原文出处： http://0rz.net/fb1lZ -- The realization hits Flip Saunders each time he opens the door to his Birmingham apartment and is greeted with silence. 每当老桑打开位於伯明罕的公寓大门并被一片寂静所迎接时，他都会有所体悟。 The blare of the television has replaced the comforting chatter of his four children still living in Minnesota. The melodrama of reality-show contestants substitutes for the interaction he'd typically share with the kids and wife, Debbie, who has been by his side for almost three decades. 吵杂的电视声取代了他四个仍居住在明尼苏达的小孩悦耳的聊天声，真人实境节目参 演者间肥皂剧般的剧情代替了他早已习惯的，持续了将近30年，和小孩、老婆Debbie间的 互动。 Even the extra pounds he says have crept onto his lean frame over the past year can be attributed to his family's absence, as restaurant outings with Pistons assistants Ron Harper and Sidney Lowe compensate for home-cooked meals with his family. They, too, are living apart from their families while pursuing their coaching careers, creating with Saunders their own little surrogate clan in the meantime. 甚至他表示过去一年来慢慢增加在原本清瘦的体格上那些额外体重都可归因於他家人 不在身边，为了补偿不能和家人团聚享用家常菜的缺憾，所以他必须和助理教练R.Harper 及S.Lowe一同上馆子吃外食。他们也都为了实现当教练的愿望而离乡背井，期间，为能稍 稍纾解家人不在身旁的寂寞，连同老桑，他们成了能互相安慰的好朋友。 "It's been extremely difficult," said Saunders, 51. "Thank God for text messaging and e-mails." 51岁的老桑说"这实在相当难熬，幸亏有简讯和伊媚儿的发明。" When Saunders accepted the job as the Pistons' head coach in July, Debbie remained in suburban Minneapolis so their eldest daughter, Mindy, 18, could complete her senior year of high school. Their 13-year-old twin girls, Rachel and Kim, also stayed behind, as did son Ryan, 20, a sophomore basketball player at the University of Minnesota. 当去年七月老桑接下了活塞总教头的职务，Debbie仍坚持留在明尼亚波利斯市郊，这 样他们18岁的大女儿Mindy才能继续在那完成高三的学业。他们13岁大的双胞胎女儿Rachel 和Kim以及现年20岁，就读明尼苏达大学大二并参加了篮球校队的大儿子Ryan也都留在当地 。 The decision wasn't difficult in theory -- Flip and Debbie vowed years ago they never wanted their choices to disrupt their children's lives. They kept the kids involved in sports and dance. 理论上要做出这项决定不难，因为几年前老桑和Debbie就许下了绝对不让自己所做的 决定影响小孩子生活的誓约。他们一直让小孩在运动和舞蹈的领域中自由发展。 The reality has been more challenging. Over the past year, Saunders has missed holidays, birthdays, basketball games and dance recitals. Even after almost a year of separation from his family, their absence during the Pistons' playoff run has evoked a different sense of yearning. 事实上并非如此，过去一整年老桑一直很怀念过去假日、生日、篮球比赛及个人舞蹈 成果发表会时，家人欢聚的快乐时光。尽管和家人分开已经将近一整年的时间，他们的缺 席在活塞於季後赛为队史第四座冠军金盃打拼之际还是勾起了老桑一些特别思念的感觉。 "It's a tough adjustment from a coaching standpoint going into the playoffs," he said. "The biggest support you have as a coach is always your family. Whether you win or lose, they're there to pick you up and to help you out. You can talk on the phone, but it's different as far as them not being there." 他说"从教练的观点来看，要带领球队挥军季後赛是个相当艰困的挑战。身为一个教练 ，你最大的心理支持通常是来自你的家人。不管你赢球或输球，他们都会不离不弃，在这 里等着，希望和你一起分享快乐或一同承担悲伤。你可以藉由电话和他们联系，但这跟他 们就在你身边陪着你还是差得远了。" -- The life of a coach 教练的生活 Lengthy separations are far from unusual for the families of professional athletes and coaches -- trades, hirings and firings have forced many temporary split-ups between husbands and wives and parents and children. 漫长的分离对每一个职业球员和教练的家庭来说都不陌生，不管是被交易、受雇或遭 解雇都会导致许多夫妻间、亲子间短暂的别离。 Debbie and the children were accustomed to Saunders' extended absences when he was head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves for 10 years. Debbie和小孩子们在老桑执掌明尼苏达灰狼兵符的10年间早已习惯了老桑长期的缺席 。 "The women are the keepers of the life," Debbie said of her role as a coach's spouse. "You kind of get used to it." 关於自己身为教练的配偶这个脚色，Debbie说"(这些教练的)女人们是生活的守护神。 " The difference then, however, was that Saunders was a consistent presence in the family home when the Timberwolves weren't on the road. He even became a de facto stay-at-home dad when the Timberwolves fired him in February 2005. 尽管如此，过去和现在最大的不同点就在於之前当灰狼未到客场出赛时老桑总能出现 在家里，甚至'05年二月他被灰狼火了的时候他还成为"宅爸"。 Saunders could have earned $5.5 million from the Timberwolves this season had he chosen not to coach. He could have taken the year off with no financial strain on his family. 如果他本季未再度接任其他球队总教练的职务，依然可以自灰狼得到550万的薪资。他 可以在家庭经济无虞的情况下休息一整年。 Debbie knew better, as did their children. 但Debbie和小孩们都知道现在这样比较好。 "The fire was still in his eyes," she said. "Quietly, I knew this was coming." 她说"渴望执教的热切心意仍存在於他的眼睛里，虽然很沉稳，但我就是知道。" It was Ryan who articulated the words that stuck with Flip as he considered moving away from his family to pursue his dream. 当初老桑在考虑是否要离开家人到远方去追寻梦想时是他的大儿子Ryan补上那临门一 脚。 "As my son said, 'There's no NBA jobs in Wayzata, Minnesota,' " Flip recalled. "As an NBA coach, there's not going to be a job in the same town." 老桑回忆道"我儿子说'明尼苏达Wayzata市已经没有NBA的工作等着你了。'身为一个 NBA教练，你没可能在同一个城市取得两次执教的机会的。" -- Detroit: the right fit 接下底特律活塞总教练：最适合不过的工作 Saunders had some conditions. He didn't want multiple-hour plane rides to hinder the family's ability to visit each other, so he limited his choices to franchises within a reasonable proximity to Minnesota. He wanted to come home whenever his new team had a break in its schedule -- even just for a day. 老桑有一些条件，他不希望数小时的飞机路程影响家庭成员探望彼此的机会，所以他 将工作地点的选择限制在距离明尼苏达合理范围内的城市。他希望可以在他新球队表订的 休息时间飞回家和家人团聚 -- 就算只有一天也好。 Detroit proved to be the perfect situation. From a basketball standpoint, the move has been a boon for both Saunders and the Pistons. He made a great team even better, leading the Pistons to a franchise-best 64-18 regular-season record, and Detroit is contending for another NBA championship. 底特律已经被证明是一个绝佳的地点，从篮球的观点来看，老桑决定接掌活塞兵符这 事，对球队和他本身而言是相得益彰。他使一支好球队变得更好，带领活塞写下例行赛64 胜18败的队史最佳战绩，而且正在争取另一座总冠军盃的途中。 With more than 700 miles dividing Saunders and his family, the cell phone has taken on new importance. Recently, Mindy heard a beep on her phone the morning of her audition for the University of Minnesota dance team. Her mother was on the school's dance line in the 1970s when she met Saunders, a player on the basketball team. 因为老桑和他的家人相距超过700英里，所以手机的重要性跟过去相比是不可同日而语 。最近，Mindy在参加明尼苏达大学舞蹈校队的甄试时听到她手机传来一阵哔哔声。她的母 亲'70年代也是舞蹈校队，而且和当时是篮球校队的老桑邂遘并迸发了爱的火花。 Mindy saw a text message from her father: "Good luck." Mindy看到了父亲传给她的简讯"祝 好运。" She made the team. 最後她顺利入选了舞蹈校队。 "Sometimes it's hard not to see him," Mindy said. "I miss him a lot, but we try to keep in touch as much as we can." Mindy说"有时候很难得看到他，我很想念他，但我们试着尽可能保持密切的联系。" During Game 1 of the Pistons' first-round series against Milwaukee, Debbie used her cell phone to check the game score while watching her girls at a dance competition. She thought the phone was broken when she saw a double-digit Pistons lead dwindle to four points in the fourth quarter. 在活塞第一轮面对密尔瓦基公鹿的第一场比赛，Debbie正在学校观看她女儿们的舞蹈 比赛，她还一面用手机确认球赛的比数。在第四节活塞一度从双位数领先被追到只剩4分领 先时，她还以为是手机故障了。 Preferring to see the action for herself, she made a last-minute decision to fly to Detroit for Game 2. 为了能在现场帮老桑加油，她在第二场比赛的紧要关头决定搭机前往底特律。 "I think for him, our presence just helps diffuse the intensity," Debbie said. "Even in Minnesota, with him just knowing we were there going on with our daily lives and routine, I think it helped him to not be too wrapped up in the intensity of the playoffs." Debbie说"我认为，对他而言，我们的出现应该能帮助他缓和紧张的情绪。甚至过去他 还在明尼苏达时也一样，他知道陪着他是我们日常生活的例行公事，我认为那能帮助他放 松季後赛的紧张心情。" -- Bachelor habits 独居老人枯燥乏味的生活 Flip's routine has changed significantly without his family's presence. With an abundance of time on his hands during home stands, he has become a television addict, existing on a diet of basketball, reality television and late-night infomercials. 老桑的日常生活在他的家人不在身边的情况下有了巨大的改变。因为在公寓时有大量 的闲暇时间，他成了一个couch potato，按时收看篮球、真人实境节目以及深夜时段访谈 性节目。 And yes, he has been known to order some of the knick-knacks and do-dads advertised to revolutionize one's life. An egg peeler, a blinking fishing lure and a bullet-style smoothie blender are the ones Debbie remembers most. 而且没错，他已经知道要去订购一些电视广告的小玩意和小饰品来增添生活乐趣。一 个剥蛋器，一个该死的鱼饵以及一个子弹形状，看起来很高级的果汁机，这是让Debbie印 象最深刻的几样。 (译按：老桑也是木村拓哉迷？ 不然干麻跟Hero里的公平一样？ 哈～) In Minnesota, Debbie sees some differences as well. Her laundry loads are lighter and the home seems a little neater. She jokes that she's a "fly-in maid ," for her husband -- when she visits his apartment, she can't help but do some cleaning. Maybe even some laundry. 在明尼苏达，Debbie也发现了一些和以往不同之处。她的洗衣量变少了，房子似乎也 变得乾净了些。她打趣地说她是个搭飞机上班，老桑的专属女仆 -- 每当她造访老桑的单 身公寓，她都不能自己，非得替他打扫一下房间，甚至是帮他洗衣服。 "My job is a lot easier," Debbie joked. "I realize what a slob he was!" Debbie开玩笑说"我的工作简单多了，我现在知道他有多不修边幅了。" -- Family reunion 重享天伦之乐 With Mindy graduating from high school in June, Debbie and the twins plan to relocate to the Detroit area so the girls can start ninth grade in the fall. Mindy六月高中毕业後，Debbie和两个双胞胎计画搬到底特律居住，以便於他们在秋天 时可以在当地继续九年级的课业。 They've already started exploring communities, hoping to find an area with the right combination of good schools and a strong dance program. Like their older sister and their mother, the twins are also accomplished dancers, even appearing on the CBS revival of "Star Search" when they were 10. 他们已经开始寻找尬意的社区，希望可以顺利找到一个结合了好学校以及蓬勃发展的 舞蹈团体的理想地区。就像他们的大姊以及老妈，双胞胎也都希望能成为一个舞者，尽管 他们10岁时就已经在CBS(哥伦比亚广播公司)"寻找明日之星"的节目中上台表演过。 Reuniting was always part of the family's plan, once Saunders got through his first year with the Pistons. His coaching skills may have won him the job, but none of it would have been possible without his wife's support. 从老桑接下活塞兵符的第一年起，重聚一直是这个家庭的最大心愿之一。他的执教技巧 或许可以帮他赢得这份工作，不过如果没有Debbie的支持，他什麽事都完成不了。 "I talk to a lot of young coaches that get into this and tell them that I'm very special," Saunders said. "You have to be very special because usually the success of any coach has a lot to do with the strength of the family and the strength of that wife. 老桑说"我向许多年轻的教练们说要怎样才能当一个好教练，并告诉他们我是很幸运的 。你必须非常幸运，因为通常任何一个成功的男人背後都有一个伟大的老婆和家庭在支撑 着他。" "I'm fortunate because Debbie has always been the pillar of strength in the family." "我很幸运，因为Debbie总是无怨无悔地代替我担任起家庭支柱的吃重脚色。" --

※ 发信站: 批踢踢实业坊(ptt.cc) ◆ From: 210.241.111.125 ※ 编辑: kerrys 来自: 210.241.111.125 (05/15 15:47)