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There's a lot to factor in when searching for the best basketball, particularly due to the wide variety of styles to choose from, all differing in price. To help kick off your search, we've put together this list based on features, price, and reviews, highlighting some of the subtle differences that, we think, make each of these items stand out from the crowd. So, if you're after something well-rounded to play indoors, like Spalding Zi/O Excel, or you're searching for something to help you as a beginner, like this SportimeMax Hands-On Basketball, then we've got you covered right here. Best Basketball Advertisement Best All-Round Basketball - Spalding Zi/O Excel click to enlarge + 5 Image Credit: Spalding Brand: Spalding | Material: Composite | Size: 6 Spalding has been a sports equipment manufacturer since 1876 and has become renowned for its high-quality, durable basketballs. Advertisement The Spalding Zi/O Excel is no exception thanks to its durable comp...

As a researcher at Harvard, Shruthi Mahalingaiah has been using Apple watches to track the ovulation cycles of 70,000 women for more than two years in an unprecedentedly large study. But as a doctor, she complains that she is stuck with "dinosaur technology". The iPhone maker touts the Apple Watch as the "ultimate device for a healthy life", but it is not something Mahalingaiah can use with her patients because there has not been enough innovation to validate and incorporate the data. "How we practise is sometimes decades behind scientific discovery," she said. "We have got the personalised monitoring and we've got this whole medical-industrial complex — but how are they going to talk to each other?" Mahalingaiah's problem in finding ways to integrate Apple's technology into daily care is partly why the Apple Watch, which launched in 2015 and is worn by more than 100m people, has largely failed to fulfil its promise that "the fut...

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review Penn-Trafford's Maura Suman drives past Franklin Regional's Angelina Brush during the Penn-Trafford Holiday Tournament on Wednesday.

The most interesting participant in the College Football Playoff doesn't want to talk much about what makes him so interesting. "I would kind of appreciate it if people stop calling me the Alabama transfer," said Jerome Ford, who (sorry, Jerome) transferred from Alabama in early 2020. "I'm a Cincinnati Bearcat." Before Ford was either — and an X-factor in Friday's Cotton Bowl semifinal between his top-ranked former team and his fourth-ranked current one — he was an Armwood High Hawk. Related: Why former Florida QB Feleipe Franks sparked Arkansas' turnaround to Tampa Ford flashed his potential early, winning district titles in the 100 meters (10.98 seconds) and 200 (22.61) as a freshman. Then-coach Sean Callahan called him "probably the fastest guy we've had." Jerome Ford was a blue-chip recruit at Armwood High before signing with Alabama. [ Times (2017) ] A spring at receiver attracted major recruiting interest and offers from the lik...

The 2021 Summer League Dallas Mavericks weren't the greatest show on Earth. They didn't have a lot of lottery talent (or any, really). Their best player, Josh Green, didn't end up playing because he just got back from the Olympics (even though he barely played in the Olympics). And their next best player, Tyrell Terry, got injured in the team's second game, forcing him to miss the next three. None of that is to say that there weren't fun guys on the team. Nate Hinton and Eugene Omoruyi are the Mavs' two-way players and they both had some nice moments in Summer League. But I don't want to focus on those guys right now. I want to focus on a guy who isn't on an NBA roster but might be soon. That guy is Devontae Shuler. Shuler was a four-year college player at Ole Miss, making the All-SEC First Team his senior season. He went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft but ended up signing with the Mavericks Summer League team. Shuler didn't play a whole lot at ...

For eight turbulent years, while Massachusetts averaged more than one hate crime a day, legislation to require public schools to teach students about the horrors of the Holocaust and other genocides languished on Beacon Hill. No one incident or event generated enough momentum, not even a stunning survey in 2020 that found 35 percent of young adults in Massachusetts had no idea Auschwitz was a Nazi death camp. Then came a turning point: an alarming surge of hate speech in Massachusetts high school athletics. As first reported by the Globe, the outbreak began in March with news that the Duxbury High football team had for years used "Auschwitz" and other Holocaust-related terms to call plays in games and practices. By the fall, numerous football fields across the state were hot spots for racist and homophobic taunts. And by November, when the Globe reported that Danvers town officials had for more than 16 months concealed alleged violent, racist, homophobic, and antisemitic misc...

Story Links GAME 13 – Old Dominion (5-7) vs. College of Charleston (7-4) Date : December 22 - 7:00 pm Location : Chartway Arena – Norfolk, Va. Stream : ODUSports.com Audio – ODU Sports Radio Network Live Stats – Click here Social Media – Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Game Notes - ODU   NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men's basketball team will close out its 2021-22 non-conference schedule with a Wednesday night matchup against the College of Charleston inside Chartway Arena.  Tipoff will be at 7 p.m.   Old Dominion (5-7) enters off a 67-61 loss to Richmond on Sunday, while College of Charleston (7-4) comes into the matchup after losing to Stetson 67-59 on Dec. 11.  The Cougars were scheduled to have faced Rhode Island on Sunday but had the game canceled due to COVID issues with Rhode Island.   Ted Alexander and Dave T...

Former Kentucky Wildcats forward Nate Sestina is now a professional champion. Sestina, who played in Lexington for one season (2019-20), won a title with Hapoel Holon Basketball Club in Israel on Thursday, which came just over a month since signing with the team as a free agent. Hapoel Holon BC went 11-0 in the Balkan International Basketball League, which consists of professional teams from the Balkans (Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania and Israel), and finished off the run with a 91-75 victory over Akademik Plovdiv in Holon, Israel. Sestina played a key part in the victory with 14 points and five rebounds. He was 3/4 from the floor, 2/4 from deep and 2/2 at the free-throw line in 23 minutes. He's played nine total games with the club and five in the Balkan League, where he averaged 16.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. The 6-9 Sestina will remain with Hapoel Holon as the team continues its season in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, the top-leve...

Syracuse Orange center Frank Anselem made key free throws in the double-overtime win over Indiana on Tuesday. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com Syracuse, N.Y. – As Frank Anselem went to the free-throw line with Syracuse trailing Indiana by four points in the second overtime period in Tuesday night's game, the freshman center felt little pressure. Because he didn't know the score. Or at least, he tried to put the 101-97 deficit out of his mind. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue football earned its eighth commitment from the transfer portal Friday when former Indiana cornerback Reese Taylor pledged to the program. He entered the transfer portal on Dec. 16 and will have two years of eligibility.  Taylor, at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, recorded 69 career tackles, eight tackles for loss and two interceptions for the Hoosiers. He also put up 173 receiving yards and 84 yards rushing as a quarterback during the 2018 season.  Taylor struggled with injuries and only mustered 25 tackles, two pass deflections and one sack in the team's eight games this season.  Taylor was named Indiana Mr. Football in 2017 as a quarterback at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis but transitioned to defensive back at the college level. He is the third cornerback to commit to Purdue through the transfer portal since the end of the regular season.  He will join Cory Trice and Jamari Brown to provide dept...

Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks (24) fouls Miami Heat forward Caleb Martin (16) (Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports) The Miami Heat's real-life season is firmly underway, so that means that the  Fantasy NBA Season must be in full tilt as well. Nearly every fantasy basketball league is heading into Week 9 of its regular season on Monday, December 13. This means that most fantasy managers are roughly halfway through their season and are ready to take stock of their roster to ensure a successful playoff push. Could this mean adding red-hot free agents like Caleb Martin? Let's take a look. With the Miami Heat playing a four-game week in Week 9, managers could look to add a Heat player off of the waiver wire to ramp up their games played for a weekly matchup. Now, this would have been a surefire add before he entered the  NBA's Health And Safety Protocols , but still may be something to keep an eye on. Getting to it though, Miami has been an interesting te...

Getty Images The No. 25 Texas Tech Red Raiders will look to close out their non-conference slate on a high note and stay perfect against SWAC opponents when they take on the Alabama State Hornets on Tuesday afternoon. The Red Raiders (9-2), who are coming off a 78-46 win over Eastern Washington on Dec. 22, are 18-0 against the SWAC all-time, including an 84-49 win over Prairie View A&M in the third game of the season in the last matchup against the conference. The status of leading scorer Terrence Shannon is unknown as he works through back spasms that have kept him out of the past two games. The Hornets (1-10), meanwhile, have dropped five in a row, and are 0-11 all-time against Big 12 foes. This is the second ranked opponent Alabama Sta...

Cameron Thomas would be the pick for the Dallas Cowboys at No. 25 in the 2022 NFL Draft, according to a mock draft published by The Athletic's Dane Brugler on Tuesday. The mock draft was Brugler's first leading up to the 2022 NFL Draft in April. Thomas, an edge rusher at San Diego State, would provide the Cowboys with more pass rush help and give them another first-round pick on defense, after taking Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Brugler acknowledged that the Cowboys took three front-seven defenders in the first 100 picks of the 2021 NFL Draft. But his analysis noted that 'Whether lined up inside or outside, Thomas has been nearly unblockable this season for the Aztecs, currently leading college football with 72 pressures (just ahead of Michigan's Aidan Hutchinson and Alabama's Will Anderson).' The Cowboys have done a better job of getting to the quarterback this season. Parsons leads the Cowboys with nine sacks, f...