Comments on: Jump Ball

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:54:22 +0000

Freezer - thanks for educating me. I haven’t been to a HS BB game in over 3 decades, and in the few pro games I’ve watched recently, well, I guess there weren’t any jump ball situations.

By: James Pollock

James Pollock — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:26:52 +0000

Where are they playing? There’s no crowd in the background, but they have a ref…

By: Dan W

Dan W — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:48:55 +0000

He has to celebrate the small victories I guess…

By: Lihtox

Lihtox — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:30:47 +0000

I think the comic is self-evident, even without the “Jump ball!” comment: the fact that the little guy is optimistic about ANYTHING in this game is amusing.

By: Judge Mental

Judge Mental — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:59:02 +0000

I realized from my some of the subsequent comments that I might not have been thorough enough in my explanation. So I am going to attempt to expound.

- In basketball, the defensive team can force a “jump ball” when he and a member of the offensive team simultaneously have possession of the ball
- A jump ball forces a “tip-off” (the NBA still uses the tip-off, and not alternating possessions) where the referee will throw the ball up and the two combatants will attempt to tip it towards a team-mate
- The joke is that the little guy is indeed thrilled, but he has little reason to be, as the chances of him winning the tip are minuscule.

By: Freezer

Freezer — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:47:07 +0000

@Bob #6: The jump ball is gone on the college level. On the high school and pro levels, it’s alive and well.

By: Elyrest

Elyrest — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:35:51 +0000

Ah, I see you deserve your name for your comment Mr. Clarity - Thanks.

By: Mr. Clarity

Mr. Clarity — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:30:27 +0000

HORSE is a form of basketball that can be played by two people. One person describes and then attempts to make a shot. If he makes it, then the other person must try to make the same shot. If he misses, he gets a letter H, then O, then R, etc. The first person to spell HORSE loses. Typically the shots are somewhat bizarre - for example: I will bounce the ball off the back board catch it in mid air and then shoot it in the hoop before I touch the ground. Many years ago there was a Michael Jordan/Larry Bird commercial for MacDonalds that was a take off on HORSE.

By: Elyrest

Elyrest — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:01:55 +0000

Now I’m confused about a comment - Bill, what does horses have to do with basketball? I haven’t intentionally watched a basketball game since college in the 70’s so I have forgotten a lot.

By: CIDU Bill

CIDU Bill — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:42:36 +0000

Dyfsunctional, I’ve never watched a basketball game in my life and never played a basketball game that didn’t involved horses, but I know what a jump ball is. That being said, I still don’t know why the little guy seems to be happy about it.