Random Sports

Eat your heart out, Dude Perfect. 

Australian trick shot squad “How Ridiculous” is still the proud owner of the world record for highest altitude basketball shot.

After first securing the Guinness World Record for highest altitude basketball shot in 2011, the group recently climbed to the top of the EuroMast observation tower in Rotterdam, Netherlands in order to break their own mark.

Video of the 98 meter (321 foot) shot was spotted by Peter Blackburn of NextImpulseSports.com. According to How Ridiculous, the shot took 62 attempts to drain the shot.

Considering wind and distance, one could imagine that’s a pretty low number of tries for this level of trick shot. Six seconds pass from the time the ball leaves the shooter’s hand and slams down through the net, meaning there is plenty of room for error. You could be out there all day and not make this shot.

To give you an idea, Mr. “I Bet I Could Do it in 30,” this is what the hoop looked like from 321 feet above. The guys shooting claimed they couldn't even tell if the ball went in at first. 

These guys are professionals, however—or as professional as you can be when your job is pulling off mega-sized versions of trick shots from your childhood.

That being said, this isn’t How Ridiculous’ first rodeo. It may be their biggest trick yet, but their previous work has included some pretty phenomenal shots, too. Here are the guys doing aerial alley-oop shots off a slip and slide. 

They also did some work on the pitch.

Indeed, it’s a tough life being a professional trick shot specialist, but they do it for the right reasons. 

In addition to providing entertainment for all of us stuck in front of a computer during the week, How Ridiculous contributes portions of its earnings to “Compassion”—a not-for-profit Christian organization aimed at helping children living in poverty.

They’re setting records, chucking basketballs and they’re doing it for the kids. Bravo, gentlemen. Please carry on.

Join me on Twitter for more sports-related ridiculousness.

Follow @Dr__Carson

There are thought bubbles, crossovers and—most importantly—a professional streetballer in a Spider-Man costume faking guys out of their briefs.

In other words, "Spider-Man Basketball Part 2” (also referred to as "The Black Rock") has everything you’d ever want from a basketball trick tape and more.

Brought to you by professional streetball legend Grayson “The Professor” Boucher, the newest installment of Spider-Man Basketball takes The Professor back to the blacktop to tear up more opponents.

The video was spotted by John Ferensen of Next Impulse Sports, and it features all the creativity and skill we’ve come to expect from the former And1 star.

Featuring a comic book plot line, Part 2 picks up with Peter Parker wandering into a drug store to fuel up. No Mums for him, thank you—he just wants a brand-less drink and a candy bar (he’s a strange boy, that Peter Parker).

An impending meteor shower is foreshadowed (that comes into play later) and Parker is off to suit up for ball. The rest is snapped ankles and history, as they say.

The Professor hits the local outdoor courts in his Spider-Man tights and lays waste to the opposition. Behind the back, off the head and through the legs—it doesn’t really matter where The Professor puts the ball. He’s going to blow past you.

As mentioned at the beginning of the video, the action on the blacktop isn’t staged. This is The Professor in his element, dispatching challengers like a short-order cook flips burgers.

This isn’t the first time The Professor has donned the Spider-Man costume, however.

Spider-Man Basketball Part 1 came out in July, and by the looks of Part 2’s ending, a third installment is already on the way. 

So there it is—the mighty Professor in all his glory, right? Well, not entirely.

There's much more to the man than can be seen in these short Spider-Man videos, and the Professor recently took off his mask and opened up to B/R's very own NBA editor Ethan Norof to discuss life, hoops and how a 5'10", 150 pound kid from Oregon became one of the biggest names in streetball history.

While you're at it, catch up with And1 stars Hot Sauce, 8th Wonder other streetball heroes who recently spoke with our own Dan Favale about the touring lifestyle of a professional mixtape baller.

After that, you'll be more than ready for Part 3 of The Professor's Spider-Man saga. The question is, is the world prepared for Venom to start balling on them? I know I am.


On Twitter, impatiently waiting for more superhero basketball.

Follow @Dr__Carson

She has the dribbling skills of Trey Burke and slicker handles than a French wardrobe.

This eight-year-old girl has better ball control than you, your friends and most members of the NBA. She also loves Jesus, and by the look of the skills she displays in this video, Jesus loves her back.

Video of her amazing talent was spotted by Bro Bible, and it features more physical precision than you could ever expect out of someone her age.

Maneuver after maneuver, this young girl (who is unnamed so far as we can tell) dominates the ball with lightning-fast agility. One ball. Two balls. Behind the back. Through the legs. It doesn't matter.

Her parents keep track of each drill, timing her as she goes through each series and keeping track of the many records she’s on the cusp of breaking. It’s unclear what list of results her parents are consulting, but we’ll assume it’s not eight-year-old dribbling records. 

These have to be world records, and fractions of a second are the only difference between this girl and being the fastest dribbler on the planet.

Let's talk about this.

The potential new record holder for basketball dribbling has pig tails. She’s wearing a pink collared shirt. She’s in her kitchen—and she is destroying it.

Somewhere, Skylar Diggins is thanking her lucky stars she’ll be retired from the WNBA by the time this girl reaches her prime. Granted, we haven’t seen this girl shoot the ball. However, if she sticks with basketball and develops a jumper that’s even half as strong as her handle on the ball, I can confidently say she’ll be a guaranteed lottery pick.

Someone get this girl on an AND1 mixtape now.

Twelve-year-old Maddy Paige has been kicked off her football team. The reason? Lust. 

Paige has been asked by the heads of Strong Rock Christian, a K-12 private school in Locust Grove, Ga., to leave her football team as a preemptive measure against inciting lecherous and debauched temptations in other 12-year-olds.

This article from Maureen Downy of the Atlanta Journal Constitution was spotted by Rick Chandler of SportsGrid, and it only gets more interesting as the reasoning behind the decision unfurls. 

Paige was an active player on Strong Rock’s sixth grade football team. As far as sixth-graders go, she was a productive member of her team. Her stats weren’t exactly gaudy (a handful of sacks in a season), but hey, she held down her role at defensive end. That is, until the school stepped in after the end of last season. 

Different school figures have explained their decision to ban Paige from the team in different ways. The school’s athletic director, Phil Roberts, said the decision was based on official middle school policy, according to Devin Fehely of WXIA-TV Atlanta.

"Our official policy is that middle school girls play girl sports and middle school boys play boy sports," Roberts wrote in an email to the news station.

Paige’s mother, Cassy Blythe, told the station that Roberts’ explanation rings hollow compared to other reasons she was given in private conversation with school administrators.

"In the meeting with the CEO of the school, I was told that the reasons behind it were... that the boys were going to start lusting after her, and have impure thoughts about her," she said. "And that locker room talk was not appropriate for a female to hear, even though she had a separate locker room from the boys."

"It’s like taking my dream and throwing it in the trash," Maddy said about the school’s decision.

So, they’re not getting dressed together or showering together, but it’s still inappropriate?

I’m no philosopher, but when you ban preteen girls from being around boys while wearing shoulder pads, “inciting lust” sounds like a flimsy reason. After all, the rest of the girls on school grounds are wearing skirts and polos and aren’t covered in reeking hand-me-down padding.

If you think that's messed up, you're not alone. Paige's family started "Let Her Play"—a Facebook community aimed at getting her reinstated on the team and raising awareness of her situation. As of this writing, the page has well over 20,000 likes. 

In summary, the school administrators asked for this. They let Paige play the first season and then banned her the next. You shouldn't do that to a little girl. Heck, you shouldn't do that to anyone.

On top of it all, they opened a whole can of tuna with their separate-but-equal middle school policy, and it’s beginning to look like they won’t be able to screw a lid on it.

Printing #FreeMaddy shirts as we speak.

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Esteemed actor Paul Rudd once said that "the less you do, the more you do."

This young man apparently took notes.

Barstool Sports noticed that Arvind Mahankali didn’t do anything after winning the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee. I watched the tape for my own sake and, sure enough, nothing.

He didn’t even smile.

It’s important to note that Mahankali won the contest by spelling “knaidel”—which Dictionary.com defines as “a dumpling.” It was a Yiddish term of German origin.

Germanic words have been Mahankali’s bane in the Scripps Spelling Bee, according to the New York Times, and knocked the 13-year-old out of the competition the last two years.

In short, Mahankali won the competition he’s been trying to win for nearly a third of his short life by conquering a term from a language that had been his sworn enemy and kryptonite.

I’d say that’s time to celebrate.

(GIF via Gifrific.com)

No, not Arvind.

The kid sat in stoic silence, peering at the adoring crowd through the confetti storm as if he were invisible—like the Ghost of Christmas Present had swept him up and brought him here to look at someone else's blessed life.

ESPN's Samantha Ponder asked Mahankali how he planned on celebrating. His response?

"I shall spend the summer, maybe the entire day, studying physics," Mahankali said.

I’ll give him credit—he seemed somewhat animated prior to winning. I guess it's just a product of an inherent humbleness this young man was raised with. In that case, it’s admirable. It really is.

Upon further review, however, there's something a tad ominous about the way he stares out at the crowd like a newly crowned monarch surveying his subjects.

Be a kind ruler, Arvind. Remember that 10 years down the road.

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Skip to the 9:45 mark for the remarks on Erin Andrews.

So, is it a catfight or not? 

One of the parties involved isn't exactly sure what to call it, but something is brewing between Michelle Beadle and Erin Andrews—and it’s not sisterly love.

Beadle made an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Tuesday, and the NBC Sports Network host spoke about the simmering non-feud with her former ESPN coworker.

The weird situation unfurled when Patrick began asking Beadle about the possibility of her interviewing the Fox Sports personality as part of her job in the media, a notion that didn’t sit well with the former co-host of ESPN’s SportsNation.

“I could,” Beadle said. “But I don’t know why I’d want to.”

Patrick asked her if she would have talked to her about her appearance on Dancing With the Stars, which Beadle was even less enthused about.

“I try not to do those shows. Sure, if they made me. It would definitely be must-see TV, I’m sure.” 

Not one to let an interviewee off easy, Patrick dug a bit deeper, asking Beadle how this whole beef started. That’s when Beadle bust out the Sergio Garcia-Tiger Woods comparison, saying the origins of her strained relationship with Andrews are murky, but she doesn’t care to think about them.

“You know what? I honestly believe it goes back to a misunderstanding, and that’s what everything grew out of," she said. "But in the course of that misunderstanding having been done, bad stuff has happened...now it’s just a nothing. It’s like Tiger and Serg. We don’t all have to like each other.”

True to her comparison with the ongoing feud in the world of golf, Beadle told Patrick she wouldn’t say hello to Andrews if she ran into her again. 

“I’m not that great at that,” Beadle said. “Probably not. We’ve been in an elevator before and it was awkward...I’m not good at fake.”

Beadle also chose to demur when Patrick suggested that her and Andrews should try to get along.

"I have a ton of great girlfriends in this business. There's one that we don't get along [with] and it turns into a catfight, but it really isn't."

Indeed, Beadle is keeping it real and you have to respect her for that. She definitely showed restraint while talking about someone she didn’t like in front of the media.

Take notes, Sergio.

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What’s the world record for consecutive backflips on a pogo stick?

That’s a strange question, but the answer is now 15.

A video recently surfaced of a young man going to town on a pogo stick, flipping backward over and over again. The footage feels more like the beginning of a GoPro commercial, but just when you’re expecting the soul-devouring womp-bass of dubstep to kick in, you see it’s (allegedly) a world record-breaking performance (via Deadspin).

Fifteen was the number of backflips performed by “Dmitry” in this video, which breaks the prior world record of 11 (held by Fred Grzybowski) by a healthy four-flip margin.

What do we know about Dmitry at this point? Not much, besides the fact that he’s known to us simply as a one-name genius (like Seal) and that this feat was cake for him.

After pulling off a stunt that makes you lightheaded just watching it, Dmitry throws down the stick like an emcee dropping the mic. His helmet comes flying off. Holler at your boy.

While we’re talking pogo (and who doesn’t enjoy talking pogo?), let’s take a look at some other pogo records—the “highest forward flip pogo-stick jump” and the “most pogo-stick jumps in one minute.” 

That’s some intense sticking for a recreational toy—oh wait, these are high-performance pogo sticks. 

Photo courtesy of Flybar

Yes, we live in a world where you can get big air off a device once reserved for children with pigtails, and I can definitely get behind that.

Are you for pogo?

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Colorful and moving, the upcoming cover of Boston magazine is a visual testament to the cooperation and togetherness exhibited by marathon runners and the people of Boston in the aftermath of the terrible bombings that rocked the marathon race on April 15.

Arrayed together in a heart shape, the shoes that will run on the cover of the magazine’s May edition are of those of the runners who participated in the 2013 Boston Marathon. 

As it appears, the owners of these shoes were there in the city, running for their own reasons on the day of the bombings. Their collected “stories” will be told by the magazine, presumably in a manner that paints a unique picture of the tragic events of that fateful day.  

It’s probably safe to assume that some of these shoes pounded the sidewalk toward the fallen after the two bombs went off on Boylston Street. It’s likely that some of them stepped in blood and drank up tears in the aftermath. A few might have even been owned by the runners who kept running after completing their 26 miles, the ones who headed to hospitals to give blood for the recently injured. 

The message is clear—all different people of varied backgrounds and walks of life were there when terror struck the city of Boston, and everyone chipped in.

The offering up of these shoes to Boston—valued possessions, one and all—certainly strikes this author as indicative of the selfless and giving nature that poured forth from the people of Boston and others from around the world in the face of fear and disaster.

Beyond the beautiful color and juxtaposition of the tennis shoes lies a deeper message, and it continues the theme that swept across the country in light of the tragedy at the marathon.

We’re all part of a bigger picture, and we're in this race together.

On Twitter: Dr__Carson

Half soccer, half golf and 100 percent the best thing you’ll see today.

The game is called footgolf (or “Footee” to some) and has been around “since forever,” according to the AFGL, the American FootGolf League.  

As you’d imagine, footgolf combines the basic principles of golf, but replaces some of the equipment particulars (i.e. golf clubs, golf balls) with the players’ legs and a soccer ball.  

While still relatively small-scale, the game is starting to gain some major traction. Hungary just held the FootGolf World Cup in 2012, and it was amazing.

Yeah, this stuff is swanky. It even features golf bunnies.

And it’s only getting bigger. According to the AFGL website, the sport has spread to nearly 30 countries across the world, which play by different sets of rules.  

For those in the United States, footgolf is played only on golf courses (naturally) and league games adhere strictly to AFGL rules, which require players to play in a collared shirt, indoor soccer shoes and argyle socks.  

In the USA, the game is played au naturale—just the footgolfers and the course. In other countries, the game can feature man-made obstacles, which players are not allowed to touch or move in their attempt to get the ball into the hole. 

Like golf, there are no referees hawking over the action , and the game relies on the integrity of the players to call their own violations. This could change, however, if the game gets as popular as golf. In which case, people would probably call in and report you for taking an illegal drop—or for wearing improperly patterned socks.

Here’s another awesome footgolf video that features guys digging up a golf course and the song “Regulate” by Warren G, because I love you. 

All right, guys, time to hike up our argyle and head out to Vegas. They have a footgolf club out there, and what better place to enjoy what is obviously the best sport ever imagined?  

Footgolf just made my day: Dr__Carson