Wilt Chamberlain by Dennis Allen Lange

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His height made him great ’round the basket.
But sadly, poor Wilt blew a gasket.
…Dismayed by his death,
…We all held our breath –
Would Chamberlain fit in a casket?

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© Dennis Allen Lange, 2019.

 

 

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They Still Don’t Get It – haiku by Dennis Allen Lange

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NFL
On field politics –
Offensive. 

In response,
We will boycott –
Defensive.

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* The haiku I write are lines of 3-5-3 syllables instead of 5-7-5.

See Haiku article here for explanation, if needed: https://thebardonthehill.wordpress.com/2011/08/08/haiku/

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© Dennis Allen Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2017.

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Football In Denver by Dennis Lange

To play the game in freezing temp
…And ever falling snow,
The player nor the fan is wimp.
…At home we think them schmo.

But there’s one thing that’s even worse
…Than frostbite with your bruise –
That’s overtime, an extra curse,
…And pain then when you lose.

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The temperature was 24 degrees and snow fell throughout
the game.  The agony of the weather didn’t end in regulation,
though because New England tied the game with a field goal
as time ran out.  The misery continued in overtime but the
Broncos won on their first drive with a long run, ending the
Patriots’ undefeated season.

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2015.

 

 

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2014 NBA Champions by Dennis Lange

……2014 NBA Champions

Few thought the Spurs would win at all –
…The Heat shone like the sun,
Bright stars in their own galaxy
…For third straight title run.

Yet win Spurs did, and win in five –
…One loss by only two,
While rolling over Miami
…Like day devours dew.

Each victory brought lavish praise,
…An unabashed awe
Of how precise their ballet was,
…How few the selfish flaw.

They cut; they passed; they slashed; they drove;
…They stole the ball and ran.
They rained down threes, and now they reign,
…The fifth time in their span.

Ginobili, Baynes, and Diaw,
…And Belinelli, Green,
A Joseph, Ayres, and Splitter, too –
…A basketball machine.

Add Parker, Duncan, Bonner, Mills,
…And Leonard – MVP.
Their bench was deepest in the league
…Like trenches in the sea.

With Popovich, the coaching crew,
…And Buford, the exec,
They took unfinished business
…And finished, marked the check.

The Rolex of pro basketball,
…The Rolls of NBA –
The Spurs of San Antonio
…Are champs another day!

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2014.

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Futbol by Dennis Lange

……………Futbol

In futbol (soccer to us Yanks) –
…When World Cup is the rage –
It is the greatest sport of all,
…Upon the greatest stage.

The greatest players, greatest teams,
…The lesser sifted out –
We watch as though a goldfish bowl,
…And world is circled ‘bout.

The close-ups of the camera,
…The replays o’er and o’er,
And varied angles give us looks
…Of gills and fins and more.

We see the Greatest lie by flops,
…And fake an injury,
How even Greatest cheat to win
…Than by mere pedigree.

And all that’s done before our eyes
…Without an ounce of shame.
It’s just the way all goldfish swim,
…And play their fish-smell game.

And we, the world, with watching eyes
…See darkness in the bowl.
We shake our heads in wonder at
…The selling of the soul.

And when the bowl and ball is gone,
…The fish back to the sea,
The world turns to its way of life
…In World Cup mimicry.

From least to Greatest in the sea,
…All play the fish-smell game.
And fakes and cheating is the way
…To fortune, flesh, or fame.

And God, the All, with watching eyes,
…Sees darkness in the bowl.
And shakes His head in anger at
…The selling of the soul.

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2014.

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Sonnet 35 – Good People by Dennis Lange

…..Sonnet 35 – Good People

On that same day that San Antonio
Won finals first game in their fifth ring quest,
The Denver Nuggets coach was told to go,
E’en though he led them to a franchise best.

Dwight Howard bid the Lakers bye in days,
And Kobe, left behind, refused a cut
That would have helped the Lakers mend their ways.
He’d take more millions, stay in lower rut.

But Spurs go on, as regular as clocks,
Precisely tuned so ev’ry part supports
Without the drama, ego of most jocks –
The best franchise in any of the sports.

Good people always bring about good things;
Sometimes, they’re even blessed with champion’s rings.

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The poem is written about a day during the NBA playoffs in 2013. The Spurs went on to lose the championship when they had it in their grasp in game 6 with a 5 point lead over the Miami Heat with 28 seconds to go. The Denver Nuggets record for the 2012-2013 season was 57-25 and for the 2013-2014 fell to a mark of 36-46. To be fair, the situation in the sonnet was not the greatest factor in this year’s fall. They were over- whelmed by injuries to most of their starters. As a team, they missed a total of293 games due to injury or illness.

The success of the San Antonio Spurs:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2013/03/16/san-antonio-spurs-north-americas-best-run-professional-sports-franchise/

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2012/05/san_antonio_spurs_2012_the_nba_s_most_successful_franchise_reveals_that_america_is_a_nation_of_hypocrites_.html

4 championships since 1997
5 conference titles
11 division titles
15 straight years with 50 wins or more
won 70% of their games during that span
33 playoff appearances in 37 years in the NBA
tied for the best season record in 2013
best season record in 2014 (62-20)

 

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One Hundred Ten Percent Impossible by Dennis Lange

One Hundred Ten Percent Impossible

One hundred is percent for giving all,
So, asking for an extra ten’s too tall
An order for a coach to ask his team –
Impossible as Arctic belching steam.

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2014.

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Visiting Football Player Makes The Lambeau Leap by Dennis Lange

 

(Photo credit: glenn1964)

 

 

Visiting Football Player Makes The Lambeau Leap

          A player, not Packer, at Lambeau
          Made TD and acted like Rambo.
               He jumped in the stands,
               But fan with quick hands
          Used lighter and made him flambeau.

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In case you didn’t know: In the National Football League
in the U.S., the Green Bay Packers play at Lambeau Field.
Often, when one of their players makes a touchdown, he
goes to the back of the end zone and leaps into the fans in
the bottom rows.  They’re excited, of course, and help catch
him and slap his back in congratulation.  That jump is called
the Lambeau Leap.

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2013.

 

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Got Nothin’, Get Nothin’ by Dennis Lange

         Got Nothin’, Get Nothin’ 

I’ve heard that Astros and Time Warner
Talk of games for tv to garner.
   A product to offer
   Would open the coffer,
But Astros aren’t even Pop Warner.

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2013.

 

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March MADness by Dennis Lange

(Photo credit: mvongrue)

March MADness

Florida WHO???
Beat number two!
That smashing sound,
Heard world around,
That awful racket
Was just my bracket
And Hoyas (Georgetown)
As both crashed down.

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© Dennis Lange and thebardonthehill.wordpress.com, 2013.

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