12/21/1891
 

According to bing, Naismith's game was first played today. Happy anniversary, Basketball!

Some members of this forum took issue and thought he should have used washtubs instead of peach baskets. At the time, MTD's attic contained just old trunks and unused furniture, not his archives, and BillyMac had already sent Naismith 500 posts (postcards at 1¢ apiece). Ilyazhito, although not yet born, offered his opinion on 17 ways to improve the game.

Oh, and I was lurking in the balcony at the game.

Today's trivia question: Of all of the Head Coaches of men's basketball at the University of Kansas (my mother's alma mater), only one HC had a losing record for his time at KU? Who was he?

MTD, Sr.

I'll bite: the good doctor himself.

I Got Next Takes On A Whole New Meaning ...
 

James Naismith was a fraud. He didn't invent basketball. It was played over a thousand years ago by the ancient Maya in what's now Cancun.

The rules were tough. The losing side’s speaking captain was sometimes killed and sacrificed to the gods, often by decapitation (with the head often being used as the "ball" in the next game).

Here's a video tape made by ancient aliens. He's out of view most of the time, but that's Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. (with the black and white feathers) officiating. He was vacationing in Cancun with his lovely wife and decided to work a few games.

https://youtu.be/jKvQjgC9sIY

Iirc, it was the Mayans where the winning captain (or whatever the called it) was the sacrifice—it was a high honor.

It's The White Stones All The Way Around ...
 

No, it was the captain of the losing team. In his pregames, when Mark T. DeNucci, Sr. asked who the speaking captains were, nobody raised their hands.

Once, a captain foolishly replied by raising his hand and the other captain said, "Have you lost your head?".

It's all true.