I am by no means a professional basketball fan. I pay attention to the sport about once a year, during the playoffs, and that’s only if there’s a team to root for (or against). I would pay attention during the season if the local team (the Warriors) were ever in contention, but that hasn’t be an issue for a while now.

So I’ve been a bit bemused by the huge kerfluffle over LeBron James – specifically about who he was going to sign a contract with now that his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers was up. Would he stay in Cleveland, delighting the hometown fans and choosing loyalty over other considerations? Would he sign with the New York Knicks, thus taking the time-honored route of star athletes (in various sports) towards the biggest city and biggest stage of all? In the end, James did neither – nor did he go to the Boston Celtics or the Chicago Bulls or any of the other rumored possibilities. No, LeBron James signed a deal with the Miami Heat, forgoing the bigger money he could’ve gotten elsewhere in favor of a team with a real chance of winning a championship. Doing so apparently caused many kittens and puppies to die painful, lingering deaths. At least that’s what I can make out based on the outrage emanating from all corners of the internet. Coward! Traitor! Deserter! The epithets are varied and colorful.

I just don’t get it. Apparently James chose Miami because they have two other star players, Dwanye Wade and Chris Bosh (the latter of whom I’ve never even heard – I told you I wasn’t much of a basketball fan). After years of being the only star on the Cleveland roster, James decided he couldn’t or didn’t want to do it all by himself. This is apparently what is viewed as being cowardly.

Now, I think part of my lack of comprehension is due to the fact that I’m a baseball fan. Baseball’s a different sport, obviously, and their active player roster is more than twice the size of the roster of an NBA team. In baseball, it’s common wisdom that you really can’t win with one star player. You can get close. (Oh, 2002 World Series Giants…sigh. To be fair, they were more than just Bonds – there was Kent and Schmidt and Nen and the adorable J.T. Snow and Rich Aurilia and Kenny Lofton who we always called “Crazy Kenny Lofton” because he just had this look in his eye…and Livan Hernandez. Why, Livan? Why?!!!)

Um, where was I? Oh, yes – in baseball, you can get far with a superstar and a decent backup roster, but it’s pretty hard to win it all. Basketball, I guess, is different. Fewer players, fewer games – maybe it’s no big thing to send one great player and five schlubs out night after night? I just don’t understand the sport enough to say. But in the seven seasons James spent with the Cavaliers, though they got to the playoffs several times and to the championship once, they never actually won it all. So maybe he couldn’t do it all by himself.

Does that make LeBron James a bad person? A bad player? A coward? Not in my book, it doesn’t. People have every right to judge James for not being able to carry an entire team on his back – but the judgments should be fair, in my opinion. Calling him names and casting aspersions on his character is not fair.

That said, I will admit that a less spectacular announcement about coming to Miami probably would’ve been better for James. He chose to announce his decision in a televised special that was broadcast live in various venues where interest in James’ choice was high. Not only does this seem like a hotdog move, it feels disrespectful to the city and fans of Cleveland, and not exactly good PR for James with fans in New York, Boston and various other ports. Something a little more low-key may have been in better taste. But I can’t agree with all of the epithets being hurled at James. At the end of the day, basketball is a business, and James is an employee with a marketable skill who has to put his own best interests first. I don’t begrudge him his choice, and I wish him the best of luck in Miami.

What do you think?

If you are like me, a typical American sports fan, you don’t really get what the big deal is about soccer (or, as the rest of the world calls it, football). I don’t have anything against the sport, don’t think it’s boring as some non-fans scoff (I guess because it tends to be low-scoring, but I’m a baseball fan, so I have little room to talk). It’s just another sport that I don’t really understand beyond the basics (get the ball into the net; I do know that much), and I don’t have any huge inclination to learn.

However, for much of the rest of the world, soccer is king, and the World Cup is the crowning event. It’s hard not to get a little caught up in others’ excitement, I guess (I feel the same way about the Olympics, a spectacle which I don’t care too much about beyond a few sports, but which other people watch obsessively, from Opening to Closing Ceremonies). I turned on the news yesterday morning to find that local bars were open to accomodate fans who wanted to watch South Africa play Mexico in the opener (home team South Africa managed to eke out a tie against the heavily favored Mexican team).

My mild interest in the tournament has been leavened somewhat by an impromptu office pool organization on Thursday afternoon. Knowing nothing about the teams, not even who had the cutest players, I had to turn to oddsmakers to fill out my ranking sheet. So far, cold, hard science has let me down – in five matches I’ve only managed to score one measly point, when Argentina beat Nigeria today. My chances for glory (and accompanying cash) have grown dim, but I will persevere. Maybe at least I’ll discover who has the cutest players.

How about you? Will you be watching? If so, who are you rooting for (or against)?

Update: 06/05/2010

Legendary college basketball coach John Wooden, a model for coaches in all sports, passed away at age 99 Friday night,   in Los Angeles. Jeff wrote this post back in October of 2009 and we thought we would re-post it to honor Mr. Wooden. There is also a wonderful home page tribute in the Los Angeles Times today. I have always felt honored to have met him back in the 1980s and felt I got a glimpse at that time of what a wonderful man he was. – Pam at IW

Post from October of 2009

John Wooden, famed UCLA basketball coach turns 99 this week and he should be recognized as an American icon. Forget about his 10 NCAA Championship titles and his overall record of 620-147 at UCLA and his 149-2 record at Pauley Pavilion. Coach Wooden left such a deep impression on his players that no one can find one player with a negative word to say about the man they call “Coach”.

His quotes are legendary:

“Be quick, but don’t hurry.”

“Failure is not fatal but failure to change might be.”

“Ability is a poor man’s wealth.”

“The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.”

He has many more. Most of them apply to life as well as basketball. He has created the “Pyramid of Success” which is a tool that basketball coaches and organizations across the country use.

His wife, Nell, was the love of his life. They were married in 1932 and spent 53 years together before Nell’s death in 1985. To this day, Coach Wooden says goodnight to Nell before he sleeps. When UCLA wanted to rename the basketball court in 2003 after coach Wooden, the Coach insisted they name it the Nell and John Wooden Court, using Nell’s name first.

My favorite Coach Wooden story happened during the fall of 1972. After an unbeaten season, the team’s star player, Bill Walton, spent the summer touring with his favorite band, the Grateful Dead. He showed up on campus with a full beard and hair cascading down past his shoulders. Coach Wooden had strict rules about appearances and beards and long hair were not part of those rules. When Coach asked Bill when he was going to shave and get a haircut, Bill, the star, replied. “I’m not, Coach. I like the way I look.” Coach Wooden did not miss a beat and stated, “Bill that’s fine. If you like that look by all means keep it that way”. With that Bill started to smile, thinking he had finally beaten the Coach. The smile quickly left his face when Coach finished his thought. “The team sure is going to miss you.” The next time Coach saw Bill on campus he was clean shaven with short hair.

Check out Coach’s website www.coachwooden.com .

One last Wooden quote:

“Don’t give up your dreams, as your dreams will give up on you.”

Jordan approached the summit from the Chinese side which is a more difficult approach but has no age limit. The Nepalese government would not give the family permission to climb Everest from Nepal, citing Jordan’s age. 16-year-old Temba Tsheri of Nepal was the youngest climber to scale Mount Everest prior to Romero’s climb on Saturday.

Romero, of Big Bear, California, has now climbed the tallest mountains on six of the world’s seven continents. He summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at age 9. Jordan plans to finish his quest to climb the highest peak on every continent. In December, Jordan’s team leaves for the Vinson Massif in Antarctica.

Jordan called his mom when he reached the peak. “He says, ‘Mom, I’m calling you from the top of the world,’” Leigh Anne Drake told The Associated Press. She had been watching her son’s progress minute by minute on his blog, which showed his ascent on map that displayed a GPS tracker.

Jordan’s accomplishment will continue to fuel a debate about teenagers pushing the limits of achievement.  Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old Californian, is currently five months into her own solo sail around the world. Last year a Dutch court put a hold on 13 year old Laura Dekker’s bid to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone and placed her in the care of state social services.

Teens are setting setting new adventure records that could put them at risk of injury or loss of life. Are they mature enough at the age of 13 to really make these decisions? Do they have the experience to anticipate the problems and possible crises that they might encounter? How much control should the government have over decisions parents make about their children engaging in these type of  “extreme” sports?

Oakland Athletics’ pitcher Dallas Braden managed the rarest of baseball feats – a perfect game – on Mother’s Day, a date with special significance for him. The 26-year-old Braden’s mother died of melanoma when he was in high school, and he was raised in part by his grandmother, who was in the stands to see him complete the perfect game. She gave him a tearful hug in front of the dugout after the game, clearly proud of her grandson, who was raised in nearby Stockton, CA.

For those of you unschooled in baseball terms, a perfect game is one where no batter from the opposing team reaches base. Nine players up, nine players down. The still impressive but much less rare no-hitter allows for batters to reach base on errors, hit batsmen, walks, and by other weird and arcane baseball rules which I either can’t think of or have never heard of. To give you an idea of just how rare a perfect game is, in major league history Braden’s is just the 19th ever, in around 200,000 games played (if Yahoo Answers is to be believed, and I’m sure it’s a perfectly reliable source).

Braden, with just 18 wins and 23 losses in his three-year major league career, may have seemed an unlikely candidate for such an illustrious accomplishment. After all, he had previously been best known (this season, at least) for becoming enraged at New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez during a game Braden pitched on April 22. Rodriguez had broken an “unwritten rule” of baseball (of which there are many) by walking over the pitcher’s mound on a trip back to first from third when he was a baserunner.

Whatever Braden’s career holds for him in the future, he will forever be linked with some of the greats in the game by this accomplishment. I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if achieving it on Mother’s Day with his grandmother in the stands, and thus honoring the two women who raised him, might not mean more to him in the end.

Villanova University cross-country and track star, Frances Koons competed in the historic Penn Relay races April 23 and 24. Named All-American eight times, Frances has proven herself a fierce competitor and team leader in her college running career. She won the College Women’s Distance Medley Championship of America in 2006. The 23 year-old math major is not just a champion on the course. In spring of 2007, the elite runner was diagnosed with clear-cell renal carcinoma. In the summer of 2007, doctors removed a golf-ball sized tumor from her left kidney. Less than one year later, during the July 4th weekend of 2008, Frances achieved two goals: beating cancer, and running in the US Olympic track and field trials.

IW - How did you discover the cancer?

FK -The cancer was discovered inadvertently in a trip to the ER. I had some pain in my abdominal area. It was over fall break 2006 at school when we were training for cross-country so the health center was closed. My parents and coach had me go to the ER in Bryn Mawr to be sure it wasn’t something serious like appendicitis. They did a few scans and concluded that the pain was from an ovarian cyst, which is common in women. I was embarrassed to go to the ER for something so small. Thank God, I did because the CT scan read that I had a small mass on my kidney. The ER doctor told me I should get that checked out. Not thinking it was something serious, I waited until I was finished with school and got it checked out over the summer. An ultrasound confirmed it was solid and not a cyst. After another CT scan, the doctor told my parents that he was “95%” sure the tumor was cancerous and had to come out. My parents broke the news to me.

IW – This must have been devastating at your young age. How did you handle the news?

FK -For most, the word cancer is associated with chemo, suffering, and loss of loved ones. My parents were very honest with me about everything the doctor relayed to them because I was at work when he called. They both drove to me during my lunch break to tell me in person. I am so fortunate to have such strong, loving parents. I cried a little, we talked about everything we knew, which wasn’t much at that point, and then they offered to drive me home or, if I wanted, to continue my day at work. I opted for the latter and it was such a great suggestion because I worked at a kids’ summer camp and kids are just about the best people to be around when you are down or have something on your mind. They never let you take yourself too seriously. We caught the cancer early. The overwhelming support and prayers from my friends and family was simply inspiring. There are many who have shared their cancer battles and stories with me since my story came out in the media. I am so humbled by all of these. They have gone through far more difficult treatments and scares than I ever had to during my short time with cancer. I have drawn strength from that and it is a driving force for me to give my all in whatever I do because of the life God has blessed me with.

IW – How long was your recovery?

FK - My surgery was August 7, 2007. I took a brief 6 weeks off from running, and had a very slow and gradual build-up from 20 minutes of running every few days to running hard again in January.

IW – Are you cured?

FK – Yep.

IW - Was competing in the Olympic Trials a goal for you?

FK - Yes. After the surgery, I took things one-step at a time and didn’t try to overdo it. Once I saw the kind of shape I got myself in, I set that as a goal because I knew it was feasible.

IW - What was your Olympic Trials experience like?

FK – It was kind of awe-inspiring to be around the fabulous runners I have grown up reading about or have seen winning major championships. It gave me confidence to mix it up a bit with the elites in my race. Track Town U.S.A. (Eugene, OR) was also very welcoming.

IW - What do you hope to be doing in five years?

FK – I definitely plan to be running (and hopefully fast), and I’d like to be using my degree of course. I have a B.S. in Mathematics, and M.S. in Applied Statistics. I don’t know what I’ll do exactly, but I do have an internship with the USDA this summer.

This Monday, April 5, marks a sacred day for baseball fans – it’s Opening Day! Like blooming flowers and looming tax bills, Opening Day of Major League Baseball is an important rite that signals that spring has at last arrived. Football is over (until fall, anyway), basketball and hockey are winding down, and it’s time for the national pastime to take center stage, once again. Time for hot dogs and beer in the sun, the seventh-inning stretch, tense low-scoring pitching gems and ridiculous blow-outs.

Every year is a fresh start for baseball fans. Maybe because the season is so long, and there are so many games, there’s feeling with baseball that anything can happen. Teams that look great on paper and in spring training may tank, and bottom-feeding teams with no superstars may put together a good run and find themselves at the top of their division, at least for a few days. All but the worst baseball losses (ohmygod Game 6 of the 2002 World Series!!!!!) can be, need to be, shaken off, because there’s another game tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. (Though baseball players do get days off, occasionally. I hate that.) Average pitchers may end up going out for a routine start and throwing a no-hitter (like the Giants’ Jonathan Sanchez did last fall; he came within a hairsbreadth of throwing that rarest of pitching feats, a perfect game). Baseball is so awesome because (among other things) it represents hope. If the Boston Red Sox can come back from a three games to zero deficit in a 7-game series against the New York Yankees, as they did in the 2004 American League Championship series, well, then, anything really is possible. Maybe the Cubs will actually get back to the World Series this year!

My team is the San Francisco Giants. Who do you root for? What’s your favorite thing about baseball?

Originally published in the Albany Times Union Sports Section on Father’s Day, 2001

My father has done a very noble, yet practical thing. He prefers to forego the norm, as he always prefers. No expensive funeral, figuring he won’t be there to be with all the family far and wide who come to pay their respects and enjoy a family reunion—especially not on his dime. Instead, he has bequeathed his body, upon his death, to the Albany Medical College anatomical gift department for study purposes.

I must say I don’t like to think about it very deeply, but he’s quite a specimen, my Dad. He quit smoking cold turkey at age 45 because it impeded his athletic abilities.

Built like a bull at 72, he still works carpentry every day and plays full court basketball three or four nights a week in an “over 50″ league at the Albany YMCA. “O.J.,” was his moniker before the name fell into disrepute–short for Old Joe Pinto. Certainly he’s not built like the average player standing only five feet, nine inches–he lost an inch with age.

Nonetheless, Dad has built quite a reputation among fellow players as a “phenom.” As such, he thoroughly enjoys a bit of a con he’ll run on young hoop hotshots who don’t know of his reputation.

Downtown Washington Park always turns up someone looking for a pickup game where he’s bound to meet a new player, always taller and bigger. Thrown off by Dad’s thick white hair, Coke bottle eyeglass lenses, and possibly the temporary bridge, the uninitiated is easily lured.

“Wanna go a little one-on-one?” he asks the new prospect.

“Sure, Pops. It’s your funeral,” the presumptuous player fires back.

Now this is how the con goes down.

Dad first cleans his thick lenses, and then blows his nose once or twice before fussing with the laces on his Nikes. Slowly sauntering on bony knees to the foul line, he’ll take a few practice shots while slyly eyeing the competition.

By now the young player is totally ready to indulge the old man, and the game begins. Matching his opponent point for point, Dad (always the prankster) then borrows from the Harlem Globe Trotters, just to spice things up.

He stands at half court, back to the net, pulls his tee shirt over his head. On lookers’ mouths drop open at this point. Then, through the thin fabric, he takes sight on the opposing basket and tosses the ball backward to the net. In it goes with a clean and satisfying swish.

But here’s the clincher. Driving to the basket off the dribble he leaps and spins 360 degrees and lays up for another score!

In this way, he’ll win some and lose some. Most often, the defeated scurries off the court a broken man, shamed, dissed and forever in awe of the Legend of Old Joe.

The pathology students may never have a chance to examine this perfect specimen. God and Dad will be discussing their old basketball injuries looking down from on high while the shell of Old Joe, like the Energizer Bunny, keeps going and going for many more years swinging a hammer and swishing baskets on the urban courts of  Albany, New York.

Because legends never die, they just get new Nikes.

Time to stay home and watch college basketball.  The brackets are set and I am ready for the most exciting 3 weeks of the year.  Pick a winner and watch the games.  I am picking Kansas to win this year but there is no clear-cut favorite.  Who do you like?

NCAA Tournament Bracket – 2010 - Men’s Basketball

NCAA Tournament Bracket – 2010 - Women’s Basketball

Don Briggs, University of Northern Iowa Professor and Cedar Falls resident, was helping a friend till his farmland back in 2001 and a line of silos caught his attention. Briggs, an avid rock and ice climber, pondered how he could turn those silos into a means to assist himself in pursuing his hobby in the middle of miles of flat land. He researched and perfected icing the silos for climbing and now, nine years later, people from as far away as China have climbed these silos. Briggs also teaches a Silo Climbing class at the University where students receive Physical Education credit for the course.

Imperfect Women recently had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Zak Fleming who recently completed the Silo Climb. Zak is 32 years old and lives in the Des Moines, Iowa area. He is physically active participating in ice hockey, rock climbing and skiing and recently completed the Climb Iowa- finishing in 11th place with a time of 6:19. Climb Iowa is a fundraiser on behalf of the American Lung Association where the participants race to climb Iowa’s tallest building. It is a vertical stair climb of 41 floors.

IW: Welcome to Imperfect Women, Zak and thank you for taking the time to talk with us. This is really a very unusual sport. What motivated you to want to complete this climb?

ZF: I ‘ve been rock climbing and doing some trekking and light mountaineering for years so when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped on it. We are also working on some bigger trips where we might have the chance to use some of these ice skills so I wanted to try it to see if I liked it.

IW: Where do you go to climb these silos? Is there more than one place to climb silos in Iowa?

ZF: The place where we went is on a farm just outside of Cedar Falls where the University of Northern Iowa’s campus is. They do have another location for students to climb if they take an ice climbing class, but non students climb at the 1st location.

IW: What kind of equipment do you need and how expensive is it?

ZF: You need cold weather gear, special boots, helmet, climbing harness, ice axes for your hands and crampons which are the pointed cleats you wear on your boots. The silo provides everything you need to climb with the exception of the cold weather clothing. It does help to have your own gear as I didn’t need to wait in line to climb like my friends, but for $25 you get to climb as much as you want and all the equipment.

IW: Is this considered a type of sport in Iowa and are people competitive?

ZF: Ice climbing is a sport in general. As far as climbing silos, I think it should be considered a sport just because there is a lack of natural waterfalls to climb in Iowa. We do have some places to rock climb but there are few places in the country to ice climb natural features. Many places are starting to “farm ice”- pun intended- to create an environment for people to try the sport. There is a collegiate climbing competition held at the silo in February. My climbing friends and I are competitive and we try to out do each other by doing more difficult routes and using better techniques but the climbing community is very laid back and we help each other get better at the sport.

IW: Was this your first time?

ZF: This was my first time ice climbing and climbing a silo. I climb at an indoor climbing gym 2-3 times a week and travel a little to climb in the summer so I felt I was well prepared. However, my experience didn’t help with this as I was tired in my first 30 feet. Somehow I managed to pull it out and finish the climb, once I relaxed and got a rhythm going.

IW: What was your time climbing the silo?

ZF: I’m not sure but somewhere around 15 minutes. It feels like an hour. I ended up climbing four different routes all successfully. Topping out was the only real goal for me.

IW: How cold was it the day that you climbed?

ZF: It was pretty nice. About 20-28 degrees F and no real wind chill. The sun was out in the afternoon and I got a bit of sunburn on my face. It’s cold when you are standing around watching but you generate a lot of heat when you are climbing. My clothes are pretty good for this type of thing so I was comfortable -but they have a climbers shack to warm up in and grab some snacks and cocoa.

IW: It looks like the silo is pure ice. Can you tell us about the actual climb up to the top and how difficult it is?

ZF: It is pure ice, the silo just gives the ice a place to grow just like a natural waterfall. It’s about 85 feet to the top and the ice gets a real pretty blue color when it’s thick. There is a lot of details to the ice that the pictures don’t show. It isn’t smooth like sheet ice, it is more like a collection of interlocking icicles. Its really quite beautiful and calming when you’re on it. Climbing takes a lot of energy and the key to getting to the top is to relax and not overwork. This sounds overly simple but you get tired from pulling yourself up with your arms. If you use your legs and stand up on your crampons then you only use your arms to keep your self on the ice. Over gripping is another challenge, everyone has a tendency to grip the ice axes too tight. This makes the blood flow in your hands decrease and they get tired faster. A relaxed grip is best and you only want to labor your arms and hands when you need to. This also keeps you warmer as the lack of blood flow in your hands makes them cold. Its the same principals as rock climbing but when I got on the ice I was so excited I forgot everything and tried to muscle my way up. In general it is a difficult sport and they say that very few people make it all the way to the top on their first try.

IW: Can you tell us anything about how they go about preparing the silo for climbing?

ZF: I was interested in this myself so I stuck around until they closed to watch them prep the ice for the next day. They have anchor points at the top of the silo with ropes that are used to belay climbers. At the end of the day they pull up hoses with custom heads built to spray the water evenly. Then they just turn on the water and let nature take care of the rest. They do hang old ropes on the waterfall to make columns and caves in the ice. The water runs down the ropes and the silo freezing to it and building up until it can support a climber, I would say 4-6 feet thick. These features make the climbing very interesting.

IW: To your knowledge, has anyone ever been hurt during the climbing of silos?

ZF: No. Climbing is inherently dangerous but climbing with a top rope is about as safe as it gets. I would say the biggest danger is from falling ice. If someone would stand or climb under another climber a piece of ice could hit them. I kicked off a piece of ice that was the size of a small garbage can. It probably weighed 35 pounds and could have given someone a real headache. Most people get small cuts or abrasions from the ice falling off their ice tools from above their head, but I cant say I know of anyone getting seriously hurt.

IW: Were there any women that climbed with you on this day and if so how did they do?

ZF: We did climb with some women. One of my climbing partners brought his daughter Tori. She is 17 and is just starting to climb so the techniques are new to her. She made it about half way to the top and stopped. There there were other women at the silo that day that did very well, topping out multiple times and using good techniques. I rock climb with several women, including my wife, and women make better climbers than men. Men have a tendency to muscle up the wall, not using good technique and lack the skills needed to do more difficult climbs. Women on the other hand are more flexible, have better balance and use the right techniques because of a lack of the same upper body strength as their male counterparts. As a person progresses to harder climbs, technique is more important than strength. It is a lot like yoga on a vertical surface and many climbers at my gym participate in yoga.

IW: Thank you so much Zak for taking the time to share this adventure with us. Do you have any new adventures planned in the upcoming months?

ZF: Actually the biggest adventure I have planned is becoming a father. My wife and I are expecting our first baby. Other than that I am planning a trip to go to Tanzania for an attempt to climb Mt Kilimanjaro in September. It should prove interesting to balance having a family and trying to satisfy my longing for travel.