Early Festivus present

[Anti-Homer]

Ft Wayne 71-68 over I.U.

[oreobob]

Do any of you remember that the Ft Wayne Pistons was an original NBA team? They along with Syracuse Nationals, Rochester Royals, Knicks, Celts, and I think St Louis Bullets

Good day for Ft Wayne.

[26+6=1]

Think it was the St. Louis Hawks. Bob Pettit was their star I believe

26+6=1

[X-lucidity]

watched the last several minutes plus the OT. It is amazing how much pressure and fear of losing can paralyze any talented player. Indy was shook as if they were trapped in a house of horrors. Two of Fort Wayne's better players fouled out late in reg and then early in OT. No matter, no one on IN wanted to assume leadership. Just makes you love this sport even more.

[edgecliff hall]

How is it that this game makes you love this sport even more? I am not being a troll here. Just always curious about ideas from
inside basketball. I have done research and writing on the history of the game from Dec. 21, 1891. Look up on google:
"Basketball Musical" by Yago Colis.
All Best, John Grissmer

[gundun]

The St. Louis Hawks came from Milwaukee. The Bullets were already gone. They lost in 1957 to the Celtics in a Double OT 7th game before winning it all the following year.
Nobody remembers that the Hawks traded the draft rights to Bill Russell for "Easy Ed" Macauley (a former St. Louis U star) and the rights to Cliff Hagan.

[X-lucidity]

Edge, no offense taken & happy Thanksgiving all. I simply meant that the sport of basketball has a number of wonderful qualities and was easily my favorite to actually go out and play as a kid. You can find one friend and play some one on one or "horse". Two on two half court was also a blast. I recall many evenings back in high school & college years in a friend's backyard where his father had built a very small full court. It had a line of thick bushes on one end and a small garden rock wall at the other end. We used to play 3 on 3 almost every night and you just had to learn to deal with those hazards. What a blast as many nights we would have former star players from either Oak Hills or Elder come back to play with us. Then obviously you have structured basketball, be it youth, HS, college or NBA. No matter the level, it is just 5 guys and chemistry, fundamentals and strategy can overcome massive talent differentials. That is the beauty of the game. I recall when I was very young, my older cousin went to Elder, and he took me to a final four game. One of his best friends starred for Elder. I believe they played Canton McKinley but boy was it long ago. Watching the warm-ups you would have bet every dollar Elder had zero chance. Yet not only did they win but they had the McKinley players so frustrated and TO'd by the 4th Qtr. They won because they kept their composure, shot well and made the extra pass. Aside from all else, THAT is the ultimate beauty of this sport. That a true "David" can compete with a Goliath more often that most other sports. In football, 11 on 11, the course of a long game, most times the superior team will simply wear down the inferior with size and talent. In B-ball, at some point, you have to shoot the ball, and if your nerves are rattled, that aint easy! Obviously you can simply download "Hoosiers" on Netflix as my comments above probably pale in comparison. In short though, the combination of how enjoyable b-ball is to play with friends, the strategies, the fact that with only 5 players you only need one or two to get hot to take down a far superior team, and finally, the aspect of nerves & fatigue affecting one's shooting touch down the stretch with the bleachers howling - you just can't top it!! (a memory that will last those Fort Wayne fans a lifetime)

[muskienick]

Edge, no offense taken & happy Thanksgiving all. I simply meant that the sport of basketball has a number of wonderful qualities and was easily my favorite to actually go out and play as a kid. You can find one friend and play some one on one or "horse". Two on two half court was also a blast. I recall many evenings back in high school & college years in a friend's backyard where his father had built a very small full court. It had a line of thick bushes on one end and a small garden rock wall at the other end. We used to play 3 on 3 almost every night and you just had to learn to deal with those hazards. What a blast as many nights we would have former star players from either Oak Hills or Elder come back to play with us. Then obviously you have structured basketball, be it youth, HS, college or NBA. No matter the level, it is just 5 guys and chemistry, fundamentals and strategy can overcome massive talent differentials. That is the beauty of the game. I recall when I was very young, my older cousin went to Elder, and he took me to a final four game. One of his best friends starred for Elder. I believe they played Canton McKinley but boy was it long ago. Watching the warm-ups you would have bet every dollar Elder had zero chance. Yet not only did they win but they had the McKinley players so frustrated and TO'd by the 4th Qtr. They won because they kept their composure, shot well and made the extra pass. Aside from all else, THAT is the ultimate beauty of this sport. That a true "David" can compete with a Goliath more often that most other sports. In football, 11 on 11, the course of a long game, most times the superior team will simply wear down the inferior with size and talent. In B-ball, at some point, you have to shoot the ball, and if your nerves are rattled, that aint easy! Obviously you can simply download "Hoosiers" on Netflix as my comments above probably pale in comparison. In short though, the combination of how enjoyable b-ball is to play with friends, the strategies, the fact that with only 5 players you only need one or two to get hot to take down a far superior team, and finally, the aspect of nerves & fatigue affecting one's shooting touch down the stretch with the bleachers howling - you just can't top it!! (a memory that will last those Fort Wayne fans a lifetime)

Enjoyable post to read, X-lucidity! That is especially true on this day when we reflect on all the people, things, and times we have in our lives for which to be thankful. It brought to mind all those days and evenings of pick-up games we (as kids) enjoyed at our city park just next to the swimming pool (which we tended to use as our "sweat remover" and "foul-soother"). We spent our summers playing roundball, right-field-out baseball games with as few as 4 kids on a team, swimming in that aforementioned pool, or ogling the sun-basking girls in their bathing suits. What great times they were!

[edgecliff hall]

X-Lucidty, Asked and Answered in a great way. I thought your essay was so good, I sent a copy of it on to Yago Colis, professor of history and cultures of basketball at the U. of Michigan. Check out his new book on Amazon, "BALL DON'T LIE, Myth Genealogy, and Invention in the Cultures of Basketball." Hope it's okay with you. Since you're sorta both on the same page.
Best JG

[X-lucidity]

Hey, that's pretty cool.
Love that old phrase "Ball don't lie"
As another mentioned, Thanksgiving is a perfect day to ease up on the normal everyday stress, and recall the great times in your life with family and friends.