Sports Then and Now

This is the first in a Satirical Series

If you’re old enough to remember Deep Throat (the Watergate figure or the movie) you’re old enough to get the allusion, when I identify the mystery man who’s been contacting me about a subject close to my heart. I call him Brave Throat.

It all started with the demolition of Buffalo’s old “Aud” (Memorial Auditorium) and the death of one of its greatest tenants, Randy Smith, coming up on a year ago.

After being away from the area for most of my adult life it happened that I was spending significant blocks of time back in Buffalo on business. I had the opportunity to walk up to the Aud while demolition was in progress, a gaping hole on one end of the building allowing me to look in at the rest of the building, eerily still intact. I felt like Moses at the burning bush. It was holy ground.

Not long after that, when there was little left of the Aud but a pile of bricks, I found myself standing in the same spot, this time on command. I was meeting with a man in a trench coat, big shades, and a Buffalo Braves cap, who refused to identify himself. I had received a mysterious text message an hour earlier to meet him there in 60 minutes sharp. Alone.

“The time has come,” he said. “The Braves must come home.”

“Say, what?”

“Yes, we realize it will be hard enough to keep the Bills from leaving without trying to bring back a franchise that has been gone for thirty years, but we think both are not only possible but necessary to fix the sports karma in Buffalo.” Read the rest of this entry →

Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points in a game on March 2, 1962.

Given his larger than life personality and talent, it is very possible that were he playing in today’s modern media era, Wilt Chamberlain would dwarf Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade, Shaq and the rest both on and off the court.

At 7-foot-1, Chamberlain was a scoring machine like no other. For much of his career, scoring as many as 50 or 60 points in a game wasn’t a “special” night, it was a routine. During the 1961-62 season, Chamberlain averaged 50.4 points per game and became the only NBA player to top 4,000 points in a season.

In fact, his career scoring average of 30.1 points is actually higher than the 2009-10 average of the NBA’s current leading scorer (LeBron James averaging 30.0).

It was 48 years ago today that Chamberlain had his finest offensive night and one that will certainly never be duplicated.

As a member of the Philadelphia Warriors, Chamberlain scored 100 points on March 2, 1962 against the New York Knicks in a game played at Hersheypark Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The late season game wasn’t expected to be overly exciting and in fact there is no known video from the game. There is a radio broadcast that I have included below.

Chamberlain scored 41 points in the first half, which wasn’t overly exciting considering he had topped 60 points 17 times already during the season and 32 times in his three year NBA career.

However, Warriors coach Frank McGuire instructed his players to keep feeding Chamberlain the ball during the second half and the points started to pile up.

As he neared 100 points, the Knicks started fouling the other Warrior players to keep Chamberlain from getting the ball. The Warriors then started fouling the Knicks to slow down the game and give Chamberlain more chances.

He finally reached 100 points in the final minute and the game was halted for nine minutes as fans ran onto the court to celebrate Chamberlain’s milestone.

What made Chamberlain’s 100 point game possible was his uncanny free throw shooting for that game. Chamberlain converted 28 of 32 foul shots (.875), which is far greater than his career average of .511 from the line. He also connected on 36 of 63 field goal attempts in the 169-147 victory.

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Below are some audio and video clips that remember Chamberlain and his record setting night:
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Despite flying under the NBA radar, Joe Johnson and the Atlanta Hawks are challenging the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

Considering that the Cavaliers, Celtics and Magic have dominated the headlines in the Eastern Conference of the NBA, you might be surprised to discover that following their win Friday night over the old men from Beantown, the Atlanta Hawks actually have the second best record in the East and the fourth best record overall in the NBA.

They punctuated that fact against the Celtics with their fourth victory over Boston this season to register an improbable season sweep over the squad many just assume will be facing Cleveland for the right to play in the NBA Finals in June.

After the continued performance of the Hawks, basketball experts might have to rethink that assumption.

Though they don’t have the household names and marquee superstars of the Cavaliers, Celtics and Magic, the Hawks are quietly going about their business of creating a consistent team that could be a threat come playoff time.

While it may appear to the casual fan that the Hawks have come out of nowhere, in reality this is not an Atlanta team that suddenly has risen from the dredges to become a surprise contender. In contrast, the Hawks have actually been building to a crescendo over the last couple years.

It started during the 2007-2008 season when they finished with just a 37-45 record, but still took the eventual champion Boston Celtics to a seven game series in the playoffs.

Last season Atlanta improved to 47-35 and advanced to the second round of the playoffs before being unceremoniously swept by the Cavaliers.

The Hawks appear to be ready to make more noise this season as, in addition to the sweep of the Celtics, they have wins over the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz. Read the rest of this entry →

Allen Iverson has been selected to the NBA All-Star team for the 11th straight season.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem unusual to have Allen Iverson listed as a starter for the NBA All-Star Game. After all, Iverson has now been selected to 11 straight All-Star Games and has twice been named the game MVP.

However, what has made his selection to start the 2010 game somewhat controversial is that he is no longer playing at an All-Star level.

Iverson began the 2009-2010 season with the Memphis Grizzlies, but after three games was released and is now back with his original team, the Philadelphia 76ers. Though Iverson sports a 26.8 career scoring average, he is averaging only 14.3 points per contest this season and has only played in 21 games.

Even with his pedestrian performance, Iverson remained on the minds of NBA fans and was selected as a starter for the Eastern Conference.

As could be expected, the selection of a player clearly no longer among the best in the league has sparked a new round of controversy about the legitimacy of fan participation in selecting starters for league All-Star Games.

I have no intention of making a case for the inclusion of Iverson in the All-Star lineup based on his statistics this season, but I will spend all day if necessary defending the rights of the fans to have a say in which players appear in All-Star exhibition games for any professional sport.

For those who have forgotten, the original purpose of All-Star Games was to provide fans with a chance to see the best stars of the game, not necessarily to reward success in that specific season. While recognizing current greatness has become an integral part of the All-Star process, there should always be a place in these exhibitions for long-time fan favorites. Read the rest of this entry →

Rick Barry

The Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month was not only one of professional basketball’s most prolific scorers of his era, he also is the father of four boys who all went on to play college and professional basketball.

From the day Rick Barry joined the NBA with the San Francisco Warriors following his college career with the Miami Hurricanes, there was little doubt that he was a special player. As a rookie during the 1965-66 season, Barry averaged 25.7 points to rank fourth in the league in scoring and earn league Rookie of the Year honors.

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BJ Armstrong made an appearance in Chicago as part of the HP Windows 7 promotion.

HP, Windows 7 and Best Buy have teamed with the NBA to give fans a chance to win two tickets to a 2010 NBA Playoff Game or one of seven HP computers equipped with Windows 7 Home Premium being offered each week during this seven week contest.

The promotion kicked off in Washington with an appearance by Eric “Sleepy” Floyd and then last week in Chicago as former Chicago Bulls guard BJ Armstrong made an appearance at a local Best Buy store promoting the products.

Sports Then and Now Chicago Bulls correspondent Scott Ottersen had a chance to interview Armstrong during the event. Check out Scott’s interview with the former NBA superstar.

As part of the promotion, former NBA superstars will be appearing at Best Buy stores across the country promoting HP and Windows 7.

You can register to win here.

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