Getting her beauty sleep

Hello Everyone!!

I thought I would share something interesting some of my teammates and I are doing this quarter. Ash, Jill, Kayla and I are all participating in a sleep study for athletes. The goal is to see if increased sleep leads to increased athletic performance as well as overall alertness.

One of the requirements is that we get ten hours of sleep a night, which definitely gets tricky with our busy schedules! We also keep track of our daily alertness and take PVT reaction time tests twice a day. The times are supposed to decrease as we get more sleep. (Ash and I definitely have room for improvement!)

Another part of the study is that we are required to wear watches, called Actiwatch, which serve as motion sensors to track our sleep. They are quite stylish, all of our teammates are jealous. (Not really, they are actually quite unstylish, but we manage.)

All of us have weekly meetings with Cheri, the leader of the study, at the Sleep Center. She has us fill out questionnaires about how we are feeling and collects our sleep journals. Ash and I bike over together every Tuesday. I definitely enjoy our lovely bonding time as well as the scenery.

So far, I have noticed a difference in my alertness throughout the day with ten hours of sleep. I feel like I have more energy, especially at practice. I highly recommend sleeping as much as you can.

According to Dr. Dement, the Sleep and Dreams professor, "Drowsiness is red alert," which means people are in danger when they don't get enough sleep. So, get all the beauty sleep you need!

Hannah

P.S. I should also mention that the sleep study counts as a class. I've decided that sleeping is definitely the best way to get units!!

P.P.S. Save a tree! RECYCLE!!!!!

Oregon, a fantastic but underrated state

I just want to say that I went online to read the previous blog entries and am not sure if I can top the public display of headbands, which I think is an amazing topic (touché Ros, touché). I completely 100% agree that, “While they may not get all the game calls right, referees are serious about headband infractions.” I have already had my fair share of “serious headband infractions” and let me tell you, they are no joke!

Ok so now onto my topic: Oregon. I feel that Oregon is a very underrated state by everyone on the team (Jill excluded) and that people do not enjoy the full benefits of such a wonderful state. However, I do not claim to be associated with anywhere beyond, and including, Oregon City. AAU teams from all over the nation congregate in this little town and take this small part of a huge state as a representation of what the rest of the state must be like. Even my roommate believed that her mother, who is from this fantastic state, grew up in covered wagons, like in the computer game “The Oregon Trail.”

Let me set the record straight: where Jill and I are from, things are a little different. Especially Portland, where I usually find myself when I am looking for something to do. It is a big city and I am constantly discovering new restaurants and boutiques. However, it is not too big that you get overwhelmed. I always tell people that it is big enough where you can get lost, but if you take a second, you can usually figure out where you are. Plus, it is extremely clean, as far as cities go.

My usual cruising spot is NW 23rd St., where many of my favorite restaurants are. A place that I am particularly proud of knowing its location is Voodoo Doughnuts. This little hole-in-the-wall shop is now open 24 hours a day, but when I was in high school, it was open during the obscure hours of 10pm to 10am. The doughnuts here are very peculiar, for they have combinations you would not expect: a glazed doughnut with Captain Crunch or Fruit Loops on top and one that I have yet to try, and doubt I will, a maple bar with a strip of bacon. On any random Friday or Saturday night, when I have nothing to do, I may hit up Voodoo Doughnuts with my friends, which turns into a 20-minute car ride blasting old school Britney Spears songs.

As I sit here in my room writing this blog, Jillian is sprawled out on my couch, and for some reason I am reminded of high school basketball when Jillian was the best thing since sliced bread (and she still is!) and I was extremely intimidated by her. But that’s how every person on every other team should feel when they look at her. When she gets back on the court, expect greatness.

GO CARD!!!!

JJ Hones

The Coolest Pet Ever

So ... I know many of my teammates write their blogs about basketball and that’s really cool and all because I mean basketball is basically our life, but I would like to focus my blog on something else that is very special in my life ... Yes, if you guessed my desert tortoise Rocky you are 100% correct.

Some of you may be thinking, “Why in the world is she writing about her pet desert tortoise?” Well, I think first off he is really cool, and second, there are many things about desert tortoises that people don’t know, which I found out when Coach Kate was asking me a million questions about desert tortoises one day. In fact, she was the one that gave me this brilliant idea to write about Rocky because she was so intrigued.

So to continue with my blog ... one thing many people don’t know about desert tortoises is that they go into hibernation and sleep for almost 6 months. That is a very long time; I would love to be able to sleep that long!

At the end of the winter, Rocky usually wakes up and starts to move around again. Before hibernation though, my mom tries to feed him as much as possible so he stays healthy all winter. Around late October we put him in a box in the garage with newspaper so he’s nice and comfortable and my mom even puts a stuffed animal with him in there too. Haha! She also checks on him every now and then to make sure he is OK. So basically we only have a desert tortoise as a pet for half a year. It’s really weird.

Another thing people don’t really know is what desert tortoises eat. Rocky loves lots of different types of lettuce, carrots, fruit, squashes, and the occasional hibiscus flower, which desert tortoises love. My mom really gets into it and buys him a wide variety of food. It’s like a buffet! He eats better than I do.

Something really funny about Rocky is that he actually knows when people are around and if you call his name he will come to you, slowly but surely. He’s quicker than you think though, don’t let the rumors about turtles and tortoises fool you.

During the day when he’s not in hibernation, he stays on our front porch, which is a pretty big area for him and he can roam around. We are thinking about putting a camera out there to see what he actually does when we are not around. I think he throws parties with his tortoise friends but that’s just me.

He’s probably the coolest pet ever and sometimes he and my cat interact which is pretty funny. I like to think of Rocky as my little dinosaur.



On a basketball note, I just want to say how exciting this season has been so far and how truly blessed I am to be in such a great program with such amazing people.

GO CARD!!!

Jeanette Pohlen #23

Public Displays of Headbands

I’ve decided to use my blog to alert the masses about a controversial subject arising in women’s college basketball. First, a quick shout out to my mom and sister, and all the people who hold me down, "What’s up!"

There is a hot button topic that has become an issue of concern this year in women’s college basketball. Referees everywhere are cracking down on PDH’s this year. That’s right folks, I’m talking about public displays of headband.

Entire teams must wear the same color headband, and a color that matches the uniform. There cannot be too many logos or endorsements on the headband, and size is sometimes a touchy subject. Infuriated, players with lucky headbands tried to beat the system and wear them anyway but no player has succeeded. Stanford captains, Candice Wiggins and Jillian Harmon, are often sent back to their teammates to bear the bad news.

While they may not get all the game calls right, referees are serious about headband infractions. A few times, wild haired players like Rosalyn Gold-Onwude and Cissy Pierce play an entire game working tirelessly on defense to keep their player away from the basket and their hair away from their face.

So why the sudden fuss over head apparel you wonder? Some studies show this isn’t an overnight trend. Headwear and hairstyles are very conscious and strategic choices made by the Stanford players.


Sophomore JJ Hones always wears her hair in a neat bun in belief that a neat player plays a neat game. Center, Jayne Appel, better known for her versatile stash of drop steps and power slides, also keeps an arsenal of variations on buns, pony tails, braids, and twists. Personally, I have experimented with both braids and twists, and currently I wear a high ponytail with a broad white tie-on headband, sporty yet casual cute at the same time. Injured point guard, Melanie Murphy, another New Yorker with style, wore her headband thick and low over her ponytail. Even Jillian Harmon’s famous “woke up this morning with this bun” hairstyle is more planned than she lets on; reports claim she wears this style to both games and dress-up events.

Objective and sensible people agree, “Refs, leave the players alone!" If the players want to wear their hair and headbands a certain way, then so be it. Basketball was better when the players focused on themselves and the refs focused on their calls.

-Rosalyn Gold-Onwude