CONTENTS

1. CRICKET

CRICKET PITCHES

EQUIPMENT

THE OFFICIALS

DURATION OF GAME

FIELDING POSITIONS

BATTING STROKES

BOWLING

TYPES OF DISMISSAL

SCORING

CONCLUDING A MATCH

TYPES OF MATCHES
2. BASKET BALL

INTRODUCTION

COURT AND TEAMS

RULES

PLAY

ATTACKING SKILLS

DEFENSIVE SKILLS

AMATEUR COMPETITION

PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

HISTORY
3. ATHLETICS

CRICKET
Rules of, an 11-a-side bat-and-ball field game the object of which is to score
more runs than ones opponents. Variants include indoor cricket, 6-a-side, and
single wicket for which different rules apply. The laws are more copious and
more complex than for any other game. Apart from the laws there is an
inherent complexity in the possibilities of the game and how it is played, in its
remarkable range of techniques and skills, in its technical, idiomatic, and slang
language, in its dependence on the weather (and atmospheric conditions),
and in its constantly fluctuating balance of power; it is one of the least
predictable of games. It appears to be the only sport which may go on for
anything from one to five, six, or more days. In the longest first-class match on
record (the timeless and final Test of Englands South African tour of 19381939) play began on March 3 and the match had to be abandoned on March
14 without a result.
CRICKET PITCHES
Apart from Australian rules football and polo (and the equestrian sports
buzkashi and pato) no other game requires such a large playing area
certainly at county, state, and Test match level. At humbler levels many fields
are quite small. Average dimensions for a first-class cricket ground would be
roughly 200 yd (182 m) long and 150 yd (137 m) wide. Ideally there should be
a minimum of 75 yd (68.56 m) of ground in any direction from the pitch or
wicket. Approximately in the centre of the ground is the square (often far from
square and also known as the table or the middle). This has the best
surface and on this the pitches or wickets are made. Most grounds and
pitches are turf, but in countries where grass does not grow easily, or hardly at
all, the pitch, at any rate, is likely to be artificial. Turf is ideal because it is more
variable and produces unpredictable behaviour in the bounce and speed of
the ball.

EQUIPMENT
Traditional clothing for players is white, but latterly coloured clothes have been
introduced for some competitions. Batsmen wear pads to protect their legs
and batting gloves to protect their hands, plus an abdominal guard or box.
Other protective gear includes forms of pad for arms, thighs, shoulders, and
chests, plus head guards or helmets with visors. Wicket keepers wear pads
and especially thick gloves. Cricketers also often wear peaked caps that bear
the device or emblem of their team or club.
The blade of a cricket bat is made of shaped willow. It is bulged at the back
(this is the meat) and the bulge decreases near the bottom of the blade (the
toe). The handle is made of cane reinforced with layers of rubber and this
tapers away into a long narrow V shape; this part (the splice) is fitted into the
top of the blade (the shoulders). There is no restriction as to weight.

Nowadays the average weight is 2lb 4oz-2lb 6oz (1,020-1,077 g). Length and
width are restricted. The maximum dimensions allowed are: total length 38 in
(96.52 cm); width 4 in (10.80 cm).
The ball consists of a core (squab) composed of cork and twine, covered with
red leather. The casing is stitched on and the stitches form a seam round the
ball whose circumference is 8 3/16 to 9 in (22.38 to 22.86 cm), while its weight
must be 5 to 5 oz (156 to 163 g).
DURATION OF A GAME
Cricket is unique among field games in that a single match may last anything
from four to five hours to five or six days. In much village, school, and club
cricket, matches start at about 2 p.m. and go on till 6.30 or 7 p.m. Many oneday matches (at all levels) begin at 10.30 or 11 a.m. and go on till 6.30 or 7
p.m. Two-day matches have similar times. Most first-class matches last three
or four days (with similar periods of playing time). Most Test matches are
played over five days (in some cases six). The standard playing times in most
first-class cricket amount to six hours each day. Intervals are allowed for
meals: usually 40 minutes for lunch and 20 minutes for tea. There may also be
brief intervals for drinks, when the players do not leave the field.
FIELDING POSITIONS
The captain of the fielding side distributes his players round the field,
positioning them to stop or save runs and to take possible catches. There are
many basic fielding positions and fielders are moved around frequently to suit
individual bowlers and for the purpose of restricting runs and the scoring
strokes of individual batsmen. When umpires and players are ready to begin,
the umpire at the bowlers end calls play and the bowler runs up to deliver
the first ball to the receiving batsman (the striker); the batsman at the other
end of the pitch is the non-striker.
BATTING STROKES
The main object of the batsman is to score runs (a run is the unit of score). In
some circumstances the batsmen may not be interested in scoring runs, but
merely in not getting out and thus just remaining at the wicket.
The standard batting strokes are:
(1) Forward strokeboth an attacking and defensive shot played off the
front foot (left foot in the case of a right-handed batsman), but primarily
defensive or containing; however, runs may accrue;
(2) Back strokebasically a defensive stroke for which the batsman
moves on to the back foot (right foot for a right-handed batsman)
immediately in front of or near his stumps.

Most other strokes are a development or amplification of these two. On the

leg- or on-side there are five basic shots all of which, in varying degrees, are
aggressive and thus intended to score runs. They are:
The glancethe batsman deflects the ball off the face of an angled bat
so that it runs away behind him in the area between fine-leg and
square-leg;
The sweepthe batsman advances his front foot, bends his back leg
(even going down on the knee) and with a more or less horizontal bat
sweeps the ball away and behind him in the area between fine-leg and
square-leg;
The pulla forcing shot against a short ball in which the batsman goes
back on his stumps and with a horizontal movement of the bat strikes
the ball anywhere between fine-leg and mid-on;
The hooka forcing shot to a short ball or bouncer which rises
perhaps to shoulder or head height; the batsman moves inside the line
of the ball while going back on his stumps and with bat lofted near the
vertical strikes the ball into the area between mid-wicket and fine-leg;
The on-driveplayed off the front foot with a full swing of the bat and
hitting the ball in the direction of mid-on.
BOWLING
Bowlers bowl overs. An over consists of six deliveries. Bowlers tend to bowl in
spells (a number of overs). When an over is completed the umpire at the
bowlers end says over, the umpires change over, the field is rearranged, the
batsmen stay where they are, and another bowler bowls from the other end.
And so on, alternating. Two overs cannot be bowled consecutively from the
same end, and a bowler may not bowl consecutive overs.
When the bowler bowls, the ball may not be thrown or jerked otherwise it is a
no-ball. When a ball is delivered overarm there must be no bending of the arm
at the elbow during the final swing of the arm before the ball is released. A
bowler can use his right or left arm and he can bowl underarm or overarm, but
may not change from one style to the other without telling the umpire, who will
then inform the batsman. Nowadays nearly all bowling is overarm. The bowler
can bowl either over the wicket, that is with his delivery arm closest to the
wicket, or from the other side of it when he is said to bowl round the wicket.
For a fair delivery the bowler must have some part of his front foot behind the
popping crease and both feet within, and not touching, the return crease. If a
bowler delivers an unfair ball the umpire calls in a loud voice no-ball! A
batsman cannot be out from such a delivery (unless he attempts a run and is
run out).
There are four basic categories of bowler: fast, fast-medium, slow-medium,
and slow. Within the broad classifications there are many variations and
technical resources. The two essential prerequisites for good or competent

bowling are line (direction) and length. The ball must be directed (bowled)
accurately on the line of the stumps or very slightly to one or other side of the
stumps. As the wicket is only 9 in (22.86 cm) across the margin of error is
slight. A good length ball pitches in such a way that the batsman cannot use
either of the basic strokes (that is forward or back) with certainty. To a ball of
good length a batsman is usually obliged to play defensively. However, length
may also be dictated by a batsmans height and thus by his reach (how far he
can stretch with his bat and his feet). But this does not mean that a very tall
batsman has a particular advantage; some of the greatest batsmen have been
short.
TYPES OF DISMISSAL
The bowlers objective is to get the batsman out (though in some
circumstances he may be only interested in restricting the batsman from
scoring runs, or containing him).
There are four basic ways to get a batsman out:
(1) By bowling hima batsman is bowled when the ball breaks the
wicket, that is, when the ball removes either bail from the top of the
stumps (it does not matter whether the ball has touched the batsman
or his bat before this happens);
(2) By having him caughta batsman is caught when the ball, having
touched any part of the bat, or the batsmans hand or glove, is held by
a fieldsman before it touches the ground and that fieldsman must be
completely within the playing area when making the catch or
immediately afterwards;
(3) By getting him leg before wicket (abbreviated to lbw)this occurs
when a ball which has pitched on the line of the stumps, or outside the
line of the off stump, would, in the umpires opinion, have hit the wicket
if it had not been stopped by any part of the batsmans body or
clothing except his hand holding the bat. So, a batsman could be given
out head before wicketbut in the vast majority of cases it is the leg
which impedes the ball. If the batsman deliberately knees or pads the
ball away outside the off stumpeven though contact may be outside
the line of the stumpsthe batsman is out if the ball would have hit the
wicket;
(4) By having him stumpedthis happens when the batsman, in the
course of making or completing a stroke, though without attempting a
run, has no part of his bat or body behind the popping crease and the
wicketkeeper breaks the wicket with a hand holding the ball which has
just been bowled.
SCORING
As mentioned above, the unit of scoring is the run. A batsman scores a run
when he hits the ball and he and his partner both run and make good their
ground behind the popping creases at the opposite ends from where they

started, and before the fielding side return the ball and break the wicket. If the
batsmen turn, run, cross, and make good their ground a second time, two runs
are scored from the stroke, and so on. The commonest number of runs scored
from a single stroke are one, two, and three. Periodically the batsmen have
time to run four, occasionally five and very occasionally six. When more than
four are run it is usually the result of an overthrow. This occurs when a fielder
returns the ball to one set of stumps and the ball goes far beyond them thus
giving the batsmen more time to accumulate runs. These are called
overthrows but are not recorded as such in the scorebook; they are merely
credited to the batsman who hit the ball.
In the case of boundary hits neither batsman needs to run. If he strikes the
ball and it crosses the boundary line he scores four runs. If the ball goes over
the boundary line full pitch (without touching the ground) he scores a six.
Extras (called sundries in Australia) are added to the total of runs scored by
the batting side, but are not credited to individual batsmen. Extras are as
follows:
(1) No-ball (illegal bowl)one extra is scored for a no-ball, unless the
batsman hits it for runs which are credited to his score;
(2) A byewhen the batsman misses the ball or allows it to go past him
and the wicketkeeper cannot stop it the batsmen run as for a stroke
from the bat. If the ball runs to the boundary four runs are recorded;
(3) A leg byewhen a batsman makes a stroke at the ball and fails to
connect and the ball runs off his body (usually some part of the legs)
then the batsmen can run as for a stroke from the bat; again four leg
byes may be scored;
(4) A widethis occurs when a ball is bowled so high or so wide that in
the umpires opinion it is out of the batsmans reach. This is worth one
extra, but if no fielder manages to stop the ball then the batsmen may
run as in the case of byes. If a bowler bowls a wide or a no-ball then
he has another delivery added to his over.
CONCLUDING A MATCH
An innings may go on until ten batsmen have been dismissed. The last
batsman left is described as not out, but he does not go on batting when he
has no partner. A match is won by the team that scores most runs in a
completed game. For example, if, in a single-innings match, Australia score
217 runs and India 157 runs all out, then Australia win by 60 runs. In a twoinnings match Australia may score 316 runs in its first innings and 228 in its
second; while India score 411 runs in its first innings and 97 in its second.
Australia win by 36 runs. If a team batting second scores enough runs in its
second innings to win before all its batsmen have been dismissed then there
is no need for it to go on batting. For example, Australia score 381 in its first
innings and 297 in its second; India score 351 in its first innings. Batting last,
India need 328 runs to win (they are only required to exceed the total by one

run). If they reach 328 for the loss of seven batsmen (wickets) they are said to
win the match by three wickets (because they have three wickets in hand).
TYPES OF MATCHES
Cricket is a multi-faceted sport which, in very broad terms, can be divided into
major cricket and minor cricket based on playing standards. A more pertinent
division, particularly in terms of major cricket, is between matches in which the
teams have two innings apiece and those in which they have a single innings
each. The former, known as first-class cricket, has a duration of three to five
days (there have been examples of "timeless" matches too); the latter, known
as limited overs cricket because each team bowls a limit of typically 50 overs,
has a planned duration of one day only (a match can be extended if necessary
due to bad weather, etc.).
TEST CRICKET
A Test match between South Africa and England in January 2005. The men
wearing black trousers are the umpires. Teams in Test cricket, first-class
cricket and club cricket wear traditional white uniforms and use red cricket
balls.
Test cricket is the highest standard of first-class cricket. A Test match is an
international fixture between teams representing those countries that are Full
Members of the ICC.
LIMITED OVERS
Standard limited overs cricket was introduced in England in the 1963 season
in the form of a knockout cup contested by the first-class county clubs. In
1969, a national league competition was established. The concept was
gradually introduced to the other major cricket countries and the first limited
overs international was played in 1971. In 1975, the first Cricket World Cup
took place in England. Limited overs cricket has seen various innovations
including the use of multi-coloured kit and floodlit matches using a white ball.
TWENTY20
Twenty20 is a new variant of limited overs itself with the purpose being to
complete the match within about three hours, usually in an evening session.
The original idea, when the concept was introduced in England in 2003, was
to provide workers with an evening entertainment. It has been commercially
successful and has been adopted internationally. The inaugural Twenty20
World Championship was held in 2007 and won by India. 2009's Twenty20
World Championship was staged in England and won by Pakistan. The next
Twenty20 World Championship will be held in the West Indies. After the
inaugural ICC World Twenty20 many domestic Twenty20 leagues were born.
First of them was Indian Cricket League which is considered as rebel league
since it is unauthorized by BCCI and led to form an official league called the

Indian Premier League. Both these leagues are cash rich and attracted
players and audience around the globe. Recently Twenty20 Champions
League was formed as a tournament for domestic clubs of various countries.

INTRODUCTION
BASKETBALL, sport, usually played on an indoor court in which two
competing teams of five players each attempt to score points or baskets by
throwing an inflated ball so that it descends through one of two baskets
suspended, at each end of the court, above their heads. The team scoring the
most such points, through field goals or foul shots, wins the game. Because of
its continuous action and frequent scoring, basketball is one of the most
popular spectator as well as participant sports in the world.
COURT AND TEAMS
The measurements of American and international basketball courts differ
slightly. The basketball court is a rectangular area ranging in size from about
29 m by 15 m (94 ft by 50 ft) to about 22 m by 13 m (74 ft by 42 ft). At each
end of the court is a vertical backboard, measuring usually about 2 m by 1 m
(6 ft by 3 ft). Each backboard is anchored to a wall, suspended from the
ceiling, or otherwise mounted so that its lower edge is about 2.7 m (9 ft) above
the court. (Backboards originated to keep spectators from interfering with the
game.) The baskets are attached firmly to the backboards about 3 m (10 ft)
above the playing surface. Each basket is about 46 cm (18 in) in diameter and
consists of a horizontal hoop, or metal ring, from which a fringe of widemeshed white netting is hung. The regulation basketball is an inflated, leatheror nylon-covered sphere that weighs from 567 to 624 g (20 to 22 oz) and has
a circumference of about 76 cm (30 in).
A conventional basketball team, which is directed by a coach, is made up of
two forwards, two guards, and a centre. At the beginning of play, called the tipoff, the forwards of one team are stationed in the forecourtthat is, the half of
the playing area containing the basket at which their team is shooting. The two
guards stand in the backcourt. The centre, usually the tallest player on the
team, stands inside a circle that has a radius of about 61 cm (24 in) and is
located midway along a line painted across the middle of the court.
RULES
Basketball rules change frequently with the intent of speeding its action,
increasing the scoring, and offsetting the advantages given to teams with
extremely tall players. Slightly different regulations govern international
basketball and the college, scholastic, professional, and women's games in
the United States. In 1971 rules for women's basketball were redrawn, making
it more like the men's game. Games are supervised by referees, umpires,
official scorekeepers, and timers.

PLAY
The game commences with the tip-off, when the referee tosses the ball into
the air over the centre circle, in which the opposing centres stand face to face.
The centres then leap into the air and attempt, with their hands, to tap the ball
to their teammates. The team that gets the ball attempts to advance it towards
the basket defended by the opposing side, in order to try for a field goal, or
basket, scoring two or three points, depending on the player's distance from
the basket. A player may advance the ball by passing it to a teammate or by
bouncing (dribbling) it continually along the floor while running towards the
basket. If a player walks or runs with the ball without dribbling ita violation
called travellingthat player's team surrenders possession of the ball. After a
basket is scored, the opposing team puts the ball into play from behind its end
line and in turn tries to move the ball upcourt to score.
Penalties and Free Throws: A player subjected to illegal body contact,
termed a personal foul, receives one or two free throws, from a foul line about
4 m (15 ft) from the basket. Each successful free throw counts for one point.
Typical fouls include pushing, holding, charging, and tripping. A player fouled
in the act of shooting, but scoring the basket, receives one free throw in
addition to the basket; this is called a three-point play. In professional
basketball, excessive fouls are penalized by granting the opponents extra
free-throw chances. A player who exceeds the maximum number of personal
fouls allowed (in amateur play, five; in professional play, six) is eliminated from
the game. Interference with certain shots that are near or about to drop
through the basket is called goaltending on defence, and basket interference
on the attack. The basket is ruled good after goaltending and disallowed after
basket interference.
Amateur games usually are divided into two halves, each containing 20
minutes of actual play; professional games are divided into four quarters, each
containing 12 minutes of play. An added feature of college and professional
games is the rule that a team must shoot at the basket within a certain time
limit after putting the ball in play. In college basketball, the time limit is 35
seconds in men's games and 30 seconds in women's games. Professional
games have a 24-second limit.
Attacking Skills
The principal attacking skills necessary to any player, besides adept dribbling
or ball control, are passing and shooting. Passes to teammates, which may be
thrown overhand, underhand, or laterally, include push passes, behind-theback passes, jump passes, and bounce passes. A pass that leads directly to a
basket being scored is called an assist.
Perhaps the most important basketball skill, however, is the ability to shoot
accurately. Among the types of shots in the standard vocabulary of modern

basketball are the lay-up, made overhand or underhand and as close to the
basket as possible; the jump shot, in which the shooter leaps into the air
before releasing the ball; the hook shot, an arched shot made over the head
with one arm, generally as the shooter is moving away from the basket; and
the dunk shot, in which the shooter leaps into the air and slams the ball
directly into the basket. The set or stationary shot, once popular when play
was slower, is extremely rare today. Foul shots are usually made overhand
from the foul line.
Rebounding is the art of out-positioning opponents to gain possession of the
ball off the backboard, when a shot has been missed, or to tap the ball into the
basket for a field goal after a missed shot.
A high-speed attack over the length of the whole court is called a fast break
and is calculated to outrace the defending opponents for a quick score. Also
essential in basketball is the pick, or screen, whereby players position
themselves (set a pick) so as to impede the movement of a defensive player,
thus freeing a teammate for a clear shot at the basket.
Generally speaking, attacking strategy may involve deliberate patterns of
attack, or a looser, more improvised style of play. In each case the object is to
evade the opposition and work for an easier shot at the basket, or to pass to
an open, or momentarily unguarded, player to facilitate a scoring chance.
DEFENSIVE SKILLS
The main types of defensive strategy in basketball are the so-called zone and
man-to-man defences. In the zone defence, each player is responsible for
defending a certain area of the court around the basket at which the opposing
team is shooting. In a man-to-man, or one-on-one defence, each player is
assigned to guard closely a specific member of the opposing team. Zone
defence is not permitted in professional basketball, but remains an important
part of amateur competition.
Individual defensive skills include the ability to block shots without fouling, to
break up passes, and to steal the ball. A change-of-hands of the ball in floor
play, from one team to the other, is called a turnover. Intense or pressing
defensive moves include double-teaming, whereby two players guard a
dangerous or vulnerable opponent, and the full-court press, in which the team
with the ball is aggressively challenged the whole length of the court. A skill
vital to both defence and attack is reboundingthe ability to wrest possession
of the ball under the opponent's basket.
AMATEUR COMPETITION
Basketball was introduced in the Olympic Games in 1936. The international
game is regulated by the Fdration Internationale de Basketball Amateur
(FIBA), and championship tournaments are held periodically. The amateur
game played in the United States is regulated by the Amateur Basketball

Association of the United States. Championship play-offs take place at the

end of each college basketball season (December to March) among the many
nationwide intercollegiate conferences. Two important post season
tournaments are also held, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT; begun in
1938) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) tournaments for
men (begun in 1939) and women (begun in 1982), which determine the NCAA
champions.
High school basketball for girls and boys, one of the most popular spectator
sports, attracts large crowds throughout the United States. Statewide
tournaments determine the championship teams. Other forms of amateur
competition include variations of the game for younger children and for people
with disabilities.
Since the 1950s it has become a universally popular game, in which high
standards are attainedespecially in European countries. In the Olympic
Games the American supremacy (the United States had won on the seven
previous occasions since the game was first an Olympic event in 1936) was
challenged in 1972 when the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) beat the United States, as they did again in 1988. Yugoslavia won in
1980. World Championships were first held for men in 1950 and for women in
1953. They are now staged quadrennially. In the men's tournament the USSR
won three times, Brazil twice, and the United States twice. In the women's
tournament the USSR won six times and the United States five times. The
European Championships were inaugurated in 1935 and are held biennially.
The former USSR men's and women's have been overwhelmingly superior.
The European Championships for clubs were first held for men in 1958 and for
women in 1959. In the men's tournament Real Madrid (Spain) has been the
most successful. In the women's tournament Daugawa Riga (Latvia) has won
18 times.
PROFESSIONAL COMPETITION
In recent years almost all professional basketball players in the United States
have come from the college ranks; professional teams conduct annual drafts
to select promising players. The principal professional league in the United
States is governed by the National Basketball Association (NBA), formed in
1949. With the addition of 2 new teams in 1994, the NBA grew to 29 teams, in
2 conferences (Eastern and Western) made up of 4 regional divisions. Playoffs are held at the end of each 82-game season to determine the league
champion. The NBA also gives a number of annual awards, including awards
for most valuable player and rookie of the year.
Teams in the National League in Great Britain play 36 games in a season. In
1999 the league was won by the Sheffield Sharks. There is also a European
club championship, known as the Euro League, which in 1999 was won by BC
Zalgiris of Lithuania.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The first collegiate basketball for women was played in America in 1893, and a
separate set of rules for the women's game appears to have been drawn up in
1895. A game between the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford
University was played in April 1895, two years before the first officially
recognized men's college game. The older, six-player women's rover game
gave way to a five-player game similar to men's basketball in the late 1960s.
HISTORY
Basketball was invented in December 1891 by the Canadian clergyman,
educator, and doctor James Naismith. Naismith introduced the game when he
was an instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Training
School in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he organized a vigorous
recreation suitable for indoor winter play. The game involved elements of
American football, Association football, and hockey, and the first ball used was
a football. Teams had nine players, and the goals were wooden peach baskets
affixed to the walls. By 1897-1898, teams of five became standard. The game
rapidly spread nationwide and to Canada and other parts of the world, played
by both women and men; it also became a popular informal outdoor game. US
servicemen in World War II popularized the sport in many other countries.
A number of US colleges adopted the game between about 1893 and 1895. In
1934 the first college games were staged in New York's Madison Square
Garden, and college basketball began to attract heightened interest. By the
1950s basketball had become a major college sport, thus paving the way for a
growth of interest in professional basketball.
The first professional league, the National Basketball League, was formed in
1898 to protect players from exploitation and to promote a less rough game.
This league only lasted five years before disbanding; its demise spawned a
number of loosely organized leagues throughout the north-eastern United
States. One of the first and greatest pro teams was the Original Celtics,
organized about 1915 in New York. They played as many as 150 games a
season and dominated basketball until 1936. The Harlem Globetrotters,
founded in 1927, a notable exhibition team, specializes in amusing court
antics and expert ball handling.
In 1949 two subsequent professional leagues, the National Basketball League
(formed in 1937) and the Basketball Association of America (1946) merged to
create the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Boston Celtics, led by
their centre Bill Russell, dominated the NBA from the late 1950s through the
1960s. By the 1960s, pro teams from coast to coast played before crowds of
many millions annually. Wilt Chamberlain, a centre for the Los Angeles
Lakers, was another leading player during the era, and his battles with Russell
were eagerly anticipated. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, also a centre, came to

prominence during the 1970s. Jabbar perfected his famed sky hook shot
while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers and dominated the opposition.
The NBA suffered a drop in popularity during the late 1970s, but was
resuscitated, principally through the growing popularity of its most prominent
players. Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics, and Magic Johnson of the Los
Angeles Lakers are credited with injecting excitement into the league in the
1980s through their superior skills and decade-long rivalry. During the late
1980s Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls rose to stardom and helped the
Bulls dominate the NBA in the 1990s. New generations of basketball stars,
including Shaquille O Neal of the Orlando Magic and later of the Los Angeles
Lakers and Larry Johnson of the Charlotte Hornets, have sustained the NBA's
growth in popularity.
This massive growth was however brought to a temporary halt in the 19981999 season, following a financial dispute between the NBA and the NBA
Players Association. After the forced cancellation of over 400 games, the
season eventually got underway at the beginning of 1999 when a labour
agreement was forged between the two sides. Under the agreement the NBA
was given permission to cap players' spiralling salaries, something no other
major sport had adopted. Stricter controls over players' behaviour, including
drug testing and stiffer penalties for misconduct, were also introduced.