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The Heresy of Zone Defense

THE HERESY OF ZONE DEFENSE

by Dave Hickey
It’s in the third quarter. The fifth game of the 1980 NBA Finals. Lakers versus Seventy-Sixers. Maurice Cheeks is bringing the ball up the court for the Sixers. He snaps the rock off to Julius Erving, and Julius is driving to the basket from the right side of the lane against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Julius takes the ball in one hand and elevates, leaves the floor. Kareem goes up to block his path, arms above his head. Julius ducks, passes under Kareem’s outside arm and the nunder the backboard. He looks like he’s flying out of bounds. But no! Somehow, Erving turns his body in the air, reaches back under the backboard from behind; and lays the ball up into the basket from the left side!

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NFL Cartography

Gorgeous map from an NFL postcard. Based on the last Super Bowl listed at the bottom this beauty was made around 1988 back when the Rams were in L.A., and the Oilers still existed. More weird football maps can be found HERE.

Auto Polo

Short Lived Sport of the 1920′s, Auto Polo has been since cemented into the history books as the predecessor to the modern demolition derby. More on the Library of Congress’s Flickr Page

North Korean Mass Games

Mass games or mass gymnastics are a form of performing arts or gymnastics in which large numbers of performers take part in a highly regimented performance that emphasizes group dynamics rather than individual prowess. Because of the vast scale of the performance, with often tens of thousands of performers, mass games are performed in stadiums, often accompanied by a background of card-turners occupying the seats on the opposite side from the viewers. Mass games are typically used to emphasize themes of political propaganda. They developed alongside 19^th century nationalist movements, particularly the Czech Sokol movement, as they embodied youth, strength, militarism, and unity.

The post-World War II mass games were developed in other countries under Marxist-Leninism, notably in Romania and Yugoslavia.^{[citation needed]}

Today, mass games are regularly performed only in North Korea, where they take place to celebrate national holidays such as the birthdays of rulers Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. In recent years, they have been the main attraction of the Arirang Festival in Pyongyang. The 2004 film A State of Mind details the training of two young girls from Pyongyang who perform in the mass games.

- via Wikipedia

Related – Filipino Inmates choreograph mass dances, the Michael Jackson Thriller Video has over 15 million views on YouTube