a few bits from a single article

[Victor Steinbok]

I picked up a sort of "where are they now" article on ESPN that recounts
the lives of the Hurley brothers--Bobby, the Duke point guard who
briefly played for the Sacramento Kings before being involved in a car
accident that sidelined him for a year and resulted in a premature end
of a promising NBA career, and Danny, the Seton Hall point guard who
quit playing and became a coach, now coaching Wagner.

The article is full of basketball jargon, but most of it is already
covered in most dictionaries. But a surprising number of words stood
out. (Emphasis added throughout; dates are either first mention or first
and last)

http://goo.gl/vPoYm

>     Only Carlesimo's *system *called for its *quarterback* to be a
>     game manager, not a runner and gunner, and Bobby had already
>     claimed one national title and two Final Four appearances under
>     the less restrictive approach applied by Coach K.
>     ...
>     Carlesimo left to coach the Portland Trail Blazers, the
>     mild-mannered George Blaney replaced him, and Danny returned as a
>     different player in a different *system*, one allowing the point
>     guard more room to breathe.
>     ...
>     Magic Johnson was so impressed with the Duke *quarterback*, he
>     flew to Maui the following season just to watch him play.

quarterback, n. (1931)

>     2.c. /fig/. A person who masterminds or coordinates an operation
>     or project; a director, leader.
    **

The top two definitions (1. and 2.a.) deal with rugby and American
football. 2.b. extends it to football fans. But 2.c. is an extension
that includes no sports usage--only sports metaphor taken into other
fields, particularly politics. The two mentions above bring it back to
sports, albeit basketball--quarterback==point guard.

The "system" offers a few interesting alternatives, but none are
directly connected to sports--at least, there is no mention of sports.

System, n.

>     II. A set of principles, etc.; a scheme, method.
>     9.a. An organized scheme or plan of action, esp. one of a complex
>     or comprehensive kind; an orderly or regular method of procedure.
>     Now usually with defining word or phrase. (1663-1882)
>     b. A formal, definite, or established scheme or method (of
>     classification, notation, or the like). (1753-1893)
>     10. In the abstract (without /a/ or /pl./): Orderly arrangement or
>     method; systematic form or order. (1699-1876)

First, all of these are out of date--no 20th century quotes at all. Of
all the other subentries, only the narrowest ones get updated quotes.
"The system" above really combines all three of the above definitions
and applies them to a coach (or group of coaches) running a team in a
particular way, including the layout of practices and exercises,
attitude toward the players, game plan, playbook (predesigned
plays--usually specific to American football, but taking on broader
meaning lately), etc. In particular, note that in the article each coach
had his own "system"--which included how the practices were run and the
role of each player (and all players) in the game. So it includes the
abstract order of things (10.), the plan of action (game plan, 9.a.) and
a formal method of both coaching and playing (9.b.)--it needs a separate
category because it does not neatly fit into any of the others. It also
comes with attached possessive or "the"--which are currently reserved
only for I.1.a.

>     Carlesimo was a *card-carrying *screamer who had been all over
>     him, but then again, Walker and Dehere had weathered P.J.'s storms
>     just fine.

Again, a reasonable, but not a perfect fit

card-carrying, adj. (1955-2001)

>     2. /fig./ (often /humorous/). Strongly identified or identifying
>     with a particular group; typical or characteristic of a certain
>     type of person; confirmed in or dedicated to a specified outlook
>     or pursuit.

The examples include academician, yenta, pessimist, assistant curator,
princess and gay man. I suppose, "screamer" kind of fits into this
scheme, perhaps being closest to a "yenta".

>     From the Garden stands, Bobby saw a beaten man in the Seton Hall
>     backcourt. Danny often projected a *hangdog*-ish vibe on the
>     floor, but this was different.

hang-dog, n. and adj.

>     A.n.
>     a. A despicable or degraded fellow fit only to hang a dog, or to
>     be hanged like a dog.
>     B.adj.
>         Of, befitting, or characteristic of a hang-dog; low, degraded;
>     having a base or sneaking appearance.

Again, the problem may be that the entries have not been updated in a
long time--the latest ones, respectively, are 1840 and 1893. I'm not
convinced that the definitions really reflect the usage above.

>     At 6-foot-1, Danny was a little bigger than Bobby, a little better
>     from the *perimeter*. He averaged 22.8 points as senior on a 32-1
>     team and, like Bobby, was named the state's player of the year.

Perimeter (1959)

>     1. d. /Basketball/. The semicircular line on a basketball court
>     that extends from the baseline to enclose the basket and key; the
>     three-point line. Also: the area beyond this line, extending to
>     the sidelines and the mid-court line, from which a field goal
>     earns three points rather than two. Freq. /attrib./

    //

This one I /know/ to be wrong. When talking about the perimeter,
especially about perimeter shot or perimeter shooting, the usual
reference is /within/ the 3-point line, not outside of it. To make
matters worse, the earlier examples could not have been referring to the
3-point line because it had not been invented yet!

>     3.3 Perimeter
>     The perimeter is defined as the areas that are farthest to the
>     basket but outside of the free throw lane and inside the
>     three-point line. Shots converted in this area are called
>     "perimeter shots" or "medium-range shots". If a player's foot is
>     on the three-point line, it could also be considered a "perimeter
>     shot".

Here's a bit of a timeline that follows two sites (the second one is Wiki).

http://goo.gl/FBCIU
http://goo.gl/wIEOI

First proposed in high-school context in 1933, but not adopted
First use in a professional league in 1961 (ABL--only lasted one year)
First use in international tournament in 1962 (isolated, but FIBA does
credit this particular instance as the invention)
First adopted by ABA in 1967 and after merger with NBA in 1976 adopted
by the NBA in 1979
First adopted by a US collegiate athletic conference in 1980, then by
all of NCAA
Adopted by FIBA in 1984
Semicircle briefly used by the NBA in 1995-8, before going to the
current format.

Semicircle was only used briefly, supplanted by a 3-point line that
comprises a part of a circle on top of a rectangular region, with sides
parallel to the sides of the court. So the line is really a semicircle
(actually a bit smaller sector than a full semicircle) and two straight
line (the latter at 22 feet from the basket). Note that broadcasters
normally refer to it as "the three-point arc" (or the three-point line,
of course) even though it is not really an arc in the precise sense.
"Line" is more common because stepping on the actual line negates the
bonus, but the references to being or shooting from "behind the arc" are
quite common.

The perimeter is most certainly the area /inside/ or near the line,
/not/ beyond the line, as the OED claims. Needs complete revision of the
lemma and addition of compounds (perimeter shot, shooter, shooting,
game--maybe more, but I can't think of it at the moment)/

>     Driving home from a game in his Toyota 4Runner, Bobby was making a
>     left about a mile from Arco Arena when he was *broadsided *by a
>     Buick station wagon driven by a local house painter, Daniel
>     Wieland, traveling without headlights.


Broadside, v. (1930)

>     /intr/. Of a motor cycle in dirt-track racing: to skid and slide
>     in the cinders as part of a deliberate manoeuvre when the rider is
>     'hugging' a corner. Also in extended use of a car, pedal cycle,
>     etc., esp. in a controlled sideways skid.

    /
    /

Compare

http://goo.gl/mksXw
The Island. By David Borofka. 1997
p. 126

>     Their train was delayed, it turns out, by an accident,-- a log
>     truck was broadsided by a freight train doing eighty miles an
>     hour. The driver of the truck was drunk, and he had passed out on
>     the crossing. ... He wept for the circumstances of his former
>     life: his marriage, his mortgage, the child who needed braces, the
>     mill owner who had refused the drivers a raise. The steward shook
>     his head. "Poor son of a bitch is in for it now," he said. "He
>     thought he was broadsided before. Just wait till they get through
>     with him."

http://goo.gl/GxWI9
Trinity Fields. By Bradford Morrow. 2011
p. 290 [?]

>     You acted like you and he were the closest father and son that
>     ever existed, Brice, she'd come to say, and she wasn't wrong. I
>     was broadsided by it. Patresfamilias weren't supposed to die and
>     furthermore /mine/ needed to go on living so that one day, when it
>     suited me, when I had left I could come to terms with such matters
>     as the ambivalence I'd always felt about his life's work, so that
>     one day we could attend to the business of understanding each
>     other, even admitting to a certain attachment for one another.

[here, emphasis in the original]

No corresponding noun either--all but one listed are related to naval
issues, with the remaining being an alternative name for a broadsheet.

In this case, the OED definition is not wrong--it merely lacks the
current meaning, associated with accidents. A car is broadsided in an
accident when it receives side damage or is hit from the side--as
opposed to a front-end collision or being rear-ended. Unlike the naval
engagements, the vehicles need not be side-to-side, as they would be on
a race track. Certainly, a train would not be able to "broadside" a
truck in this manner if the latter is stuck across the tracks. The whole
article needs major revisions and additions.

     VS-)

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