From the Foul Line!

Distance dunks are some of the most underrated dunks out there. The only way they've really gotten much attention is when the dunkers smartly used a clearly visible measurement device to validate the legitimate awesomeness of their dunk, the foul line.

The earliest of such dunkers that I know of was the Doctor himself. Dr. Julius "Julio H." Erving had the talent, the ambition, and most of all, the audacity to walk in from the ABA as an outsider to the NBA and house people around the rim. He gripped the ball as if it were a softball and used his 10 ft wingspan to navigate his way around the airspace, all while maintaining this mug to the likes of, "the fuck you think you're doing?" right before he'd hammer home a one-handed testament to dunking.

Dr. J's foul line dunk starts at 5:00 minutes in. Just pause and wait for it to load or watch the hi-jinks that precede his dunk.

Also:Top 10 Dr. J Dunks

If Dr. J was the Old Testament, Jordan was the New Testament of dunking (and Vince Carter was the return of Jesus!). Anywho, Jordan redefined it all and was brilliant at basically levels, but let's focus in on his foul line dunks.

1985: He put down a strip of white tape on the foul line (not sure exactly what this is for other than to emphasize the already painted foul line beneath the tape). This is one of the farthest back dunks I've seen and even though it doesn't have as much "flair" as the next couple he would do, it is actually from behind the line instead of right on it. Ya see!

1987: It's all in the legs and the one-handed pump on this one. The camera's slow-mo also helps out tremendously. Gorgeous dunk.

1988: This one is even closer to the rim with even more added in to the bent legs and Jordanesque "cup" grip toward the end when he throws it down. Love it, as always.

And now, for five Vince Carter foul line dunks! What can I say the man knows how to dunk.

What are the kids doing now? Here are the moderno free throw line dunkers. Love the one at 2:00 minutes.

And finally, what would this post be without this video?:

February = SPORTS

A topic that has been relatively absent to the great dismay of all those jocks and manly men men (as well as girls who like sports). But sports are easily one of my favorite escapes as they create worlds to lose yourself in, become obsessed with, and pretty much take more seriously than normal serious people stuff.

Given that there's the Super Bowl, the NBA All Star Weekend, some sort of Wintry X-games no doubt, and just the possibility that we may get warmer weather toward the end of the month to go outside and do something, sports might as well be the month's topic. Let's start it out with a classic youtube to get things going...

I Dream of Dunking

What's hard about all these childhood saga posts is that I always want to put more into them because these posts are mere portholes into the universe that each refers to. The dream of dunking goes far beyond just my childhood as this is one of the few things I'm almost certain every single kid had tucked away somewhere in their dreams. I mean we grew up with Michael Jordan. Let's get serious. There was nothing greater than him dunking. There was nothing greater than a dunk. The move is so damn simple, and yet it works so well every time.

I was one of the many children who played on a lowered hoop, enabling myself to perform such an awesome move. And we got into it, I mean really into it. Entire summers consisted of nothing but dunking on lowered hoops at Edward's, Greg's, Aubrey's, Matt's, and even my lowered hoop, as well as various public ones like around Hamilton randomly and in the Purcellville community center; basically any lowered hoop we could find. We even dunked at the pool as referenced in Edward's pool entry. Dunking was everything and anything that was fun, exhilirating, and empowering as kids. God bless Woody Harrelson for wanting it so bad in White Man Can't Jump.

As a quick reference to this religion of dunking on lowered hoops, here is a not-so-quick video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X5nmA_lZko

Hopefully more will be said on this subject through the days and millenia ahead.

Happy Birthday!

Magic Johnson!

"Johnson was first dubbed "Magic" as a 15-year-old sophomore playing for Lansing's Everett High School, when he recorded a triple-double of 36 points, 18 rebounds and 16 assists. After the game, Fred Stabley Jr., a sports writer for the Lansing State Journal, gave him the moniker despite the belief of Johnson's mother, a Christian, that the name was sacrilegious"