Basketball World

Earl Manigault (September 7, 1944 – May 15, 1998) was an American street basketball player famous under his nickname of "The Goat."

• Early life and career

Earl Manigault was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and raised in Harlem, New York. He grew up playing basketball and practiced constantly. Manigault set the NYC junior high school record by scoring 57 points in a game in the late 1950s. While attending Benjamin Franklin High School[disambiguation needed], Manigault's life took a fateful turn when he began associating with groups that would eventually lead to his expulsion. He started using drugs and skipping classes. He was the star of his high school team and seemed destined for greatness in the National Basketball Association. Manigault was eventually kicked out of school after being caught smoking marijuana. He finished high school at a private academy- Laurinburg Institute North Carolina.
He chose Johnson C. Smith University. However, Manigault only lasted one semester due to his constant problems with school and continuous quibbles with the coach. The nickname "Goat" has several proposed origins. In an article for the New York Times, Earl himself stated that he got the nickname, because a junior high school teacher kept pronouncing his name Mani-Goat. Other theories state that by the time Manigault was in high school, he was known as "The Goat" because of his quiet demeanor. Another states that the nickname started by confusion over Manigault's last name; people thought Manigault referred to himself as Earl Nanny Goat, so he became "The Goat". However, the most popular belief is they call him The Goat as for the acronym for Greatest Of All Time. Although it is unclear how the name was dubbed, Greatest of All Time is the idea that lasted.
He was mentored by Holcombe Rucker.Manigault was particularly famous for his leaping abilities on the basketball court, including his signature move - the double dunk. He would dunk the ball, catch it with his left hand, switch the ball to his right hand, bring it back around to the top of the basket and jam it through again, all done while still in the air on a single jump, and without hanging on the rim.Like other street basketballers of the day such as Jackie Jackson, Earl was reportedly able to touch the top of the backboard to retrieve quarters and dollar bills, part of "elaborate innovations and tricks" elite street players of the era performed before games to help build their reputations.He was only 6'1", but wore ankle weights constantly during practice as a child which helped him to build up tremendous jumping ability. He once dunked two-handed during a game from near the foul line over two players much taller than himself (Vaughn Harper 6'6", Val Reed 6'8").He once reverse dunked 36 times in a row to win a $60 bet.
But to prove dunking wasn't his only skill, he would practice hundreds of shots each day, making him a deadly long-range shooter as well. Manigault played with some of the best players of his day, such as Earl Monroe, Connie Hawkins, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who went as far as calling Manigault the greatest player he had ever seen. When Abdul-Jabbar finished his career with the Los Angeles Lakers and had his number retired at the Los Angeles Forum, he was asked who was the greatest player he had played with or against. After a long silence, he answered, "That would have to be 'The Goat'."

• Later years

Manigault returned to Harlem and developed a heroin addiction. He served sixteen months in prison in 1969 and 1970 for drug possession and another term of two years from 1977 to 1979 for a failed robbery attempt so he could buy heroin. After this prison term, Manigault quit heroin and started the "Walk Away From Drugs" tournament for kids in Harlem to prevent them from making the same mistakes he had made. Much of his later years were dedicated to working with kids on the court.
Manigault is quoted in the New York Times article 'A Fallen King Revisits His Realm' as saying "For every Michael Jordan , there's an Earl Manigault. We all can't make it. Somebody has to fall. I was the one."

Manigault died from congestive heart failure in 1998 at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City.

In 1996, HBO aired a TV movie about Manigault's life entitled Rebound: The Legend of Earl "The Goat" Manigault, starring Don Cheadle in the title role.

I will post download link and synopsis of this movie..

Street Ball is basketball with more relaxed rules. It's been played in cities since basketball began. Since there's no ref it can get a little rough. It's always been that way. For over a hundred years.
Taking more then two steps is permitted, because it allows players to dunk the ball better. Double dribbles are also allowed to pull off tricks.
"If it ain't tight, it ain't right!" A foul is not called unless it is flagrant or results in serious injury. "No blood, no foul!" There's no free throws unless specified, so if you play, watch out, because if you really get hurt, there's no free shots! Official basketball games are in an arena, but in street ball you play out in the sun, even if it's raining! You have to play or you forfeit the game. Street ball was designed for people who want to take their game to the next level!

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Streetball

• About Streetball

Streetball is a city game, played on playgrounds and in gyms around the world. Streetball also does not involve a rigorous schedule; participants may choose to play ten games in one day or one game in ten days. Usually only one side of the court is used, but otherwise the rules of the game are very similar to those of professional basketball. The number of participants in a game, or a run, may range from two players, known as one-on-one (or mano-a-mano), to two full teams of five each.
Streetball is a popular game worldwide, and some cities in the United States have organized streetball programs, such as midnight basketball, as a way for young people to keep out of trouble and avoid problems such as juvenile crime and drugs.

• Rules and Features

While the rules of Streetball are essentially/theoretically the same as normal basketball, Streetball places a higher emphasis on one-on-one matchups between the offense and defender. Often the attacker will perform numerous flashy moves while attempting to drive to the basket, including crossovers, jab steps, and other fake-out tricks. Streetball often features spectacular dunks and alley oops, impressive ball handling, and trash talking. Also featured in streetball, is moves. A move is either used to trick the defender to look away, or just to confuse. There are many different moves in the streetball world. One of the most known is "The Boomerang", which is invented by Phillip "Hotsauce" Champion.
Certain rule violations in traditional basketball, such as carrying, do not apply in Streetball. Style is often the determining factor in what is and is not legal in a Streetball game - if it looks good, it's not against the rules. In this sense, Streetball is as much performance art as it is an athletic contest.
However rules vary widely from court to court. Almost invariably a "Call your own foul" rule is in effect, and a player who believes he has been fouled, simply needs to call out "Foul!", and play will be stopped, with the ball awarded to the fouled player's team. The etiquette of what rightly constitutes a foul, as well as the permissible amount of protestation against such a call, are the products of local social norms, as well as of the level of seriousness of a particular game. An outsider at a playground should closely observe the status quo in these matters. Some areas where different interpretations of rules are likely to occur are:
Travelling--whether a step is permissible prior to dribbling, and how many more than the nominally permitted one and a half steps should be allowed at the end of the dribble.
Hand- (and leg)-checking on defense--how much can one touch the person one defends and how much physical pressure may one apply in so doing.
A common feature to Streetball is the "pick up game". To participate in most Streetball games across the world one simply go to an outdoor court where people are playing, indicate a wish to participate, and once all the players who were at the court before you have played you will get to pick your team out of the players available and play a game. Many games play up to 7, 10 or 11 points with all baskets counting as one point (sometimes shots beyond the 3 point arc count as 2 points). Ballers often play "win by 2" or "win by 3," which means that the team has to win by a margin of at least 2 or 3 clear points. Sometimes a local "dead end" limit applies; for instance a game may be played to 7, win by 3, with a 9 point dead end, which would mean scores of 7-5, 8-6, 9-7, or 9-8, would all be final; while with scores of 7-6 or 8-7, play would continue. The most common streetball game is 3-on-3 played half court though often 5-on-5 full court can be found.
A unique streetball feature is having an "MC" (from the term, "Master of Ceremonies") call the game. The MC is on the court during the game and is often very close to the players (but makes an effort to not interfere with the game) and uses a microphone to provide game commentary for the fans.

• Variations

A popular variation of street basketball is the "21" game. "21" is played most often with 3-9 players on a half court and is a "every player for himself" game, with much looser rules than even streetball. Rules are fluid, often differing geographically or even by court. Sometimes it may seem that there are no rules. A very challenging game, it is popular because it allows an odd number of people to play, unlike regular basketball or other variants.

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Streetball History

DALLAS -- With the clock ticking down, NBA owners and their representatives are still hoping for a last-second miracle, but are preparing for a worst-case outcome that could produce the league's first labor lockout in 13 years.

The two sides have agreed to meet one last time Thursday in New York before the Thursday midnight deadline when the collective bargaining agreement expires.
While there was no "lockout vote" per se taken at Tuesday's Board of Governors meeting at the Hilton Anatole, NBA commissioner David Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver would not rule out the possibility of a shutdown.
"The owners authorized the labor-relations committee to do whatever steps were necessary to effectuate a new collective bargaining agreement," said Silver. "And so that committee has the full authority of all 30 teams to act in whatever way they deem appropriate."
Silver said that during the meeting that lasted nearly four hours, the board heard a presentation from the labor relations committee, led by San Antonio Spurs owner Peter Holt and a presentation from the revenue sharing committee, led by Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck.
The National Basketball Players Association has been urging the owners to implement revenue sharing as a way to offset what the league says is $300 million in losses among the 30 NBA teams.
"I think it's fair to say the revenue sharing will be considerably more robust after a new collective bargaining agreement is entered into," Stern said. "It's hard. We've discussed principles, ideas and the like. But it's hard to complete one without the other."
According to the owners, a new agreement must come first.
"We did talk about different forms of revenue sharing among the teams," said Silver. But in terms of the players, as we've said before, we've presented our financials ... and showed them our aggregate loss and made clear to them that given the aggregate loss among all teams, roughly $300 million for the season, we cannot possibly correct that problem through revenue sharing.
"It would only be sharing the small profit that the eight teams have among those 22 teams that already lose money. The net would still be a loss of $300 million no matter what we do. So while we've told the players we're happy to share with them our revenue-sharing discussions as they progress among the owners, it will not change the aggregate financial situation we find this league in."
Neither of the men would rule out an extension of the negotiating deadline if they deem some sign of progress is evident at Thursday's meeting in New York.
"Nothing in this world is absolute," Stern said. "We're not talking about likelihoods. We're looking forward to Thursday's meeting. That was the union's choice. We were prepared to go over the weekend."
Negotiations have stalled with the teams far apart on a "soft" salary cap, which was $58 million per team for the 2010-11 season. Under that deal, 57 percent of basketball-related income is designated for players salaries and the owners would like to reduce that to near 50 percent.
The players did not present a new proposal at the last meeting between the sides on Friday and the owners don't know if one will be forthcoming on Thursday.
"We don't know," said Stern. We have a meeting scheduled with them. And we don't know whether they will be making another proposal."
As the deadline draws near, both sides are staring into uncertainty that could affect the product on the court and the popularity of the league.
"Well, I sure would like to see us make a deal," Stern said. "Not making a deal should give everybody apprehension because the way to continue our growth is to come up with a deal that keeps our union as the highest-paid union in the world and gives all of our teams the opportunity to make a profit and makes us a more competitive league. That sounds like the tripod for a win-win-win.
"We'll have to see whether that's a possibility when we meet again with the players on Thursday. There's always time to make a deal."

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Lorenzo Charles, the muscular forward whose last-second dunk gave underdog North Carolina State a stunning win in the 1983 national college championship game, was killed Monday when a bus he was driving crashed along a highway, a company official said.

Elite Coach general manager Brad Jackson said Charles, 47, worked for the company and was driving one of its buses on Interstate 40. No passengers were aboard.
He grabbed Dereck Whittenburg's 30-foot shot and dunked it at the buzzer to give the Wolfpack a 54-52 win over heavy favorite Houston and its second national title, sending coach Jim Valvano spilling onto the court, scrambling for someone to hug in what has become one of the lasting images of the NCAA tournament.
Whittenburg was despondent when discussing his teammate and friend with The Associated Press.
"It's just an awful day," Whittenburg said. "An awful, awful day."
Charles secured his spot in N.C. State lore in the final moments of that game in Albuquerque, N.M., to cap off an improbable run to the championship. N.C. State entered the NCAA tournament with a 17-10 record, having beaten Virginia to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and an automatic berth into the national field. No one expected much.
"It's still kind of amazing to me that ... people are still talking about it," Charles said in an excerpt from his comments about the championship game on his N.C. State Web page. "I remember when (it) first happened, I figured I would have my 15 minutes of fame and that would be it. Here we are and it is still a conversational piece. I don't really think that was the only great Final Four finish that has been played since then, but for some reason people just single out that game and talk about it. Maybe because it was such a David and Goliath thing."
Police released little about the one-vehicle crash that took Charles' life. Video shows the windshield broken out with tree limbs sticking through the window frame. The rear wheels of the bus were on an embankment, leaving the right front tire elevated from the road.
Charles finished his college career two years after the championship win with 1,535 total points - 15th on the school's scoring list - and his .575 shooting percentage in 1985 remains a school record for seniors.
In the 1983 run, Charles hit two free throws with 23 seconds left in the West Regional finals against the Cavaliers to give the Wolfpack a 63-62 win and the spot in the Final Four.
Their semifinal win over Georgia sent them to the matchup with the Cougars, known as Phi Slamma Jamma in those years and led by stars Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon.
Michael Young, director of basketball operations at Houston, was a member of the team that let a national championship slip away. He told KRIV-TV in Houston that he's never quite gotten over Charles' heroics.
"For him to dunk the ball at that moment to win the game, it was one of the most heartbreaking moments I have ever felt in my whole career," Young said. "Twenty-eight years later, it's still with me. Every day somebody asks me about it. I thought I was going to get away with it today and then you called me. I'm very sorry to hear what happened."
Valvano also became famous for his emotional burst onto the court afterward, running around almost in disbelief. Valvano died in 1993 after his public fight with cancer.
NC State retired Charles' No. 43 jersey in 2008, the 25th anniversary of the championship.
Thurl Bailey, one of Charles' teammates on the championship team, said it's tough to accept that the player who made the game-winning dunk is gone.
"But I heard someone say, I was talking to them on the phone about this, that Jimmy V finally found somebody to hug," Bailey told WRAL-TV.
Current coach Mark Gottfried said his staff had just gotten acquainted with Charles and was saddened to hear the news.
"He holds a special place in Wolfpack history and in the hearts of generations of fans," Gottfried said in a statement. "We just reconnected with him last week and our staff was stunned to hear this terrible news."
ACC Commissioner John Swofford said Charles' play had an uplifting impact.
"As a former player, he made us believe in the amazing and all of us in the ACC send out our thoughts and prayers to his entire family," Swofford said in a statement.
Charles played one season in the NBA, averaging 3.4 points in 36 games with the Atlanta Hawks in 1985-86, and played internationally and in the Continental Basketball Association until 1999.
Spud Webb, who played with Charles at both NC State and then with the Hawks, remembered his friend Monday.
"We were friends, teammates and roommates over 28 years, and today I lost a very good friend in Lorenzo," Webb said in a statement. "He always had a big smile and a big laugh that I will always remember. He was a gentle giant."
A message left on a phone listed to Lorenzo Charles wasn't immediately returned Monday night.