Dusty Basketball Courts Far, Far Away

Even though I promised an alarming amount of irreverence for most of today, it would be unconscionable of me not to send True Hoop genius Henry Abbott as many eyeballs as humanly possible over to his story, " Infantry Hoops in Iraq." Afer he inquired about the amount of basketball being played by some troops in Iraq, Abbott received a detailed e-mail back from one First Lieutenant Ted Janis, who openly spilled about how basketball keeps everybody sane.

Despite the condition of the court, each one gets enormous use. We have been deployed for more than seven months now, seeing the same thirty-odd guys every day, patrolling in the same couple towns, we need everything we can get to break the monotony.

Sports are the number one attraction. At my patrol base, if nothing's going on that evening, we play quick games to seven of three-on-three (all that the court can contain), swapping out the losing team from the guys waiting to play, all the way until the sun is well below the horizon.

Tomorrow is a half-day here at Deadspin, but I'll do my best to keep those of you who are unable to escape your desks early amused for as long as soberly possible.

Infantry Troops In Iraq [True Hoop]