scott long

The coaches and parents who allow this to go on are the problem. Instead of teaching kids how to play the game the right way and show respect for the opponent they’re worried about getting viral attention. Embarrassing.

I know it’s been a while big guy, but here’s a refresher.👇🏽

Bill Simmons questions Cam Boozer’s ceiling in the NBA: “I watched a lot of Duke over the last 5 weeks. His big go to move is he basically bullies you and does these little spin moves and ends up with the same little jump hook or turn around. His goal is always to get as close to the basket as possible. Which you can do in High school and even do in College. I don’t know if you can do that in the NBA as comfortably” (Via Bill Simmons Podcast)

A moment Iowa City will never forget

19 years ago, a high school basketball coach put his team manager into a game for the final four minutes. The kid had never played a single minute of competitive basketball in his life. He scored 20 points. Jason McElwain was diagnosed with severe autism at age two. He didn’t speak until he was five. He couldn’t chew solid food until he was six. He wore a nappy for most of his early childhood. As a baby, he was rigid, wouldn’t make eye contact, and hid in corners away from other children. He tried out for his school basketball team every year and got cut every time. Too small. Too slight. Barely 5’6 and about 54 kilograms. But he loved the game so much that his mum called the school and asked if there was any way he could be involved. The coach created a team manager role for him. For three years, McElwain showed up to every practice and every game. He wore a shirt and tie on match days. He ran drills, handed out water, kept stats, and cheered every basket like he’d scored it himself. On 15 February 2006, the last home game of his final school year, the coach let him suit up in a proper jersey and sit on the bench. With four minutes left and a comfortable lead, the coach sent him in. His first shot missed. His second missed. Then something shifted. He hit a three-pointer. Then another. Then another. His teammates stopped shooting entirely and just kept passing him the ball. He hit six three-pointers and a two-pointer. 20 points in four minutes. The highest scorer in the game. When the final buzzer went, the entire crowd rushed the court and lifted him onto their shoulders. His mum tapped the coach on the shoulder, in tears. “This is the nicest gift you could have ever given my son.” McElwain won the ESPY Award for Best Moment in Sports that year, beating out some of the biggest names in professional sport. He’s 36 now. He works at a local supermarket, coaches basketball, has run 17 marathons including five Boston Marathons, and travels the country speaking about never giving up. When asked about that night, his coach still gets emotional. “For him to come in and seize the moment like he did was certainly more than I ever expected. I was an emotional wreck.”

With a little help from the gym teacher, a disabled girl dances alongside her classmates. Look at her beaming smile!🤗💖

A teacher told the shyest student in the class that if he pulled out a blank sheet of paper, he would give everyone a perfect score on the exam. What the students didn't know was that both sheets of paper were blank. The teacher wanted to include him, and he succeeded.

Oh yes, we have a Hoosier Hysteria legend in the making in Bloomfield: