Hoopfest 2008 Stories: Spokesmanreview.com

O'Doherty orders up rare recipe

Technically, this doesn't qualify as breaking news, it being a Hoopfest story and Hoopfest 2008 having been put to bed for a week already.

Heat-fest victors travel long, hot road

Word on the street was that Wade Joseph's nickname after this weekend should be "the human Band-Aid."

Players, spectators beat the heat

A sun hot enough to soften blacktop Sunday was no match for thousands of Hoopfest players as relatively few people visited the First Aid tents with heat-related illness and dehydration.

Hoopfest 2008 list of winners

For Monday, June 30, 2008.

Hot hotshots

As Hoopfest players ground their way through games on the baked streets of downtown Spokane on Saturday, thousands of fans hunted for shade and a cool breeze during a scorching first day of Hoopfest 2008.

Beyond the score

Bobby Homminga was tired. He was hot. The only thing that got him through the rest of his Hoopfest game was the memory of his son.

Courts in session

The event by the numbers:

Hoopfest '08: DUIs measured in dozens

Hoopfest is developing a reputation for being more than just the largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the world � at least with area law enforcement.

Company to provide Hoopfest video

Live videocasts will be streamed on the Internet during this weekend's Hoopfest games, along with a highlights program next week.

All ages descend for hoop check-in

It's kind of a trick question. How many people are on Jordan Howell's Hoopfest team? "Four!" he says. Isn't it three on � ?

Team Doran will hit Hoopfest with friend in their hearts

It's fitting that Gabe Doran's team will play in Hoopfest this weekend � even though it has to play without him. The Wilson Elementary fifth-grader gave his best effort to everything he tried and wouldn't let anything get in his way, his friend and teammate Terry Cox said. Not even epilepsy.

John Blanchette: Spokane leaves lasting impression

Phil Von Buchwaldt's first impression of Spokane was that the second impression should come via rearview mirror.

NOTEBOOK: Duo faces twilight of Hoopfest careers

Longtime friends and educators Clay Henry and Jeff Miller took to the streets Saturday morning for the 18th time at Hoopfest.

Still going strong

Spokane Valley residents Dave and Eileen Green spent their first 12 years at Hoopfest mostly as spectators.

No pets downtown during Hoopfest

Hoopfest brings thousands of extra people to downtown Spokane � but their pets aren't welcome.

Volunteer's experience unbeatable

Hoopfest court monitors may take a lot of grief, but if they hang in there through Sunday, they'll at least get their T-shirt.

Volunteer verdict is positive

Milt Rowland has observed many different things over his 16 years as a Hoopfest volunteer.

In brief: Hoopfest seeking volunteers

Hoopfest, the world's largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament, is looking for 3,000 volunteers for the 18th annual tournament June 30-July 1.

John Blanchette: Steltenpohl returns tanned, rested, ready

So, not only can you go home again, but you can even get your old job back. Not that Hoopfest was a job to Rick Steltenpohl so much as it was a cause.

Hoopfest loses its director

With Hoopfest just seven weeks away, Brady Crook, executive director of the world's largest 3-on-3 street basketball tournament, has resigned.

Elite divisions heat up

Stacy Clinesmith showed that there's still life in the ex-WNBA basketball player's legs. There had to be, considering that Team Idaho took the longest possible route to the Elite Women's Hoopfest title.

Defending champs, Fresno win titles

Size matters, apparently. Winston Brooks, whose Hoop Hearted team won Hoopfest's Men's Elite 6-feet and under division for an unprecedented fourth straight year, noticed.

Hoopfest results

More than just a game

Don and Ev Newland have lived in Spokane for 62 years. But it wasn't until this year that they made it to Hoopfest, drawn downtown to watch their grandson and granddaughter "We're just down to take in the games," Don said, as he and Ev enjoyed ice cream bars on the shady side of Riverside Avenue. ( Read the full story )

Geezers and pleasers

Don't let the gray hair fool you. The average age of the four men who make up Juicr Plus Schaplow Atty is 57. But they still got game.

Lapwai sisters shine in sun

For Lapwai, Idaho, sisters Jaci and Margaret McCormack, it had been a decade since they've experienced Hoopfest. On a day when summer heat and Hoopfest collided in full, their eclectic Team McCormack, including a player from Illinois and another from Calgary, Alberta, made the most of their Elite Women's competition start.

Everything from A to Z works for Mietus' team on first day

Former Ferris Saxons player John Mietus came into his own as a basketball standout at a college in Oregon, named of all things, Lewis & Clark.

Only good sports need apply

Hoopfest organizers want players to bring their game, not their attitudes. As the largest 3-on-3 tournament in the world enters its 17th year, a new sportsmanship program has been implemented to promote good behavior among players, coaches, parents and fans.

Homeless shelter's Hoopfest team at home in the zone

On a concrete court surrounded by yellow clover and a row of freight trailers, Rick McDonald spun a weathered leather ball in his lanky fingers.

Sizing up elite divisions

Men's Elite DivisionBattle in Seattle returns for Hoopfest 2006 to defend its first championship in an Elite Division packed with previous champions, along with former college, professional and high school stars.

Hoopfest needs some changes in rules

Hoopfest is a word that's hard to define. To a player, it's "Christmas in June," a great time to be alive. To a nonplayer, Hoopfest, which turns 17 this year, brings the same issues as any other 17-year-old � parking nightmares and stinky potties.

How to get to Hoopfest

Getting to and from Hoopfest could be a bit more challenging this year because of Interstate 90 construction downtown, but organizers and Spokane Transit employees are urging people to plan ahead and consider several options to make getting around a bit easier.

At a glance: Hoopfest

Annual Hoopfest jam ahead

Basketball players and fans are taking over Spokane this weekend, so expect it to be a little more difficult to get through downtown beginning Friday evening when Hoopfest backboards start sprouting on the streets.

Hoopfest still lacks enough court monitors

The world's largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament is just around the corner, but the organization is behind in its number of needed volunteers. The 17th annual Hoopfest tournament will attract about 24,000 basketball players June 24 and 25.

Crowning glory

If this were the NCAA Tournament, perhaps the lack of upsets would be disappointing. But for Rick Steltenpohl, in his last year at the helm of Hoopfest, it was a final affirmation of a job well done.

Thousands enjoy friendly Hoopfest

If variety is the spice of life, Hoopfest is a habanero pepper. While some players and fans traveled across town or across the country for serious competition, other attendees at the world's biggest 3-on-3 basketball tournament were there for the food, the fun and the view.

Matthews, GU squad take it all

Shannon Matthews didn't have to worry much about making wishes when blowing out birthday candles Sunday night. The just-graduated Gonzaga star, on her way to beginning a professional career in Europe, got a present on her 22nd birthday in the form of an MVP award in the women's Elite championship game at Hoopfest's Center Court.

Gimps win ninth straight

Three self-proclaimed "Gimps. " One guy named Bill. Nine straight Hoopfest titles. Three Gimps and Bill, a group of forty-something men out of the Seattle area who have played at Hoopfest since 1991, took home their ninth straight wheelchair division title Sunday, defeating a much younger Titans DC team 15-14 in their toughest test of the tournament.

Hoopfest 2005 official results

Spokane's annual bounce

More than 24,000 basketball players � from smaller ballers just out of second grade to elite teams from around the country � will turn downtown into the biggest 3-on-3 arena in the world today at the 16th annual Hoopfest.

Happy Wife espouses close ties

Bryan Depew has heard it from friends and family all year long. "People are like, 'How could you guys win? I just can't believe that.

Thousands expected for Hoopfest

Rick Steltenpohl uses the number 150,000 when estimating how many people pack downtown during a Hoopfest weekend. This year, there will be 24,282 basketball players on 6,197 teams competing on 411 courts.

You gotta carry this crucial list

In case you just skimmed through your newspaper Thursday, the section with the picture on the cover of a carved-open basketball with flowers planted in it wasn't our special Hoopfest guide.

Life as a court monitor

When Alan Bafus stepped aside as a longtime Hoopfest participant last spring and opted, instead, to serve as a court monitor for the world's largest 3-on-3 street basketball tournament, he was hoping to ease into his new role.

Check it out at Hoopfest

By the time he gets to Phoenix�

Like anyone studying finance and numbers in college, Rick Steltenpohl probably lusted after an office overlooking Wall Street. He's got one and he's giving it up.

Crook picked to follow legend

When the Hoopfest board found out it had to replace the only executive director the event has ever had, the members knew they were not going to find a clone of Rick Steltenpohl.

Who is Rick Steltenpohl and how did he earn that office on Wall Street?

Steltenpohl testimonials

"Where do I begin? Let me put it this way, from the perspective of the sports commission, Rick Steltenpohl has always been the role model that we've used in helping individuals understand what it takes to be successful in event management.

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Return of the 'Ross Man'

Ross Muelheim probably shouldn't even have been at Hoopfest last year. Just the month before, right in the middle of little league season, doctors diagnosed the now 11-year-old Spokane boy with bone cancer.

Hoopfest still seeking court monitors

Check the database of court monitors who have volunteered to help maintain law and order during Hoopfest 2005 and you will probably pull up more than 630 names.

Hoopfest a real test for drivers

You might have to get your game on before you even make it to Hoopfest. With Third Avenue torn down in places to bare dirt, the Monroe Street Bridge closed and the Washington/Stevens corridor under construction, just getting to your court could be a challenge.

Hoopfest names Crook as director

Hoopfest has named Brady Crook, Washington State University Associate Director of Athletics, as Executive Director, effective May 2. Crook will replace Rick Steltenpohl, who announced his resignation last month to become a managing partner with Phoenix-based Northwest Sports and Entertainment.

They make Hoopfest a must-stop

Osh Spoonhunter knew she wasn't in Kansas any more. Morningstar Pelcher, Amber Tucumseh and the more than two dozen others from Mayette, Kan., had the same sensation when they experienced Hoopfest for the first time.

Guts and glory and shards of glass

Spokane's downtown filled with thousands of jersey-clad players Saturday, including some who dunked, drove and screened their way to Hoopfest victories. Others learned that in the dog-eat-dog world of street ball, somebody has to wear the Milk Bone shorts.

But they looked marvelous

Dressing for success is easy. Achieving it can be a whole different animal. And few can attest to that fact as credibly as Zac Franklin, Tyler Walters, Nate Gobble and Parc Crecelius, the quartet of recent Mt.

They decide they will take the leap

Ed and Kristy Smith were concerned. Their daughter was seated in a chair, blindfolded, the prop for her boyfriend's attempt in the Hoopfest Slam Dunk contest Saturday afternoon.

Best of Hoopfest make time for kids

Before the competition starts to simmer, before the first teams begin their dance around the pavement, Hoopfest weekend begins with a trip to the hospital. Members of Team Atlanta � Hoopfest's 2001 and 2003 winners � and Team Fresno flew into Spokane early Friday to spend time with young patients at Deaconess and Sacred Heart medical centers and Shriners Hospital.

McFaul's swan song

With more than 6,000 teams, almost 24,000 players and close to 400 courts, Hoopfest can't afford to bend the rules it has fine-tuned for the past 14 years.

Off-court entertainment

While the biggest three-on-three tournament in the nation brings ballers the size of Yao Ming down to Spud Webb to the street courts, along with thousands of spectators, that also means downtown Spokane will be bouncing into OT with winners celebrating victory, losers dwelling on defeat, and a bunch of people you haven't seen since high school swarming the bars and clubs.

Inventor hopes Hoophitch a slam dunk

CLARKSTON � Sometimes two ingredients are all you need to cook up a good idea. Paul Carey loves inventing. His wife and kids love basketball.

Ehlo will be incognito, not incommunicado

Craig Ehlo played in Hoopfest once before in one of those over-the-hill brackets with his brothers-in-law, who were not just over the hill but were over-the-hill baseball players.

More than just a basketball court

There are plenty of basic things to expect from Hoopfest weekend. Sweat, trash-talking, food vendors, street closures and the poom-pooming of basketballs on pavement are the most obvious.

A couple of players short of �Hoop Dreams'

There are promotional films, and there are documentaries. And then there's the blurry realm in between. In between is where "3 on 3" belongs. Made by Spokane's North By Northwest Entertainment, "3 on 3" � which opens today at River Park Square Cinemas � follows three teams as they play their way through Hoopfest 2003.

Cooler weather will help Hoopfest athletes, fans beat the heat

Things are likely to cool down for Hoopfest this weekend, after high temperatures in the 90s earlier in the week. The National Weather Service is expecting temperatures in the lower 80s on Saturday and mid-70s by Sunday.

Events leave no room at region's inns

The convergence of Hoopfest, Ironman and the Far West Regional Youth Soccer Championships is creating "perfect storm" conditions in the lodging industry, tourism officials say. Most of the 10,000 hotel rooms and campground spots in Spokane and Kootenai counties were snapped up months ago during a blizzard of reservations by athletes and their families.

Hoopfest proves to be draw � for pros

Hoopfest may not be the center of the basketball universe, but obviously it's developed gravitational pull. Now an entire professional league has succumbed to its inexplicable magnetism.

Champs back to defend

Team Atlanta returns to defend its Elite Division title at the 15th annual Hoopfest 3-on-3 street basketball tournament. The three-time Hoop-It-Up world champions, Team Atlanta returns the same team that won Hoopfest in 2001 and 2003, including 2001 Most Valuable Player Earl Warren and 6-foot-5Jerome "Big Sexy" Shelton.

Good for what ails ya

Rick Klingler has spent the last eight months preparing to deal with the wave of sick and injured that will wash into his medical tents this weekend as Hoopfest 2004 plays out on the streets of downtown Spokane.

A family affair

Can the the responsibilities of nursing an infant son and holding up your end while playing 3-on-3 basketball be copacetic? JoEne Liezen will find out when she hits the mean streets and tackles those two-fold responsibilities in this year's Spokane Hoopfest.

Hoop potatoes

FOR THE PAST TWO years, Steve Mortier was nearly too pooped to hoop. The Spokane opera singer and voice instructor knows what it feels like to play in Hoopfest with little or no preparation.

Chicago theater hires Phillips

FORMER SPOKANE CIVIC THEATRE director John G. "Jack" Phillips was hired last week as the artistic director of the Theatre of Western Springs, a large, 75-year-old community theater in a suburb of Chicago.