Pan American Games
The Pan American Games is a major sporting event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held among athletes from nations of the Americas, every four years in the year before the Summer Olympic Games; the only Winter Pan American Games were held in 1990. And from 2021, there would be a Junior Pan American Games for young athletes; the Pan American Sports Organization is the governing body of the Pan American Games movement, whose structure and actions are defined by the Olympic Charter. The XVII Pan American Games were held in Toronto from July 10–26, 2015. Since 2007, host cities are contracted to manage both the Pan American and the Parapan American Games, in which athletes with physical disabilities compete with one another; the Parapan American Games are held following the Pan American Games. The Pan American Games Movement consists of international sports federations, National Olympic Committees that are recognized by PASO, organizing committees for each specific Pan American Games.
As the decision-making body, PASO is responsible for choosing the host city for each Pan American Games. The host city is responsible for organizing and funding a celebration of the Games consistent with the Olympic Charter and rules; the Pan American Games program, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games, is determined by PASO. The celebration of the Games encompasses many rituals and symbols, such as the flag and torch, the opening and closing ceremonies. Over 5,000 athletes compete at the Pan American Games in nearly 400 events; the first and third-place finishers in each event receive gold and bronze medals, respectively. The idea of holding a Pan American Games was first raised at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where Latin American representatives of the International Olympic Committee suggested that a competition among all the countries in the Americas should be created; the first event called the Pan American Games took place in Dallas in 1937 as part of the Greater Texas & Pan-American Exposition, but it attracted so little attention it has never counted in the records of the competition.
At the first Pan American Sports Congress, held in Buenos Aires in 1940, the participants decided that the first games should be held in Buenos Aires in 1942. The plans had to be postponed because of World War II. A second Pan American Sports Congress held in London during the 1948 Summer Olympics reconfirmed Buenos Aires as the choice of host city for the inaugural games, which were held in 1951; the games offered 18 sports. Countries that were part of the Commonwealth of Nations such as Canada did not compete at the first Pan American Games; the second games were held in Mexico. Competitions started on March 12 and included 2,583 athletes from 22 countries, competing in 17 sports; the Pan American Games have been held subsequently every four years. While the inaugural 1951 Games hosted 2,513 participants representing 14 nations, the most recent 2015 Pan American Games involved 6,132 competitors from 41countries. During the games most athletes and officials are housed in the Pan American Games village.
This village is intended to be a self-contained home for all the participants. It is furnished with cafeterias, health clinics, locations for religious expression. PASO allows nations to compete that do not meet the strict requirements for political sovereignty that other international organizations demand; as a result and dependencies are permitted to set up their own National Olympic Committees. Examples of this include territories such as Puerto Rico and Bermuda which compete as separate nations despite being under the jurisdiction of another power. There have been attempts to hold Winter Pan American Games throughout the history of the games, but these have had little success. An initial attempt to hold winter events was made by the organizers of the 1951 Pan American Games in Buenos Aires, who planned to stage winter events in the year but dropped the idea due to lack of interest. Reliable winter snow in the Americas is limited to the United States and Canada. Andean winter weather is fickle, higher elevation areas in South America with annual snow lack the infrastructure to host major sporting events.
Another difficulty is that the Americas cover two hemispheres, which creates scheduling issues related to reverse seasons. Lake Placid, New York tried to organize Winter Games in 1959 but, not enough countries expressed interest; the plans were cancelled. In 1988, members of PASO voted to hold the first Pan American Winter Games at Las Leñas, Argentina in September 1989, it was further agreed. Lack of snow however, forced the postponement of the games until September 16–22, 1990 when only eight countries sent 97 athletes to Las Leñas. Of that total, 76 were from just three countries: Argentina and the United States. Weather was unseasonably warm and again there was little snow, so only three Alpine Skiing events – the Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super G were staged; the United States and Canada won all 18 medals. PASO awarded the second Pan American Winter Games to Santiago, Chile for 1993; the United States warned. The Santiago organizing committee gave up on planning the Games after the United States Olympic Committee declined to participate, the idea has not been revived since.
On 16 January 2019 PASO announced the creation of the Juni
Basketball positions
The five basketball positions employed by organized basketball teams are the point guard, the shooting guard, the small forward, the power forward, the center. The point guard is the leader of the team on the court; this position requires substantial ball handling skills and the ability to facilitate the team during a play. The shooting guard, as the name implies, is the best shooter; as well as being capable of shooting from longer distances, this position tends to be the best defender on the team. The small forward has an aggressive approach to the basket when handling the ball; the small forward is known to make cuts to the basket in efforts to get open for shots. The power forward and the center are called the "frontcourt" acting as their team's primary rebounders or shot blockers, or receiving passes to take inside shots; the center is the larger of the two. Only three positions were recognized based on where they played on the court: Guards played outside and away from the hoop and forwards played outside and near the baseline, with the center positioned in the key.
During the 1980s, as team strategy evolved. More specialized roles developed. Team strategy and available personnel, still dictate the positions used by a particular team. For example, the dribble-drive motion offense and the Princeton offense use four interchangeable guards and one center; this set is known as a "four-in and one-out" play scheme. Other combinations are prevalent. Besides the five basic positions, some teams use non-standard or hybrid positions, such as the point forward, a hybrid small forward/point guard; the point guard known as the one, is the team's best ball handler and passer. Therefore, they lead their team in assists and are able to create shots for themselves and their teammates, they are quick and are able to hit shots either outside the three-point line or "in the paint" depending on the player's skill level. Point guards are looked upon as the "floor general" or the "coach on the floor", they should study the game and game film to be able to recognize the weaknesses of the defense, the strengths of their own offense.
They are responsible for directing plays, making the position equivalent to that of quarterback in American football, playmaker in association football, center in ice hockey, or setter in volleyball. Good point guards increase team efficiency and have a high number of assists, they are referred to as dribblers or play-makers. In the NBA, point guards are the shortest players on the team and are 6 feet 4 inches or shorter; the shooting guard is known as the two or the off guard. Along with the small forward, a shooting guard is referred to as a wing because of its use in common positioning tactics; as the name suggests, most shooting guards are prolific from the three-point range. Besides being able to shoot the ball, shooting guards tend to be the best defender on the team, as well as being able to move without the ball to create open looks for themselves; some shooting guards have good ball handling skills creating their own shots off the dribble. A versatile shooting guard will have good passing skills, allowing them to assume point guard responsibilities known as combo guards.
Bigger shooting guards tend to play as small forwards. In the NBA, shooting guards range from 6 feet 4 inches to 6 feet 8 inches; the small forward known as the three, is considered to be the most versatile of the main five basketball positions. Versatility is key for small forwards because of the nature of their role, which resembles that of a shooting guard more than that of a power forward; this is why the small forward and shooting guard positions are interchangeable and referred to as wings. Small forwards have a variety such as quickness and strength inside. One common thread among all kinds of small forwards is an ability to "get to the line" and draw fouls by aggressively attempting plays, lay-ups, or slam dunks; as such, accurate foul shooting is a common skill for small forwards, many of whom record a large portion of their points from the foul line. Besides being able to drive to the basket, they are good shooters from long range; some small forwards have good passing skills, allowing them to assume point guard responsibilities as point forwards.
Small forwards should be able to do a little bit of everything on the court playing roles such as swingmen and defensive specialists. In the NBA, small forwards range from 6 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 9 inches; the power forward known as the four plays a role similar to that of the center, down in the "post" or "low blocks". The power forward is the team's most versatile scorer, being able to score close to the basket while being able to shoot mid-range jump shots from 12 to 18 feet from the basket; some power forwards have become known as stretch fours, since extending their shooting range to three-pointers. On defense, they are required to have the strength to guard bigger players close to the basket and to have the athleticism to guard quick players away from the basket. Most power forwards tend to be more versatile than centers since they can be part of plays and are not always in the low block. In the
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, more referred to as the Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the borough of Manhattan, in New York City. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference; the team plays its home games at Madison Square Garden, an arena they share with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. They are one of two NBA teams located in New York City. Alongside the Boston Celtics, the Knicks are one of two original NBA teams still located in its original city; the team, established by Ned Irish in 1946, was one of the founding members of the Basketball Association of America, which became the NBA after merging with the rival National Basketball League in 1949. The Knicks were successful during their early years and were constant playoff contenders under the franchise's first head coach Joe Lapchick. Beginning in 1950, the Knicks made three consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals, all of which were losing efforts.
Lapchick resigned in 1956 and the team subsequently began to falter. It was not until the late 1960s when Red Holzman became head coach that the Knicks began to regain their former dominance. Holzman guided the Knicks to two NBA championships, in 1970 and 1973; the Knicks of the 1980s had mixed success. The playoff-level Knicks of the 1990s were led by future Hall of Fame center Patrick Ewing. During this time, they were known for playing tough defense under head coaches Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy, making two appearances in the NBA Finals, in 1994 and 1999. However, they were unable to win an NBA championship during this era. Since 2000, the Knicks have struggled to regain their former glory, but won its first division title in 19 years in 2012–13, led by a core of forwards Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, they were eliminated in the Eastern Conference semi-finals by the Indiana Pacers, have failed to make the playoffs since. In 1946, basketball college basketball, was a growing and profitable sport in New York City.
Hockey generated considerable profits. Max Kase, a New York sportswriter, became the sports editor at the Boston American in the 1930s, when he met Boston Garden owner Walter A. Brown. Kase developed the idea of an organized professional league to showcase college players upon their graduation and felt it could become profitable if properly assembled. Brown, intrigued by the opportunity to attain additional income when the hockey teams were not playing or on the road, contacted several arena owners. On June 6, 1946, Kase and Brown and a group of seventeen others assembled at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, as the Basketball Association of America, where charter franchises were granted to major cities throughout the country. Ned Irish, a college basketball promoter, retired sportswriter and president of Madison Square Garden, was in attendance. Kase planned to own and operate the New York franchise himself and approached Irish with a proposal to lease the Garden. Irish explained that the rules of the Arena Managers Association of America stated that Madison Square Garden was required to own any professional teams that played in the arena.
On the day of the meeting, Kase made his proposal to the panel of owners. Irish wanted a distinct name for his franchise, representative of the city of New York, he called together members of his staff for a meeting to cast their votes in a hat. After tallying the votes, the franchise was named the Knickerbockers; the "Knickerbocker" name comes from the pseudonym used by Washington Irving in his book A History of New York, a name that became applied to the descendants of the original Dutch settlers of what became New York, by extension, to New Yorkers in general. In search of a head coach, Irish approached successful St. John's University coach Joe Lapchick in May 1946. Lapchick accepted after Irish promised to make him the highest paid coach in the league. Irish obliged, hiring former Manhattan College coach Neil Cohalan as interim coach for the first year. With no college draft in the league's initial year, there was no guarantee that the Knicks or the league itself would thrive. Teams focused on signing college players from their respective cities as a way to promote the professional league.
The Knicks held their first training camp in the Catskill Mountains at the Nevele Country Club. Twenty-five players were invited to attend the three-week session. Players worked out twice a day and the chemistry between the New York natives was instant. With a roster assembled, the Knicks faced the Toronto Huskies at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens on November 1, 1946, in what would be the franchise's first game—as well as the first in league history. In a low-scoring affair presented in front of 7,090 spectators, the Knicks defeated the Huskies 68–66 with Leo Gottlieb leading the Knicks in scoring with 14 points. With Madison Square Garden's crowded schedule, the Knicks were forced to play many of their home games at the 69th Regiment Armory during the team's early years; the Knicks went on to finish their inaugural campaign with a 33–27 record and achieved a playoff berth under Cohalan despite a dismal shooting percentage of 28 perce
José Ortiz (basketball)
José Rafael "Piculín" Ortiz Rijos is a Puerto Rican former professional basketball player. He played in the NCAA, NBA, various European teams, the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, he played for the Utah Jazz while in the NBA and the Atléticos de San Germán, Cangrejeros de Santurce, Capitanes de Arecibo while in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Ortiz was a member of the Puerto Rican national team from 1983 to 2004. Most notably he was a member of the 2004 team that defeated the United States at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Ortiz played in Summer Olympics, as he played in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2004. Ortiz holds various records as a basketball player, he ranks #4 and #6 in the all-time statistics for rebounds per game and total rebounds in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league. He is the third player to win eight championships in the league. Ortiz is the first Puerto Rican-born player to be drafted in the NBA. Many experts consider Ortiz to be the best Puerto Rican basketball player. Despite his success in sports, Ortiz went through financial troubles after retiring.
In 2011, he was arrested for the possession of 218 marijuana plants. He was sentenced to six months in prison. In 2019, it was announced Ortiz will be inducted in the FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame Ortiz was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico on October 25, 1963, but was raised in Cayey, he started his career as a center at Benjamin Harrison High School in Cayey. He was nicknamed Piculín after one of the characters in The Wizard of Oz and The Concorde as a reference to the popular plane and his height. Ortiz earned a Bachelor's degree in Communications from Oregon State University. In 1980, with 17 years, Ortiz debuted with the Atléticos de San Germán from the Baloncesto Superior Nacional league in Puerto Rico; as his career progressed, he improved his game leading San Germán to a championship in 1985. That season, Ortiz averaged 14 rebounds per game, he would lead the team to a second title in 1991, while he averaged 19 points and 15.8 rebounds per game. After the 1991 season, Ortiz left the league to play in Europe.
He would return in 1994 to lead San Germán to yet another title. In 1998, Ortiz was released by San Germán, he went to play for the Cangrejeros de Santurce, helped them win four titles in a row. In 2002, Ortiz was named Most Valuable Player of the league, although his team did not reach the Finals. Ortiz and the Cangrejeros won another title again in 2003, making Ortiz only the third player to win eight titles in the league, he played two more years with Santurce, in 2006 he played with the Capitanes de Arecibo. However, he retired after just one season with the team, he finished his career with 8,915 points, 5,314 rebounds, 1,134 assists in 505 regular season games. To this day, he is considered by many experts as the best Puerto Rican basketball player. Ortiz attended Oregon State University from 1985-1987 where he was instructed by legendary coach Ralph Miller and was a teammate of future Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton during the latter's freshman year. During his two seasons with the Beavers, he averaged 8.7 rebounds per game.
After the 1986-87 season, he was named Pac-10 Player of the Year defeating Reggie Miller of UCLA. He earned NCAA All-American honors in the 1986–1987 NCAA season. After graduating from Oregon State University, Ortiz entered the 1987 NBA Draft, he was selected #15 by the Utah Jazz becoming the first Puerto Rican to be selected in an NBA draft. However, before his first season, he received an offer from the CAI Zaragoza in Spain and he accepted. Ortiz rejoined the Jazz for the 1988-89 season, debuting on November 9, 1988. During his first season, Ortiz played 51 games, starting in 15, he averaged 1.1 rebounds per game. Ortiz returned to the NBA for the 1989-90 season, playing in 13 games before being waived by the team on February 5, 1990, he finished his brief NBA career with 1.1 rebounds per game. Ortiz wore #44 during his NBA career. Ortiz played for the CAI Zaragoza basketball team in 1987. During that season, he was the second leading scorer of the team with 17.4 points per game. However, he returned to play with the Utah Jazz of the NBA.
After being waived by the Jazz in 1990, Ortiz was hired by the Real Madrid basketball team in Spain. During that time, he played with Fernando Romay, Antonio Martín Espina, José "Chechu" Biriukov. After that season, he went to the FC Barcelona where he won the Copa del Rey de Baloncesto in 1991 and finished second at the EuroLeague. During that season, he was one of the team's leading rebounder. After that, Ortiz played for the Festina Andorra, the Unicaja Málaga, the Gymnastikos S. Larissas, the Irakleio Crete and the Aris Thessaloniki. In 1997, he helped. After that season, Ortiz was offered more than $1 million for two years by the PAOK but the contract was declared null when laboratory tests for steroids came positive. Ortiz won, but refused to return to Europe to play. In 1997, Ortiz played for the Guaiqueríes de Margarita in the Venezuelan league. In 1982, Ortiz reached the minimum age to join Puerto Rico's national basketball team, in 1983, he saw his first international competition, at the Pan American Games of Caracas, Venezuela.
At the 1987 Pan American Games, Ortiz was the flag-bearer for Puerto Rico. They won the bronze medal on that tournament. Ortiz helped the Puerto Rican National basketball team earn a gold medal at the 1991 Pan American Games, in Havana, Cuba. After the 2002 FIBA World Cup, held at Indianapolis, Ortiz announced his retire
UAB Blazers
The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of Conference USA and participates in Division I of the NCAA; the school's men's basketball team plays in 8,508-seat Bartow Arena. The Blazers' colors are forest old gold; the men's basketball program has a long history of success spanning several decades. A member of Conference USA, the University of Alabama at Birmingham sponsors teams in six men's and twelve women's NCAA sanctioned sports. Beach volleyball competes in the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association, bowling in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, rifle in the Southern Conference. UAB's president announced on December 2, 2014 that the school's football and rifle teams would be terminated for economic reasons. However, the school announced on June 1, 2015 that pledges of additional revenue had been made, allowing the terminated programs to be reinstated. Bowling and rifle were reinstated immediately.
The intent was for the football program to return for the 2016-2017 school year, although due to massive transfers from the program and the NCAA's recruiting rules, the program will be rebuilt with junior college transfers and will return in 2017. With the termination of the football program, UAB had announced the addition men's cross country in order to remain in the NCAA's Division I, but with the return of football, the sport was dropped. On June 4, Conference USA announced it would not take any action against UAB now that it has reinstated football, the school would remain in the conference; the conference stated, "At its fall meeting, the Board expects UAB to submit for review a comprehensive plan addressing the key elements of UAB's football program going forward. No additional action from the Board is expected until that time." The UAB Blazers, in effect, started their entire athletics program with the creation of a men's basketball team in 1978. Setting the standards high from the start, UAB hired former UCLA, University of Illinois and Memphis head coach Gene Bartow.
Known to many as the "Father of UAB athletics", Bartow led the Blazers to instant success. In 2004, the school once again gained national attention. 1-seeded Kentucky in the second round of the tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. Since their inaugural season, the Blazers have made 15 appearances in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament including 3 Sweet Sixteen appearances and 1 Elite Eight appearance. UAB has appeared in the NIT a total of 11 times, including 2 appearances in the NIT Final Four. After only 34 years of basketball, UAB has had 31 winning seasons including memorable wins over Virginia, Louisville, Florida, Villanova and Memphis, among others; the Blazers have amassed one of the best all-time winning percentages in college basketball. The UAB men's basketball team has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll many times in school history and as as 2010. UAB has been ranked as high as #9 in the nation. UAB's most recent conference championship occurred in the 2014-2015 season when they won the CUSA conference tournament championship.
Until 1988, UAB played its home games at the Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex. Since UAB has played its home basketball games in Bartow Arena where the Blazers have won more than 80 percent of its games. Though overshadowed by the men's basketball program at UAB, the Blazers women have a strong history in their own right. Since UAB began a women's basketball program, UAB has won 4 conference championships, made 2 NCAA Tournament appearances, 5 WNIT appearances as as 2013. No team in Conference USA has advanced further than the Blazers' Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA tournament of the 1999-2000 season; the Blazers have advanced to the Elite Eight of the WNIT. UAB won the WBI championship in 2011. In contrast to many other colleges and universities that have decades of tradition, UAB only began its football program in the early 1990s. Jim Hilyer was the first head coach of the Blazers, coaching from 1991–1994. Beginning with the first NCAA sanctioned Division III football team in 1991, UAB joined Division I-AA in 1993 and moved to Division I-A in 1996, joining Conference USA in 1999.
Coach Watson Brown took over as head coach in 1995 and held the position through the end of the 2006 season, when he left for Tennessee Tech. Neil Callaway was named head coach. After five seasons, Callaway was dismissed, Garrick McGee was hired from the University of Arkansas after Callaway was released, he held the post for two years before leaving to accept the offensive coordinator job at University of Louisville, replaced by Bill Clark. In 2000, UAB achieved a monumental victory by beating LSU in Baton Rouge. In 2004, UAB reached its' first bowl game, falling 59-40 in the Hawaii Bowl to Hawaii. In 2011, an effort to build an on-campus stadium failed to gain approval by the University of Alabama board of trustees. UAB announced on June 2015 that their football program will be re-instated. UAB was granted permission by the NCAA to rejoin NCAA Division I FBS level football and would be bowl-eligible when they returned to the field in fall 2017; the Blazers responded with the program's best regular-season record at 8–4.
They would lose the Bahamas Bowl to Ohio. In 2018 the Blazers overachieved, completing their best season to date by finishing the year with a school record of 11-3 and a dominating win over Northern Illinois in the 2018 Boca Raton Bowl; this marks. UAB began a men's soccer progra
Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
Aguadilla, founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla is spread over Aguadilla Pueblo, it is a principal city of Aguadilla-Isabela-San Sebastián Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to sources, a Taíno settlement called; the present territory of Aguadilla was part of the territory of Aguada. In 1775, the foundation of Aguadilla by Don Luis de Córdova was approved, but it wasn't until 1780 that the territory was properly segregated, making the founding of the town official. Aguadilla was constituted by the Victoria and Higüey wards; this region was inhabited and known as Aguadilla before 1770. In 1776, Fray Íñigo Abbad y Lasierra in his description of the towns of the island, mentioned it as the "new Town of San Carlos of the Aguadilla." According to Dr. Agustín Stahl in his Foundation of Aguadilla, it was not until 1780 that the town was founded.
The construction of a new church and the proceedings to become an independent village began in the 1775. The population in the Village of Aguadilla continued to increase mainly due to its excellent port and strategic location in the route of the boats. In 1776, when Santo Domingo became independent for the first time, the Spanish descended loyals emigrated to Puerto Rico to Aguadilla, which caused the population to continue increasing significantly. In 1831, according to Don Pedro Tomás de Córdova, the party of Aguadilla belonged to Aguada. At this time, the territorial organization of Aguadilla was as follows: Pueblo Norte, Pueblo Sur, Ceiba Alta, Ceiba Baja, Montaña, Aguacate, Dos Palmas, Plainela, Arenales, Higüey, Corrales and Mangual. Don Pedro Tomás de Córdova mentions the road of Aguadilla formed by Punta Borinquen and San Francisco, as the "fordeadero of the ships that travel from Europe to Havana and Mexico", he adds that its "port is the most frequented in the Island due to the proportions that it offers to refresh all class of ship."In 1860, Aguadilla was declared a village.
Several years when the island was territorially organized into seven departments, Aguadilla became the head of the third department that included the municipalities of Aguada, Lares, Moca and San Sebastián. In January 1841 a Royal Order transferred the judicial party from Aguada to Aguadilla. In 1878, according to Don Manuel Ebeda y Delgado, the territorial organization of Aguadilla had varied a little. At this time Plainela, Higüey, Mangual wards are not mentioned; the Dos Palmas ward appears as Palmar. At this time, three new wards are mentioned: Guerrero, Caimital Alto, Caimital Bajo. In 1898 with the change of sovereignty in the island, the territorial organization of Aguadilla is the same to that of 1878. In the Census of 1899, downtown Aguadilla appears constituted by Higüey, Nueva, Santa Barbara, Tamarindo wards. Malezas ward appears subdivided into Maleza Baja. From that time, the territorial organization of Aguadilla did not change, until 1948, when the Puerto Rico Department of Planning prepared the map of the city and its wards, following instructions of city authorities, Higüey and parts of Caimital Alto wards are annexed to Downtown Aguadilla.
Aguadilla was the site of the U. S. military's Ramey Air Force Base for five decades. During this period, Aguadilla was home to the Strategic Air Command 72d Bombardment Wing, Heavy equipped with B-52s, an important strategic facility during the Cold War. Though the infrastructure still exists, the airport was handed over to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico in 1973; the aerial facilities are now controlled by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority and comprise the Rafael Hernandez International Airport. The barracks now host a 79-room hotel; the Officer's Club now hosts a 22,000-square-foot meeting facility. The hospital is now the Courtyard by Marriott Punta Borinquen Resort & Casino, a 150-room hotel with a casino and the first Marriott in Puerto Rico out of the San Juan Metropolitan Area. Ramey hosts the University of Puerto Rico – Aguadilla Campus and the Friedrich Froebel Bilingual School; the High School became Ramey Job Corps Campus and the elementary school became the Esther Feliciano Mendoza Middle School.
Centro de Adiestramiento y Bellas Artes since 1979 has been the only public school of arts in Puerto Rico. Ramey is the site of the new Ramey Skating Park and a new "mariposario" and the Ramey Shopping Center. There is still an active part of the base. There are other government agencies based at Ramey, they include the United States Department of Homeland Security, U. S. Customs & Border Protection's Office of Air and Marine and Office of Border Patrol, the Fuerzas Unidas de Rápida Acción of the Puerto Rico Police Department and the Puerto Rico National Guard. There is a post office, the Centro de Servicios al Conductor, a bakery, a Banco Popular de Puerto Rico location; the beginning of San Antonio Village was back in the mid-19th century. It was composed by 60 families; the place where these families were located was known as Bajura de Vadi, place to be known as San Antonio. In 1918, as a consequence of the 1918 San Fermín earthquake, the village was destroyed by a tsunami
Puerto Rico national basketball team
The Puerto Rico national basketball team is governed by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation. Since joining FIBA in 1957, the Puerto Rican national team has been composed by Puerto Rican-born players and players of Puerto Rican descent born in the United States such as Raymond Gause, Rick Apodaca, Georgie Torres, Héctor Blondet, Maurice Harkless, Tyler Davis and many others; the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation joined FIBA in 1957. Puerto Rico has participated in nine Olympics and 12 World Championships, although they have never won a medal at either competition. Puerto Rico's first appearance at a World Championship was in 1959 in Chile, led by Juan Vicéns, who averaged 22 points per game, the team finished 5th with a record of 3–6. In 1963, at Puerto Rico's second World Championship appearance which took place in Brazil, the team, led by Rafael Valle and Juan Vicéns, opened the tournament winning two straight games. Yet, after losing other six games back to back, ended its participation with a win over Italy, obtaining the 6th place.
Coming back from its 13th place debut at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, in 1964 in Tokyo, the team was able to reach 4th place, in good part because of the contributions of point guard Juan Vicéns. This was, still is as of 2016, the highest place it has reached since the team's birth at any Olympic Games. Three years in Uruguay, at the 1967 World Championship, the team, led this time by Raymond Dalmau, was only able to finish 12th, ending the decade with a 9th place at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. Before the 1970s, regardless of the not-so-good performance at world international tournaments, Puerto Rico started to emerge as a power player at regional tournaments, medaling in all the competitions it participated; the medal count included two golds at the 1962 and the 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games, failing to medal only at the 1967 Pan American Games, where it finished 5th. The 1970s brought some memorable moments for the team a dramatic one-point loss to the United States at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, where a win by Puerto Rico would have been the first undisputed basketball loss for the United States team at an Olympic competition.
The 1974 World Championship and the 1979 Pan American Games were held in San Juan, promoting local enthusiasm for international basketball and Puerto Rico's presence in it. The 7th and 10th places at the 1974 and 1978 World Championships, where the team, led by Hector Blondet and Rubén Rodríguez saw 2–5 and 4–3 finishes, became turning points for the Puerto Rican team; the 4–3 showing in 1978 in the Philippines was the first time the team finished with a positive record at a World Championship. These achievements were accompanied by golds at the 1973 CentroBasket and the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games. In all, Puerto Rico continued its regional success and was able to medal in all regional competitions; the 1980s were good for the team, attaining gold at two of the first four FIBA Americas Championships in 1980 and 1989, at the 1985, 1987 and 1989 CentroBasket tournaments. The silver medal at the 1988 Americas Championship held in Montevideo, secured the team's first Olympic participation since 1976.
Having qualified and earned the right to participate, the Puerto Rican team chose not to do so at the 1980 Olympic Games, held in Moscow, due to the American boycott of that competition. It wouldn't participate either at the 1984 Olympic Games, held in Los Angeles, because the team failed to qualify for it. Eight years after its last showing, Puerto Rico was able to advance to the second round and finished 7th at the 1988 Olympic Games, held in Seoul. Two years earlier, at the 1986 World Championshipat in Spain, Puerto Rico's performance granted it the 10th place, having failed to qualify for the 1982 Championship in Colombia. During the 1990s, the team's successes continued as usual. Led by José Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Jerome Mincy, Fico López, Edgar León. the decade began with a 4th-place finish at the 1990 World Championship in Argentina. This is Puerto Rico's best showing at a World Championship so far, defeating teams such as Yugoslavia and the USA, but losing to the USSR and losing by two points the rematch in overtime to the USA.
In 1991, led by Raymond Gause, besides earning gold at the CentroBasket tournament, the team won, for the first time in basketball, the gold medal at the Pan American Games, which were held in Cuba. The team qualified for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, where it reached the second round, losing to the US in its first game of the elimination round, finishing at the end in 8th place. In 1993, Puerto Rico signed its Caribbean supremacy at this sport by winning gold at both the CentroBasket and the Central American and Caribbean Games; this victory at CentroBasket was the last of a 5 gold medal streak at the tournament. In 1994, the team finished in a 6th place at the World Championship in Canada, but won the gold at the 1994 Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, defeating teams such as Croatia, Russia and Italy, it was when Puerto Rico began to be classified as one of the top 10 international teams. Having won gold in 1995 at the FIBA Americas Pre-Olympic Championship, in 1996 at the Olympic Games, the team placed 10th in Atlanta, while in 1998, it placed 11th at the World Championship in Greece.
In 1994, Puerto Rico's national basketball team won the gold medal at the 1994 Goodwill Games in Russia, beating Italy, 94-80, in the gold
