Basketball at the Summer Olympics
Basketball at the Summer Olympics has been a sport for men consistently since 1936. Prior to its inclusion as a sport, basketball was held as a demonstration event in 1904. Womens basketball has played in the Summer Olympics since its first appearance in 1976. United States womens teams have won 8 titles out of the 10 tournaments in which they competed, besides the United States, Argentina is the only nation still in existence who has won either the mens or womens tournament. The Soviet Union and the Unified Team are the countries no longer in existence who have won the tournament, Basketball was invented by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891. Within a few decades, the new game became popular throughout the United States as an indoor sport, the popularity spread overseas and the International Basketball Federation was organized in 1932 in Geneva, Switzerland. Thanks in part to the effort of Phog Allen—a Kansas Jayhawks collegiate coach—the first Olympic basketball tournament was organized in the 1936 Olympics at Berlin on outdoor tennis courts, dr.
Naismith presented the medals to the top three teams. According to the Olympic rules of time, all of the competitors were amateurs. The tournament was held indoors for the first time in 1948, the American team proved its dominance, winning the first seven Olympic tournaments until 1968, without losing a single game. The United States winning streak ended in 1972 under highly controversial circumstances, after the game, the American team refused to accept the silver medal, and the medal has been kept in IOC possession ever since. The Americans reclaimed the gold medal in 1976, with Yugoslavia, in 1980, with the Americans absence due to the boycott, Yugoslavia became the third team to win the title, after beating the Soviets anew in the semifinals and Italy in the final. The United States regained the title in 1984, by beating Spain in the final, the Soviets won the gold medal for the second time in 1988, after beating the Americans for the second time in the semifinal, and the Yugoslavs in the gold medal game.
In April 1989, through the leadership of Secretary General Borislav Stanković, FIBA approved the rule that allowed NBA players to compete in international tournaments, by this time, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia no longer existed, but their successor states continued to be among the leading forces. Two newly independent countries of the former Yugoslavia and Soviet Union and Lithuania, won the silver, the United States repeated its victory in 1996 and 2000, but its performance was not as successful as in 1992. Since active NBA players have been allowed to compete in the Summer Olympics, Yugoslavia was the runner-up in Atlanta, and France in Sydney, with Lithuania winning bronze again on both occasions. The Americans regrouped in 2008, beating the current FIBA world champions, Spain, in a gold medal game. The Americans and the Spaniards met again in the 2012 gold medal game, with the Americans again winning, the first womens tournament was in 1976. The Soviet Union won against five other teams, in 1988, the tournament expanded into eight teams, with the Americans beating Yugoslavia in the gold medal game
World War II
World War II, known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Finland and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific.
The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery.
Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is not universally agreed upon.
It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
Alma mater
Alma mater is an allegorical Latin phrase for a university or college. In modern usage, it is a school or university which an individual has attended, the phrase is variously translated as nourishing mother, nursing mother, or fostering mother, suggesting that a school provides intellectual nourishment to its students. Before its modern usage, Alma mater was a title in Latin for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele. The source of its current use is the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum, of the oldest university in continuous operation in the Western world and it is related to the term alumnus, denoting a university graduate, which literally means a nursling or one who is nourished. The phrase can denote a song or hymn associated with a school, although alma was a common epithet for Ceres, Cybele and other mother goddesses, it was not frequently used in conjunction with mater in classical Latin. Alma Redemptoris Mater is a well-known 11th century antiphon devoted to Mary, the earliest documented English use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when University of Cambridge printer John Legate began using an emblem for the universitys press.
In English etymological reference works, the first university-related usage is often cited in 1710, many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The University of Bologna Latin name, Alma Mater Studiorum, refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world. At least one, the Alma Mater Europaea in Salzburg, the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, has been called the Alma Mater of the Nation because of its ties to the founding of the United States. At Queens University in Kingston and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, the ancient Roman world had many statues of the Alma Mater, some still extant. Modern sculptures are found in prominent locations on several American university campuses, outside the United States, there is an Alma Mater sculpture on the steps of the monumental entrance to the Universidad de La Habana, in Havana, Cuba. Media related to Alma mater at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of alma mater at Wiktionary Alma Mater Europaea website
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is the supreme authority of the worldwide Olympic movement. It is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Lausanne and its mission is enshrined in the Olympic Charter, to support the development of competitive sport by ethical and environmentally sustainable means. The IOC was created by Pierre de Coubertin, on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president, today its membership consists of 100 active members,32 honorary members, and 1 honour member. The IOC is the authority of the worldwide modern Olympic movement. The IOC organises the modern Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, held in summer and winter, the first Summer Olympics organised by the IOC was held in Athens, Greece, in 1896, the first Winter Olympics was in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Until 1992, both Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year, the first Summer Youth Olympics were in Singapore in 2010 and the first Winter Youth Olympics were held in Innsbruck in 2012.
In 2009, the UN General Assembly granted the IOC Permanent Observer status and this decision enables the IOC to be directly involved in the UN Agenda and to attend UN General Assembly meetings where it can take the floor. This has provided the possibility to promote sport at a new level, during each proclamation at the Olympics, announcers speak in different languages, French is always spoken first followed by an English translation and the dominant language of the host nation. The stated mission of the International Olympic Committee is to promote Olympic throughout the world and it is the IOC’s supreme organ and its decisions are final. Extraordinary Sessions may be convened by the President or upon the written request of at least one third of the members, among others, the powers of the Session are, To adopt or amend the Olympic Charter. To elect the members of the IOC, the Honorary President, to elect the President, the Vice-Presidents and all other members of the IOC Executive Board. To elect the host city of the Olympic Games, the Olympic Laurel is awarded to individuals for promoting education, culture and peace through sport.
For most of its existence, the IOC was controlled by members who were selected by other members, countries that had hosted the Games were allowed two members. When named, they did not become the representatives of their countries to the IOC. The membership of IOC members ceases in the circumstances, Resignation. Non re-election, any IOC member ceases to be a member without further formality if they are not re-elected, age limit, any IOC member ceases to be a member at the end of the calendar year during which they reach the age of 80. Failure to attend Sessions or take part in IOC work for two consecutive years. Transfer of domicile or of main center of interests to an other than the country which was theirs at the time of their election
KK Crvena zvezda
KK Crvena zvezda is a professional basketball club based in Belgrade, the major part of the Red Star multi-sports club. Crvena zvezda is a part of the Adriatic Basketball Association and compete in the ABA League, EuroLeague, the team play domestic home matches in the Hall Aleksandar Nikolić, and the EuroLeague home matches in Kombank Arena. Zvezdas supporters are known as Delije, by winning the first of ten consecutive championship titles after the Second World War, the golden age of Red Star began. Their style was unique, they made popular in Serbia and achieved first international results for former Yugoslavia. The greatness of this team cannot be disputed and they were pioneers of Yugoslavian basketball who achieved amazing results, entertaining the audience with their game style, just as with their squad harmony both on and off the court. After a decade filled with nothing but success, game started to decline, generation shift arrived. That long-awaited eleventh title was won in the 1968–69 season, when Red Star won all six games against Jugoplastika and Partizan, at that time, they were the youngest championship winning team in Yugoslavian basketball.
The twelfth title was won in the 1971–72 season, after which Red Stars league success deteriorated gradually, in the 70s the club won the national cup three times, and most of the work in those years was done by Slavnić, Simonović, Kapičić, Vučinić and Živković. Crvena Zvezda had significant international success, having played in five cup finals so far. They lost the first Cup Winners Cup finals to Italian powerhouse Simmenthal Milano in 1972 by a score of 70–74, then, in 1974, they defeated Jbrojovka Brno from Czechoslovakia by a score of 86–75. This teams third finals in the Cup Winners Cup were lost to Spartak Leningrad by a score of 62–63 in 1975, in the clubs first Korać Cup finals, in Paris in 1984, the French Orthez won by a 73–67 score. In the Korać Cup second finals in 1998 Zvezda played two matches with Rielo Mash Jeans Verona from Italy and they triumphed in the away match with 74–68 score, but lost the home match by 64–73. With the total score being 138–141, the precious trophy wasnt won, in a twist of fate, Red Star was led that season by the legendary Partizan coach Duško Vujošević.
Though they lost the series, the young Crveno-beli team showed plenty of promise. The thirteenth championship title was won after a gap of no less than 21 years, in the fifth match of the playoff finals Red Star beat fierce rivals and Pionir Hall co-tenants Partizan. In the next season Red Star won its national championship title literally without any problems. In the playoff finals Partizan was beaten by 4–1 overall, Red Star won the championship for the fifteenth time in 1998. The main star of that team was without any doubt Yugoslavian national team power forward Milenko Topić, in the early part of 2002, the club got a complete new management
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group that formed in the Balkans. The majority of Serbs inhabit the state of Serbia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. They form significant minorities in Croatia and Slovenia, there is a large Serb diaspora in Western Europe, and outside Europe there are significant communities in North America and Australia. The Serbs share many traits with the rest of the peoples of Southeast Europe. They are predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians by religion, the Serbian language is official in Serbia, co-official in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is spoken by the majority in Montenegro. The modern identity of Serbs is rooted in Eastern Orthodoxy and traditions, in the 19th century, the Serbian national identity was manifested, with awareness of history and tradition, medieval heritage, cultural unity, despite living under different empires. When the Principality of Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in defining the national identity, instead of language which was shared by other South Slavs.
The tradition of slava, the family saint feast day, is an important ethnic marker of Serb identity, the origin of the ethnonym is unclear. Serbia has among the tallest people in the world, after Montenegro and Netherlands, Slavs invaded and settled the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries. Up until the late 560s their activity was raiding, crossing from the Danube, the Danube and Sava frontier was overwhelmed by large-scale Slavic settlement in the late 6th and early 7th century. What is today central Serbia was an important geo-strategical province, through which the Via Militaris crossed and this area was frequently intruded by barbarians in the 5th and 6th centuries. The numerous Slavs mixed with and assimilated the descendants of the indigenous population, numerous small Serbian states were created, located in modern Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. With the decline of the Serbian state of Duklja in the late 11th century, Raška separated from it, prince Stefan Nemanja conquered the neighbouring territories of Kosovo and Zachlumia.
The Nemanjić dynasty ruled over Serbia until the 14th century, over the next 140 years, Serbia expanded its borders. Its cultural model remained Byzantine, despite political ambitions directed against the empire, the medieval power and influence of Serbia culminated in the reign of Stefan Dušan, who ruled the state from 1331 until his death in 1355. Ruling as Emperor from 1346, his territory included Macedonia, northern Greece, when Dušan died, his son Stephen Uroš V became Emperor. With the death of two important Serb leaders in the battle, and with the death of Stephen Uroš that same year, hrebeljanović was subsequently accepted as the titular leader of the Serbs because he was married to a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. In 1389, the Serbs faced the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo on the plain of Kosovo Polje, both Lazar and Sultan Murad I were killed in the fighting
FIBA Basketball World Cup
It is considered to be the flagship event of the International Basketball Federation. The world championship is considered to be just as prestigious as the basketball gold medal. The championship has held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1950. The tournament structure is similar, but not identical, to that of the FIFA World Cup, a parallel event for womens teams, now known as the FIBA Womens Basketball World Cup, is held quadrennially. From 1986 through 2014, the mens and womens championships were held in the same year, the current format of the tournament involves 24 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation. The winning team receives the Naismith Trophy, first awarded in 1967, the current champions are the United States, who defeated Serbia in the final of the 2014 tournament. Following the 2014 FIBA championships for men and women, the mens World Cup was scheduled on a new four-year cycle to avoid conflict with the FIFA World Cup, the next mens World Cup will be held in 2019, in the year following the FIFA World Cup.
All FIBA World Championship/World Cup tournaments from the 1994 edition onward, are considered as fully professional level tournaments. The FIBA Basketball World Cup was conceived at a meeting of the FIBA World Congress at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Long-time FIBA Secretary-General Renato William Jones urged FIBA to adopt a World Championship, similar to the FIFA World Cup, the FIBA Congress, seeing how successful the 23-team Olympic tournament was that year, agreed to the proposal, beginning with a tournament in 1950. Argentina was selected as host, largely because it was the country willing to take on the task. Argentina took advantage of the host selection, winning all their games en route to becoming the first FIBA World Champion, the first five tournaments were held in South America, and teams from the Americas dominated the tournament, winning eight of nine medals at the first three tournaments. By 1963, teams from Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe, between 1963 and 1990, the tournament was dominated by the United States, the Soviet Union and Brazil who together accounted for every medal at the tournament.
United States dominated that year and won gold, while former states of USSR and Yugoslavia - Russia and Croatia - won Silver, the 1998 FIBA World Championship, held in Greece, lost some of its luster when the 1998–99 NBA lockout prevented the American professional players from participating. New Yugoslavian team, now consisting of the former Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro, won the gold medal over Russia, while USA, playing with amateur players, in 2002 other nations eventually caught up to the four powerhouse countries and their successor states. Meanwhile, the United States team, made up entirely of NBA players and this new era of parity convinced FIBA to expand the tournament to 24 teams for 2006,2010 and 2014 editions of the tournament. In 2006, emerging powerhouse Spain beat Greece in the first appearance in the final for both teams, Spain became only the seventh team to capture a World Championship gold. The USA, who lost to Greece in a semifinal, beat Argentina in 3rd place match, in 2010 FIBA World Championship final the USA beat Turkey and won gold for first time in 16 years, while Lithuania beat Serbia and won bronze
Lega Basket Serie A
It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Italian league pyramid. The LBA, which is played under FIBA rules, currently consists of 16 teams, with the team relegated to the Serie A2. A total of 99 teams have competed in the LBA since its inception, seventeen teams have been crowned champions, with Olimpia Milano winning the title a record 27 times, and Virtus Bologna 15 times. According to FIBA Europes and Euroleague Basketballs national league coefficients, the LBA was the overall historically top ranked national domestic league in Europe, the LBA is considered to be one of the top European national basketball leagues. Its clubs have won the most EuroLeague championships, the most FIBA Saporta Cups, the league is run by the Lega Basket, which is itself regulated by the FIP, the Italian Basketball Federation. A national basketball league was first established in Italy in 1920, verona was the only club to have won the Italian Cup starting from Serie A2. Since then, twenty different teams have won the championship, with Olimpia Milanos twenty seven titles the most, benetton Treviso was the first ever club in Italy to win all three competitions, the LBA Scudetto, the Italian Cup and the Italian Supercup in the 2002–03 season.
After 2007–08 season, the league was reduced from eighteen to sixteen after two clubs, Basket Napoli and Orlandina Basket, were relegated for financial irregularities and not replaced. On 4 May 2016 Virtus Bologna was relegated to Serie A2 Basket for the first time in its history finishing in the last position of the 2015–16 Lega Basket Serie A. Former general manager, Ferdinando Minucci, vice president Paola Serpi, after financial problems caused the club to go bankrupt in 2014, it moved down to the fourth division. It is now in Serie A2, the second division, Egidio Bianchi, President of LBA, said that there should be more severe rules. The goal is to have more detailed documentation for admission of teams at the Italian League, PosteMobile replaces Beko after four years of sponsorship. From the end of the 2015–16 season, Lega Basket Serie A has a new sponsor, the Turkish brand Beko left Serie A after four years of sponsorship. Beko decided to focus just on their sponsorship of the Spanish football team Barcelona, in December 2016, President Egidio Bianchi has communicated to have reached the an agreement with PosteMobile that will become the Title Sponsor of the LBA.
The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format, during the course of a season, which lasts from October to May, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 30 games. Teams receive two points for a win and no points for a loss, teams are ranked by total points. At the end of the season, the eight best teams in the start a play-off, pitting the first place team in the standings versus the 8th place team in the standings. The Quarterfinals are best of five, while the semifinals and finals series are best of seven, the winner of the finals round becomes the champion of the LBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the major mens professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier mens professional basketball league in the world. It has 30 teams, and is a member of USA Basketball. The NBA is one of the four professional sports leagues in the United States. NBA players are the worlds best paid athletes by average annual salary per player, the league was founded in New York City on June 6,1946, as the Basketball Association of America. The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3,1949, the leagues several international as well as individual team offices are directed out of its head offices located in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are directed out of offices located in Secaucus, the Basketball Association of America was founded in 1946 by owners of the major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. On November 1,1946, in Toronto, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers at Maple Leaf Gardens, the first basket was made by Ossie Schectman of the Knickerbockers.
During its early years, the quality of play in the BAA was not significantly better than in competing leagues or among leading independent clubs such as the Harlem Globetrotters. For instance, the 1948 ABL finalist Baltimore Bullets moved to the BAA and won that leagues 1948 title, Following the 1948–49 season, the BAA took in the remainder of the NBL, Anderson, Tri-Cities, Sheboygan and Waterloo. The new league had seventeen franchises located in a mix of large and small cities, as well as arenas and smaller gymnasiums. The process of contraction saw the leagues smaller-city franchises move to larger cities, the Hawks shifted from the Tri-Cities to Milwaukee in 1951, and to St. Louis in 1955. The Rochester Royals moved from Rochester, New York, to Cincinnati in 1957, japanese-American Wataru Misaka broke the NBA color barrier in the 1947–48 season when he played for the New York Knicks. He remained the only player in league history prior to the first African-American, Harold Hunter. During this period, the Minneapolis Lakers, led by center George Mikan, won five NBA Championships, to encourage shooting and discourage stalling, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock in 1954.
If a team does not attempt to score a goal within 24 seconds of obtaining the ball, play is stopped. In 1957, rookie center Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, who already featured guard Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, and went on to lead the club to eleven NBA titles in thirteen seasons. Center Wilt Chamberlain entered the league with the Warriors in 1959 and became a dominant individual star of the 1960s, russells rivalry with Chamberlain became one of the greatest rivalries in the history of American team sports. The 1960s were dominated by the Celtics, led by Russell, Bob Cousy and coach Red Auerbach, Boston won eight straight championships in the NBA from 1959 to 1966
