Active Team Sports

One Shining Moment

Trish18 — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:50:21 GMT

The NCAA crowned the men's basketball national champion last night when the University of Kansas overtook Memphis State in overtime. Memphis, ranked 339th of the country's 341 teams with 59 percent free-throw shooting, missed four of their last five shots from the stripe to allow Kansas to force overtime. The Jayhawks emerged victorious, 75-68, on the 20th anniversary of their last NCAA championship win.

I want to take a moment to display the highlights of one of the greatest single-elimination tournaments of all time. That's right, here is One Shining Moment, where you can see the best of three weeks and 64 games' worth of college basketball:

Quite possibly the best three minutes in sports.

One-handed Basketball Player

Trish18 — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:51:08 GMT

Dax Crum has been playing basketball for Southern Utah University for three years. He is averaging six minutes per game for the Thunderbirds and is doing so with only one hand.

Crum was born with just one small finger on his right hand and has been playing basketball with one hand his whole life. He chose to walk on at Southern Utah in basketball instead of accepting a soccer scholarship and worked three jobs to pay for school until this semester.

Recently, he played a career-high 16 minutes, made a 3-pointer and shut down Missouri-Kansas City leading scorer Dane Brumagin.

"Just those 16 minutes against UMKC were worth it all to me," he said.

Good luck to Dax Crum in the rest of his inspirational athletic career.

Who is Kenny George?

Active Sara — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:42:38 GMT

Who is Kenny George? Well, if you caught even a couple minutes of Wednesday night's game between University of North Carolina and University of North Carolina-Asheville I am guessing you know who he is. Kenny George plays basketball for UNCA and also happens to be the tallest player in the country at 7'7" and weighs a solid 360 pounds. I will add that with his shoes on, a size 26, George rises to an impressive 7'9", as if 7'7" wasn't impressive enough. To say George stood out amongst the other players would have been an understatement. Not only did he stand out due to his tall stature but he also put up 14 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in 24 minutes coming off the bench for the Bulldogs. Despite a solid effort by George, the attention after the game still fell on Tar Heel star Tyler Hansbrough and the aggressive dunk he threw down over a stunned George, but what can you do.

George is having a great junior season for the Bulldogs and is currently leading the nation in blocked shots, but the ride hasn't been easy for George. His size has brought serious drawbacks on and off the court. George has struggled with injuries caused mostly by the considerable amount of stress his joints take on a daily basis. He is too tall to fit into a driver's seat, which leaves him depending on friends and family for rides. Also, he gets 12 pairs of shoes a year from Nike, which are made special for him since the largest athletic shoe made is a size 23. Clearly, the journey to becoming the nation's leading blocker has been by no means easy, but George's future is bright and he hopes to one day play in the NBA. Most would say he will almost certainly get a chance to live his dream considering most teams would want to use his size to their advantage.

There have been a multitude of very tall and very successful players that have gone through the NBA. At 7'7", Manute Bol is the tallest player to date to ever appear in the NBA and had a very accomplished career playing for the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat. Shawn Paul Bradley is yet another player whose 7'6" height helped him to become a noteworthy NBA player for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets and Dallas Mavericks. Both of these players faced adversity because of their height, but were able to turn it into a positive in order to succeed. I hope George will continue to do the same and follow in the footsteps of the exceptionally tall players who have come before him.

Taking One for the Team

Trish18 — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:37:00 GMT

The Washington State basketball team committed all of their available scholarships for the 2008-2009 while one highly touted recruit remained unsigned and out of luck.

Until Taylor Rochestie volunteered to give up his own scholarship in order for the program to sign the promising recruit Marcus Capers.

Rochestie is giving up his scholarship because his family can afford to pay his tuition to attend Washington State next year. With the Cougars going 26-8 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament last year, Rochestie figures this is a way to give back to the program and help keep it among the nation's elite for years to come.

"When I first learned of this option to open up a scholarship by giving up mine, I thought it sounded great,'' Rochestie said in a press release. "I am thankful that I was fortunate enough to be in a situation where I could help the team out.''

This is one of the most inspirational examples of being a team player and the selfless acts that often result
from belonging to a team.

However, do you think coaches might take advantage of financially-privileged recruits and encourage them to pay their own way for the "greater good" of the program?

35th Anniversary of Title IX

Trish18 — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 19:47:41 GMT

Last weekend marked the 35th anniversary of Title IX, the legislation credited with increasing gender equity in sports. According to the Women��s Sports Foundation, since its enactment in 1972, female athletic participation has increased by a staggering 904 percent in high school and by 456 percent in college.

As someone who has benefited from Title IX, softball star Jennie Finch is quick to share her appreciation for those women that came before her. "I'm truly grateful for people who have paved the way, and have fought the fight," Finch said in the Daily Freeman. "I'm happy they broke down barriers to give women like myself the opportunity to be successful athletes and make a living playing a sport that I love."

I��m no softball star, but I am also thankful for the positive influence of Title IX in my life and the opportunity to play ball in college. Here are some other women who have enjoyed the effects of Title IX and are part of my favorite moments in sports history:

1996 | New Women's Olympic Sports. Women's softball and soccer made their Olympic debut at the Summer Games in Atlanta, and the U.S. dominated, winning the gold in both sports, as well as in basketball, gymnastics and synchronized swimming. The Atlanta Games made stars of Lisa Leslie, Mia Hamm and Lisa Fernandez, giving rise to professional softball and soccer leagues for women in the U.S.

1999 | Women's World Cup. A billion TV viewers and a stadium crowd of 90,000 witness the celebration as the U.S. wins the Women's World Cup in an overtime shoot-out against China. Brandi Chastain ripped off her jersey after scoring the winning goal, giving little girls someone besides a model to look at for a strong, beautiful body. And for the first time, a women's soccer team got as much attention a men's squad usually does.

2007 | Equal Pay at Wimbledon. After 123 years of awarding more prize money to men than women, Wimbledon yielded to public pressure and announced on Feb. 22, that it will offer equal pay through all rounds at this year's tournament.

2006 | Winningest Coach in NCAA History. Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history--male or female--earned her 900th career win as the Tennessee Lady Vols beat Vanderbilt, 80-68. That year, Summitt signed a $1.125 million deal for the 2006-07 season, making her the first women's basketball coach in history to be paid a million dollars or more.

2003 | Annika Plays a PGA Tour Event. Annika Sorenstam became the first woman since Babe Didrikson Zaharias in 1945 to compete in a PGA Tour event. Sorenstam missed the cut at the Colonial--in Fort Worth, Texas--by four strokes, but walked off the course to a standing ovation.

1997 | The WNBA is Born. The WNBA kicked off its inaugural season with eight teams, but unlike the other women's pro basketball leagues before it, this one has enjoyed longevity, this year celebrating its 10th year of existence.

2001 | Increased Exposure for the Women's Tournament. The NCAA and ESPN announced an 11-year agreement for the cable outlet to televise every game of the women's national championship basketball tournament.

Parent's guide to summer sports camps

Trish18 — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:53:43 GMT

http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/06/20/camp_story_image.jpg
Between the glossy brochures and fancy websites, choosing a summer sports camp for your kid has never been more complicated.

Summer sports camps are sophisticated enterprises designed to instruct campers in sport-specific techniques and, in some cases, possibly catch the eye of a university recruiter.

Here are three tips to help parents find the best camp for the young athlete in their family.

A Thank You to Don Imus

Trish18 — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 16:57:34 GMT

I just read an expression of thanks from Nike regarding *Imus*' ignorant comments directed towards Rutgers women's basketball team. It's probably the best approach I've seen and worth sharing:

Nike

Thank you, ignorance.

Thank you for starting the conversation.

Thank you for making an entire nation listen to the

Rutgers team's story. And for making us wonder what other great stories we've missed.

Thank you for reminding us to think before we speak.

Thank you for showing us how strong and poised 18- and 20-year-old women can be.

Thank you for reminding a sports nation that another basketball tournament goes on in March.

Thank you for showing us that sport includes more than the time spent on the court.

Thank you for unintentionally moving women's sport forward.

And thank you for making all of us realize that we still have a long way to go.

Next season starts 11.16.07

Tim Duncan Ejected for Laughing

Trish18 — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:01:49 GMT

I respect officials in any sport �� referees, umpires, judges �� for doing their job day in and day out in the face of increasingly demanding and disrespectful fans. This happens on any level of play; I umpire slow-pitch co-ed recreational softball in the summer and am blown away by the lack of respect. The complaints and hostility even come from coaches who should be helping to create a fair and positive competition.

Basketball referees, especially, have been getting a lot of heat lately with the whirlwind intensity of March Madness. I��m usually quick to defend officials, but just a few days ago there was an incident that was controversial. Tim Duncan got tossed from a game for laughing on the bench. For Laughing. On the bench.

Last month I blogged about an article by John Feinstein in the Washington Post that suggested officials should be made available for post-game interviews. His argument centered on the fact that officials don��t have to defend their bad calls, and because they are paid professionals they should have to walk up to microphone just as the other paid professionals do.

While, overall, I don��t believe referees having to defend their calls is a good idea, I would be very interested to hear what the referee in this case has to say for himself. Do you think officials should be subject to a post-game press conference?

One Shining Moment

Trish18 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:14:01 GMT

The NCAA crowned the Men��s Basketball National Champion just a week and a half ago. For some reason, it seems like that final game took place much longer ago �� maybe it��s because I quickly invested myself in baseball season now that it has finally arrived. But before the season gets into full swing, I want to take a moment to congratulate Florida on repeating and highlight perhaps the greatest single-elimination tournaments of all time. That��s right, my friends, it��s ��*One Shining Moment*�� where you can see the best of three weeks and 64 games worth (including the play-in game) of college basketball:

It has become somewhat of an anthem for college basketball and I look forward to this montage every year as March Madness concludes. The One Shining Moment post-tournament montage was first implemented following the 1987 NCAA championship game, in which Indiana defeated Syracuse. Today it��s still going strong and is definitely worth a look!

Team Loyalty

Trish18 — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 22:12:30 GMT

http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/04/09/huggins.jpg
In his first year as *Kansas State University*��s basketball coach, Bob Huggins led his team to a 23-12 record and the school's best Big 12 record in 11 years. That will also prove to be his last year coaching at K-State. Huggins has chosen to turn his back on a school that, based on his track record, took a pretty big chance on him. Huggins even admitted that leaving wasn't the right thing to do.

I empathize with the incoming freshman class of athletes who will put their collegiate careers in the hands of a coach they've never met and an entirely different program than they signed up for in the first place. This happened to me the summer before my freshman year of college. I received a devastating phone call a few weeks before moving into college from the coach that recruited me to say she was taking a position elsewhere. She was the person I knew the best in the place that would be my home for four years and the leader of what would soon be my second family. Luckily, everything ended up working out.

There are athletes like Cobi Jones and Kevin Garnett, who have each stuck with their respective teams for 12 seasons, through trying times and probably bigger money offers from other organizations. Likewise, there are coaches in college sports who have stuck with the same school out of pride and the desire to build a tradition, to leave a legacy in a program that they built from the ground up.

Is it just me, or is this becoming increasingly hard to come by these days? I can't help but feel like coaches and players alike are making moves based on immediate and usually monetary gratification instead of doing the right thing. Since free agency began in the early 1970s, team compositions change quickly as players will move teams often, even to teams that have no viable chance at a successful season, if the money is right. Is this behavior, from players and coaches, in mainstream sports encouraging similar team-hopping in youth and college sports?

(Photo provided by Getty Images/Donald Miralle)

Can Florida be dethroned?

Trish18 — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 18:07:23 GMT

*!http://active.typepad.com/teamsports/images/2007/04/02/gators.jpg!http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/04/02/gators.jpg
Joakim Noah*, Al Horford and Corey Brewer, all of whom could have left Florida and been first-round draft choices last spring, put millions of dollars on hold so they might get a chance to play one college basketball game. The three upperclassmen will get what they came back for, a chance to win a second consecutive national championship.

After defeating the Bruins in the national championship game last year, Florida beat them again Saturday night in a 2007 national semifinal, 76-66. The Gators�� victory set up a national championship game against Ohio State that tips off tonight at the Georgia Dome.

Humphrey and Richard are seniors. Noah, Horford and Brewer could soon declare for the NBA draft. This group of Gators will play its last game together tonight.

As difficult as it may be for a college basketball team to repeat, I think Florida just might have what it takes. I thought they have all along. I'll be rooting for them tonight with my allegiance solely stemming from the fact that if they win, I'll win the bracket pool I am in!

Do you think Florida will prevail or that Ohio State will take the national title?

(Photo provided by Getty Images/taken by Andy Lyons)

Fantastic Final Four

Trish18 — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:30:07 GMT

http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/03/29/finalfour.jpg
I can't remember enjoying March Madness, and college hoops in general, as much as I've enjoyed it this year. For some reason, the games seem to be particularly good this year.

I lost a fair amount of interest in college hoops once high schoolers started jumping to the NBA. I��m going to go on a ��back in the day�� rant here and say that college teams used to stay together for three or four years in the past (like Georgetown and St. John's in the mid-'80s, or Duke and UNLV in the early '90s). Once that continuity was removed, the quality declined.

This year everything seems to be back to good. The quality of play has been remarkable, culminating in Sunday's Georgetown-UNC classic, an awesome game. If you love basketball, you were legitimately thrilled like me. Which raises the question ... what's happening here?

Everything started with the NBA's decision to ban high schoolers from its draft. If that didn't happen, Kevin Durant and Greg Oden would have skipped college and so many casual fans wouldn't have been sucked in. Oden's impact on the game this year is immeasurable -- from the block at the end of the Tennessee game to the excitement of his battle against Georgetown's Roy Hibbert this weekend.

Saturday's games (Florida-UCLA and OSU-Georgetown) are must-sees for anyone who enjoys the game of basketball. I can��t wait.

What do you think about the rule and March Madness this year?

(Photo provided by Getty Images/Travis Lindquist)

The Greatest Sports Nicknames

Trish18 — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:26:04 GMT

*!http://active.typepad.com/teamsports/images/2007/03/27/shoelessjoe.jpg!http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/03/27/shoelessjoe.jpg*Last month I posted an entry that covered a few of the most unique mascots that I could dig up. When I posted the topic to our [message boards|http://eteamz.active.com/baseball/boards/baseball/message.cfm?id=1817684], there was some very interesting feedback on mascots from all over.

Today I decided to sift through some of the great sports nicknames and post up a list of my favorites. Many people say the creation of sports nicknames is a lost art and that athletes just don��t have nicknames like they used to. To an extent, they have a point; modern nicknames are, for the most part, boring and unimaginative (T-Mac, A-Rod, etc.) I'd like to salute a few of the great ones from the past in a brief list of my favorites (in no particular order):

The Iron Horse (Lou Gehrig) �� There are few nicknames that are more apt in their description of a player than ��The Iron Horse��, earned by Gehrig during his long-standing record streak of 2,130 consecutive games played.

Shoeless Joe (Joe Jackson) �� This is one of my favorite
nicknames of all time. Joe Jackson earned the name ��Shoeless�� when, as
a young player, he took off a pair of spikes that hurt his feet and
played the outfield wearing only socks.

Official Talk

Trish18 — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:54:55 GMT

http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/03/23/oden.jpg
In his recent article in the Washington Post, John Feinstein suggests that officials should be made available for post-game interviews. His argument centers on the fact that officials don��t have to defend their bad calls and because they are paid professionals, they should have to walk up to microphone. Feinstein is making his point because the official in the Ohio State-Xavier game last week seemingly missed an obvious flagrant foul call on Greg Oden at the end of the game.

While I believe the call was missed too, what good would it do to have the officials talk after the game? If they admit a mistake, will the teams return from the locker rooms and pick up play from that point? I hated when umpires made bad calls during my career and I can��t tell you how many times my coaches told us to not leave a game close enough where a missed call by the umpire could determine the outcome of the game. However, mistakes by officials are part of the game and we just have to live with it.

Would you like to see officials speak to the media after games?

(Photo provided by Getty Images/Andy Lyons)

Some Serious March Madness

Trish18 — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 21:29:24 GMT

http://active.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/03/19/boo.jpg
Teenagers brawled in the stands at a high school basketball game at Madison Square Garden last night before police cracked down on the crowd, which spilled into the streets. Gunfire was heard as the crowd went from the arena to Times Square, police said. No injuries were reported. Twenty-one people, mostly teenagers, were arrested, police said.

From brawls on basketball courts to out of control parents at Little League games and wrestling matches, unsportsmanlike behavior can be a problem.

Now, some high school sporting officials in Washington state are considering tough new rules �� including a ban on booing. Those who support the ban say that too often, spectators are cruel.

"It's the organized effort to try to intimidate or try to make fun of someone that becomes personal in nature that can escalate then into other concerns that we might have," said Mike Colbrese, executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.

Colbrese and his colleagues said they have trouble hiring coaches and referees because of the abuse they take. By banning booing from the stands, they believe they can create a more welcoming environment on the court and field. Experts agree that behavior at school sports events is not what it used to be. "Parents are more intense, family members are more intense, siblings are more intense," said Christine Brennan, a USA Today sports columnist. "Everything is ratcheted up."

The Interscholastic Association claims it just wants to reinforce good sportsmanship. However, some fans aren��t pleased that their right to boo might be taken away. For instance, one woman told ABC News, "The crowd should be able to say what they want to say. They pay their money. They should be able to boo if they want to.��

Do you think booing should be banned?

(Photo provided by Getty Images/taken by Nick Laham)