Posts tagged "Basketball"
This Team is Terrible…And Awesome
Sports / Suffering / Theology

This Team is Terrible…And Awesome

by Nick Lannon on May 8, 2013 • 4 Comments

The Carroll Academy Lady Jags have lost 213 straight high school basketball games. They’ve won six games in fourteen years. Let that sink in for a second. Now watch this touching piece on their story:

As you can see, Carroll Academy is no ordinary school, and this is no ordinary basketball team. It’s almost as if the coaches have been reading Mockingbird! There are, to be sure, a few of the usual ESPN tug-the-heartstrings triumph-in-the-face-of-adversity moments, but some of the things that the coaches say are wonderfully profound.

This is nothing compared to what you’re gonna face in your life. 20, 25,…

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Children / Conferences / Identity / Law / Sports / Theology

Crunch Time: What We Can Learn From Athletes About Dealing with Stress – Nick Lannon

by Mockingbird on May 1, 2013 • No Comments

Seeing as Wednesday has become our unofficial sports day, we continue with our series of conference videos with Nick Lannon’s terrific presentation on success and failure in the public eye:

You may download the audio recording by clicking here.

Reflections on Identity and Bracketology
Humor / Identity / Law / Sports / Testimony / TV

Reflections on Identity and Bracketology

by Bryan J. on Apr 15, 2013 • 3 Comments

Congratulations to Louisville, winners of the NCAA tournament, and the team I picked to win in my tournament bracket! Unlike Louisville though, I only came in third in my pool for picking who would advance throughout the annual collegiate basketball tournament. Third out of six participants. Some bracket I picked, huh?

Maybe it’s just me, but this year in particular, it felt like the trend of “bracketizing” things left the sports world and entered pop culture big time. Are you a fan of public radio programming? A Southern Cali public radio station put all your favorite programs on a bracket. Needless…

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The Gospel According to Hoosiers, Part 2: Hickory’s Leper and the Love that Takes No Account
Film / Grace in Practice / Sports

The Gospel According to Hoosiers, Part 2: Hickory’s Leper and the Love that Takes No Account

by Matt Patrick on Feb 4, 2013 • No Comments

In part 1, we glossed over the moment in which Coach Dale experienced grace from i-dotting and t-crossing extraordinaire, Ms. Myra Fleener. This installment will focus on another unlikely, yet incredibly encouraging relationship.

The town of Hickory has a town drunk and his name is “Shooter” Flatch, who is also one of Coach Dale’s players’ father. Not only is Shooter an impossible alcoholic, he loves the game of basketball with endearing zeal, and has impressive insight into the sport. Coach Dale and Shooter have a very interesting (and hilarious) relationship. As noted in the last post, the suspicious town of Hickory…

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The Gospel According to Hoosiers, Part 1: The Brutality of Judgment and the End of Chasing
Film / Grace in Practice / Law / Sports

The Gospel According to Hoosiers, Part 1: The Brutality of Judgment and the End of Chasing

by Matt Patrick on Jan 14, 2013 • 1 Comment

There’s no question that Hoosiers is the best sports movie ever made ever, period. While I’m slightly biased, the film actually appears on most sports movie “top 10” or “greatest” lists. The incredible soundtrack and Gene Hackman’s sweet leather jacket are not the only reasons I adore the film. The ways in which the inevitable themes of judgment and grace are made manifest are what really make me love it.

The film’s protagonist, Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) is the newly hired varsity basketball coach at Hickory High school in Hickory, Indiana. Coach Dale is hired (seemingly as a merciful favor) by Hickory High’s…

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A Useful Law or: How I Got in a Fistfight with a 50-Year-Old Man
Law / Sports / Theology

A Useful Law or: How I Got in a Fistfight with a 50-Year-Old Man

by Nick Lannon on Nov 28, 2012 • 1 Comment

This happened on Monday. Seriously. On Monday I got in a fistfight with a 50-year-old man. I’m 34. I should note immediately, and in my own defense, that it was a really one-sided fistfight, in that he landed both the punches he threw and that I neither threw nor landed a single punch. He won on all cards. Except that, of course, he didn’t.

Here’s how it went down.

We were playing pick-up basketball, and an out-of-bounds call was disputed. Voices got raised, as is par for the proverbial course (court?). I thought he’d touched the ball last, and he claimed that…

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Amar’e Stoudemire, The Ewing Theory, and Addition by Subtraction
Death / Sports / Theology

Amar’e Stoudemire, The Ewing Theory, and Addition by Subtraction

by Nick Lannon on Nov 14, 2012 • 1 Comment

Bill Simmons, author, editor-in-chief of Grantland, and owner of the sports corner of the Internet, has popularized an idea that he calls “The Ewing Theory.” From Simmons’ Wikipedia page: “The Ewing Theory claims that when a longtime superstar who has never won a championship leaves the team via injury, trade, or free agency, and the media writes the team off, the team will play better.”

The theory takes its name from Patrick Ewing, the all-star center and franchise player for the 1990s New York Knicks, due to the fact that the Knicks always seemed to play better when Ewing was either…

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The (new) Superman and the Bearded One: High Hopes for Dwight Howard and James Harden
News / Sports

The (new) Superman and the Bearded One: High Hopes for Dwight Howard and James Harden

by Mockingbird on Oct 31, 2012 • No Comments

This one comes to us from new contributor Matt Patrick:

On the heels of the NBA season starting up, drama and expectations are vast. Two players in particular, whom will be watched extremely closely this season, are Dwight Howard and James Harden. While Dwight has already been under much scrutiny—namely his critics claiming he can never measure up to the all-time great centers of years past. The conversation as to where Howard ranks with the greats before him (Russell, Chamberlain, Kareem, Hakeem, etc.) amped up most fiercely when Shaquille O’Neal gave his two (or five) cents into the discussion. Pretty Jordan…

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Michael Jordan is (Metaphorically) Killing His Sons
Children / Law / Sports / Theology

Michael Jordan is (Metaphorically) Killing His Sons

by Nick Lannon on Aug 15, 2012 • 3 Comments

One of the lessons assigned in my church this past Sunday was a selection from Ephesians 4 and 5, wherein the writer implores the Ephesians to live a holy life, ultimately calling them to “be imitators of God” (Eph 5:1).  This is, no doubt, a heavy burden, laid crushingly bare by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount: “Therefore you must be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). This is The Law, in its most capitalized form. It brings about the death of the one who tries to live up to it.

A similar thing is happening…

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The Long Arm of LeBron’s Law
Law / Sports / Theology

The Long Arm of LeBron’s Law

by Nick Lannon on Jun 27, 2012 • 2 Comments

I’ve never been more happy to be wrong. In both my NBA Playoffs preview column and my Finals preview, I picked the Heat (and therefore LeBron James) to lose in the NBA finals. They (and he) didn’t. LeBron played so excellently that many of his critics have had to reconsider their criticisms. And it’s that reconsideration that has been so interesting.

The most common talking point of the post-championship coverage (other than the celebration of LeBron’s performance) is a question: Who will the pressure to win, that pressure that was once LeBron’s, pass to? In other words, who will the sports…

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The (Completely Serious) Mockingbird NBA Playoffs Preview
Humor / Sports

The (Completely Serious) Mockingbird NBA Playoffs Preview

by Nick Lannon on Apr 27, 2012 • 4 Comments

The East

Chicago Bulls

Joakim Noah is the living embodiment of the theology of the cross. No one with a jump shot that ugly should be playing in the NBA. And yet, there he is, bringing life out of death.

Miami Heat

Miami’s supporting cast has been playing more and more poorly, as though they, too, want LeBron to stew in his own juices for eternity.  Miami will get to the East Finals, but “not four, not five, not six…” will continue to haunt more than the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.

Indiana Pacers

Everyone’s wondering if a team without a legitimate superstar (and no,…

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World Peace Ejected from NBA Game
Identity / News / Sports

World Peace Ejected from NBA Game

by Bryan J. on Apr 24, 2012 • 2 Comments

No, not from The Onion… In 2011, Ron Artest of the L.A. Lakers officially changed his name to “Metta World Peace.”  Saith Wikipedia: ”‘Changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world,’ World Peace said in a statement released after the name change court hearing. His publicist, Courtney Barnes, said that World Peace chose Metta as his first name because it is a traditional Buddhist word that means loving kindness and friendliness towards all.” It was a move one-part publicity stunt, one part atonement for his history of brawling with payers and fans alike. With the history…

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LeBron James and the Unwinnable Game
Sports

LeBron James and the Unwinnable Game

by Nick Lannon on Feb 29, 2012 • 3 Comments

LeBron James cannot win. It seems that this is true both literally (as in an NBA Championship) and figuratively (as in whatever he does, his critics are displeased). Sunday, James participated in the NBA All-Star game. His East team was losing by double digits (it should be noted that no one tries too hard in the first three-and-a-half quarters of this game) when he came onto the floor in the fourth quarter. James’ effort alone can be credited for bringing the East back and making a game of it. Then, the last minute happened.

With East down by one point with…

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Can Anything Good Come From Harvard? The (In)Auspicious Origins of Jeremy Lin
Sports / Theology

Can Anything Good Come From Harvard? The (In)Auspicious Origins of Jeremy Lin

by Nick Lannon on Feb 16, 2012 • 3 Comments

The Reformers, specifically Martin Luther, often talked about God working in unexpected ways. Luther called this work of God sub contrario, that is, “under the opposite.” God, in other words, is most often found working in the thing that looks the opposite of what we would expect. As evidence, we can look to Biblical stories of Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners, forgiving thieves on crosses (okay, one thief on one cross), and resurrecting the dead. Jesus’ modus operandi seems to have continually confounded those among whom he lived. This idea of God working sub…

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Linsanity: Something To Believe In?
News / Sports / Suffering / Theology/Religion

Linsanity: Something To Believe In?

by Blair on Feb 13, 2012 • 5 Comments

If you’re a sports fan, you’ve likely written off the NBA season because of its late start due to a collective bargaining dispute. Or maybe, like me, you’ve never been that interested in the NBA in the first place. Still, that hasn’t stopped me from hearing about the Knicks’ new point guard, Jeremy Lin. If you’re a fan of The Waterboy (guilty as charged), you’ll like this story. If you’re a fan of Tim Tebow, buckle up.

A Harvard grad who received league honors from his sophomore season on, but toiled in relative obscurity in the Ivy League, Lin was initially…

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