March Madness is less than a month away, and sports fans are snapping up tickets to watch men’s and women’s NCAA basketball teams battle their way to the Final Four. Projected brackets are going online, with speculation about likely picks and the prospects of finding a Cinderella team in the field this year. Cheerleaders get their moment on screen before commercial breaks, but should these student athletes be considered members of a sports team, too? On court fashion generates debate, and mascots range from the obvious to the really odd. PETA continues its crusade against the use of live animals, but one overriding question remains: “What the hell is a Saluki?”
posted by woodway on Feb 21, 2009 - 18 comments

FreeDarko: the intersection of basketball and everything else worth talking about. Witness the 2008 U.S. Presidential election as seen through the lens of the UNC/Duke rivalry, and a look inside the noir world of Pat Riley.
posted by saladin on Aug 31, 2008 - 3 comments

An inspirational update to the story of Jason McElwain.
posted by kyleg on Jul 17, 2008 - 5 comments

Kelvin Sampson probably gone Sooner than later. Ever since Bob Knight got fired from Indiana University, alumni have been upset that one of his lineage was not brought in to replace him. [more inside]
posted by dragonsi55 on Feb 16, 2008 - 12 comments

Chris Creamer's sportslogos.net is a vast archive of current and historical sports logos from leagues large and small, brand new or defunct. Some of my favorite retro logos involve mascots (often anthropomorphized) performing sports-related activities. Of course, some were retired for good reasons.
posted by kyleg on Aug 30, 2006 - 14 comments

March Madness: 11th seeded George Mason upset UConn in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament this afternoon, continuing their unexpected streak of upsets. Their wins validate not only their inclusion in the tournament, but the rising status of mid-major conferences. The most prominent critic of the inclusion of these smaller schools has been CBS analyst Billy Packer, who verbally assaulted the head of the selection committee on live TV just two weeks ago, and has yet to apologize for his obvious error.
posted by kyleg on Mar 26, 2006 - 49 comments

The story of an autistic basketball player in his first game (youtube video) is an amazing story. It's worth the three minutes and you might even shed a tear of joy by the end.
posted by mathowie on Feb 24, 2006 - 94 comments

Meet the only out player in Major League Professional Sports: Sheryl Swoopes, of the WNBA. Will Swoopes's revelation help chip away at the homophobia that is rampant in some locker rooms and fuels much of the negative recruiting that goes on in women's sports? She has her own Nike shoe--the only woman to ever get one, and now, another first for this rarest of athletes – someone who comes out publicly during their career.
posted by amberglow on Oct 27, 2005 - 181 comments

He's got ginormous size, monstrous handles, and a floor-dunk. He also has a tumor. Fortunately for basketball fans, the kindness of strangers is what's saving Sun Ming Ming. (not related to the rich Ming).
posted by HiveMind on Sep 14, 2005 - 9 comments

Whatever happened to Jordan? This is perhaps the most thought-out dissent regarding Michael Jordan as sports god I've ever read. I have to say I agree, even though I was a Bulls fan growing up. What did he ever really stand for?
posted by Leege on Jan 14, 2005 - 52 comments

So I'm not even a sports fan, but holy crap, this was a serious fight, especially for Basketball. They've got a video posted, but it does NOT include "the punch," by Ron Artest, delivered to some fan in a Pistons jersey. If anyone's got a link to that footage (I only saw it on TV) please post it!
posted by zekinskia on Nov 20, 2004 - 89 comments

Andrea Armstrong wants to play basketball. She is also a muslim, and wishes to observe traditional muslim attire for a woman of the faith. Intolerance ensues. (A link from my local paper to an Orlando Sentinel story, in that this woman is from Oregon.)
posted by Danf on Sep 24, 2004 - 69 comments

Just because you're in a wheelchair doesn't mean you can't have a ruck. Browsing our current favourite website I found myself intrigued. This year's paralympics will again feature Wheelchair Rugby, a sport that has been alternatively described as 'Chess with Violence'. The rules are explained here though I think you might have to actually see a game to figure out how they would work in practice.
posted by biffa on Aug 19, 2004 - 8 comments

By now, you might already have heard about Mark Walker, the 3 year old hoops prodigy that Reebok is featuring on their website; while the video of him hitting 18 straight shots from various spots on the floor is cute/impressive, the "interview" movie is horrendously creepy. The closing tagline "I'm the future of basketball; I am Reebok" done in the voice of such a small child just conjures up visions of in vitro logo tattooing. (Warning: Movies are in Quicktime)
posted by jonson on May 30, 2003 - 29 comments

Michael Jordan Tried to Steal My Date is just one of a number of stories in the Washington CityPaper this week, looking back at the good and bad of having 'MJ' in our city... even if it wasn't meant to last.
posted by GriffX on May 16, 2003 - 23 comments

Who's this years favorite? Anyone want to guess who will win it all? Got that someone in the office that does better than the sports "know it all"? Let the bracket analysis, predictions, and of course trash talk commence for MADNESS!
posted by brent on Mar 16, 2003 - 22 comments

Shaqzilla dethroned. Shaquille O'Neal, who warned Chinese citizen & #1 draft pick Yao Ming to "Look Out, Shaqzilla is coming" (presumably unaware that Tokyo is not part of China), has been dethroned; currently in fan balloting, he is running a distant second to the rookie for starting center in the All Star game. Even though his numbers are effectively double those of Yao's, even though he's a three time NBA Finals MVP.
posted by jonson on Jan 2, 2003 - 27 comments

High School Girls Basketball team destroys opponent 115-2. Is sportsmanship about to go the way of the dodo? More and more teams are pushing for winning (and winning by a lot) more than just playing well. Is it the coach's fault? Could it be that the players are just too good and they couldn't 'help' crushing their opponent by over 100 points? (I say that, of course, in jest)
posted by gwong on Nov 21, 2002 - 60 comments

The US defeated in basketball World Championships by a dominant Argentina team. This breaks the record 58 non-stop winning series since the US allowed NBA players in 1992. I love this, just as I loved all the upsets at the FIFA world cup.
posted by ugly_n_sticky on Sep 5, 2002 - 16 comments

Every sport is an extreme sport in Afghanistan.
Sorry couldn't help posting this surreal news tidbit: "A friendly basketball game between U.S. and Afghan teams turned violent, with one American player kicked in the head and two Afghan spectators shot in the leg, peacekeepers and witnesses said Friday."
posted by talos on Apr 29, 2002 - 9 comments

Queen of the hardwood A local Seattle sports radio station's grand prize is a trip for two to any sporting event in the world. In the spirit of the NCAA basketball tournament, your task is to take the field of sixty-four women and pick the winners until you wind up with the Queen of the Hardwood. Crass, perhaps, but not much more so than anything else. You still have time to enter.
posted by YohonTheLarge on Apr 10, 2002 - 5 comments

Not surprisingly, police were needed to break up celebrating students at UM last night, though it wasn't as bad as what happened over the weekend. (I guess the Saturday riot really wore them out.) As Bobcat Goldthwait used to say: "If your team wins a major sporting event, you can legeally do anything within the next 24 hours." And this is the school I should be proud to call my Alma Mater?
posted by emptybowl on Apr 2, 2002 - 9 comments

The Case of the Head-Butting Hoopster. High-school basketball players collide during a game; the guy from the visiting team allegedly head-butts the other but is called for only a personal foul. On the home team is the son of the local district attorney, who is sitting (or perhaps ranting) in the stands. He's just sure that a crime has been committed, so ... (more inside)
posted by diddlegnome on Feb 9, 2002 - 11 comments

Bona fide druggies in the NBA repeatedly gets caught not only breaking league rules, but the law. And like Lamar Odom, not much happens to these young men except they lose tens of thousands of dollars in fines. My question: why have a drug policy in the NBA if you're not going to do much to punish them - especially the super talented, good-looking, nice ones like Odom?
posted by tsarfan on Nov 5, 2001 - 10 comments

It's official, Jordan is back in the NBA. He's claiming it's for the love of the game, but I'm guessing maybe the book and the movie didn't do as well as he hoped? Do you think he'll pop back in and dominate the game, or have the Kobes and Iversons of the world passed him by?
posted by mathowie on Sep 10, 2001 - 20 comments

Sixers shock the world, or at least this fan with their OT victory last night. I'm glad to see cocky Kobe and his Lakers' perfect playoff record marred somewhat. And I can't believe the Sixers were able to pull it off. Anyone think they have a chance to go all the way now?
posted by eoligarry on Jun 7, 2001 - 28 comments

The NBA Finals start tonight. I've never been a big fan of watching any sport, but the hometown Sixers have been quite exciting. Now I find myself hoping that they can find a way to win against those smug Lakers and quiet their arrogant, over-confident fans. Anyone else love an underdog?
posted by quirked on Jun 6, 2001 - 35 comments

NBA Finals Fixed, Ray Allen all but makes the statement straight out. I have been hearing this on the radio over the last week or so. Could it just be poor officiating?
posted by vanderwal on Jun 1, 2001 - 36 comments

Why it sucks to be in the media spotlight. Need I say more? Why they felt the need to put this in print for the whole world to see is beyond my comprehension. My God... can you imagine?
posted by fusinski on Apr 25, 2001 - 24 comments

Knight to be fired? I know some can find the news at other links, and the story is still developing, however, I at least thought he would last one more year, and retire on his own. Zero tolerence is enforced and the University warned him. I just wonder if he will be hired anywhere else.
posted by brent on Sep 10, 2000 - 16 comments