Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
Basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a ball sport in which, under organized rules, two teams of five players each try to score points by throwing a ball through a hoop. It is primarily an indoor sport, played in a relatively small playing area, called the court. The speed and grace of the game, combined with the close proximity of the spectators to the action, make basketball an exciting spectator sport. Since its invention in 1891, it has developed and become a truly international sport.

History

Early basketball

Basketball is unique in that it was invented by one man, rather than evolving from a different sport. In 1891, Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian-born American minister on the faculty of a college for YMCA professionals (today, Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts, sought a vigorous indoor game to keep young men occupied during the long New England winters. Legend has it that, 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 the gym wall. The first official game was played in the YMCA gymnasium on January 20 1892. Then, there were nine players on the court in a court just half the size of an NBA court. "Basket ball", the name suggested by one of his students, was popular from the beginning, and with its early adherents being dispatched to YMCAs throughout the United States, the game was soon played all over the country. Interestingly, 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. 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 (forerunner of the NCAA) vied for control over the rules of the game. Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball. The first balls made specially 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.

College basketball and early leagues

Naismith himself was instrumental in establishing the college game, coaching at University of Kansas for six years before handing the reins to renowned coach Phog Allen. Naismith disciple Amos Alonzo Stagg brought basketball to the University of Chicago, while Adolph Rupp, a student of Naismith at Kansas, enjoyed great success as coach at the University of Kentucky. College leagues date back to the 1920s, and the first national championship tournament, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in New York, followed in 1938. College basketball was rocked by gambling scandals from 1948-1951, when dozens of players from top teams were implicated in game fixing and point-shaving. Partially spurred by the association of the NIT with many of the cheaters, the NCAA national tournament surpassed the NIT in importance. Today, the NCAA tournament is rivaled only by the baseball World Series and the Super Bowl of American football in the American sports psyche. In the 1920s, there were hundreds of professional basketball teams in towns and cities all over the United States. There was little organization to the professional game, as players jumped from team to team, and teams played in armories and smoky dance halls. Leagues came and went, and barnstorming squads such as the New York Rens and the Original Celtics played up to two hundred games a year on their national tours.

US high school basketball

Before widespread school district consolidation, most US high schools were far smaller than their present day counterparts and 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. Today, virtually every high school in the United States fields a basketball team in varsity competition, and its 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 Indiana and Kentucky are particularly well known for their residents' devotion to high school basketball; the critically acclaimed film Hoosiers shows high school basketball's depth of meaning to these rural communities.

National Basketball Association

Hoosiers In 1946, the National Basketball Association (NBA) was formed, organizing the top professional teams and leading to greater popularity of the professional game. An upstart organization, the American Basketball Association, emerged in 1967 and briefly threatened the NBA's dominance until the rival leagues merged in 1976. 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 Bill Walton, playmaker John Stockton; and the three players who many credit with ushering the professional game to its highest level of popularity: Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan. The NBA-backed Women's National Basketball Association began play in 1997. As in the NBA, several marquee players (Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, and Sue Bird among others) have helped the league improve its popularity and level of competition. Other professional women's basketball leagues in the United States have folded in part because of the success of the WNBA.

International basketball

Sue BirdThe International Basketball Federation was formed in 1932 by eight founding nations: Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. At this time, the organisation only oversaw amateur players. Its acronym, in French, was thus FIBA; the "A" standing for amateur. Basketball was first included in the Olympic Games in 1936, although a demonstration tournament was held back in 1904. 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 World Championships for men were held in Argentina. Three years later, the first World Championships for women were held in Chile. Women's basketball was added to the Olympics in 1976, with teams such as Brazil and Australia rivaling the American squads. 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 briefly resurfaced with the introduction of their Dream Team. However, with developing programs elsewhere, other national teams have now caught up with the United States. A team made entirely of NBA players finished sixth in the 2002 World Championships in Indianapolis, behind Serbia and Montenegro, Argentina, Germany, New Zealand and Spain. In the 2004 Olympics, the United States suffered its first Olympic loss while using professional players, falling to the Puerto Rican national basketball team and eventually came in third after Argentina and Italy. World-wide, basketball tournaments are held for all age levels, from five- to six-year-olds (called biddy-biddy), to high school, college, and the professional leagues. Tournaments are held at each level for both boys and girls. 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. Steve Nash, who won the 2005 NBA MVP award as the Most Valuable Player in the NBA, is a South African-born Canadian player. Dallas Mavericks superstar, Dirk Nowitzki, was born in Germany and plays for the German national team. The all-tournament team at the most recent World Basketball Championships, held in 2002 in Indianapolis, demonstrates the globalization of the game equally dramatically. The team featured Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic of Serbia and Montenegro, Manu Ginobili of Argentina, Yao Ming of China, and Pero Cameron of New Zealand; all except Cameron were or became NBA players.

Rules and regulations

:Main article: Rules of basketball Measurements and time limits referred to in this section often vary between tournaments and organisations; 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 meters (20 ft 5 in) from the basket in international games and 23 ft 9 in (7.24 m) in NBA games. A successful free throw is worth one point.

Playing regulations

Games are played in four quarters of 10 (international) or 12 minutes (NBA). Fifteen minutes are allotted 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 allotted is actual playing time; that is, the clock is stopped while the ball is not in play, for example when a violation or foul is committed or during free throws. Therefore, games generally take much longer; games of the length above realistically take around two hours. free throw A time-out is a clock stoppage requested by the coach of either team, during which he can talk to the team. A time-out lasts one minute in international basketball and either 60 seconds or 20 seconds in NBA basketball; time-outs can be extended to up to 100 seconds if a television commercial break is needed. The number of time-outs allowed in a game and in each period is limited, typically to five or six in a game. The game is controlled by the officials consisting of the referee, one or two umpires and the table officials. The table officials are responsible for keeping track of each teams scoring, timekeeping, individual and team fouls, player substitutions, team possession arrow (except in the NBA, Euroleague, and some amateur leagues), and the shot clock.

Equipment

Other than the ball, the only essential equipment in basketball is the court: a flat, rectangular surface with two baskets at opposite ends. At competitive levels, much more equipment may be needed, including clocks, scoresheets, scoreboards, foul markers, alternating possession arrows, and whistle-operated stop-clock systems. The men's ball's circumference is about 30 inches (76 cm) and weighs about 1 lb 5 oz (600 g). The women's ball's circumference is about 29 inches (730 cm) and weighs about 1 lb 3 oz (540 g). A regulation basketball court in international games is 28 by 15 meters (approx. 92 by 49 feet) and in the NBA is 94 by 50 feet (approx. 29 by 15 meters). Most courts are made of wood and have painted lines 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide to mark off the various sections. A basket and backboard hang over each end of the court. The basket consists of a cast-iron rim and a net, and is connected by supports to the backboard. At almost all levels of competition, the top of the rim is exactly 10 feet (3.05 m) above the court and 4 feet (1.21 m) inside the endline. While variation is possible in the dimensions of the court and backboard, it is generally considered mandatory for the rim to be the proper height. Even amateur players can detect a rim that is off by as little as a few inches, and practicing on a non-standard rim can cause a good shooter to lose the muscle memory necessary for a good shot.

Teams and uniforms

There are five players from each team on the court at any time. Teams can have up to seven substitutes. 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 followers such as assistant coaches, managers, statisticians, doctors and trainers. basketball court For both men's and women's teams, a standard uniform consists of a pair of shorts and a sleeveless tank top with a clearly visible number printed on both the front and back. Players also wear high-top sneakers that provide extra ankle support. Often, team names and players' names and sometimes sponsors are printed on the uniforms too. For FIBA-sanctioned international tournaments, only numbers from 4 to 15 may be used. This enables referees to signal players' numbers to the scorer's table using their fingers. For domestic and continental competitions in most organised basketball, including the NBA, but excuding NFHS and NCAA competition, any number from 1 to 99, as well as 0 or 00 (but not both), are permitted. In NFHS and NCAA competition, players are limited to 0 or 00 (not both), and any number from 1-5, 10-15, 20-25, 30-35, 40-45, and 50-55. In the state of Iowa for girls only, home players must wear odd numbers and visiting players must wear even numbers. No two players of the same team may wear the same number.

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, though it is not considered out-of-bounds until the ball touches the ground or someone who is touching the ground that is out-of-bounds. The last team to touch the ball before it travels out of bounds forfeits possession. The ball-handler may not move both feet while he is holding the ball and not dribbling, known as travelling, nor may he dribble with both hands or catch the ball in between dribbles, a violation called double-dribbling. A player's hand must remain on top of the ball while dribbling, failure to do 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. No player may kick the ball or strike it with his 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), before attempting a shot (24 seconds), holding the ball while closely guarded (5 seconds), and remaining in the restricted area (3 seconds -- in the NBA, this rule is for both offense and defense, as a defensive violation results in a free throw attempt). These rules are designed to reward good defense. No player may interfere with the ball or basket on its downward flight to the basket, or while it is on the ring (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 or dribbler goaltends, the basket is cancelled and the team loses possession.

Fouls

:Main articles: Personal foul, Technical foul An attempt to unfairly disadvantage an opponent through personal 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 4.5 metres (15 feet) from the basket. There is some discretion with the referee when calling a foul — they consider if there was unfair advantage gained, for example, a player gained possession unfairly. This makes fouls sometimes controversial calls. Contact in basketball is unavoidable, and the calling of a foul 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 technical foul. The penalty involves 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, intentional fouls in the NCAA) and incur a harsher penalty; in some rare cases a disqualifying foul will require the player to leave the playing area. Effective in 2004, two unsportsmanlike fouls in a match resulted in a player being disqualified. If a team surpasses a preset limit of team fouls in a given period (quarter or half) – four for international and NBA games – the opposing team is awarded two free throws on all subsequent defensive fouls for that period. In NCAA and US high school play, one free throw is awarded for a team's seventh foul in a half, with a second awarded either if he is successful on the first attempt, or on a team's tenth and subsequent foul in a half. If a player commits five fouls (including technical fouls) in one game (in a league where a game consists of four twelve-minute periods, including the NBA, six fouls), he is not allowed to participate for the rest of the game, and is described as having "fouled out". In the NBA, however, when a team is reduced to five players, once a player commits his sixth foul, he remains in the game, and one additional free-throw is awarded to the free-throw shooter in addition to any free throw attempts awarded for the foul. In the case of an offensive foul past the limit, one free throw is still awarded. A similar rule is used if a team reduced to five players has a player who must leave the game because of injury, as he must be replaced by the last player who left the game because of committing six fouls.

Common techniques and practice

Positions

During the first five decades of basketball's evolution, a player occupied one of three positions, as follows: two guards, two forwards, and one center. Since the 1980s, more specific positions have evolved, as follows: #Point guard #Shooting guard #Small forward #Power forward #Center 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 distinction in positions is important mainly in coaching; any of the 5 players may shoot, pass or otherwise take any legal action at any time.

Shooting

Center To shoot, the player holds the ball in both hands, with the shooting hand (usually the shooter's dominant hand) under the ball and the ball resting only on the top parts of the shooter's fingers, similar to a waiter carrying a tray. The ball is shot toward the target by extending the shooting arm and wrist in a half-arc until the fingers are pointing toward the floor. The ball rolls off the finger tips while the wrist completes a full downward flex motion. The shooting elbow is extended upward, starting its extension from approximately a 90 degree flex to nearly straight. Generally, the non-shooting hand and arm are not used in the shot, except to maintain the ball's position on the shooting hand. The two most common shots are the set shot and the jump shot. The jump shot is by far the most common, with the set shot used mainly for free throw attempts. The set shot is taken from a standing position, with neither foot leaving the floor during the shot. The jump shot is taken from a mid-air position: the player flexes at the knees and jumps before shooting near the top of the jump. The power of the jump shot comes from the legs, giving the player a much longer range, and also allowing the player to elevate over the defender to get a better look at the basket. After release, the ball should have a steady backspin, deadening the ball upon impact with the rim. The ideal trajectory of the shot is somewhat arguable, but generally coaches will profess proper arch. The ball should pass well above the hoop, depending on the length of the shot, and travel downward into the basket to create the best angle for success. Most players try to shoot directly into the basket, but certain situations may call for the shooter to use the backboard to redirect the ball into the basket. The best shooters have great hand and eye coordination, excellent balance, and courage under pressure. Spotting a shooting opportunity is as important as basic technique; top players at the professional level rarely miss when given an unguarded look at the basket. Practice is a key element as well, of course. Many players will linger for hours after a practice session, taking hundreds of shots from various angles to perfect their technique.

Passing

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. One of the most basic passes is the chest pass. The ball is passed directly from the passer's chest to the receiver's chest. This has the advantage that it takes the least time to complete, as the passer tries to pass as directly straight as possible. Another type of pass is the bounce pass. In this pass, the ball bounces about two-thirds of the way from the passer. Like the chest pass, it is passed from the passer's chest to the receiver's chest, and it is passed as directly as possible, for example, there should be no downward motion of the ball between the bounce and the time the receiver catches it. In this way, it is completed in the smallest amount of time possible for this pass. It does take longer to complete than the chest pass, but it is more difficult for the opposing team to intercept (kicking the ball deliberately is a violation). Thus, in crowded moments, or to pass the ball around a defender, this pass is often used. The overhead pass is used to pass the ball over a defender. The ball is passed from behind the passer's head, coming over it and aiming for around the chin of the receiver. This pass is also a fairly direct pass and can cover more distance than a chest pass. A pass is not necessarily always between two players a distance from each other; sometimes a clever cut by a team-mate can mean that a pass is to a team-mate who is in motion but at the time of passing next to the passer. The most important aspect of a good pass is that it is difficult for the defense to intercept. For this reason, large arc-shaped passes are almost always avoided and cross-court passes, called skip passes, are only used in certain situations.

Dribbling

Dribbling is the act of bouncing the ball continuously. When a player dribbles, he or she pushes the ball down towards the ground, rather than patting it, because this ensures greater control. When dribbling past an opponent, the dribbler should dribble with the hand furthest from the player. It is therefore important for a basketballer to be able to dribble confidently with both hands. In this way, the defender will not be able to get to the ball without getting past the dribbler. Also, the dribble will be lowered so that its movement is more frequent. The dribble is also lowered when switching hands. This is because, when switching the hand that is dribbling, the ball travels in front of the player making it easier to steal. Alternatively, to switch hands, a player can dribble between his legs or behind his back. It is common for beginners to dribble into a difficult position. A player should not have to watch the ball while he is dribbling. The pushing motion means that he knows where the ball is without having to see it; and a player's peripheral vision can also track the ball. By not having to focus on the ball, a player can look for team mates or scoring opportunities, as well as steer themself away from the danger of someone stealing the ball from them.

Height

Being tall is a clear advantage in basketball. At the professional level, most male participants are above 1.90 meters (6 ft 3 in) and most women are above 1.70 meters (5 ft 7 in). Guards, for whom physical coordination and ballhandling skill are of paramount importance, tend to be the smallest players, though they can occasionally be quite tall. The shortest player ever in the NBA is Muggsy Bogues at 1.60 meters (5 ft 3 in). Forwards in the men's professional leagues are almost all 2 meters (6 ft 6 in) or taller. Most centers, and a few forwards, are over 2.1 meters (6 ft 10.5 in) tall. The tallest players ever in the NBA, Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan, are 2.31 m (7 ft 7 in). Currently, the tallest NBA player is Yao Ming, who stands at 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in), although Yao has been recently reported to be 2.30 m barefoot and 2.34 m (7 ft 8 in) in basketball shoes. At the US college level, most men are at least 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and women 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m). The smallest high school players are usually 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) in boys' play and 5 feet (1.52 m) in girl's play. Some shorter players experience success at the pro level. Anthony "Spud" Webb stood just 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 m) tall, but had an amazing 42 inch (1.07 m) vertical leap, and played for 12 years in the NBA, even winning the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

Variations and similar games

There are some variations of basketball played in informal settings. In street (also known as 'pickup' or 'streetball') games, an arbitrary number of points by one team is set as the game's end point. Free throws are not used, and fouls are called, by the fouled player, only when a violation is flagrant or prevents a score. Fouls are almost always called by the player with the ball; off-ball fouls or fouls called by the defense are frowned upon unless the foul committed is especially egregious. Full court games usually only commence if there are ten players. For smaller groups of people, the game is usually played in a half-court setting. In half court games, only one basket is used, with the requirement that the ball be "cleared" - passed or dribbled behind the three-point line - whenever possession of the ball changes. A "make-it-take-it" convention, informally known as "buckets" or "winners out", is followed in some regions, whereby the scoring team retains possession of the ball. Because free throws are not generally used, baskets made in pick-up games generally count as one point. However, some courts have begun to add the three-point goal to their pick-up scenario. Some courts keep scores inside the three-point goal as one point and scores beyond it two, while others use standard basketball scoring rules: two points for scores inside the three-point goal and three points for scores outside. Both full court and half court games require an even number of players so that each team has an equal number of players. There exist, however, games for odd number of players. Twenty-one is a game that can be played with two or more players. Each player has his own score, with the winner being the first to reach twenty-one. The game begins with one of the players starting with the ball, with the objective of scoring. All other players attempt to stop the score. On a missed shot, the rebounder clears the ball by dribbling it beyond the three-point line. Whenever a basket is scored, that player receives two points and goes to the free-throw line, where each made shot tacks on another point to their score. Common variations include:
- Having the first made free throw in the game worth two points, while all others are worth just one
- Limiting a player to no more than three made free throws in a row. Upon the third consecutive free throw, the player must start with the ball and try to score a regular basket with the others playing defense.
- Having scores from behind the three-point line count as three points
- Resetting a players score back to zero if they end up with exactly thirteen points
- Resetting a players score back to zero or thirteen if their score exceeds twenty-one. This can happen if they have twenty points and are at the free throw line and miss their free throw. Since the minimum number of points they can henceforth get is two, once they hit twenty-two points rather than winning their score is reset to a lower value. Another common, less athletic game for smaller groups of players is H-O-R-S-E. In this game, players shoot in a particular order. To start, the first shooter may shoot from anywhere on the court. If they miss, the second player gets to shoot from anywhere on the court. If they make their shot, however, the second person must make the same shot made by the first; if the second player misses, they get a "letter" from the word "horse". The next player may shoot from anywhere they please. If, however, the second player makes the shot of the first, the third player must make the same shot, and so on, until the shooting cycles back to the first, in which he may take a new shot. A player is knocked out of the game once they have missed five shots, spelling out the word "horse". Oftentimes, the shots in H-O-R-S-E are trick shots that are rarely, if ever, taken in a real game. Spin-offs from basketball include baseketball, which has some elements of baseball, korfball, which was born in the Netherlands and is played by mixed teams, netball, which was informally called "women's basketball" but now includes men's teams, slamball, and ringball. 21 basketball, Horse, and Around the world are popular variants.

Further reading


- The Meaning of Sports by Michael Mandelbaum (Public Affairs, ISBN 1-58648-252-1).

References


- NBA.com. [http://www.nba.com/analysis/rules_index.html Official rules of the NBA]
- Reimer, Anthony (June 2005). "FIBA vs North American Rules Comparison". FIBA Assist 14, p. 40.
- International Basketball Federation (September 2004). Official Basketball Rules.

See also


- Basketball at the Summer Olympics
- Women's National Basketball Association
- Basketball World Championship
- NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship
- NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship
- International Basketball Federation
- National Basketball Association
- Basketball Hall of Fame
- Rules of basketball
- Basketball moves
- Triangle offense
- Zone defense
- Man-to-man defense
- Springfield, Massachusetts +
- Violence in sports
- List of defunct sports leagues

External links


- [http://www.nbajunkie.com NBA Junkie] wiki focused on basketball
- [http://www.centercourthoops.com CenterCourt Hoops] Basketball -- News and Discussion
- [http://www.freebasketball.netfirms.com Basketball fundamentals and streetball history] Official site
- [http://www.basketball-plays-and-tips.com/encyclopedia Basketball Plays, Drills and Fundamentals] Resource for coaches and players
- [http://www.nba.com NBA.com] Official site
- [http://www.playcoed.com Play Coed Basketball] Men's & Coed Hoops
- [http://www.nbawire.com NBA Basketball News]
- [http://www.bballin.com BBALLIN 1 on 1 and 3 on 3 Basketball Leagues] Official site
- [http://www.insidehoops.com InsideHoops.com]
- [http://www.hoopsstats.com Hoopsstats.com]
- [http://www.fiba.com International Basketball Federation]
- [http://www.northstarbasketball.com Northstar Basketball] Official site
- [http://www.hoopaddicts.com/modules.php?name=Forums Hoop Addicts discussion forum]
- [http://www.nbawire.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi NBA Message Boards]
- [http://www.googul.net/modules/zmagazine/article.php?articleid=1 Googul.net - The Origins Of Basketball]
- [http://games.espn.go.com/vgm Gatorade Virtual GM]
- [http://www.summerproleague.com NBA Summer Ball]
- [http://www.basketball-overseas.com Basketball Overseas USA & Europe]
- [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/papr:@FILREQ(@field(TITLE+@od1(Basket+ball,+Missouri+Valley+College++))+@FIELD(COLLID+workleis)) Movie of girls playing basketball at Missouri Valley College, circa 1904]
- [http://dir.yahoo.com/Recreation/Sports/Basketball/ Basketball] from Yahoo!
- [http://www.pepere.org/flash_games/3_points_challenge.php?lang=1 Flash basketball three points demonstration]
- [http://www.basketball-oasis.com Basketball Oasis - basketball directory]
- [http://www.ep2005.co.yu/ Eurobasket 2005]
- [http://www.basketball.net.au Basketball Australia]
- [http://www.sacredhoops.com youth basketball]
- [http://www.quad4x.net/cswebpage/2_3zone.html 2-3 Zone Defense - most common zone used]
- [http://www.theatlasgames.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=60&Itemid=45/ Atlas Games Basketball Competition]
- [http://www.cnbasketball.com/ Chinese basketball] Category:Ball games ko:농구 ja:バスケットボール simple:Basketball

Teams

A team comprises any group of people or animals linked in a common purpose. A group in itself does not necessarily constitute a team. Thus teams of sports players can form (and re-form) to practice their craft. Transport logistics executives can select teams of horses, dogs or oxen for the purpose of conveying goods. Theorists in business in the late 20th century popularized the concept of constructing teams. Differing opinions exist on the efficacy of this new management fad. Some see "team" as a four-letter word: overused and under-useful. Others see it as a panacea that finally realizes the Human Relations movement's desire to integrate what that movement perceives as best for workers and as best for managers. Still others believe in the effectiveness of teams, but also see them as dangerous because of the potential for exploiting workers — in that team effectiveness can rely on peer pressure and peer surveillance. Compare the more structured/skilled concept of a crew, and the advantages of formal and informal partnerships. Managers use teams for grouping people based on a common function. Members of a team usually belong to different groups, but receive assignment to activities for the same project, thereby allowing outsiders to view them as a single unit. In this way, setting up a team allegedly facilitates the creation, tracking and assignment of a group of people based on the project in hand. A Virtual team consists of members joined electronically, with nominal in-person contact. Virtual teaming is made possible with technology tools, especially the internet. This allows teams to be formed of players otherwise unavailable. Research can be performed using input from the best minds around the world. Work projects can be completed by spreading the workload among long-distance players. Many businesses build their competitive edge on the capabilities and efficiencies of virtual teams. Teams can sub-divide into sub-teams according to need. A team used only for a defined period of time often becomes known as a project team. Many teams go through a life-cycle of stages, identified by Bruce Tuckman as: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.

See also


- Coalition
- Community
- Forming-storming-norming-performing
- Teamwork
- Team building
- Virtual team Category:Social groups

Basketball court

In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface/floor. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a hardwood, often maple, and highly polished. For outdoor courts, asphalt, blacktop, or similar materials are used. A basketball court is symmetrical both lengthwise and widthwise. The basketball court comes in different shapes and sizes. In the National Basketball Association, the court is 94 feet long by 50 feet wide (28.65 m by 15.24 m). A FIBA court is slightly smaller, at 28 m by 15 m. In street ball the court is much smaller than in NBA. The free throw lane is 12 feet wide and 15 feet long. The distance from the free throw line to the three-point line is 4 feet 9 inches long. The bottom block to the baseline is 4 feet. The center circle's diameter is 12 feet, which is where they have the jump ball to start the game. The distance to the three point arc has changed twice in the history of basketball. In the 1979-1980 season the three-point arc was moved back to its original 23’ 9", while the college range is 19’ 9", and the international distance is 20’ 6".

References


- http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-888.html Court

Invented sport

An invented sport refers to a modern-day sport which is conceived and developed by a single person, team, or committee. Unlike most sports, which are derived from pre-existing pastimes or sport-like activities, invented sports have a direct lineage to a complete set of rules designed by an inventor to be different than what was before, rather than an improvement or codification of an existing sport or contest. Thus, baseball, with its disputed origin and its precursors in cricket, rounders, town ball, and "stickball", is not ordinarily considered "invented". Likewise, arena football, futsal, and roller hockey are not invented sports, since they are modifications of existing, established sports. Under this definition, the most notable invented sport is basketball, with an estimated 42.1 million people who played the game at least once per year in the United States alone. Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891. Another invented sport, volleyball, was the second-fastest growing sport over the same period. Sports are often invented to fulfill specific needs or test certain theories that pre-existing sports do not fulfill. Tchoukball, for example, was invented by a Swiss physician who wished to have a team game that de-emphasized aggression and violence. SlamBall was conceived as a spectator sport to be broadcasted; as such, it is probably the only sport in existence which was first played by professionals, with no amateurs ever taking part.

List of invented sports


- Basketball
- Borgolf
- Bumball [http://www.letsplay.dk/default_english.htm]
- Cambok
-
- Crockey
- Danball
- Disc golf
- Double Disc Court
- Dowling
- Guts
- Herbert (sport)
- Junkyard Sports
- Korfball
- Icarna
- Netball
-
- Parkour
- (derived from free movement)
- Ringo
- Rocball
- Scuffleball
- SlamBall
- Tchoukball
- Three sided football
- Toccer
- Triathlon
-
- Ultimate
- Volleyball
- There is some debate as to whether these are invented sports.

External links


- [http://www.egroups.com/group/invented-sports/ Invented Sports at Yahoogroups] Category:Sports terminology

James Naismith

Doctor James Naismith, (November 6, 1861 – November 28, 1939) was the inventor of the sport of basketball and the first to introduce the use of a helmet in American football. He was also the first basketball coach assembling a team of 5 players He was born in Almonte, Canada West, the older son of Scottish immigrants who had arrived in the area in 1851. Naismith was a graduate of Montreal's McGill University in 1887, where he studied philosophy and Presbyterian College, Montreal in 1890. He also earned a physical education degree from Springfield College, the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891. In 1898, he received a medical degree from Gross Medical College in Denver (which merged in 1911 with the University of Colorado in Boulder ), and the Doctor of Divinity degree, honoris causa, from Presbyterian College in 1938. In 1891, while working as a physical education teacher at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, he was asked to look for a way to relieve his students' boredom during indoor winter gym classes. Inspired in part by a game he played as a child in Ontario called Duck-on-a-Rock, Naismith's basketball started December 15, 1891 with thirteen rules, a peach basket nailed to either end of the school's gymnasium, and two teams of nine players. On January 15, 1892 Naismith published the rules for basketball. The original rules did not include what we know today as the dribble initially only allowing the ball to be moved up the court via a pass. Following each "goal" a jump ball was taken in the middle of the court. Also interesting was the rule surrounding balls out of bounds - the first player to retrieve the ball received possession. Basketball became a popular men's sport in the United States very quickly, and spread to other countries as well. Additionally, there were several efforts to establish (under modified rules) a women's version; this met with great resistance in some circles and was consequently far slower to become truly widespread. The men's sport was officially added to the Olympic Games program at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. There, Naismith handed out the medals to three North American teams; United States, who defeated Canada 19-8 for the Gold Medal, in a game that was played outdoors in rain, and Mexico, the Bronze medal. Women's basketball finally became an Olympic event in Montreal during the 1976 Summer Olympics. Previously, there had been a men's basketball competition, in connection with the 1904 Games at St. Louis, USA. Naismith moved to the University of Kansas, in 1898, following his studies in Denver, becoming a professor, and the school's first basketball coach. U of Kansas went on to develop one of the nation's most storied college basketball programs. Ironically, Naismith is the only Kansas coach to have a losing record (55-60) during his tenure at the school. However, Naismith coached Forrest "Phog" Allen, who then became one of winningest coaches in U.S. college basketball history, and his eventual successor. In the late 1930s he played a role in the formation of the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball, which later became the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. In August 1936, while attending the Berlin Olympics, he was named honorary President of the International Basketball Federation. Naismith married Maude Sherman in 1894. They had five children. Naismith became a naturalized American citizen on May 4, 1925. After Maude's death in 1937, he remarried Florence Kincade on June 11 1939, less than six months before his own death, in Lawrence, Kansas, of a cerebral hemorrhage. He is buried there alongside his first wife in Lawrence, the hometown of the University of Kansas where he taught. On February 17, 1968 the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, named in his honor, opened in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was the founding inductee. He has also been honored in other nations, including Canada.

External links and references


- [http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/Naismith.htm Naismith's biography] from the website of the Basketball Hall of Fame
- [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/naismith/ Naismith Foundation's website]
- [http://www.hoophall.com/history/original_13rules.htm Original 13 basketball rules by Dr. James Naismith]
- [http://kuathletics.collegesports.com/sports/m-baskbl/ Kansas University Men's Basketball]
- [http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?ID=10186 Heritage Minutes: Dr. James Naismith] Naismith, James Naismith, James Naismith, James Naismith, James Naismith, James Naismith, James Naismith, James Naismith, James Naismith, James Naismith, James ko:제임스 네이스미스 ja:ジェームズ・ネイスミス

United States

:For alternative meanings, see the disambiguation page for US, USA, United States, or American. The United States of America is a federal democratic republic situated primarily in central North America. It comprises 50 states and one federal district, and has several territories. It is also referred to, with varying formality, as the United States, the U.S., the U.S.A., the States, or simply and most commonly, America. The official founding date of the United States is July 4, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress—representing thirteen British colonies—adopted the Declaration of Independence. However, the structure of the government was profoundly changed in 1788, when the states replaced the Articles of Confederation with the United States Constitution. The date on which each of the fifty states adopted the Constitution is typically regarded as the date that state "entered the Union" (became part of the United States). Since the mid-20th century, following World War II, the United States has emerged as a dominant global influence in economic, political, military, scientific, technological, and cultural affairs.

Geography and climate

The United States shares land borders with Canada (to the north) and Mexico (to the south), and territorial water boundaries with Canada, Russia, the Bahamas, and numerous smaller nations. It is otherwise bounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, in the west; the Arctic Ocean, in the northernmost areas; and the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, in the eastern and southeastern areas. Forty-eight of the states are in the single region between Canada and Mexico; this group is referred to, with varying precision and formality, as the continental or contiguous United States, sometimes abbreviated CONUS, and as the Lower 48. Alaska, which is not included in the term contiguous United States, is at the northwestern end of North America, separated from the Lower 48 by Canada. The archipelago of Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean. The capital city, Washington, District of Columbia is a federal district located on land donated by the state of Maryland. (Virginia also donated land, but it was returned in 1847.) The United States also has overseas territories with varying levels of independence and organization. When inland water is included in the total area, only Russia and Canada are larger than the United States; if inland water is excluded, China ranks third and the U.S. ranks fourth. The United States' total area is 3,718,711 square miles (9,631,418 km²), of which land makes up 3,537,438 square miles (9,161,923 km²) and water makes up 181,273 square miles (469,495 km²). The United States' landscape is one of the most varied among those of the world's nations: among its many features are temperate forestland and rolling hills, on the east coast; mangrove, in Florida; the Great Plains, in the center of the country; the Mississippi–Missouri river system; the Great Lakes, four of the five of which are shared with Canada; the Rocky Mountains, west of the Great Plains; deserts and temperate coastal zones, west of the Rocky Mountains; and temperate rain forests, in the Pacific northwest. Alaska's tundra, and the volcanic, tropical islands of Hawaii add to the geographic diversity. Hawaii The climate varies along with the landscape, from tropical in Hawaii and southern Florida to tundra in Alaska and atop some of the highest mountains. Most of the North and East experience a temperate continental climate, with warm summers and cold winters. Most of the South experiences a subtropical humid climate with mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. Rainfall decreases markedly from the humid forests of the Eastern Great Plains to the semi-arid shortgrass prairies on the high plains abutting the Rocky Mountains. Arid deserts, including the Mojave, extend through the lowlands and valleys of the southwest, from westernmost Texas to California and northward throughout much of Nevada. Some parts of California have a Mediterranean climate. Rainforests line the windward mountains of the Pacific Northwest from Oregon to Alaska.

History

American history started with the migration of people from Asia across the Bering land bridge approximately 12,000 years ago following large animals that they hunted into the Americas. These Native Americans left evidence of their presence in petroglyphs, burial mounds, and other artifacts. It is estimated that 2-9 million people lived in the territory now occupied by the U.S. before European contact, and the subsequent introduction of foreign diseases such as small pox that greatly diminished the native populations. Some advanced societies were the Anasazi of the southwest, who inhabited Chaco Canyon, and the Woodland Indians, who built Cahokia, located near present-day St Louis, a city with a population of 40,000 at its peak in AD 1200. Vikings first visited North America around 1000, but did not settle permanently. Following the discovery voyages of Christopher Columbus around 1492, other Europeans began to explore and settle there. During the 1500s and 1600s, the Spanish settled parts of the present-day Southwest and Florida, founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565 and Santa Fe (in what is now New Mexico) in 1607. The first successful English settlement was at Jamestown, Virginia, also in 1607. Within the next two decades, several Dutch settlements, including New Amsterdam (the predecessor to New York City), were established in what are now the states of New York and New Jersey. In 1637, Sweden established a colony at Fort Christina (in what is now Delaware), but lost the settlement to the Dutch in 1655. This was followed by extensive British settlement of the east coast. The British colonists remained relatively undisturbed by their home country until after the French and Indian War, when France ceded Canada and the Great Lakes region to Britain. Britain then imposed taxes on the 13 colonies, widely regarded by the colonists as unfair because they were denied representation in the British Parliament. Tensions between Britain and the colonists increased, and the thirteen colonies eventually rebelled against British rule. British Parliament, George Washington (1789-1797).]] In 1776, the 13 colonies split from Great Britain and formed the United States, the world's first constitutional and democratic federal republic, after their Declaration of Independence of that year, and the Revolutionary War (1775 to 1783). The original political structure was a confederation in 1777, ratified in 1781 as the Articles of Confederation. After long debate, this was supplanted by the Constitution in 1789, forming a more centralized federal government. Prior to all these was the Albany Congress in 1754, in which a union was first seriously proposed. From early colonial times, there was a shortage of labor, which encouraged unfree labor, particularly indentured servitude and slavery. In the mid-19th century, a major division occurred in the United States over the issue of states' rights and the expansion of slavery. The northern states had become opposed to slavery, while the southern states saw it as necessary for the continued success of southern agriculture and wanted it expanded to the territories. Several federal laws were passed in an attempt to settle the dispute, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. The dispute reached a crisis in 1861, when seven southern states seceded1 from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, leading to the Civil War. Soon after the war began, four more southern states seceded. During the war, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, mandating the freedom of all slaves in states in rebellion, though full emancipation did not take place until after the end of the war in 1865, the dissolution of the Confederacy, and the Thirteenth Amendment took effect. The Civil War effectively ended the question of a state's right to secede, and is widely accepted as a major turning point after which the federal government became more powerful than state governments. Thirteenth Amendment). The title of the painting, from a 1726 poem by Bishop Berkeley, was a phrase often quoted in the era of Manifest Destiny, expressing a widely held belief that civilization had steadily moved westward throughout history. [http://americanart.si.edu/t2go/1lw/1931.6.1.html (more)] ]] During the 19th century, many new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the continent. Manifest Destiny was a philosophy that encouraged westward expansion in the United States. As the population of the Eastern states grew and as a steady increase of immigrants entered the country, settlers moved steadily westward across North America. In the process, the U.S. displaced most American Indian nations. This displacement of American Indians continues to be a matter of contention in the U.S. with many tribes attempting to assert their original claims to various lands. In some areas American Indian populations were reduced by foreign diseases contracted through contact with European settlers, and US settlers acquired those emptied lands. In other instances American Indians were removed from their traditional lands by force. Though some would say the U.S. was not a colonial power until the Spanish-American War when it acquired Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, the dominion exercised over land in North America the United States claimed is essentially colonial. The Philippines became independent in 1946. During this period, the nation also became an industrial power. This continued into the 20th century, which has been termed "the American Century" because of the nation's overriding influence on the world. The US became a center for innovation and technological development; major technologies that America either developed or was greatly involved in improving include the telephone, television, computer, the Internet, nuclear weapons, nuclear power, aviation, and aeronautics. In addition to the Civil War, another major traumatic experience for the nation was the Great Depression (1929 to 1939). The nation has also taken part in several major foreign wars, including World War I and World War II (in both of which the US later joined the Allies). During the Cold War, the US was a major player in the Korean War and Vietnam War, and, along with the Soviet Union, was considered one of the world's two "superpowers". With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US emerged as the world's leading economic and military power. Beginning in the 1990s, the United States became very involved in police actions and peacekeeping, including actions in Kosovo, Haiti, Somalia and Liberia, and the first Persian Gulf War driving Iraq out of Kuwait. After attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the United States and other allied nations found themselves involved in what has come to be called the "War on Terrorism," which has primarily encompassed military actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Government

Iraq of the United States.]]

Republic and suffrage

The United States is an example of a constitutional republic, with a government composed of and operating through a set of limited powers imposed by its design and enumerated in the United States Constitution. Specifically, the nation operates as a presidential democracy. There are three levels of government: federal, state, and local. Officials of each of these levels are either elected by eligible voters via secret ballot or appointed by other elected officials. Americans enjoy almost universal suffrage from the age of 18 regardless of race, sex, or wealth. There are some limits, however: felons are disenfranchised and in some states former felons are likewise. Furthermore, the national representation of territories and the federal district of Washington, DC in Congress is limited: residents of the District of Columbia are subject to federal laws and federal taxes but their only Congressional representative is a non-voting delegate.

Federal government

The federal government is the national government, comprising the Legislative Branch (led by Congress), the Executive Branch (led by the President), and the Judicial Branch (led by the Supreme Court). These three branches were designed to apply checks and balances on each other. The Constitution limits the powers of the federal government to defense, foreign affairs, the issuing and management of currency, the management of trade and relations between the states, and the protection of human rights. In addition to these explicitly stated powers, the federal government—with the assistance of the Supreme Court—has gradually extended these powers into such areas as welfare and education, on the basis of the "necessary and proper" clause of the Constitution.

The Congress

necessary and proper The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of 435 members, each of whom represents a congressional district and serves for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population; in contrast, each state has two Senators, regardless of population. There are a total of 100 senators, who serve six-year terms. The powers of Congress are limited to those enumerated in the Constitution; all other powers are reserved to the states and the people. The Constitution also includes the necessary-and-proper clause, which grants Congress the power to "make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers."

The President

necessary-and-proper clause At the top level of the executive branch is the President of the United States. The President and Vice-President are elected as 'running mates' for four-year terms by the Electoral College, for which each state, as well as the District of Columbia, is allocated a number of seats based on its representation (or ostensible representation, in the case of D. C.) in both houses of Congress (see U.S. Electoral College). The relationship between the President and the Congress reflects that between the English monarchy and parliament at the time of the framing of the United States Constitution. Congress can legislate to constrain the President's executive power, even with respect to his or her command of the armed forces; however, this power is used only very rarely—a notable example was the constraint placed on President Richard Nixon's strategy of bombing Cambodia during the Vietnam War. The President cannot directly propose legislation, and must rely on supporters in Congress to promote his or her legislative agenda. The President's signature is required to turn congressional bills into law; in this respect, the President has the power—only occasionally used—to veto congressional legislation. Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses. The ultimate power of Congress over the President is that of impeachment or removal of the elected President through a House vote, a Senate trial, and a Senate vote. The threat of using this power has had major political ramifications in the cases of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton. The President makes around 2,000 executive appointments, including members of the Cabinet and ambassadors, which must be approved by the Senate; the President can also issue executive orders and pardons, and has other Constitutional duties, among them the requirement to give a State of the Union address to Congress once a year. Although the President's constitutional role may appear to be constrained, in practice, the office carries enormous prestige that typically eclipses the power of Congress: the Presidency has justifiably been referred to as 'the most powerful office in the world'. The Vice President is first in the line of succession, and is the President of the Senate ex officio, with the ability to cast a tie-breaking vote. The members of the President's Cabinet are responsible for administering the various departments of state, including the Department of Defense, the Justice Department, and the State Department. These departments and department heads have considerable regulatory and political power, and it is they who are responsible for executing federal laws and regulations. George W. Bush is the 43rd President, currently serving his second term.

The Courts

George W. Bush The highest court is the Supreme Court, which consists of nine justices. The court deals with federal and constitutional matters, and can declare legislation made at any level of the government as unconstitutional, nullifying the law and creating precedent for future law and decisions. Below the Supreme Court are the courts of appeals, and below them in turn are the district courts, which are the general trial courts for federal law. Separate from, but not entirely independent of, this federal court system are the individual court systems of each state, each dealing with its own laws and having its own judicial rules and procedures. A case may be appealed from a state court to a federal court only if there is a federal question; the supreme court of each state is the final authority on the interpretation of that state's laws and constitution.

State and local governments

supreme court of each state. Note that Alaska and Hawaii are shown at different scales, and that the Aleutian Islands and the uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are omitted from this map.]] The state governments have the greatest influence over people's daily lives. Each state has its own written constitution and has different laws. There are sometimes great differences in law and procedure between the different states, concerning issues such as property, crime, health, and education. The highest elected official of each state is the Governor. Each state also has an elected legislature (bicameral in every state except Nebraska), whose members represent the different parts of the state. Of note is the New Hampshire legislature, which is the third-largest legislative body in the English-speaking world, and has one representative for every 3,000 people. Each state maintains its own judiciary, with the lowest level typically being county courts, and culminating in each state supreme court, though sometimes named differently. In some states, supreme and lower court justices are elected by the people; in others, they are appointed, as they are in the federal system. The institutions that are responsible for local government are typically town, city, or county boards, making laws that affect their particular area. These laws concern issues such as traffic, the sale of alcohol, and keeping animals. The highest elected official of a town or city is usually the mayor. In New England, towns operate directly democratically, and in some states, such as Rhode Island and Connecticut, counties have little or no power, existing only as geographic distinctions. In other areas, county governments have more power, such as to collect taxes and maintain law enforcement agencies.

Political divisions

With the Declaration of Independence, the thirteen colonies proclaimed themselves to be nation states modeled after the European states of the time. Although considered as sovereigns initially, under the Articles of Confederation of 1781 they entered into a "Perpetual Union" and created a fully sovereign federal state, delegating certain powers to the national Congress, including the right to engage in diplomatic relations and to levy war, while each retaining their individual sovereignty, freedom and independence. But the national government proved too ineffective, so the administrative structure of the government was vastly reorganized with the United States Constitution of 1789. Under this new union, the continued status of the individual states as sovereign nation states fell into dispute in 1861, as several states attempted to secede from the union; in response, then-President Abraham Lincoln claimed that such secession was illegal, and the result was the American Civil War. Since the Union victory in 1865, the independent status of the individual states has not been broached again by any state, and the status of each state within the union has been deemed by mainstream officials and academics to be settled as being subordinate to the union as a whole. In subsequent years, the number of states grew steadily due to western expansion, the purchase of lands by the national government from other nation states, and the subdivision of existing states, resulting in the current total of 50. The states are generally divided into smaller administrative regions, including counties, cities and townships. The United States–Canadian border is the longest undefended political boundary in the world. The U.S. is divided into three distinct sections:
- the "continental United States," also known as "the Lower 48" and more accurately termed the conterminous, coterminous or contiguous United States
- Alaska, which is physically connected only to Canada
- the archipelago of Hawaii, in the central Pacific Ocean. The United States also holds several other territories, districts, and possessions, notably the federal district of the District of Columbia, which is the nation's capital, and several overseas insular areas, the most significant of which are American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Palmyra Atoll is the United States' only incorporated territory; it is unorganized and uninhabited. The United States Navy has held a base at a portion of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 1898. The United States government possesses a lease to this land, which only mutual agreement or United States abandonment of the area can terminate. The present Cuban government of Fidel Castro disputes this arrangement, claiming Cuba was not truly sovereign at the time of the signing. The United States argues this point moot because Cuba apparently ratified the lease post-revolution, and with full sovereignty, when it cashed one rent check in accordance with the disputed treaty.

Foreign relations and military

sovereign] The immense military and economic dominance of the United States has made foreign relations an especially important topic in its politics, with considerable concern about the image of the United States throughout the world. Reactions towards the United States by other nationalities are often strong, ranging from uninhibited admiration and mimicking of all things American to anti-Americanism. US foreign policy has swung about several times over the course of its history between the poles of strict isolationism and imperialism and everywhere in between. Three of the nation's four military branches are administered by the Department of Defense: the Army, the Navy (including the Marine Corps), and the Air Force. The Coast Guard falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security in peacetime, but is placed under the Department of the Navy in time of war. The combined United States armed forces consist of 1.4 million active duty personnel, along with several hundred thousand each in the Reserves and the National Guard. Military conscription ended in 1973. The United States Armed forces are considered to be the most powerful military (of any sort) on Earth and their force projection capabilities are unrivaled by any other nation. The 2005 defense budget amounted to $401.7 billion, which is an increase of 4% over 2004 and of 35% since 2001. Over 50% of that number is spent in research & development. (For comparison, in 2004 the European Union (considered as the second-largest military force) had a combined total of 1.6 million troops, and a defense budget of €160 billion, with less than 10% of that being spent on R&D.)

Largest cities

The United States has dozens of major cities, including 11 of the 55 global cities of all types — with three "alpha" global cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The figures expressed below are for populations within city limits. A different ranking is evident when considering U.S. metro area populations, although the top three would be unchanged. Note that some cities not listed (such as Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, New Orleans, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.) are still considered important on the basis of other factors and issues, including culture, economics, heritage, and politics. The twenty largest cities, based on the United States Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, are as follows:

Economy

The United States has the largest single-country economy in the world, with a per-capita gross domestic product of $40,100. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. gross domestic product The largest industry of the U.S. is now service, which employs roughly three quarters of the U.S. work force. The United States has many natural resources, including oil and gas, metals, and such minerals as gold, soda ash, and zinc. In agriculture, the U.S. is a top producer of, among other crops, corn, soy beans, and wheat; the United States is a net exporter of food. The U.S. manufacturing sector produces goods such as, cars, airplanes, steel, and electronics, among many others. Economic activity varies greatly from one part of the country to another, with many industries being largely dependent on a certain city or region; New York City is the center of the American financial, publishing, broadcasting, and advertising industries; Silicon Valley is the country’s primary location for high-technology companies, while Los Angeles is the most important center for film production. The Midwest is known for its reliance on manufacturing and heavy industry, with Detroit, Michigan, serving as the center of the American automotive industry; the Great Plains are known as the "breadbasket" of America for their tremendous agricultural output; the intermountain region serves as a mining hub and natural gas resource; the Pacific Northwest for fish and timber, while Texas is largely associated with the oil industry; the Southeast is a major hub for both medical research and the textiles industry. Several countries continue to link their currency to the dollar or even use it as a currency (such as Ecuador), although this practice has subsided since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. Many markets are also quoted in dollars, such as those of oil and gold. The dollar is also the predominant reserve currency in the world, and more than half of global reserves are in dollars. The largest trading partner of the United States is Canada (19%), followed by China (12%), Mexico (11%), and Japan (8%). More than 50% of total trade is with these four countries. In 2003, the United States was ranked as the third most visited tourist destination in the world; its 40,400,000 visitors ranked behind France's 75,000,000 and Spain's 52,500,000. Labor unions have existed since the 19th century, and grew large and powerful from the 1930s to the 1950s. See Labor history of the United States. Since 1970 they have shrunk in the private sector and now cover fewer than 8% of the workers. However union membership has grown rapidly in the public sector, especially among teachers, nurses, police, postal workers, and municipal clerks. There have been few strikes in recent years. The United States' imports exceed exports by 80%, leading to an annual trade deficit of $700,000,000,000, or 6% of gross domestic product. It is the largest debtor nation in the world, with total gross foreign debt of over $13,000,000,000,000 (2005 estimate); and it absorbs more than 50% of global savings annually. Since the 1980s, the U.S. has increased the use of neoliberal economic policies that reduce government intervention and reduce the size of the welfare state, backing away from the more interventionist Keynsian economic policies that had been in favor since the Great Depression. As a result, the United States provides fewer government-delivered social welfare services than most industrialized nations, choosing instead to keep its tax burden lower and relying more heavily on the free market and private charities. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages higher than the national level ($5.15 per-hour), including the highest, Washington State at $7.35. Twenty-six states are the same as the federal level; two--Ohio and Kansas--are below; and six do not have state laws. America's wealth is relatively highly concentrated. The average C.E.O. earns 500 times the typical amount a worker grosses, this is up from 25 times in the late 1970s. In terms of wealth the top 1% of Americans own 40% of all assets and 50.1% of the country's income goes to the top twenty percent of households. Average wages for the majority of employees have been largely stagnating since the 1970s. America's poverty line defined as a family of four earning less than $19,157 is at 12.7% of the general population. Approximately one out of every five children in the United States grows up below the official poverty line. Among racial groups; African Americans have the lowest median income while Asians had the highest. Regionally, the southern states had the lowest median incomes while the West Coast and New England had the highest. The current Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan remarked that the U.S.’s growing income inequality since the 1970s is, "not the type of thing which a democratic society - a capitalist democratic society - can really accept without addressing."[http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0614/p01s03-usec.html?s=itm] However, Greenspan also noted, "...you can look at the system and say it's got a lot of problems to it, and sure it does. It always has. But you can't get around the fact that this is the most extraordinarily successful economy in history."

Transportation

Alan Greenspan ]] Because the United States is a relatively young nation, most of the development of U.S. cities has taken place since the invention of the automobile. To link its vast territory, the United States built a network of high-capacity, high-speed highways, of which the most important element is the Interstate Highway system, commissioned in the 1950s by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and modeled after the German Autobahn. The United States also has a transcontinental rail system, which is used for moving freight across the lower forty-eight states. Passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak, which serves forty-six of the lower forty-eight states. Many cities in the United States have extensive mass-transit systems. New York City operates one of the world's largest and most heavily used subway systems. The regional rail and bus networks that extend into Long Island, New Jersey, Upstate New York, and Connecticut are among the most heavily used in the world. Air travel is often preferred for destinations over 300 miles (500 kilometers) away. In terms of passengers, seventeen of the world's thirty busiest airports in 2004 were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; in terms of cargo, in the same year, twelve of the world's thirty busiest airports were in the U.S., including the world's busiest, Memphis International Airport. There are several major seaports in the United States; the three busiest are the Port of Los Angeles, California; the Port of Long Beach, California; and the Port of New York and New Jersey. Others include Houston, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Savannah, Georgia; Miami, Florida; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Seattle, Washington; plus, outside the contiguous forty-eight states, Anchorage, Alaska, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Society

Demographics

Hawaii The mean center of the U.S. population continues to drift farther west and south. The fastest growing region is the western United States followed by the southern portion. According to Census 2000, the states that saw the greatest increases from 1990 were: Nevada (66.3%), Arizona (40%), Colorado (30.6%), Utah (29.6%), Idaho (28.5%), Georgia (26.4%), Florida (23.5%), Texas (22.8%), North Carolina (21.4%), and Washington (21.1%). [http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t2/tab03.pdf]

Ethnicity and race

:Main article: Racial demographics of the United States The United States is a very racially diverse country. According to the 2000 census, it has 31 ethnic groups with at least one million members each, and numerous others represented in smaller amounts. The majority of Americans descend from white European immigrants who arrived at the establishment of the first colonies (most after Reconstruction). This majority--69.1% in 2000--decreases each year, and is expected to become a plurality within a few decades. The most frequently stated European ancestries are German (15.2%), Irish (10.8%), English (8.7%), Italian (5.6%) and Scandinavian (3.7%). Many immigrants also hail from Slavic countries such as Poland and Russia. Other significant immigrant populations came from eastern and southern Europe and French Canada. Russia Hispanics from Mexico and South and Central America are the largest minority group in the country, comprising 12.5% of the population (2000 census). People of Mexican descent made up 7.3% of the population in the 2000 census, and this proportion is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades. About 12.3% (2000 census) of the American people are African Americans (Blacks). African Americans are spread throughout the country, but their presence is largest in the South. Asian Americans--including Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders--are a third significant minority (3.7% of the population in 2000). Most Asian Americans are concentrated on the West Coast and Hawaii. The largest groups are immigrants or descendants of emigrants from the Philippines, China, India, Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan. Indigenous peoples in the United