News Wire

Sportsmanship: Touching Them All

2008-05-23T05:03:00Z

In the final game of her season, Western Oregon's Sara Tucholsky hit the only home run in her college career. She injured herself rounding first base, tearing her ACL. The rules say that no one from her own team could help her without changing the home run to a double. Central Washington's Mallory Holtman asked if opposing team members could help.

Check out this amazing moment of sportsmanship in ESPN's video Touching Them All.

Should the NBA Raise Its Age Limit?

2008-04-10T19:32:48Z

Dallas Maverick owner Mark Cuban posts frequently on basketball, technology, media, and business on his personal blog, BlogMaverick.com. His post on April 9th asks whether 18 or 19 year-olds are ready for the personal, financial, and business decisions that go along with their new career.

From the perspective of an NBA owner, maturity is far harder to qualify than talent. Can he manage the personal side of his life ?

Can he deal with all the obligations that come with living on your own, and being in a job that requires you traveling more often than not ?

Does he have an understanding of financial principals ? To a 19 year old kid without financial training, a million dollar contract makes him a millionaire. There is no concept that 50pct goes to taxes and that by the time he pays his bills, he has a great job, that pays great money, but he isn't at a level that allows him to spend without limit. Unfortunately, there are far too many agents that won't have the tough love conversations with their clients until its too late.

Read the full post here.

Seattle U: plan to build sports power amid spirituality

2008-04-10T16:27:18Z

The Seattle Times has a story today on Seattle U's plans for a major fundraising campaign. Increases in the university's endowment will be used for new facilities including a new library and hi-tech classrooms, new scholarships, a fund for travel for religious study, and new fitness center and athletic facilities.

Seattle U leaders say that part of the challenge for the future is reaching out to students' secular interests — like basketball — while maintaining the college's religious roots...

The push to rejoin NCAA Division I basketball, after Seattle U dropped out of the West Coast Conference in 1980, also remains a priority for [Seattle U President Rev. Stephen] Sundborg. That despite a setback last year when the member schools from the West Coast Conference said they weren't interested in expanding any time soon. Sundborg said it will just take more time. He plans to spend $1 million more on athletics each year in hopes of elevating Seattle U to a standard at which the school would be more welcomed in the division. There is also $20 million earmarked from the campaign for the new fitness center and to upgrade athletic facilities.

The Time's editorial board expresses their support for the campaign here.

Expectations Lose to Reality of College Scholarships

2008-04-07T21:51:01Z

The New York Times ran an article on March 10th talking about how parents have the expectations that high school sports and select teams will lead to a path to college. They are often disappointed, given that college scholarships only cover a portion of the full bill.

“People run themselves ragged to play on three teams at once so they could always reach the next level,” said Margaret Barry of Laurel, Md., whose daughter is a scholarship swimmer at the University of Delaware. “They’re going to be disappointed when they learn that if they’re very lucky, they will get a scholarship worth 15 percent of the $40,000 college bill. What’s that? $6,000?”

See the full article here.

"If I could be limited to one coach in my lifetime, that would be Pete Newell..."

2008-03-07T21:33:52Z

Bob Knight, former coach at teams in Texas Tech and Indiana, introduced Coach Pete Newell at his induction into the Breitbard Hall of Fame in the San Diego Hall of Champions. He said "I don't know anyone that has contributed more to basketball over a longer period of time than Pete Newell has."

Video is available at http://video.nbcsandiego.com/player/?id=226045

Sports Illustrated: Bet You Wish You Could Dunk

2008-03-07T17:37:00Z

Sports Illustrated's Chris Ballard reports on the dunk in the NBA, asking the question is it just two points, or an important part of the game? Included is discussion of our "For the Love of the Game" exhibition, which raised the hoops to 11 feet.

Some in the hoops community don't share Kerr's admiration for the dunk. "It's very bad for the game," that most esteemed of basketball men, John Wooden, once said. "If I want to see fancy play, I'll go see the Globetrotters." This is the fate of the shot: alternately celebrated and derided and, at one time, banned (from 1967 to '76, by the NCAA). Perhaps we're now entering the jam's postmodern period, when the shot itself no longer evolves but our feelings about it do.

See http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/the_bonus/02/20/dunking0225/index.html

Seattle Times: Rocky Start in China's Basketball League

2008-01-20T17:37:45Z

Jerry Brewer writes a column in the January 20th edition of the Seattle Times discussing Tom Newell. Many of the stories are covered in Tom's blog, but also mentions some changes that happened before the season...

Displaced in China, 5,000 miles from basketball civilization, Tom Newell listened as a Pancake told him he was fired.

Newell hadn't even coached a game as the first American to lead a Chinese Basketball Association team, and here was Pancake, the 4-foot-8 translator whom Newell preferred to call Short Stack, giving him the strangest news ever.

The mother of all rich-man whimsies felled Newell, a former Sonics assistant and basketball lifer. The owner of the Jilin Northeast Tigers abruptly fired his general manager, Chinese basketball legend Sun Jun, and then rehired a former coach to replace Newell. A day later, Pancake was sent to tell Newell the team still wanted him to lead practice.

"WHAT?!?!" Newell asked.

"Coach, this is China," Pancake explained. "We do things differently here."

Brewer also details some more from Newell in his extra points blog.

Frank Deford interview on KUOW: "The Entitled"

2007-07-10T17:23:09Z

In an interview today on KUOW's Weekday, sportswriter Frank Deford discusses his new novel The Entitled: A Tale of Modern Baseball.

He discusses how young athletes "gain a sense of entitlement, because it comes so early to them... At an early age, people are giving them things, people are cheating for them. They come to understand this is part of the package of being good. There are now lists of the best 8th grade basketball players in the country. It's so ridiculous, it goes without saying. It starts at that exceptionally early age."

This sets the stage for athletes and celebrities that feel even more entitlted and expect everything, including the book's main character Jay Alcazar.

Listen at www.kuow.org or click here.

Technorati tags: Frank Deford, The Entitled

"For the Love of the Game" appears in Sports Illustrated

2007-06-22T19:44:31Z

From the June 25th Issue:

The ratings for the Spurs' NBA Finals sweep suggest otherwise, but former NBA assistant coach Tom Newell beleives there are people who want to watch fundamentally sound, team-based basketball. That's why last Saturday in Seattle, Newell staged a game with rims raised to 11 feet. The idea: Foot-higher baskets would cut down on dunking and three-pointers, leading to more passing. Says Newell, who called in 20 college and overseas players. "The game has been distorted so players don't use skills other than jumping."

Technorati tags: For the Love of the Game, Tom Newell, NBA, 11-Foot Baskets

Jerry Brewer: Radical idea provokes thoughts of a purer game

2007-06-17T21:22:15Z

Seattle Times sports columnist Jerry Brewer analyzes the "For the Love of the Game" exposition...

To be a purist now, you have to be a futurist. To show people the right way, you have to accept they'll first consider it wrong.

Newell scared the dunks right out of basketball with his higher rims, and it was boring at first glance. To be honest, it was boring at second and third and fourth glance, too. But after thinking it over, the purpose of this day outshined my pre-programmed beliefs.

Players who had practiced together for about 10 hours were sharing the ball. Fans were cheering passes. Big men were getting the ball during an exhibition game! It took only one hand to count the number of bad shots.

Yes, the dunk was missed. At halftime, I was hoping Nate Robinson and Josh Smith would magically appear and put on an impromptu dunk contest at 11 feet. It didn't happen. Oh, well. At least players weren't tossing up foolish fadeaway jumpers all game.

"If you did see any fadeaways, they were short," joked forward Ryan Rourke, a Bothell native who scored 11 points.

When asked if the height of the goal made the players take better shots, Rourke said: "You don't second guess yourself as you take shots, but it's in the back of your mind. You're more focused on getting good looks. I don't think players were shooting the ball just to shoot it."

It's weird watching 6-foot-8 players not be able to elevate and dunk. You start thinking it's gimmick basketball. But upon reflection, you realize the game was never meant for great athletes to cheat it.

That's the problem with United States hoops right now. The U.S. doesn't thrive in international competition, even with NBA stars, because it values individual brilliance over crafty team play.

For the last few years, those who love American basketball have pondered one question: How do we change?

Read the full story here and additional commentary in Jerry's blog. Jerry originally started to write his column about how he missed the dunk. He eventually concluded "I really think raising the goal to 11-feet is a good idea that I'd like to see more of."

Adjusting to a higher basket

2007-06-17T21:09:52Z

Bob Condotta's article in Sunday's Seattle Times article complained about the lack of drama of the game, but does discuss the quick adjustment required to the raised rim...

[UW Men's Basketball Coach Lorenzo] Romar was curious enough to shoot around himself for a while and said, "If you practice long enough, it's not that big of a change. You could adjust to it if you are a shooter. If you are not a shooter, it's going to become more evident that you are not a shooter.

"I think the shots around the basket require more of an adjustment. People say it takes the athlete out of the game, but I disagree. I think if you are an athlete, you are still going to be faster and quicker to the ball than other guys."

The game's stats yielded some mixed results. Newell said he thought the rule changes would mean more passing and teamwork to get the ball inside.

Former Husky Brandon Burmeister, a member of the Black team, said that did indeed occur. "There was more of an emphasis to get it in there," he said.

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"It's definitely been an interesting experience," Burmeister said. "I think we'd have to see some NBA players test it out over a longer period of time. I think if you experiment with them, it would be a better gauge if this is the right thing to do."

Read the full article here...

Different game with 11-foot baskets

2007-06-17T20:56:49Z

From the Everett Herald...

SEATTLE - Can an extra foot save basketball? Tom Newell thinks so.

Newell, a former NBA and WNBA assistant coach, doesn't like what he sees happening to the game he loves, which explains why on Saturday a game was being played at Hec Edmundson Pavilion with the hoops raised from 10 to 11 feet.
"We're in a crisis situation right now in North America with basketball," said Newell, the son of Hall of Fame coach Pete Newell. "It's not a fun game to watch, I don't think."
Newell's answer was to stage a game, dubbed "For the Love of the Game," with modified rules that would put an emphasis on team play and fundamentals.
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The game, which was played mostly by former college players, was not radically different from a normal basketball game, but it did produce a lot of what Newell was hoping for.
"I really enjoyed watching my team play today because they played the correct way," said former UCLA coach Jim Harrick, who coached the Gold team. "They shared the ball, they passed the ball, they hit the open man, they got good open looks at the basket."
Harrick, who wears all the basketball credibility he'll ever need on his left hand in the form of the NCAA championship ring he won at UCLA in 1995, thinks an 11-foot hoop is worth considering.
"Every year I've ever been in the game, guys have gotten bigger, faster and stronger," he said. "I don't see them lengthening or widening the floor. The logical thing is to raise the basket. I don't think that high school and college will do that, but I think this will open the professional league's eyes to the point where they may experiment with it and give it some serious thought."
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"I thought it was awesome," said the Gold team's Brayden Billbe, a 6-foot-10 forward who played at Mercer Island High School and American University. "We hadn't played together before and everyone was out there passing the ball and getting open shots. No one was trying to show off for the cameras. I loved it, I absolutely loved it."
Billbe, who finished with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds, might want to consider campaigning for the 11-foot hoop to become more common.
"I'm definitely for it," he said.
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During the game, fans used hand held devices made by Quizdom to answer questions that appeared on the jumbotron.
Of the approximately 850 participants, 65 percent said the NBA should raise the hoops to 11 feet, and 68 percent said men's college and professional basketball should consider moving the basket up.
"This will happen again, I will predict that," said Newell. "I think this experiment will happen again."

Higher Basket, Tall Order

2007-06-17T20:47:47Z

Sunday's Tacoma News Tribune says that the "11-foot rim eliminates dunks, puts emphasis on fundamentals..."

Tom Newell took a step forward in spreading his gospel of a return to basketball fundamentals Saturday afternoon at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Newell – a former NBA assistant and son of former big-man coach Pete Newell – organized a basketball exhibition game played with 11-foot rims by current and former college players to focus on what Newell considers an erosion of fundamentals.

He believes the modern emphasis on dunking and outside shooting has resulted in basketball straying from the way the game’s inventor, James Naismith, intended it to be.

“We are in a crisis situation in North America right now with basketball,” Newell said. “It’s not a fun game to watch, I don’t think. ... I really think television has diluted the value of the game.”

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Newell hopes the exhibition sparks renewed interest in taking a serious look at raising the hoops.

Seattle Pacific graduate and Enumclaw native Ton Binetti said it’s still basketball.

“I think as a whole the game of basketball is an athletic game, and it’s still going to favor the more athletic player,” Binetti said. “But I think at 11 feet it’s a much more skilled game, especially for the big men.”

Read the full story here...

Exposition Shows Off Higher Future for NBA

2007-06-17T20:41:56Z

supersonics.com reports on "For the Love of the Game"...

If Tom Newell is right, fans got a look at the future of the NBA yesterday at Hec Edmuson Pavilion on the UW campus.

Under the guidance of the former Sonics assistant coach, two teams of former college players, mostly with Seattle ties, played a game of basketball. That wasn't unusual. The rules were, most noticeably because both baskets were raised an additional foot off the floor to 11 feet. In addition, the three-point line did not kick in until the fourth quarter, and dunks were strictly banned - not that they would have been common with the 11-foot hoop.
To Jim Harrick, who coached the victorious Gold Team to a 90-60 blowout win over Yakama Sun Kings Coach Paul Woolpert's Black Team, the results were what Newell and company were hoping for: A purer brand of basketball that emphasized team play over one-on-one action.
"I think the game was played the way the game is supposed to be played," said Harrick, who coached UCLA to the 1995 NCAA Championship in Seattle and now is coaching in the NBA Development League. "I liked the way my team played today."
For the most part, that the basket had been raised would not have been obvious to an onlooker unfamiliar with the purpose of the exposition (so called by Newell instead of an exhibition because his intent was to prove a point about the game). Players, who Newell estimated had 8-10 hours of practice working with the 11-foot hoops, were for the most part able to adapt to the height. There were more misses short of the basket than usual - especially once fatigue began to become a factor - but few airballs.
"I really was impressed with the overall success adapting and adjusting," said Newell.
"I don't think with a higher rim the game changed that much," added Harrick.

Read the full article here...

Note to the Sonics and Storm: From our interactive voting at the game, 72% of fans said it was "important" or "very important" to them to have professional basketball in Seattle.

Experimental game raises the basket and questions

2007-06-17T20:30:33Z

The below article was published nationwide describing the "For the Love of the Game" basketball exhibition with 11-foot hoops. You might have seen it on ESPN, Yahoo Sports, MSN, or your local newspaper.

SEATTLE (AP) -- Brayden Billbe caught the pass on the block. He drop-stepped and turned to dunk, just as he usually would.
Nope, not this time. Not with the basket a foot higher.
"All of a sudden, I'm like, 'Oh, no.' So I flip it up there and it rolls off the rim," Billbe said. "I felt like an idiot."
There were a few of those moments on Saturday during an exhibition basketball game featuring 11-foot rims. Organized by former NBA assistant Tom Newell -- son of former coach and acclaimed big-man instructor Pete Newell -- the exhibition surely won't be remembered for the quality of play, but perhaps for sparking a change.

"I think this will open the professional league's eyes, where they may experiment with it, give it a serious look," said Jim Harrick, the former UCLA coach who was coaching one of the teams.
For the record, Saturday's exhibition ended with a 90-60 victory for the "gold" team. Billbe, a 6-foot-11 center who played at American University, scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
But the goal for Newell was to examine how the game was different with the taller rims. Was there more passing and spacing? Was teamwork at more of a premium and less of a focus on individual play? Was a challenge presented to the players, all of which had some college experience, and could they adapt?
The answer seemed to be a resounding yes.

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Full article is available here.