Put it in God's Hands!!

Its been awhile since my last blog post I guess u can say its been a lot going on here in Japan. As you all may know Japan was struck wtih a terrible earthquake and Tsunami last week that was truly devastating. I have been here for 3 years and I have experienced tremors here and there but nothing quite like this. Even though I was almost 600 miles away from the center of the earthquake and 300 miles away from Tokyo we still felt it. It is really crazy to me how the earth can just move like that and tear down everything thats built on top of its surface. I am truly blessed to be in a area which was not really affected thanks to the man upstairs. I pray everyday for the people here in Japan and hope they come together as one through this difficult time. I participated in a disaster relief fundraiser last weekend and my team raised over 40,000. I am so glad to have been a part of that it was the least I could do. Our season continues through this tough time and I honestly think that this will take people minds off of what happened for at least of couple hours so I think it was a good idea to continue the rest of our season. I think the people in Japan need something to look forward to some type of entertainment to soften the blow. I know a lot of pro teams here like Soccer, Volleyball, and the other basketball league here (JBL) Have cancelled there seasons but the BJ league stands strong. Profits from our games will be donated to the city heavily affected by the earthquake so I think this will be a good idea to get Japan headed back into the right direction. Im really excited to start the season back up tomorrow against Osaka its been almost 2 weeks since we played. Continue to keep Japan in your prayers..

L.Rice #33

Success In our Future

Hello its been awhile since my last blog entry I have been kind of busy. First things first Im glad we got the monkey off our back this weekend losing 6 in a row is not fun at all. We are way better team than what we had been displaying the last couple of weeks but every team goes through a dry spell even the great ones, but it takes a lot a determination and self confidence to bounce back from things like that. We start this weekend off against Tokyo Apache and I can honestly say I have been waiting for this game all year long! We have our start Shooting Guard back Mikey Marshall this weekend coming off an injury (Boy did we miss him) so this weekend should be exciting because I know he is anxious to get back on the court. This season is going by so fast I can't believe its march already. We have to really focus on the rest of the season to try to get back to the #1 spot in the west so we can get home court advantage. I know it will not be easy but I know we can do it because we have a great team and I believe in us..See you all saturday in Yasu!

L.Rice #33 Go Lakes!!

Back to Business

I have never been more anxious to get back on the court this weekend than I am right now. We are back at home against Okinawa and we need these two wins coming off of 3 straight losses. This is the first time we have lost this many games in a row all season long, but Im sure we will get back on track this weekend. In sports every team goes through its ups and down throughout the course of the season, I am glad we are going through this now so we can correct our mistakes before the playoffs start. I know our fans will be glad to see us back at home playing and I hope they will be louder than ever before! I just got back from the Parco and Seibu mall went and did a little shopping. The Body Shop is my favorite store here in Japan. I love the Body wash they have and also the Body butter lotion, so to all my fans if you are ever in the body shop think of me and pick me up something lol..Game starts tomorrow at 4 and I can't wait, see you all there!!

L.Rice #33 GO Lakes!!

Time seems to Fly!

Is it just me or does time seem to be flying by already this year. I cant believe its February already and we only have like 20 more games left. I have really been enjoying myself since my wonderful girlfriend arrived a couple of weeks ago. I was kind of skeptical about how she would adjust to the culture of Japan but I think she likes it so far and it kind of surprised me. Tomorrow I have to leave for a road trip to Miyazaki and we will be gone until Monday so she will be here alone so we will see how she handles things on her own but I think she will be ok lol. Miyazaki recently had a Mountain Erupt not to long ago so Im interested to see whats going on up there once we get there. We need to win these 2 games this weekend to keep our position at 1st place in the conference so we have to leave it all out on the court this weekend because it will just be us there. Monday is Valentines day Im so excited about this!! There is nothing better than spending this day with someone you truly love and adore. I got something special planned for that day I hope she really likes it. Well Im off to pack for this flight tomorrow so until next time have a blessed day!!

L.Rice #33

L.Rice #33

Great Weekend!

This past weekend was really great. We started the regular season back up against two games against Saitama coming back from All Star Break. We really needed these two wins and plus they were home games which made it even more special to us. I love playing in front of the Lakestars fans, they get me so hype and ready to play with the enthusiasm they bring to the game. I truly believe we have the best fans in the BJ league because they are always there for us even when things are tough. We got both wins this weekend and I played really well. I think I was so excited about the games because I knew my girlfriend was coming here to Japan on Monday so that gave me an extra energy boost hahaha. We also added a 5th american to our team which will be Josh Peppers and I am really looking forward to playing with him. We are currently in 1st place right now in the Western Division so we plan on trying to keep this spot for the remainder of the season so that we can get home court advantage throughout the playoffs. We have a really special team and I think we are just scratching the surface on what we are capable of doing. This weekend we have 2 more home games against Shimane so Im really looking forward to this as well. If your in Japan this weekend come on down to Shiga and check us out..haha

L.Rice #33 Go Lakes!!!

Back To Work!

Well This past weekend was the BJ League All Star break so we have not had practice since Friday. I didn't do much this weekend just kind of hung around and talk to friends and family back in the States. I had to do a talk show on Saturday morning which lasted 6 hours so I was pretty tired afterwards but somehow I mustered up some energy from somewhere and went to the gym for a couple of hours. We start practice again tomorrow and I can't wait because I miss playing basketball. We have 2 home games this weekend against Saitama and Im pretty excited to get back on the court. We need these two wins to make a push back to 1st place in our divison (Currently 1 game out of 1st) and try to secure it for the remainder of the season. I know my teammates are excited to get back on the court so this week at practice should be interesting. If you happen to be in Japan this weekend come check us out! lol

2 Basketball Leagues in Japan

There are two different leagues here in Japan one called the JBL and the other one is the BJ League. I have had the honor to play in both of these leagues over the past 3 years and I must say they are a bit different. I played for the Hitachi Sunrockers in the JBL my first two years here in Japan. In this particular league you can only have two import players (Americans) On each team and there is a rule that you can only have one import on the floor at a time. This league is really good and what I like about it is that it makes you play harder because you have to share time with the other american so really you are only playing about 20 minutes a game. The JBL has only 8 teams in the league and 3 of those teams are in Tokyo so there is not a lot of traveling involved. This league usually starts in September early october, but the teams require you to report to your team in Late July. The other league which I am currently in as of now, is ran a little differently. In the BJ League you can have up to 5 import players on a team but can only have 3 on the court at a time. In the 2nd quarter you are only allowed to have 2 imports on the floor, but in the 3rd and 4th it goes back to normal. The BJ League is split up in east and west divisions kind of like the NBA and there are over 20 teams in this league spread out all over Japan so you do a lot of traveling. This league starts a little later than the JBL and runs all the way until may playing 52 games!! Players usually report in late August and the season kicks off a month and a half later.