THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 1, 1997 TAG: 9701310046
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Larry Maddry
LENGTH: 77 lines
FORGET THAT this is the first day of February, we've got March madness in Hampton. Rat here. Rat now.
Yes unbelievable as it sounds, rats are going one on one and slam-dunking the ball on a small basketball court in the Science of Sports exhibit at the Virginia Air & Space Center.
And here comes the bouncy coach and trainer of the rats, now. It's Dave Briley, dressed in his striped referee shirt, holding a mike.
``The game will begin in about five minutes,'' he says. ``Rat basketball ladies and gentleman.''
As a small crowd gathers he flicks a switch to activate the swelling drums and trumpet musical theme from ABC's ``Wide World of Sports.''
Tum. . . tum. . . tee-dum.
Dave hauls out a small basketball court with baskets at each end, placing a regulation basketball in the center of the court - which is about half the size of a large card table.
``Oops, wrong ball,'' he said.
Even a wharf rat on steroids couldn't handle a regulation ball. Dave's rats uses one that's much smaller - a ball from a bottle of Ban Roll-on.
Dave blows his whistle and the rats - a pair of Japanese hooded rats named Yogi and Boo-Boo fast break onto the court to mild applause.
It's one on one and the rats love it. Yogi scrambles downcourt until he nears the basket and uses his pointy teeth to slam-dunk the ball through the rim.
The rats never tire of it and would go on all afternoon. That's because they get rewarded for each basket with a tiny food pellet. After scoring a two-pointer, Yogi or Boo-Boo will approach an opening containing a cup where the malt pellet rests and gobble it up.
In case you don't follow rat basketball closely . . . there are no three-pointers in rat basketball.
``I`ve tried it and they always put up an air ball,'' Dave said.
The rats are also weak on defense but can dodge and fake. Boo-boo has a nice spin move that conjures images of Michael Jordan.
I'll bet you are wondering where Dave gets such talented rats, maybe figuring he drives around rat basketball courts on playgrounds all over America looking for natural players the way coach Lefty Drissell did when he was at Davidson.
Not so. He gets ordinary rats and teaches them the game.
``Females work better than males because they aren't territorial and don't fight the way males do,'' he said.
Hey kids, maybe this is something you could do yourself. Lot cheaper than raising chinchillas in your basement. You could teach your very own rats to play basketball and charge your friends admission.
Imagine how pleased and proud your folks will be when you are earning your own allowance money with rat basketball in your room or attic.
Here's how. It takes about two to three months to teach the rats to play the game, Dave said.
BUT FIRST A WORD OF CAUTION. NO MATTER HOW BIG AND TALL YOUR RAT IS NEVER TELL IT TO TAKE THE BALL TO THE HOLE!
Rats love holes even better than those teensy malt pellets. So if you say that, your franchise player will bolt for the nearest hole in the baseboard taking the ball with him.
Just tell the rat: ``Take it to the hoop.'' Otherwise you'll have wasted a lot of time and effort, to say nothing of the problem you'll encounter when your parents try to use their deodorant and discover you've failed to replace the ball.
Dave Briley is the traveling demonstrator and exhibit manager for the Science of Sports exhibit at the Virginia Air & Space Museum, viewable - along with rat basketball - through Sept. 7.
Visitors can try on a size 17 basketball shoe, see trophies and uniforms belonging to local athletes, practice dunking on a breakaway basketball rim, and spin like an ice skater on an angular momentum machine. The museum is located at 600 Settlers Landing Road in Hampton.
For information, phone (757) 727-0900. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by TAMARA VONINSKI, The Virginian-Pilot
A slam-dunking Yogi takes the court at the Virginia Air & Space
Museum.