Cousin of Flubber

Fred MacMurray would be so proud. Has anyone else ever heard of Slamball? I stumbled upon this because I left the TV on the station that I use to run my videos. It seems Slamball was invented in a warehouse in December 2000. The question is why?

The court is about the size of a basketball court. A regular basketball seems to be in use. The inventor’s goal was to “create a sport that combines the excitement of basketball, football and video games.�

What is different is that at each end of the court there are four trampolines surrounded by a padded area. One is under the basket, one is at the free throw area and the other two are off to the sides. The only hard surface is the mid court region. Players must bounce the ball just like in basketball, but they can launch off of these trampolines and soar half the distance of the court before touching down so about three bounces will get you from end to end, just like in the old movie, Flubber.

It is basketball at hockey speed being played by human kangaroos. Tactics involve timing your bounces on the trampolines so that your opponent is going down when you are going up. This makes it really easy to stuff the ball into the basket as you bounce higher than the basket.

Like hockey, it is difficult to send the ball out of bounds because, like hockey, there is an enclosure, which the players and the ball bounce off of. Play does get stopped fairly often due to “fouls� which seem to entail some kind of rules of right of way when you are sailing through the air and crashing into people. Scoring seems to be similar to basketball, although I found it a bit hard to follow.

The teams have names that come straight out of the fourth grade: The Slashers, The Rumble and The Maulers, to name a few.

The coach of The Rumble dresses like a race track tout, while The Slashers guy is a sort of albino/zombie. Colorful stuff. I would  guess the average player’s age at early to mid-20s. They should know better by now. One popular sports thing that is missing is fights. I guess it is hard to throw a punch while wobbling around on a trampoline.

The fans were packed into the stands, all 10 rows. I don’t know if they have to pay to see this. I think that would be a bit much. It is not clear if the players are paid or are serving out some grotesque form of community service.

 This is just silly.

Bill Abrams resides (and watches silly sports) in Pine Plains.

Latest News

Housatonic softball beats Webutuck 16-3

Haley Leonard and Khyra McClennon looked on as HVRHS pulled ahead of Webutuck, May 2.

Riley Klein

FALLS VILLAGE — The battle for the border between Housatonic Valley Regional High School and Webutuck High School Thursday, May 2, was won by HVRHS with a score of 16-3.

The New Yorkers played their Connecticut counterparts close early on and commanded the lead in the second inning. Errors plagued the Webutuck Warriors as the game went on, while the HVRHS Mountaineers stayed disciplined and finished strong.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mountaineers fall 3-0 to Wamogo

Anthony Foley caught Chase Ciccarelli in a rundown when HVRHS played Wamogo Wednesday, May 1.

Riley Klein

LITCHFIELD — Housatonic Valley Regional High School varsity baseball dropped a 3-0 decision to Wamogo Regional High School Wednesday, May 1.

The Warriors kept errors to a minimum and held the Mountaineers scoreless through seven innings. HVRHS freshman pitcher Chris Race started the game strong with no hits through the first three innings, but hiccups in the fourth gave Wamogo a lead that could not be caught.

Keep ReadingShow less
The artist called ransome

‘Migration Collage' by ransome

Alexander Wilburn

If you claim a single sobriquet as your artistic moniker, you’re already in a club with some big names, from Zendaya to Beyoncé to the mysterious Banksy. At Geary, the contemporary art gallery in Millerton founded by New Yorkers Jack Geary and Dolly Bross Geary, a new installation and painting exhibition titled “The Bitter and the Sweet” showcases the work of the artist known only as ransome — all lowercase, like the nom de plume of the late Black American social critic bell hooks.

Currently based in Rhinebeck, N.Y., ransome’s work looks farther South and farther back — to The Great Migration, when Jim Crow laws, racial segregation, and the public violence of lynching paved the way for over six million Black Americans to seek haven in northern cities, particularly New York urban areas, like Brooklyn and Baltimore. The Great Migration took place from the turn of the 20th century up through the 1970s, and ransome’s own life is a reflection of the final wave — born in North Carolina, he found a new home in his youth in New Jersey.

Keep ReadingShow less
Four Brothers ready for summer season

Hospitality, ease of living and just plain fun are rolled into one for those who are intrigued by the leisure-time Caravana experience at the family-owned Four Brothers Drive-in in Amenia. John Stefanopoulos, pictured above, highlights fun possibilities offered by Hotel Caravana.

Leila Hawken

The month-long process of unwrapping and preparing the various features at the Four Brothers Drive-In is nearing completion, and the imaginative recreational destination will be ready to open for the season on Friday, May 10.

The drive-in theater is already open, as is the Snack Shack, and the rest of the recreational features are activating one by one, soon to be offering maximum fun for the whole family.

Keep ReadingShow less