Inspirational Basketball Story

Autistic High School Senior Jason McElwain at Greece Athena High School in Rochester, N.Y.  McElwain was added to the roster so he could be given a jersey and sit the bench the last game of the season.  The coach Jim Johnson hoped the situation would even enable him to get McElwain onto the floor a little playing time. McElwain got the chance to go in, when Greece Athena went up double-digits. And, in his first action of the year, McElwain missed his first two shots, but then sank six three-pointers and another shot, for a total of 20 points in three minutes. "My first shot was an air ball (missing the hoop), by a lot, then I missed a lay-up," McElwain recalls. "As the first shot went in, and then the second shot, as soon as that went in, I just started to catch fire." "I've had a lot of thrills in coaching," Johnson says. "I've coached a lot of wonderful kids. But I've never experienced such a thrill." The crowd went nuts has McElwain had a terrific game. "I felt like a celebrity!" he beamed. "This is the first moment Jason has ever succeeded (and could be) proud of himself," reflects Debbie McElwain. "I look at autism as the Berlin Wall, and he cracked it." His teammates were filled with joy to see him so happy. "He's a cool kid," says guard Levar Goff. "You just get to know him, get used to being around him. A couple of weeks ago, he missed practice because he was sick. You feel different when he's not around. He brings humor and life to the team."


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/autistic-teens-hoop-dreams-come-true/

Homosexuality in Basketball

"Jason Collins, who became the first openly gay athlete in North America's four recognized major team sports when he played for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets last season, announced Wednesday his retirement from the league."  Collins made his retirement announcement in Sports Illustrated, the same way he revealed his sexuality in 2013.  Collins received a lot of support from his teammates who didn't mind him being gay.  "Collins also singled out Nets guard Deron Williams for the support that Williams gave Collins before he came out in the Sports Illustrated article.  "He reached out to me and it was incredibly supportive," Collins said."  Collins has seemed to handle the situation quite well, "Playing 13 years in the league, people will slap different labels on you," Collins said. "First and foremost, I always want my legacy to be known as a great teammate, someone who always sacrificed for the team. Whether it be on the offensive end, setting screens, de-cleating people. I love when that happens. And then on the defensive end, being physical out there and making sure the opponent knows when they get into the paint that there would be a consequence."  After retiring Collins now advocates for the LGBT organizations, and still stay involved in basketball.

Deflate Gate Reaction

Deflate Gate led to the suspension of Tom Brady for 4 games, the Patriots losing its 2016 first round pick and its 2017 forth round pick, and the Patriots being fined $1 million.  "The punishment comes after last week's release of a report by attorney Ted Wells, who was hired by the league to investigate the incident.  The investigation was initiated to determine what was behind the Patriots' use of underinflated footballs during January's AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots beat the Colts en route to a Super Bowl XLIX victory."  It was found that Brady was aware of the footballs being deflated.  Brady would not turn over his text messages and emails to investigators to prove himself innocent.  I believe this is why he was considered guilty.   But, Brady's agent, Don Yee disagreed, "the discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis."  "In my opinion, this outcome was predetermined; there was no fairness in the Wells investigation whatsoever," Yee said in a statement. "There is no evidence that Tom directed footballs be set at pressures below the allowable limits."  Which to some extent those statements are correct because there is no proof that Brady had any connection to the deflation of the footballs, just him not giving proof and information.  Brady will most likely appeal this decision and probably get his suspension down to 2 games or get his suspension removed completely.


http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/11/us/nfl-deflategate-response/

Reaction of League of Denial

After watching the League of Denial, I feel a little disgusted. The evidence is there that football causes Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).  CTE is a form of encephalopathy that is a progressive degenerative disease, which can currently only be definitively diagnosed postmortem, in individuals with a history of multiple concussions and other forms of head injury.  Because of this disease players get mentally ill and do not act themselves.  A lot of times players who have this disease get suicidal thoughts and some even commit suicide.  CTE is extremely serious and the NFL is ignoring it completely just to keep making money.  Obviously the NFL does not want to be responsible for the deaths of players but they will do whatever it takes to keep the sport going and keep making money. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist and neuropathologist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania found CTE in the brains of Mike Webster,Terry Long, Andre Waters, Justin Strzelczyk and Tom McHale.  Omalu also tried to get Junior Seau's brain to run test on it but the NFL called Junior Seau's son and told him not to give the brain to Omalu and made up rumors about him.  I think the NFL should stop trying to hide CTE and find a safer way to play the sport America loves.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2013/10/league_of_denial_dan_engber_and_stefan_fatsis_debate_the_frontline_documentary.html

Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest in basketball would be the gambling of Michael Jordan.  Michael Jordan had many gambling incidents but there is one particular one at an airport.  "Back before NBA teams had grasped the rejuvenating power of chartered airplanes, the Bulls were waiting for their luggage in Portland when Jordan slapped a hunny on the conveyor belt: I bet you my bags come out first. Jumping on the incredibly favorable odds, nine teammates happily accepted the wager. Sure enough, Jordan's bags led the rollout. He cackled with delight as he collected everyone's money.  What none of the suckers knew, and what MJ presumably never told them, was that he had bribed a baggage handler to help him out. He didn't pocket much (a few hundred bucks), and considering his net worth hovered around nine figures at the time, it's safe to say he didn't need the extra cash. But that didn't matter. There was a chance at an easy score, and he took it."  This incident is not that big but it still shows the addiction Jordan had to gambling.  Most of the gambling incidents Jordan was involved in were never reported because it would destroy the image of basketball.  Jordan was and still is one of the most popular and famous basketball players to ever live.  And if he was reported on gambling and he got in trouble it would ruin his image and probably ruin the image of basketball.



http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/060614

King of Basketball

If I was the king of basketball I would change the rules to make a 4 point line.  Somewhere between the 3 point line and half-court I would make a 4-point line.  Having a 4 point line would have more exciting games and would have players become better outside shooters.  Even though it would be a very difficult shot I think it would make the game very entertaining.  Also, I think kids would enjoy basketball more if they could make a 4 point shot.  Even some coaches and owners think a 4 point line would be an exciting aspect to the game.  Phil Jackson, longtime coach and owner, had something things to say about the 4 point line.  "So, Jackson's a purist, but he's a purist who would be fine with a 4-point line. How fascinating. He's always been a guy who places emphasis on versatility and skill with the basketball, and he values ball movement over one-on-one play. The game has moved in that direction, but away from the post-ups and midrange jumpers that were so prevalent when he coached the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers."  Basketball would definitely change a lot with a 4 point line and I think that's the main reason against it.  Although the game would never be the same, I think it would increase a lot of attention to the sport and gain younger athletes to start playing basketball  

Youth Basketball

Youth basketball is all about AAU.  AAU is looked at as a more competitive type of basketball and it is supposed to get you more college exposure. Last week was the McDonald's All-American Game, where the top 48 college recruits play in a game.  Each of those 48 kids all played and may still play AAU basketball.  AAU basketball teams play in, what is known as a showcase tournament where they play in a tournament where colleges will attend.  This gives kids a great chance to get their name out their and be recruited.  For instance the #1 prospect in the country, Ben Simmons, an LSU commit, got noticed at the 2012 Pangos Camp, which is a very large showcase camp that gained him national attention.  AAU basketball gives kids great attention and good competition but do the kids gain skill and work on fundamentals?  Most coaches expect the kids to have good skills and fundamentals.  With that being said the coaches do not necessarily stress basic fundamentals and growth of skills and only care about getting the athletes exposed to college coaches.  Having coaches only focus on college and playing at the next level is not always a bad thing but I think if parents are paying a good amount of money they would want their kid to be trained and become a better player not just doing showcases and tournaments.  Kobe Bryant even went on to say things about AAU basketball.  “I just think European players are just way more skillful,” Bryant said Friday Night. “They are just taught the game the right way at an early age. … They’re more skillful. It’s something we really have to fix. We really have to address that. We have to teach our kids to play the right way.”  The main culprit, Bryant believes, is AAU basketball:  “AAU basketball,” Bryant said. “Horrible, terrible AAU basketball. It’s stupid. It doesn’t teach our kids how to play the game at all so you wind up having players that are big and they bring it up and they do all this fancy crap and they don’t know how to post. They don’t know the fundamentals of the game. It’s stupid.”  In my opinion Kobe is exactly right,  AAU basketball players are not taught the basic fundamentals of the game.

Rule Change NCAA

A rule the NCAA should change is having the referees be able to check the instant replay monitor whenever they want.  In this years Round of 64 in the NCAA tournament SMU played UCLA.  UCLA won off of an air balled three pointer that was called as goal tending.  They called goal tending with 10.7 seconds left in the game and it gave UCLA a 60-59 lead.  The refs could have went to the monitor and easily saw that there was no goal tending on the play but you cannot go the monitor on a goal tending call.  Despite having the ability to review almost anything else pertaining to close calls during a basketball game, were unable to go the monitors to look at this play and make a determination themselves.  Here’s what should have happened: After the goal tend call on the floor, the refs should have been able to go to the monitor, see that the two replays that CBS aired were inconclusive and ruled that the call on the floor stood.  But that’s not what happened, of course. The confusion after the call and the brief look refs took at whether it was a two-pointer or three-pointer, combined with the absurdity of the refs not being allowed to review the goal tend led to SMU having to rush their final possession. Whether it was a goal tend or not, SMU got robbed and Moreira, the player who made the play, was left in tears, blaming the loss on himself.

NCAA Connection

Without College Basketball the NCAA wouldn't be as popular or as wealthy.  March Madness alone makes the NCAA over one billion dollars and that money covers expenses for all of other non-popular and sports that aren't televised.  NCAA basketball is one of the top watched sports and easily gets the most money, even women's basketball.  In 1995, when the UConn's women's team won the first of its nine national championships, that all changed.  Those championships have not only boosted Huskies pride, they've helped to draw billions of dollars in public funds and alumni donations to upgrade UConn's academic image and the school's facilities. Indeed, there are multiple examples of colleges previously unknown for their basketball programs that have prospered financially after making a deep run into the March Madness that surrounds the NCAA basketball tournament.  The same day the triumphant '95 Lady Huskies visited the state legislature, Connecticut lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to pump $1 billion into "UConn 2000," a campus-improvement project that has since followed the initial billion with another $1.3 billion.  The NCAA also thrives off college basketball by the Cinderella teams making long runs in the tournament and making money off of their gear.  Universities like Butler in Indiana, Florida Gulf Coast and Gonzaga in Washington state, all saw a rise in student application numbers following previous tournament runs.  After Butler reached the national championship game in 2010, its student applications rose about 40 percent, according to a university spokesman. Applications at Florida Gulf Coast increased by nearly 40 percent after that school reached the Sweet 16 in 2013, and applications at Gonzaga rose nearly 12 percent from fall of 1998 to fall of 1999 after the team reached the Elite Eight.  The NCAA makes almost all of its money and popularity off college basketball.  They make money off TV ads, selling gear, and ticket sales.  The NCAA thrives off of college basketball.

Trail Blazers vs. Rockets

On February 6, 1995 the Portland Trail Blazers took on the Houston Rockets at Portland Memorial Coliseum.  A Trail Blazers fan started yelling at Rockets guard Vernon Maxwell after his wife's miscarriage.  Maxwell ran a dozen rows into the stands and punched the fan, Steve George right in the face.  After the incident Maxwell was suspended 10 games and fined $20,000. Everyone's stories with this one seemed to be different and there is no lasting video footage available, but this much we know is true: Vernon Maxwell charged up into the stands during the third quarter of a game in Portland and punched a fan named Steve George in the face. George said it was because he made fun of Maxwell for having five points; Maxwell claimed it was because George was making fun of Maxwell's wife's recent miscarriage. Whatever the reason, it was the first time a player had charged into the stands to fight a fan, and carried with it a 10-game suspension.  This incident could have been stopped by having more security around the stands, but there wasn't.  There is a low chance this will happen again because the security in the stadiums are a lot higher.  This was an unnecessary action by Maxwell and shouldn't be done by a professional athlete.

Rights of Fans

The rights of a fan is to be respectful and support there team.  I think a fan is required to attend the game and respect themselves, their team, and fellow spectators.  There are too many times when fans go to the games, get drunk and act crazy.  For instance, the Hillsborough event when drunk Liverpool fans overcrowded the section behind the goal known as Leppings Lane.  The section was severely overpopulated and people in the front rows were crushed up against the fence.  As a result of the Hillsborough disaster 96 fans were killed and about 766 were injured.  Another event similar to this could happen if fans get out of control.  This shows how fans need to show respect for themselves and others.  It's hard for this to happen in certain sporting events especially because of how big the stadiums are.  It's also difficult for an event like Hillsborough to happen again because most stadiums don't have standing room and you can only get in with a ticket, and once the stadium is sold out, no more fans will be allowed in.  I think fans are allowed to have fun at sporting events but they need to control themselves.

Basketball Announcers

Chris Broussard is known for his obnoxious comments all over ESPN.  Broussard always has to get in every story and blow it out of proportion.  In April 2013, Jason Collins revealed he was openly gay, which made him the first openly gay athlete in a major American sport.  Support came in from celebrities online, and the overall reaction on Twitter was overwhelmingly positive for Collins. Collins later took to Twitter himself to thank fans for the "truly inspirational" show of support.
Broussard, however, took a different view, saying on Outside the Lines that homosexuality is "an open rebellion to God." Here's video of some of Broussard's comments:     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42bwxwrpvYg  This goes to show how Broussard can't keep himself under control on the air.  Broussard is definitely my least favorite sports analysts on ESPN.  The only thing he seems to talk about is the New York Knicks and whatever recent controversial news is going on.  My all-time favorite basketball analyst would be Dick Vitale, Vitale always makes the games exciting with his exciting comments, like "Trifecta!" or "Nothing but nylon baby!"  Vitale always makes college basketball games exciting especially the Duke vs. UNC games.  He is always active with fans and getting everyone up on their feet.  Vitale is one of the greatest announcers of all time and makes the games entertaining to watch.

Basketball Media

The NBA and College Basketball are very popular especially in the postseason.  The networks that broadcast March Madness are TBS, CBS, TNT, and TruTV.  In 2010, the NCAA and CBS reached a 14-year agreement worth $10.8 billion dollars to receive joint broadcasting rights for March Madness.  The agreement with the CBS Corporation which runs through 2024, allows all tournament games to be broadcast on national television.  All of the first four games will air on TruTV.  A featured second or third round game in each time window will be broadcast exclusively on CBS, while all other games will be shown either on TBS, TNT or TruTV. Sweet 16 (regional semifinal) games would be broadcast on CBS and TBS, while all games from the Elite Eight (regional final) onwards would be shown on CBS exclusively until 2016, when the CBS/TBS sharing of the Elite Eight and Final Four rounds begin.  The CBS/Turner coverage formally begins with The Selection Show, the official unveiling of the teams participating in the tournament, which follows CBS's coverage of the final game on Selection Sunday. Since 2013, however, CBS began using the March Madness presentation during coverage of conference championship games being broadcast by CBS, although still branded as NCAA on CBS telecasts. During the tournament itself, TruTV broadcasts pre-game coverage, Infiniti NCAA Tip-Off, while TBS and TruTV also air the post-game show Inside March Madness presented by Buick.  By broadcasting The Selection Show opens up more popularity to main tournament and gives the network more views and a better chance to advertise their own shows.  The NBA's popularity and viewers have gone up and down throughout the years.  The NBA Nielsen ratings have risen and fallen over the decades. The National Basketball Association achieved a rapid rise and fall in television ratings from the 1997-1998 season, when ratings for the NBA Finals achieved a record high, to the 2002-2003 season, when ratings for the NBA Finals hit a record low. Blame for this rise and fall has been pinned on the destructive NBA lockout which occurred right after the 1998 season. The lockout wiped out thirty-two games of the 1998-1999 season and caused fan apathy. Other blame has been put on the retirement of Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan, also on backlash against the "hip-hop" culture of the league and as well as heavy competition from prime time programming such as American Idol, the CSI Shows, and Dancing with the Stars.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association_Nielsen_ratings

Should Basketball Player's be Role Models?

In my opinion NBA athletes are not forced to be role models, it is up to them to make that decision.  Some athletes aren't good role models as it is, so forcing them to be something they aren't is not a good thing.  There are some athletes that are good role models without being forced into it.  I think Lebron does a good job of being a good role model for younger kids and athletes.  Along with being a great athlete Lebron does plenty of charity work and helps out kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.  NBA athletes aren't always good role models, Charles Barkley even stated in a Nike Commercial in 1993 that he does not want to be a role model and his only job is to "Cause havoc on the court." Barkley wanted to let parents know that it isn't his job to be a role model for their kids, it is the parents job.  Also some NBA players are known for crime, bad attitudes, and drug problems.  Many people don't know but Michael Jordan had a huge gambling addiction that the media would hide so it wouldn't ruin his image as a role model.  So lastly, athletes are not required to be role models, it is not their job, they are paid to perform athletically and if they want to be known a a good role model they can but it is not mandatory.

Messing Up Off the Court

Donald Sterling, the ex-owner for the Los Angeles Clippers, made a name for himself last Spring.  Sterling made comments to his wife of how, "It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you're associating with black people."  He also said, "But why publicize it on the Instagram and why bring it to my games?"  Sterling made these comments after his wife posted a picture with Hall of Famer Magic Johnson on Instagram. Sterling was immediately banned from attending NBA games or practices, being present at any Clippers office or facility, or participating in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. He also cannot participate in any league business going forward.  Sterling also has been sued for sexual harassment by former employees, and Stiviano describes Sterling in court documents as a man "with a big toothy grin brandishing his sexual prowess in the faces of the paparazzi and caring less what anyone else thought, the least of which, his own wife."   Sterling's actions were completely blown up and spread around fast.  I think he should have not have said the things he did and they were very uncalled for, but $2.5 million, and banned for life is a little extreme in my opinion.  Sterling definitely deserves harsh punishment but I disagree with the punishment he got.  He definitely made a bad name for himself and made an awful decision.   This goes to show that you need to watch what you say because you never know who is listening.




  http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/10857580/donald-sterling-los-angeles-clippers-owner-receives-life-ban-nba

Lesson from the Super Bowl

What I've learned from the Super Bowl is that the commercials gain them most of their viewers.  Even if someone doesn't like football they will still watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.  So, my idea is that for the NBA Finals and March Madness to televise attention grabbing and entertaining commercials that will get a lot of publicity.  I think so many more people and fans would watch postseason basketball if there were big commercials that everyone would be talking about.  You always see people talking about what the Super Bowl commercials are going to be like, and of course they will watch the game.  That is why the Super Bowl reaches over 100 million viewers.  So, I think if people hyped up the NBA finals and March Madness like they do the Super Bowl, basketball would be a much more popular sport and get a lot more viewers.   Postseason basketball gets a good amount of viewers but nearly as much as the Super Bowl, so I think if the NBA and the NCAA advertised good commercials like how the NFL does, the viewer ratings would go through the roof.  Also, if the NBA playoffs were earlier in the evening more people could watch it.  Most kids go to bed around 9:00 P.M, so when the NBA playoff games are starting at 8:30 P.M, the only people watching are adults and maybe teenagers.  By having the games so late it hurts their viewers.  So with that being said, if the NBA and NCAA hyped up their commercials and had commercials that people want to see their viewers will go up.  Also if you schedule the games at a more appropriate time your viewers will also go up.  In conclusion, I think if the NCAA and NBA found more appealing commercials like the Super Bowl their viewer ratings would increase at a very good rate.







http://www.businessinsider.com/what-advertisers-can-learn-from-the-march-madness-marketing-campaign-2013-3

Super Bowl Reaction

In Super Bowl XLIX, there was a big ticket controversy.  Ticket brokers promised buyers tickets, before the brokers had the tickets.  The brokers were waiting for the prices of the tickets to go down, to buy them so they could make a profit.  But what happened was the tickets prices increased as the game got closer, making it nearly impossible for the brokers to get tickets.  The people who were promised tickets that they already paid for, had tickets that did not exist.  As people, were stranded outside of the Super Bowl waiting for calls from their brokers, most brokers reimbursed their customers double the amount the customer paid.  So for instance, if someone spent $7,000 on Super Bowl tickets, the broker would have payed them back $14,000.  The reason for the increase of sales right before the Super Bowl was mainly because of the location.  Since, the Super Bowl was in Phoenix, the weather was very warm and more people would rather go to Phoenix than New York because of the cold weather.  The prices also went up because of the teams in the Super Bowl.  Everyone knows the Seahawks are one of the most popular teams in the NFL and everyone enjoys watching them play.  Even most of the Seahawks home games are sold out, so you can only imagine what the Super Bowl would be like.  The tickets from this years Super Bowl were almost the highest of all time.



http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/12255886/hundreds-super-bowl-tickets-fall-through