Science Friction

The SDK is one of my favorite wrestling maneuvers. When it is executed well, it is a thing of beauty. I appreciate an athlete who can get some major air on his jumps. Back years ago when I was taking martial arts, I loved practicing the jumping sidekick. It was a difficult technique but I loved trying it. I appreciate the wrestlers who know how to perform the standing dropkick to perfection. Speaking of perfection, Mr. Perfect's SDK was a thing of beauty. The guy could really perform in the ring and his exquisite dropkick was no exception. Also, Randy Orton gives me chills when he executes his SDK. He gets awesome height on his kick. His is probably the best out there today. Can't leave out Zig in this category. Dolph has an incredibly powerful SDK. Obviously, Zig was heavily influenced by Perfect. He looks like Hennig and his moves are a living tribute to his hero and mentor. Who would you rate as the best all-time on the drop kick? Also, what other wrestling maneuvers do you enjoy seeing executed and who does the best job of executing your favorite maneuver?

No problem with any of those...

I'm hearing that if North plays South and Corbin plays Knox, as expected, the Arena may be sold out on Saturday. To my knowledge, the biggest crowd they've ever had was Lynard Skynard. My guess is there will be more security in the house for Corbin-Knox on Saturday than they had for Skynard.

Don't know. My guess is, the coach says it's tourney time and we have to play as a team to win. If Corbin is going to get to Rupp, Taylor has to trust his teammates and distribute the ball to them. Sanders and Stewart are very capable amigos .

I'm all about humor and fun and excitement at games. That's why I love HS basketball so much. I draw the line, though, at disparaging a kid for his personal or family misfortunes. The one I heard the other night spoke to a kid's hearing impairment. I didn't like it.

Unless it just can't be helped, no one on here should miss coming to the Arena for Saturday's potential matchup between Corbin and Knox Central. So, so many undercurrents...

Over the next week or so I'll begin counting down my top astronomy stories for 2017. Basically, I am just ranking these according to the impact and interest they had on me. My ranking is not necessarily the most important or far-reaching events but just what I considered interesting and what stood out to me. See if you can guess what will top my list. Today, is #8. 8. Atmosphere Discovered on a Distant Planet For the first time , scientists observed the atmosphere of a distant planet. The planet, named GJ1132b is 39 LY from Earth and is only slightly larger than Earth. It's radius is about 1.4 times that of the Earth and its mass is about 1.6 times that of our own pale blue dot. The direct observation of this planet's atmosphere is significant because, up until now, astronomers had only been able to study the atmospheres of gas giant planets the size of Jupiter. The atmosphere of GJ1132b is very hot and thick, which means it is likely more like Venus than Earth. Studying Earth-sized exoplanet atmospheres remains a huge challenge for our current telescopes but look for future instruments to be targeted for just this purpose. Because alien planet atmospheres may contain evidence for life, scientists are working hard to understand just what to look for in these atmospheres and how to look for it. Maybe sometime in the near future we will know whether planets such as GJ1132b show evidence of life-supporting environments.

Again, for those who say anything in college goes. A few years ago a player you may remember by the name of J.J. Reddick and his Duke team was playing on the road before a homestanding ACC rival crowd(not sure, but I believe it was Maryland). Now, J.J. wasn't exactly my favorite player , to be sure. However, I think there is a line that shouldn't be crossed, no matter how much you detest a player. One fan held up a crude homemade sign saying something to the effect of "I sexually assaulted your sister"(except the wording was more obscene than that). Reddick's sister was 12 y.o. at the time. Anyone really think that's okay??? Not in my universe... Humor is fine but vulgarity and insensitivity for someone's personal misfortunes and family tragedies should be unacceptable.

No doubt. When I heard what I thought was a despicable chant the other night, I thought that these kids need a good talking to by the adults in their lives. Maybe some of them don't have adults in their lives or , who knows, maybe the adults in their lives is where they learned such disgusting behavior.

Sanders had his best game in over a month. Stewart was his steady self. Good shooter, very quick getting to the hole. Taylor trusted his teammates for the first time in a month. Instead of overshooting and getting 40, he distributed more, settled for 20, and the team was better as a result.

Really good analysis... Spot on. J.J. had to work way too hard to get his shots. Most everything he took was with defenders in his face. To his credit , he made most every shot he took but he shouldn't have had to generate everyone of his attempts himself.

Spot on. As I've said before, he is THE difference maker. One of my favorite players in recent years. Yes, I know he can't shoot worth a lick, but his hustle and energy and glass-eating ability makes up for his shooting deficits.

Vanderbilt is clearly the key to the team's resurgence. Dude's an energy monster.

Wireman, you say that anything goes in college. Do you stand by that? Is any chant, signage, or student taunt at opposing players okay?

Couldn't agree with you more, Mamaw. Every time I hear these vulgar and disgusting chants, I think where in the heck are the adults? Do the parents approve of this? I think there is a line that, when crossed, perpetrators of this disgust should be removed from the facility. Wireman, you say that there is a line in high school. What is your line? Also, I disagree with you about college. I don't think ANYTHING goes. As mamaw said, if it isn't sport-related it doesn't serve a legitimate purpose.

I'm pulling for Corbin's Josh Hamlin & Mercer and then the Bunnies from Somerset. Third favorite would be former Corbin coach Rodney Woods and Wayne.

Thank you very much. It was a tough one, as expected. We played well and we needed to. South is a really good team and Ramey is special.

Knox Central students chanted that Corbin's star player" sits down to pee." Silly and immature but I don't think that crossed the line. Now, when they threw toilet paper from the stands, that crossed the line.

The Cameron Crazies allegedly once yelled "Orphan, Orphan" to a UNC kid who had lost his parents to a murder-suicide. Unacceptable... These are all examples of behavior that should never be tolerated. And, as gchs_uk9 pointed out, any kind of racist, sexist, homophobic chants.

Steve Kerr's father was President of the American University of Beirut and was murdered in the Middle East back , I think , around 1984. When Steve was a senior for Arizona and playing a game against homestanding Arizona State, a few of the students chanted "P-L-O ," "P-L-O " at Kerr. Unacceptable...

I say be silly but stay civil.

What about taunting a player about a personal or family tragedy?

I think vulgarity is crossing the line and shouldn't be tolerated. Also vile and cruel taunts of a player. For example,some of the Duke student section chanting "How's Your Grandma?" to a N.C. State player while he was shooting free throws. His grandmother had died a week earlier. Such cruelty doesn't belong in sport. What do you think is "fair game" and what is "over the line" ?

Another guy who finished with the sleeper was Maniac Mark Lewin. Some of you may remember him in Kevin Sullivan's "cult" as "The Purple Haze." They guy was a scary heel character. He would often foam at the mouth and his eyes would glaze over as he locked in his sleeper.

I heard a chant(taunt) last night at the Corbin-South Laurel game that I felt went over the line and was very inappropriate. I don't know how much I want to elaborate at this point. What do you consider "all in good fun" from student cheering sections? What types of chants/behaviors do you think are silly and immature but fall short of being inappropriate ? What types of things go over the line of appropriate behavior? I look forward to hearing your comments.