What If? Billy Hamilton's 1894 Season

Welcome to another edition of What If? Fantasy Baseball. In case you're not familiar with this concept, this is where I look back at a season long before fantasy baseball became a prominent or permanent fixture in American society. I'll calculate the numbers on what that player's season would have looked like if the fantasy game existed then or wasn't as known though the game has now been removed from the Sporting News site. Today, we look back at the 1894 season of Hall of Famer Billy Hamilton. But before we do that, let's look at the Sporting News fantasy scoring system in place for this.

Point system for Sporting News(batting):
Out: -2 points
Run Scored: 5 points
Single: 5 points
Double: 10 points
Triple: 15 points
Home Run: 20 points
Run Batted In: 5 points
Walk or Hit By Pitch: 3 points
Strikeout: -1 point
Stolen Base: 10 points
Caught Stealing: -5 points

Point system for Sporting News(pitching):
Win: 30 points
Save: 30 points
Hold: 5 points
Loss: -15 points
Inning Pitched: 15 points
Hit Allowed: -5 points
Earned Run Allowed: -10 points
Walk or Hit Batsman: -3 points
Strikeout: 3 points

Here are the stats and SN points for Billy Hamilton's 1894 season:
Out: 333 = -666 points
Run Scored: 198 = 990 points
Single: 181 = 905 points
Double: 25 = 250 points
Triple: 15 = 225 points
Home Run: 4 = 80 points
Run Batted In: 90 = 450 points
Walk or Hit By Pitch: 137 = 411 points
Strikeout: 19 = -19 points
Stolen Base: 100 = 1,000 points
Caught Stealing: 0 = 0 points
Total points: 3626
Points per game: 27.47
Hamilton played in 132 games in 1894.
Note: No records are shown of caught stealing numbers in 1894 according to baseball-reference.com. Stolen base records were also kept differently since baserunners would be credited for them if they advanced more bases than the batter did after a hit.

The year 1894 was a time when the U.S. were nearly thirty years removed from their own Civil War, Grover Cleveland was in his second stint as President, and Coca Cola was sold out of bottles for the first time ever. It was the year before that the country experienced a serious economic depression(now called the Panic of 1893) which resulted in the highest unemployment rates of the 19th Century in 1894. Railroads were being overbuilt and financing were the main cause. Two of college football's storied rivalries(Harvard/Yale, Army/Navy) suspended their annual games due to the crippling injuries caused mainly by the flying wedge play. They would eventually resume play as rules were still being revised in the sport.

Baseball's National League was in its 19th season, and they were still revising rules such as foul bunts being called strikes as well as putting in the infield fly rule. Twelve teams competed for the NL pennant, and the American League was seven years away from being founded.

The Philadelphia Phillies set all kinds of offensive records in 1894, but it was Hamilton who ignited the offense from the leadoff spot. He did like no other that year setting offensive records that still stand to this day.

Though the Phillies wouldn't win the NL pennant due to the emergence of the original Baltimore Orioles(this was the first of three pennants in a row) winning it all, they batted a mind-boggling .350 as a team setting a record mark for the season. The entire starting outfield of Hamilton, Sam Thompson, and fellow future Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty all batted above .400 in 1894.

Hamilton came off of a year where he only appeared in 82 games for Philadelphia, but batted .380 with a .490 on-base percentage and 43 steals. With his strong knack for stealing bases, it would have made him a high draft pick in most fantasy baseball leagues. Owners sure wouldn't have been hurt by stolen bases or runs with Hamilton on their teams. Averaging 27 points a game would make anyone happy.

Hamilton scored 198 runs which broke the record of 177 by Tom Brown in 1891, and hasn't come close to being challenged. Seven players scored 150 or more runs on the season.

He hit only four home runs in a time when it wasn't a huge part of offensive strategy until the 1920s, and running the bases decided the outcome of games. However, two of his home runs were inside the park - both against Cincinnati.

His most memorable game happened on August 31 against Washington when he tied a league record with seven stolen bases in one game to help them to an 11-5 win. The record also still belongs to him.

Baseball-reference.com credits him with 100 stolen bases, and some give him 92 on the year. His career stolen bases total is also disputed with baseball-reference.com giving him 914. Some others have him at either 912 or 937. Regardless, his record of stolen bases wouldn't be broken until the late 1970s by Lou Brock. Rickey Henderson eventually passed both of them, but Hamilton is still third all-time.

He was credited with a 36-game hitting streak in 1894, but research in 2004 has pointed out that it was snapped after 10 games due to a protested game.

One thing that isn't disputed is Hamilton is widely considered to be the greatest lead-off hitter in National League history. Many have said that only the switch-hitting Tim Raines in the 1980s has the best argument against Hamilton.

Nonetheless, Hamilton's 1894 season was his best setting career-highs in runs(198), hits(225), doubles(25), triples(15), RBI(90), walks(128), batting average(.403), on-base percentage(.521), total bases(292), and OPS(1.044). He led the league in runs, stolen bases, walks, and on-base percentage in 1894.

Hamilton followed up his 1894 season with a strong 1895 campaign which turned out to be his last in Philadelphia. He scored 166 runs, batted .389, and stole 97 bases that year. He was traded to the Boston Beaneaters(now the Atlanta Braves) for Billy Nash. He still holds records for the Philadelphia Phillies franchise.

He still had productive years playing for Boston, but knee and ankle injuries slowed down his stolen base totals. He retired at age 35 in 1901 with Boston.

Some of Hamilton's career accomplishments include him ranking 7th all-time in batting average(.344), 4th in on-base percentage(.455), and 25th in runs scored(1697). He is one of only three players in baseball history to have more runs scored than games played in(1697 runs in 1594 games) for those that qualify.

He died in 1940 at the age of 74 at his home in Worchester, Massachusetts.

Although it took awhile, Hamilton's play earned him Hall of Fame honors in 1961 by the Veteran's Committee. With that induction, he became the first New Jersey-born player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Though many of his statistics are still disputed, there's little doubt he was one of the best players in the early history of the game and in the 19th Century. He was the first great lead-off man, and is a very deserving Hall of Fame member for his accomplishments in the early history of baseball.

Previous What If? Fantasy Baseball posts:
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig's 1927 season
Ted Williams' 1941 season
Roberto Clemente's 1966 season
Hack Wilson's 1930 season
Walter Johnson's 1913 season
Joe DiMaggio's 1937 season

Thanks for viewing!

First photo is an 1889 card of when he played for Kansas City in the American Association. The second is a photo of him later in his career. Stats courtesy of baseball-reference.com

Read More

Time For a Change

I'm glad this has been a better week after spending time in the hospital last week, and that my heart palpitations have completely stopped from a bad reaction to an energy drink. However, I still haven't been able to solve the issue of why my health insurance was inactive through my employer. So the hospital bill will be on me as a result since they told me I would have to wait until the end of the year to enroll...again.

Anyway, I work in a fast-paced environment where travel is common and I help supervise crews at various locations across the country. It is a risk without health insurance in any line of work, and this job is definitely no exception.

Thankfully, I came across a site that gives me another option for affordable medical insurance. I like the flexibility of coverage plans, and how quickly I can get a quote on how much the cost of insurance will be. This is the way to go to get insurance coverage now!

Read More

WrestleMania 26 Recap and Results!

Last night, I watched WrestleMania 26 live from Glendale, Arizona on PPV. It was an event that was hyped by the match involving "The Streak vs Career" as Undertaker faced Shawn Michaels. A total of 10 matches took place with some being good and some being...well...not so good.

NOTE: This is a SPOILER alert, so don't read this if you don't want to know what happened yet. These are in order as it happened.
Star ratings:
*****-Matches get no better than this.
****-Great match with good spots throughout.
***-Good, but not great match.
**-More to fill time on the show. Not a good match.
*-Why did this match take place?

Unified Tag Team Championship
ShowMix(Big Show and The Miz) defeated R-Truth and John Morrison
This match kicked off the show, and it was a short one. I had feeling ShowMiz would retain, but was surprised the younger guys(Miz, R-Truth, Morrison) weren't given more time to shine. Miz tagged in Big Show without Morrison knowing it, and Show hits a knockout punch to pin Morrison for the win. Rating: **

Triple Threat Match
Randy Orton defeated Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes
Orton got a nice POP coming out for this match which was a little better than the first. DiBiase and Rhodes used a two-on-one beatdown for the majority of the match until they went at it. Orton hit a double DDT with both DiBiase and Rhodes legs draped over the middle rope. The crowd POPPED huge when Orton hit the Punt on Rhodes before DiBiase had his Dream Street move countered by Orton with the RKO. Orton pinned DiBiase. Rating: ***

Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Jack Swagger defeats Kofi Kingston, MVP, Evan Bourne, Shelton Benjamin, Matt Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Kane, and Christian
This was definitely the shocker of the night. Not that Swagger doesn't have the ability, but he hasn't exactly been getting pushed by the WWE in recent months. Swagger had trouble unhooking the briefcase to win the match. I was expecting Christian to win this, and I thought there were too many involved in this match. That isn't to say there weren't cool spots like when Bourne hit the Air Bourne finisher off the top of the ladder on Christian. Kane broke a ladder in half which led to Kingston using them as stilts to walk across the ring and climb for the briefcase. That was cool. Swagger smashes the briefcase into Christian's head knocking him off the ladder. Swagger struggles to unhook the briefcase, but does so to win the MITB match to guarantee him a title shot to cash in anytime within the next year. Rating: ***1/2

Triple H defeats Sheamus
The crowd POPPED big for Triple H as I expected him to win this one. It was a decent match, but one has to wonder what this will do for Sheamus. They did book Sheamus to dominate some of the match. Triple H hits the Pedigree out of nowhere to win another WM match. This really didn't do Sheamus any favors, but WWE pushed him too quickly in my opinion which is something they've done too often before. Rating: **1/2

Rey Mysterio defeats CM Punk
Mysterio came out in a cool-looking mask that resembled a character from Avatar. This was another one of the matches where two solid workers wrestled in a short match. A good spot at the end came when Mysterio hit a Hurricarana that sent Punk flying into his Straight Edge Society partner Gallows, who was knocked off the ring apron trying to interfere. Mysterio hits the 619 followed by the rope splash to pin Punk. Rating: ***

No Holds Barred
Bret Hart defeats Vince McMahon
No one should be shocked at who won this match, but the bout itself was so one-sided it made it boring. The Hart family came out and were supposedly bought by McMahon before Bret told him he knew it was coming. Bruce Hart was the referee, and Bret completely dominated this match. I kid you not, McMahon didn't have a single bit of offense in this match. Bret used a steel chair several times to McMahon before finally putting on the Sharp Shooter finisher to make him tap out. The match was what it was, and it was hard to expect more than this given the storyline buildup for over 12 years as well as the age of Bret and McMahon. Rating: **

World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Jericho(c) defeats Edge
This was a solid match. Edge at one point went for the Spear only for Jericho to counter it into his Codebreaker finisher which looked cool. The Walls of Jericho had been put on Edge before he reached the ropes to break it. The ref was bumped after this happened, and Jericho used the title belt to hit Edge in the face with it. Edge kicks out of that which the crowd POPPED big for, but Jericho catches him in the Codebreaker again after he got up to retain the title. But it was after the match that will be shown on highlights. Jericho wanted to further injure the leg of Edge after the match, but Edge kicked him off to the ring floor. Edge clears off both announce tables and sets Jericho on one of them while he stands there waiting to Spear him on another. Edge runs across both announce tables to spear Jericho off the tables through the barricade at ringside! That was an awesome moment there. Rating: ***1/2

10 Divas Tag Team match
Vickie Guerrero, Michelle McCool, Layla, Maryse, & Alicia Fox defeat Beth Phoenix, Mickie James, Gail Kim, Kelly Kelly, and Eve Torres
They followed up a solid title match with this cluster of match. This would have been best as a match before the show, and not sure why they chose to have it this late in the event between two title matches. Not that I have anything against women, but they let someone that doesn't perform in their division get the pin: Vickie Guerrero. Lawler's funny line of her hitting the "hog splash" unfortunately made me laugh. Not sure why they have the divas competing in a match only to bury them with someone that can't wrestle or isn't a woman(See Santina Marella last year at WM). Rating: *

WWE Championship
John Cena defeats Batista(c)
I was fully expecting Cena to win after the way this angle was going although I have to say Batista has become a solid heel. I thought at one point in the match that Cena was legitimately hurt after being dropped straight on his head by Batista countering the Attitude Adjustment finisher. Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle off the top rope, and kicked out of the Batista Bomb in the match. Batista kicked out of the Attitude Adjustment, too. Cena locks in the STF on Batista which he finally taps out as he finally beat him in this match. Rating: ***

Streak vs Career
Undertaker defeats Shawn Michaels
The streak continues at 18-0 for the Undertaker as he pins Shawn Michaels to end his career. At one point in the match, a trainer comes out to check on Michaels after he was caught with a dive off the top rope to the outside into a counter by the Undertaker with the Tombstone on the floor. The crowd POPPED huge for that. Undertaker goes for the Last Ride finisher, but his leg gave out during the move which I'm not sure if something went wrong or not with it. Not long after that, Michaels goes for his top rope elbow drop as Undertaker counters by getting his knees up which didn't look right either. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music on Undertaker causing him to fall on the announce table. Michaels hits a moonsault crashing the Undertaker through the table. Another awesome spot. Undertaker hits another Tombstone in the middle of ring, but Michaels kicks out which prompted another huge POP from the crowd. Undertaker gets mad after Michaels mimicked his throat-slashing gesture by hitting another Tombstone on him. Undertaker gets the pin and Michaels' career is over as the streak is still intact. They shake hands and hug after the match as the crowd cheers for HBK as they go off the air. Rating: ****

Overall
The show did have some surprise finishes as well as cool spots which is what you're supposed to get at a WrestleMania event. The Undertaker/HBK match was something they did learn from by having it as the last match unlike a year ago. The couple of questionable spots in the match they had kept it from getting another half star, but still came off great. Both of them know how to entertain a crowd. The Divas tag team match stopped the buzz temporarily especially for when they had the match between the two heavyweight title bouts. Swagger won the MITB in a shocker, and I think that it will be sometime before he cashes it in because they have to know what they have with him. The promos being left out of the show probably helped because the event was composed on wrestling action which is the way it is supposed to be. This was a good WrestleMania show, but not the greatest of them all.

Rating: *** out of 5

Best matches:
1. Undertaker vs HBK
2. Jericho vs Edge
3. Money in the Bank Ladder match

First Commenters:

Read More

The Origin of Blog

In the 1990s, blogging began to gain popularity with the release of the WebEx software that contained threads. Previously, digital communities such as Usenet and other commercial services had been used before blogging took off.

Eventually, blogs became a form of an on-line diary in which people would talk about their personal lives. Often times, these bloggers would refer to themselves as journalists.

Justin Hall, one of the first bloggers, actually started blogging in 1994 while he was a student attending Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. His blog Justin's Links is still active as it focuses on his personal life. In 2004, Hall was referred to as "the pioneer of personal blogging" by the New York Times.

Dave Winer started Scripted News in 1997, and is one of the oldest blogs around. A year later, Jerry Pournelle started his own blog site and has maintained to it to this day at CHAOS MANOR IN PERSPECTIVE.

The term weblog wasn't officially heard of until 1997 when Jorn Barger first said it. Peter Merholz used the term "we blog" as a separation of the word in 1999 before Evan Williams of Pyra Labs, who later would be co-founder of blogger.com, used it, too.. The term was used as a noun and verb, and the word "blogger" was used in conjunction with the company they eventually founded.

Blogs in the early days were seen as updates of other websites. Evolution of on-line tools such as RSS feeds, in which Pournelle helped pioneer, have led to easier ways to navigate as well as increase traffic and population to personal blogs.

Blogs gained popularity in 1998 when Open Diary launched, and became the first site to allow reader comments to other blog writer's entries. LiveJournal was founded the next year by famous blogger Brad Fitzpatrick.

Finally in August of 1999, blogger.com had been founded by Williams and Meg Hourihan, and was bought out by Google in 2003. In that same year, WordPress was founded by Ryan Boren and Matt Mullenweg.

Political blogs in particular have been created in mass since 2002 as a way to make valid and opinionated points. Perhaps the biggest acceptance for blogs took place in 2003 when the "Rathergate" scandal took place on CBS' 60 Minutes.

Television journalist Dan Rather had presented conflicting evidence with documents questioning President George W. Bush's military record. As a result, many bloggers presented evidence on their sites that the documents were forged. CBS apologized to viewers for what they deemed as "inadequate reporting techniques". Many have stated that this scandal is what led to bloggers being accepted by the media majority and reliable news sources.

By 2004, blogging had become more and more accepted by mainstream media which had seen politicians even starting one to express their own views. Even national governments around the world such as Israel setup their own official blog sites.

Over time, governments have recognized the influence blogging has had with the media. In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama was quoted as saying, "if the direction of the news is all blogosphere, all opinions, with no serious fact-checking, no serious attempts to put stories in context, that what you will end up getting is people shouting at each other across the void but not a lot of mutual understanding”.

The American journalism industry continues to decline with many companies filing for bankruptcy while also decreasing competition with other newspaper outlets in the same vicinity.

By 2007 alone, Technorati reported that they were tracking over 100 million blogs. Blogging has increased in readership as well as competition especially for highly debated topics such as politics and sports. Sports sites in particular have increased in traffic as a direct result of blogs.

Blogs continue to evolve and many have launched that go away from the textual format that was the focal point beforehand. Video, image, music, and audio blogs have increased dramatically since the advent of blogs. Interaction with comments have become increasingly important over time, too.

The presence of bloggers have impacted the journalism industry and continues to be a popular way for many to communicate and tell stories to others across the globe. It is definitely one of the most popular activities ever on the internet.

First Commenters:

Read More

Video Contest Winners

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Incendia Health. All opinions are 100% mine.

As I was checking my email for the upcoming schedules through my job, I got a notification about a contest that had finished up.

The iLASIK Video Contest, sponsored by Abbott Medical Optics Inc, had announced the results and winners. It was what many have been looking forward to after the contest had launched months before.

Out of all the videos, there was definitely one video that stood out above the rest though many were good. Alex' video took home the grand prize, and it was indeed worthy of being the winner in the contest. Here's the video to see for yourself:

Submit entry

Contest details

Because of his "You Gotta See This" video, Alex won the grand prize of $5,000 in the iLASIK Video Contest.

Robbo's "You Gotta Be Kidding Me! A True Story", jhbmw007's "iLasik Would Make Surfing More Enjoyable", and "Orbs of Perfection" by Danny V all won first prizes in their respective categories in the video contest.

All first prize winners won an HDTV package valued at $2,500 while three second prize winners take home a Flip UltraHD camcorder valued at $199.99.

While viewing the winners and their videos on the site, you can register on their site and receive free eye care products for yourself. For those of you are considering Lasik eye surgery, make sure you know the risks of the procedure before making a decision because not all results will be the same for everyone.

Congrats to Alex and to all the winners as well as all the participants in making this contest a successful one!

Read More

Where I've Been

I hope everything is well with everyone that follows this blog. This hasn't been a good week, and now I'll tell you where I've been and what happened.

I usually get my workouts done in the evening based on my work schedule, but this past Monday was different. And it wasn't good either.

Sometimes, I take an energy drink to get me through a workout. So on that Monday, I took a 5-Hour energy drink. I didn't always take the product as often as some people I know, but side effects can take place no matter how often or depending the person's health.

I was set to workout on Monday, but I got some serious side effects from the energy drink. When I mean serious, I'm talking about having to check into a hospital-type side effects. Now you know why I haven't posted on here in a couple days.

Not to keep beating an old drum, but I take my health seriously. I don't drink, smoke, or hardly drink any carbonated drinks because of the caffeine. But as noted above, I sometimes wanted to take something to give me an energy boost.

After I took the 5-Hour energy drink, I was good until after my workout was over. That was when I started having irregular heartbeats and some shaking in my hands.

The next day after the irregular heartbeats continued, I checked myself into a hospital. My doctor had told me exactly what caused the heart palpitations, and I knew it, too. Nonetheless, he told me that many energy drinks can cause that same problem, and that it was about a month before that he had a 20-year old college student that had a heart attack taking an energy drink. She is still alive though.

That Tuesday while in the hospital, they drew blood from me five times and checked my blood pressure constantly wanting to eliminate the possibility of any heart related symptoms(all were good).

As most anyone knows that has had a heart attack or heart complications, you probably know they put patients on an EKG machine. So after staying overnight at the hospital and giving me aspirin, I went on the EKG machine and had a stress test.

I literally had to jog fast to get my heart rate up, and the test as well as machine they used found nothing wrong with my heart. They could tell I worked out because almost all patients can walk fast to get their rate up. They determined that the palpitations(which were nearly gone at that point) were caused by the energy drink.

I was able to check out and drive home myself last night after they finally got all the paperwork to me.

Another thing with this is my company's insurance. I got a call from the billing department that said my company's insurance was inactive. Despite me receiving all the paperwork as well as insurance cards in the mail, it was declared inactive by my company. My company didn't even provide a notice about it, but luckily the hospital staff has a plan for uninsured patients that they've worked with people on before. Taking care of the problem no matter the cost was the more important issue at the time.

I'm not saying that everyone that has taken 5-Hour energy, Red Bull, or any other drinks will have the same thing happen to them. It just depends on the individual. It did give me an obvious boost of energy, but the side effects aren't worth it in my case.

I just know what I'm staying away from now.

First Commenters:

Read More

True Blogger Story: Yudu Spamalot

Note: This is not to be taken seriously, and is only a fictional story. It is strictly for humor. So no, this isn't a true story.

He had visions of making something of himself, and continue his chosen path in life. After an uneventful stint in high school where his grades faltered, Yudu Spamalot didn't receive much attention from colleges to pursue his dreams. Eventually, he came across what marketing a site or blog could do for him financially. But his lack of patience with it not working out like he wanted led to other ways of annoying people in order to achieve the results he desired. Jealousy as well as seeing what inappropriate sites could do for his pocket book eventually overwhelmed him to a point of linking to viruses for those who dared to click on them at every opportunity he posted them, too. Everything worked good until many figured out his agenda behind it all. He would let his sites and links expire and disappear forever. Basic Bloganomics presents the True Blogger Story of Yudu Spamalot.

True Blogger Story: Yudu Spamalot

Written, produced, and hosted by David Funk

Dreaming of doing something big in your life is commonplace for children. Some have a change in those dreams when they get older to their personal preference or they see another way to a better life.

For Yudu Spamalot, his path wasn't clear in his early life. The son of Heduz(Pronounced "He Does") and Sheduz("She Does") Spamalot, who had their own mailing business sending out flyers before it folded, Yudu wasn't without being subject to what would later become his profession.

"My brother was a smart kid. Yudu wasn't very active physically as a kid, so he did other things that most of them never do. He did have a way to annoy people with relentless talking about commercials and television shows as a child. Of course, I annoyed people in my own way, too," said Eisher Spamalot.

Discouraged by his lack of good grades in school, he decided to go another path in life. This decision looked good at first until his impatient ways got the better of him.

When we return, Yudu's new idea begins to take shape.

Commercial:
Stop by the hottest street on the internet where you can also read the thoughts of a beautiful Filipino blogger. Stacey Avenue is where it's at! Stacey: This is my avenue!

Mere months after graduating from high school, Yudu Spamalot had a difficult decision to make. His annoying ways were noticed by the few college recruiters in spite of his bad grades, and he wanted to do something with those skills. That's when he found he could launch his own site.

Adapting the same principles his parents obtained in their own business, Yudu used internet anonymity to be able to flood sites as well as overload servers with links. At first, Yudu was optimistic about it working which it did...at first.

"I remember when I first started, I would get comments from Yudu on my site," said another blogger. Then he began to make comments having nothing to do with the topic, and linking to his site. Even worse, he later redirected those who clicked on his link from the comments."

Yudu's ways of getting noticed were beginning to wear off, and traffic began to suffer which led to him considering other methods to make money. He had seen that inappropriate content such as porn, gambling, and other such related sites could really boost his traffic and increase revenue more quickly.

Knowing that many sites don't police their content, Yudu made up his mind to create sites for more traffic using his old URL as a redirect.

When we come back, Yudu Spamalot takes a roll of the dice.

Commercial:
Want to get the latest news in hip hop, R&B, and pop music? There's only one stop you should make! Check out Mileka's Hip Hop, Pop, and R&B Stop for the latest in the music and news in the industry today!

Yudu Spamalot wasn't getting the results he wanted with traffic to his site, but he had another plan in mind to take advantage of redirecting to new sites since many don't police content.

Using his redirect URL to lure his visitors, he also began to post in chat boxes as well as on forums to get any kind of traffic he could. The strategy began to pay off until word got out publicly about his URL not being what they thought it was.

Frustrated by being publicly scolded for his promotion, Yudu was overwhelmed which led to his anger getting the best of him. This meant Yudu thought of avenging his public humiliation the only way he knew how.

Yudu knew one way to get back at readers was to take out what he seen as his competition. Viruses were a way he could do that, and using his anonymous presence in communities to obviously lure them into clicking.

One by one, message boards, chat boxes, IMs, and comments on blogs started to decline after promoting links leading to viruses that Yudu posted. Servers as well as web hosts were overloaded as a result with emails not knowing who was behind it all.

"We nearly had to shut down our site and company because of many complaints from our customers and viewers," said one web hosting representative. "We all should have seen this coming from Yudu Spamalot".

When we return, Yudu gets his hands caught in the cookie jar which leads to him disappearing forever.

Commercial:
Combining sports as well as parenting into one is what Rad Gonzalez brings to the table! Checkout Daddy Sports today to get the best of both worlds!

With revenge in mind, Yudu Spamalot thought he controlled the fate of websites across the internet with promotion of sites. But he eventually slipped up and was caught.

"He wanted to talk to me about becoming business partners," said Eisher Spamalot. "He didn't tell me about any of his problems until he told me he began launching multiple websites which didn't make sense given his schedule. After looking at his previous link, even I caught a virus on-line. That was when I decided to spam and promote on as many blogging site platforms as possible about him being behind it all. I just knew it was him, and I spammed a lot to make sure he was done for good."

As others uncovered the truth, Yudu Spamalot was exposed for his misdeeds. Not knowing where to turn to next, he was reluctant at first to give it all up. Though some sites were deemed illegal and he wasn't willing to futher damage his reputation, he gave it all up. No one has heard from him since including his family.

Reports have surfaced over the years of his whereabouts including in an unidentified small town where flyers started to mysteriously appear in mailboxes there. This brought out brief hope he was discovered, but the flyers offered no return address and they abruptly stopped. Only small leads have been reported, and it's highly likely he changed his name as well as continues to spam relentlessly.

Yudu's determined ways of wanting to get noticed were never the problem as much as it was the way he went about it. Instead of taking advantage of the internet like many other successful people have done, he took the easy way out which severely damaged his on-line reputation forever.

Thanks for viewing, and you have been watching the True Blogger Story on Basic Bloganomics!

(©) Copyright 2010. Property of Fragnoli Films, WBE, and Basic Bloganomics. All rights reserved. Any publication or retransmission without the express written consent of the True Blogger Story and its affiliates, is strictly prohibited. And yes, this is a parody of E! True Hollywood Story.

First Commenters:

Read More

Happy Birthday Jade!

Since it is already March 21 where Jade is at, I'm posting this now. The MommaWannabe is a proud Filipino, who currently lives with her husband in Singapore.

Jade is an extremely sexy, intelligent blogger that has also created contests and even awards that have promoted community interaction. She's also one of the sweetest blogger friends around, too.

Happy Birthday Jade!

Even those on Broadway have wondered when your film debut will be, and they wished you well on your day.....



First Commenters:

Read More

Happy Birthday Cecile!

Today is the birthday of my good blogger friend Cecile, who has multiple blogs at Down with the Kenyons, Thoughts of a Pinay SAHM, Small and Simple Things, Kitchen...the Heart of Our Home, and Life is Good and Beautiful.

I recall having met Cecile through my good friend Amiable Amy last year. Her blogs are nearly all about her life as well as family, too. Her and family moved last year to Texas, and you can always find her posting pics of her son Jacob on her site. Though I haven't visited her sites as often, she's a loyal and kind friend to those who know her.

Happy Birthday Cecile!



First Commenters:

Read More

You Live How You Want But.......

We've all made bad choices and decisions. Most of the time, we've paid for it immediately or over a period of time. I'll be the first to tell you I've made my share. However, I've always kept a clean image when it comes to using drugs or for alcohol abuse.

I'm going to do my best to avoid preaching on this entry, but this is something I've wanted to discuss after a conversation from a friend of mine at a gym. He was out of state on vacation when he told me about him witnessing someone at a gym shooting up steroids when he came back to the one we both workout at. Ironically, I had witnessed that a few years back at a gym, too.

In my field, I work with a different group of people at locations I work at. Traveling can take its toll on a person, and in some ways could be a reason for some people abusing alcohol more or doing whatever kind of drugs.

Two years ago, I was working at a different company in the same field as an Assistant Team Lead which means I supervised and managed my own crew. I was working the second shift and the Team Lead managed the first shift. So whenever one is out of the store, the other is left in charge which is why they have two in case that is to happen.

We were out of state in South Carolina when one of the craziest things I did see took place. It was right after my Team Lead left the store the day that it all happened.

I was doing paperwork to fax into our Regional Manager when all the sudden the Assistant Manager frantically came up to me. She said that someone was upfront to tell me about something that happened to one of our employees. So I dropped what I was doing to find out what was going on.

The guy came from a bar that was literally next door to where we were working at. He asked me if I knew the person's name, and I said she worked on our first shift. He proceeded to tell me that she WAY too much drink, and that she fell over multiple times out of her chair in that bar. He didn't know what her car looked like, but I did because she worked at another site with me before.

So the Assistant Manager of the store and myself proceeded to go outside to find her car. The parking lot was not far from a local university across the street. On top of all this, it was raining very heavily when we went outside. By the time we got across the street, she was gone.

One of the people that was over there in the parking lot had said she fell out of the car trying to get in. He was too far away to say anything before she made it in to drive off.

After all this, I contacted my Team Lead on his cell phone about that. Because she wasn't on my crew and the fact I didn't sign her time sheets, it was out of my hands to handle the situation. I told him what happened, and he would take care of it.

My Team Lead named Steve was the one who trained me in my position, and would later reference me to the company we both work for now. He's very much a stand-up supervisor that tells it like it is.

So after I was done talking to him, the guy from the bar that told me about her came back to store to tell us that she was drinking because of a fight she had with her boyfriend back home. She lived about two hours from the store, and the guy had went back to the bar only to say that one of the other people told him about the fight when he returned.

I called Steve back, and told him that she was going to call out sick. He called our boss about what happened. As I said to others at a gym I worked out at when I witnessed a guy shooting up steroids with a needle, I don't tell anyone how they should live their life.

See, I've never done drugs, drink alcohol, or smoked cigarettes in my ENTIRE life. I've listened to all sorts of questions as to why I don't drink, but have always told people I have no problem with people that do as long as it doesn't involve or affect me. It is for health reasons as well as an illness I had some six years ago as to why I don't do so either. Anyway, I've been a designated driver quite a bit before as you could probably guess. Back to what happened...

So you have a woman that fell over at least four times between the bar and at her car because of being drunk. On top of that, she was driving drunk in very heavy rain. And further, she drove over two hours away to her home! Despite all that, she wasn't pulled over and no one was hurt which was the biggest concern and shocker of all.

Unfortunately, Steve couldn't fire her without management approval at that point, and she had history of calling out for the company before. The associate returned two days later, and you could still smell alcohol on her breath from a good distance away.

Also, I was told by her roommate at the job that they had a fight the day after she came back to the hotel. The roommate said she was still drunk and had cussed out the clerk at the hotel as to why she was to be put in another room.

After the assignment was done, she was taken off the schedule for future assignments with the company. Also, if she was to be brought back, she wouldn't be working under Steve or myself. She was terminated for what happened after Human Resources heard about it. I'm not sure why she couldn't just wait for the weekend to get drunk if she chose to, but she didn't. She was eventually fired.

The company policy also stated that each associate and Team Leads would be paid per diem amounts of $25 for every night you stay over in a hotel.

Associates in the company had a habit of doing that scamming the company for that per diem by going home or staying somewhere else besides the assigned hotel. On top of that, the company picked the tabs for those nights until a new policy came out stating that if you're caught not staying in the hotel, those associates would be required to pay for all nights they stayed elsewhere. That put an end to that for most everyone....almost. Now why I brought this up...

Later on in the year, another associate scammed the company by saying he stayed in a hotel when he actually wasn't. He stayed at a friend's place, but didn't tell the company that.

Anyway, this associate did that and had a drug problem which we found out later. He used that money to pay back others he owed money to. He told one of our employees that he was going to be kicked out of his relative's house because of that which he was at while the job was going on. He was terminated the last week of the job we were at. When that happens, you are immediately removed from staying at the hotel. So essentially, he was homeless at this point.....at least he was supposed to be.

He was back at the hotel, and no one knew it. As it turned out, he had a warrant for his arrest for selling drugs before which nobody knew about until he was arrested by the police at the same hotel.

I worked about two more months for the company when the contract for our account ran out, and ended up going to the same one Steve went to after he put in a good word to get me on.

Many people I know either drink or smoke which isn't a problem for me because that's their choice to make. I don't judge those people for it because some of them I know are the coolest and friendliest people I know. As long as it doesn't affect me and they're responsible, I don't care.

If you want to ruin your life by taking illegal drugs, that's your choice to make. However, don't do that in front of me and/or affect those around you either.

First Commenters:

Read More

2010 NCAA Tournament Bracket Picks

The excitement that is March Madness will be kicking off with the play-in game tomorrow with the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The rest of the first round games are on Thursday and Friday. March Madness is one of my favorite times of the year, and has created some of the best moments in American sports history.

Ryan Lester aka Lester's Legends, my long-time friend from Sporting News, started his own group on Yahoo this year in picking the brackets. That's one thing I make sure to do every year which makes it all the more challenging and fun to see how it unfolds. This is the bracket as well as my picks below that I have in that group.



This is as tough of a field as I can remember with one team not standing out as the clear favorite. Like many have done, I like the Kansas Jawhawks to win it all. I'm going to be entering the Ruby Tuesday Million Dollar Bracket Challenge, too. Bring on March Madness and let's get the party started!

First Commenters:

Read More

BWE Disclosed: March 2010

Note: This is fictional, and none of this is to be taken seriously. It is about BWE(Blog Wrestling Entertainment) in which bloggers are written into storylines. This is kayfabe which means the entire entry is part of storylines with some facts to make it work. Some of the opinions expressed here are inside jokes amongst us as well. And yes, the locations and travel are NOT real.


After a month off, BWE Disclosed returns in March with a star on the cover that made his much anticipated debut on BWE Throwdown! back in December from his home at Daddy Sports Garden! Rad Gonzalez and his adorable daughter Nena, aka piglet, are on the cover of this month's issue! Rad doesn't hold back explaining why he wants a title shot in BWE Promotions! Find out what else he and piglet have to say in this month's issue!

BWE CutDown, a brand new joint show in the promotion, will be coming soon to Basic Bloganomics! Find out the details inside!

BWE Blogger's Rumble, live from S&J Arena at Cacai M's Place in Alhambra, California, is coming in May only on Basic Bloganomics Pay-For-View!

Check those out and a whole lot more in this edition of BWE Disclosed! Available at most retailers and newsstands worldwide!

P.S. To REALLY know more about Rad, stay tuned on WBE for a brand new series on there coming soon!

Previous BWE Disclosed covers:
June 2009
July 2009: DJ Tammy
October 2009: Amiable Amy
November 2009: Dhemz
January 2010: BWE Divas

First Commenters:
Emotera

Read More

A Marketing Plan

This is one my favorite times of year because there are many sports to look forward to, but none more so for me that the NCAA Tournament. While I've been watching college basketball all day, I've been thinking of better internet marketing strategies.

Since the internet is so competitive with thousands of sites out there, there should never be a limit on how much knowledge you need to market the internet. Success doesn't always come easy, but you have to know the right people to listen to in order to gain anything.

While I was paying attention to the NCAA Tournament selections, I came across the right site with detailed marketing analyzing that will show me what needs improvement. I don't need to continue hitting a wall by limiting myself with the lack of understanding internet marketing. It's time to get ahead of everyone else by analyzing what I need to improve upon now.

Read More

Anti-BED Drug Policy

For those wondering when I was going to post the Anti-BED Drug Policy, here you go.

Illegal drugs and blog/writing enhancement drugs that are banned for use in association with blogging on the internet in conjunction with the BED Drug Policy which covers the entire internet:

Bestblogsterone: This is a banned steroid that has been shown to help those to be the best in blogging rather than writing for the right reasons. Mood swings tend to change drastically after prolonged use, and the obsession to write better than other bloggers on the site takes over.

Viewogen: This banned blog steroid has been known to help illegally boost the number of blog views that a blogger would not necessarily receive otherwise. This steroid has been clinically tested on other human bloggers, and the results were a sudden increase in blog views. It is now a detectable steroid.

Plagobolan: A banned blog steroid that has been known to help increase the illegal copying and/or pasting of other bloggers and their writing. This blog/writing enhancement steroid is likely the easiest to recognize and detect.

Bashabol: A banned blog enhancer that has been known for the user to bash others at all times. Prolonged use of this steroid has proven to raise the heart rate as well as lead to hypertension. This is a very detectable enhancer as well.

Trolloise: A banned enhancer that increases the ability of a member to go off-topic or write irrelevantly on every blog. It also helps the user to fit in illegally in the community with those different posts. This is a very dangerous enhancer as it has been clinically proven to lead to extreme violence by the user taking them as well as those who associate with them.

Dehomertestosterone(DHT): Known mainly to be used by sports bloggers, this enhancer has helped bloggers write less objectively and lean heavily towards their favorite teams on all discussions. They illegally help their own cause by writing unobjectively about a matchup which further leads to violence and increased tension with others on the given topic.

IDentate: An enhancer that helps to boost the number of IDs that one member has. This can lead to thousands of uncontrollable IDs that can cause aggravation for the user taking them. If the user is able to save many IDs when they go to log onto the internet, then it is possible they are taking this enhancer which would be illegal in regards to writing blogs or commenting on others.

Contentolone Lengthate: This enhancer is not as detectable on the surface as the others. It helps the user to write more about the topic they are discussing as well as decreasing the length to do so. Normally, those taking this BED has written a lot of words on blogs without saying anything useful before. This could lead to writing less words which could be dangerous to one's health who is known to write in length no matter the content within. Again, this is a detectable drug, but the symptoms are not as noticed as others.

Insanelozol: This received FDA approval on January 31, 2008. David Funk currently takes this medication, and was banned from other communities at one time when it wasn't legal to use.

Postinol: This new BED was discovered after one such blogger returned better than ever at the end of 2009. It's widely known now to increase endurance on the number of blogs to post as well as quality of content. The blogger that was first discovered using this BED hasn't been as active of late which has alarmed many close to her that she might overdose on Postinol when she's more active later. Another blogger with blogging superpowers is said to have used this drug before, too!

They will be conducting random drug testing for all bloggers that visit on this blog from now on. Should you post something out of the ordinary or someone has a suspicion of you being on an illegal drug under the Anti-BED Drug Policy when you post a blog, you will be required to take the drug test. Yes, that means urine test if necessary. Failure to do so will lead to disciplinary action and/or suspension/banishment from your blog site. Sanctions will be imposed as need be, too. Here are the suspensions for those who test positive for any illegal drug or blog/writing enhancement drugs listed above:

Note: This is something that those in charge of the policy have no control over so if anyone suspects you of using a blog enhancer, then you could have legal issues brought against you for refusing to follow the procedure. Failure to cooperate with this procedure could lead to the following sanctions placed on your blog:

-A reduction in the amount of guests you can have on your blog for a calendar year.

-One or more years probation in having your blog advertised and linked anywhere in search engines! No other blogger or staff member can link your blog, or they will face disciplinary action if they do! BDP does and will not want to be liable for someone viewing an "illegal" blog.

-A reduction in the amount of pictures and subtitle wording that a blogger normally uses.

-A one year ban from writing about your favorite topics you discuss the most at the time of your offense. So don't think of changing your favorite topics because they'll be monitored at all times.

-Any other self-imposed penalty that the policy holders see fit.

-Should the policy holders not self-report any violation or member, this could lead to a punishment and/or penalty by the BDPC(Bloggers Drug Policy Committee), so no one is exempt from being punished.

-The BDPC reserves the right to those, who write blogs, to be drug tested as well. So all of you high-up bloggers aren't above the law either!

It would be wise to cooperate if you are called upon for this drug test or very stiff penalties or more could result.

Also, the BDPC reserves the right without any notice whatsoever to change the drug policy for the better well-being of the internet at any time.

Well, I am not sure if I am pleased that the Anti-BED Drug Policy is now up and running. However, this should help everyone, and as you can see, all of this is strictly enforced. This is a very serious matter that is in place to protect you all. Be sure to check the labels on everything you take or your blogging career on the internet may change forever and your reputation may never recover either.

And please, don't try the "I thought it was Canola or Flaxseed Oil" excuse either! I tried that one already!

Oh, and medias around the world picked up on this story pretty quickly:

First Commenters:

Read More

PYNK CANDY starring Sharon Chong!

Note: This is NOT to be taken seriously, and is only for fun. Please check the credits to see the bloggers I listed on the poster.

PYNK CANDY
Starring Sharon Chong and Aneeqa

Narrator: Sharon Chong's journey to power began on a humble blog she calls Pynk Candy. After feeling frustrated with blogging, she makes one post that would forever change her life.

(Sharon begins looking at her comment on her YouAboutHow entry)
Sharon: I wish people would quit picking numbers and admit I'm their idol! Yay me!

Narrator: Little did she know how right she would be.

(Sharon is seen replying back on her entries and tweeting on Twitter)

Narrator: The world suddenly is looking for the next great world leader, and it just so happens a random search found Sharon's entry. The United Nations and other entities used a random game of numbers to select Sharon to become the next world leader. However, this pretty blogger from Kuching, Malaysia comes to power as world leader in a much different way.

(Sharon receives a call on her cell phone from her friend Aneeqa announcing she's been randomly picked to become the next world leader)
Sharon: Really?
Aneeqa: Yes! Your name and picture is on televisions and billboards across the world!

Narrator: Sharon calls in some of the top world leaders to Kuching to celebrate the occasion including Bill Gates. Gates is not impressed with overly pink attire and office, and nearly backs out only to give in later. Sharon and her friends have thrown a pink cupcake party to celebrate! Even jealous haters can't bring the Pynk Candy campaign down!

(Sharon is now seen on camera at her office that is completely pink in every way imaginable)
Sharon: Ladies and gentleman of the world, I'm the next great leader. I freakin' knew it! I knew you all idolized me, and the random numbers don't lie! I can die happily now! Yay me!

Narrator: Watch this incredible story of one blogger's rise to being the next great world leader!

Sharon Chong & Aneeqa star in the incredible story PYNK CANDY! Returning to theaters this summer!

Previous movie posters and releases:
Double Standard Starring LAINY
Seismic Blogging Starring Monica
Hit Me! Starring Dhemz
WOAFS Starring Mariuca
Bionic Blogger Starring Stacey Tee
SPAMMERS starring Mileka

First Commenters:

Read More

First Public Basketball Game on March 11, 1892

On March 11, 1892, the first ever recognized public basketball game took place. It was on this day that the Armory Hill YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts hosted what turned out to be a landmark sport for fans to follow in the winter months. About 200 fans were on hand to witness history in the making.

In December 1891, basketball inventor and Canadian-born Dr. James Naismith was under immense pressure by Dr. Luther Gulick at Springfield College when classes were first taught at the Armory Hill YMCA. Not wanting to create a sport with hazardous activity, he decided against a small ball by opting for a soccer ball. He decided the only way to advance the ball is by passing it to another teammate. The last thing he wanted to do was make the goals un-guardable by placing them high out of the immediate reach of players. And that is when he came up with peach baskets with the top cut out for players to score as they put the ball through them.

Later that month after he established his own rules for the game, the first game played took place. Many of the players weren't excited about the new game, but decided to trust Naismith anyway.

Here were some of the rules used at the time that no longer apply to modern version of the game today:

-Nine players instead of five played for each team.
-A soccer ball was used instead of a basketball.
-What later became known as dribbling wasn't allowed. Passing was the only way to advance the ball.
-Fouls occurred when players ran with the ball, but it wasn't uncommon to see players being tackled with it either.
-After each goal, a jump ball took place in the middle of the court.
-1 point was scored for a goal.

By January 1892, the first game was played at the Armory Hill YMCA, but it was closed off to the public. The final score was 1-0 when the winning shot came from 25 feet(7.6M) away on a court about half the size of the modern courts of today. The idea came along well, and it was beginning to be accepted as an indoor sport for Naismith's rowdy students in the winter months.

The first public game took place between students of Springfield College against the faculty. The students were able to dominate the game against the faculty by winning 5-1. Amos Alonzo Stagg, an instructor at the time at the YMCA school, scored the only goal for the faculty in the game. Stagg went on to become a legendary sports figure, most notably in college football.

Naismith's game received publicity around campus as the "New Game" had been headlined in the "The Triangle", Springfield College's newspaper.

As a result of this game, it wasn't long before YMCAs across the U.S. had adopted the game into their sports programs in 1893 since it didn't require much equipment and that it could be played indoors or outdoors.

Naismith later left Springfield for Denver, Colorado to acquire a medical degree. By 1898, he ended up at the University of Kansas where he was originally hired as a physical education instructor as well as chapel director. But Naismith founded the school's basketball program, and the Jayhawks are one of the most prestigious programs in the history of the college game.

While Naismith is the only coach with a losing record in the program's history(55-60), he did coach his eventual successor at the university: Forest "Phog" Allen.

Allen later coached future coaching legends Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith at the university. He was also the person behind the idea of what is now the NCAA Tournament that began in 1939, and has gone on to be known as March Madness. When Dean Smith retired from North Carolina as head coach in 1997, Smith, Rupp, and Allen were 1-2-3 on the all-time wins list for head coaches.

YMCAs were predominantly the ones playing organized basketball games until the turn of the century when colleges began to adopt the sport into their programs.

As for basketball itself, the first ever game involving five-on-five play occurred in 1895 when the School of Agriculture won 9-3 against Hamline University on the road. Women began to take notice of the sport not long after even though the first game they played resembled the original rules of Naismith.

In February 1896, the first organized women's basketball game took place as Stanford beat Berkley 2-1 in a 9-on-9 game. The women's game had been more organized in its early existence.

By 1905, a women's committee was founded as they adopted their own rules of six to nine players per team as well as 11 officials. By 1925, 37 women's high school varsity state tournaments were held. Under men's rules, the first ever national championship in basketball for women was established.

The peach baskets were used and nailed to walls which caused too many problems as it led to a change. By 1906, metal rims with backboards were used for the first time.

As for Stagg, he left Springfield College for Chicago University. Although he accomplished much for the game of college football, his contributions to basketball were very notable, too.

In 1896, Stagg was the first coach to take part in a 5-on-5 game of basketball as Chicago beat Iowa University 15-12.

In 1917, Stagg organized a basketball national championship for high school teams called the National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament. Though it was discontinued by 1931, the impact forever changed the rules for high schools across the nation.

Stagg also coached the football team at Chicago as he became one of the most successful coaches in the history of the game. It was the lateral pass that has first been used in basketball that he later used to great success in American football later on. He was also the first to motion players before a snap as well as other forms of trickery on the field including the "Statue of Liberty" play. He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.

The sport officially went international as basketball was first played at the Olympics in 1936 at Berlin, Germany. Naismith, never one to self-promote the game or what he did to popularize it, was given the honor to hand out the medals at those Olympic games. The United States finished with a gold medal, Canada received silver, and Mexico received bronze. He was named Honorary President of the International Basketball Federation during those Olympics. Naismith later admitted that seeing the game being played by many nations was his greatest accomplishment.

With the success of the game in high school and in college, basketball didn't have a professional league until 1946 called the Basketball Association of America(BAA). It later became the National Basketball Association(NBA) after a merger with the National Basketball League. The upstart American Basketball Association(ABA) was established in 1967 that challenged the NBA. The NBA and ABA merged for good by 1976, and the NBA is the oldest and most successful basketball organization in the world. But the creations of professional basketball leagues didn't become just limited to the U.S.

In 1975, the Philippine Basketball Association was established as they played their first game on April 9, 1975 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Their rules are adopted from the NBA and FIBA. The organization is the second oldest professional basketball league in the world behind the NBA.

Basketball's success has led to many stars from around the world such as Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol coming into the NBA. It continues to grow internationally, and is widely accepted as a favorite sport across the world.

No one of the 200 people that attended quite knew the impact this game had at a local YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts would have on this day in 1892. Naismith's creation as well as direct and indirect connections to future American sports legends such as Stagg, "Phog" Allen, Rupp, and Dean Smith cannot be understated. Though basketball experienced troubling times in all levels of the game in its existence, Naismith deservedly should get credit where it is due for creating a game that has left its mark in societies across the world.

First Commenters:

Read More