HORSING around with two shots

More than 50 years ago, I was playing HORSE with an aggravating guy named Johnny Dean. Johnny walked every time he dribbled a basketball (he didn't even know it), and he crowed when he beat me in HORSE.

I don't think I ever beat Johnny in HORSE, but I did learn two shots that made me nearly unbeatable.

One was a spin/layup shot in which the ball started on the bottom of the rim and crawled over the rim into the basket. I even used it once during a game of one-on-one. My opponent whined, but he saw the ball go in.

The other shot wasn't as automatic, because I couldn't make it every time. I learned to look down at the floor, find the circle above the free-throw line AND BANK THE BALL IN WITHOUT LOOKING. It worked great in HORSE because no one else could do it, and, as far as I know, I never missed in a game of HORSE.

Occasionally, I used it in a pickup game because no one knew I could do it. I could score a couple baskets before people realized they needed to guard me when I was looking at the floor. Not automatic in a regular game, but close.

Sadly, I haven't played HORSE in 30-some years; two shots wasted.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK.

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Good Samaritan

• The PRESS cap and my friend Mike

• Watching TV

• No luck with Billy Sims

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!

EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2015)

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• OOH! OOH! The stereophonic huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing