Slamball
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Slamball is a variation of the game of basketball that has been played in the United States since 2002. Slamball games are shown on television by Spike TV.
Rules
In slamball, two teams of four players each compete against each other. Three players play offense, while one player protects the goal, similar to a goalie in ice hockey or soccer.
Shots may be taken from any area of the court, which is surrounded by hard clear plastic walls. However, slam dunks are worth three points, and shots taken from other areas are worth only 2. There is no three-point line, and the trampolines are there to help offensive players jump to go for a dunk. Usually, there are four trampolines on each side of the court. Teams have only ten seconds to shoot the ball during the first half, and 24 seconds during the second half. Each half is fifteen minutes long, and the clock keeps running during fouls, but not during time-outs.
When a ball is touched by two players of opposing teams, this does not count as a "jump ball" situation as it would in basketball. Instead, the defensive team gets possession of the ball. There are no out of bounds rules, and players may bounce the ball off the glass without committing a turn-over. When a foul is committed, the player fouled has to go and jump off a trampoline, facing the defender, evade the defender's attempt at blocking him and try to score the three point dunk. At the same line, there are no goal-tending rules; defenders might block a shot at any time before the ball reaches the floor.
Rarely does a defender get to score. This happened on a televised game on February 14, 2004, when Kevin Cassidy of the Mob team had to block a shot with 2 seconds to go before half time and he got the ball, threw it from one side of the court to the other and made the shot.
History
Slamball is the creation of Mason Gordon, who imagined he could create a variation of basketball since he was a teenager. Upon inventing a concept, he approached Mike Tollin, a producer. Tollin did not like the idea immediately; however, after giving it some thought, he agreed to help Gordon, six months after their first meeting.
Gordon then set up the first slamball court, with trampolines and a basketball arena. Gordon then tried to convince street basketball players to test his new idea; he wanted to find skilled, strong players who could compete comfortably while jumping on trampolines. He found six players who were willing to practice for an average of 15 hours a day.
First played in Los Angeles, California, the game gained wide attention from street basketball players in the area, and within a year, 400 people had been enlisted as potential players. In 2002, slamball made its television debut, on the TNN network, soon after former Philadelphia 76ers owner Pat Croce had signed on as a major slamball partner. Soon, the game caught the eyes of other networks, such as ESPN, which would sporadically report about the new game. Later on, Slamball moved to Spike TV. Slamball also aired on the British television station Trouble where it picked up a substantial British fanbase.
Teams
- Bandits
- Bouncers
- Diablos (runners up 2002)
- Mob
- Riders (winners 2003)
- Rumble (winners 2002)
- Slashers (runners up 2003)
- Steals