boy.

[Editor's note: I hadn't realized this, either. One of the keys to my success is that I'm never the focus of anyone's plan defensively and I'd appreciate it if it stayed that way.]

11. Has your squad started scheming on how you're going to go at us? What can you tell us about the game plan and if those conversations haven't happened yet, how would you go about playing against us?

NO

12. You're one of the great characters of PCTI and yet one of the few guys who when I try to think of who your allies and rivals are, no names immediately come to mind. So, who do you most like to compete against and who is your favorite teammate?

It's because in reality, I'm really not boys with anyone in this thing. Rarely have I seen anyone outside of this weekend since college and even more rarely do I talk to anyone. For the most part everyone has some connection of location, long-time friends, etc -- I'm a bit of a lone wolf on that front. So, in that case it's easy to just ride in the middle, but I do enjoy competing against Hops because I feel like there is a large part of him that just hates me on the court - and I can appreciate that.

13. Your versatility is often praised and your roll seems to often change from game to game, or even half to half within a game. With that said, what's the ideal role for you to play for yourself and your squad?

My ideal role is to be just that, flexible, because it means I get to a little of everything all the time. I think versatility is a bit overrated when it's really just being ok at a few things and not really good at any one thing. Best role for me on this squad is to find the gap in our team on O and D then fill it.

14. The most underrated player in PCTI is?

Right now, the Stick...big time

15. Finally, does the Zorro celebration come back back for VII or are you going to be too distracted with your hosting duties? That responsibility has effected people in the past.

I think it's time to let the sword fly once more and maybe a few new ones for some flavor. I implore everyone to get more in the camera during the games, it makes watching them so much more fun. I know that is probably making Sabin's skin crawl, but I want to watch videos and laugh instead of scrutinize all the bounce passes that are being made. As a matter of fact, I challenge all you turd fergs to get up in the cam day 1. And yeah I've heard the distraction/hosting theory, but it won't impact my effort. Beyond that, who knows.

I sure hope we like each other...

Quick side-note before I begin for those that aren't in the know, but I moved from Atlanta back to Ohio in April. I jumped ship from Halyard Health (please take 15min to watch the 60min link below that proves I made a good decision http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-investigates-medical-gear-sold-during-ebola-crisis/) and took a job with Starbucks Corporate - CPG, not retail - at their satellite office here in Cincinnati. This explains much of my absence from the blog and emails, but I'm planning this weekend locally versus from afar as originally anticipated. And hopefully working for one of the most socially and ecologically aware public companies in the world is enough to keep Beas from complaining about pollution for four days - but he'll probably complain about the red cup thing...chump dick.

Anyway, the reason for this post is to unveil the next step in PCTI evolution. It comes with some good news and some bad news.  The good news, we've locked up a 7 bedroom 3 story mansion just northeast of downtown (5min) that claims to be able to sleep 20. I've been vigorously texting with the owner of the joint over the past 12 hours and this guy promises an incredible experience. He got so excited after I told him the backstory of our trip that he just about teleported through the phone and tried to jump on my non-chumpy D. You've all likely gotten an email invite from airbnb, so go in and accept that invite ASAP.  So what's the bad news?  Bad news is that we will not be holding a roommate draft. But I look at it this way, it allows for the opportunity to have a Real World like entrance and bed selection process -- so if you're the last one in town that Wednesday, good luck.  Or we could just make the rooks sleep in the attic with Fuller. So why is this the best thing you'll hear all month:

1. We've never done it before
2. Invariably everyone tries to fit in a small hotel room to hang out as a group and it's always miserably small
3. Less corralling of people to gather for departing to gym, food, entertainment, etc
4. Increased downtime comfort, instead of laying in a bed that someone else likely just sat on for 45min with post game sweat...couches galore
5. MORE DEUCE FOR EVERYONE
6. It costs the same as a hotel would downtown for an F'ng mansion

Here are just a few questions I asked the host in case you were wondering the same:

Will you provide additional towels and linens?  Because we will be showering A Lot.

Yes

Do you have a backyard?

Yes, but it's small-ish (no idea what that means and there is no picture on the website)

If an issue comes up during the stay, is there someone nearby to address the concern?

Yes, the host is a qualified Super Host or some shit based off the amount of business he does with airbnb and the reviews he's gotten at all of his properties.

Is Wes Murray allowed on the premises?

Pending 

Expect more information from me in the coming weeks as that I10 rounds into shape. Also, know one thing...I'm puttin in work to make sure that this weekend is the best one you'll have all year.

Until next time...

Q&A Stickman

Perhaps the most unheralded of the founding fathers, nobody brings the physicality anywhere near the way Stickman does. Ben Wilson saying that Bruiser once pinned Smo so far under the basket that he got stuck in between the pads on the wall remains one of the best all-time jokes in PCTI history.

It's good to have Bruiser back after a year away. His Q&A follows.

Two thoughts before you read it. A dozen or so of these in and for the first time I'm kicking myself for forgetting to ask a question. I would have loved to know how many people in PCTI Bruiser likes/respects more than Deuce. That linebacker bond runs strong. Second, Stickman hooked my squad up with another name. First we were the Brats, then the Brats (as in the sausage) and now...see question 8.


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1. I'm not just saying this to say it, you were missed a year ago. It's not the same anytime a founding father has to sit one of these out. With that said, it happens. Just wanted to let you know I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say, we're damn glad you're back.

So, since it's been a while. How's life? Fatherhood, work, Nashville, etc?
Life’s pretty good. I love being a dad and hanging out with my little girl. She’s turned me into a little softy. Work is good. We are having a great year sales wise, we’re building a new office/warehouse, and since I’m being groomed to take over and run things once my dad retires I’m involved in everything so I’m usually pretty busy. As for Nashville, I couldn’t tell you the last time I went there. Having a baby makes it difficult to get out so we typically just hang around the Nolensville/Cool Springs area. But I’m sure Nashville is as amazing as ever and would be a perfect spot for the next PCTI….just saying.

2. Danny has spent much of the off-season blatantly poking at you by openly questioning your dedication to basketball. Not to PCTI, but to playing the other 362 days a year. What do you have to say to that?

It makes me laugh. Danny loves poking the bear but he’s got the right to question it. I haven’t played as much as I’d like to. I have several excuses, but that’s all they are, excuses. I’ve picked it up over the past two months playing at least once a week but I’ve been trying to go 2-3 times a week. There’s a pickup game out here in Spring Hill that plays every Mon, Wed & Fri morning that I try making it too. With PCTI just a couple months away I’ve really put a push on going at least twice a week but sometimes life just gets in the way and I don’t make it.

3. Every few years you seem to show up looking 10 times more physically imposing than anyone else in this thing could ever dream to be. Then, "have you seen Bruiser?" is the trending question Day 1. So who are we gonna see when you walk in to Cincinnati?

I haven’t let myself completely go by any means but I’m not going to be in the same shape I’ve been for some other PCTI’s….or will I be? Gotta keep the other team guessing.

4. Thoughts on the nickname Stick Man? It's somehow managed to stick in PCTI and is one of the most underrated nicknames in this thing.
Doesn’t quite have the same ring as Bruiser but I’m cool with it. Probably a more accurate description these days.

5. I'm gonna drop some news on you to see gauge your reaction. As was widely speculated, there have in fact been some preliminary discussions within the Bored about possibly housing everyone under one roof in a rental property. Knowing how you are one of the best at scrutinizing the weekend's setup/planning/schedule, what do you make of that idea?
I think it’s a great idea. If all of us are under one roof there’d be more interaction between everyone instead of just several groups of 3-4 people hanging out, we’d be able to organize everyone better dinner/boozing/games/etc. and Danny could make everyone power omelets in the morning. I’m Sold.

6. Alright, lets shift the focus to this season. Once again, you're attached to Sabin. How do you balance the fact that he obviously has tremendous admiration for you with the reality that you two have been incredibly unsuccessful when paired together?
I don’t care what our record is together, I love playing with Sabin. He’s a team player and doesn’t try to do too much on his own for the most part. He plays hard whether he’s winning or losing and despises losing. AND he tries getting me involved in the offense more than anyone else in PCTI except for possibly The Doctor or DK. I’d rather play with someone like that and lose than be on a team where I never touch the ball and/or one person takes 80% of the shots and we win. I fucking hate winning that way. I’ll do what it takes to win but if it’s to the point to where my team is better with me on the bench for most the game or not contributing at all, then it’s time I hang it up in regards to PCTI.

7. Top to bottom what do you make of your squad?
I love our squad. I think we have a good combination of scoring, rebounding, size, strength & speed. Josh is the best and Doc can be when he’s fired up; both are scoring machines. Sabin’s game is typically more polished than most and his game on both sides of the ball is solid. I think Donley is one of the best all-around players in this thing. You got me and Wes coming off the bench and that’s obviously the wild card. It all depends on what kind of shape we both show up in. If we both can contribute some solid minutes, I think we win the series.

8. What about the opponent?
Chump dicks

9. I'm guessing that if we polled PCTI on who are the most consistent players, you would finish near the top. Yet as a guy who is always described as "you know what you're going to get with him," there have definitely been some years where you had a much larger impact on your team than others. How would you explain that? 

I guess it really depends on what kind of basketball shape I’m in and how my team utilizes me. Sometimes I see the ball on offense, sometimes I barely get to touch it. Just depends on how I’m playing and how the flow of the game is going. The main thing is the shape I’m in though. If I can stay on the court and play hard, I usually do pretty well.

10. I made it nine questions without discussing your PCTI win-loss record and your losing streak. How much does that eat at you and will it be a motivator this year?

DUDE, it fucking KILLS me. I hate be THAT guy that’s only won once. I don’t think I’m a terrible player but I mean it’s getting hard to ignore the fact that whatever team I’m on loses. So either I’m just really not a very good player and I drag my team down or my game is just so different than everyone else’s on my team that I screw the flow and chemistry up and we end up losing. I HATE LOSING.