Today, black players compose more than eighty percent of the National Basketball Association?s rosters, providing a strong and valued contribution to professional basketball. In the first half of the twentieth century, however, pro basketball was taintedøby racism, as gifted African Americans were denied the opportunity to display their talents. ø Through in-depth interviews with players, their families, coaches, teammates, and league officials, Ron Thomas tells the largely untold story of what basketball was really like for the first black NBA players, including recent Hall of Fame inductee Earl Lloyd, early superstars such as Maurice Stokes and Bill Russell, and the league?s first black coaches. They Cleared the Lane is both informative and entertaining, full of anecdotes and little-known history. Not all the stories have happy endings, but this unfortunate truth only emphasizes how much we have gained from the accomplishments of these pioneer athletes.

The early days of the NBA are recalled in this compelling account of professional basketball's early integrated years, and the players, owners, and coaches who broke the color barrier.

A spirit-stirring debut about basketball, family, and an unlikely underdog who overcomes adversity to become a legend Basketball prodigy Jimmy “Kamikaze” Kirkus is destined for the NBA. But before he can sail off into a golden future, Jimmy must reckon with a tragic past and with a curse that has haunted his family for generations. His father had been a basketball great himself, but his dreams of stardom were traded in for a hasty marriage and parenthood. Born into a house haunted by wasted talent, alcoholism, and death, will Jimmy fall victim to the Kirkus Curse or break it once and for all? In the same vein as the wildly popular Friday Night Lights, Rules for Becoming a Legend uses sports as a lens through which to understand family, community, catastrophe, and hope. This spirit-igniting debut announces Lane as an extraordinary young writer to watch.

James Naismith was teaching physical education at the Young Men's Christian Association Training College in Springfield, Massachusetts, and felt discouraged because calisthenics and gymnastics didn't engage his students. What was needed was an indoor wintertime game that combined recreation and competition. One evening he worked out the fundamentals of a game that would quickly catch on. Two peach half-bushel baskets gave the name to the brand new sport in late 1891. Basketball: Its Origin and Development was written by the inventor himself, who was inspired purely by the joy of play. Naismith, born in northern Ontario in 1861, gave up the ministry to preach clean living through sport. He describes Duck on the Rock, a game from his Canadian childhood, the creative reasoning behind his basket game, the eventual refinement of rules and development of equipment, the spread of amateur and professional teams throughout the world, and the growth of women's basketball (at first banned to male spectators because the players wore bloomers). Naismith lived long enough to see basketball included in the Olympics in 1936. Three years later he died, after nearly forty years as head of the physical education department at the University of Kansas. This book, originally published in 1941, carries a new introduction by William J. Baker, a professor of history at the University of Maine, Orono. He is the author of Jesse Owens: An American Life and Sports in the Western World.

Today, black players compose more than eighty percent of the National Basketball Association's rosters, providing a strong and valued contribution to professional basketball. In the first half of the twentieth century, however, pro basketball was tainted by racism, as gifted African Americans were denied the opportunity to display their talents. Through in-depth interviews with players, their families, coaches, teammates, and league officials, Ron Thomas tells the largely untold story of what basketball was really like for the first black NBA players, including recent Hall of Fame inductee Ear.

Creating The Thirteenth Order is essential to insure that creation continues in the rapidly expanding universe. With Earth's axis shift corrected and humanity saved, Midas and the Guardians have only two items left to do before their final ascension. Find Prometheus and make peace between them and bring in The Thirteenth Order. However, the enraged Prometheus has other plans for Midas, Gideon, Hermes and Rhea. He lures them to the sacred mountain on Darius where he, along with his army of Mat'uk, trapped them inside the mountain using a gravity net. The instant the Mat'uk breach the entrance of the mountain, Midas' alarm sounds. He and the other Guardians attempt to enter the fifth dimension and cannot. Realizing they were trapped and visible, Midas dispatches the Mother ship and the seedling, Rosie to Earth to bring back Rachael and her friends to save them, much to the dismay of Rhea. She pleads with Midas not to bring the human's to Darius as the planet will tap into their ancient DNA code and change them back to their original form. Rachael and her friends upon hearing Rosie's pleas to help save the Guardians ultimately agree to go to Darius even though Darius is halfway across the universe and they have no idea what fate awaits them. www.lindaarenaauthor.com...