DimeMag.com contributor Matthew Pierce writes letters to his two young daughters in case he dies early. Sometimes, the letters are about basketball…

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Girls,

I hope that one day you can discover the game of basketball as I once did. You won’t find it on the same terms, and your reasons for playing may be different, but the game will reward you just the same. Read More »

DimeMag.com contributor Matthew Pierce writes letters to his two young daughters in case he dies early. Sometimes, the letters are about basketball…

*** *** ***

Dear girls,

Basketball is a very important part of my life. I don’t play like I used to, but I’ve still got one good run left in me. That’s what basketball does to you – no matter how old you get, you can never quite let it go. It is a beautiful game, one that carves out a place in your soul that football and baseball and all the other sports don’t fill in the same way. Basketball is different; there is a continuity, a restless pace as the teams are pulled back and forth across the court like waves in a storm. Read More »

Basketball is a series of snapshots of our past. It is neither good nor bad; it simply is. From the Fab Five and the hip-hop revolution in the ’90s to the drug use of the ’80s all the way back to the old days of segregation, basketball reflects its time. It is left to us, the current stewards of the game, to learn what we can from the past. Read More »

One day the game will leave all of us. It’s a lot like gravity: no matter how hard you bounce a basketball, eventually it will come to rest.

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Hot.

Merciless, unbending heat. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Locusts in the distance, sending their rattling howls back and forth across the valley. The Alabama sun pushing down on top of you, burning the air thin and making your thoughts run slow.

I didn’t go to college for this, but here I am. Read More »

When my wife found me I was laying on the floor. I was curled in the fetal position, wearing my replica 2004 Olympics Argentina basketball jersey. I had laid all my Josh McRoberts rookie cards in a circle around myself, like a protective force field. Read More »

An integral part of Dime’s literary footprint is basketball-related video game news. This has become doubly important in the wake of the ongoing lockout, where getting one’s hoops fix sometimes leads to the digital world. With this in mind, Konami is prepared to launch a basketball game that will change everything. The Dime editorial staff has been provided with an advance copy, and I am privileged to give you a sneak peek. Plug in your controllers, blow on your cartridge, turn the television to Channel 3 and come with me. Read More »

They say every champion boxer has one great fight left in his bones. They say every writer has one great story to tell. If both of these things are true, and I would wager they are, then one more thing would seem to be true as well: Every basketball player has a game that got away. Read More »

An essential element in the cult of Michael Jordan is the fact that the man never lost an NBA Finals. It’s how we choose to remember him: Perfect. 6-0 in the endgame. Unassailable. In doing so, we place him in the tiniest of circles, that being multiple champions who never lost a title. Read More »

Basketball legend and mustache aficionado Karl Malone recently embarked on a USO tour of the Middle East to meet with soldiers and lend his support. At a dinner in Afghanistan with members of the Alabama National Guard, The Mailman sat next to Dime reader Tim Pierce, who is also my kid brother. Read More »

Today’s look at collectibles will have a distinct Boston flavor. We’re going to go Bill Simmons on you and put the spotlight on a selection of Boston Celtics basketball cards. (Or caaaaahhds, right guys? Right?) Sorry. I’ll leave that joke alone.

Of course no Boston collection would be complete without a Rajon Rondo card, but I was not able to find a suitable one to feature. Perhaps I could have done better if Topps had sent me something cool. (Note to Topps: Please do not send me a Scott Wedman rookie card.) Read More »