When I Played Basketball

[Aargh]

No. I had a really good two-handed backhand; and in fact when I developed tennis elbow my senior year, I often played with a two-handed forehand.

I was actually worse at tennis than basketball.

It's easy to put overspin on a two-handed backhand - and hit it hard. Once I figured out that I could hit the ball that way, that was a better stroke for me than hitting a forehand stroke with one hand.

I couldn't switch hit and get within inches of a pitch left-handed. I thought that would affect tennis, but it turns out it's easier to hit a ball with a tennis racket than with a bat. Yeah, go to my backhand. I can hit it hard with overspin to either corner. If I'm lucky it will be on the court and in bounds.

If I'm really lucky, I'll hit it way high and straight at you so you can't judge the distance. Then it will hit you in an area that makes you unable to continue the match. I've done that.

[RoyalShock]

I was actually worse at tennis than basketball.

It's easy to put overspin on a two-handed backhand - and hit it hard. Once I figured out that I could hit the ball that way, that was a better stroke for me than hitting a forehand stroke with one hand.

I couldn't switch hit and get within inches of a pitch left-handed. I thought that would affect tennis, but it turns out it's easier to hit a ball with a tennis racket than with a bat. Yeah, go to my backhand. I can hit it hard with overspin to either corner. If I'm lucky it will be on the court and in bounds.

If I'm really lucky, I'll hit it way high and straight at you so you can't judge the distance. Then it will hit you in an area that makes you unable to continue the match. I've done that.

Once I switched to a two-handed backhand after high school, I was more likely to run around my forehead . . . foreskin . . . err, forehand.

[1972Shocker]

I was on my high school team until someone decided they could cut the bottoms out of the baskets and my position was phased out.

[Aargh]

When Naismith first invented basketball, they had to climb a ladder to get the ball back out of the peach basket if someone made a shot.

Then one student mentioned he had a tall African-American in his class and maybe that person could jump up and get the ball out of the basket so they wouldn't have to climb the ladder. They brought that guy to their game and, sure enough, he could jump up and get the ball out of the basket.

Then it occurred to someone else that if that person could jump up and get the ball out of the basket, he could probably jump up and put the ball in the basket.

And since that day, the game of basketball has never been the same.