Entry #0005
Date: March 27, 2006
Time: 12:42 am
Location: Toronto, ON
Moment:
My Bedroom (just arrived home from the Milwaukee game)
Dear Journal,
Late night tonight, I need to get my
butt into bed shortly so I could have a fresh morning and be ready for
practice. My wakeup time is 9:30am, so I'll try to make this short, but
I'm too excited so don't mind me if I blabber off a bit :)
I guess is safe to start off my journal
by saying "Wow, what a game, eh, overtime". By the way, for
those of you that don't know what "eh" means, that's Canadian
talk for "huh", but it's pronounced "ay". [Eh] is a useful word that is very important and is the basis of all Canadian
communications, lol. I sound like a dictionary. In truly, I picked up
the word pretty quickly thanks to the great fans of Toronto. Here's
another fun fact about the word "eh". It is used in conjunction with other words, or simply by itself. The tone or the slight differences in exclamation also changes the
meaning, lol. Gotta love Canada, eh!
Okay, back to the ball game, just to
give you the brief recap... it was March 26, 2006 at a distant location
far, far away. The road fans at the Milwaukee game were fierce towards
my fellow Raptors. Okay, let me stop now, I sound like I'm about to
start a long'old bedtime story here, lol. I'm just in a laughing
giggling mode tonight. Perhaps it may have something to do with the
48-point performance that occur today in my young career, eh, lol.
Okay, let me finish explaining here. We lost to the Bucks in overtime.
Yes, I know, this SUCKS! Man, especially the way it went down in
overtime. But regardless, we were able to compete with such a great team
like the playoff Bucks with out our main big man Chris
Bosh. Shouts to Chris, get well real fast there buddy, we
gonna need you against the sizzling Miami Heat. Anyways, tonight I think
we should strong unity as a team and we kept it together up until the
end. I can't front, it would have been nice if we got away with a
victory on the road, but we fought all the way through, now we just
gotta keep it moving to the next game. Keep the team unity going. That's
the way this business works. You can't dwell on the outcomes of one
game, cause you gotta get ready for a bunch more that are coming up.
Let's talk about the "zone".
What is the zone? Basically, you're on fire! That simple. I felt like I
was in the zone tonight. I put up 32 shots, which is a lot, but when
you're in the zone, it doesn't feel like that at all. I didn't feel like
I was rushing my shots or forcing anything. I made 20 of the 32, 6-of-11
behind the arc, but all with such a smooth flow. I felt like everything
was just coming to me so naturally. A lot of this goes credited towards
my teammates for placing the ball for me in the right spots; thank you
guys. It felt like the basket was 10 times the size and the ball was the
size of a baseball. It didn't matter where I shot it from cause in my
head I visualized it going in way before I even took the shot. It's
crazy. I mean, mind you, not all my shots went in, but I was still blown
away. The last time I felt like this I would probably have to say it was
my freshman year at UConn back in January 2004 - the
game against Rice. I had 25 points in 27 minutes with
10-of-11 shooting from the field, 3-of-3 from behind the 3pt arc,
plus added 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Not bad for a rookie, I mean
freshman, I mean, you know what I mean, lol.
Man, you know what... none of this
matters, because we lost. Yeah, it is a great accomplishment in my
career. But, at the end of the day, the NBA business is not determined
by individual numbers, but by wins and loses, and we lost. I must admit
that's the only thing that sucks the most for me right now. Well, that
and the fact that my UConn Huskies couldn't finish with a win in a
similar overtime game situation vs. George Mason. There's always at
least one Cinderella story every year at March Madness. This year is all
about GMU. I wish them luck in their race to the finals.
Rookie Charlie Villanueva poured in 48 points, the most by any first-year player since Allen Iverson scored 50 in
1997 - click here to view this magnificent performance
Have a blessed
day,
Charlie Villanueva #31
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Entry #0004
Date: March 16, 2006
Time: 3:42 pm
Location: Toronto, ON
Moment:
My Brother's Room (after practice aka "going to work")
Dear
Journal,
Today practice was cool, a little
lighter than usual despite the tough lost last night against the
defending Eastern Conference Champions Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are
a true definition of what teamwork is all about. You know to me, they're
one of the few teams, maybe the only team that I could compare them to
us when it comes to the potential. I know many might think we're a team
far from them. But I truly believe we're just one or two steps away from
becoming playoff contenders. As many of you might already know, in the
past games we've been able to demonstrate that we could compete and beat
anyone in the NBA at any giving night. Our team is full of talent, guys
that want to win and play hard. We just need to keep working hard and
focus on earning these wins the aggressive way, by taking control of all
48 minutes. Coach told us we played well as a team last night. We out
rebounded them. We shot more shots; I think 92 over 81. We just missed a
couple of open shots that would have been crucial down the stretch. We
can't afford to lose games like this. This is the story of our season:
We could off, but we didn't.
Coach is great. I love the fact that he
truly does believe in us and it's not just something he's just saying to
boost our confidence. You could tell by his tone of voice and the look
in his eyes that he's serious. In practice today, we did more team
bonding more than anything. Towards the end, we goofed around a bit and
played 3-on-3s. Eric Williams and I did the comical commentary,
lol. It was hilarious. If any one of you know E. Will the way we
know him, you know his famous saying is "Ohhhhh Baby!" :)
Oh and yeah, thanks to the Ford Motors
group and all for giving me the opportunity to do that television
commercial. You guys should see the crazy hook up that did with the Ford
Fusion ride. It's nice! For more info, check this out: Raptors Ford Fusion
Have a blessed
day,
Charlie Villanueva #31
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Entry #0003
Date: February 28, 2006
Time: 3:16 am
Location: Toronto, ON
Moment:
My Kitchen (arriving after the game vs. Miami)
Dear
Journal,
It's been a
while, but I've been on the road on business. What a journey this has
turned out to be. We go on the road on a 9-day trip resulting in 3
loses. Three games we should have won, but we didn't close the deal.
There are a few reasons why, but the important thing is to realize here
is that we fought and learned from all those tight games. Experience in
this league carries you over. I'm learning that the hard. It was tough,
but I think we all learned as a team the sacrifices that will be needed
to win games as the season continues. The second have of the season has
had a rough start, but my hope and belief is still up high. And I have
all the confidence in my team and myself that we will progress to
succeed one way or the other.
It's a late
night for me, as the flight got in from Miami at like 2:30 in the crack
of dawning. So, I'm gonna end this entry a bit short - gonna take a
quick shower; have a bowl of some Honey Nut Cheerios with skim milk; and
hit the sack to past out (sooooo tired). I got a pretty early day
tomorrow that begins with practice at 11am. Need my beauty sleep
:)
Have a blessed
day,
Charlie Villanueva #31
PS. Hey,
forgot to mention the best part of the road trip... we got good news.
The Toronto Raptors organization has hired Bryan Colangelo as our new
General Manager. Nice! I don't know much of the guy, but I hear he is a
proven winner with a great resume & experience. I can't wait to meet
the guy and look forward in working for the man. Congratz Bryan, Welcome
to Canada :) Also, quick shout to Mr. Rob Babcock, best wishes, still
love that guy!
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Entry #0002
Date: February 14, 2006
Time: 11:16 am
Location: Minnesota, MN
Moment: The Airport (on the Raptors Air Canada Flight)
Dear
Journal,
On my way back
to my hometown, my city, New York City. There's no city like it, though
Toronto is the closest thing to NYC I've ever seen. That's partly the
reason why I love T-Dot so much. The different cultures, different restaurants,
something to do everyday of the week, and best of all great fans. My
kind of city.
It's going to
be great to see my family & friends again; it's been months.
I've only had just a couple members of my family visit me in Toronto,
but that's was way back the beginning of the season. Now, we're half way
through the season and yes I might be feeling a little home sick.
But, that's just cause I'm a mama's boy.
After NYC,
it's off to the All-Star extravaganza. This will be my first experience.
I'm not going to get into any details, just cause I don't want to jinks
myself, lol. But I will say that I'm exciting, thrill, and honored to be
a participant of such a magical event. I know, I know, I sound a
little cheesy, but hey, I'm thankful.
Hey, shouts to
the Raptors :) We're on a bit of a roll winning six of our last eight
games. We've always been a talented team. We never lost faith in each
other. And we're hopefully going to keep it moving as we remain on the
road, even after the all-star break. Make sure ya stay tuned to the
Rookie Challenge game. I'm gonna go represent the Raptors to the
heart.
Have a blessed
day,
Charlie Villanueva #31
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Entry
#0001
Date: February
12, 2006
Time: 10:34pm
Location: Toronto, ON
Moment:
My Living Room (right after the game vs. Portland)
Dear
Journal,
Yesss, that's
right, we won! You gotta love to win, not just to play. Today was a good
team win.
So another day, another night at work.
Wow work... it's a trip to call a game I love to play, work. Though, I
can't front, this sure is a job that requires a lot from an individual.
If only you guys really knew. Regardless, it's my blessing from above
the sky and it's my right to go out there and work 110% at all times -
on & off the court.
I'm sitting
here writing this small piece to hopefully be able to share with the
fans what players go through. From time to time, I will be writing in,
sharing my thoughts, and experiences. I hope you guys get a kick out of
it, cause I got some stuff, lol.
Big shouts to
my older brothers for FINALLY getting this site up and running. No
disrespect fellows, but ya took forever. I gotta say though, it was
worth the wait. You guys are stepping up your game. I like that. Keep
doing it up, productivity will take you far.
We'll since
this is my first entry, I'll keep it short and would just like to take
this opportunity to thank
you all for visiting my site. Okay ya, gotta run. I now gotta jump on the ride, head
to the airport b4 they leave me. We're flying to Minnesota. We got a tough game vs. KG and
the rest of them. Gotta stay positive and remain focus. All day,
everyday. Till next
time. I'm outta here!
Have a blessed
day,
Charlie Villanueva #31
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