Dirt Bowlin'

Speaking of The Chinn Dome below, and you surely are, I just now learned about the Dirt Bowl in Louisville, a famous tournament that's been going on since 1969:

 Over the years the Dirt Bowl has hosted high school, college and professional players – the likes of Darrell Griffith, Dallas Thornton, Ron King, Butch Beard and Gerald Gray. Basketball legends from Louisville's backyard and across the region combined for a must-see spectacle that retained a casual, homey feel.

"Back then there was a lot of turmoil with housing, busing and different kinds of riots, and there was a lot of unrest," Watkins said. "It was a time when people needed each other. They needed something they could hold onto, get their families involved in and have kids try to make a better life for themselves through sports. What better way than through basketball?"

"Now it's just tradition that keeps people coming back," King said. "Everybody got memories, like when Griff dunked on Artis Gilmore. Almost everybody can tell you where they was. I know where I was sitting at the time. People playing now want to be a part of that legacy. ... You want to tell your kids when you grow up, 'I played in the Dirt Bowl.'"

"Goddammit can somebody keep Xmastime from playing above the damn rim??!!"