MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[diehardfan]

The only difference between my lifestyle here and there is that I'm super tan thanks to being outdoors all the time, and will probably die of skin cancer at 40. 

But that's OK. Who wants to live long enough to see that advanced and decrepit age, anyway?

(makes deadpan face) Exactly!!!! Who wants to be that old and out of touch??? HoopsFan understands how it is.  8)



You know I didn't mean it that way silly! The whole point of me saying 40 was because it was a ridiculously young age to die.  

Either way, I should probably start wearing sunscreen a little more when I'm out hiking or at the beach... I need to keep up that illusion that I am still the youngest one around despite my quickly developing laugh lines.  Greg, what was that moniker Kevin Bloomstrom used to post when he transfered to Westmont again? Sun... something.... right? 

[Ralph Turner]

Since this was the World Cup board, I will post this here.

I may have been spending too much time of these boards, (LOL) because I only saw the "Seal Dribble" (perfected by Brazil's Kerlon--don't all great Brazilian footballers go by one name?) today.

The "Seal Dribble" is the next big thing!  Here is the link to the video clips.  Please click the links listed under "Video".

http://www.futebolthebrazilianwayoflife.com/new_kerlon.asp

[The Roop]

Seems to me if it catches on that Brazil should be labeled the Grinnell of World Cup Soccer.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Ralph, THANKS!  I'd been searching for the video and struck out.  As he puts it, unless he messes up, no one can take the ball without fouling him - I wonder when a basketballer will invent some technique with that attribute?!

[The Roop]

Curly Neal

[Ralph Turner]

Seems to me if it catches on that Brazil should be labeled the Grinnell of World Cup Soccer.

Respectfully Roop, I will not be surprised if this doesn't cause a great crisis in Soccer.  This Manuever irrevocably alters the sport.  In fact, the mauever taunts the aggressive defender to try a high kick.

The only thing that I can see for Soccer and FIFA to do is to add a new law prescribing the "Double Dribble".  One can bounce the ball once off the head, and once only.

[titan2000]

although I'm having a tough time believing someone would leave Hawaii for Kenosha (no offense meant to anyone from Kenosha).

Dan, shame on you for saying this without ever attending one of Kenosha's legendary luaus. The deep-fried and batter-dipped pineapple, and the poiburgers, are to die for. And the hula squad from the Kenosha Chrysler engine plant has won DaimlerChrysler's Employee Ethnic Dance Contest each of the past three years. Of course, I think that the judges are unduly influenced by the fact that the hula squad's grass skirts are made out of shredded automobile floor mats.

Sager, that is way above average for you.  You induced me to finish reading the whole post, a rarity once I see that ship or whatever it is on the left.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Ralph,

You MAY be right, but

A. I can't see that many players would be able to do it (I think the guy is a 'freak of nature'), and

B. I think it can be countered by defenses using the equivalent of 'charging'.

I suspect it is an attention-getting stunt, with nothing that need concern the rule-writers.

Though it IS pretty cool!

I imagine this World Cup will say whether or not I am wrong.

To those awaiting d3 references in Roger Kahn's "Boys of Summer", it is frustrating when a book has no index.  I'm having to re-read the entire book - so far I have that Charlie Dressen (manager of 'Da Bums' in '52 and '53, the focus of the book) was from Decatur, and played for the Staleys (precurser of Da Bears) before he played for MLB.  More later (I know there were at least Elmhurst and DePauw references.)

[kenoshamark]

Greg,  Thanks for posting the article about Tolefree's friend, Brandon Morris.   Brandon is really a great kid.  My son had the opportunity to work with him at a couple of local camps and he really looked up to him as a person.   Both he and Tolefree play in local leagues that include a number of ex-Carthage players including Antoine McDaniels and Rob Garnes.

Advoice, When was the last time you saw Tolefree play?  I would still stand by my statement that he would have an impact in the league.  Maybe not a first team all-conference player but he could be an all-conference type of player.

[Ralph Turner]

Ralph,

You MAY be right, but

A. I can't see that many players would be able to do it (I think the guy is a 'freak of nature'), and...

And every 12 year old kid in Brazil in trying to perfect that move tonight.

(In perfect Portuguese...)
"Joao, come in! It's your bedtime!"
"Aw, Mama. Just 15 more minutes.  I need to practice my 'seal dribble'!"

Every American kid now does the standard scissors kick, the Cruyff turn, etc.  Those were breakthroughs in their own time.

Another way to look at the development of a skill is to see how manuevers in ice skating are learned and perfected.  IMHO, the seal dribble is just the next tool for the outstanding ball handler.

I know I was quite emphatic about the need to evaluate the seal dribble, but it irrevocably changes the nature of the game.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Ralph,

I think you may have me - since I came to the game so late, I don't understand how they can do other dribbles so well, but my elder son and his friends can keep it going  almost indefinitely, and pass at will to someone else.

Having coached youth soccer for a decade (learning as I went), I am even more disappointed that soccer didn't exist in central Iliiniois in the 50s.  Knowing my strengths and weaknesses athletically growing up (mainly weaknesses, though many could have been addressed if I was 8 inches taller!), soccer was my ideal game.

[Gregory Sager]

Sager, that is way above average for you.  You induced me to finish reading the whole post, a rarity once I see that ship or whatever it is on the left.

... henceforth known as "the Titan2000 Warning Craft."

To those awaiting d3 references in Roger Kahn's "Boys of Summer", it is frustrating when a book has no index. I'm having to re-read the entire book - so far I have that Charlie Dressen (manager of 'Da Bums' in '52 and '53, the focus of the book) was from Decatur, and played for the Stanleys (precurser of Da Bears) before he played for MLB. More later (I know there were at least Elmhurst and DePauw references.)

The Bears were the Staleys, not the Stanleys. They were founded in 1919 as the company team of the A.E. Staley Co. in Decatur, an agroindustrial corporation. A year later George Halas bought the team from the Staley Co. and brought them into the nascent NFL that he helped found that year in a meeting held in an automobile showroom in Canton, OH. Halas moved the team to Chicago a year later, and in 1922 changed the name of the Chicago Staleys to the Chicago Bears.

The current mascot of the team is named "Staley the Bear".

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I really enjoyed the defender just kicking him in the face to stop the play; that was classic.  However, there are some (well one) easy way to get by this within the rules.  Shoulder to shoulder contact is acceptible if you're going for the ball.  Just run up alongside the guy and lunge at his head with yours.  You don't actually need to hit the ball, just make an honest attempt and knock him off balance.  I think the helplessness of the defenders in the video is just a reaction to the suprise of encountering it for the first time.

This guy isn't even on the World Cup roster anyway, so he won't even be playing.

[Ralph Turner]

I really enjoyed the defender just kicking him in the face to stop the play; that was classic.  However, there are some (well one) easy way to get by this within the rules.  Shoulder to shoulder contact is acceptible if you're going for the ball.  Just run up alongside the guy and lunge at his head with yours.  You don't actually need to hit the ball, just make an honest attempt and knock him off balance.  I think the helplessness of the defenders in the video is just a reaction to the suprise of encountering it for the first time.

This guy isn't even on the World Cup roster anyway, so he won't even be playing.

But isn't head-butting a foul?  Unless you are 10 inches taller, any "shoulder-to-shoulder" is going to result in a head-butt.

Maybe Hiker Jim will weigh in on this.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

The defender in the video did a good job of knocking him off balance, but he did so by blatantly running into the guy's chest.  You could hit him shoulder to shoulder and make an attempt with your head and not actually make head-to-head contact.  The shoulder contact should be sufficient to knock the ball down, unless of course he's superhuman, which is an option we've yet to rule out.