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Butler Game Changer

Kimi — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:51:46 +0000

The difference in an inch could have not only changed last year’s college basketball national championship but could have radically altered its landscape. Last season ended when traditional powerhouse Duke was an inch away from losing to mid-major Butler in what would have been the most dramatic final shot in the history of the NCAA. Gordon Hayward’s half court three point shot was barely off and Duke won 61-59. A stern poker faced Mike Krzyzewski watched all game as the mid-major school went toe-to-toe with his McDonalds All-American packed roster and the viewing public was reminded once again that anything can and will happen in college basketball.
Had Butler won the game, would it have transformed the sport as much as say Chris Moneymaker coming from nowhere to win the World Series of Poker? It’s an easy comparison to make with smooth professional gambler Sammy Farha playing the role of heavy favorite foil as Duke did to Butler. Moneymaker’s titanic upset, in poker, created a revolution with a boom of new players, influx of attention, and sports industry. Would a Butler win been just as transformative?
The answer may surprise you. It’s quite possible the Butler win could have been seismic.
In a world where Butler can win the National Championship every coach can explain to a recruit that a National title is possible at their school. You don’t have to be a Blue Devil to get there, you don’t need the facilities of Kentucky, or the TV contract of the Big East. Coaches can say to recruits, you can be a Richmond Spider, a UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug, or a Coastal Carolina Chanticleer and still have hope. Granted mid-majors have won in the past, and programs have ascended to National prominence like Gonzaga or Indiana State and descended like UNLV or Indiana State, and from out of the blue George Mason went all the way to the semis, but in recent years the BCS schools have separated themselves a bit from the pack.
Money, TV, facilities and a sizzle factor has made it seem all the harder for small schools to chase their dreams. The big schools have increased the separation between the haves and the have nots in college basketball. AAU programs funnel players to the big boys, where they are enticed by private jets, and sumptuous locker rooms. The fact that some can offer pro-level amenities to many high school players almost makes the choice between a mid-major like Butler that plays in a 70 year old field house and a BCS team like trying to decide to stay at a motel or a Ritz Carlton.
Those factors wouldn’t go away with a Butler win, but the inevitability of the winner coming from one of six conferences would have disappeared. A player would understand you don’t need a great facility, tradition, or program to win it all. You can win it anywhere. In Butler winning world, a player may not have go far from home to play at school for fear of not playing for a national championship. If he wanted to pursue a leadership major at say, Richmond that wasn’t offered at Memphis, he could follow that path and not worry as much about getting shut-out of the big dance.
Players would understand they can go where they want, still get noticed, still become stars, and still have a say in the biggest tournament frenzy in the United States. Used to be a Cinderella had a special place in history when it won a game or two. The game has changed. While the unpredictable championship runs of NC State and Villanova in the 80s were big stories they played in a major conference. A Butler win is the antithesis of a major winning.
Unlike UNLV, which was loaded with a glamour coach, glamour players, and had as much TV time as an ACC school in the 90s, Butler was an old fashioned dark horse. As a program they slowly got better every year and stood toe-to-toe in the National Championship game with the epitome of excellence in the sport, Duke. The class ranks of their names Butler and Duke couldn’t have been any more accurate as it related to the college basketball landscape, if only the Butler had done it.
A Butler win would have transformed everything. The World Series of Poker understood and marketed the Moneymaker effect to the masses with the underlying theme anybody can win. A Butler win would have enabled coaches at the other 200 schools not in a major conference to not only say the same but say it with a straight face. Now, because of three quarter court shot that was off by inch, Butler will merely be a footnote in history rather than a game changer.

Getting the itch for the game

Kimi — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:22:41 +0000

There is some speculative hope that OJ Mayo and Mike Conley are going to bring something special to the NBA Basketball games. This is a match up that is made in heaven for some of the fans but others are left feeling cold saying that the hype is just not worth it. Chris Wallace is also somewhat evasive about the Grizzlies return and their allocation of new players. Perhaps something else is brewing. We will soon hear about it when the customary rumors start to make the rounds. The overshadowing of older players by the younger players is already taking place in the NBA Basketball circuit. It is just a factor of life and we should consider it to be part of the transition arrangements that any team has to take into account when working with the opposition. Will the team make it to the playoffs? It is all up in the air and I would be a wizard if I could predict the outcome with pinpoint accuracy.
Team spirit and unity will have to be at the heart of any strategy to take over the NBA Basketball finals. If there are cracks within the team we could be facing a very serious situation where by mistakes that should never happened are going up on the pitch. That is when the fans go crazy and start to boo the players. As we all know the psychological damage can lead to a train wreck that is a nightmare for all the managers involved.
The stars also have to be kept in check if the Grizzlies are going to make the desired victory. If you get someone that is as big as Kobe Bryant in the team or one that thinks that they are at that level, it is very easy for the manager to forget the wealth talent that they might have on the team. The players that do not promote their achievements will be kept quiet while the ones that are good at it will make inroads that ensure that they are always in the news. The most famous are not always the most effective.

Lebron James lies or distorts Dennis Rodman & NBA History - “The Decision”

Kimi — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:22:13 +0000

Business and the NBA Basketball leagues

Kimi — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 08:21:41 +0000

There are the cynics that say that it is all about money. Then you get some unique sports people that remind us that sport is a lot more than the business models that have been used by the entrepreneurs to make money from sport. It is this mixture of opposing objectives that is now running the NBA Basketball system. When you want Durant at the very top of his powers you can see that he is really determined to win. It is not some sort of cynical plot to extract funds from the unsuspecting fans. Rather it is the utter commitment to the game by a professional that is determined to do the very best that he can in order to help his team to a win. That is the noble side of the NBA Basketball league. It is the reason that people pay good money to see the games. If that side is lost then the league will cease to have meaning for those that supported it for a very long time.
Each time might also have this sort of spirit that rescues NBA Basketball in the eyes of the public. For example you can see how hard Oklahoma City has worked in order to maintain its position in the series. That is a lot more than getting money. They have put together a team that is committed to the goal of winning and so far the indications are that the strategy is doing very well indeed. When they meet the Lakers the old rivalries come back and we see the contests that make NBA Basketball what it is. Of course at the end of the day they will share the spoils of the ticket sales but fundamentally this is more than just a scheme for making money. It is a way for the team spirit to bring tangible results for the people that have supported it all these years. The fans are at the heart of any team in the NBA Basketball league. They can ruin a game by just not turning up or turning up and behaving badly.

Finals: Top 10 Steals

Kimi — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:59:53 +0000

Celtics put in a woeful performance

Kimi — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:58:32 +0000

They said nothing because there was really nothing to say. The performance was forgettable and the only lesson that they have to learn is the fact that the game is very complicated these days. They will have to work a lot harder if they are going to deliver results for their public. It is a very big privilege to play in the NBA Basketball Finals and therefore the players that get there ought to make something of it. When they go down so tamely then they cheat the fans out of the entertainment value that one would expect in such a situation. The score was close enough but that is not enough to deal with the disappointment of missed opportunities. Going down by eighty three points to seventy nine is worse than a larger margin because you know that you could have made it. The Los Angeles Lakers made them pay for some slack play.
Unfortunately there will be no eighteenth title for the Lakers on this occasion but I am sure that there will be other NBA Basketball Finals in which they can exploit their chances better and deliver the ultimate victory to their many fans. The team looked very despondent after the defeat. This was probably because of the great expectations that they have of the players and the great tradition that they are looking at. However it is better to reflect on the lessons that can be learnt. This loss in the NBA Basketball Finals is not the end of the world. They should take the pain and disappointment into the training room and then come back ready to take on the challengers with zeal.
The score line was close which indicate that it was not the lack of effort that took them down in the end. It could very well be that it was just not their day and the other team was playing much better at the time. They should take the defeat in good grace and improve for the next time that they meet for the NBA Basketball Finals.

Ron Artest defends his corner

Kimi — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:57:38 +0000

It is not often that the NBA Basketball Finals let a player get away with things. This is a high stake game and the players have to prove themselves or else they will be collecting their final paycheck. It is also a referral system which means that if you make mistakes in one avenue then you are not likely to gain traction in another. The bad play follows you for the rest of your career and you have to deal with the consequences. According to Artest, there is no need for a breakout game before he can prove the work that he is doing for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Basketball Finals. His main ambition now is to provide them with a championship trophy.
This is a rather bold statement but it is good to hear that some players are able to speak up for themselves and will not be bullied into accepting the second class label when they are clearly of the highest quality. It is not a good look to have a great player behaving as if they owe the NBA Basketball Finals managers their life. It is a good think to be respectful but subservience is never a good idea. The players that have confidence off the pitch are likely to be great when it comes to the crunch time and they have to win the championships for the team. They will know how to react to adversity because they understand the score and the implications of the score. Those that are not prepared will be left reeling from the sense that they are not up to the job.
Ron Artest is very good at what he does and if he is given half the chance in the NBA Basketball Finals, then he will make a very significant impact for his team and the sport in general. There is no need to be shy about these facts because they are what have made him such a formidable opponent when compared to all the other players on the circuit in the current age.

The Blazers in NBA Basketball Challenge

Kimi — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:49:55 +0000

When it comes to NBA Basketball, the winning percentages can be very high indeed. It seems that the Phoenix Suns like to win by a very big mile before they are satisfied with their victory. It was the case that Channing and Jared got their shooting touch in order with a one hundred and seven point to eighty eight point’s win of Portland. This means that they are just one win away from eliminating the Trail Blazers from the playoffs series in the NBA Basketball system. Frye managed and impressive twenty points while Dudley contributed nineteen. These were the leaders of the playing unit that ensured that the Suns were three to two points up in the best of seven series that characterizes this part of the NBA Basketball season.
The pedigree of the players has a lot to contribute to the outcomes of the game and might well be the deciding factor when it comes to the final stages of the tournament. The Phoenix side had three victories which contributed between twenty nine and nineteen points. The losses score was by five and ne. If they beat the Trail Blazers at Portland, they will almost certainly advance to the second round. They used the reserves to devastating effect with a score of fifty five points to a paltry twenty three and if things go the way they have been, the glory is within grasp.
The fact that they were able to achieve all that with a reserve team means that the sky is the limit for their ambitions and direction in the NBA Basketball series. Their opponents have to come up with a strategy for disrupting the team rhythm and stopping the partnerships from working well. At the same time they will have to deal with the determination and fervor that warrants a win. Thus the Blazers are in a bit of bother because all the pressure will be on them to outperform their counterparts and ensure a victorious entrance into the series. It certainly gives hope that the show down will be nothing but pure drama.

NBA Top 10 Plays for Monday May 3, 2010

Kimi — Thu, 06 May 2010 16:49:35 +0000

First DIBF Deaf World Basketball Championship for Men and Women

Kimi — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:19:11 +0000

Deaf’s World basketball championship

Polish Deaf Sports Federation will organize the first 2010 DIBF Deaf World Basketball Championship for men and woman who are under 21 is going to be held in Lublin at Poland between 25th June – 3rd July 2010. The age limit for the participation in the game for men and woman is that they must have born in 1989 or must be younger.

Limit of participants and the facilities

The participants will be given all the facilities from boarding, transport, staying at hotel, food, etc. The participants will also be given official training in the selected sports hall. The Opening and Closing ceremony is arranged in Globus Sports Hall. Each participant of the World Championships will be given a name badge with a photo color. The person to select for the DIBF u21 Basketball tournament is limited to a maximum of twelve for boy´s teams and twelve for girls’ teams.

Equipment and medical facilities

The equipment to be used during competitions will be in accordance with the rules and regulations of FIBA. The hardwood surface will be used on the venue floor. The participants are not allowed to use a hearing-aid during play. Each participant country is solely responsible for their team medical ward. The organizers are only responsible for taking patients to hospital.

Competition format

The competition has certain format to be adhering by the participant. Woman team will be divided in two ways one is tournament containing six different teams. Other one is the tournament with 8 different teams. In favor of men it is divided into four ways. First one is tournament of 16 different teams, second one is tournament of 12 different teams, third one is tournament of 11 different teams and fourth one is tournament of 6 different teams.

Rules of the Game

The categorization of the teams of each group of a game is made on points. When the Goal is on an average then the calculation is to be done by the division of the score. Further all decision rest with the Technical Committee to allow team to play or disqualify it.

Organizing Committee

Referees which will take decision of the game shall be recruited by the Organizing Committee. They should have International license to be in game. The same way the scorers and the timekeepers will also be recruited by the Organizing Committee.

Uniforms for the teams

Both teams must have two sets of uniforms in which one set must be light and other must be of dark color. The color must be official for the entry of the team.