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A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

basketball

Basketball Hall takes you through hoops history

May 11, 2016

Being so close to Cooperstown and being a huge baseball fan, it’s obvious that I’d have interest in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Truth be told, I’m a fan of most Hall of Fames. I love the history of sports and such, so it’s always nice to see all the differences in how the stories are presented. If all goes well this summer, I plan on hitting several different ones during some baseball trips.

I can cross the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts off the list.

John Thompson ball for 500 wins.

John Thompson ball for 500 wins.

Before I get into the actual Hall, let me reiterate that I am spoiled by having the Baseball Hall so close. It’s the bar when it comes to Hall of Fames. The Soccer Hall of Fame used to be nearby, too, but it has long since been gone and is a traveling road show. That Hall wasn’t bad, but it was lacking. The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame (when it was in Amsterdam) was … lacking. The Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota was solid and I enjoyed my time there. The Little League Museum in Williamsport was excellent.

There are others I need to see – football, hockey, Rock and Roll etc. – but being spoiled with Cooperstown sometimes makes it tough when visiting others.

Springfield delivered.

That's a championship ring!

That’s a championship ring!

Let me preface this by saying while I don’t dislike basketball, it’s also not my favorite sport. I went into this with lower expectations (based on a few of the recent Halls I have visited) and I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did it do a nice job with history, but there is a lot of interactive activities and a lot about the modern game, too.

On top of it all – it covers not only professional, but college and other amateur basketball. I really like that as it shows the history in more ways than say the NBA.

The layout of the Hall was nice. I liked a lot of the artifacts. It told a pretty good story with the history of the game. That’s always a good thing. I liked that there was a media/broadcast area, but would have liked to have seen that expanded a little bit more.

An older score book.

An older score book.

The bottom floor of the Hall has a basketball court where people were consistently shooting hoops, which made sense. There were a few other interactive things throughout the Hall, which is a good thing. Sometimes kids just don’t want to stroll around the historical parts, so this gives them a break.

One of my favorite areas was where they had information about coaches. Very cool stuff.

There were a few cons, though. The artifacts on the top floor (Hall of Famers) weren’t always in the best way. There’s room in some of the cases where they could move something higher to let people get a better look or photograph. It’s disappointing when something looks like it’s fallen off a holder, or could be moved up higher and it’s just kind of there.

Though I understand – and appreciate – how the Hall of Famers were presented, having them all well above people makes it hard to see them. Looking up constantly isn’t very comfortable. And it appears that unlike other Hall of Fames, there are no plaques or busts etc., for the Hall of Famers. Though I liked how it was presented with information low to be able to read, I like the elegance and such of having something that feels more “eternity” when it comes to a Hall of Famer. The Plaque Gallery in Cooperstown, for example, is a spot I always spend considerable time in when I visit there.

In the end, I did enjoy the Hall and the price tag (about $21 with an AAA discount) wasn’t too bad, all things considered. There was plenty of parking and it wasn’t too hard to get to, even with all the construction in the area. If you are a fan of sports history, or like basketball, I’d definitely recommend making the stop if you are nearby.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: My world, Sports Tagged With: basketball, basketball hall of fame, hoops, hoops hall, james naismith, naismith memorial basketball hall of fame

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Notes from my noodle: Mar. 15

March 15, 2013

It’s been quite a while since I did one of these, so it seemed like a good as time as any.

To lead off, this weekend is St. Patrick’s Day. On that beautiful day, I’ll travel down to New Jersey to hit up a disc golf tournament. This is a tournament I look forward to every year because of how clean it’s run and how fun it is.

I’m ready for some disc golf this weekend!

The March O’ St. Pat’s Madness is likely one of only two or three PDGA tournaments I’ll play in this year, so I’m excited to see the weather should at least be decent.

The other blog I run, RattlingChains.com, is also taking part as a sponsor of the event. So it’s neat to have that be part of it as well.

I’ve actually had the chance to get out and throw a few times, lately, too. I think if I can just kind of plug along and stay calm and have fun, I have a chance — to not place last!

In the end, it’s my hope this is a sign spring really is coming. Hopefully, anyway.

****

Last weekend, I was contacted by a newspaper to cover a basketball game.

I won’t lie — basketball is one of my least-favorite sports to cover. It’s probably because I’ve never been a huge fan of the game. I don’t hate basketball, but I’d rather cover other sports.

Still, when money is calling…

It’s still fun to see a byline on a story I’ve written.

So I covered a sectional championship girls game. It was a sloppy game, but the end result was pretty exciting. The final four minutes really made the game something to remember. One of the teams scored on a three-pointer to tie it with under a minute to play. Moments later, the other team came down and responded with a wide-open three to take the lead for good.

And the best part about small-school basketball? The crowds were huge. And loud. And exciting.

After the game, I did my interviews and and soon after wrote the story. It was kind of nice tapping away at a story. I sent it in and all was good. But the next day, when this paper came out (a Sunday paper), I won’t lie — it was still quite a cool rush to see a byline on a story.

Even after my last stop at a newspaper — despite a sour ending — I still get a kick out of bylines. It’s a nice feeling to see your name on something done, so I’m glad I had the chance. And I’ll appreciate the check even more!

****

OK, people, I try — note try — to eat as healthy as I can. And, for the most part, I avoid fast food.

But this time of year is hard.

Shamrock shakes rule!

Why, you may ask?

The Shamrock Shake! I absolutely love this time of year at McDonald’s when they bring these bad boys out. I’ve been a fan of Shamrock Shakes for years and I usually limit myself to two or so a year. They are, after all, filled with sugar!

I’m at three this year. I know, bad me.

But they are so damn good.

I do wish they’d go back to the old-school way of doing things — in the paper cups with the shake already mixed. It’s not the same in these plastic cups and adding the mint mix.

It’s still pretty good though.

This year, I’ve also resorted to having them done without the whipped cream and cherry, which cuts out some calories and sugar.

Anyway, the ones I’ve had this year have been fantastic. I figure on one more this year and then I’ll let them go away for another year. If you haven’t had one, I’d encourage you to get one before they are gone for the year!

****

I’ll finish this post talking about beer.

As many of you may know, I’m learning how to homebrew. I have an Irish Stout finished and I think it came out really well. And with St. Patrick’s Day coming up…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hoohaaphotos/8560117238/in/photostream

I’ve truly enjoyed my Kiss Me Arse Irish Stout.

I’ve had some luck so far. The three that have been bottled and tried already have done really well. They’ve each received pretty good and honest reviews from friends. Nothing over the top, yet, but all pretty decent.

I also have an Irish Red bottled. As of today, it’s gone through that cycle and I can put one in the fridge to try it. Maybe that will be the beer to try when I get back from Jersey on Sunday?

It’s Irish, after all.

It’s been a fun process and I’ve slowly been stepping up from the easy process to a little harder. It’s been a heap of fun and I hope it continues.

Only time will tell.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend and if you are out celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, remember to have a driver and be careful out there!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: Beer, Disc golf, Home Brewing, My world, Notes from my noodle, Writing Tagged With: basketball, beer, covering a game, freelancing, homebrew, homebrewed beer, newspapers, notes from my noodle, shamrock shake, writing

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Returning to the dance

March 10, 2011

For the first time in the 21-year history of the NJCAA Division III men’s basketball championship, it wasn’t held in my hometown and at my alma mater.

And, of course, my college qualified this year for the first time since 2003.

So I decided to head down to the tournament today, which is being held at Sullivan County CC, about an hour ride. It was tough to see the tournament at a different school, but kind of cool to just slip in, watch a game and leave.

Playing some ball at nationals

Delhi brought a good crowd, too, which was nice to see. I still would have loved to have seen the tournament still be in town and had Delhi been the 8 p.m. game. The place would have been rocking.

Ahhh well.

Needless to say, the Broncos went cold for the final 10-12 minutes. They watched a 41-40 lead evaporate and fell, 66-49.They have two more games in the consolation bracket, but no chance of a national title. Still, it was a solid season.

Get a TO, baby!

Sorry about the quality of the photos — it was via my cell phone.

I left soon after the game ending, hoping to beat any flooding our area might get. I did so successfully, which is nice.

Speaking of basketball…

I’ll be losing a day of my unemployment this week as I am freelancing for a paper Saturday at a state quarterfinal. It’s the only other daily that is somewhat sold in our area, so thankfully I know a little about the teams that I will be covering. It will be good to be out writing something, too. I’ve been writing cover letters, resumes and things like that (besides the blog), so it will be nice to see a game and write again.

Though newspapers aren’t my focus for the remainder of my career, I’ll always look to freelance when I can. I still love the byline!

More later!

Filed Under: My world, Sports Tagged With: basketball, broncos, delhi, men's basketball, njcaa, njcaa division III national tournament, suny delhi

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hoohaa29

Writer who loves images just as much as words! In search of perfectly poured pints of Guinness and great hot dogs. Find me on twitter @softball29.

I guess the April Fool's joke is on us, Mother Nat I guess the April Fool's joke is on us, Mother Nature? Oh .. ha ha ha.
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I also guess this is why hitting back roads to work is good -- you can stop and take a photo and not worry about anybody coming (usually)! Main roads around here are fine for now, but it's definitely quite picturesque on the lawns/trees etc.
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#snow #winterspring #springwinter #april #blackandwhite #photography #photooftheday #goawaywinter #love #instagood #picoftheday #bestoftheday #nature #backroad #road
This was pretty relaxing and fun. #lego #legos #ea This was pretty relaxing and fun. #lego #legos #easter #legoeasterbunny #legoeaster #relax #hobby #fun
It shouldn’t be so hard to find a trash can... # It shouldn’t be so hard to find a trash can... #litter #mask #masks #blackandwhite #streetphotography
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softball29P.J.@softball29·
11 Apr

I mean, if you hold a #Wrestlemania in an open stadium... eventually rain delays had to come, right? 🤣

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RealKentMurphyKent@RealKentMurphy·
7 Apr

28 years ago The Sandlot was released and this iconic scene was brought into our lives.

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softball29P.J.@softball29·
2 Apr

New blog post: Photo Blogging Challenge (March 2021): Eight #photobloggingchallenge #pbc #challenge #blogging https://hoohaa.com/?p=15201

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