In a blow to vendors, concessionaires, and local restaurants today, grateful and down-to-earth professional basketball players rejected a 50/50 split of income with team owners from the National Basketball Association.

“It’s not like fans come to see us in really nice, well-stocked, underwritten, and climate controlled arenas with the help of mass marketing campaigns,” said one informed player. “Fans come to games because they know the precise dates and times that we’re on the court. They don’t care about teams, community, or a good time. They just come to watch our amazing skills, like they have in droves on the blacktops we grew up playing on.”

Whatever the case, the real losers in all of this are tattoo artists, experts say. “Inking these walking billboards up is like 70% of my non-drug related business,” said one parlor owner from Los Angeles. “Most players are still only 50% covered, so this work stoppage really impedes us from not only increasing our invoice per customer, but contributing to society in a meaningful way, like tanning salons do.”

When asked for comment, a player’s union representative said his constituency is “crawling in their skin to get tatted up,” and that the union is considering making NBA owners pay for all future tattoos, since they’re “very becoming” to the overall product on the court.

Variety show host Jimmy Kimmel and his bit about “suffering tattoo artists” contributed to this report.

I suppose it’s only logical that profiteers would move to high school basketball, having already compromised professional and collegiate hoops.

That said, the below is a must-read summary for any athletic parent, youth coach, or sports fan:

A jarring look at youth basketball: Part 1 | Part 2

Note: The above story is a review of the eye-opening Play Their Hearts Out by George Dorhrmann.

With the 10th pick in the NBA draft, a lot of people became Sacramento Kings fans last night. I’m one of them.

Above is the kings.com homepage, updated a couple hours after Jimmer was selected. Nice welcome.

“See Jimmer live all season!”

As seen on CBS prior to BYU beating Gonzaga en route to the sweet sixteen. Go, Cougars! (Note: This is my favorite pre-game intro.)

I wish I could have seen my Dad play basketball.

My uncle tells me he was a phenomenal shooter, regularly putting up 30+ points a night against amateur competition. My old man reputedly scored 50 points in a single half of intramural college ball once (!).

More impressive from a precision standpoint, he shot 50 consecutive free throws at my neighbor’s house when I was a boy. He stopped before missing his first shot so he could get home “for supper,” he says. Talk about ending on a high note.

Marveling at other great shooters this year, including Jimmer Fredette, whom I’ve watched at close range, I asked my Dad what it takes to be a great percentage shooter. His reply:

“It is a combination of natural and great physical skill, thousands of hours of practice and playing, and the ability after reaching a certain point of physical excellence to take your mind out of shooting and letting your body do it! That’s the groove that is spoken of. Not very many reach the ‘groove’ consistently. When it happens, it is like heaven on earth.”

High five, pops!

On Monday, BYU student Michelle Peralta accused fellow classmates of “idol worship” in a letter published in the school paper. Peralta, not to be confused with the awesome ’80s skateboards of the same name, said she was irritated by what she called “Jimmer worship,” Jimmer being the BYU point guard, 3-point killer, nation’s leading scorer, and all-around swell guy.

In all likelhood, Peralta, an admitted non-sports fan, was probably just venting her frustration over the increased volume of Jimmermania sweeping the nation, Provo very much included. That didn’t stop the Internet from having a little fun with her though.

In a virally large thread on her then-public, now-private Facebook page, hundreds of Jimmer fans came to his defense, while sticking with the comical spiritual theme Peralta had started. Here my top 10 favorites: (more…)

BYU 71. SDSU 58. What a show!

Although Jimmer won the game, not to mention the hearts of sports fans, our big guys put up just under 20 points, blocked 10 shots, and rebounded like crazy. The crowd went nuts throughout the entire game. Most dominating single performance I’ve ever seen live.

Said NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant, after he scored 47 of his own on Wednesday, “Jimmer Fredette is the best scorer in the world!!”

Not true. But he’s undoubtedly one of the best. Certainly one of the most fun to watch. Amazing.

It was the ’80s or ’90s. It moved at a faster pace because officials actually let the players play, unlike today. And uh, as the above video shows, it was a lot more physical. Good times. (Thanks, Tim).

I’ve always admired Michael Jordan’s athleticism, style, and grace in the air. He was the greatest basketball player ever. And even though I only owned a single pair of his pricey Air Jordans (version IV, thanks Mom!), I’ve always like the form factor of his shoes, especially the earlier models. So stick your tongue out, poke your air pocket, and check out the top 5 Air Jordans all time: (more…)

The above story broke about 2 and a half years ago, care of ABC News. It’s a dinosaur when it comes to internet memory. While cleaning out my hard drive this morning, I stumbled upon it, and watched it again. It still makes me feel good.

Today, Jason McElwain works part-time as a grocery clerk in New York, according to Wikipedia. He wrote a well-received biography in February, and Columbia Pictures recently secured the movie rights to his incredible story. I can’t wait to see it.