Dear Monarchs Fans--

It seems like such a long time since the WNBA season has come to a conclusion. We have seen a new WNBA Champion crowned and the seasons change from summer, to fall. We have seen the blossoming of the flowers together to the blowing of leaves down the street. Many sunsets and many night falls have passed over our heads. It has been such a long time since leaving the cow bells of ARCO Arena. So many things have happened, many things have changed, but yet I wake up every morning feeling like it was only yesterday.

After that painful loss to San Antonio in the Playoffs, I came back to Sacramento to pack up my things. I had to hop on the first plane to Germany and join the German National Team; more importantly I spent a couple of days with my husband in Los Angeles though. So I set my personal record of packing up a whole apartment in probably three hours with some help of my dear "Sac family.�

After a couple of days of grieving the loss of the first round of Playoffs and dealing with its disappointment, I said goodbye to my husband and went to lace up my sneakers again to play for my native country of Germany, which is always an honor. It's always fun to go back to my roots and be around my teammates, because unlike most of my American and European teammates, my German teammates and I go waaaaaaaaaaaay back to when we were just tiny tots. So there are a lot of funny stories to tell, many jokes to hear and stuff to catch up on like who got the new boyfriend, funny basketball stories, and of course the latest gossip.

In my time in Germany, I was able to see my parents and some of my siblings for a total of four days, which was a lot better than the 12 hours from last year. It's the best thing to come home and let Mutti (German word for mom) and Omi (Grandma) take care of you, cook for you, and make you feel like you are 10 years old all over again, with no care in the world. I love chatting with my dad, and just sit together with my sisters (I have three of them).

Well, the European Championship started September 23 and ended October 8. It was held in several cities in Italy. At the beginning it's always weird for me to get used to being in Europe again. My teammates tease me for my "bad German" and for how much I've been "Americanized" over the years. (I DON'T BELIEVE THEM!!!) I have to admit that there are some things that are different, and they catch me off guard sometimes. The fact that I am going from sleeping in big beds in the best hotels of America to sleeping on a tiny bed that is as wide as a pencil, let me tell you, but that's part of the whole experience, which I love, it's back to the roots!!

I do have to admit that I did get an attitude though when I wasn't able to talk to my husband as much as I wanted to, because the hotel didn't have the option to make outgoing calls. The reception closed at 8 p.m. to transfer calls to the room, and with our practice schedule and the time difference of nine hours, it made the whole situation very annoying, to say the least.

The basketball competition at the European Championship is getting better each time around. It is nice to see how women's basketball is getting faster, more athletic and skilled, which draws more spectators into the stands. I mean, I don't have to tell you guys about it, YOU KNOW how fun women's basketball is, but there are many people that we haven't convinced yet. But it's growing, and it's nice to see the support.

As for my team, I still have a hard time talking about it, but we fell short of our goal, which was at least 5th place. This would have sent us to the Olympics. It was a great chance, but obviously not meant to be.

I returned home to Los Angeles and spent a solid three weeks with my husband, which was just beautiful. I can't remember when we were able to do that the last time. While he was at work I was also able to run some errands, organize some of my stuff, clean up the house, and do things that WOMEN GET TO DO, for example, shopping (he, he)!

Then I had to get ready to leave for Italy and my last days in California were literally a whirlwind. We were heavily affected by the Santa Ana winds, and many trees broke in our neighborhood, trash cans and stuff were flying through the air. The wind was rattling the windows and it really felt like the apocalypse. But, thank God, none of those terrible fires came close to our house, even though the smoke covered the sky while "raining" ashes.

Well, now I am in Italy, for almost four weeks now. I think I can call myself "settled in.� I have my phone, internet, car and my apartment is very nice. The team is nice. The fans are supportive and we have been winning, which always helps the atmosphere. And the last sign of having settled in is that I have finished my first DVD series, which is a must for all players that play overseas! Mine was season one of Prison Break. Wow, what a show! And actually if it were not for Mike Scofield, I probably would have gotten this blog done way earlier. Sorry about that! I promise to be on time next time around.

Until then�

God bless,
Linda Fr�hlich #13