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Hong Yi painted a strikingly detailed portrait of Yao Ming, a basketball player who recently retired from the Houston Rockets. She decided that a basketball would be a more appropriate instrument than a brush. Watch this time-lapse video of her at work.
I'm
so bad at sports that the only dribbling I can do involves my chin and
saliva.
Today, I can even add a dog to a long list of living things that humiliate me in sports. Here's Petey, a dog that is better in basketball and volleyball than you and (definitely) me.
Laughing Squid has the video clips: Link
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DeviantART member Bewheel painted a team picture of “Bobby and the He-man villains: ’84 state champs.” An unbeatable team! Link -via @JohnCFarrier
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Brilliant! This court in Munich would be an amazing place to play basketball. Or better yet, to watch NBA professionals try to do so. Here’s how it’s designed:
A regulation-sized basketball court was erected on the grove-like forecourt of the school building of the occupational school. The court consists of a soft orange-red tartan covering and two normed baskets and seems to be forced over the grid of the lamps that have been set up. The playable court has been “morphed” as in a 3D program on a computer and looks like the grounds of a rollercoaster, with heights and depths and calm and dynamic zones. The resulting paradox, which moves between a normative set of rules and pleasurable, anarchic change, requires creative engagement for its use.
The court was designed by an art collective called Inges Idee. You can view three more photos at the link. Link -via Yahoo News | Photos: Markus Buck
Did you know the third Thursday of every April is National High Five Day? That would be April 21 this year. While the best way to celebrate High Five Day is simply to give out your fair share of celebratory slaps, it can also help to know your history and when it comes to the high five, that history is actually rather recent.
Long before the high five, there was the low five, although, at the time it was known as “giving skin” and “slapping skin.” The low five started way back in the jazz age and while there seems to be no detailed record of how it was started, it was a fairly popular gesture amongst jazz musicians. This was immortalized throughout history when Al Jolson gives a low five in the 1927 film The Jazz Singer.
The 1941 Abbot and Costello film In the Navy takes note of this with the Andrews Sisters song, “Gimme Some Skin, My Friend.”
Slapping five continued to be a popular gesture in the African American culture and you can see black characters slapping hands in movies all the way up to blaxploitation films from the seventies
Image via Outsports
The high five that most people credit as the first took place in 1977. It was exchanged between Dusty Baker and Glen Burke at a Los Angeles Dodgers game. Burke gave Baker a raised hand to slap in celebration after Baker scored a home run.
Murray State University basketball player Lamont Sleets has challenged this story though, claiming that he developed the gesture while playing on his college team in the 1960’s. This isn’t the only high five challenge between basketball and baseball players. A number of basketballers claim to have started using the term “high five” during their 1979/1980 season. University of Louisville baseball player Derek Smith disputes this though and claims that he is the originator of the term.
No matter who originated or named it though, the gesture was an immediate success in sports circles as soon as Baker and Burke’s slap was seen around the country. It was soon being used by teams across the country, most notably the 1980 Louisville Cardinals basketball team, who high fived each other throughout their run for the title and helped bring it to the forefront of American consciousness.
Image via bgubitz [Wikipedia]
By 1980, the noun “high five” was in the Oxford English Dictionary and by 1981, it was added as a verb as well.
In the eighties, the gesture took on a life of its own and it seemed like every sitcom character was high fiving someone at least once per episode. It isn’t surprising that the high five took a dive in popularity through the nineties and popular culture tried to cleanse itself of the over saturation of the gesture. Even so, the high five has always continued to have its fans and in 2002, three University of Virginia Students decided to give the high five its due.
The three students decided they wanted to start their own holiday and they agreed that honoring the lost art of the high five would be the perfect reason to celebrate. The ultimate goal of the holiday was to better people’s days by giving high fives to strangers, who might then be inspired to give high fives to others. While the headquarters of the holiday started on the university campus, it quickly spread thanks to the power of the internet.
By 2005, the idea had gained enough momentum that the City of San Diego actually agreed to recognize National High Five Day as an official city celebration. (Being a long-term resident of America’s Finest City, I admit that I was highly upset that I had never heard of the city’s decree until I started writing this article.)
So now that you know about National High Five Day and about the gesture’s respectable origin story, it is up to you, dear readers to spread the word, and the skin. Share your support of high fives on April 21 and every day. Just remember to do it sparingly. After all, an overused high five is worse than no high five at all and we don’t want this great cultural connection to fade away every again.
Sources: Wikipedia, High Five Me, National High Five Project
Oklahoma teenager, Kaitlyn Ladevaia, just got her first cell phone. Now she can get calls and texts from her family and friends. The problem is she also gets lots and lots of calls and texts from people she doesn’t know. You see, Kaitlyn ended up with NBA player Blake Griffin’s old cell phone number.
Kaitlyn does have unlimited data on her phone so all those extra text messages don’t cost her a dime.
However, she doesn’t have unlimited minutes and would rather use them chatting with her friends than letting people know she’s not Blake Griffin.
For now her family is set on keeping the number. Kaitlyn enjoys the claim to fame of having Blake Griffin’s old number. She just hopes that the texts and calls eventually stop.
Marika Lorraine of KFOR has more: Link
You Tube Link
Nothing screams school spirit like a flash mob breaking into a dance. Check out the video of a recent University of Kansas basketball game.
The flash mob at Allen Fieldhouse was organized by KU Athletics and students who participate in the Jayhawk Buddy System. The KU Spirit Squad choreographed the dance moves, and students participated in three rehearsals the week before the game.
Scott Lang coached basketball at tiny La Roche College in Pittsburgh for 18 years, 13 of them as head coach. He never married, although he had girlfriends -but relationships couldn’t seem to survive basketball season, when Lang was totally dedicated to his team. He had opportunities to move up from Division III to a position in Division I college basketball, but turned them down.
“I’d rather be a big fish in a small pond,” he told his brother Mike. “I can do more here. I can make a bigger impact on people’s lives.”
Lang collapsed at the gym coaching the team on December 10th. He was rushed to a hospital, but died of heart failure. The school held a memorial, the basketball court was named for him, and pages were written in tribute to the coach, but the team says very little about him. Instead, they are following Lang’s instructions.
In the six weeks since Lang died La Roche can’t lose, winning all nine of its games, two in overtime. The most recent victory came last Saturday when it beat Hilbert on the afternoon the school held a ceremony to name the court for him. The Redhawks are 16-1 and in first place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. This week they received votes in the Division III top 25 poll for the first time ever. It is easily the best season in the program’s history.
Suddenly there is talk about the NCAA’s Division III tournament, about going all the places that Lang spent all those nights and all those hours dreaming of someday being able to take La Roche. Anything seems possible. And it is all very much still him.
The players say they are sure Lang is watching. He wouldn’t miss a year like this. The four men who have taken over the coaching all have other obligations; they have families and full-time jobs. They can’t dedicate half a day let alone an entire life to La Roche. They say the players are winning themselves, that the lessons from Lang were so deep that the team has simply absorbed them.
La Roche won another game since the quoted article was written. Have your hanky ready to read the entire story. Link -via Metafilter
Comments Off Evan Sellers has a talent: he can sink basketball shots from enormous distances. In this video, Sellers is standing on top of the 134-foot platform in the statue of the Roman god Vulcan in Birmingham, Alabama. The goal is about 150-180 feet from the base of the sculpture, making this possibly the farthest basketball shot ever recorded.
via Urlesque
Former NBA player Manute Bol died June 19th at the age of 47. Many know him only because of his basketball career and because of his astounding height -he was 7′ 7″. But there was a lot more to the Sudanese star, as you’ll see in a post at Midwest Sports Fans, where a tribute was written before his death.
What truly made Manute Bol stand out though was not his height; rather, it was the humanitarian side of him that made you believe every effort he gave as a basketball player was meant to serve a higher cause and purpose. For Bol, that cause was trying to do whatever he could do to support the poor, destitute nation he was from.
For example, Bol started the Ring True Foundation in an effort to deliver aid to his poor countrymen. Most of the $3.5 million Bol made playing basketball went to support Ring True. Bol also used his celebrity and peoples’ curiosity with his size to make extra money after his playing career was over. There was the celebrity boxing match with The Fridge as well as the time he suited up for the Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League. In both cases the money he made went back to the Sudan.
Bol also has been active politically in the Sudan, hoping to affect change that will improve conditions in the country.
There’s lots more, plus a three-part documentary about Bol and video clips of his basketball career highlights. Link -via TYWKIWDBI
How can you make basketball more fun? Just add donkeys!
Donkey basketball is a popular annual event at the Snohomish High School in Washington. The donkeys themselves seem to have a good time, but not everybody’s tickled at the fun:
But not everyone thinks it’s fun and games. Animal rights activists quietly protested outside, saying it’s simply cruel.
"The donkeys are pushed, kicked, shoved, and prodded to do something that is unnatural for them and confusing," said protester David Schirk.
Some say the event is bad enough, but having it at a school makes it worse.
"I think it sends a really bad message to children on how to raise them and cruelty to animals and to all beings, and what does that teach our children?" said protester Carol Guilbault.
As March Madness overlaps Passover a little, you might find the Ultimate Matzoh Ball Game a worthy distraction. Just click to launch the matzoh ball toward the basket, but be aware that the basket is constantly moving! Link -via Metafilter
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The Matrix Pill It’s just so hard to swallow! |
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Re-enactment of half court shot prank goes awesomely wrong “High School tries to re-enact the College Humour half court prank on a teacher – awesomeness ensues.” |
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Awesome Hand Ninja An amazingly lifelife ninja made from a hand, a bit of cloth and some marker. |
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Critical Thinking QualiaSoup gives a thorough and thought provoking introduction to critical thinking and how to apply it to life. Sounds a little dry, but they make it very good with simple diagrams and well thought-out ideas. |
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The coolest feather star you’ll ever see What haven’t seen many of these? Well this will definitely be the coolest then. Very interesting colorful, fast motion for this type of animal. |
Elephants at the Island Safari Centre on Koh Samui, Thailand have been trained to play basketball:
“It takes two or three months of intensive training to teach them basics, but fortunately their standards are improving with each passing day”, said organiser Ning.
The keepers begin by teaching the elephants basic ball control skills, and how to hold the ball in their trunk. The animals are then taught to stand on their hind legs, walk with the ball and finally shoot it through the hoop.
Link | Photo: Barcroft Media
Monta Ellis of the Golden State Warriors lands a basket. He’s been “trying to extend his range”. I think maybe he succeeded. Link -via Unique Daily
Aaron Shutway, an 8th grader from Brecksville-Broadview Heights Middle School, makes an amazing half court shot to put his class in a frenzy.
– via sports
From the Upcoming 
ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.
At the 20th Annual Richard Opie Tournament at Pewaukee, Wisconsin, a the Pewaukee Longhorns battled the Wildcats in a close game of basketball.
With a tie game and seconds left in the fourth quarter of the final game of the championship, the Wildcats took one final shot from the other end of the court and … you’ll just have to see the shot for yourself!
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Christophe.
The Associated Press has an amazing and touching story of one basketball team’s rare act of sportsmanship. It happened during a high school basketball game between the DeKalb, Illinois Barbs and Milwaukee Madison. It was the third friendly meeting between the two teams, and both planned a pizza party afterwards. However, one player from Madison was dealing with a personal tragedy and the game itself was almost never played:
Hours earlier, the mother of Milwaukee Madison senior captain Johntel Franklin died at a local hospital. Carlitha Franklin had been in remission after a five-year fight with cervical cancer, but she began to hemorrhage that morning while Johntel was taking his college ACT exam.
Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39.
She was young and they were real close," said Milwaukee coach Aaron Womack Jr., who was at the hospital. "He was very distraught and it happened so suddenly he didn’t have time to grieve.
Womack was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play. And play they did, even though the game started late and Milwaukee Madison dressed only eight players.
During the second quarter, Johntel came directly from the hospital to root his teammates on, and decided he wanted to play. This created a unique foul situation: not being on the pre roster and playing meant a technical foul and two free throws for the opposing them.
In a rare act of sportsmanship, the opposing team’s player deliberately missed the free throws, and this gave Franklin and the Madison players the inspiration to win the game
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Geekazoid.
After years of fetching water, Jason gets the chance to play a game…
Covenant school girls basketball coach Micah Grimes, whose team beat won 100 to 0 in a shut out ball game against a team from Dallas Academy, was fired Sunday for not apologizing for the win:
Grimes, who has been criticized for letting the game get so far out of hand, made it clear in the e-mail Sunday to the newspaper that he does not agree with his school’s assessment.
"In response to the statement posted on The Covenant School Web site, I do not agree with the apology or the notion that the Covenant School girls basketball team should feel embarrassed or ashamed," Grimes wrote on www.flightbasketball.com.
"We played the game as it was meant to be played. My values and my beliefs would not allow me to run up the score on any opponent, and it will not allow me to apologize for a wide-margin victory when my girls played with honor and integrity."
Link – via J-Walk Blog
Do you think that they should’ve invoked the Slaughter Rule? Do you think that Coach Grimes did the right thing by letting the other team lose so badly? Or was it unsportsmanlike conduct?
When it comes to headgear for sports fans, football somehow seems a lot easier than basketball.
The basketball on this hat is 13″ from the top of the ball to the black rim of the hat. This basketball hat is 15.75″ wide. It is made of a foam material and is more of a bright orange color than the picture shows.
