VICTORY!

Hey everyone, we WON! It has been quite sometime since I wrote to you all about a game. That is because we have only 5 left in 2 months. Its so crazy i know but what can we do. We lost out of Euro-cup  so some of this is our fault.

Anyway this game that we won moved us back in 3rd place. The top 6 spots are so close nit, that we lost one game and it dropped us from 2nd place to 5th and now we are back up to 3rd. These next couple of games will be very important as we are looking to finish the season in either second or third place heading into the playoffs. This will be fun as well as interesting.

We are coming off of a day off and back at it in the morning, starting with weights and then a night practice. We must be Focused and bring that focus to practice so that it can carry over to these next game. You play the way you practice, and we have two very important games coming up before another small break.

I will keep you all posted on things that will take place but right now it is kind of slow, so I am working on some non- basketball stuff; such as, my books and different future plans that I have. Be on the look out for it

Until then I will talk to you all later,

Meek

THANKS TULSA!

I want to take this opportunity to thank the Tulsa Shock fans for all of their dedication and support to the team as well as to myself. You all were very supportive and I hope that in my time there, I have shown myself to be a quality player of leadership and experience.

While I have enjoyed my time in the Bible Belt Town and looked forward to coming back, my future in Seattle is truly bittersweet. I am excited about my new opportunity in the wonderful City of Seattle and starting a new chapter within my life. The Storm is a very respected organization with a proven winning formula and I look forward towards being a positive addition to the Storm with my experience, leadership and hardwork and hunger to win another championship. I will miss the friendships I've made.

Tulsa, Oklahoma is an amazing city and with great fans who should be excited about their future. I wish the Shock much success for all the amazing fans and wonderful people in the city.

Meek

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: COLIN POWELL

I hope you excuse the length of this blog post -- it's on Colin Powell -- someone I have long respected in so many ways.  The following is his bio from History.com:

Early Military Career
Military official/diplomat. Born Colin Luther Powell on April 5, 1937, in Harlem, New York. The son of Jamaican immigrants Luther and Maud Powell, Colin was raised in the South Bronx. Powell was educated in the New York City public schools, and graduated from Morris High School in 1954 without any definite plans for where he wanted to go in life. It was at City College of New York, where Powell studied geology, that he found his calling in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). He soon became commander of his unit. This experience set him on a military career and gave him structure and direction in his life.

After graduation in 1958, Powell was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. While stationed at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, Colin Powell met Alma Vivian Johnson of Birmingham, Alabama, and they married in 1962. The couple now has three children: son Michael, and daughters Linda and Annemarie. That same year, he was one of 16,000 advisers sent to South Vietnam by President John Kennedy. In 1963, Powell was wounded by a punji-stick booby trap while patrolling the Vietnamese-Laotian border. During this first tour of duty, he was awarded a Purple Heart and, a year later, a Bronze Star.

While on his second Vietnam tour of duty from 1968 to 1969, the 31-year-old Army major was given the assignment of investigating the My Lai massacre. In this incident, more than 300 civilians were killed by U.S. Army forces. Colin Powell's report seemed to refute the allegations of wrongdoing and stated, "Relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent." Also during this tour in Vietnam, Powell was injured in a helicopter crash. Despite his injury, he managed to rescue his comrades from the burning helicopter, for which he was awarded the Soldier's Medal. In all, Powell has received 11 military decorations, including the Legion of Merit.

Reagan and Bush Administrations
Powell earned an MBA at George Washington University, in Washington, D.C., and won a White House fellowship in 1972. He was assigned to the Office of Management and Budget during the Nixon administration and made a lasting impression on Caspar Weinberger and Frank Carlucci. Both men would consult Powell for advice when they served as secretary of defense and national security adviser, respectively, in the Reagan administration.

Colonel Colin Powell served a tour of duty in Korea in 1973 as a battalion commander and after that, he obtained a staff job at the Pentagon. After study at the Army War College, he was promoted to brigadier general and commanded a brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. In the Carter administration, he was an assistant to the deputy secretary of defense and the secretary of energy. Promoted to major general, he again assisted Frank Carlucci at the Department of Defense during the transition from the Carter to the Reagan administration. He then served as senior military aide to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, helping to coordinate the invasion of Granada and the bombing of Libya.

In 1987, Powell became national security adviser, a post he held for the duration of the Reagan administration. While there, he coordinated technical and policy advisers during Reagan's summit meetings with Soviet President Gorbachev and his conferences to topple the pro-Communist Sandinista government in Nicaragua. It was discovered that the administration had arranged for covert and illegal shipments of U.S. weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of hostages. Proceeds from the sale of the weapons would go to support the counter-insurgency movement in Nicaragua, which was aimed at toppling the Sandinistas. Such support had been prohibited by Congress since 1982. Powell was asked to testify before Congress about the incident, but he was not implicated in any wrongdoing.

In 1991, Colin Powell took over the Army Forces Command and was made chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President George H. W. Bush. The post is the highest military position in the Department of Defense, and Powell was the first African-American officer to receive that distinction. General Powell became a national figure during Desert Shield and Desert Storm operations in Iraq. As chief military strategist, he developed what became known as the "Powell Doctrine," an approach to military conflicts that advocates using overwhelming force to maximize success and minimize casualties. He continued as chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the first few months of the Clinton administration. He publicly disagreed with the president on the issue of admitting gays into the military, although he eventually agreed to the "don't ask, don't tell" compromise.

Iraq Controversy
Colin Powell retired from the Army in 1993. In 1994, he joined Senator Sam Nunn and former President Jimmy Carter on a last-minute peacekeeping expedition to Haiti, which resulted in the end of military rule and a peaceful return to elected government in that country. In 1995, he published a best-selling autobiography, My American Journey, which chronicles his life and its influences, the ins and outs of military bureaucracy, and what he learned in his life about personal rules and character. From 1997 to 2000, he was chairman of America's Promise, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering character and competence in young people. Powell and his wife, Alma, now co-chair the organization, which has a presence in more than 500 communities in all 50 states.

In 2000, President George W. Bush appointed Colin Powell secretary of state, and Powell was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. At that time, this was the highest rank in civilian government ever held by an African-American. During his tenure, Powell came under fire for his role in building the case for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Initially, Powell had serious misgivings about President Bush's plan to invade Iraq and overthrow Saddam Hussein. Powell believed the policy of containment was sufficient to control the Iraqi regime. He warned Bush that a military invasion would consume the president's first term and that if an attack were to occur, it should use overwhelming force and have broad international support. This support would be key to the rebuilding of Iraq.

Bush decided to go to war and, in a crucial moment, Powell agreed to support the president. To advance the case for war with the international community, Powell appeared before the U.N. Security Council in February 2003 to present evidence that Iraq had concealed an ongoing weapons development program. Powell's reputation for integrity helped convince many in Congress and the country that Iraq posed an imminent threat.

For the remainder of Bush's first term, Colin Powell tried to establish an international coalition to assist in the rebuilding of Iraq. In September 2004, he testified before Congress that the intelligence sources he used in his February presentation to the United Nations were "wrong" and it was unlikely that Saddam had any stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Powell advised the committee of the necessity to reform the intelligence community in order to improve its gathering and analysis. In 2004, after acknowledging it was unlikely that Iraq possessed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, Powell announced his resignation as secretary of state. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice was his successor.

Retirement
Since his retirement, Powell has remained vocal on political topics, openly criticizing the Bush administration on a number of issues. In September 2006, Powell joined moderate Senate Republicans in supporting more rights and better treatment for detainees at the Guantanamo detention facility. In October 2008, Colin Powell made headlines again when he announced his endorsement of Barack Obama for president.

Powell has also spent much of his retirement in the business community. In 2006, he was a speaker at a special series called Get Motivated, along with former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Powell also joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, as a "strategic limited partner." Most recently he joined the board of directors at Steve Case's new company, Revolution Health, a health-related portal site and social network that provides online tools to help people better manage their health.

Colin Powell has spent much of his life inspiring many with his leadership skills and life experiences. Along with his wife, Powell began America's Promise Alliance, as part of their dedication to the wellbeing of children and youth of all socioeconomic levels and their commitment to seeing that young people receive the resources necessary to succeed.

Colin Powell began his American journey from ordinary circumstances. His close-knit family provided support and a caring environment during his childhood. He found his calling in the military, and his entire adult life has been in the service of his country. As a soldier, he was committed to protecting the nation and advancing democratic values. While he gravitated toward support roles early in his career, his organizational talent and pragmatic outlook were recognized by those who placed him in key government advisory roles.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH: THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT

From History.com: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, in which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating, took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956, and is regarded as the first large-scale demonstration against segregation in the U.S. On December 1, 1955, four days before the boycott began, Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, refused to yield her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus. She was arrested and fined. The boycott of public buses by blacks in Montgomery began on the day of Parks' court hearing and lasted 381 days. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system, and one of the leaders of the boycott, a young pastor named Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-68), emerged as a prominent national leader of the American civil rights movement in the wake of the action.

VICTORY!

We have finally gained a win in 2013. It came against a team name Rostov here in Russia. Now this team is sitting in last place in our league, but I never felt like that when I stepped on the court; and the way that they competed, they didn't feel like they were either. They were a very physical uptempo type team. And believe me my body feels ever moment of that game. I tip my hats off to them though because they did not just put up a fight, they put a very hard fight. I am also proud of our team and the way that we responded to the game. Ausa Bimbiate had a great game, almost went perfect from the field, but it was one free throw I believe that was missed. She carried us with 26 points.

We have another big one coming up against Sidney Spencer's Team on the 10th. It will be another hard fought game and we will need to jump out early. Until then we prepare. So off to sleep I go, because before you know it, it will be time to get up and head to practice.

Later Everyone!

Meek

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH: THE ORGINATION

Hello everyone! I hope each and everyone of you are having a terrific week.

Today is the start of Black History month. I am very proud to be an African America, and I am so thankful for the millions of people that came before me to pave the way for not only me but many other races as well. Looking back on a lot of the things that they had to endure, it is difficult to watch, so I couldn't even imagine having to go through it. I am in awe with the strength, the courage, the faith, the belief, the determination, etc., that is within our culture especially back then. WOW! There is still a ways to go in regards to our race, but I know that there are so many looking down smiling, saying that knew that these days would come; and they are happy that they fought so hard for it.

I  would like to this month to try and share as much as I can about African Americans. I hope you enjoy reading and learning about just as much as I do and did.

Here is a link for starters on the origination of Black History Month.
Meek