"Break Up to Make Up"
A losing year does a lot to you.

Last year, Shooter and I, the once-dominant Warriors, had a very disappointing season. It started well enough, with only an early loss or two to the SabreCats as a concern. But suddenly, things turned for the worse in a major way. Domino started raining points on us, and beating us single-handedly as his teammate, Bill Carter watched in joy. The SabreCats continued edging us out, and the Lightning forfeited the season, taking away a few easy wins we were looking forward to for the rest of the year. Then came worse news as PureSugar joined Domino on the Titans.

The rest is history. Sure, we pulled off a couple more nice games with the SabreCats, and even a great performance against the Titans on the hottest day of the year, but in the end, the Titans killed us. Killed our streak of championships, and eventually ended a legacy. After a 5-8 regular season and an ugly beating by the Titans in the playoffs, Shooter and I watched the Finals from the sidelines for the first time, and soon after, Shooter decided to split ways.

Soon after, Domino expressed interest in being my teammate, and I was overjoyed. I'd show Shooter, that's for sure! I mean, who wouldn't want the reigning scoring champ and Defensive Player of the Year on their team? When we played "for fun" against other teams, the results were great: we beat Shooter and Joker and barely lost to PureSugar and Bryce, then later held our own with the Killer Bees, and just recently beat the Bees as well as a team of rookie Keith Grage and non-HBLer Ryan Scheeper to top it off. But it just wasn't right.

Sure, Domino was his usual astounding self, slicing and dicing his way to the hoop and dropping three's all the while. I nailed my open jumpers and stuck some pretty good D, and we were having success. But it just wasn't right. Although we both got our points, there wasn't much team chemistry. Domino likes to create his own shot, but I like to create shots for my teammate. We didn't have any astounding passing plays, but instead routine dishes for jump shots and a lot of 1-on-1 play. It didn't feel right and wasn't really much fun. Domino sensed it as well.

So, I did what I could. I got to talking. I talked to Shooter, who although confident in his teaming with PureSugar, had been open to the possibility of another run as a Warrior. I asked PureSugar about teaming with Domino, and he was very open to that idea as well. After all, they did rip through us last year and almost won the title in what would have been a spectacular upset. But the last piece wasn't in place yet; I had to talk to Derek.

I felt bad already because I knew Domino was looking forward to the season. Like I said, we had enjoyed some success, and we're really good friends as well, which made it a lot of fun. I was worried that he might take it personally, even though in reality I just felt our playing styles didn't mesh. But I was pleasantly surprised when Derek told me that he had seen it coming and didn't mind the idea. In fact, he was in favor of teaming with PureSugar for the upcoming year.

Thus, the pieces were in place and now we have a rematch of last year. I guess this may be what I wanted all along. I'm the type of guy who when I play pickup basketball usually, even after being beaten badly, would rather "run it back" than change teams. It's part of the challenge, and the challenge is what it's all about. Last year, we were beaten, toppled, even embarassed sometimes. Our bid for a "three-peat" had been unceremoniously squashed. Now we have a chance to come back and show everybody. We can avenge our many losses to the Titans, and take back the Title from the only team besides us who's ever won it, the SabreCats. No matter what, it's going to be a lot of fun, and having the chance to do that is great.

Having said that, I think the trade is better for all involved. Deep down, maybe the Killer Bees didn't have the chemistry they wanted either? But nonetheless, the Titans are back to try and surprise the league again, and the Warriors are back to try and regain their championship form. Whatever the outcome, it's going to be an interesting year.

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