Description

Height: 30+ inches at shoulder
Weight: 69-140 lbs.
Body length: 4 feet
Tail length: 28.5 inches

The world's fastest land mammal, the cheetah, is the most unique and specialized member of the cat family and can reach speeds of 70 mph. Unlike other cats, the cheetah has a leaner body, longer legs, and has been referred to as the "greyhound" of the cats. It is not an aggressive animal, using flight versus fight. With its weak jaws and small teeth--the price it paid for speed, it cannot fight larger predators to protect its kills or young.

The cheetah is often mistaken for a leopard. Its distinguishing marks are the long teardrop-shaped lines on each side of the nose from the corner of its eyes to its mouth. The cheetah's coat is tan, or buff colored, with black spots measuring from 78 to 1.85 inches across. There are no spots on its white belly, and the tail has spots that merge to form four to six dark rings at the end. The tail usually ends in a bushy white tuft. Male cheetahs are slightly larger than females and have a slightly bigger head, but it is difficult to tell males and females apart by appearance alone.

The fur of newborn cubs is dark and the spots are blended together and barely visible. During the first few weeks of life, a thick yellowish-gray coat, called a mantle, grows along the cub's back. The dark color helps the cub to blend into the shadows, and the mantle is thought to have several purposes, including acting as a thermostatic umbrella against rain and the sun, and as a camouflage imitating the dry dead grass. The mantle is also thought to be a mimicry defense, causing the cub to resemble a ratel, or honey badger, which is a very vicious small predator that is left alone by most other predators. The mantle begins to disappear at about three months old, but the last traces of it, in the form of a small mane, are still present at over two years of age.

The cheetah is aerodynamically built for speed and can accelerate from zero to 40 mph in three strides and to full speed of 70 mph in seconds. As the cheetah runs, only one foot at a time touches the ground. There are two points, in its 20 to 25 foot (7-8 metres) stride when no feet touch the ground, as they are fully extended and then totally doubled up. Nearing full speed, the cheetah is running at about 3 strides per second. The cheetah's respiratory rate climbs from 60 to 150 breaths per minute during a high-speed chase and can run only 400 to 600 yards before it is exhausted; at this time it is extremely vulnerable to other predators, which may not only steal its prey, but attack it as well.

The cheetah is specialized for speed through many adaptations: It is endowed with a powerful heart, oversized liver, and large, strong arteries. It has a small head, flat face, reduced muzzle length allowing the large eyes to be positioned for maximum binocular vision, enlarged nostrils, and extensive air-filled sinuses. Its body is narrow, lightweight with long, slender feet and legs, and specialized muscles, which act simultaneously for high acceleration, allowing greater swing to the limbs. Its hip and shoulder girdles swivel on a flexible spine that curves up and down, as the limbs are alternately bunched up and then extended when running, giving greater reach to the legs. The cheetah's long and muscular tail acts as a stabilizer or rudder for balance to counteract its body weight, preventing it from rolling over and spinning out in quick, fast turns during a high-speed chase. The cheetah is the only cat with short, blunt semi-retractable claws that help grip the ground like cleats for traction when running. Their paws are less rounded than the other cats, and their pads are hard, similar to tire treads, to help them in fast, sharp turns.
Distribution

It has been estimated that in 1900, more than 100,000 cheetahs were found in at least 44 countries throughout Africa and Asia. Today the species is extinct from +20 countries and between 10,000 to 12,500 animals remain, found mostly in small-pocketed populations in 24 to 26 countries in Africa and -100 in Iran. The cheetah is classified as an endangered species, and listed in Appendix I (which includes species that are most threatened) of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Prior to the 20th century, cheetahs were widely distributed throughout Africa and Asia, and were originally found in all suitable habitats from the Cape of Good Hope to the Mediterranean, throughout the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East, from Israel to India, and through the southern provinces of the former Soviet Union. Today, the Asian cheetah is nearly extinct, due to a decline of available habitat and prey. The species was declared extinct in India in 1952, and the last reported cheetah was seen in Israel in 1956. Today, the only confirmed reports of the Asian cheetah comes from Iran, where less than 100 occur in small isolated populations.

Free-ranging cheetahs still inhabit a broad section of Africa, including areas of North Africa, the Sahel, East Africa, and southern Africa. Viable populations may be found in less than half of the countries where cheetahs still exist. These declining populations mean that those cheetah which do survive, come from a smaller, less diverse gene pool. Populations continue to decline from loss of habitat, decline of prey species, and conflict with livestock farming. Throughout Africa, cheetahs are not doing well in protected wildlife reserves due to increased competition from other larger predators, such as lion and hyenas, and most protected areas are unable to maintain viable cheetah populations. Therefore, a large percentage of the remaining cheetah populations are outside of protected reserves, placing them in greater conflict with humans. There are now only two remaining population strongholds: Namibia/Botswana in southern Africa, and Kenya/Tanzania in East Africa. The cheetah's greatest hope for survival lies in the relatively pristine countryside of Namibia, which is home to the world's largest remaining population of cheetah. However, even in Namibia, the cheetah's numbers drastically declined by half in the 80s, leaving an estimated population of less than 2,500 animals. At the beginning of the 1990s, when CCF began its work with the farming community, a gradual change has occurred within Namibia, and over the last couple of years the population has stabilized. CCF's research has shown that farmers have more tolerance for cheetahs and are killing less, and those that are being killed are linked to livestock losses, or that they are calling CCF to help them.
Habits

The cheetah is generally considered to be an animal of open country and grass lands. This impression is probably due to the ease of sighting the cheetah in the shorter grass. However, cheetahs use a wider variety of habitats, and are found often in dense vegetation and even mountainous terrain.

Since cheetahs rely on sight for hunting, they are diurnal: more active in the day than night. In warm weather, they move around mostly during the early morning and late in the afternoon when the temperatures are cooler.

Cheetahs prey on a variety of species from rabbits to small antelope, and the young of larger antelope. Their hunting technique is to stalk as close as possible to the prey, burst into full speed, tripping the prey with a front paw and, as the prey falls, biting it by the throat in a strangulation hold.

Cheetahs are more social in their behaviors than once thought. They will live singly or in small groups. Female cheetahs are sexually mature at 20 to 24 months. The mating period lasts from one day up to a week. The female's gestation period is 90 to 95 days, after which she will give birth to a litter of up to 6 cubs. She will find a quiet, hidden spot in the tall grass, under a low tree, in thick underbrush, or in a clump of rock. Cheetah cubs weigh between 9 to 15 ounces when born.

Although cheetah cubs are blind and completely helpless at birth, they develop rapidly. At 4 to 10 days of age, their eyes open, and they begin to crawl around the nest area; at 3 weeks their teeth break through their gums. Due to the possibilities of predation from a variety of predators, the female moves her cubs from den to den every few days. For the first 6 weeks, the female has to leave the cubs alone most of the time, in order to hunt. Also, she may have to travel fairly long distances in search of food. During this time, cub mortality is as high as 90 percent in the wild, due to predation. The cubs begin to follow their mother at 6 weeks old, and begin to eat meat from her kills. From this time onward, mother and cubs remain inseparable until weaning age.

The cubs grow rapidly and are half of their adult size at 6 months old; at 8 months old, they have lost the last of their deciduous teeth. About this time, the cubs begin to make clumsy attempts at stalking and catching. Much of the learning process takes the form of play behavior. The cubs stalk, chase and wrestle with each other and even chase prey that they know they cannot catch, or prey that is too large. The cubs learn to hunt many different species, including guinea fowl, francolins, springhares, and small antelope. They still are not very adept hunters at the time they separate from their mothers.

The female leaves her cubs when they are between 16 to 18 months old to rebreed, starting the cycle over again. The cubs stay together for several more months, usually until the female cubs reach sexual maturity. At this time, the male cubs are chased away by dominant breeding males. Male cubs stay together for the rest of their lives, forming a coalition. Male coalition is beneficial in helping to acquire and hold territories against rival male cheetahs. Males become reproductively active between 2 and 3 years of age.
Cheetahs & Humans

The cheetah's long association with humans dates back to the Sumerians, about 3,000 BC, where a leashed cheetah, with a hood on its head, is depicted on an official seal. In early Lower Egypt, it was known as the MAFDET cat-goddess and was revered as a symbol of royalty. Tame cheetahs were kept as close companions to pharaohs, as a symbolic protection to the throne. Many statues and paintings of cheetahs have been found in royal tombs, and it was believed that the cheetah would quickly carry away the pharaoh's spirit to the after life. By the 18th and 19th centuries, paintings indicated that the cheetah rivaled dogs in popularity as hunting companions.

The best records of cheetahs having been kept by royalty, from Europe to China, are from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Hunting with cheetahs was not to obtain food, which royalty did not need, but for the challenge of sport. This sport is known as coursing. Adult wild cheetahs were caught, as they already had well developed hunting skills and were tamed and trained within a few weeks. The cheetahs were equipped with a hood, so they could not see the game they were to hunt, and were taken near the prey either on a leash, a cart, or the back of a horse, sitting on a pillow behind the rider. The hood was then removed and the cheetah dashed after the prey, catching it, after which the trainer would reward it with a piece of meat, and then take the cheetah back to the stable where it was kept.

Many emperors kept hundreds of cheetahs, at any given time, in their stables. With this great number of cheetahs in captivity, it was recorded only once, by Emperor Jahangir, the son Akbar the Great, an Indian Mogul in the 16th century, that a litter of cubs was born. During his 49-year reign, Akbar the Great had over 9,000 cheetahs, in total, which were called Khasa or the "Imperial Cheetahs," and he kept detailed records on them.

All of the cheetahs kept as "hunting leopards" were taken from the wild. Because of this continuous drain on the world populations, the numbers of cheetahs declined throughout Asia. In the early 1900's, India and Iran began to import cheetahs from Africa for hunting purposes.
Other Survival Challenges

Molecular genetic studies on free-ranging and captive cheetahs have shown that the species lacks genetic variation, probably due to past inbreeding, as long as ten thousand years ago. The consequences of such genetic uniformity have led to reproductive abnormalities, high infant mortality, and greater susceptibility to disease, causing the species to be less adaptable and more vulnerable to ecological and environmental changes.

Unfortunately, captive breeding efforts have not proven to be meaningful to the cheetah's hope for survival. The similar experiences of the world's zoos have reaffirmed the traditional difficulties of breeding cheetahs in captivity. Despite the capturing, rearing, and public display of cheetahs for thousands of years, the next reproductive success, after Akbar the Great son's recorded birth of one litter in the 16th century, occurred only in 1956 at the Philadelphia Zoo. Unlike the other 'big cats', which breed readily in captivity, the captive population of cheetahs is not self-sustaining and, thus, is maintained through the import of wild-caught animals, a practice which goes against the goals of today's' zoological institutions. Although reproduction has occurred at many facilities in the world, only a very small percentage of cheetahs have ever reproduced and cub mortality is high. In the absence of further importations of wild-caught animals, the size of the captive population can be expected to decline, a trend, which coupled with the continuing decline of the wild population, leaves the species extremely vulnerable.
Conservation Efforts

We founded the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in 1990 to directly confront the above issues and to implement techniques for cheetah conservation in their natural habitat. The CCF is the only fully established, on-site, international conservation effort for the wild cheetah. A permanent base for this long-term effort was established in 1991 in Namibia, Africa-- home to the largest remaining, viable, population of cheetah. CCF's primary mission is to focus on conservatory and management strategies outside of protected parks and reserves. It conducts research, disseminates information, and implements conservation management techniques that will lead to the long-term survival of free-ranging cheetah. The project is directed by Laurie Marker.

The over-all objective of CCF is to secure the survival of free-ranging cheetahs in suitable African habitats. The CCF's long-term program focuses on: 1) cheetah research and conservation education; and 2) livestock and wildlife management, education, and training. In Namibia, programs are being developed that can be adapted for use in other African countries. The goal is to develop workable strategies for promoting sustainable cheetah populations, a goal which, in the end, is largely dependant on the willingness and the capacity of individuals and local communities where the cheetahs live.

As a part of the long-term program, conservation efforts are being developed through the knowledge gained from the collection of base-line data including:

* the distribution and movements of cheetahs through the Namibian farmlands;
* the problems leading to the continued elimination of the cheetah;
* the assessment of the over-all health of the free-ranging cheetah population;
* the development of livestock farm management practices to reduce conflict with cheetahs; e) the development of livestock/wildlife management and education to sustain a balanced ecosystem that supports wildlife, and cheetah; and f) the adaptation of successful programs to other countries where cheetah are in need.

The knowledge gained from this program will reveal the necessary information to employ strategies for the long-term survival of the species in Namibia, and will be significant to the conservation of cheetahs elsewhere in the their native range and contribute to maintenance of captive cheetahs, which are 99% from Namibian stock.
Cheetahs are the world’s most unique felines and hence they are very popular among wildlife fanciers, as online Cheetah Picture galleries are visited with enviable regularity. Cheetahs are often referred to as absolutely atypical felines, as they have a number of traits that make them look very different from other wild cats. For example, can you imagine a Lion, a Leopard or a Tiger as a house pet? However, it is a well known fact that Cheetahs have been used as pets and hunting companions throughout history. These wild cats can be tamed relatively easily.

Cheetahs are famous for their spotted tan coats, and therefore they are often mistaken for leopards. However, they have a very different body built and show a completely different social behavior. Male Cheetahs live in groups, called coalitions, which is not typical of felids in general. Usually, coalitions consist of brothers, and they stay together for lifetime. Female Cheetahs are solitary and therefore more cat-like in terms of social behavior. They raise their young alone. However, mothers and daughters can maintain contact for quite a long time, until the daughter has her own litter. There are lots of Cheetah Pictures available online both of lone Cheetahs and social groups.

Cheetahs have a unique physiology. They are innate hunters, and are actually the fastest running felines in the world. The Cheetah has a very flexible and streamlined body, with a small head, long limbs and a very long and powerful tail, which acts as a rudder and helps the animal maintain the required direction when running. Cheetahs’ coats are spotted almost entirely, except for the chest and the belly. The Cheetah’s spots are round or oval, not rosette-shaped, like the Leopard’s. Cheetah’s have black “tear marks” running from their eyes on both sides of the nose and down to the mouth. If you take a closer look at a Cheetah Picture and match it against a Leopard Picture, you will see the differences and will learn to distinguish between these two felines.

In the wild, Cheetahs are very exposed, and they cannot compete with other felines. Their running skill is but their only salvation. Cheetahs have semi-retractile claws, and they are no great climbers. They hunt medium-sized game, and their hunting success rate is usually 40-50 per cent. They have to eat the meat right after killing the game, because other predators often force them to abandon their kills. Cheetah Pictures and especially videos shot during hunting sessions are particularly interesting to watch, as these animals hunt in a different fashion than most other felines.
Cheetah PictureCheetah Facts: The cheetah is distinct from other members of the cat family because of its incredible speed and stealth and lack of climbing abilities. As a result, it has its own genus, Acinonyx. The graceful cheetah is best known for its running speed. The cheetah is the fastest land animal. A running cheetah can reach speeds between 112 kilometres per hour (70 mph) and 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph). However, the cheetah can only maintain these incredible speeds in short bursts covering distances up to 460 metres (1,500 ft). A site to behold, a running cheetah has the ability to accelerate from 0 to 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) in three seconds, greater than most sports cars!

Adaptations that enable the cheetah to run as fast as it does include large nostrils that allow for increased oxygen intake, and an enlarged heart and lungs that work together to circulate oxygen efficiently. During a typical chase its respiratory rate increases from an astonishing 60 to 150 breaths per minute.

Due to its retractable claws, the cheetah depends on its great traction for speed. In addition to good traction, the cheetah also uses its tail as a rudder-like means of steering to allow it to make sharp turns, allowing them to outflank prey who often make such turns to escape. The cheetah is often mistaken for the leopard, a similar looking African cat, but the cheetah has various distinguishing features, such as long "tear-streak" lines that run from the corners of its eyes to its mouth. The body frame of the cheetah is also very different from that of the leopard, as it is much thinner and has a longer, more graceful tail. Unlike the leopard, he cheetah's spots are not arranged into rosette-like patterns.

The spots on a cheetah are solid black and the pattern on each cheetah unique.

To enable great speed, they are of slender, streamline build with a very flexible spine and a shoulder height of 50-80cm (20 - 31 inches). They weigh around 40-60kg (88 - 132 pounds), the males being heavier than the females.

Compared to lions whose shoulder height is about 110cm (43 inches) and weight up to 225kg (496 pounds), you can see they are relatively small.

More cheetah information is that they do not have retractile claws like the other big cats. This provides them with better traction when they run at speed.

Although they cannot roar, they have a wide range of other sounds – chirping, bleating, hissing, barking, growling and also purring when restful.
Cheetah Fact: The Fastest Land Animal Has To Eat Fast Too

Cheetah can reach speeds of up to 80kph/50 mph (110kph/68 mph has been measured in captivity).

They are diurnal and hunt small or medium-small ungulates, rabbits and large birds on open plains with fairly even ground.

I can't help but feel sympathetic towards cheetahs - they can’t sustain these high speeds for very long so half of their hunting attempts fail.

Cheetah and cub feedingWhen the hunt is successful, they often have no choice than to give up their kill as they are unable to defend themselves well against bigger, stronger predators like lions and hyenas.

Lesser known cheetah info is that even vultures can chase a cheetah family off a kill. We saw this happen in the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

I saw again how there is a perfect balance in nature. The cheetah and her two cubs ate their fill but weren't given time to hang around and finish the impala off, like lions do for instance.

On the cheetahs' second sitting, vultures started plopping down within metres of the kill, then closing in. The mother cheetah chirped softly to her cubs as if to say "take your last bites, kids... we have to move on".

The three of them walked off unwillingly and seconds later the impala carcass was covered in vultures, ripping off strips of meat and the cheetah family long forgotten.

Another cheetah fact is that females usually live alone unless they have cubs. They don't give birth in any specific season and their litter size is usually 3-4 cubs.

The life expectancy of cheetahs in the wild is 12-14 years.

BE VIGILENT BECAUSE BIG BOYS ARE ON THEIR HUNT

The pliosaur scientists have called Predator X crushed his prey with a biting force of 33,000lb per square inch

A marine monster described as the most fearsome animal ever to swim in the oceans boasted a bite up to 11 times as strong as that of Tyrannosaurus rex.
The fossil remains of the huge pliosaur were dug up last summer from the permafrost on Svalbard, a Norwegian island close to the North Pole.
Analysis revealed that it was a turbo-charged swimmer. Its front flippers allowed the creature, dubbed Predator X, to cruise along comfortably but when prey came into range the power of its hind flippers kicked in to provide extra acceleration.
Measurements of its jaw and the killing power of its dagger-like teeth have shown that it could bite down with a force of 33,000lb per square inch compared with T. rex’s 3,000lb per square inch. Alligators have the strongest bite today with about 2,500lb per square inch.


Researchers have been astonished by the size of the reptile, which exceeded even that of another pliosaur, called The Monster, which was found at the same site a year earlier.
Predator X is thought to have been at least 50 feet long, perhaps more, and measurements of its bulk suggest that it would have weighed in at 45 tonnes.
Its discovery was announced yesterday in Oslo by Jørn Hurum, of the University of Oslo, who led the expedition to dig up the remains. At least 20,000 fragments have been recovered including most of the jaws, which were 10 feet long. Dr Hurum said: “It was the most ferocious hunter ever. It’s like a turbo-charged predator. This is a very, very large carnivore.”
He added that Predator X was smaller than the biggest marine reptile yet known, a 75ft ichthyosaur from 210 million years ago, and was about the same length as the largest fossil shark to have been identified by palaeontologists. Predator X, however, was armed with much bigger teeth and, with its ability to close in at enormous speed, would have been much faster and deadlier than either of them.
Dr Hurum believes that Predator X and The Monster are likely to represent the same species of pliosaur. “Its anatomy, physiology and hunting strategy all point to it being the ultimate predator — the most dangerous creature to patrol the Earth’s oceans.”
The turbo-charge feature of its hind flippers was identified in tests by John Long, of Vassar College, New York State, using a four-flippered robot called Madeline.
Researchers had been puzzled about why the marine predator should have needed four flippers when the front two were perfectly adequate for it to swim well.
A CT scan of a pliosaur skull held at the Natural History Museum in London has showed that the ancient marine predators had a brain the same shape and proportion as the great white shark, which is regarded as today’s “perfect killing machine


The most fearsome sea monster the world has ever seen has been found buried in the Arctic.
Dubbed "Predator X", the massive pliosaur was fifty feet long and weighed 45 tons.
It had massive jaws with a bite force of 33,000 pounds - ten times the force of any animal alive today, including the Great White Shark.
Every tooth in its massive jaw was a foot long and Predator X clamped its victims with four times the force of T-Rex.
Predator X, which patrolled the oceans 147 millions years ago, was found buried in the remote Arctic near Svalbard by a team of scientists led by Dr Jorn Hurum of the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo.
They found another headline-making pliosaur - dubbed The Monster - two years ago and they were just leaving when when they spotted some more bones.
They marked the spot with a GPS reading and returned a year later to find the head of an even bigger sea giant - Predator X.
After a two week dig they found the skull of the buried in the frozen ground.
Its size and body and hunting skills all point to it being the most dangerous predator ever to patrol the world's oceans.
The bone linking its skull to its back is six inches in diameter making its skull twice the size of a T-Rex dinosaur.
The team also found 20,000 bone fragments which are being glued together to reconstruct the monster at the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo.
Predator X had four flippers to propel its massive body through the water.
Scientists used a flippered robot and did tests in a wind tunnel to see how it swam, calculating it would only need two flippers.
But they believe it used two flippers for cruising but all four when it wanted to surge fast through the water to pounce on its prey making it the deadliest hunter.
Another team used an industrial scanner to analyse its brain. It was found to have a long thin brain similar to a Great White shark.
The find has been dubbed the most significant Jurassic discovery in the Arctic.
Large pliosaurs were big and powerful enough to pick up a small car in its jaws and bite it in half.
The Arctic island chain of Scvalbard is known as a "treasure trove" of Jurassic creatures with at least 40 species already discovered.
Pliosaurs were a short-necked form of plesiosaur, a group of extinct reptiles that lived in the world's oceans during the age of the dinosaurs.
Around 150 million years ago Svalbard wasn't so close to the North Pole and had a warmer climate.
By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
OSLO (Reuters) - A giant fossil sea monster found in the Arctic and known as "Predator X" had a bite that would make T-Rex look feeble, scientists said Monday.
The 50 ft (15 meter) long Jurassic era marine reptile had a crushing 33,000 lbs (15 tonnes) per square inch bite force, the Natural History Museum of Oslo University said of the new find on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
"With a skull that's more than 10 feet long you'd expect the bite to be powerful but this is off the scale," said Joern Hurum, an associate professor of vertebrate paleontology at the museum who led the international excavation in 2008.
"It's much more powerful than T-Rex," he said of the pliosaur reptile that would have been a top marine predator. Tyrannosaurus Rex was a top land carnivore among dinosaurs.
The scientists reconstructed the predator's head and estimated the force by comparing it with the similarly-shaped jaws of alligators in a park in Florida.
"The calculation is one of the largest bite forces ever calculated for any creature," the Museum said of the bite, estimated with the help of evolutionary biologist Greg Erickson from Florida State University.
Predator X's bite was more than 10 times more powerful than any modern animal and four times the bite of a T-Rex, it said of the fossil, reckoned at 147 million years old. Alligators, crocodiles and sharks all now have fearsome bites.
The teeth of the pliosaur, belonging to a new species, were a foot (30 cms) long. The scientists reconstructed the reptile from a partial skull and 20,000 fragments of skeleton.
The pliosaur, estimated to have weighed 45 tonnes, was similar to but had more massive bones than another fossil sea monster found on Svalbard in 2007, also estimated at 50 feet long and the largest pliosaur to date.
"It's not complete enough to say it's really bigger than 15 meters," Hurum said of the new fossil.
Hurum had said of the first fossil pliosaur that it was big enough to chomp on a small car. He said the bite estimates for the latest fossil forced a rethink.
"This one is more like it could crush a Hummer," he said. referring to General Motors' large sport utility vehicle.
Among other findings were that the pliosaur had a small thin brain shaped like that of a great white shark, according to scans by Patrick Druckenmiller of the University of Alaska.
Pliosaurs preyed upon squid-like animals, fish, and other marine reptiles. Predator X had four huge flippers to propel itself along, perhaps using just two at cruising speeds and the others for a burst of speed.

obama's new ride

General Motors has once again built the First Limo, which isn’t so much a car as an armored personnel carrier wrapped in Cadillac bodywork. It is code-named "Stagecoach" but given its weight, wheelbase and bunker-like level of protection, Caddy One has been nicknamed "the Beast."
The limo that carries President Obama down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House today is the latest in a long line of Cadillacs to join the First Fleet over the years. Although GM and the Secret Service jealously guard the vehicle’s specs and secrets, you can bet Obama’s ride is the toughest, most sophisticated car anywhere. Think of it as the road-going equivalent to Air Force One.
"Although many of the vehicle’s security enhancements cannot be discussed, it is safe to say that this car’s security and coded communications systems make it the most technologically advanced protection vehicle in the world," Nicholas Trotta, assistant director for the Secret Service Office of Protective Operations, said in a statement (.pdf).
GM had even less to say, noting "one of the specifications is we don’t talk about the specifications." But spokesman David Caldwell says the redesigned car "is a fresh, more modern, more expensive" version of the Cadillac DTS that has carried President Bush since his second inauguration in 2005. Obama’s car, he says, is "a little bit more vibrant, if you will."
Even if no one’s got anything to say about what’s under all that armor, there are some things widely believed to be known about Caddy One’s security measures.
The car is one of a small fleet of what is believed to be no more than 25 presidential limos General Motors built for the Obama administration, according to the Detroit News. Although presidential limos have a lifespan of about a decade, the Commander in Chief gets a new one about every four years. Hand-me-downs are used to carry the vice president and visiting heads of state.
GM says the car occupies the "same footprint" as the current presidential ride, but it is a little taller and the windows a little bigger to improve visibility. Limo One is believed to weigh between seven and eight tons, and spy shots suggest it rides on a GM medium-duty truck chassis propelled by a diesel engine. The body is sheathed in military-grade armor as much as 8 inches thick on the doors (each of which weighs as much as the cabin door on a Boeing 747, Motor Authority says). The armor reportedly is a mix of dual-hardness steel, aluminum, titanium and ceramic. The windows are ballistic glass said to be 5 inches thick, and Dan Neil of the Los Angeles Times says there’s probably a woven Kevlar mat covering the floorboard to protect the car from blasts. The cabin is believed to feature a sealed air recirculation system to protect its occupants from chemical attacks.
"I think he will be surprised about how when he’s in the limo, it’s a cocoon," Joe Funk, a retired Secret Service agent who served as
President Clinton’s driver, told CNN. "The everyday noises will be gone, and he will be totally isolated in this protective envelope.
Still, despite being at least as secure as a hardened missile silo, GM says Caddy One features the same hand-sewn leather interior you’d find in the CTS at your local dealership, and supposedly it’s got a 10-disc CD player. And, of course, it’s packed with the latest communications technology.
"I think he will be surprised at the communication capabilities, how the phones, the satellites, the Internet - everything is at his fingertips," Funk said. "So at one end, you are totally removed from society. The other side of the coin is that he can have any communications worldwide at a moment’s touch."
Obama’s limo is the latest in long line of presidential cars Cadillac has built in the 100 years since Congress approved funding for a presidential motor pool. President Wilson rode in a Caddy during a parade marking the end of World War I. President Coolidge sported a lavish 1928 Cadillac Town Car, which was among the first Caddys parked at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. It featured a 341 cubic inch engine and a robust (for the time) 90 horsepower.
In 1938, the US government received two Cadillac convertibles, each 21.5 feet long and weighing nearly 8,000 pounds. They were dubbed the "Queen Elizabeth" and the "Queen Mary" after the ocean liners. Each featured back-up generators, two-way radios and an arsenal of weapons. They served presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower and were replaced by the Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Mary II, which remained in service until 1968.
Cadillac returned to the White House in 1983, when President Reagan rode around in a Fleetwood famous for being the last equipped with the Turbo Hydra-Matic 400 3-speed automatic transmission. President Clinton rode in a Fleetwood Brougham powered by a 454 cubic inch (7.4 liter) V8.
The largest collection of presidential limos is held by the Henry Ford Museum, but President Bush’s limo will not appear in it. The Secret Service has since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, required that presidential limos be destroyed upon retirement to preserve their secrets.


This is the new limousine for U.S. President Barack Obama, the car company, General Motors, has numbered the car according to tradition. Also by tradition, the car is a Cadillac. Its technical features are not openly known, but the masses do have some information.

The car can comfortably accommodate four people, satellite communications and a constant direct connection with the vice president and head of the Pentagon. Thirteen more pics on Limousine Barack Obama & U.S Secret Service after the jump.



The body is equipped with powerful machine-ty 13 cm armor. According to the results of tests, the Corps maintains direct hit by shells fired from a hand grenade! The design allows the tires to drive in the case of damage.



As a preventive protection against possible attacks, the car has a gun with tear gas, other stationary weapons, and is driven by a weapons-trained member of the CIA.



However, neither the Secret Service nor the administration of General Motors will make the full technical details of "Cadillac One" public. You can always imagine how it must be tuned, though!
WASHINGTON - As Americans celebrate the inauguration of a new president of the United States next week, another new Cadillac will grace Pennsylvania Avenue to lead the proceedings. President Barack Obama will ride in an all-new Cadillac Presidential Limousine, continuing a long tradition of Cadillac limousines that have served many U.S. presidents.
"Cadillac is honored to again provide a new Presidential Limousine," said Mark McNabb, North America vice president, Cadillac/Premium Channel. "This is a great American tradition that we're delighted to renew with an all-new car featuring the best of Cadillac's dramatic design and technology."
The image of an American president greeting crowds from a Cadillac limousine dates to President Woodrow Wilson and the early days of the automobile, and continues into a historic new era. The latest Cadillac Presidential Limousine is a completely new design, succeeding the DTS Presidential Limousine that debuted in 2004. The new car incorporates many of the dramatic design and technology features of new and highly acclaimed Cadillac vehicles in a purpose-built format tailored to specific and exacting specifications befitting presidential transport.
Inside and out, the Cadillac Presidential Limousine includes many of the brand's signature design elements. Assertive, modern and elegant, the front of the car includes the intricate, dual-textured grille made famous by Cadillac's most popular current models, the CTS sport sedan and Escalade. Vertical design elements, such as the car's front and rear lighting, mirror those used on production models.
For largely functional reasons, such as optimal outward visibility, the car is slightly more upright than its predecessor. However, this new Cadillac Presidential Limousine occupies roughly the same overall footprint on the road as the previous model, with a similar size and proportion.
The side and rear profiles of the new Presidential Limousine are classic, elegant forms, evocative of Cadillac's STS and DTS luxury sedans. Inside the cabin, the car includes the finest examples of Cadillac's recent renaissance in design, technology and craftsmanship. The cabin blends modern design and technology with old-world craftsmanship. Major aspects of the cabin are cut and sewn by hand, the same process used in popular Cadillac models such as the CTS sport sedan.
Naturally, many purpose-built aspects of the car are specially designed and prepared for presidential use. The rear passenger area includes an extensive executive compartment with ample seating space, outward visibility and useful mobile office features.
The car was designed, developed and tested by specialists who adhered to an extensive set of specifications. It was subjected to an extreme testing regimen to ensure performance that achieves precise functional requirements. In doing so, security provisions were undertaken at all times during development to ensure the car's functional capabilities are preserved and confidential.
An embroidered presidential seal is positioned in the center of the rear seat back panel, as well as on each rear door trim panel. Presidential seals are also affixed to the exterior rear doors. The U.S. flag is placed on the right front fender, and the presidential standard is located on the left front fender when the president travels in the vehicle. High-tech LED spotlights illuminate the flags at night.
History - Cadillac and the U.S. Presidency Cadillac has built limousines and special vehicles for U.S. presidents, diplomats, ambassadors and foreign dignitaries since the early 20th century, an iconic aspect of the brand that continues today.
Cadillac's central role began during World War I, when many Cadillac engines and cars were transferred to military and government service because of their superior durability and power. One of the first chief executives to use a Cadillac was President Wilson, who rode through the streets of Boston during a World War I victory parade in 1919. A lavish 1928 Cadillac town car was used in the Calvin Coolidge administration.
In 1938, two Cadillac convertibles, dubbed the "Queen Mary" and "Queen Elizabeth," were delivered to the U.S. government. Named after the great ocean liners of the time, the vehicles were 21.5 feet long, weighed 7,660 pounds and were equipped with a full ammunition arsenal, two-way radios and heavy-duty generators. Durable and reliable, the two "Queens" served Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
President Eisenhower, known as a car buff, rode in one of the first Cadillac Eldorado models ever produced during his 1953 inaugural parade. The Eldorado represented a high point in automobile design history, as it had the first wraparound windshield, a feature quickly adopted on other new production models.
In 1956, the Queen Mary II and Queen Elizabeth II convertibles replaced the original series. The vehicles were slightly smaller, but like their predecessors, were fully armored and featured state-of-the art communications. Moreover, the vehicles were fitted with narrow rims inside the tire in case the tires were shot out. The Queen Mary II and Queen Elizabeth II served not only President Eisenhower, but also Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Both vehicles were retired in 1968.
The Ronald W. Reagan administration was delivered a 1983 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine and a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham - Presidential Series was delivered to the William J. Clinton administration in 1993. Unlike previous models that typically were Cadillac cars adapted and modified by independent limousine companies, the 1993 Presidential Brougham was designed, developed and manufactured totally within General Motors and Cadillac. This included an extensive set of security measures to maintain confidentiality, a process that continues today.
Currently, the 1983 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine resides at the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., while the 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham is at the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Ark.
Cadillac has produced two presidential limousines this decade that remain in service. The first was a Deville Presidential model delivered to President George W. Bush in 2001. In 2004, President Bush debuted a new DTS Presidential model. It was the first application of a new design that launched later that year for the production DTS full-size sedan.

BASKETBALL

________________________________________
History of Basketball
Dr. James Naismith, Inventor of Basketball
KU Basketball Program Founder
Dr. James Naismith is known world-wide as the inventor of basketball. He was born in 1861 in Ramsay township, near Almonte, Ontario, Canada. The concept of basketball was born from Naismith's school days in the area where he played a simple child's game known as duck-on-a-rock outside his one-room schoolhouse. The game involved attempting to knock a "duck" off the top of a large rock by tossing another rock at it. Naismith went on to attend McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
After serving as McGill's Athletic Director, James Naismith moved on to the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA in 1891, where the sport of basketball was born. In Springfield, Naismith was faced with the problem of finding a sport that was suitable for play inside during the Massachusetts winter for the students at the School for Christian Workers. Naismith wanted to create a game of skill for the students instead of one that relied solely on strength. He needed a game that could be played indoors in a relatively small space. The first game was played with a soccer ball and two peach baskets used as goals. Naismith joined the University of Kansas faculty in 1898, teaching physical education and being a chaplain.
James Naismith devised a set of thirteen rules of basketball:
1. The ball may be thrown in any direction with one or both hands.
2. The ball may be batted in any direction with one or both hands, but never with the fist.
3. A player cannot run with the ball. The player must throw it from the spot on which he catches it, allowance to be made for a man running at good speed.
4. The ball must be held in or between the hands. The arms or body must not be used for holding it.
5. No shouldering, holding, pushing, striking or tripping in any way of an opponent. The first infringement of this rule by any person shall count as a foul; the second shall disqualify him until the next goal is made or, if there was evident intent to injure the person, for the whole of the game. No substitution shall be allowed.
6. A foul is striking at the ball with the fist, violations of Rules 3 and 4 and such as described in Rule 5.
7. If either side make three consecutive fouls it shall count as a goal for the opponents (consecutive means without the opponents in the meantime making a foul).
8. Goal shall be made when the ball is thrown or batted from the ground into the basket and stays there, providing those defending the goal do not touch or disturb the goal. If the ball rests on the edge and the opponents move the basket, it shall count as a goal.
9. When the ball goes out of bounds, it shall be thrown into the field and played by the first person touching it. In case of dispute the umpire shall throw it straight into the field. The thrower-in is allowed five seconds. If he holds it longer, it shall go to the opponent. If any side persists in delaying the game, the umpire shall call a foul on them.
10. The umpire shall be judge of the men and shall note the fouls and notify the referee when three consecutive fouls have been made. He shall have the power to disqualify men according to Rule 5.
11. The referee shall be the judge of the ball and decide when it is in play in bounds, to which side it belongs, and shall keep the time. He shall decide when a goal has been made and keep account of the goals with any other duties that are usually performed by a referee.
12. The time shall be two 15-minute halves with five minutes' rest between.
13. The side making the most goals in that time shall be declared the winners.
In addition to the creation of the basketball, James Naismith graduated as a medical doctor, primarily interested in sports physiology and what we would today call sports science and as Presbyterian minister, with a keen interest in philosophy and clean living. Naismith watched his sport, basketball, introduced in many nations by the YMCA movement as early as 1893. Basketball was introduced at the Berlin Olympics in 1936. Naismith was flown to Berlin to watch the games. He died in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1939.
Today basketball has grown to become one of the world's most popular sports.

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a 10 feet (3.048 m) high hoop (the goal) under organized rules. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world.[1]
Points are scored by throwing (shooting) the ball through the basket above; the team with more points at the end of the game wins. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it (dribbling) or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (foul) is not permitted and there are restrictions on how the ball can be handled (violations).
Through time, basketball has developed to involve common techniques of shooting, passing and dribbling, as well as players' positions, and offensive and defensive structures. Typically, the tallest members of a team will play center or one of two forward positions, while shorter players or those who possess the best ball handling skills and speed, play the guard positions. While competitive basketball is carefully regulated, numerous variations of basketball have developed for casual play. In some countries, basketball is also a popular spectator sport.
While competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport, played on a basketball court, less regulated variations have become exceedingly popular as an outdoor sport among both inner city and rural groups.

History


The first basketball court: Springfield College.
Main article: History of basketball
The first rules, court, and game
In early December 1891, Dr. James Naismith,[2] a Canadian physical education professor from McGill University of Montréal and instructor at YMCA Training School[3] (today, Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied and at proper levels of fitness during the long New England winters. After rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot (3.05 m) elevated track. In contrast with modern basketball nets, this peach basket retained its bottom, and balls had to be retrieved manually after each "basket" or point scored; this proved inefficient, however, so a hole was drilled into the bottom of the basket, allowing the balls to be poked out with a long dowel each time. The peach baskets were used until 1906 when they were finally replaced by metal hoops with backboards. A further change was soon made, so the ball merely passed through, paving the way for the game we know today. A soccer ball was used to shoot goals. Whenever a person got the ball in the basket, his team would gain a point. Whichever team got the most points won the game.[4] The baskets were originally nailed to the mezzanine balcony of the playing court, but this proved impractical when spectators on the balcony began to interfere with shots. The backboard was introduced to prevent this interference; it had the additional effect of allowing rebound shots.[5] Naismith's handwritten diaries, discovered by his granddaughter in early 2006, indicate that he was nervous about the new game he had invented, which incorporated rules from a children's game called "Duck on a Rock", as many had failed before it. Naismith called the new game "Basket Ball".[6]
The first official game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on January 20, 1892 with nine players. The game ended at 1-0; the shot was made from 25 feet (7.6 m), on a court just half the size of a present-day Streetball or National Basketball Association (NBA) court. By 1897–1898 teams of five became standard.
Women's basketball
Women's basketball began in 1892 at Smith College when Senda Berenson, a physical education teacher, modified Naismith's rules for women. Shortly after she was hired at Smith, she went to Naismith to learn more about the game. Fascinated by the new sport and the values it could teach, she organized the first women’s collegiate basketball game on March 21, 1893, when her Smith freshmen and sophomores played against one another. Her rules were first published in 1899 and two years later Berenson became the editor of A.G. Spalding’s first Women's Basketball Guide, which further spread her version of basketball for women.
Surge in popularity
Basketball's early adherents were dispatched to YMCAs throughout the United States, and it quickly spread through the USA and Canada. By 1895, it was well established at several women's high schools. While the YMCA was responsible for initially developing and spreading the game, within a decade it discouraged the new sport, as rough play and rowdy crowds began to detract from the YMCA's primary mission. However, other amateur sports clubs, colleges, and professional clubs quickly filled the void. In the years before World War I, the Amateur Athletic Union and the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (forerunner of the NCAA) vied for control over the rules for the game. The first pro league, the National Basketball League, was formed in 1898 to protect players from exploitation and to promote a less rough game. This league only lasted five years.
Basketball Hall of Fame founded
By the 1950s, basketball had become a major college sport, thus paving the way for a growth of interest in professional basketball. In 1959, a basketball hall of fame was founded in Springfield, Massachusetts, site of the first game. Its rosters include the names of great players, coaches, referees and people who have contributed significantly to the development of the game.
Development of equipment and technique
Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. The first balls made specifically for basketball were brown, and it was only in the late 1950s that Tony Hinkle, searching for a ball that would be more visible to players and spectators alike, introduced the orange ball that is now in common use. Dribbling was not part of the original game except for the "bounce pass" to teammates. Passing the ball was the primary means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the asymmetric shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a major part of the game around the 1950s, as manufacturing improved the ball shape.
Historical antecedents
Basketball, netball, dodgeball, volleyball, and lacrosse are the only ball games which have been identified as being invented by North Americans. Other ball games, such as baseball and Canadian football, have Commonwealth of Nations, European, Asian or African connections. Although there is no direct evidence as yet that the idea of basketball came from the ancient Mesoamerican ballgame, knowledge of that game had been available for at least 50 years prior to Naismith's creation, in the writings of John Lloyd Stephens and Alexander von Humboldt. Stephens' works especially, which included drawings by Frederick Catherwood, were available at most educational institutions in the 19th century and also had wide popular circulation.
Early college basketball development
Dr. James Naismith was instrumental in establishing college basketball. He coached at the University of Kansas for six years, before handing the reins to renowned coach Forrest "Phog" Allen. Naismith's disciple Amos Alonzo Stagg brought basketball to the University of Chicago, while Adolph Rupp, a student of Naismith's at Kansas, enjoyed great success as coach at the University of Kentucky.
On February 9, 1895, the first intercollegiate 5-on-5 game was played at Hamline University between Hamline and the School of Agriculture, which was affiliated with University of Minnesota.[7][8] The School of Agriculture won in a 9-3 game.
In 1901, colleges, including the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, the University of Minnesota, the U.S. Naval Academy, the University of Utah and Yale University began sponsoring men's games. By 1910, frequent injuries on the basketball courts prompted President Theodore Roosevelt to suggest that college basketball form a governing body, resulting in the creation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS). In 1910, that body would change its name to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
Early women's basketball development
In 1892, the University of California and Miss Head's School played the first women's interinstitutional game. Berenson's freshmen played the sophomore class in the first women's intercollegiate basketball game at Smith College, March 21, 1893. The same year, Mount Holyoke and Sophie Newcomb College (coached by Clara Gregory Baer) women began playing basketball. By 1895, the game had spread to colleges across the country, including Wellesley, Vassar, and Bryn Mawr. The first intercollegiate women's game was on April 4, 1896. Stanford women played Berkeley, 9-on-9, ending in a 2-1 Stanford victory.
Women's basketball development was more structured than that for men in the early years. In 1905, the National Women's Basketball Committee's Executive Committee on Basket Ball Rules was created by the American Physical Education Association. These rules called for six to nine players per team and 11 officials. The International Women's Sports Federation (1924) included a women's basketball competition. 37 women's high school varsity basketball or state tournaments were held by 1925. And in 1926, the Amateur Athletic Union backed the first national women's basketball championship, complete with men's rules.
The Edmonton Grads, a touring Canadian women's team based in Edmonton, Alberta, operated between 1915 and 1940. The Grads toured all over North America, and were exceptionally successful. They posted a record of 522 wins and only 20 losses over that span, as they met any team which wanted to challenge them, funding their tours from gate receipts. The Grads also shone on several exhibition trips to Europe, and won four consecutive exhibition Olympics tournaments, in 1924, 1928, 1932, and 1936; however, women's basketball was not an official Olympic sport until 1976. The Grads' players were unpaid, and had to remain single. The Grads' style focused on team play, without overly emphasizing skills of individual players.
The first women's AAU All-America team was chosen in 1929. Women's industrial leagues sprang up throughout the United States, producing famous athletes, including Babe Didrikson of the Golden Cyclones, and the All-American Red Heads Team, which competed against men's teams, using men's rules. By 1938, the women's national championship changed from a three-court game to two-court game with six players per team.
First Canadian interuniversity game
The first Canadian interuniversity basketball game was played at the YMCA in Kingston, Ontario on February 6, 1904, when McGill University visited Queen's University. McGill won 9-7 in overtime; the score was 7-7 at the end of regulation play, and a ten-minute overtime period settled the outcome. A good turnout of spectators watched the game.[9]
Early American professional and barnstorming teams
Teams abounded throughout the 1920s. There were hundreds of men's professional basketball teams in towns and cities all over the United States, and little organization of the professional game. Players jumped from team to team and teams played in armories and smoky dance halls. Leagues came and went. Barnstorming squads such as the Original Celtics and two all-African American teams, the New York Renaissance Five ("Rens") and (still in existence as of 2009) the Harlem Globetrotters played up to two hundred games a year on their national tours.
American national college championships
The first men's national championship tournament, the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball tournament, which still exists as the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament, was organized in 1937. The first national championship for NCAA teams, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in New York, was organized in 1938; the NCAA national tournament would begin one year later.
College basketball was rocked by gambling scandals from 1948 to 1951, when dozens of players from top teams were implicated in match fixing and point shaving. Partially spurred by an association with cheating, the NIT lost support to the NCAA tournament.
U.S. high school basketball
Before widespread school district consolidation, most United States high schools were far smaller than their present day counterparts. During the first decades of the 20th century, basketball quickly became the ideal interscholastic sport due to its modest equipment and personnel requirements. In the days before widespread television coverage of professional and college sports, the popularity of high school basketball was unrivaled in many parts of America. Perhaps the most legendary of high school teams was Indiana's Franklin Wonder Five, which took the nation by storm during the 1920s, dominating Indiana basketball and earning national recognition.
Today virtually every high school in the United States fields a basketball team in varsity competition. Basketball's popularity remains high, both in rural areas where they carry the identification of the entire community, as well as at some larger schools known for their basketball teams where many players go on to participate at higher levels of competition after graduation. In the 2003–04 season, 1,002,797 boys and girls represented their schools in interscholastic basketball competition, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. The states of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky are particularly well known for their residents' devotion to high school basketball, commonly called Hoosier Hysteria in Indiana; the critically acclaimed film Hoosiers shows high school basketball's depth of meaning to these rural communities.
National Basketball Association
Main article: National Basketball Association
In 1946, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed, organizing the top professional teams and leading to greater popularity of the professional game. The first game was played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between the Toronto Huskies and New York Knickerbockers on November 1, 1946. Three seasons later, in 1949, the BAA became the National Basketball Association (NBA). An upstart organization, the American Basketball Association, emerged in 1967 and briefly threatened the NBA's dominance until the ABA-NBA merger in 1976. Today the NBA is the top professional basketball league in the world in terms of popularity, salaries, talent, and level of competition.
The NBA has featured many famous players, including George Mikan, the first dominating "big man"; ball-handling wizard Bob Cousy and defensive genius Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics; Wilt Chamberlain, who originally played for the barnstorming Harlem Globetrotters; all-around stars Oscar Robertson and Jerry West; more recent big men Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone; playmaker John Stockton; crowd-pleasing forward Julius Erving; European stars Dirk Nowitzki and Drazen Petrovic and the three players who many credit with ushering the professional game to its highest level of popularity: Larry Bird, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and Michael Jordan.
In 2001, the NBA formed a developmental league, the NBDL. As of 2008, the league has sixteen teams.
Basketball teams make up approximately 13 percent of franchised sports in the U.S, and an average of 17,558 spectators regularly attend basketball games in the NBA, with the Chicago Bulls (22,103), Detroit Pistons (22,076) and Cleveland Cavaliers (20,499) topping the popularity stakes. The combined revenue from the 30 NBA teams is approximately $3.37 billion and rising.[10]
Women's National Basketball Association
Main article: Women's National Basketball Association
The NBA-backed Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) began in 1997. Though it had shaky attendance figures, several marquee players (Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, and Candace Parker among others) have helped the league's popularity and level of competition. Other professional women's basketball leagues in the United States, such as the American Basketball League (1996-1998), have folded in part because of the popularity of the WNBA.
The WNBA has been looked at by many as a niche league. However, the league has recently taken steps forward.
In June 2007, the WNBA signed a contract extension with ESPN. The new television deal runs from 2009 to 2016. Along with this deal, came the first ever rights fees to be paid to a women's professional sports league. Over the eight years of the contract, "millions and millions of dollars" will be "dispersed to the league's teams."
The WNBA gets more viewers on national television broadcasts (413,000) than both the MLS (253,000)[11] and the NHL (310,732)[12] which is a good sign for the growth of the league.
In a March 12, 2009 article, NBA commissioner David Stern said that in the bad economy, "the NBA is far less profitable than the WNBA. We're losing a lot of money amongst a large number of teams. We're budgeting the WNBA to break even this year."[13]
Philippine Basketball Association
Main article: Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association is the second oldest professional league in the world. The first game was played on April 9, 1975 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City. Philippines. It was founded as a "rebellion" of several teams from the now-defunct Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association which was tightly controlled by the Basketball Association of the Philippines (now defunct), the then-FIBA recognized national association. Nine teams from the MICAA participated in the league's first season that opened in April 9, 1975.
The Philippine Basketball Association features several famous basketball players like current superstars Gary David, James Yap, Mark Caguioa, Willie Miller, Kelly Williams, Cyrus Baguio and many others. Former PBA Superstar features Allan Caidic, Benjie Paras, Robert Jaworski, Ramon Fernandez, Francis Arnaiz, Atoy Co, Bogs Adornado, Philip Cezar, Alvin Patrimonio, Jojo Lastimosa, and many others.
International basketball


XX. Olympic games Munich 1972 Krešimir Ćosić of Yugoslavia (blue shirt) vs. Petr Novicky of Czechoslovakia
The International Basketball Federation was formed in 1932 by eight founding nations: Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. At this time, the organization only oversaw amateur players. Its acronym, derived from the French Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur, was thus "FIBA."
Men's Basketball was first included in the Berlin Olympic Games in 1936, although a demonstration tournament was held in 1904. The United States defeated Canada in the first final, played outdoors. This competition has usually been dominated by the United States, whose team has won all but three titles, the first loss in a controversial final game in Munich in 1972 against the Soviet Union. In 1950 the first FIBA World Championship for men was held in Argentina. Three years later, the first FIBA World Championship for Women was held in Chile. Women's basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, which were held in Montreal, Canada with teams such as the Soviet Union, Brazil and Australia rivaling the American squads.
Pros in the Olympics
FIBA dropped the distinction between amateur and professional players in 1989, and in 1992, professional players played for the first time in the Olympic Games. The United States' dominance continued with the introduction of their Dream Team. However, with developing programs elsewhere, other national teams started to beat the United States. A team made entirely of NBA players finished sixth in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, behind Yugoslavia, Argentina, Germany, New Zealand and Spain. In the 2004 Athens Olympics, the United States suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to Puerto Rico (in a 19-point loss) and Lithuania in group games, and being eliminated in the semifinals by Argentina. It eventually won the bronze medal defeating Lithuania, finishing behind Argentina and Italy.
International stars in the NBA
Worldwide, basketball tournaments are held for boys and girls of all age levels. The global popularity of the sport is reflected in the nationalities represented in the NBA. Players from all over the globe can be found in NBA teams:
• Chicago Bulls star forward Luol Deng is a Sudanese refugee who settled in Great Britain.
• Steve Nash, who won the 2005 and 2006 NBA MVP award, is a South Africa-born Canadian.
• Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors, top pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, is from Italy. In addition, American superstar Kobe Bryant spent much of his childhood in Italy while his father was playing there.
• Dallas Mavericks superstar and 2007 NBA MVP Dirk Nowitzki is German.
• All-Star Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers is from Spain.
• 2005 NBA Draft top overall pick Andrew Bogut of the Milwaukee Bucks is Australian. Also, 2008–09 rookie Nathan Jawai is the first Indigenous Australian ever to play in the league.
• Houston Rockets center Yao Ming is from China.
• All star and former three point champion Peja Stojakovic is Serbian.
• All star Andrei Kirilenko is Russian.
• Phoenix Suns guard Leandro Barbosa and Denver Nuggets forward Nenê are Brazilian.
• Cleveland Cavaliers big man Žydrūnas Ilgauskas and Linas Kleiza from Denver Nuggets are Lithuanians.
• Perhaps no NBA team is as identified by international players as the San Antonio Spurs. The team's three most prominent players are all international—Tim Duncan of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Manu Ginobili of Argentina and Tony Parker of France. (Duncan competes for the United States internationally, as the Virgin Islands did not field a basketball team for international competition until well after Duncan started playing internationally, and all U.S. Virgin Islands natives are United States citizens by birth.)
• Ginobili's countryman Andrés Nocioni plays for the Sacramento Kings.
Even in the 90's, many non-American players made their names in the NBA, such as Croats Dražen Petrović and Toni Kukoč, Serb Vlade Divac, Lithuanians Arvydas Sabonis and Šarūnas Marčiulionis and German Detlef Schrempf.
Globalization of basketball
The all-tournament teams at the two most recent FIBA World Championships, held in 2002 in Indianapolis and 2006 in Japan, demonstrate the globalization of the game equally dramatically. Only one member of either team was American, namely Carmelo Anthony in 2006. The 2002 team featured Nowitzki, Ginobili, Yao, Peja Stojakovic of Yugoslavia (now of Serbia), and Pero Cameron of New Zealand. Ginobili also made the 2006 team; the other members were Anthony, Gasol, his Spanish teammate Jorge Garbajosa and Theodoros Papaloukas of Greece. The only players on either team to never have joined the NBA are Cameron and Papaloukas. The strength of international Basketball is evident in the fact that the last three FIBA world championships were won (in order) by Serbia (Yugoslavia in 1998) and Spain.
Rules and regulations
Main article: Rules of basketball
Measurements and time limits discussed in this section often vary among tournaments and organizations; international and NBA rules are used in this section.
The object of the game is to outscore one's opponents by throwing the ball through the opponents' basket from above while preventing the opponents from doing so on their own. An attempt to score in this way is called a shot. A successful shot is worth two points, or three points if it is taken from beyond the three-point arc which is 6.25 metres (Template:Convert/) from the basket in international games and 23 feet 9 inches (7.2 m) in NBA games.
Playing regulations
Games are played in four quarters of 10 (international) or 12 minutes (NBA). College games use two 20-minute halves while most high school games use eight minute quarters. Fifteen minutes are allowed for a half-time break, and two minutes are allowed at the other breaks. Overtime periods are five minutes long. Teams exchange baskets for the second half. The time allowed is actual playing time; the clock is stopped while the play is not active. Therefore, games generally take much longer to complete than the allotted game time, typically about two hours.
Five players from each team (out of a twelve player roster) may be on the court at one time. Substitutions are unlimited but can only be done when play is stopped. Teams also have a coach, who oversees the development and strategies of the team, and other team personnel such as assistant coaches, managers, statisticians, doctors and trainers.
For both men's and women's teams, a standard uniform consists of a pair of shorts and a jersey with a clearly visible number, unique within the team, printed on both the front and back. Players wear high-top sneakers that provide extra ankle support. Typically, team names, players' names and, outside of North America, sponsors are printed on the uniforms.
A limited number of time-outs, clock stoppages requested by a coach for a short meeting with the players, are allowed. They generally last no longer than one minute unless, for televised games, a commercial break is needed.
The game is controlled by the officials consisting of the referee ("crew chief" in men's college and the NBA), one or two umpires ("referees" in men's college and the NBA) and the table officials. For college, the NBA, and many high schools, there are a total of three referees on the court. The table officials are responsible for keeping track of each teams scoring, timekeeping, individual and team fouls, player substitutions, team possession arrow, and the shot clock.
Equipment


Traditional eight-panel basketball
The only essential equipment in basketball is the basketball and the court: a flat, rectangular surface with baskets at opposite ends. Competitive levels require the use of more equipment such as clocks, scoresheets, scoreboard(s), alternating possession arrows, and whistle-operated stop-clock systems.


An outdoor basketball net.
A regulation basketball court in international games is 28 by 15 meters (approx. 92 by 49 ft) and in the NBA is 94 by 50 feet (29 by 15 m). Most courts are made of wood. A steel basket with net and backboard hang over each end of the court. At almost all levels of competition, the top of the rim is exactly 10 feet (3.05 m) above the court and 4 feet (1.2 m) inside the baseline. While variation is possible in the dimensions of the court and backboard, it is considered important for the basket to be of the correct height; a rim that is off by but a few inches can have an adverse effect on shooting.
There are also regulations on the size a basketball should be. If women are playing, the official basketball size is 28.5" in circumference (size 6) and a weight of 20 oz. For men, the official ball is 29.5" in circumference (size 7) and weighs 22 oz.
Violations
The ball may be advanced toward the basket by being shot, passed between players, thrown, tapped, rolled or dribbled (bouncing the ball while running).
The ball must stay within the court; the last team to touch the ball before it travels out of bounds forfeits possession. The ball is out of bounds if touches or crosses over a boundary line, or touches a player who is out of bounds. This is contrast to other sports such as football (soccer), volleyball, and tennis (but not rugby or American football) where the ball (or player) is still considered in if any part of it is touching a boundary line.
The ball-handler may not move both feet without dribbling, known as traveling, nor may he dribble with both hands or catch the ball in between dribbles, a violation called double dribbling. A player's hand cannot be under the ball while dribbling; doing so is known as carrying the ball. A team, once having established ball control in the front half of the court, may not return the ball to the backcourt. The ball may not be kicked nor struck with the fist. A violation of these rules results in loss of possession, or, if committed by the defense, a reset of the shot clock.
There are limits imposed on the time taken before progressing the ball past halfway (8 seconds in international and NBA; 10 seconds in NCAA and high school), before attempting a shot (24 seconds in the NBA, 30 seconds in NCAA women's and Canadian Interuniversity Sport play for both sexes, and 35 seconds in NCAA men's play), holding the ball while closely guarded (5 seconds), and remaining in the restricted area (the lane, or "key") (3 seconds). These rules are designed to promote more offense.
No player may interfere with the basket or ball on its downward flight to the basket, or while it is on the rim (or, in the NBA, while it is directly above the basket), a violation known as goaltending. If a defensive player goaltends, the attempted shot is considered to have been successful. If a teammate of the shooter goaltends, the basket is cancelled and play continues with the defensive team being given possession.
Fouls


The referee signals that a foul has been committed.
Main articles: Personal foul and Technical foul
An attempt to unfairly disadvantage an opponent through physical contact is illegal and is called a foul. These are most commonly committed by defensive players; however, they can be committed by offensive players as well. Players who are fouled either receive the ball to pass inbounds again, or receive one or more free throws if they are fouled in the act of shooting, depending on whether the shot was successful. One point is awarded for making a free throw, which is attempted from a line 15 feet (4.6 m) from the basket.
The referee may use discretion in calling fouls (for example, by considering whether an unfair advantage was gained), sometimes making fouls controversial calls. The calling of fouls can vary between games, leagues and even between referees.
A player or coach who shows poor sportsmanship, for instance, by arguing with a referee or by fighting with another player, can be charged with a more serious foul called a technical foul. The penalty involves free throws (which unlike a personal foul, the other team can choose any player to shoot the free throws) and varies between leagues. Repeated incidents can result in disqualification. Blatant fouls with excessive contact or that are not an attempt to play the ball are called unsportsmanlike fouls (or flagrant fouls in the NBA) and typically will result in ejection.
If a team exceeds a certain limit of team fouls in a given period (quarter or half) – four for NBA and international games – the opposing team is awarded one or two free throws on all subsequent fouls for that period, the number depending on the league. In the US college game if a team surpasses 7 fouls in the half the opposing team is awarded a one-and-one free throw (a player making the first is given a second). If a team exceeds 10 fouls in the half the opposing team is awarded two free throws on all subsequent fouls for the half. A player who, in an international game, commits five fouls (including technical fouls), or in an NBA game, commits six fouls (excluding technical fouls) is not allowed to participate for the rest of the game, and is said to have "fouled out".
After a team has committed a specified number of fouls, it is said to be "in the penalty". On scoreboards, this is usually signified with an indicator light reading "Bonus" or "Penalty" with an illuminated directional arrow indicating that team is to receive free throws when fouled by the opposing team. (Some scoreboards also indicate the number of fouls committed.)
The number of free throws awarded increases with the number of fouls committed. Initially, one shot is awarded, but after a certain number of additional fouls are committed the opposing team may receive (a) one shot with a chance for a second shot if the first shot is made, called shooting "one-and-one", or (b) two shots. If a team misses the first shot (or "front end") of a one-and-one situation, the opposing team may reclaim possession of the ball and continue play. If a team misses the first shot of a two-shot situation, the opposing team must wait for the completion of the second shot before attempting to reclaim possession of the ball and continuing play.
If a player is fouled while attempting a shot and the shot is unsuccessful, the player is awarded a number of free throws equal to the value of the attempted shot. A player fouled while attempting a regular two-point shot, then, receives two shots. A player fouled while attempting a three-point shot, on the other hand, receives three shots.
If a player is fouled while attempting a shot and the shot is successful, typically the player will be awarded one additional free throw for one point. In combination with a regular shot, this is called a "three-point play" (or more colloquially, an "and one") because of the basket made at the time of the foul (2 points) and the additional free throw (1 point). Four-point plays, while rare, can also occur.
Common techniques and practices
Positions and structures


Basketball positions in the offensive zone
Although the rules do not specify any positions whatsoever, they have evolved as part of basketball. During the first five decades of basketball's evolution, one guard, two forwards, and two centers or two guards, two forwards, and one center were used. Since the 1980s, more specific positions have evolved, namely:
1. point guard: usually the fastest player on the team, organizes the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right player at the right time
2. shooting guard: creates a high volume of shots on offense; guards the opponent's best perimeter player on defense
3. small forward: often primarily responsible for scoring points via cuts to the basket and dribble penetration; on defense seeks rebounds and steals, but sometimes plays more actively
4. power forward: plays offensively often with his back to the basket; on defense, plays under the basket (in a zone defense) or against the opposing power forward (in man-to-man defense)
5. center: uses size to score (on offense), to protect the basket closely (on defense), or to rebound.
The above descriptions are flexible. On some occasions, teams will choose to use a three guard offense, replacing one of the forwards or the center with a third guard. The most commonly interchanged positions are point guard and shooting guard, especially if both players have good leadership and ball handling skills.
There are two main defensive strategies: zone defense and man-to-man defense. Zone defense involves players in defensive positions guarding whichever opponent is in their zone. In man-to-man defense, each defensive player guards a specific opponent and tries to prevent him from taking action.
Offensive plays are more varied, normally involving planned passes and movement by players without the ball. A quick movement by an offensive player without the ball to gain an advantageous position is a cut. A legal attempt by an offensive player to stop an opponent from guarding a teammate, by standing in the defender's way such that the teammate cuts next to him, is a screen or pick. The two plays are combined in the pick and roll, in which a player sets a pick and then "rolls" away from the pick towards the basket. Screens and cuts are very important in offensive plays; these allow the quick passes and teamwork which can lead to a successful basket. Teams almost always have several offensive plays planned to ensure their movement is not predictable. On court, the point guard is usually responsible for indicating which play will occur.
Defensive and offensive structures, and positions, are more emphasized in higher levels in basketball; it is these that a coach normally requests a time-out to discuss.
Shooting


Player releases a short jump shot, while her defender is either knocked down, or trying to "take a charge."
Shooting is the act of attempting to score points by throwing the ball through the basket. While methods can vary with players and situations, the most common technique can be outlined here.
The player should be positioned facing the basket with feet about shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and back straight. The player holds the ball to rest in the dominant hand's fingertips (the shooting arm) slightly above the head, with the other hand on the side of the ball. To aim the ball, the player's elbow should be aligned vertically, with the forearm facing in the direction of the basket. The ball is shot by bending and extending the knees and extending the shooting arm to become straight; the ball rolls off the finger tips while the wrist completes a full downward flex motion. When the shooting arm is stationary for a moment after the ball released, it is known as a follow-through; it is incorporated to maintain accuracy. Generally, the non-shooting arm is used only to guide the shot, not to power it.
Players often try to put a steady backspin on the ball to deaden its impact with the rim. The ideal trajectory of the shot is somewhat arguable, but generally coaches will profess proper arch. Most players shoot directly into the basket, but shooters may use the backboard to redirect the ball into the basket.
The two most common shots that use the above described set up are the set shot and the jump shot. The set shot is taken from a standing position, with neither foot leaving the floor, typically used for free throws. The jump shot is taken while in mid-air, near the top of the jump. This provides much greater power and range, and it also allows the player to elevate over the defender. Failure to release the ball before returning the feet to the ground is a traveling violation.
Another common shot is called the layup. This shot requires the player to be in motion toward the basket, and to "lay" the ball "up" and into the basket, typically off the backboard (the backboard-free, underhand version is called a finger roll). The most crowd-pleasing, and typically highest-percentage accuracy shot is the slam dunk, in which the player jumps very high, and throws the ball downward, straight through the hoop.
Another shot that is becoming common is the "circus shot". The circus shot is a low-percentage shot that is flipped, heaved, scooped, or flung toward the hoop while the shooter is off-balance, airborne, falling down, and/or facing away from the basket.
A shot that misses both the rim and the backboard completely is referred to as an air ball. A particularly bad shot, or one that only hits the backboard, is jocularly called a brick.
Rebounding
Main article: Rebound (basketball)
The objective of rebounding is to successfully gain possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw, as it rebounds from the hoop or backboard. This plays a major role in the game, as most possessions end when a team misses a shot. There are two categories of rebounds: offensive rebounds, in which the ball is recovered by the offensive side and does not change possession, and defensive rebounds, in which the defending team gains possession of the loose ball. The majority of rebounds are defensive, as the team on defense tends to be in better position to recover missed shots.
Passing
See also: Assist (basketball)
A pass is a method of moving the ball between players. Most passes are accompanied by a step forward to increase power and are followed through with the hands to ensure accuracy.
A staple pass is the chest pass. The ball is passed directly from the passer's chest to the receiver's chest. A proper chest pass involves an outward snap of the thumbs to add velocity and leaves the defence little time to react.
Another type of pass is the bounce pass. Here, the passer bounces the ball crisply about two-thirds of the way from his own chest to the receiver. The ball strikes the court and bounces up toward the receiver. The bounce pass takes longer to complete than the chest pass, but it is also harder for the opposing team to intercept (kicking the ball deliberately is a violation). Thus, players often use the bounce pass in crowded moments, or to pass around a defender.
The overhead pass is used to pass the ball over a defender. The ball is released while over the passer's head.
The outlet pass occurs after a team gets a defensive rebound. The next pass after the rebound is the outlet pass.
The crucial aspect of any good pass is being impossible to intercept. Good passers can pass the ball with great accuracy and touch and know exactly where each of their teammates like to receive the ball. A special way of doing this is passing the ball without looking at the receiving teammate. This is called a no-look pass.
Another advanced style of passing is the behind-the-back pass which, as the description implies, involves throwing the ball behind the passer's back to a teammate. Although some players can perform them effectively, many coaches discourage no-look or behind-the-back passes, believing them to be fundamentally unsound, difficult to control, and more likely to result in turnovers or violations.
Dribbling


A U.S. Naval Academy ("Navy") player, left, posts up a U.S. Military Academy ("Army") defender
Main article: Dribble
Dribbling is the act of bouncing the ball continuously with one hand, and is a requirement for a player to take steps with the ball. To dribble, a player pushes the ball down towards the ground with the fingertips rather than patting it; this ensures greater control.
When dribbling past an opponent, the dribbler should dribble with the hand farthest from the opponent, making it more difficult for the defensive player to get to the ball. It is therefore important for a player to be able to dribble competently with both hands.
Good dribblers (or "ball handlers") tend to bounce the ball low to the ground, reducing the travel from the floor to the hand, making it more difficult for the defender to "steal" the ball. Additionally, good ball handlers frequently dribble behind their backs, between their legs, and change hands and directions of the dribble frequently, making a less predictable dribbling pattern that is more difficult to defend. This is called a crossover, which is the most effective way to pass defenders while dribbling.
A skilled player can dribble without watching the ball, using the dribbling motion or peripheral vision to keep track of the ball's location. By not having to focus on the ball, a player can look for teammates or scoring opportunities, as well as avoid the danger of someone stealing the ball from him/her.
Blocking
Main article: Block (basketball)
A block is performed when, after a shot is attempted, a defender attempts to alter the shot by touching the ball. In almost all variants of play, it is illegal to touch the ball after it is in the downward part of its arc; this is known as goaltending. It is also illegal to block a shot after it has touched the backboard, or when any part of the ball is directly above the rim.
To block a shot, a player has to be able to reach a point higher than where the shot is released. Thus, height can be an advantage in blocking. Players at the taller power forward or center positions generally record more blocks than players at the shorter guard positions. However, with good timing and sufficient vertical leap, even shorter players can be effective at blocking shots.
Height
At the professional level, most male players are above 6 feet 3 inches (1.9 m) and most women above 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 m). Guards, for whom physical coordination and ball-handling skills are crucial, tend to be the smallest players. Almost all forwards in the men's pro leagues are 6 feet 6 inches (2.0 m) or taller. Most centers are over 6 feet 10 inches (2.1 m) tall. According to a survey given to all NBA teams, the average height of all NBA players is just under 6 feet 7 inches (2.0 m), with the average weight being close to 222 pounds (101 kg). The tallest players ever in the NBA were Manute Bol and Gheorghe Mureşan, who were both 7 feet 7 inches (2.3 m) tall. The tallest current NBA player is Yao Ming, who stands at 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m).
The shortest player ever to play in the NBA is Muggsy Bogues at 5 feet 3 inches (1.6 m). Other short players have thrived at the pro level. Anthony "Spud" Webb was just 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 m) tall, but had a 42-inch (1.07 m) vertical leap, giving him significant height when jumping. The shortest player in the NBA as of the 2006-07 season is Earl Boykins at 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m). While shorter players are often not very good at defending against shooting, their ability to navigate quickly through crowded areas of the court and steal the ball by reaching low are strengths.
Variations and similar games
Main article: Variations of basketball
Variations of basketball are activities based on the game of basketball, using common basketball skills and equipment (primarily the ball and basket). Some variations are only superficial rules changes, while others are distinct games with varying degrees of basketball influences. Other variations include children's games, contests or activities meant to help players reinforce skills.
Wheelchair basketball, created by disabled World War II veterans,[14] is played on specially designed wheelchairs for the physically impaired. The world governing body of wheelchair basketball is the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation[15] (IWBF). Water basketball, played in a swimming pool, merges basketball and water polo rules. Beach basketball is played in a circular court with no backboard on the goal, no out-of-bounds rule with the ball movement to be done via passes or 2 1/2 steps, as dribbling is next to impossible on a soft surface.[16]
There are many variations as well played in informal settings without referees or strict rules. Perhaps the single most common variation is the half court game. Only one basket is used, and the ball must be "cleared" - passed or dribbled outside the half-court or three-point line - each time possession of the ball changes from one team to the other. Half-court games require less cardiovascular stamina, since players need not run back and forth a full court. Half-court games also raise the number of players that can use a court, an important benefit when many players want to play.
A popular version of the half-court game is 21. Two-point shots count as two points and shots from behind the three-point line count three. A player who makes a basket is awarded up to three extra free throws (or unlimited if you are playing "all day"), worth the usual one point. When a shot is missed, if one of the other players tips the ball in with two while it is in the air, the score of the player who missed the shot goes back to zero, or if they have surpassed 13, their score goes back to 13. This is called a "tip". If a missed shot is "tipped" in, but the player who tips it in only uses one hand, then the player who shot it is out of the game and has to catch an air ball to get back in. The first player to reach exactly 21 points wins. If they go over, their score goes back to 13.
Other variations include streetball, knockout, Around the World, and one-on-one, a variation in which two players will use only a small section of the court (often no more than a half of a court) and compete to play the ball into a single hoop. Such games tend to emphasize individual dribbling and ball stealing skills over shooting and team play.