Browsing articles tagged with " Basketball Court"
“It’s not supposed to be like that, but kids love to play the game,” Abdelkader said while watching a recent Boston Celtics playoff game on a big-screen television at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center. He was joined by about 20 other Muslims, a scene that is being replicated in living rooms and Islamic community centers as the NBA playoffs head toward the finals in June.
At the moment, there are at least eight Muslim players in the NBA (four Turks, two African Americans, one Iranian, and one Tanzanian), and one of them — center Nazr Mohammed of the Oklahoma City Thunder — is currently in the middle of a tense series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
But the special relationship between Muslims and basketball goes beyond any particular player or team and embraces the sport itself. It is not unlike the one described in “Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story,” a 2010 documentary film written by Ira Berkow, a Pulitzer-prize winning sportswriter.
For many Muslim Americans, college and professional basketball provides heroes they can take pride in, symbols of affirmation at a time when they face hostility from some Americans. And it serves as a way to develop fellowship with their fellow believers while reaching out to non-Muslims.
“Every Muslim community I go to, there’s this obsession for basketball. Almost every mosque you go to, there’s a basketball court outside,” said Musab Abdali of Houston.
Abdali, 19, is helping organize the youth program of an annual convention sponsored by the Muslim American Society and the Islamic Circle of North America, a pair of religious and outreach organizations. This year’s convention will be held in Hartford, Conn., over Memorial Day weekend. The “highlight” is the 3-on-3 basketball tournament, which is expected to draw close to 200 players, Abdali said. “Basketball has become more than a sport; it’s a culture for us.”
That culture is manifesting itself in Muslim basketball leagues and tournaments across the country, and is even recognized by the country’s major Islamic organizations, which are often criticized for being out of touch with Muslim youth.
Evolving from pick-up games in Chicago, the National Muslim Basketball Tournament was launched in 2010 and now holds at least four tournaments per year. The most popular one is in Chicago and has attracted 42 teams with 8 or 9 players each.
The Islamic Society of North America has recruited the organization to set-up a tournament during its annual convention in Washington D.C. this September.
Ballers best be ready.
On Saturday, the city and First Financial Bank will organize a three-point and free-throw shooting contest from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Rose Park Recreation Center.
Shooters will try 25 from the stripe, and 25 three-pointers from the top of the key, right and left wings and baselines. If you’ve got a lucky ball, bring it. Otherwise, basketballs will be provided.
There’ll be divisions by age and gender and team divisions, comprised of friends, family or co-workers.
No official word yet on if Abilene ISD chief Heath Burns — who showed some razzle-dazzle in the first-ever 3-on-3 basketball tournament at the West Texas Sports and Fitness Expo in February — will show, but rumor has it the diminutive Mindy Patterson, the city’s director of finance, has been practicing her long-range J in between Mikan layups during her lunch breaks.
The entry fee is $5 per division, and participants may shoot twice. Each reshoot will be $5. Prizes will be awarded to the top overall individual shooter, top shooter in each age group, and each division. College players and professional athletes are not allowed to participate. Awards will be presented at 2:30 p.m.
Got questions? Anita Vigil’s got answers, by email at anita.vigil@abilenetx.com and by phone, 325-676-6442. Check the event website at www.abilenetx.com/recreation.
Don’t be Trashy
After leaving the basketball court Saturday, honor the Lone Star State and the environment in the Texas Trash-Off, organized by the Texas Department of Transportation.
The event is Texas’ largest one-day litter cleanup, and encourages volunteers to pick up litter and debris along Texas highways.
Last year, 75,872 volunteers participated in 848 Trash-Off events across the state, and more than 6,000 miles of highway were cleared of litter and debris, totaling nearly six million pounds of trash, TxDOT reported.
Register for a Trash-Off event online at www.ktb.org or by calling 1-800-CLEAN-TX.
And for long-term litter cleanup, download the “Report A Litterer” app at dontmesswithtexas.org. The app lets you report littering with a single click and sends the data, with GPS coordinates, to TxDOT. It won’t let you text or type into the app, as a way to keep users’ eyes on the road while driving.
Quarter-Century on the Books
Mayor Norm Archibald and the City Council today will honor Linda Smith, a city accounting technician, who has 25 years experience. Imagine having to crunch numbers for two and a half decades, and you’ll applaud her too.
Brennan K. Peel’s City Hall Notebook appears Thursdays. Contact him at peelb@reporternews.com or 325-676-6787. Follow him on Twitter for live updates from city meetings and breaking news@Reporter-News.
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RUMSON — The story begins at Rogers Park in this affluent hamlet, where five Irish sons of a tough Newark parole officer turned the basketball court adjacent to their Lafayette Street home into their personal playground.
It continues over the decades in gyms and arenas around the state, and across the country, with family and hoops serving as the common threads.
And across town at Holy Cross church and school, where one of their own — a son, a brother, a nephew, cousin and friend — was eulogized 28 months ago, they now gather on the hardwood and asphalt each summer to use the game as a vehicle for both hope and healing.
As Jerry Dooley leaned into a corner of the couch, the surrounding walls adorned with photos from a life well-lived, the 58-year-old couldn’t help but wonder aloud when it will get easier. When he and his wife, Marge, and their daughter, Alison, would no longer find themselves tip-toeing through the holidays.
“It’s always there. Twelve months, 365 days,” he said. “I don’t know if it will be in two years, but that’s how it is now.”
On Tuesday, he’ll walk the two blocks to Rumson-Fair Haven High School, where seven Dooleys have laced up, to watch the Bulldawg Christmas Tournament. His younger brother Bill will be there coaching Chestnut Hill Academy, the Philadelphia prep school where the coach’s son, who everyone calls Billy D, is the star player.
He’ll see the banner with Bill, who went on to play at Richmond, where he later became head coach, and his older brother Tom, who played at Georgetown, listed among the school’s 1,000-point scorers.
Also listed will be his son, Jay, who played at Monmouth University.
“Jay had ‘it,’ which is sometimes hard to articulate. He had a kind of charisma about him,” said Bill Dooley. “He had a magnetic personality where he could make people feel special.”
But he never saw himself as others saw him. After years of struggling with Attention Deficit Disorder and depression, he took his own life on Aug. 24, 2009. He was 29.
U15 division’s 5 O’clock In The Morning defeated the Knights, 21-11, in the Garapan Community Development Center’s 2012 Christmas 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament held over the weekend at the Garapan Basketball Court.
The competition also featured a U10 and U12 round-robin.
5 O’clock is made up of Jeron Ano, Emerson Feria, Irvyn Malonzo, and Toshi Pangelinan.
Leading up to the finals, the Knights snuck past team Underdogs, 15-14, in the curtain raiser, as 5 O’clock trampled Bastosss, 23-7.
The Knights then defeated Tabasco, 19-12, and dropped 5 O’clock, 13-11, to advance to the finals unscathed.
Underdogs made it past Bastosss, 11-5, in their knockout match and went on to take out Tabasco, 20-9, before being eliminated by the eventual champs, 17-19.
In the U15 finals, 5 O’clock managed a slim, 11-8, lead in the first half thanks to a late 3-pointer by Malonzo.
Then Malonzo and Feria delivered four points apiece in the clutch to come away with the win.
Meanwhile, U10′s Rollers, made up of Angelo Factor, John Paul Cruz, and John Tam, pulled off a 10-6 come back over Ol’Aces in their tiebreaker finals match.
After a 2-2 deadlock in the first half, the Rollers’ Factor came away with four points at crunch time to go with a bucket in support by Cruz.
Defense proved to be the key to the Rollers’ success as Ol’Aces edged out Rollers, 15-12, in the first meeting, but fell to its rivals, 8-6, in the second tiff.
In addition, U12′s Hoops, comprised of Angelo Factor, Dicky Feria, C.J. Morales, and Kyle Rios, defeated runner-up Big-3, 9-6, in their finals duel.
Big-3 won the first meeting, 20-16, and advanced to the finals in first place after taking down team Whatever, 12-6, in their second game.
Hoops went on to oust Whatever, 13-8, before getting its revenge on the favored trio.
Hoops worked to an early 9-4 lead in the first half with Morales starting the engine with a five-point spark. Then Hoops relied on its defense and held Big-3 to a mere two points in the second half.
Two teams competed in the U10 division, three in U12, and five in the U15 grouping.
The winners will all be presented with medals during GCDC’s Family-Fun-A-Thon, slated for Jan. 28, 2012 at the Garapan Basketball Court.
Family Fun-A-Thon will also feature a 3-on-3 tournament between U12, U14 and U16 players with the parents being thrown into the mix.
There are also various side games planned for the kids such as a spoon toss race, minefield, a paint-balloon war, sneaker scramble, grab bag race, a game of “mom-or-dad calling” and even some volleyball.
“The Family Fun-A-Thon is open to everyone, but one big purpose for the event is because we at the GCDC want people, especially in the Garapan precinct, to know that we are here and our services are readily available for them,” said GCDC and Rollers Basketball Club frontman Joe Diaz.
Organizers decided on the theme for the Fun-A-Thon to be losing some weight people may have put on during the holiday season.
The GCDC and RBC are currently collaborating with longtime sponsors DYS and Vice Speaker Felicidad Ogumorro (Cov-Saipan) to help enable most of its events, but are always open to any new forms of sponsorship assistance.
Any small businesses that wish to donate small gifts that the group can use as prizes for participants in their sports activities would be a greatly appreciated. Based on past experience the kids seem to enjoy simple prizes such as food, water park, and movie coupons.
Visit RBC’s Facebook page or call the GDCD at 233-8978 for more information.
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The Garapan Community Development Center and Rollers Basketball Club are hosting the 2011 Christmas 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament this Friday and Saturday at the Garapan Basketball Court.
The event is free and is open to all U10, U12, and U14 players. There is a maximum of five players per roster and the event will utilize FIBA 33 rules.
Friday’s games will start at 5pm with the championship pairing tipping off around 3pm on Saturday.
Medals will be awarded to the championship teams during the RBC’s 2nd Annual Family Fun-Athon, which will be held on Jan. 28, 2012.
Family Fun-Athon will also feature a 3-on-3 tournament between U12, U14, and U16 players; however, the parents will be thrown in the mix.
There are also various side games planned for the kids such as a spoon toss race, minefield, a paint-balloon war, sneaker scramble, grab bag race, a game of “mom-or-dad calling” and even some volleyball.
“The Family Fun-Athon is open to everyone, but one big purpose for the event is because we at the GCDC want people, especially in the Garapan precinct, to know that we are here and our services are readily available for them,” said GCDC and RBC front man Joe Diaz.
Organizers hope the Fun-Athon would help people lose some weight they may have put on during the holiday season.
“We assume that a lot of people may have packed on a few extra pounds during the holiday break and we want to use the Family Fun-Athon to help them whip back into shape,” said RBC head coach Joe Diaz in a phone interview yesterday.
After the family event the RBC plans on sending some teams over to Tinian for a camping trip and friendship tournament with Tinian players in February 2012.
“We want to visit Tinian to build friendships with our island neighbors, and at the same time, we want our (RBC) members to learn life skills in addition to promoting basketball and a healthy lifestyle. Camping and spending time with the Tinian kids is a great way to build character and it gives us the opportunity to both learn and take part in a lot more activities than just basketball,” said Diaz.
Lastly, the RBC is still waiting to hear from ITE to see if they will return as the sponsor for its 2nd Annual Youth Christmas Tournament, which organizers are pushing to hold from Dec. 28 to 30, also at the Garapan Basketball Court. This event is a 5-on-5 full court competition.
In related news, the RBC has announced plans of fielding its U14 squad in the 2012 Manila-Pacific Rim Goodwill Games, which will be held in the Philippines from July 23 to July 30.
The GCDC and RBC are currently collaborating with longtime sponsors Division of Youth Services and Vice Speaker Felicidad Ogumorro (Cov-Saipan) to help enable most of its events, but are always open to any new forms of sponsorship assistance.
Any small businesses that wish to donate small gifts that the group can use as prizes for participants in their sports activities would be a great help. Based on past experience, the kids seem to enjoy simply prizes such as food and water park and movie coupons.
Visit RBC’s Facebook page or call the GDCD at 233-8978 for more information.
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The East Palo Alto Police Department and the Peninsula Sports Academy will host the opening event this evening for the newly formed Police Activities League basketball team.
The event, which will feature East Palo Alto police Chief Ron Davis and Mayor Laura Martinez, is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Onetta Harris Community Center, located at 100 Terminal Ave., Menlo Park.
–Bay City News
Kappa Sigma hosted a 3-on-3 basketball tournament with half-court rules called Hoops for Troops at the Pennington Student Activity Center on Saturday.
“Kappa Sig’s national philanthropy is called Military Heroes and Fisher House and the whole purpose of this is to kind of raise money and awareness for [military veterans] and donate some money to them,” said president of Kappa Sigma, Jeffrey Bell.
According to Bell, the fraternity has a quota they are required to meet every year for nationals.
Saturday’s philanthropy, Hoops for Troops, which was only open to Southeastern students, enlisted street style play where 11 points closed the match and shots within the three-point marker were scored at one point whereas any outside the marker were scored at two points.
The tournament began at 9 a.m. and ended around 1:30 p.m. as an audience composed mostly of students watched team “Bukake” consisting of James Fendlason, Forrest Guedry, Joseph Wong and Jacob Battaglia, take on team “Swag” during the championship round.
Before the championship game other teams, including “The Clinic,” “Freeballn” and others, competed for a higher rank in the event. Team “Freeballn” consisting of Cole Plummer, Fernando Alvarado, Daniel Dunn and Britain Hart lost to Guedry, Battaglia, Fendlason and Wong by three points, taking third place overall in the event.
Following “Freeballn’s” loss, “Swag” took the basketball court at the far left of the Pennington and scrambled for first place in a close matchup, which ended with Guedry, Battaglia, Fendlason and Wong walking away as champions of the Hoops for Troops tournament.
During the game, team “Swag,” consisting of players Tony Raines, Marcus Lamb, Dayton Prudhomme and Logan Jordan, kept the game tied at 8-8 with a layup from Jordan after going for a loose ball.
Ultimately, the champion team’s short star, Wong, put up a point off a jumper for the score to once again tie the game. The tall guard Fendlason and aggressive Guedry worked together to get the ball on offense, only to see an open Wong, who would then shoot the game-winning shot from behind the three-point marker.
Wong and his teammates were happy to be deemed winners of the tournament as Battaglia walked off the court flaunting the first place trophy.
Bell commented on the event, stating that it had a great turnout and they were able to raise a substantial amount of money aimed at a good cause.
“All the donations go to Military Heroes and Fisher House,” said Bell. “It’s just for wounded veterans, old veterans, just pretty much the whole military in general…with war and everything going on in the Middle East, it’s pretty important.”
According to Bell, the philanthropy for next semester may be a flag football tournament, though nothing is confirmed.
The miCoach SPEED_CELL to help basketball players refine their training programs.
by Kyle Stack / @KyleStack
Derrick Rose appears to be in three places at once. When he’s on the basketball court, Rose can cover a chunk of areas—to his left, to his right, in front and behind him—so effortlessly it seems like he must have more than two feet. It’s that sense of all-around movement that adidas has said is the inspiration for its miCoach SPEED_CELL device. 
Folks who purchase the accelerometer (December 1, MSRP $69.99) can clip it onto their shoelaces or place it within a sunken cavity specially created for compatible adidas footwear. What they get from it are various performance data measuring time, distance and speed in whatever directions they move, in whatever sports they play. Data transmits wirelessly to computers and mobile devices, where it can also be uploaded to sport-specific apps for use in training or to compare against others on Facebook.
People won’t move like D-Rose, but they can get accurate readings of their movements to enable more productive training. The sport-specific apps to be released with the product’s December launch are soccer and running. In those cases, the aforementioned metrics are supposed to give athletes a better sense of where they stand athletically and what they need to improve.
The metrics that SPEED_CELL will measure within the soccer and running apps aren’t all conducive to basketball. They include time (per session and cumulative), distance (per session and cumulative), speed (maximum per session and fastest speed), speed zones (distance covered in each zone) and the number of sprints performed.
Some of that information will change when the basketball app is released in February. (A tennis app will be released in March, followed by a football app in May.)
“What we showed what we’re doing for soccer is very tuned to soccer,” said Christian DiBendetto, the senior innovation director for the adidas Innovation Team (aIT), which developed the concept for SPEED_CELL. “When we launch basketball, some of the metrics will be different, and they’ll be very focused on basketball.”
Take sprints, for example. While running up and down the court is obviously a part of the game, sprinting takes a backseat to cuts, lateral movement and other quick moves when assessing the most important areas in which a basketball player can improve. DiBendetto noted that a sprint in soccer is often sustained for roughly three seconds. Meanwhile, he said the average movement in basketball lasts for 2.3 seconds. That’s why the basketball app will have a focus separate from the soccer and running apps.
As seen at the introductory miCoach SPEED_CELL event in late October, the adiZero Rose 2.5 will contain a cavity built into its insole. Place it in there and the player shouldn’t be able to feel the device within the cavity. The battery powering SPEED_CELL lasts five to six months, assuming two hours of use per day each day of the week, according to DiBendetto. It stores up to seven hours of movement, all of which can then be wirelessly transmitted to a PC, MAC, smartphone or tablet.
Data uploaded to one’s Facebook profile enables that person to compare their metrics with people in their local area as well as people nationally and internationally. A personal avatar is available to play in games specific to each sport. For instance, the basketball app will have a 3-on-3 basketball game in which one’s level of performance data influences how well that avatar plays in the game.
While those features can prove useful, SPEED_CELL’s core is its ability to create personalized coaching programs based off the metrics. Mark Verstegen, the founder and president of Athletes’ Performance, said that processing SPEED_CELL’s information shouldn’t be difficult for athletes, including basketball players, once they have that info.
“Until we have the data, until we can monitor it, we can’t move it,” said Verstegen, who helped develop the training portion of SPEED_CELL as part of his business relationship with adidas. “So as soon as we get the data, it allows a player’s coach to say, ‘Listen, we need to work on your acceleration.’ Or, ‘Hey, you have great quickness but you peter halfway through the third quarter.’”
In other words, people get the data relevant to performing their sport and then use it to optimize their training. Most people certainly can’t expect to move on the court as efficiently as Rose. Yet the miCoach SPEED_CELL gives them access to information they might not otherwise have obtained. From there, it’s up to them to determine if they want to use it for their training.
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November 9th, 2011 | Basketball Carrier Classic Life at Sea Marine Corps Navy Photos Veterans Day | Posted by Bill McMichael
When the Navy agreed to hold an NCAA basketball game on the flight deck of the carrier Carl Vinson, one probably could have gotten decent odds against the prospect of rain in San Diego on Veterans Day. Now there’s an 80 percent chance, and it’s looking like the highly anticipated North Carolina-Michigan State game could get bumped downstairs to the much smaller hangar deck. That’s bad news for some ticket holders — just about all of them military personnel — because only 4,000 or 5,000 of the 7,000 who could attend topside would be able to squeeze into the hangar deck.
On top of that, an entire basketball court and stands had been erected topside. Workers are now feverishly assembling a second court on the hangar deck, my colleague Gidget Fuentes tells me.
But really, now: Who needs a wooden basketball court? The players are playing for veterans. Wouldn’t it be more interesting to let them play on the non-skid-covered deck, like sailors at sea do?
Sailors and Marines participate in a “3 on 3″ basketball tournament in the hangar bay aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3), on March 2, 2003, during fund raising efforts to support the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society. Kearsarge was in the Persian Gulf, operating in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. // U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Alicia Tasz.
That stuff is ROUGH.
It would make for some interesting play-by-play commentary over what might appear to be a reticence to dive for loose balls …
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November 9th, 2011
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Pacesetters ‘A’ dominated their opponents on Saturday evening when the super sixteen rounds of the Mackeson Smooth Moves 3-on-3 basketball tournament concluded at the Mackenzie Sports Club basketball court in Linden.
Travis Burnett was outstanding for Pacesetters as he consistently broke down the defence of Team Demolition with his series of crossovers to the entertainment of the large crowd, …..
