Last time I played there, obviously it was a traumatic experience for me. I'm not like thrilled to go back and play there. It's going to have to be this Thursday, I'm not thrilled about it.
The crowd does a good job, like knowing the game - might be a little different from other fan bases. It might not be the person who scores. It might just be the little plays, and that's what I try to do out there.
The gym belongs to the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church in Madison, Alabama. As a way of connecting with the community, the church often allows teams and social groups use of its gym.
At one point he made an assist while sprawled on the floor: From his end of the court, he made a one-armed throw to a teammate, who streaked coast-to-coast for a quick bucket. That season ended with an epic showdown in the NCAA championship game against Magic Johnson and Michigan State. Magic got the better of Bird in that game, but the contest had wider repercussions.
It's time for the CIF state championships in basketball and soccer (first time for soccer) in Sacramento on Friday and Saturday. Basketball will be played at Golden 1 Center. Soccer is at Natomas High.
Most notably, this comes through the realization that everything that is hailed as the next frontier of human development is actually just old ideas with newer and better special effects behind it, generally applied by people too young or disinterested to know better.
In this playoff season, I try to shut my eyes to products featured in commercial time-outs. You've seen them? The cryptic medicines to treat unspecified ailments? The pickup trucks and beer brands that signal ruggedness and romantic success. Or more tempting, the gooey-delectable double-cheese-pepperoni pizzas with yet more cheese stuffed in the crust. But one other caught my ear for novel English usage. Namely, the new infinitive "to fan."
Part of the answer lies in the visceral nature of the game. Unlike chess, football is physical to the point of absurdity. Grown adults in body armor crash into each other over what is essentially a leather egg. There's drama in every play. You don't need a PhD in physics to appreciate a one-handed catch while somersaulting over a defender like a caffeinated acrobat.
The older I get, the more profoundly I appreciate that, when I'm writing about sport, I'm also writing about love. This makes perfect sense given these are mankind's two greatest inventions and the stuff we can least do without, but there's more to it than that: sport and love are both expressions of identity, creativity and devotion, pursued because they are right but also because it's impossible not to.
The increase is being largely driven by the Gen Z population, as basketball is now the 6th most popular sport among the 18-24 year old demographic. Despite there being major continental competitions across Europe like the EuroLeague and EuroCup, basketball is a sleeping giant that is awakening in the UK. This movement is likely to cause a massive shift in the sport's associated betting markets as well, but the big question of whether basketball can break into the mainstream remains.
A University of Florida basketball crowd started a brutal chant for an opposing player who returned to college after an unsuccessful stint in the NBA. During Sunday's game between the Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide, Alabama center Charles Bediako was at the free throw line when the chant rang out across the gym. As he prepared to shoot, the crowd's criticism of the 23-year-old was loud and clear, as G League dropout! could be heard on the TV broadcast.
The fans never got an opportunity to give a grateful goodbye, Pat Riley resigning on an early summer afternoon 36 years ago after the end of a lost season. Everyone will have that chance now. When Riley left town at the wrong end of grumblings from players and fans, he was the greatest coach not only in Lakers history but also in basketball history, his .730 winning percentage and 102 playoff victories both NBA records at the time. Everyone will understand now.
I'm gonna honor Christ like I always do. Blessed to do this, but this was embarrassing. These dudes do not deserve to wear this uniform. There will be very few of them in it next year. Like, I'm embarrassed for the university. I'm embarrassed, for our fans, our student section, you know. It is just ridiculous. We got practice at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, and we will get this thing right. I have no answer, no words Y'all got two questions.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors in Philadelphia brought charges against 26 people they say were involved in a scheme to fix bets on college basketball and Chinese Basketball Association games. The point-shaving scheme, according to a 70-page indictment unsealed that morning, involved at least three dozen players on 17 different teams. Twenty of the defendants played college basketball during at least one of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 NCAA seasons.
