Basketball-obsessed teens have been doing it forever: Creeping up on unsuspecting friends during everyday life to throw down vicious imaginary dunks. But they haven’t always had social media to record their posterizing pranks for posterity’s sake. That’s the genesis of a hilarious sports trend called “Dunk Cam” that’s sprung up on Vine and other social networks this summer. Its roots can likely be best traced to a GIF from a high school ambush that went viral in May, and it’s only picked up steam as of late. Hallways, locker rooms, doorways — no place is safe. But there’s a problem. Until now, Dunk Cam videos have emerged clip by clip, ephemeral mini-doses of basketball comedy that bubble up then fade into the digital ether. So, in the interest of public service and the historical record, we’ve collected 13 of our favorite Dunk Cam videos from Vine right here. Check them out for yourself below (but be advised—some of the language is NSFW), then make your own additions in the comments. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. BONUS: Posterized! YouTube’s 12 Most Epic NBA Dunks Dunks 1. Blake Griffin on Kendrick Perkins This dunk set the Internet aflame in January. The official NBA YouTube video already has more than 5 million views. The dunk prompted Perkins to call out LeBron James in the press for tweeting the epic slam. 2. LeBron James on John Lucas The night before Griffin’s monumental throw-down, James turned in a classic of his own. He cleared Bulls guard John Lucas to catch this backdoor alley-oop. 3. Dwyane Wade on Anderson Verejao A couple years ago, before he and James joined forces on the Heat, Dwyane Wade completely overwhelmed James’ then-teammate, Varejao. In the immortal words of commentator Reggie Miller, “Welcome to your Kodak moment, Anderson Verejao!” 4. Baron Davis on Andrei Kirilenko This dunk will live forever in the hearts of Golden State Warriors fans. It came during the middle of the team’s improbable “We Believe” playoff run in 2007. Davis’ weird, belly-baring celebration, which earned him a technical foul, brings it up another notch. 5. Shaquille O’Neal on basketball hoop designers This dunk isn’t technically “on” anyone, but young Shaq pulling down an entire basketball support is epic enough to make any list. As the esteemed Bill Walton would say, “Throw it down, big man!” 6. Tom Chambers on Mark Jackson Current Warriors coach Mark Jackson had a stellar playing career with several NBA teams, but he was on the receiving end of probably the greatest NBA dunk ever by a white guy. 7. Scottie Pippen on Patrick Ewing Scottie Pippen obliterated Knicks center Patrick Ewing in this 1994 dunk, and this two-minute video tells the entire story. 8. Michael Jordan on Patrick Ewing Pippen’s Bulls teammate — some guy named Michael Jordan — also had a ruthless dunk over Ewing. He actually had a couple, but this one is the most savage of all. 9. John Starks on […]
A YouTuber that goes by Kelly Murphy recently uploaded a GoPro video of herself snowboarding. Filming yourself doing such a thing may not be odd, but what she captured in the background will certainly give you chills. She was getting ready to head down a mountain (complete with adorable singing) when she accidentally filmed a bear getting ready to attack. Her video description was: OMG! I was going through my snowboarding videos and I found a bear chasing me!!! I nearly got eaten!!! This was at Hakuba 47 in Japan, filmed yesterday! Be careful people!!! Annnnd this is what can happen out in nature. Many online are claiming the video is fake (which is entirely possible). Even if this video is the result of clever editing and CGI, news outlets are picking it up. “Kelly’s” YouTube channel only has three videos (and all are of this snowboarding adventure). Odds are, the video is fake. However, it looks real enough to be a reminder of one thing: nature is scary. If you’re out by yourself hiking, snowboarding, or looking for the Blair Witch, make sure to take your cell phone and self-defense tools! Read more: http://www.viralnova.com/snowboarding-bear-attack/
“Here come the balls, big orange balls…” Sound familiar? That’s essentially the NBA‘s take on the classic holiday tune “Carol of the Bells,” as seen in the creative ad embedded above. Featuring five of the NBA’s biggest stars covering the song via basketball dribble, it’s meant to promote the NBA’s special one-color jerseys players will wear Christmas Day and premieres on TV during Wednesday night’s games. The spot was produced by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, the advertising agency behind the legendary “Got Milk?” spots and other well-known campaigns. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/21/nba-ad-holiday/
We don’t love sports so much because we actually care about who can put a ball in a net or through a hoop. The true appeal is in the way these silly, arbitrary games we invest so much in reflect and bring out core elements of the universal human experience — success, failure, determination, community, joy and sorrow, for example. The YouTube clip above captures this perfectly. Shot at a Windy City bar called The Pony on Monday night as the Chicago Blackhawks came back to win the NHL‘s Stanley Cup title in thrilling fashion, the two-minute video is raw, unedited and so, so real. The ‘Hawks scored two goals in 17 seconds just before the final horn to win their series against the Boston Bruins in six games. Watch fans in the packed bar go nuts over the first goal that tied the game, slowly process what just happened, then completely lose their minds after Chicago scores again. Unfortunately, the scene in Boston bars was probably the exact opposite of what you see here. But at least Bruins fans had one small victory to cling to for a few short hours after their team’s tragic loss. Then there was also this fantastic Vine video posted by Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference, in which he removes his burly playoff beard with an eraser and a sneeze: Time to get ready for next year. https://t.co/LIooTouZuT — Andrew Ference (@Ferknuckle) June 25, 2013 Homepage image by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement(‘script’);js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}; _msla(“//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”,”twitter_jssdk”); Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/06/26/stanley-cup-bar-footage/
You made it through another long off season, football fans. The NFL season officially kicked off last night, so go ahead and breathe a sigh of relief. ‘Tis the season for productivity-starved Sundays, obsessing over fantasy teams and absurd amounts of buffalo wings. SB Nation made a video just for you, person who thinks there is nothing better than freezing your tail off outside in the snow in order to watch grown men repeatedly bash into each other. BONUS: This is every NFL fan in 90 seconds: Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/06/nfl-hope-video/
If Wayne Rooney wasn’t a footballer, he’d probably be a fisherman. But the only way he wouldn’t be a footballer is if the clones took over. Nike’s latest ad, “The Last Game,” in support of World Cup fever takes on a similar premise to the latest dystopian sci-fi movie. It pits man vs. the “perfect” clone — a soccer player that performs like a machine and is, supposedly, unbeatable. But they’re missing one thing: heart (or, as Nike puts it, the willingness to take risks). It’s sort of like a Gattaca that substitutes soccer for space travel. The best players unite to challenge the clones. We won’t spoil the ending, but lets just say it’s clear is Nike is reminding you that winning players are willing to take risks. Risk makes the game worth watching. Yay risk. All the 2014 World Cup action starts up on Thursday, June 12. BONUS: Six Apps to Fuel Your World Cup Fever Apps to Follow the World Cup ESPN FC Soccer & World Cup ESPN’s app for the World Cup featues in-depth analysis and commentary from their team of experts. Customize the experience by choosing your favorite teams to follow and set detailed alerts for everything from in-game substitutions to sore updates to team stats. Users in the U.S. can also see exclusive video highlights from the games. The free app is available for iOS and Android. Image: ESPN FIFA ’14 Fans of EA’s FIFA series for Xbox and PlayStation will appreciate the company’s latest World Cup iOS offering. In FIFA ’14 players can compete in their own World Cup brackets and customize their team’s lineup to compete with their ideal fantasy team. Those who want to make it more competitive can challenge friends and other online player’s in the game’s multiplayer mode. The free app is available for iOS. Image: Electronic Arts FIFA Official FIFA Official provides comprehensive profiles of each team, player and coach detailing the past national and World Cup history of each organization. The app has a daily live blog that provides a constantly-refreshed stream of updates from the matches and exclusive photos and videos from the tournament. Super fans can also play games, vote on each game’s “Man of the Match” and sign up for a shot at winning kick-off balls used during the actual games. The free app is available for iOS and Android. Image: FIFA Onefootball Brasil Choose your favorite teams and get up to the minute updates from both on and off the field. Listen to live commentary from matches and chat with your fellow fans when you connect the app to your Facebook account. The app also has in-depth pre and post-game videos of press conference, interviews and analysis. The free app is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone. Image: Motain GmbH Travel Portuguese Futebol Edition For those actually traveling to Brazil to watch the games, Travel Portuguese Futebol Edition from Rosetta Stone will give you a crash-course in essential Portuguese to help you […]
The sports highlight is extremely predictable by now: an amazing play, sequence or moment is replayed from one or more angles, while a news anchor or announcer recaps what happened. Sometimes the video runs along with its original play-by-play audio, or maybe with the live radio call. But, in the age of social media permeation and mobile video proliferation, this is no longer enough, according to UNITE, a new late-night show that airs on ESPNU. The social media-heavy show has introduced a regular installment called “social highlights,” which leverage just how much video modern fans shoot on their smartphones while at the game. The idea is simple, but pretty powerful. Footage from commercial TV broadcasts and radio audio clips are edited together with video fans get from the stands and share to Twitter or YouTube. The result? Immersive highlights of major sports moments. “We wanted to find a way to find a different side of what a highlight is, something you wouldn’t normally see unless we aggregated the videos and put them with some high quality production,” UNITE producer Yaron Deskalo told Mashable. The example above shows the final outs of Seattle Mariner Felix Hernandez’s perfect game in August. More recent examples include the controversial ending of the Packers-Seahawks NFL game in September and North Carolina State’s last-second touchdown to beat Florida State last weekend. Deskalo produced one similar video while working on an E:60 production for ESPN a couple years ago, which planted the seed for UNITE’s social highlights. Today, however, there are few if any other examples of networks consistently producing installments that combine professionally edited broadcast highlights with fan-sourced video. The social highlights air on UNITE weekly, then go up on YouTube if ESPNU has rights to the broadcast clips used. Some have even made their way on to ESPN and ESPN2. UNITE producers scour YouTube for fan video then incorporate between five and 10 into each highlight after obtaining permission from the amateur shooters. While the resulting clips currently air primarily on a late-night show on a station that few but the most hardcore sports fans regularly watch, it’s not hard to imagine similar highlight packages becoming more mainstream sooner than later. “People are going to to able to film at these games more and more, and if we can find a way to get them to us, we’ll be able to find new ways to tell these stories,” Deskalo says. “We’re not there just yet, but I think in the next couple years we’ll start to see more social video elements in regular highlights.” Would you like to see this trend catch on — or do you prefer the traditional highlight format? Give us your take in the comments. BONUS: Who to Follow on Twitter This NFL Season 32 Must-Follow Twitter Accounts for the NFL Fan @NFL The league’s official account. A no-brainer for any NFL fan. @DeseanJackson10 The Eagles receiver is a hoot to follow because you never know what you’re going to get, […]
Sports are getting more attention at SXSW next year. SXsports, which was announced on Tuesday, will be an offshoot of the festival filled with media, technology and other creative industries. SXsports will take place from March 7 to 9, and is open to those who register for the film and interactive conferences. SXSW runs from March 7 to 16. The offshoot’s highlights will incude a panel featuring ESPN columnist Bill Simmons and FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver. Simmons was among the earliest stars of online sports columnizing, while Silver is the data whiz who famously delivered a flawless prediction of the 2012 presidential election results. Both now run their own sites for ESPN. Simmons founded Grantland in 2011, and Silver left The New York Times in July to reboot FiveThirtyEight with a partial sports focus for ESPN. “The world of sports truly hits the sweet spot of SXSW, the vital intersection of entertainment and technology, and we intend to approach it with the same forward-thinking and culturally relevant perspective we shine on all of our events,” Rebecca Feferman, head of media relations for SXSW’s film component, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to connect the sports world with our passionate audience of early adopters, culture nuts, digital creatives and so much more.” Other announced participants in panels and events include Peter Guber, chairman of Mandalay Sports Media and part-owner of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors; Bryan Srabian, the mastermind behind the San Francisco Giants’ massive social media following; and Kliff Kingsbury, the head football coach at Texas Tech University. Do you think SXsports is a good idea, and would you attend? Tell us in the comments. BONUS: Retro NBA Ads Starring NBA Players Retro Ads Featuring NBA Players Wilt Chamberlain for Coleco, 1973 Julius Irving for Chapstick, 1980 Earl Monroe for Jordache, 1980 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for Atari, 1981 Dr. J for Crest, 1983 Dr. J and Bill Cosby for Coca-Cola, 1984 Dominique Wilkins for Reebok, 1989 Bill Walton for Reebok, 1991 Allen Iverson and Jadakiss for Reebok, 1996 Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/10/01/sxsw-sports-sxsports/
Photographer Chris Burkard recently teamed up with SmugMug Film and some professional surfers to do something amazing. Burkard and his crew took a trip up to the Arctic Circle in Norway to surf some of the roughest, coldest beaches in the world. They filmed the whole thing and have created a mini documentary of their adventure. It is seriously awesome: If you thought that was amazing, just check out some of the photographs Burkard took during the trip. Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Chris Burkard Burkard’s work is amazing. Check out some of his other non-Arctic pictures: Chris Burkard via Facebook Chris Burkard via Facebook Chris Burkard via Facebook Chris Burkard via Facebook Chris Burkard via Facebook Chris Burkard via Facebook Chris Burkard via Facebook Chris Burkard via Facebook (H/T: Petapixel) Now I’m itching for some adventure. Make sure to spread the love and share this post by clicking below. Read more: http://viralnova.com/arctic-surfing/
Man in the middle: ESPN commentator Jon Champion prepares to call the USA-Azerbaijan soccer match at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on May 27, 2014. Image: Sam Laird, Mashable With any luck, the lasting sound of this summer’s World Cup won’t be the massively commercialized event’s official (and inexplicable) “song” from alleged musician Pitbull. No, a much better soundtrack to have rattling around your head for the next several months would be the measured tones of Jon Champion, ESPN‘s newest commentator, who will make his debut for the American World Cup audience this summer. The only catch? Champion hopes you don’t remember him — at least not that much. “It’s a bit like being a referee,” Champion told Mashable in a phone interview earlier this month. “In a sense, if I get noticed too much then I’m not doing my job — which is to caption the picture and not dominate the proceedings.” Champion says this approach was instilled in him when he got his broadcasting start at the BBC more than 20 years ago. He’s since commentated on soccer for a range of TV and radio programs in the United Kingdom — including ESPN’s UK version — and covered six World Cups. But this June marks his first time calling the biggest event in sports for an American audience. ESPN executives believe that Champion can endear himself to American viewers similar to how another English commentator, Ian Darke, did during the 2010 World Cup. “We were familiar with Jon from his time with ESPN UK, and we have always been impressed with his work and his knowledge of the game,” Jed Drake, an ESPN senior vice president and executive producer, told Mashable via email. “He calls a match in a very sincere, straightforward manner, and he gives you more than just play-by-play. He provides context and perspective, which is similar to Ian. We believe fans will embrace Jon during this World Cup, and he will call some big matches for us.” Champion will call nine group-stage games, as well as several more once the World Cup moves on to its elimination stage. It’s the same sport he’s been covering for years, but Champions says his new audience will require a slightly different approach. “I’m going to have to think about it a bit more, and I welcome that as a broadcaster,” Champion says. “It’s good to challenge yourself as a broadcaster.” Much of that challenge lies in the USA’s booming — but still-fledgling — interest in soccer. Many American fans possess enough passion and knowledge of the game to rival anyone across the pond, but the American audience is also rife with more casual fans who couldn’t pick legendary Italian midfielder Andrea Pirlo out of a police lineup. The trick, according to Champion, will be serving both groups of American fans who will make up ESPN’s massive Stateside audience. “I’ll have to find a balance between explaining enough and not explaining too much,” he says. “It’s up to me […]
