The National Basketball Association is a multi-billion-dollar industry driven by Black athletes with global influence. But as our guest Theresa Runstedtler argues, the success of today’s NBA players rests on the labor activism of 1970s NBA stars who fought with...
basketball
Will the Nuggets be the last old ABA team to make it to an NBA final?
It sure looks like it. In 1976, four teams from the American Basketball Association joined the National Basketball Association. Learn more about the ABA and the merger here or you can listen to our forthcoming podcast interview with Theresa Runstedtler,...
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on LeBron James breaking his NBA scoring record
At his Substack, Kareem sets the record straight on a lot of the rumors. He is happy LeBron broke his scoring record. He corrects his old teammate Magic Johnson. He says he is more focused right now on his activism...
Why Oral Roberts basketball is expecting a miracle
They may need a miracle on Saturday when they play third-seeded Arkansas in the round of 16 at the 2021 NCAA basketball tournament. Here is Baylor University sports historian Paul Putz and Oral Roberts biographer Jonathan Root at Christianity Today:...
The two largest evangelical universities in the world have made it to the NCAA basketball tournament
Some of you may remember back in April 2018 when Grand Canyon University, a for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, surpassed Liberty University as the “world’s largest Christian university.” Jerry Falwell Jr., who was then the president of Liberty, did not...
Valparaiso University drops the Crusader mascot. My daughter approves.
When I was a Lilly Fellow in Humanities and the Arts at Valparaiso University we attended almost every Valparaiso Crusader home basketball game during the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 seasons. As a faculty member, we got free admission and the ARC...
What is going on at Bluefield College?
Bluefield College is a Christian college located in Bluefield, Virginia. (Bluefield College is not to be confused with Bluefield State College, a Historical Black College and University). It is a member of the Council of Christian Colleges & Universities. Recently,...
Asia Todd, a Liberty University Basketball Player and Member of the Atlantic-Sun All Freshman Team, Transfers After Falwell Jr.’s Racist Tweet
Asia Todd announced that she is leaving Liberty University’s women’s basketball team because of the university administration’s “racial insensitivities.” She is most likely referring to this tweet from Liberty president Jerry Falwell Jr.: Falwell Jr. has since apologized for the...
Olajuwon, Duncan, and McHale Were the Best Pure Post-Players in NBA History
Yes, they were better than O’Neal, Chamberlain, Russell, Abdul-Jabbar, Ewing, Walton, Unseld, Reed, Robinson, Mikan, Webber, Hayes, and (Karl) Malone. Discuss. I could watch these highlight videos all day: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrJxWXbGD-s&w=560&h=315] [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWXCu1Dv8Mo&w=560&h=315] [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYMpOrXQnac&w=560&h=315]...
Should We “Be Like Mike?”
Many of you watched the ten-part ESPN documentary, “The Last Dance.” It covered the career of Michael Jordan and his six championship runs with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. I was riveted to the television set for the last...
Is it Time to Replace Jerry West on the NBA Logo?
If there was ever a time for a change:...
Kobe Bryant’s Oscar-Winning Short Film
Here is “Dear Basketball”: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziUc0OCDmoU&w=560&h=315]...
The Last Dance
This looks amazing. Watch the last 45 seconds for the star-studded lineup. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Peh9Yqf1GXc&w=560&h=315]...
UVA Men’s Basketball Team Declines White House Invitation
The defending national champs will not be going to the White House. Here is a taste of Mike Barber’s reporting at the Richmond Times-Dispatch: CHARLOTTESVILLE — After winning the national championship, the Virginia basketball team won’t be following the tradition of...
Tony Bennett, Evangelicalism, and University of Virginia Basketball
Thomas Jefferson, the founder of the University of Virginia, was no evangelical. But he was a champion of religious liberty and had a lot of support among Virginia evangelicals when he ran for president in 1800. So it is unclear...
Song of the Day: “Hills and Valleys” (Congrats UVA)
Compliments of University of Virginia coach Tony Bennett who played this song for his team before tonight’s win: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4rRCjrAyCs&w=560&h=315] Wells is a Christian artist. Bennett is an evangelical Christian....
Out of the Zoo: “March Madness”
Annie Thorn is a first-year history major from Kalamazoo, Michigan and our intern here at The Way of Improvement Leads Home. As part of her internship she will be writing a weekly column for us titled “Out of the Zoo.” It will...
Sportswriter Compares the Denver Nuggets to Bruce Springsteen
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsADQpw-dD8&w=560&h=315] I’m not sure what to make of this. Writer Mike Olson seems happy that his team has such a “hungry heart.” Here is a taste: Love him or hate him, Bruce Springsteen is notorious for his dedication to...
George Gervin and Pete Maravich Playing H-O-R-S-E
I believe that is Don Criqui with the call: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCk7SjkSE4c&w=560&h=315]...
Doris Burke: A New Jersey Girl Makes Good
If you are a basketball fan–especially an NBA fan–you know about Doris Burke. You may recognize her as the sideline reporter during ABC’s coverage of the NBA finals. But did you know she grew up on the New Jersey shore,...