For the second time this month, my basketball got stuck behind the rim. The first time it happened I thought it was the freak event of the year. Then it happened again today. Perhaps it has something to do with the cold weather?
I can bench press my weight and do 20 consecutive pull-ups, but this white man can’t jump. I was unable to get the ball via vertical leap. In order to get it down, I use the “remove a shoe and fling it” strategy. The shoe was able to hit and free the ball without getting stuck itself.
TigerAl
Dec 1, 2008 — 8:19 am
Just had a thought though it is more of a theory that needs validation :): The cold could have caused the metal bolts fastening the hoop to the backboard to contract, tightening them further. Over-tightened bolts would tend to tilt the hoop upwards which could explain why the ball gets stuck behind it.
MAS
Dec 1, 2008 — 9:04 am
Excellent analysis. It is so nice to have a PhD commenting on my site.
TigerAl
Dec 1, 2008 — 9:36 am
Actually, this analysis is more a result of having assembled a lot of furniture in warm as well as cold weather and over-tightened quite a few bolts in the process 🙂