Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
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SALT LAKE CITY — His name is Chris Wright, he just got signed by the Dallas Mavericks to a ten-day contract from the Iowa Energy from the D-League, and he has multiple sclerosis.
Wright played four years of point guard at Georgetown where he was an above-average player, nothing game-changing, but a solid player at a prestigious program. He wasn't drafted in 2011 when he graduated, but decided to keep playing so he took his talents to Turkey.
In Turkey he was running some baseline sprints where he fell trying to touch the baseline. He thought he just slipped, but eventually he realized his leg went numb, which eventually spread to his right leg and right hand over the next day.
He was diagnosed with the disease in Turkey, then returned to the States to get it double checked and sure enough he had M.S.
According to Tommy Birch of USA Today, the disease and the symptoms have been in remission after receiving treatment from Dr. Heidi Crayton in Washington, D.C. Wright receives a treatment once a month and hasn't had an issue since the one in Turkey.
No matter what happens he will now be a role model for anyone with the disease. He will be the first to sign an NBA contract with M.S. and might be the first to play if his 10-day contract with the Mavs leads to any actual playing time.
Don't do a Gatorade bath indoors:
There are a lot of reasons why the Gatorade bath is iconic. Starting with the Giants in the 1980's it has taken football by storm. Any and all big games are capped with one of the coaches being soaked by the big bucket.
It has become so iconic in football that there are prop bets for it at the Super Bowl. It has an appeal that can't be matched. It is the moment where everyone knows this game is over, unless it's Kentucky-LSU. Because it is outdoors for football, or on turf at least, there isn't much that you can damage.
However, there are lots of reasons why it hasn't translated over into basketball, and this video shows just about all of them.
In a NJCAA Division II Region F title game, that would allow them to play in the national tournament, between North Platte Community College Lady Knights and Dakota College at Bottineau. The Lady Knights were securing a 64-40 victory when the team decided to celebrate with a Gatorade bath.
First off, dumping lots of liquid on to a hardwood floor can't be good for the floor. Maybe it gets mopped up quickly, but still just seems bad. But the real problem comes when the coach, Richard Thurin, tries to take a step on the now soaked floor in his dress shoes and falls right on his face.
It looks really bad, but the good news is that he is fine, so go ahead and laugh. The other good news is that nothing happened to the other person who tried to help and fell flat on their back at the end of the video.
The Spin-o-rama:
It seems simple enough. While skating towards the goalie you stab the puck while gliding on ice, then in a quick 360 degree motion you spin around to put the puck into the net.
And of course get past the goalie, keep control and make it fast enough to fool the goalie, while not too fast to lose control. And Kaspars Daugavins almost nailed it for the second time.
The young wing for the Ottawa Senators made big headlines in 2010 when he nailed the spin-o-rama in an AHL game that caught the hockey world's attention. In the AHL the competition and goalies aren't as good, so when he tried to get it into an NHL shootout he ran into a problem, Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins.
In the AHL version he makes a quick spin and gets around to an open net. In the NHL version he seems to stop a little with his back turned which allows Rask to catch up to him. It was either a spectacular move or a spectacular save. This time a kick save and a beauty for Rask. Rask and Bruins won 3-2.
It's fun, it's what sports are about and hockey could use more of this.
