Without Cold Winters, We Might Not Have Basketball January 20, 2010

Not Sure If This is What Naismith Had in Mind and It's Not Clear We Ever Would Have Heard of Michael Jordan if it Weren't For Cold Massachusetts Winters

Women's Basketball Was introduced to Smith College A Few Months After 1st Men's Team. This is Smith practice in 1903

On This Date in History: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland.  Not sure why Cleveland was picked except maybe the state and city provided good tax incentives.  But, at least its in a big city.  Baseball’s Hall of Fame is in tiny Cooperstown, NY.  I love that town.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame is in Canton, Ohio.  The Hockey Hall of Fame was supposed to be in Kingston Canada but funding dried up.  Eventually, it ended up in Toronto.  I think the first time the term “Hall of Fame” was used was in 1900 when the Hall of Fame for Great Americans was established at New York University, now Bronx Community College.  Then, the sporting world jumped on the bandwagon.  I believe that myth, folklore or history suggests that baseball was first played in Cooperstown and football in Canton, which is why those towns were chosen.  The Basketball Hall of Fame is in Springfield, MA because, on this date in 1892, the first basketball game was played.

Dr. Naismith's gym class produced the first basketball team. They consisted of nine players and their coach, pictured here on the steps of Springfield College Gymnasium. Back row: John G. Thompson; Eugene S. Libby; Edwin P. Ruggles; William R. Chase; T. Duncan Patton. Center: Frank Mahan; James Naismith. Front row: F. G. Macdonald; William H. Davis; Lyman W. Archibald.

It was invented by James Naismith, probably during the Christmas holidays in late 1891.   It really came about as a matter of necessity than anything else.   See, Naismith was a Physical Education teacher at the YMCA International Training School in 1891.  Today, it is referred to as Springfield College.  It gets cold in Massachusetts in the winter.  He had to find an indoor game of “athletic distraction” for the students.  He considered outdoor games such as Lacrosse and Rugby but thought they were too rough, though he did figure a way to eliminate tackling of Rugby was to disallow running and he liked the idea of the goals of LaCrosse.  Then, he remembered a game from his youth called Duck on a Rock.  Something about trying to knock a “duck” off the top of a large rock by throwing another rock at it.  I guess the prospects of throwing rocks in a closed building wasn’t too appealing but he did gain some inspiration from his recollection of that game.

1936 Olympics Are remembered as the Nazi Olympics by many and the Olympics of Jesse Owens humiliating Hitler. But For Naismith, they were the showcase for his game

The rules of the game have evolved.  Originally, Naismith used soccer balls and the baskets were peach baskets.  No one thought of punching a hole in the bottom of the baskets so, when a goal was scored, either a long dowel had to be used to punch the ball out or a guy on a ladder had to climb up to retrieve the ball.  So, the game wasn’t as fast paced as it is today.  Also, originally, bouncing or dribbling the ball as one moved was not part of the rules.  But, you couldn’t run with it either.  It was strictly a passing game.  The court was also half the size of the modern playing area.  Many people today say that basketball players are the best athletes in the world, but I suppose that was not the case back in the day.   Due to the popularity of the YMCA, the game spread rapidly across America and eventually was adopted by organizations in other countries.    Naismith lived to see the little game he invented become an Olympic sport in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.  By that time, the game had evolved to include movement being allowed as long as a player bounced, or dribbled the ball; the dimensions of the court were doubled; the number of players for each team at any given time was reduced from 9 to 5 and there was an introduction of a free throw line for foul shots.  Oh…and someone did figure out that it might be a good idea to have baskets with an open bottom end.   It is interesting to note that basketball is the only sport in which the women’s game developed simultaneously with the men’s game as Smith College took up the sport in 1892, shortly after Naismith had invented it in Springfield.

Here are the original 13 rules as outlined by Naismith:

1)The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.

2)The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist.

3)A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man running at good speed.

4)The ball must be held in or between the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it.

5)No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent. The first infringement of this rule by any person shall count as a foul; the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game. No substitution shall be allowed.

6)A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violations of Rules 3 and 4 and such as described in Rule 5.

7)If either side make three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul).

8)Goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the ground into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edge and the opponents move the basket, it shall count as a goal.

9)When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it. In case of dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them.

10)The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have the power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.

11)The referee shall be the judge of the ball and decide when it is in play in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.

12)The time shall be two 15-minute halves with five minutes’ rest between.

13)The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winners.

Thursday Morning low still isnt here

Weather Bottom Line:  The song remains the same.  The shortwave ridging did materialize on Tuesday afternoon but only served to dry the air enough to take out the fog and get the temperatures to the mid to upper 40′s.  There probably was some freezing fog on surfaces like cars and handrails Tuesday morning but road temperatures probably weren’t low enough to cause problems.  Anyway, we still have the pokey low coming in from the west along the stalled frontal boundary.  Look for chilly rain off  and on through early Friday.  Rain chances will go up throughout the day on Wednesday and crescendo on Thursday.  Saturday still looks okay but Sunday…we may even hear some thunder and see some lightning.  At this point, models are hinting at colder air for the last week of January, possibly a little snow.  But we’ll see…the data has been inconsistent and its more than a week away.

Studies Show Referees and Umpires Are Biased. Are Sports Taken Too Seriously? November 27, 2009

Players Had Reason To Question Donaghy's Calls

Have you ever wondered if the referees in sporting contests were on the take or showing a bias toward one team?  Maybe its not as far fetched as one might think and its not a thing of the past.  Recently, an NBA referee was put in jail for conspiring with gamblers to fix games.  After he went to prison, former NBA ref Tim Donaghy was reportedly beaten in prison with speculation that the beatings may have been payback from organized crime.  Guess he shouldn’t have sung.   Now, we find that a couple of professors did a study that was published in the Journal of Sports Sciences.  They concluded that during the 2004-2005 NCAA basketball season, referees showed a bias in the calls that they made, though, in some instances there was a variance in the bias shown given the situation of a given game.  This comes on the heels of another study that shows NBA refs are biased in their calls due to race.

Study Shows Coaches May Have Reason to Be Upset

For a long time, people have claimed refs from one conference might favor a team from their conference.  That is why in bowl games, typically the refs are from a conference that is not associated with either team.   And then there is baseball.  Major League Baseball rotates their umpires from city to city so that there is no risk of cries of an arbitor being a “homer.”  Many people have complained that the umps favor the Yankees so that they can bring their huge TV market into the World Series each year.  There is even an article that charges MLB itself to use its political arm to favor the Yankees!  Then again, Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia seems to think the umps are biased in favor of the Red Sox.  Funny how no one thinks the umps favor the Astros.  Anyway, while there is no study to support the notion that the Yankees or Red Sox Nation is favored that I am aware of, academics have done a study that claims umpires make biased calls based on race.  All of this may raise eyebrows or raise questions. Milton Bradley’s question is why are the umps all against him?  But, I have a question.  Shouldn’t academics be doing research that is a little more important than using money to determine if the refs need glasses?  With universities seeming to be more inclined to entertain the alumni rather than educate students, it almost seems as if the bar for higher education is getting lower and lower.

Just Another Day at the Old Ballpark

The correct conclusion of all such studies probably should be that the refs are human and are subject to all human failings on and off the field of play.  But, perhaps there is some redeeming reason for conducting such studies because sometimes fans viewpoint that a particular referee is biased can lead to violence.  Just this past August, a referee in Kenya was killed on the field by a mob of irate fans at a youth soccer game.  In California, a football referee was attacked by fans and a volleyball referee was assaulted by the president of the high school booster club.  Oh, those crazy fans.  But what about players?  Players often say that they want to “kill the ref” but for real?  A soccer player’s threat to kill a referee was once taken quite seriously.  Do players actually follow up on such threats?  In 2004, the Philadelphia Flyers drafted Ladislav Scurko  in the 6th round.  They may have to wait a couple of decades to see a return on that draft pick.  See, the Slovakian hockey player is in jail for killing a referee.  Now, there are those in society that suggest that allowing citizens to be armed actually deters crime.  So, is it a good idea to have refs packin’ heat?  Back in 1999, a referee did exactly that and successfully defended himself to the demise of a player.  It seems in South Africa, a soccer player pulled a knife on a referee who promptly pulled his pistol and shot the player to death.  What was a player doing with a knife on the field and what was a referee doing with a gun on the field?

Kids Learn From Parents

Cricket Umpire Target of Fans

The fact that there are academics spending time and money studying the calls of referees and that there is violence in the stands at sporting events all around the world and assaults and murder taking place due to sporting events doesn’t need a study.  It is obvious that people on this planet are taking sports way too seriously.  It’s supposed to be “just a game”  but to many that is not the case at all.  One can speculate that the big money in sports is the cause.  But what about those parents and fans at high school events that attack the ref?  No money there.  But there is an increasing number of cases of violence by and among parents at youth league games.  Does the actions of parents affect the kids?  A player in Little League sucker punched an opposing player during the post game handshakes the kids go through to try and teach sportsmanship.   Maybe youth league experience is what taught Oregon star running back LaGarrette Blount to punch out a Boise State player on national TV after a game.  Just think how productive people would be and how robust the economy might be if people would take their jobs as seriously as they seem to take sports.  Perhaps all of this is just a sign of a broader decline in civilization and all participants, fans and officials are human.  Historically, humans seem to have a proclivity for violence rather than peace.  How about examining the true value of sport in society, good and bad?  Now that would be a study.  Trouble is, no one would do anything about it.  Let the games begin.

Monday Morning

Weather Bottom Line:  Looks like I was at least partially right.  I had said I didn’t see how we got to the mid to upper 40′s on Thanksgiving or Friday and that some people may not get out of the 30′s on Thanksgiving.  By afternoon on Thursday, it was in the upper 30′s in many areas and no one got out of the low 40′s.  There were sprinkles but no snow.  And even if anyone saw snow Thursday night, not too many people would believe them because it was worthless if it happened.  I would think that on Friday, low to mid 40′s will work and so it may be a few degrees warmer than I had thought but I still think that its possible that low 40′s may be the max for many people.  High pressure moves to our south moves east and we get  a return flow for the weekend bringing the mercury up to the mid 5o’s each day.  Really not a bad weekend.  Late Sunday, clouds will increase with the approach of another front.  That will probably bring some rain Sunday night into Monday.  The rest of the week looks chilly with most people never getting out of the 40′s each afternoon and overnight lows in the low to mid 30′s.  Later in the week could be interesting as a cut off low in the southwest wanders around and picks up some moisture from the Gulf.