The U.S. National Basketball Association is organizing a Basketball Without Borders workshop in Dakar for youth groups in West Africa.
A group of NBA players and coaches will travel to Dakar in August for the first Basketball Without Borders workshop to be held in a developing African country.
From August 5th to 8th, the camp will bring together 65 young basketball players from all over Africa. They will undergo expert tutoring from some of the NBA's top players, including Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki and Dwight Howard, one of the stars of Orlando Magic.
The initiative is being led by Amadou Gallo Fall, the NBA's Vice President of Development in Africa. He said although the NBA has been active in Africa for more than 20 years, this is the first time that its basketball camps will be held outside South Africa.
Fall, who is Senegalese, will be leaving his post as a scout at the Dallas Mavericks to open the NBA's first office in Africa later this year. His basketball career was launched after he was spotted by a peace corps volunteer at a basketball clinic in Tunisia.
Fall said Basketball Without Borders might help launch the careers of future NBA stars.
The first African Basketball Without Borders camp was held in Johannesburg in 2003. Since then, 45 NBA players have taken part in the South African workshops, working as camp counselors and often going unrecognized as they traveled around the country.
Fall said the initiative makes basketball more than just a game. He said sport can be a vector of development. Basketball Without Borders aims to develop the skills of Africa's best young players, but it also gives them an opportunity to engage in discussion and workshops on issues like malaria prevention.
In many African countries, soccer is much more popular than basketball. Fall said the camp in Senegal this year will help the sport grow at a grassroots level.
Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye is the president of Senegal's Olympic Committee, which is partnering with the NBA for the initiative. He said Basketball Without Borders is a fantastic opportunity for young African players. He said he hopes to see the emergence of basketball as a Senegalese sport as a result.
Though Senegal is not yet on the world basketball map, there are several Senegalese players in the NBA. Mouhamed Sene became the first Basketball Without Borders Africa participant to go professional when he was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in 2006.
A group of NBA players and coaches will travel to Dakar in August for the first Basketball Without Borders workshop to be held in a developing African country.From August 5th to 8th, the camp will bring together 65 young basketball players from all over Africa. They will undergo expert tutoring from some of the NBA's top players, including Chris Bosh, Dirk Nowitzki and Dwight Howard, one of the stars of Orlando Magic.
The initiative is being led by Amadou Gallo Fall, the NBA's Vice President of Development in Africa. He said although the NBA has been active in Africa for more than 20 years, this is the first time that its basketball camps will be held outside South Africa.
Fall, who is Senegalese, will be leaving his post as a scout at the Dallas Mavericks to open the NBA's first office in Africa later this year. His basketball career was launched after he was spotted by a peace corps volunteer at a basketball clinic in Tunisia.
Fall said Basketball Without Borders might help launch the careers of future NBA stars.
The first African Basketball Without Borders camp was held in Johannesburg in 2003. Since then, 45 NBA players have taken part in the South African workshops, working as camp counselors and often going unrecognized as they traveled around the country.
Fall said the initiative makes basketball more than just a game. He said sport can be a vector of development. Basketball Without Borders aims to develop the skills of Africa's best young players, but it also gives them an opportunity to engage in discussion and workshops on issues like malaria prevention.
In many African countries, soccer is much more popular than basketball. Fall said the camp in Senegal this year will help the sport grow at a grassroots level.
Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye is the president of Senegal's Olympic Committee, which is partnering with the NBA for the initiative. He said Basketball Without Borders is a fantastic opportunity for young African players. He said he hopes to see the emergence of basketball as a Senegalese sport as a result.
Though Senegal is not yet on the world basketball map, there are several Senegalese players in the NBA. Mouhamed Sene became the first Basketball Without Borders Africa participant to go professional when he was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in 2006.
World number-one golfer Tiger Woods of the United States has announced he will return to the sport next month at the Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia.
In a statement released on his website Tuesday, Woods announced his return after a four-month hiatus from the sport, following revelations that he had cheated on his wife with numerous women.
Woods is a four-time champion at the Masters, the first major tournament of the year, with his last victory there coming in 2005.
The scandal-plagued golfer has not played competitive golf since November 15, when he won the Australian Masters. Less than two weeks later, he crashed his car into a tree outside his Florida home, setting off a flurry of negative publicity that resulted in the loss of millions of dollars for product endorsements.
Woods says that while he is returning to competition, he still has a lot of work to do in his personal life. The Masters begins at Augusta National on April 8.
In a statement released on his website Tuesday, Woods announced his return after a four-month hiatus from the sport, following revelations that he had cheated on his wife with numerous women. Woods is a four-time champion at the Masters, the first major tournament of the year, with his last victory there coming in 2005.
The scandal-plagued golfer has not played competitive golf since November 15, when he won the Australian Masters. Less than two weeks later, he crashed his car into a tree outside his Florida home, setting off a flurry of negative publicity that resulted in the loss of millions of dollars for product endorsements.
Woods says that while he is returning to competition, he still has a lot of work to do in his personal life. The Masters begins at Augusta National on April 8.
New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) Senior Indian forward Prabhjot Singh has apologised for his improper behaviour during the hockey World Cup when he was caught showing his middle finger to a section of crowd.Prabhjot, after India's defeat against Argentina on March 12, was heckled by some fans near the eastern stand, and in the heat of the moment he showed to them his finger.
Prabhjot in his reply to the show cause notice, served on him by Hockey India, said he lost his cool when some fans started abusing his family members.
"Firstly, I would like to apologize that an inappropriate picture of mine was published in the Times of India Newspaper on March 13, 2010. The incident that happened was a result of a series of events.
Ahmedabad, Mar 20 (PTI) Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne won the toss and elected to bat against Kolkata Knight Riders in an Indian Premier League match here today.Rajasthan made two changes, bringing in Adam Voges and Shaun Tait in place of Damien Martyn and Morne Morkel. Faiz Fazal has come in for Sumit Narwal.
Kolkata have made two changes in their side. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ashok Dinda have been drafted in place of Rohan Gavaskar and Laxmiratna Shukla.
West Indies batsman and Kolkata's opener Chris Gayle will not be playing as he developed fever in the morning.
Teams:
Rajasthan Royals: Shane Warne (capt), Naman Ojha (wk), Michael Lumb, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Yusuf Pathan, Faiz Fazal, Adam Voges, Paras Dogra, Munaf Patel, Siddharth Trivedi and Shaun Tait.
 Gerrard is hoping to drive Liverpool to their fourth straight win over United |
Sir Alex Ferguson has called the Football Association "dysfunctional" for its handling of incidents involving Rio Ferdinand and Steven Gerrard.
The Manchester United manager was angry after Ferdinand got a four-match ban for a challenge on Hull's Craig Fagan. Meanwhile, Liverpool's Gerrard was not punished for an alleged V-sign or an elbow on Portsmouth's Michael Brown, freeing him to face United on Sunday.
"There is no consistency," said Ferguson. "It is a dysfunctional unit."
Liverpool captain Gerrard has been under scrutiny twice this month, firstly for appearing to flash a V-sign at referee Andre Marriner during the 1-0 defeat to Wigan on 8 March.
A week later, he seemed to strike Brown with an elbow in the second half of the Reds' 4-1 victory over Portsmouth.
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"I didn't expect anything to happen to Steven Gerrard," said Ferguson. "It [the FA disciplinary panel] is a dysfunctional unit. I don't know what they are doing."
Ferdinand received a three-match ban after the FA reviewed video evidence of a clash in which he appeared to swing an arm into Fagan.
The punishment was increased to four games after his appeal was rejected as "frivolous".
At the time, Ferguson likened the incident to a challenge by Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano in a Carling Cup tie against Leeds, which, like the Gerrard situations, went unpunished.
"There is no consistency for a start and I didn't expect to get any," continued Ferguson.
"I am not too bothered about it. They can do what they want down there. It is crazy at times."
Premier League leaders United host Liverpool on Sunday in a match which could go a long way towards determining whether Ferguson's men can surpass the Reds by claiming a 19th top-flight title this season.