Basketball

Basketball is a sport played by two teams of ve players on a rectangular court. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches (46 cm in diameter and 1! feet (".! m high mounted to a bac#board at each end. $as#etball is one of the world%s most popular and widely viewed sports. & team can score a eld goal by shooting the ball through the bas#et during regular play. & eld goal scores two points for the shooting team if a player is touching or closer to the bas#et than the three'point line and three points (#nown commonly as a 3  pointer  or  or three if the player is behind the three'point line. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins but additional time (overtime may be issued

when the game ends with a draw. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it while wal#ing or running or throwing it to a team mate. )t is a violation to move without dribbling the ball to carry it or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. &s well as many techni*ues for shooting passing dribbling and rebounding bas#etball teams generally have player positions and o+ensive and defensive structures (player positioning.  Typically the tallest and strongest members of a team are called a center orpower forward while slightly shorter and more agile players are called small forward and the shortest players or those who possess the best ball handling s#ills are called a point guard or shooting guard.



,)-T/0

)n early ecember 1821 3anadian r. ames 5aismith a physical education professor and instructor at the )nternational 0oung en%s

3hristian &ssociation Training -chool (03& (today -pringeld 3ollege in -pringeld assachusetts was trying to #eep his gym class active on a rainy day. ,e sought a vigorous indoor game to #eep his students occupied and at proper levels of tness during the long 5ew 7ngland winters. &fter rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled' in gymnasiums he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach bas#et onto a 1!'foot (".! m elevated trac#. )n contrast with modern bas#etball nets this peach bas#et retained its bottom and balls had to be retrieved manually after each 9bas#et9 or point scored: this proved ine;cienthowever so the bottom of the bas#et was removed allowing the balls to be po#ed out with a long dowel each time.$as#etball was originally played with a soccer ball. The rst balls made specically for bas#etball were brown and it was only in the late 12!s that  Tony ,in#le searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators ali#e introduced the orange ball that is now in common use. ribbling was not part of the

original game e
Professional basketball &d from The Liberator maga>ine promoting an eation of the professional game. =layers  jumped from team to team and teams played in armories and smo#y dance halls. Beagues came and went. $arnstorming s*uads such as the riginal 3eltics and two all'&frican &merican teams the 5ew 0or# /enaissance Cive(9/ens9 and the (still e
games a year on their national tours.)n 1246 the $as#etball &ssociation of &merica ($&& was formed. The rst game was played in Toronto ntario 3anada between the Toronto ,us#ies and 5ew 0or# Dnic#erboc#ers on 5ovember 1 1246. Three seasons later in 1242 the $&& merged with the 5ational $as#etball Beagueto form the 5ational $as#etball &ssociation (5$&.  The 5$& has featured many famous players including @eorge i#an the rst dominating 9big man9: ball'handling wi>ard $ob 3ousy and defensive genius $ill /ussell of the $oston 3eltics : Eilt 3hamberlain who originally played for the barnstorming ,arlem @lobetrotters: all'around stars scar /obertson and erry Eest: more recent big men Dareem &bdul'abbar -ha*uille %5eal and Darl alone: playma#er ohn -toc#ton: crowd'pleasing forward ulius 7rving: 7uropean stars ir# 5owit>#i and ražen =etrović: more recent stars Be$ron ames Devin urant F Dobe

$ryant and the three players who many credit with ushering the professional game to its highest level of popularityG Barry $ird 7arvin 9agic9 ohnson and ichael ordan. )n ?!!1 the 5$& formed a developmental league the 5$B. &s of ?!14 the league has 18 teams. International basketball  The )nternational $as#etball Cederation was formed in 12"? by eight founding nationsG &rgentina 3>echoslova#ia @reece )taly Batvia =ortugal /omania and -wit>erland. &t this time the organi>ation only oversaw amateur players. )ts acronym derived from the Crench Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur  was thus 9C)$&9. en%s $as#etball was rst included at the $erlin 12"6 -ummer lympics although a demonstration tournament was held in 12!4. )n 12! the rst C)$& Eorld 3hampionship for men was held in &rgentina. Three years later the rst C)$& Eorld 3hampionship for Eomen was held in3hile. Eomen%s bas#etball was added to the lympics in 12H6 which were held in ontreal 3anada with teams such as the -oviet

Anion $ra>il and &ustral valing the &merican s*uads  The Eomen%s 5ational $as#etball Beague began 1281.

ia ri

in

Adho mukha śvānāsana adho mukha   � shvanasanaI अध� म  खश� न� सनG Adho Mukha Śv ānāsana downward-facing dog Pose downward dog or down dog is an asana. $757C)T$D- )yengar asserts that this asana stretches the shoulders legs spine and whole body: builds strength throughout the body particularly the arms legs and feet: relieves fatigue and rejuvenates the body: improves the immune system digestion

and blood Jow to the sinuses and calms the mind and lifts the spirits Ardha Matsyendrasana

अध� मत �य� द  र � सन: Ardha Matsyendr āsana Half  � Lord of the Fishes Pose  Half !inal "wist Pose or #akrasana is an asana. The asana usually appears as a seated spinal twist with many variations and is one of the twelve basic asanas in many systems of ,atha 0oga .

$757C)T&rdha atsyendrāsana allows the spine to be twisted all the way from the base of the spine to the very top. This asana tones the spinal nerves and ligaments and improves digestion.