Just got back from a charity basketball game pitting various members of Bethany College sports teams, fraternities and sororities, and faculty up against the Pittsburgh Steelers charity basketball team. Lots of WVU boys showed up to represent the Steelers- Corey Ivy, Ryan Mundy, and the newly acquired Wes Lyons (and I am thrilled about that), as well as Ramon Foster, John Clay, and the one I couldn’t believe, LOUIS LIPPS! The tip-off was funny, pitting 6’8″ Wes Lyons against a 5′ NOTHING Bethany sorority girl:
Here’s a pic of the rest of the Steelers:
The Steelers weren’t even trying, just passing the ball over everyone’s heads and shooting three’s, and generally not taking it seriously at all, but every now and then one of them would forget this was a charity event and you would get a glimpse of how very fast and athletic they are as they would race down the court, then sort of remember this wasn’t serious, and just hold up and shoot a three.
And Ramon Foster is really funny, hamming it up with the crowd and just generally being amusing.
cathyx
My sister went to Bethany.
debg
This is a lovely story on so many levels. I feel for the 5’0″ sorority woman.
Raven
Years ago I was on the NC State School of Sports Management Board of Regents. This was a continuing ed school for people who worked in municipal recreation. Oddly, the school was held at Oglebay Park outside of Wheeling. There were lots of hoopers in the group and we used to go to West Liberty College to play b-ball during the week we were there. I see it’s just up the road from Bethany.
cathyx
Speaking of being really athletic but out of ones chosen sport, unlike these Steelers, Martina Navratilova is extremely fit and in excellent shape but she couldn’t dance to save her life. Stiff as a board. Was the first one voted off Dancing with the Stars.
Raven
@cathyx: What makes you think they are not “fit”?
cathyx
@Raven: I realized after I wrote that that I was implying that they weren’t fit. I meant to say that as a woman as fit as the Steelers, she couldn’t dance at all. Laila Ali, Mohammad Ali’s daughter is a boxer, very fit and was a very good dancer too. In fact, because she was so fit, it made her a better dancer.
Raven
@cathyx: Gotcha. Chubby Checker’s daughter was quite the basketball player too!
cathyx
@Raven: Is she a singer also? Singers often are good dancers because, I think, they need to have good rhythm for singing, which translates to the dance floor too.
John Cole
@cathyx: When and what was her name?
Raven
@cathyx: Doesn’t look like it
Misties Mims
kdaug
I’ve played pool matches with friends where I’ve taken exactly the same attitude. It’s an odd sort of maturity, I think.
“Fuck it, dude, remember why we’re here, drink another beer, and don’t sweat the English so much”.
Sometimes it ain’t about the win.
Guess folks with kids do this all the time.
cathyx
@John Cole: Now you’re making me have to think back. She attended early 1980’s(81-82 maybe 83) but didn’t graduate from there. Is that too early?
honus
@Raven: West Lib is indeed just up the road from Bethany, and their basketball team was 32-3 this year.
honus
@Raven: And Hines Ward was great on DWTS.
JoyfulA
Sounds like a lot of fun. Next year, tell us ahead of time (especially if it’s the part of WV I go through between MD and VA).
eponymous
John,
One of the places everyone would go to on Thursday nights (most everyone who went to West Liberty went home for the weekend on Friday) was Bubba’s Bison Inn in Bethany. Was shorter than driving down to Wheeling after the WL pub closed around midnight (this was before drinking age was raised to 21).
West Liberty – Class of 85.
Citizen_X
@cathyx: Boxing, or any martial art (including any type of grappling, as long as you’re on your feet), is half footwork. So I’m not surprised that Laila Ali could dance well.
John Cole
@eponymous: I live 50 yards from Bubba’s. Bubba died last year, and Chuck runs it now.
Jager
When I was a lad first working in rock FM radio we had a station basketball team. We played high school faculties to raise money for the schools. Our team had 4 ex D-2 players and we kicked ass. When I played the station team hadn’t lost a game for over two years and then we got a challenge from the Minnesota Vikings Charity Hoops team. My assignment was to guard Paul Krause an All Pro Safety for christ’s sake! I was the only staffer who played decent hoops, so it was me (the hockey player) and the D-2 players geting our asses kicked by Alan Page, Krause, Carl Eller, Dave Osborn, Gene Washington, Clint Jones, Gary Larson, Wally Hilgenberg and the fucking kicker Fred Cox. Earsell Mackbee, a corner back who was about 5-10 slammed one home and his arm was halfway down the basket. We were leading until they got physical with us in the 4th 1/4. I tried to grab a rebound against Eller, it was like throwing yourself against a brick wall. Krause knocked me on my ass at least 5 times and they won going away 96-81. It was fun. Our D-2 guys were better players, the Vikes were simply great athletes and tough as nails. It was very cool after the game to have some of the best players in the NFL say, “Great Game Man!”
burnspbesq
No kidding. When I was in law school at USC, I refereed intramural basketball for beer money. One night I got assigned to do a game between two teams comprised entirely of football players. I’m dating myself, but we’re talking Anthony Munoz posting up Ronnie Lott. Contact that would send an ordinary human being to intensive care, and you couldn’t call a foul because no advantage was gained. Unreal.