Sing It Loud & Sing It Proud, Dirk

So I'm watching Game 4 of the NBA Finals last night, and my wife asked me kind of a funny question: Why are those fans waving big signs of David Hasselhoff around? It turns out that Dallas phenom Dirk Nowitzki (who is from Germany) recently admitted that every time he goes to shoot free throws, he calms himself by humming pop tunes sung by Dave Hasselfhoff in his head which were popular in his native country when he was a young lad. So now the Miami fans are evidently taunting him with cutouts of the Knight Rider himself while he is contemplating his free throws. I guess it kind of worked: in Game 3 during a crucial situation Dirk missed a FT which would have tied the game and the Mavs ended up blowing the game.

Nowitzki joins the legion of NBA players who have developed sometimes bizarre and quirky rituals prior to shooting their 'throws. Jeff Hornacek (handy jumpshooter of the 80s/90s) would brush his hands over his face so as to "wave" to his children on TV. Similarly, Jason Kidd blows kisses to his kid while at the line. Sherman Douglas (sorry, couldn't find a picture) did this weird "salute" gesture during which he would line up the basket with his arm before shooting. One of the top free throw shooters ever, Rick Barry, was a master of the underhanded (a.k.a. "granny") shot. And Shaq shoots bricks like nobody else.

I am really looking forward to seeing this movie Nacho Libre starring Jack Black. It's a goofy dude movie, and fortunately I am scheduled to see it this evening with fellow goofy dudes Dave Portnoy & Matt Ortman. Should be fun.