BEING MAD IN MARCH IS A GOOD THING - I LOVE COLLEGE BASKETBALL!

I LOVE BASKETBALL

WELL HIGH SCHOOL & COLLEGE anyway

It’s March Madness for college boys and girls basketball. I LOVE IT! To me, there is no sport (keep in mind, I am from the USA and don’t know soccer) like the sport of basketball. It takes athleticism, but it is full of artistic grace, the movement is poetic all done with the impromptu of the improvisation of jazz music. Technically, the moves and plays are by design and come more naturally to some, but practice makes it all work like a well-oiled machine. But to have the instinct of what to do in split second and hair-raising times is just special and art in motion. Not to mention the mind’s quick wit and cleverness that is so beautiful and enjoyed by the spectator. To be able to see the floor, the players’ in their places and know where they will move in an instant is just a blast.

My love of this game, called basketball may have something to do with the fact that I grew up in Indiana, where basketball is admittedly a passion. We call it “Hoosier Hysteria”. The “Hoosier” part is what anyone from Indiana is called. What else would you call us, “Indianaians”? Doesn’t work, does it? The “Hysteria” part comes from our spirited passion and love of this art called game. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoosier_Hysteria

http://www.in.gov/visitindiana/trip_ideas/hysteria.aspx

My father also was my high school’s basketball coach. We were the Golden Eagles.

School colors: maroon and gold. My dad, Coach Hammel, was highly respected for his coaching, as well as for his humanity. Dad was friends with Bobby Knight and as I said n an earlier post, in the summertime my dad had a business where he sanded, finished and painted the logos on the gym floors, around the state, including Indiana University, Notre Dame, Purdue Univsersity and many others.

“H –H-Ham, M-M-Mel, Hammel, Hammel, Hammel” was one of the cheers. We even had cheer block practice where we sat in the bleachers and practiced cheers and card turning. In junior high, I was cheerleader. That was fun. Really. I always felt kind of special, going to all of the high school basketball games and getting certain privileges being the coach’s daughter. But one of the drawbacks was being the daughter of my father, the basketball coach. He had rules for the boys. And one was that the boys had dating restrictions during basketball season. So, of the bb boys, who in their right mind would go out with the coach’s daughter? None of them. Imagine my surprise when I went off to live on campus in college and I was highly sought after by the males who were highly respected on campus.

Also, there were disadvantages because when the team lost, the house was a “suck-the-life-right-out-of-you place. When we lost to my dad’s alma mater, we didn’t go to church because dad would get ribbed by his uncles mercilessly. The pressures of being the losing team was felt personally through a kind of osmosis.

Anyway, we are in the middle of March Madness right now here in the States. And granted the boys’play gets all the hype and attention and the girls’ play gets relegated to a footnote, even though today the girls can play just as well as any of these boys and they have the moves, the grace ant the skills equal to the shining stars of the boys’ teams. Geez, when I was in high school we had “girls’ basketball rules” – some silly half court play… And girls that I saw play shot the ball with some two-handed grip that looked silly. I always gripped the ball like the boys. Now – that would be no distinction.

Over the years, the shorts have gotten to be baggy knee pants. It’s strange to see the clips of years ago, when the shorts were really shorts. And back then there weren’t the tattoos we so often see scar the beautiful godly skin of these beautiful athletic bodies. But still, these guys are not only beautiful to watch for their art, grace of movement, beauty of their plays and improvisational dance-like moves, but they are also beautiful to look at because the body is a beautiful thing.

Georgetown's Jeff Green puts a nifty move on Vanderbilt ... (AP)

Joakim Noah and Taurean Green survive another close call. (AP)

Save your tears boys, you had your chance to win the game. (AP)

Oregon's Tajuan Porter whispers sweet nothings to Wink Adams. (AP)

... and hits the game winner for an Elite 8 berth. (Getty Images)

This are not my captions, but the ones from the website:

http://sportsline.com/collegebasketball

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2003 NCAA Tourney - Highlights with One Shining Moment

In the beginning, the whole left side is the rolling credits, but WAIT then it goes into full screen and Luther Vandross sings!

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See Ioan Gruffudd in the movie Amazing Grace

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As a human rights activist, I bring to your attention the four year old genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

Genocide flourishes when there is no accountability.

WE CAN’T SAY THAT WE CARE ABOUT JUSTICE

WHEN WE DO NOTHING TO STOP THE INJUSTICE

THAT SINCE THE HOLOCAUST

HAS BEEN called - GENOCIDE.

We each have a voice.

W each have a presence.

Let us not be silent.

We have been called to be human

 in the most basic way

 on this subject.  

Where there is a will - there is always a way.  

And where there is no will - there is no way.

Silence is necessary for genocide to go on.  

Our collective silence is a weapon used by the genocidaires.  Silence kills.  

And we are responsible for our personal silence.

One World.

One humanity.

One Human Race.

One.

• http://www.Savedarfur.org
• http://www.ajws.org/
• www.sudandivestment.org/
• http://www.genocideintervention.net/
• http://www.standnow.org/

Please, consider supporting the movement to abolish slavery and human trafficking in the United States of America

and around the world.

It still goes on today, while we go about our lives.

“Not For Sale” videos on the Amazinggracemovie.com website

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/Trailer01.aspx

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PLEASE, sign the petition of Amazing Changes Campaign
http://www.theamazingchange.com/abolish.html

Zach Hunter is a fifteen year old, who wants to put an end to world-wide slavery
Zach’s website:
http://www.myspace.com/amazingchange

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