[Sportsandrec] Blind Basketball

Sat May 9 02:04:43 UTC 2009

I posted it for people to see, and possibly discuss.  I was not 
taking a position on it.

Dave

At 11:14 PM 5/7/2009, you wrote:
>Yea man, I don't think this reflects well on blindness as a whole.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: sportsandrec-bounces at nfbnet.org
>[mailto:sportsandrec-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Joe Shaw
>Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:25 PM
>To: Sports and Recreation for the Blind Discussion List
>Subject: Re: [Sportsandrec] Blind Basketball
>
>This is the second time I have seen this article and left the bat on my
>shoulder the first.  I am not sure if this article is posative or negative.
>It's a feel good story and great fodder for a column no doubt but does this
>story reflect well on blindness? I am not sure. I believe this is a story of
>
>how a dude loves his brother but can you not teach most dogs to do a trick
>if you work wwith it enough? I like Rick Riley as he is a good read but I am
>
>curious why two strong Federationists posted this to our sports and rec
>list? Is this story a victory in the area of blindness? He may even ask a
>girl to prom now. Did it take success as the desegnated free-throw shooter
>to give this young man the confidence he needed to live his life? This kid
>needs the NFB (smile)
>"All I can say is that my life is pretty plain" "I like watchin the puddles
>gather rain" No Rain Blind Melon
>Joe Shaw
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "David B Andrews (by way of David Andrews<dandrews at visi.com>)"
><David.B.Andrews at state.mn.us>
>To: <sportsandrec at nfbnet.org>; <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 4:27 PM
>Subject: [Sportsandrec] Blind Basketball
>
>
> >
> > Tuesday, March 10, 2009
> > Updated: March 11, 9:24 AM ET
> > Life of Reilly
> > By Rick Reilly
> > ESPN The Magazine
> >
> >
> >
> > Matt Steven is blind, but that didn't stop him from being a hoops hero.
> >
> >
> > A few seconds left. The game teeters on these two free throws. The shooter
>
> > gulps. The packed gym goes silent, save for the tapping of a white cane on
>
> > the back of the rim. That's right. The shooter's brother is under the
> > hoop, rapping a cane on the rim. That's because the shooter, Matt Steven,
> > is blind.
> > So why is a blind kid in a competitive CYO game for sighted high schoolers
>
> > in Upper Darby, Pa.? Because he doesn't like to miss anything --
> > especially free throws.
> > Matt, a senior, had been on the St. Laurence CYO team for a year and never
>
> > played in a game -- never expected to. "He just likes being on the team,"
> > says Matt's brother and coach, Joe. Matt shoots free throws every
> > practice, though, making about half. And that's what gave Joe a crazy,
> > unthinkable, wonderful idea.
> > Before a charity tourney this past February, Joe asked the other teams if
> > Matt could shoot all of St. Laurence's free throws. Amazingly, they
> > agreed. So did the refs. A blind kid was going to be his team's designated
>
> > shooter. Hey, it's still better than Shaq.
> > Did that make Matt nervous? "Nah," he says. "I shoot 'em all the time!"
> > The first game, Matt came in and -- to the crowd's shock -- made his first
>
> > two. He was escorted back to the bench, where he grinned as if he had just
>
> > kissed the head cheerleader. He was 4-for-8 that day.
> > Matt doesn't talk much -- he has a stutter -- so when Joe got home late
> > after the game, their mom, Joan, asked, "Any idea why Matt's been smiling
> > all night?"
> > "Oh yeah," Joe yawned. "He shot all our free throws tonight. Going to
> > tomorrow night, too."
> > Joan about dropped the spaghetti. Does she like it when Matt rides a bike?
>
> > Ice-skates? Plays soccer? Sort of. She also dreads the day he comes home
> > hurting.
> > But Matt already knows what it's like to be hurting. Hurting is being born
>
> > with two permanently detached retinas. Hurting is having your left eye
> > removed in the fifth grade and the right in the sixth. Hurting is when
> > they send you to a high school for the blind even though the last thing
> > you want is to be around only other blind kids. Matt wants to be around
> > other kids. He aches to be treated normal. Not "He does so great for a
> > blind kid!" Just normal.
> > That's why the free throws meant so much. He'd begged his parents to let
> > him transfer to a regular school -- Monsignor Bonner. And he'd begged his
> > brother to let him join his friends on the CYO team. And then, for the
> > first time in his life, he was going to be one of them.
> > Which brings us to Matt's moment in that second game. He'd missed his
> > first six free throws, and St. Laurence was down eight to St. Philomena.
> > Then a full-court press pulled the team to within one with 10 seconds
> > left. That's when St. Laurence's best shooter -- 6'4" senior Ryan Haley --
>
> > was fouled in the lane. Surely, with the game on the line, the team stud
> > would shoot his own free throws, right?
> > Up in the stands, Matt's mom was hoping: Please don't make him shoot
> > these.
> > And Haley really was going to shoot them, until he looked over at Matt on
> > the bench. "And I thought, He comes to every game, he never misses a
> > practice, he cheers us on. He deserves a shot. I mean, it's everyone's
> > dream to make those shots."
> > So out comes Matt. And for the first time, the St. Phil fans aren't
> > rooting for him. In fact, they look like they'd prefer that he shoot
> > straight into the hot dog table. "That might have been the best moment of
> > all for Matt," recalls Joe. "For once, he was just normal."
> > Now the ball bounces under Matt's hand. Now the picture shakes in Mom's
> > viewfinder. Now the rim pings from the cane.
> > Matt lets go. Off the backboard and through. Tie game. Crowd goes berserk.
>
> > Says Joe: "I think it helped that he's blind. He couldn't see the crowd,
> > the scoreboard, his teammates' faces."
> > The crowd stills again. Dribble. Tap. Shoot. Bank. Swish! Up by one. The
> > gym windows nearly break.
> > St. Phil's players forget to give Matt time to get off the court. They
> > race the ball up. Nine guys are running around Matt, who's trying to find
> > a way to the bench. Make that 10, since Ryan's already off the bench and
> > pressing. Make that 11, since Joe -- tears in his eyes -- is trying to get
>
> > to Matt. Chaos. Joy. Wonder.
> > St. Phil's desperate shot misses. Game over.
> > Since then, Matt's life has gone all kinds of crazy, unthinkably
> > wonderful. His teammates call him Shooter. A girl says she heard all about
>
> > him. He's even thinking about asking somebody to prom.
> > I hope she says yes. Best blind date of her life.
> > Love the column, hate the column, got a better idea? Go here (
> >
><http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/mailbagESPN?event_id=20928>http://proxy.espn.
>go.com/chat/mailbagESPN?event_id=20928
> >  ). Want more Life of Reilly? Then check out the archive (
> > <http://www.espn.com/reilly>http://www.espn.com/reilly ). Be sure to check
>
> > out Rick's latest project "Go Fish." (
> >
><http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/reillygofish>http://sports.espn.go.com/es
>pnmag/reillygofish
> >  )
> >
> >
> >
> >
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