Monday, January 31, 2011

"The Floating Dungeon: A History of the Slave Ship"

The Slave Ship: A Human History

The missing link in the chain of American slavery

For more than three centuries slave ships carried millions of people from the coasts of Africa across the Atlantic to the New World. Much is known of the slave trade and the American plantation complex, but little of the ships that made it all possible. In The Slave Ship, award-winning historian Marcus Rediker draws on thirty years of research in maritime archives to create an unprecedented history of these vessels and the human drama acted out on their rolling decks. He reconstructs in chilling detail the lives, deaths, and terrors of captains, sailors, and the enslaved aboard a “floating dungeon” trailed by sharks. From the young African kidnapped from his village and sold to the slaver by a neighboring tribe; to the would-be priest who takes a job as a sailor on a slave ship only to be horrified by the evil he sees; to the captain who relishes having “a hell of my own,” Rediker illuminates the lives of people who were thought to have left no trace.

This is a tale of tragedy and terror, but also an epic of resilience, survival, and the creation of something entirely new, something that could only be called African-American. Marcus Rediker restores the slave ship to its rightful place alongside the plantation as a formative institution of slavery, as a place where a profound and still haunting history of race, class, and modern capitalism was made.




Watch video of Marcus Rediker, professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh, speaking on "The Floating Dungeon: A History of the Slave Ship" at the Vanderbilt Law School March 10, 2009.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Indian Railways and Southern Railway win Savio Cup 6



In an exciting finale to eight days of mesmerising basketball at the Don Bosco–Matunga in Mumbai, Southern Railway (Women) and Indian Railways (Men) pulled off impressive victories to hoist the sixth edition of the United Phosphorous Limited (UPL) All India Savio Cup on Sunday, January 30th. Southern Railway relied on the talents of legendary Geethu Anna Jose to help beat Chhattisgarh in the Women’s final, 76-66. In the Men’s game, National Champions Indian Railways rallied behind an explosive game by Vishesh Bhriguvanshi as they pulled an improbable 91-79 upset over the strong American side, Shooting For Success (SFS).

For his consistent dominance throughout the competition, Bhriguvanshi was named player of the tournament. Anju Lakra, the Chhattisgarh captain, took the honour in the Women’s division.

In a tournament that has been gathering momentum and fan-following over the past few years, the Savio Cup 6 featured six Men’s teams (Indian Railways, SFS, IOB Chennai, Services, Punjab, Maharashtra) and four Women’s teams (Southern Railway, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka) who played in a league system from January 23-29th, with the final held on January 30th.

Trailing at the end of the first quarter in the Women’s final, Geethu, Anitha P., Renjini Peter, and the rest of the Southern Railway squad began to turn the game around against Chhattisgarh. Geethu led the game with 29 points while Anitha and Peter added 16 each for Railway as they won by 10 points. For Chhattisgarh, star players Pushpa M (27) and Anju Lakra (20) shined in the final.

Undefeated thus far, American side SFS were strong favourites to win the Men’s final as they faced the Indian Railways side who had won the National Championship in New Delhi a few weeks ago. Instead, Railways kept the game close in a face-paced, back-and-forth match-up. Trailing by two at the end of the third quarter, Railways played their strongest basketball behind Vishesh 33), Yadiwinder Singh (20) and Gagandeep Singh (16) to stand as 91-79 winners. Terry Fields (29) was the high man for SFS.

The winning teams in both divisions were rewarded Rs. 50,000 and the runners-up with Rs. 25,000.

A dunk competition was also held on the penultimate day of the Savio Cup, which was won by Terry Fields of SFS. Amjyot Singh (Punjab) and Anwar Ferguson (SFS) finished second and third respectively.

Final Scores

  • Women: Southern Railway 76 (Geethu Anna Jose 29, Renjini Peter 16, Anitha P. 16) bt. Chhattisgarh 66 (Pushpa M. 27, Anju Lakra 20).
  • Men: Indian Railways 91 (Vishesh Bhriguvanshi 33, Yadiwinder Singh 20, Gagandeep Singh 16) bt. Shooting For Success 79 (Terry Fields 29, David Jones 13).

    Best Players Awards

  • Women: Anju Lakra (Chhattisgarh).
  • Men: Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Indian Railways).
  • Indian Basketball Game Tape on YouTube



    I'm a self-confessed nerd for watching basketball. I would watch it till my eyes are sore and then watch it a little more. No other factor in life has been able to wake me up consistently on early mornings except for early morning live basketball games.

    Knowing that, imagine my joy when I discovered the DVDs of all of India's Men and Women's teams' matches at the 2010 Asian Games in China! This was the first time that India had participated in the basketball tournament of the games since 1982, back when India hosted the Games. The teams didn't really return with a record to write home about (1-5 for the Men, 0-3 for the Women), but hey - at least they were there, participating against the best in Asia, playing in the awesome basketball courts in Guangzhou at such a large stage.

    So I set off on a mission to burn and upload all of the games available on the Basketball Federation of India's (BFI) new YouTube channel. Half a dozen games are already up on this channel and I will be uploading a few more over the next few days.

    As a bonus, I also ended up spending hours and hours watching the games. I have proudly become a hermit, churning out DVD after DVD of this historical tournament for Indian basketball. Yes, the game tapes are flawed: there is no commentary, the camera usually stays in one position, and apart from a couple of games, there are no scores/timings on the side of the screen. It is almost like watching the games in person, but without any of the good experiences of watching it in person.

    Still, the games make for interesting viewing. It was fun watching the likes of Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, Jagdeep Singh, Yadivinder Singh, Hareesh Koroth, and up and coming youngsters such as Dishant Shah battle out against Qatar, Chinese Taipei, Iran, Japan, Afghanistan, and Philippines. The Afghanistan game was the only one that the Men's team won, which was also a pre-qualifier to make it into the rest of the tournament. The team was led by American coach Bill Harris for this tournament. I was especially impressed by Vishesh's ever-evolving game: the young Indian captain shows a versatility between three positions and his all-round ability to score, create, rebound, and lead the team by example.

    In the Women's tapes, the likes of Geethu Anna Jose, Akanksha Singh, Anitha P., Harjeet Kaur, and Prashanti Singh show up playing against some tough Asian talent. Led in this competition by former WNBA player Tamika Raymond, the Indian dames struck unlucky with the draw, as their first two games were against Asia's finest - China and South Korea - the two teams who went on to face each other in the Final. India had a close game against Thailand but couldn't hang on in the 4th quarter against them. The Thailand game is also a great exhibition of the talents of Geethu. A legendary Center for India, Geethu's game is a feast for the eyes of any basketball lover. She is a glutton for scoring through a variety of moves in the low post, is a good rebounder of the basketball, and her most underrated skill might be her inside passing, through which she was able to make her teammates better, too.

    Once again, even though we lost a lot, and you will see more than good for India in these tapes, the attendance at the Asian Games was still a crucial step for development of basketball in India. Plus, for aspiring ball players and fans of the game in India, this is a chance to watch and learn from the best in the country in action.

    Are you excited yet? All you need is a bit of patience, maybe a set of headphones bumping your favourite music, and an average internet connection. Go and check out BFI's YouTube channel now! Over time, videos from other major basketball tournaments, if available, will be uploaded on the channel.

    By the way: a short recap of the Asian Games basketball tournament and India's performances is available here. Hosts China won gold in both the Men's and Women's divisions.

    Friday, January 28, 2011

    17 Indian referees currently hold the FIBA license



    They might not get the attention saved for the talented athletes on court or for the mastermind coaches on the sidelines, but it is no secret that good referees are the ones who truly run the show at a basketball game. The efforts of these hardworking individuals haven’t gone unnoticed, as 17 Indians currently hold FIBA’s official referee license.

    Over the past year, many of our officials have made a mark on the international stage. In July 2010, West Bengal’s experienced ref Atanu Banerjee became the first Indian to officiate the final of a World Championship Game, as he was a referee at the FIBA U17 World Championship Final in France. In November the same year, another Indian referee made the country proud. Rameshkumar Durairaju from Tamil Nadu became the first Indian referee since 1982 to officiate an Asian Games basketball final, as he was the ref at the women’s final game at the Asian Games in Guangzhou (China).

    This is the full list of Indian referees holding the FIBA license:

  • Atanu Banerjee
  • Sharad Vasant Bansode
  • Snehal Bendke
  • Peter Sonthosh Divaker
  • Rameshkumar Durairaju
  • John Anil Devanand Eluka
  • Zanim Mohamed Hashim
  • Manoj Subbayya Kotian
  • Harish Kumar
  • Shiba Maggon
  • Amarjot Singh Mavi
  • Rajnarayan Patro
  • Prakash Paquiaraj Sandou
  • Somasundaramoorthy Shanmugasundaram
  • Gens Varghese Vadayattu
  • Rajan Vellingirinathan
  • Ceciline Michael Vino

    For aspiring FIBA refs, the Sri Lankan Basketball Federation is organising the FIBA Asia Referee Clinic from February 11-14th, 2011, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The clinic will be conducted by Lubomir Kotleba, the FIBA Sports Director. A part of this programme will consist of a clinic for new FIBA referee candidates. You can find more information about the clinic here.

    There are a total of 287 FIBA referees in Asia. China leads the way with 28.

  • Thursday, January 27, 2011

    Now, you can vote for All Star Skills Challenge participants



    All Star voting is popular. Like it or hate it, it is one of the NBA's major trump cards when it comes to fan involvements, and damn, they do it well.

    On the day that the All Star Starters were revealed, it was announced that, for the first time the NBA is allowing fans to choose players who will participate in the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, too. The competition, which tests the skills of the best ball-handlers in the league through tests dribbling, passing, and shooting exercises has been a staple at the All Star Weekend for a few years now. Steve Nash won it in 2010. This year, the NBA has chosen Chris Paul before-hand as the man handing out the challenge this year. Eight other participants have been put on the ballot, out of which, fans can vote in four players to take part.

    Now this is more like it! My favourite basketball position has always been Point Guard, and unlike the Slam Dunk competition which has only featured one legit superstar (Dwight Howard) in the last several years, the Skills Challenge regularly churns out the participation of some of the game's best.

    So who are in competition? No Steve Nash this time around. Aside from Chris Paul, the other four can be voted for amongst the likes of Baron Davis, Tyreke Evans, Derek Fisher, Tony Parker, Stephen Curry, Derrick Rose, John Wall, and Russell Westbrook.

    Excited yet? You can cast your vote over at NBA.com/ChooseYourSquad. I've already voted for my top 4:

    - Derrick Rose: My NBA man crush of the season, one of the league's faster players, MVP candidate, and all around dopeness.
    - Baron Davis: Will always have a soft spot for B-Diddy.
    - Tyreke Evans: Last season's Rookie of the Year may have fallen off a bit this year, but he still is an exciting youngster.
    - John Wall: The fastest player in the league, and one of the most exciting players to watch out for in the future.

    So go ahead and cast your vote!

    TIMMY BOY!

    It's Tim's birthday today, so I'm doing a top ten reasons why my roommate Tim Grose is awesome:

    10. We fought long and hard together to get the CD player in the purple beast to work.  It was a combination of faith, determination, and commitment.  And the first CD he played?  Wait for it...  One of the only CDs worth the struggle.  Led Zeppelin.  Fuck yeah.
            10a. When the CD player spits the CD out yet one more time, he belts out "Time after time" from the radio with the best of them, without a hint of disappointment or frustration about the loss of the Zeppelin.  Holler.
    9. We both have accepted that we are obviously cast members in some ridiculous candid camera reality TV show, perhaps titled "TIA, This is Africa".
    8. He eats everything I put in front of him and says he likes it.  Good man.
    7. "Oh man, that one's nice...  floral prints... they just get me everytime..."
    6. He calls himself Timmy when he is talking to himself.  Example:  During tennis match with local minister - "Damn it Timmy!  Get it together!",  "What the fuck Timmy?!  Jesus..."  Priceless.
    5.  He loves to dance
            5a. He is not afraid to dance in his underwear.  With other men.  Also in their underwear.
            5b. He loves Phil Collins.
    4. He's an awesome mother fucking lifeguard.  Dedicated to the cause.
    3. He loves it when I burp :)
    2. AWA = Africa Wins Again v. AFY = America, Fuck Yeah
    1. "You have never lived..."

    Happy birthday Timmy boy (aka Timbo Slice)!

    It should also be noted that we have a new roommate, who is also awesome, but Tim will always be OG.  Don't worry, she will be introduced in the blog soon enough.

    Next week I will continue with the holiday chronicles...

    Wednesday, January 26, 2011

    Adopted from India, blind teenager plays basketball for American High School Team



    I can't describe the different ways in which this story awed me today. Cruising around the internet for any and everything india basketball related like I usually do, I came across this touching story on BillingsGazette.com by Chelsea Krotzer:

    Seri Brammer is a 15-year-old girl, studying at the Huntley Project High School in Worden, Montana (USA). When she was 3 and a half years old, Seri was adopted from an orphanage in India (I couldn't find out where in India).

    Seri was born with albinism, a birth disorder that is characterised by the lack of skin pigmentation. Her disorder has also caused Seri to be legally blind. She was also incredibly small at birth, but began to grow in size as she grew older, and at 15, stands at 4 feet, 11 inches.

    Now, here is the incredible twist in her story: A lover of organised team sports, and especially basketball, Seri worked hard until she became a member of her High School's C-Squad Basketball Team. As the article goes on to describe, despite her lack of sight, she has been able to hold her own on the court.

    Here is an excerpt from this excellent piece by Krotzer:

    Her parents, Jesse and Susie Brammer, adopted Seri from an orphanage in India when she was 3-1/2 years old. Her biological parents kept her for six months before giving her up.

    "There is a stigma that the family is being punished for something that happened with the family," Susie Brammer said. "But they must have cared enough to have kept her for six months."

    Brammer now stands a proud 4 feet, 11 inches. As one of the shortest members of the Huntley Project C-Squad basketball team, she holds her own with her free throws and three-point shots.
    On occasion, Coach Ron Reed lets Seri play during the closing minutes of the game.
    "As of right now, we put her in the last part of the game so she can get a couple of reps in," Reed said. "She stays at one end. It's kind of hard for her to get on both ends of the court."
    Her teammates are sure to get her the ball when they can.
    "The girls are really cool with her," Reed said. "They will tell her where to go and will take the ball to her so she can make a shot.
    "She loves it."
    Seri didn't get any actual playing time during the team's latest game against Big Timber on Tuesday, but wouldn't trade even sitting on the bench for anything.

    The coach and her parents agree that Seri shouldn't get too much game time all at once — they don't want her to get hurt. Her mom is most concerned about her getting hit in the head.
    "I'm used to that," Seri said, smiling.
    As a precaution Seri wears a helmet while playing games.


    Please check out the rest of Krotzer's article for more information.

    Photo taken from BillingsGazette.com

    Internal Slave Trade, U.S., ca. 1830

    Source
    Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-89701

    Comments
    An engraving, captioned "United States Slave Trade. 1830" which shows slaves in shackles, whites holding whips; capital dome in Washington, D.C. is in background. The Library of Congress notes for this illustration indicate it was an abolitionist print, "possibly engraved in 1830; more details on its origin are also given in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog.

    Slave Coffle, Virginia, 1839

    Slave Coffle, Virginia, 1839

    Source

    James Buckingham, The Slave States of America (London, 1842), vol. 2, facing p. 553. (Copy in Special Collections Department, University of Virginia Library)

    Comments

    Caption, "Gang of Slaves journeying to be sold in a Southern Market"; illustrates the domestic slave trade in the U.S. James Buckingham viewed this scene in September, 1839, a few miles from Fredericksburg. "It was in a valley ," he wrote, "that we met a gang of slaves, including men, women, and children, the men chained together in pairs, and the women carrying the children and bundles on their march to the south.

    The gang was under several white drivers, who rode near them on horseback, with large whips, while the slaves marched on foot beside them; and there was one driver behind, to bring up the rear . . . . They were chained together for precaution, rather than punishment; because when accompanied by one or two white men . . . they might be tempted to rise against them in any solitary part of the road, or, at the very least, escape from them if they could. . . " (pp. 552-553). Secondary sources which reproduce this image sometimes, without citing the original source, caption this "crossing the Rapidan" river, but the author does not identify the body of water shown in the illustration; moreover, given the route that he describes having taken, it is unlikely it was the Rapidan

    Slave Coffle, Near Paris, Kentucky, 1850s

    Slave Coffle, Near Paris, Kentucky, 1850s

    Source
    Anon., The Suppressed Book About Slavery! Prepared for Publication in 1857 (New York, 1864), facing p. 49. (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-30798)

    Comments
    Caption, "The Coffle Gang"; led by white on horseback and black musicians at the front. An eye-witness account of the scene depicted in this illustration is given on pp. 164-65 of this abolitionist book; the scene described is of "about forty men, all chained together. . . . Behind them were about thirty women, in double rank, the couples tied hand to hand...."

    Slave Coffle, Washington, D.C., ca. 1819

    Slave Coffle, Washington, D.C., ca. 1819

    Wood engraving, captioned "A Slave-Coffle passing the Capital" and depicting slaves wearing handcuffs and shackles passing the U.S. Capital, meant to depict a scene ca. 1819.

    This image was intended to illustrate part of a debate in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1819, concerning the admission of Missouri to the Union. The representative from New York, James Tallmadge, Jr., proposed that as a condition of admission slavery not be permitted in Missouri "except of those already held as slaves."

    While the debate was going on, Tallmadge pointed out that the South wanted Missouri to be a slave state and that a "striking illustration of what the South" wanted was to be viewed at that moment in front of the Capital. Apparently, as the debate was in progress "a trafficker in human flesh . . . has passed the door of your Capital . . . driving before him about fifteen of these wretched victims of his power. The males . . . were handcuffed and chained to each other, while the females and children were marched in their rear, under the guidance of the driver's whip" (p. 265).

    Tuesday, January 25, 2011

    Indian Women's Basketball: Dream Team



    So it's Republic Day over in India, and as we celebrate our constitution, we must also note another important crucial topic - the improving status of the Indian Women's Basketball team. Yes, the Indian Eves have had trouble recently in major international competitions such as the 2010 Asian Games or the 2009 FIBA Asia Championships, they are still a steadily rising force, with confidence and popularity at an all time high.

    Just like I did with the Indian Men's team last week, I've decided to come up with a 'Dream Team' of my favourite Indian Women's players. I've based this on the performances of the squad over the past year and of the best players in some major tournaments such as the Senior Nationals.

    Indian eves struggle with one major hurdle - the lack of height. Legendary player Geethu Anna Jose is the only one in my squad over 6 feet, and making it a lineup where even the 'big' players are around the 5'8" range. But hey, we have to work with what we have, right? I've tried to provide as much balance in terms of size and experience/youth as possible. And please, don't even start with any regionalism North/South bullshit: this is the INDIA team as I see it, period.

    So, once again, if I was coach of the Indian Women's Sr. National Team, this would be my squad:

    My Indian Women's Dream Team

    Starting Five
    PG: Akanksha Singh
    SG: Anitha Pau Durai
    SF: Prashanti Singh
    PF: Sneha Rajguru
    C: Geethu Anna Jose (Captain)
    Bench
    Harjeet Kaur
    Raspreet Sidhu
    Bharti Netam
    Pratima Singh
    Jeena PS
    Raj Priyadarshini
    Kokila

    Also would like to give Honorable Mention to stars such as Pushpa M, Smruthi Radhakrishnan, Kavitha, Sangeeta Kaur, and L. Suganya.

    Over to you: if you were Indian Women's Coach, what would be your 12-man squad?

    Maputo

    Sorry the posts have been so infrequent.  Writing a big grant last week.  But, I'm back in action.  So on with the story!

    Part deux: Maputo

    After obtaining sustenance, on a mission for a SIM card, which ended up being a lot more of an adventure than expected.  Apparently, Mozambicans are tough bargainers.  They are actually willing to watch you walk away unless they can kind of sort of rip you off.  We were able to complete our mission in the sense that we obtained a SIM card, getting it working was another story.  When we got back to the hostel, the other Peace Corps people we were traveling with had arrived.  After swapping travel stories, we proceeded to watch multiple hours of Trace TV, aka all music videos, all the time.  Awesome.

    Eventually we picked ourselves up, cleaned off, and headed out to dinner to meet more Peace Corps people, Claire's friend from college who does Peace Corps in Mozambique and some of her colleagues.  Very fun, very Peace Corps.  We made plans to meet up with them the next day and then proceeded to return to the hostel to pass the fuck out.

    The next day we got up and set out on an adventure to figure out how to get the cell phone working.  But, first things first, food.  The beautiful thing about Mozambique is that they were colonized by the Portuguese, which means they can make mean baked goods, bread, croissant, you name it.  So obvi we had to stop in and nourish ourselves before setting out on our mission.  A couple cinnamon rolls later, we were off.  We didn't make it very far before we felt it necessary to stop again for pastry stop part deux, with an added bonus of European influence, awesome coffee.
    After this we did manage to get the cell phone working, with the help of a little haggling and some kind strangers, including a large security guard with a large gun.  Abrigado!  (Thank you in Portuguese)  So multiple pastries and a working cell phone later, we set off sight seeing in Maputo.

    Maputo is a cool place, lots of old school European architecture from the Portuguese influence, including lots of squares with greenery and such that are very nice to walk around and relax, but it almost looks like a giant fire swept the city with the scars of the revolution still very present.


     
    Not to mention all the streets are Avenida Vladimir Lenine, Avenida Mao Tse Tung, etc, etc.  Oh yeah, did I mention it was a Communist revolution?

    We walked the city to arrive at the main market.  Mozambique's speciality: cashews.  And I have to say they are the best cashews I've ever had.  How can cashews be THAT good you ask?  I don't know, but they roast them in these charcoal fires and they are just unreal.




    After the market, we headed across the street to this amazing fabric store.  Everywhere you look in Mozambique you see the most beautiful, bright, and vibrant fabrics.  They use them for everything: skirts, aprons, to carry their babies, carry their food, bedspreads, tableclothes, pillows, you name it.  You get the best show because most women tie them up to wear as skirts, often protecting their clothing underneath.  They call them capalanas and are sold everywhere you go as pre-cut bolts of cloth that are the perfect size for a wrap around long skirt or dress.  They are just gorgeous and are pretty freaking cheap.  And this store we walked into had the most amazing selection I have ever seen, probably at least 500 different patterns.  We definitely had to practice some self control being as we had limited space in our backpacks.  But, I definitely made a return visit on my way out of the country.

    After shopping, it was obvi lunchtime.

    So good!  Moz has some badass seafood.

    We then went to meet up with Claire's friend and posse.  We actually met them at a Chinese restaurant, which was kind of a trip.  Too bad we were too full to eat.  We then headed off to this amazing photo exhibition:
    http://www.worldpressphoto.org/index.php?option=com_photogallery&task=blogsection&id=20&Itemid=257&bandwidth=high
    Check it out if you get a chance.  It's a little intense at parts, but really moving.

    After the show, we took advantage of our unofficial tour guides who took us on some sightseeing and souvenir shopping.  While getting caught in a rain storm, we picked up some stuff for dinner to cook at the hostel.  After an.... "interesting" dinner, we headed out to a jazz show.  It was awesome music, but very African, not just in the sense of the musical influence, but as in play one song, take a 30 minute break aka drink a beer, play another song, another break.  Seriously?  They were lucky their music was good.  We headed home decently early because we had to go catch a bus at 4 AM.  Yes, you read correctly, four in the morning.  And thus, the adventure continues...

    Are the Hornets for real?



    Go ahead and take a guess: which is the NBA's best defensive team? Is it the Boston Celtics, forever famed for shutting down the best of the best with their lockdown D? Is it the Miami Heat, known for swarming the perimeter with their talented defenders and throttling the oppositions offense? How about the Spurs, who have the league's best record and have been known for their defensive superiority over the past decade?

    No, the answer is none of the above - and neither is it any of the other great defensive sides like the Magic, Bulls, Hawks, or Thunder. The best defensive team in the NBA so far this season have been the New Orleans Hornets, who have been holding opponents to a measly 91 points per game this season. With the Mavericks reeling recently, the Hornets have played some inspired basketball in 2011 and currently stand in the third playoff position in the Western Conference.

    The Hornets are currently on a nine-game winning streak, which has included wins over the Magic, Hawks, and a statement win against lead leading Spurs. Then last night, they went ahead and defeated the Thunder on a clutch game-winner by David West. The Hornets had started the season hot, winning their first 8 games, and going 11-1 up to November 21. They followed this start by dipping in form a little bit, before their recent 9-game streak. Hornets now stand at 30-16, surprising many pre-season predictions.

    How did they get here? Ya, sure, in Chris Paul, the Hornets have the league's best point guard, but statistically at least, ever since his return from injury this season, he has been having a below-average season. I admit, 16.4 ppg and 9.6 assists a game are nothing to be scoffed at, but CP3 has a reputation for even greater things.

    Those 'greater things' have been happening at the defensive end though. Paul leads the league with 2.7 steals a game, and behind him, the rest of the Hornets squad have rallied to become a force, especially at home, where they are now 19-5. Emeka Okafor has been a strong presence in the post, and the likes of Trevor Ariza and Marcus Thornton have provided good support to Paul at the perimeter.

    Of course, one can't discount the efforts of power forward David West, now playing in his contract year, who has been averaging 19 points and 7.3 rebounds a game. Those might not look like awe-inspiring stats, but just like Paul, this is proof that the Hornets are playing at a slower, more defensive pace, which is helping them win more games.

    A lot of credit for this surprise resurgence should definitely go to Hornets' rookie coach Monty Williams, who is working wonders with this underdog side in just his first year as an NBA head coach.

    What is perhaps most admirable that the Hornets are performing this well in a year of external instability for the franchise. Before the season even started, their best player, Paul, was rumoured to have voiced a trade demand - a demand that mysteriously disappeared soon after it appeared. A more threatening situation struck when the ownership team of the Hornets couldn't afford to keep the team anymore. The NBA had to butt in and complete a buy-out of the Hornets in December. Now, the team faces uncertainty, as there have been talks of possibly relocating the Hornets out of New Orleans and into a different city in the future.

    On the court though, the team has played inspired basketball, ensuring that the New Orleans fans keep attending their games in throngs and keep fighting to keep this franchise in its home.

    And back on-court: is this team for real? What we have to now wait and look for is a) how long this improved play can last and b) will the Hornets (and their rookie coach) be exposed in the playoffs, when experience plays a defining role? Their defense and pace is something that they have going for them, since playoff basketball is usually slower and more defensive, making each possession count infinitely more.

    And then, for each important possession, there are few other people that anyone would have bringing the basketball up the court than Chris Paul, is there?

    Monday, January 24, 2011

    Holiday!

    Check with the OneSight, now on to the good stuff, HOLIDAY!  Woot woot!  So, this holiday extravaganza will probably be spread out through a few posts, because it's just too good.

    Part 1: To the border and beyond

    Day 1:
    Met Claire in town.  About two minutes after Tim dropped me off I realize I have forgotten malaria prophylaxis, an essential for any trip to Mozambique.  Way to go team.  Decided to worry about that later.  Ran a few errands, and then off to catch a taxi.  It was weird walking around town with our backpacks and stuff, being treated as a tourist.  We were lucky and got a couple seats on a taxi right away and didn't have to wait too long for the taxi to fill up.  Okay, probably should define taxi in African terms.

    Taxi- a kombi, aka like a VW bus, that they stuff full of people and/or cargo with a pre-determined location and usually a pre-determined route (often this is pretty straight forward as there is only one route from point A to point B).  So you get on a taxi whose end point is your destination or your destination is somewhere on their route or their end point is another taxi depot along the route to your destination where you can catch your next taxi to continue your journey.  Prices are based on how far you are traveling, obviously you pay more for the farther you go on the route.  Prices are pretty set, especially if you are a local, but bartering can be done, especially if you are a tourist and getting ripped off. :) Ok, I think that is good enough for now, more taxi stories to come...

    Had an uneventful taxi ride to Manguzi, a few hours.  We were staying with another Peace Corps volunteer, a lovely girl named Carly, that neither of us had ever met, but she was more than gracious to welcome us into her home.  While we were waiting for Carly, I decided I was supes hungry and had to have something to eat.  Of course.  So we go to KFC.  Obvi.  Because there are KFCs everywhere in South Africa.  And within the first three bites I lapse into an awful esophageal spasm.  Oh and their bathroom is out of order.  Awesome.  If you don't know what is involved in an esophageal spasm, no need to get into the details, all you need to know is that it's awful.  And involves me hacking up a lot of loogies.  So, now I have to meet my lovely host hacking loogies.  Oh and then we spend the rest of the day in town running errands and meeting other very pleasant Peace Corps volunteers, all while I'm hacking loogies.  Awesome.  And somewhere in all of this that I managed to obtain some malaria prophylaxis.  Mefloquine.  Gnarly dreams.  Woot woot.

    When we finally got to Carly's house, I was able to do some meditation and relax enough for my esophagus to chill the fuck out.  Thank god.  I was starting to get concerned about my hydration in the summer heat cause I literally couldn't even swallow a sip of water.  We then prepared a nice pasta meal that I was able to partake in.  Sweet!  Sustenance!

    Soon enough it was bedtime (in the village- when it gets dark).  Carly had never had guests before, but she suggested we try sleeping on the floor on top of a giant, fluffy leopard blanket. 

    Sounds pretty good to me.  Oh wait, until you turn the lights out, and all the crazy mother fucking bugs come out!  First it was the noises.  We heard this bug buzzing around and bumping against all the walls.  And you know how you can tell the size of the bug by the noise it makes?  Well, yeah, this was a big mother fucker.  So, we finally decided to turn the lights back on to find this bugger after a few too close encounters where we heard it buzz right by our face slash felt it tickle our legs.  Eeek!  With the lights on, we failed to find our culprit, but instead found a gnarly ass spider just chilling on the wall.  Awesome.  Thank god for big bad Claire who had the guts to kill it with a flip-flop slash was refusing to sleep knowing that thing was alive and crawling in this place. 

    After that extravaganza, we opted to create a circle of Doom! and fold the blanket in half and burrito ourselves for protection on this ridiculously hot summer night.  I mean, obviously.  As Claire is securing the perimeter with Doom!, I'm trying not to suffocate as I fold the blanket in two to create our caccoon slash sauna of safety.  Oh but wait!  Holy shit!  There is a giant mother fucking millipede just chilling, scurrying around the middle of our blanket.  No fucking way!  Claire proceeds to fling it off the blanket with her handy dandy flip-flop.  And Doom the thing to death.   What a way to die. 

    Ok, so fan-fucking-tastic.  That's it!  We are absolutely, definitely not sleeping on this floor.  My suggestion: gear up- aka put on jacket/sweatshirt with hood up, zipped to top, put chairs up against wall, wrap blanket around legs, shoes on.  Sounds totally, completely reasonable.  Who cares that it's sweltering hot in the little hut?  Done.  And so we rested/slept like this for a couple hours.  Then Claire suggests that we shimmy our way over to the desk across the room where we could lay our heads down.  Um, yes.  I was totally just thinking that! 

    Another couple hours of rest/sleep, pouring sweat as we are still totally wrapped up.  Let's just say it was a cleanse.  Now this seemed totally practical to us at the time.  No laughs.  Okay, maybe a couple laughs as we imagined our hostess coming out to find us sleeping in such a predicament.  Needless to say, we were up before her and didn't have to live out this scenario.  Though our answer to "So, how'd you sleep last night?" was entertaining.
    "Ummm.... interesting...."
    "Interesting?"
    "Yeah, we slept on your desk."
    Carly looks at her one foot by two foot desk, back at us, back at her desk.
    "I mean, we used your desk for our heads... we were sitting in the chairs..."
    Break into laughter.
    "Loooong story."

    Running pretty much on pure adrenaline due to exhaustion, we caught a taxi into town and soon enough were in a taxi on our way to the border.  We actually arrived at the border before it was open, second in line to cross.  Way to be on the ball team.  Benefits of waking up at the butt crack of dawn because of shitty sleeping arrangements.  The sweetest gogo helped navigate us through the border and onto a taxi and onto our way to Maputo, the capital of Mozambique.

    The taxi ride was an adventure, basically sand "roads".  But, we had a badass driver that managed to work our kombi, weighted down with people and cargo, down the path, passing many stuck vehicles along the way.  The scenery was... pretty desolate.  Just open plains, a few hills, maybe one village, no crops... oh, and then a giant metropolis pops up across some water. 

    Ummmm... WTF?!  Is it Maputo?  It has to be Maputo... I mean, maybe...  It has to be Maputo?
    Now we are stopping.  Across from this metropolis.  Is this our stop?  Are we here?  Maputo?  Sooo confused...
    Yes, we're here, get off.
    But, Maputo?  This is Maputo?
    Take boat.
    Oooooooh.  Boat.  Boat?
    No one said anything about a boat.
    Hmmmm... Well let's get on a boat.
    Two.  For the boat.  To Maputo.
    Big boat or small boat?
    Ummm... what?
    Crap.  There are two boats.  Big boat or small boat?
    What's the difference?
    Small boat maybe quicker?
    Maybe quicker?
    Big boat or small boat?
    Big boat or small boat?
    Ummm... Big boat!  Let's do it!
    Woooo!  Big boat!

    And big boat it was.  Aka giant car ferry.  But, hey it was 10 meticals, so we're talking maybe 25 cents.  Hells to the yeah.  Soon enough we were in Maputo and our way to the hostel.  After we dropped off our stuff,  we got some awesome pizza and Appletiser, aka the best drink in the whole world, 100% juice + bubbles.  Africa definitely does a few things right.

    Sunday, January 23, 2011

    Pro League Basketball Academy (PLBA) in Chennai



    Since it's been more than three weeks into 2011, I don't think that calling it a 'new year' is justifiable anymore. Regardless, the new year did begin with an interesting new basketball development down in Chennai, a hotbed of Indian basketball activity and home to some of the country's biggest superstars. On January 2, the Pro League Basketball Academy (PLBA) was launched in Chennai - The PLBA is an initiative to promote and develop basketball both at the grassroots and professional level.

    You can check out more information about PLBA on their official website.

    Here's more from last week's news report on APN-News.com:

    The main reason behind the launch of the initiative is to tap the talent and groom and develop them into better players. To accomplish these objectives, the academy will be organizing several events such as talent hunts, inter-school and inter-college basketball tournaments to pick the right talent. The selected talent will be groomed and trained by the academy, and also will be provided opportunities to play for club teams in the tournaments. Some of the major areas of focus of the academy are grassroots development, women players development, rural basketball development.


    The PLBA also features a special programme for the development of Women's basketball. The PLBA will be coaching and managing a women's basketball team called PLBA Stars.

    More:

    The aim of the team is to give tournament exposure to developing players. The main idea behind this initiative is to provide the women basketball players, an exposure to the professional tournament [and] to promote basketball among women, to increase participation of women players, and to provide platform for the budding women players to perform in tournaments. The team players will be selected through a series of events, tournaments and camps to be organized by PLBA and will be trained for playing in the tournaments.


    The PLBA Stars team is looking for sponsors to facilitate development and help player growth.

    Friday, January 21, 2011

    Giant Expectations: Satnam Singh Bhamara



    It almost seems like Satnam Singh Bhamara is asking to be doubted.

    When you’re a teenager from India, 15 years and one month old, already grown to the size of a 7-1 monster, the first reaction is wonder and awe, the second is doubt. People wonder what could go wrong; they wonder what the catch is. When you’re blessed with a unique inside-outside skill set, nimble feet, soft hands and a developing shooting touch, people instead wonder what your weaknesses are. When you begin training at the IMG Basketball academy, which has featured the likes of Kobe, Vince Carter, Chauncey Billups, Joakim Noah and Kevin Martin, the doubters say that it sounds too good to be true.

    When you’re the son of a poor farmer in India, a boy from a village separated a long dirt road away from the rest of civilization, who picked up his first basketball less than five years ago, you’re asking for the questionable looks. When you’re the biggest basketball hope (literally and figuratively) for India — a country desperate to make a mark in the basketball world — you’re likely to receive a cynical shrug of the shoulders. “India isn’t there yet,” they say. “The kid isn’t there.”

    Not yet. But he might be. If you haven’t yet heard about him, it’s time to converge your respective focuses (or foci) on Satnam Singh Bhamara, the 15-year-old, 7-1 Indian giant, currently on a scholarship at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL and attending the Pendleton High School. He is currently in the first year of a potentially four-year scholarship until he graduates from high school.

    India has been slowly growing as a basketball market, and Bhamara’s potential might be a zenith of a variety of different efforts taking place to grow the game back home.

    Rewind to a year ago: The 14-year-old Bhamara was already a formidable 6-11. Back then, during India’s National Basketball Championship, a yearly tournament pitting the best state teams of India against each other, Bhamara was a wide-eyed spectator, too young to participate, watching as a man-child in a man’s world.

    A year later, I meet him at the same championship in New Delhi. This time, he’s back as a famous young man in the country’s basketball circles, garnering attention from other players, media and fans. He’s a spectator again, but only because he has a limited time back in India before he flies back to school in the States. A prominent Indian referee sees him and remembers: “Satnam used to help us set up the scorers’ tables last year. We had nicknamed him Chhotu (Little One). Look at him now!”

    “You can still call me Chhotu!” Bhamara jokingly interjects.

    But there is nothing ‘little’ about Bhamara, not in height, nor in hype. The first time I met him was back in July 2010, when Bhamara was among 50 other under-14s who were chosen by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) to appear for IMG scholarship tryouts. IMG, a US-based international sports and media management company, have been investing heavily into sports in India. A year ago, they formed an alliance with Reliance Industries, India’s largest and richest private sector company, and the powerhouse duo of IMG-Reliance signed various sponsorship deals with Indian sports federation. Most notably, IMG-Reliance signed a 30-year agreement with the BFI to assist, finance and promote the growth of basketball in India.

    One of their first steps was to choose eight Indian youngsters among the 50 best for scholarship at the IMG Academy. From the moment he walked into the tryouts in New Delhi, Bhamara was a shoo-in.

    His fascinating story begins in a little village in India’s north-western state of Punjab: Ballo Ke Village, District Barnala, population 463. The son of a 7-foot farmer, Bhamara spent his early childhood helping out his father on the farm and growing up to 5-9 when he was just 10 years old. It was then that one of his father’s friends recommended that he take the tall youngster to Ludhiana, a nearby town and a major basketball hub of the country. Somewhere lost in translation, Bhamara thought that he was going to play volleyball. He didn’t know a thing about the game when he first stepped on court.

    Four years and nearly 15 inches later, he had grown into one of the finest young players in the country. After blazing his way through the Punjab inter-school and junior leagues, Bhamara began to collect his international credentials. He represented India in the FIBA Asia U16 Championships at Malaysia in November 2009. Back home, he took Punjab to the gold medal of the National Youth Championships at Trichy (Tamil Nadu, in South India) in June. He was recommended by the BFI to be part of a three-player contingent of Indian youngsters sent to Singapore for NBA’s Basketball Without Borders (Asia) camp.

    It was no surprise then that he was picked by IMG’s Basketball Director Andy Borman and coach Dan Barto for the scholarship. Bhamara was at the perfect age and with the perfect potential skill set, ready to be molded into a basketball monster. To play at the highest level, Bhamara cannot count successes in small Indian championships or Asian tournaments; he had to train with and compete against the best.

    But more than a basketball adventure for the youngster, it has been a strange change of lifestyle, too. Bhamara and the rest of the Indian youngsters made their first trip to North America, going to school in a whole new academic system, learning hoops in a way never been taught to them before, focusing more than ever on weight training and fitness, taking extra classes to learn English (seven of the eight, including Bhamara, were virtually alien to the language), getting used to live in a residential school far away from home, and getting used to not eating their Moms’ home-cooked Indian meals.

    Four months later, Bhamara makes his first visit back home — he was always built with the body shape of an ideal center, blessed with both height and muscle — but he came back looking even fitter and leaner than ever, thanks to the intense training and exercise regimen that he had gone through with his coaches at IMG. He was given a superstar’s welcome in his little village, when hundreds showed up to catch a glimpse of him coming back home.

    And then he was back at the National Championship as a minor celebrity, back at the same event he had been errand-boy a year ago.

    “I have changed and improved a lot over the past four months,” says Satnam, “but I want to improve even more. I want be an example for other Indian players so they can come forward and see what is necessary to be a complete player. They need to know the importance of building strength to help improve their game.”

    Indian athletes, particularly the basketball players, have faced one major criticism in the past: They may have the shooting and running skills, but their athletic ability and strength leaves much more to be desired. More than basketball, the coaches at IMG have focused their early interest in making sure that Bhamara gets into shape to hang with the toughest. Bhamara has followed suit, becoming a gym rat, working on everything from exercises to help improve his forward and lateral speed, jumping ability, shoulder exercises, and lifting weights to get into tougher shape.

    But his basketball training hasn’t been left behind. Bhamara notes how his current regime involves focusing on movement — a lot of movement — so that his size can be complemented with speed to make a momentum nightmare for opponents. Bhamara, who is part of IMG’s youth team, doesn’t hesitate to talk about how his improving inside game and movement has helped his team get some big results.

    “My game is basketball,” he says. “The media in America has asked me why I don’t play other games, but I’m only interested in basketball. This is the game that has given me everything I have, taken me from a village to a good education in America. I love playing this game and owe everything to it. That’s why I keep working hard to improve.”

    Satnam says that there are two players he looks ‘up’ to, even though both of them are shorter than him. One of them is Punjab State and Indian Senior team star Jagdeep Singh. The other, curiously, is Kobe Bryant.

    You can credit (or blame) the over-Lakerisation that NBA audiences in India have been subjected to in the past. Over the last decade, most games NBA games broadcasted in India have involved either the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs and whichever franchise LeBron James shares his talents with. I ask him, Why, despite the difference in size and gameplay, does he idolize the Black Mamba? He answers, “Kobe plays like he has no problems on court; he works hard, but he dominates smoothly, with ease. That is the kind of mentality I want to have.”

    And this is exactly the kind of mentality that India, and all those holding a stake for the development of basketball in India, are hoping that Bhamara develops. In an interview with an Indian newspaper a few weeks ago, Harish Sharma, the Secretary-General of the BFI, said, “He is a great prospect. I am sure he will do what Yao Ming did for China. Indian basketball will change in case one of our boys makes it to the NBA.”

    And although one talented, tall, teenager alone cannot change the basketball culture in India, the NBA will be hoping that with an idol to look up to, young Indians, just like young Chinese a decade ago, will start believing in basketball. The game is never going to challenge India’s premier game, cricket, but for basketball to score even a minor percentage of the market in a 1.2 billion population will be a heavy number.

    Troy Justice, who has been the director of basketball operations of the NBA in India, has been working with Indian talent for several years now, and has kept a keen eye on Bhamara’s ascension. “He is blessed with three things that, combined, have made him into a very special prospect globally — a young age, his height, and his skill set,” said Justice. “He has natural basketball instincts, a strong work ethic, and has become a focused student of the game. I have enjoyed working with him and look forward to seeing his growth as a person and player over the next few years.

    “I think he has tremendous potential and a bright future in basketball.”

    But Bhamara is adamant that his focus is on the present before anything else. “I’m not thinking too far ahead right now,” he says, “I’m in IMG’s youth team, so I want to play well enough to play for the juniors. After that, I will think about qualifying for the Senior team, and after that, I can think further.”

    “If I get a chance to, of course I want to play in the NBA.” Bhamara adds, “If I can make it there, I will be able to do more for other Indians dreaming of making it to the NBA. But I will have no problem if it doesn’t work out. I will come back to India to play for Punjab and contribute to the Indian national basketball system.”

    “Right now, I’m only concerned with improving my own game. After five years, we’ll see what happens. Right now, my priority is working on my strength — I know I’ll be playing tougher competition and have two or three players guarding me, and I have to get stronger to face that.”

    Bhamara is still too young, and perhaps, still too unaware, to fully understand the implications of his rise as a basketball star. Just like China, who have gone hysterical about hoops over the past decade, India will eventually become a serious basketball market. It is a question of who and when — Yao may have been the biggest star, but he wasn’t the first Chinese to make it to the League (that honor goes to Wang Zhizhi). Bhamara’s potential improvement will determine if he can even make it to that level, much less survive once he gets there.

    Right now, he’s just a 15-year-old, except that he’s blessed with a little more size, a little more talent, and a little better training support than the rest of us. He carries a load of expectations a little heavier than the rest of us, too.

    So go ahead and doubt him all you want: not good enough, too much hype, too weak, too slow, too soft, too foreign. I doubt if Satnam Singh Bhamara will hear any of it: Right now, he’s just a kid addicted to hoops. And all he wants to do is get better.

    Right now, he’s just a 15-year-old, except that he’s blessed with a little more size, a little more talent, and a little better training support than the rest of us. He carries a load of expectations a little heavier than the rest of us, too.

    So go ahead and doubt him all you want.

    This article was first published on SLAMOnline.com on January 13th, 2011.

    6th UPL All India Savio Cup to tip off in Mumbai



    Mumbai’s basketball lovers are in for a feast of high quality basketball, as India's leading male and female hoopsters - along with a team from the United States of America 'Shooting for Success' - will be vying for top honours in the 6th Edition of the UPL All India Savio Cup-Don Bosco Basketball Tournament, held from 23rd January 2011 to 30th January 2011. The tournament will be held at Don Bosco High School (Matunga) and will be sponsored by United Phosphorous Ltd and Co-sponsored by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.

    The tournament, which has become one of the leading basketball competitions in the country, will feature six teams in the Men’s and four teams in the Women’s divisions.

    Father Bosco D’Mello, Organizing Secretary of the tournament said, “The Savio Cup is a brilliant effort of teamwork. Diehard fans of the sport of basketball (both young and not so young) coming together to give a boost to the game of basketball, both to popularize it and take it to great heights by bringing together the best players both of Indian origin and overseas. You have got to be there to live the experience."

    Participating Teams

    Men: Services, IOB Chennai, Indian Railways, Punjab, Maharashtra, Shooting for Success (San Antonio, Texas, USA).

    Women: Southern Railway, South East Central Railway, Karnataka, Maharashtra.

    Some of the star players featuring in the tournament will include Shambaji Kadam, Dilip Kumar, Vishesh Bruguvanshi, Talwinder Singh, Mihir Pandey, Jagdeep, Yadwinder Singh, Harish, Geetu Anna Jose, Anita Pauldurai, Bharati Netam, Anju Lakra, Shirin Limaye, Sneha Rajguru, Amrita Baskute, Seema Singh, and others.

    A highlight of this year’s tournament is the special felicitation function planned for the Administrators, Referees, Players and Journalists of yesteryear who had made significant contributions to the game of Basketball.

    The tournament's organisers are doing a vigorous job in promoting the event. Savio Cup updates can be found on its Facebook page, on Twitter, and the organisers will also be sending SMS updates to fans who wish to submit their number for information.

    The men and women will play a round robin league, with the top two teams going on to play the final. The men’s winners stand to gain Rs. 1 lakh, while the runners-up teams will take home Rs. 50,000. The women’s winners will take home Rs. 50,000 with the runner-up teams standing to gain Rs. 25,000. There will be prizes for every match as well as for individual brilliance.

    Also planned are a ‘dunking competition’ and a ‘three-point shooting competition’.

    The matches will be played on the Terra Flex surface with the use of Electronic Scoreboards and 24-second devices, in specially erected stadium to seat approx. 2000 spectators.

    Three matches are expected to be played every day and they will be officiated by International referees, from different states, including three from Maharashtra.