Basketball is a ball game for two teams of five players, originally devised in 1890 by James Naismath for the Y.M.C.A. in Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.A. The object of the game is to take possession of the ball and score pints by throwing the ball into the opposing team’s basket. A player moves the ball up and down the court by bouncing it along the ground or “dribbling”; the ball may be passed between players by throwing, bouncing, or rolling. Players may not run with or kick the ball to a team-mate. The length of the game and the number of periods played varies at different levels. There are amateur, professional, and international rules. No game ends in a draw.

An extra period of five minutes is played, plus as many extra periods as are necessary to break the tie. In addition to the five players on court, each team has up to seven substitutes, but players may only leave the court with the permission of the referee. Basketball is a non-contact sport and fouls on other players are penalized by a throw-in awarded against the offending team; a free throw at the basket is awarded when a player is fouled in the act of shooting. Basketball is a fast-moving game, requiring both physical and mental coordination. Skilful tactical play matters more than simple physical strength and the agility of the players makes the game an excellent spectator sport.Likewise Baseball is also a ball game for two teams of nine players. The batter hits the ball thrown by the opposing team’s pitcher, into the area between the foul lines. He then runs round all four fixed bases in order to score a run, touching or “tagging” each base in turn.

The pitcher must throw the ball at a height between the batter’s armpits and knees, a height which is called the “strike” and the batter has three strikes in which to try and hit the ball (otherwise he is “struck out.”). The fielding team tries to get the batting team out by catching the ball before it bounces, tagging a player of the batting team with the ball who is running between bases, or by tagging a base before the player has reached it. Members of the batting team may stop safely at a base as long as it is not occupied by another member of their team. The team with the greatest number of runs wins the game.

Article Posted By : aneeshmissu  On May 07, 2013lView All Articles

basketball & baseball

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