Ball size...no, not that

[Mark Padgett]

While shopping at Costco the other day, I noticed they are selling a Wilson basketball. On the box, it says, "Official Size and Weight - 29.5"

Now I know that the official men's ball is 30" and the women's ball is 28.5". So what the heck ball is official at 29.5"?

Could this be the english measure equivalent of some metric FEEBLE, er I mean FIBA, ball?

Anybody know what's going on - or did Wilson just misprint the boxes and the balls?

Hey, maybe they're trying to save SKUs (a retail term) by making an "average" size ball?

BTW - Rainmaker (Juulie) and I did two games together today. In the second, team A was up by three (37-34) when they fouled B1 on a three pointer with 2 seconds to go (real smart - not!). The shot didn't go in, so B1 went to the line to shoot 3. She missed the first and made the second. On the third, she missed, but A1 violated (she entered the lane long after B1 had the ball) and I blew the whistle as soon as the shot came off the rim. It was too bad, because the ball came straight to the shooter and she had the opportunity to beat the clock with a wide open easy shot to tie. We reshot and B1 missed again, and the rebound was knocked away as the clock ran out.

Not a good game, but a close one.

Also BTW - I made the last foul call and a few moments earlier (7 seconds to go) I made an intentional foul call on B2 when she ran up to A2 and pushed her in the back with one hand. Coach B moaned about the call and I just told him to surprise everyone and read a rulebook for once.