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On the front of each jersey was the picture of one of those sledge dogs you see in Alaska. And Mom explained that our team was gonna be the HUSKIES, just like her middle-school basketball team. It was pretty obvious Mom was just trying to relive her glory days through US, but I didn't really care. Because, like I said, those uniforms were NICE. Mom said that this time around we were gonna be WINNERS. And that sounded a whole lot better than being accountants and puppeteers. 180

每件球衣的正面，都印着一种你能在阿拉斯加见到的雪橇犬的图案。 妈妈说我们队就叫“哈士奇队”，和她初中时的篮球队同名。 明眼人都看得出来，妈妈就是想通过我们重温她当年的辉煌，不过我不在乎。 因为我刚才说过了，这套球衣真的太好看了。 妈妈说，这一次我们肯定能拿冠军。 这可比叫什么会计师队、木偶师队听起来好多了。 180

Thursday The big tournament is less than a week away, so our team doesn't have a ton of time to prepare. But after our first practice I'm kind of glad we DON'T. Mom's coaching style is completely different from Mr Patel's. Instead of working on our basketball skills, we did a bunch of touchy-feely team-building exercises. I just hope Mom knows what she's doing, because I don't see how that stuff is gonna help us win any games. OK, ALL TOGETHER NOW! "I'VE GOT YOUR BACK!" 181

星期四 大型锦标赛不到一周就要开始了，我们队没多少时间准备。 但第一次训练结束后，我反倒觉得这样也不错，妈妈的执教风格和帕特尔先生完全不一样。 她不带我们练篮球技巧，反倒做了一堆黏糊糊的团队建设活动。 我只希望妈妈知道自己在做什么，我真看不出这些玩意儿能帮我们赢比赛。 好了，大家一起喊！ "我挺你！" 181

One of the exercises was supposed to help us get to know each other better. We stood in a circle, and when you threw the ball to another player you had to tell everyone something about yourself. So, when it was my turn to throw the ball, I said that I liked mint chocolate-chip ice cream. But when Edward Mealy got the ball he finally started TALKING. He told us how his stepmom is really strict and how she doesn't like his pet turtle that he got for his birthday. In fact, he went on for so long that Mom had to take the ball from him and hand it to someone else. 182

其中有个活动是帮我们更快地熟悉彼此。 我们站成一个圈，把球扔给别人的时候，必须说一件关于自己的事。 轮到我扔球的时候，我说我最喜欢薄荷巧克力碎冰淇淋。 可球到爱德华·米利手里，他终于打开了话匣子。 他说他的继母特别严厉，还不喜欢他过生日收到的宠物龟。 事实上，他说个没完，最后妈妈只能把球从他手里拿走递给别人。 182

After that, we played some actual basketball. Mom tried teaching us a few plays that her team used the year they reached the state finals, but we were having trouble getting the hang of things. I didn't think the fact that we were terrible was such a BAD thing. I've seen a bunch of those movies about teams who are underdogs, but then they pull together and win in the end. And I've been wondering if WE could do that. But the players who are on those teams never make any money, because they're not the ones telling the story. So I've been thinking that, if we turn into one of those teams that inspires a movie, I'M gonna be the one to cash in. 183

在那之后，我们终于开始正经打篮球了。 妈妈教我们她的球队打进州决赛那年用的几套战术，可我们怎么都学不会。 我倒不觉得我们打得烂是什么坏事。 我看过好多这种电影，一开始不被看好的队伍，最后团结起来赢了冠军。 我就忍不住想，我们能不能也做到。 不过那些电影里的队员从来赚不到钱，因为讲故事的不是他们。 所以我想好了，如果我们也变成那种能改编成电影的励志队伍，赚这笔钱的得是我。 183

So before practice tonight I put together a permission form and got my teammates to sign it. I hereby authorize Greg Heffley to use my likeness and image in a film or television series and any subsequent sequels, throughout the universe and in perpetuity. SIGN HERE The only person who gave me an issue about it was Yusef, who said he'd have to ask his parents before he could sign the form. But after I promised to give him my lunch snacks for the next three days he was on board, too. SCRIBBLE SCRIBBLE 184

所以今晚训练前，我做了一张授权书，让我的队友们都签了字。 我在此授权格雷格·赫夫利，可以在电影、电视剧及其任何续集中使用我的肖像，适用于全宇宙，永久有效。 在这里签字 只有优素福提出了异议，他说签字前得先问问他父母。 但我承诺接下来三天把我的午餐零食都给他，他也同意签字了。 涂涂写写 184

All we need to do NOW is win this tournament so I can sell the rights to one of those studios that makes feel-good movies. And I can already see the poster in my head. THE UNDERDOGS EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY! 185

我们现在只要赢下这场锦标赛，我就能把版权卖给拍励志电影的制片厂了。 我脑子里都已经想好海报长什么样了。 《黑马队伍》 每条狗都有出头日！ 185