Who are basketball’s top clutch players?

Basketball is an exciting, end-to-end game and the shot clock ensures there’s action around each basket almost every few seconds. Scoring is fast and constant and many players can dunk, shoot or lay-up will breathtaking regularity throughout the game. However, what happens when the clock is running out and teams are locked together on the scoreboard? When the game enters a critical phase, that’s when a team’s clutch players step up.

What is a clutch player?

A clutch player is the one who can turn the game in the dying seconds. They don’t only have to rely on their innate ball skills, but also must summon up the resolve and fortitude not to be overawed with the high stakes involved. They must be mentally and physically strong.

Who are the top clutch players of recent years?

Here are a few players who got the job done when it mattered most:

Reggie Miller

A man who seemed to really come alive as the buzzer approaches. Miller has provided many late moments of drama. One was when reeled off eight points in just nine seconds to help the Indiana Pacers clinch Game 1 off the 1995 NBA Eastern Conference playoffs against the New York Knicks.

Kobe Bryant

The big man for the big occasion. LA Lakers legend memorably launched a shot just as the buzzer sounded in his team’s 2006 Western Conference playoff game with the Phoenix Suns and sunk the basket which handed the Lakers the win.

Michael Jordan

The greatest of all time has had too many clutch moments to mention and that just proves that he was a man who thrived under pressure and when the game was in the melting pot

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Grapefruit and cactus: The story behind baseball’s spring training season

Baseball has many quirky traditions, even when the sport isn’t even in season. Right now, Major League Baseball teams have all migrated south – well, the ones that aren’t located there in the first place that is – for spring training.

Spring training is a tradition that is over 100 years old with the theory that training and preparing for the new baseball season, which is traditionally starts in early April, in warmer climes was beneficial to the players.

With the number of teams travelling to states such as Florida and Arizona beginning to grow at the start of the 20th century, they began to play exhibition games against each other and these quickly morphed into mini pre-season tournaments.

One such tournament is known as the Grapefruit League and takes place in Florida. The Grapefruit first came about in 1914 as teams like the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians began to regularly travel to the state for spring training. Now the League features 15 teams, including two who already based in the Sunshine State.

For this teams who don’t base themselves in Florida during the early spring months, Arizona is the favored state for spring training. The Cactus League was born in the 1940s as the state became a popular destination for Major League teams and now around 15 of them base their pre-season preparations there.

Spring training often coincides with spring break for school kids, which allows them to get a close-up glimpse of their heroes without having to worry about seeking out much sought-after tickets for big games.

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