Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2012 August 22

= August 22 =

Basketball team using smaller hoops during practices
I read in a piano book called Schaum 1 that there was a time that a basketball team was able to win several games because during practices, they practiced using hoops smaller than the regulation sizes. Since no specific basketball team was mentioned, I was wondering – is this team real, or was it made up to serve as an inspiration for piano students? If true, who don't more teams follow that strategy? For reference, here's the book on Google Books (the team in question is on page 4). Narutolovehinata5 tccsdnew 10:58, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Doing a quick search on Google for the phrase "basketball practice smaller hoop" I can find several pages that easily confirm this is a common enough method of practicing basketball, insofar as several of the hits sell smaller hoops being advertised "for practice" (if it wasn't already being done, it wouldn't be a good marketing idea) and some coaching websites that recommend it. So, it isn't necessarily any one team which did it one time, it seems to be used as a common practice technique.  Not likely universal, but common enough.  -- Jayron  32  12:13, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
 * I recall from decades ago, in high school, that for practice they did indeed use a smaller-diameter rim that was inset somehow into the regular rim. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 22:11, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Similarly, in the Sporting Goods section of a large store the other day, I saw extremely narrow baseball bats for sale (say, by half) that came packaged with smaller balls (about the size of a golf ball). Same idea, I guess.  Kingsfold   (Quack quack!)  15:17, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
 * You sure those weren't corkball bats and balls, Kingsfold? (I used to play it in my youth in St. Louis.) Deor (talk) 15:35, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
 * They may have been fungo bats; fungo bats are designed for coaches to hit practice balls to fielders; often such activity is called "fungo", though I have no idea where the name comes from. The fungo bat is small and light to allow the coach more control over where they hit the ball.  Fungo bats are not really designed for players to practice hitting.  Players usually practice hitting with heavier or larger bats then usual, as this improves their bat speed at the plate in game situations.  -- Jayron  32  16:45, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, but one hits a regular baseball with a fungo bat, not one "about the size of a golf ball". Deor (talk) 17:59, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Finding the title of a Russian WWII film
edit: this is probably a question only a Russian-movie buff can answer, as the details are probably too vague to start a reasonable search --Storkk (talk) 15:28, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Sorry the details are sparse, I've tried googling over the years, but just can't seem to find adequate search terms. I saw this Russian film on DVD about 10 years ago, and it was in color (good color - but it might possibly have been remastered), so I'd say it was probably made sometime between the late 1980s and the early 2000s. The plot is (very generally - my memory is pretty vague on this): A bunch of juvenile delinquents, runaways and other marginalized children and adolescents from around the Soviet Union are rounded up and "persuaded" to go to a training camp, where they are put through a long and arduous training regime. The best of them are sent into a German fortification to blow it up. One survives to make it out, and believes his friend may have made it out too. He comes back to the site every year on the anniversary of the mission until his old age. ... I know this isn't much to go on, but it's all I remember other than thinking that it was a good movie. Storkk (talk) 14:46, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Have you tried starting at either Cinema of the Soviet Union or Category:Cinema of the Soviet Union or Cinema of Russia or Category:Cinema of Russia as a starting place for your research? -- Jayron  32  14:54, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Yes, and failed. This list seemed more promising, but none of "Russian Front" films listed there seem to fit the bill. I decided that rather than reading countless Russian film synopses and hoping for a needle in haystack eureka moment, I'd ask around, as someone may have seen it and remember it. Thanks, though! Storkk (talk) 15:26, 22 August 2012 (UTC)
 * This sounds like Bastards, although it was made in 2006. Our article is sparse, but there's a little more information here. Found via Google search string, which means I'm probably on some kind of list now.  Steve  T • C 15:37, 26 August 2012 (UTC)
 * Wow.... perfect... thank you very much, Steve! I have to admit I would never have thought of those search terms. I really appreciate the help! --Storkk (talk) 17:18, 26 August 2012 (UTC)

Arvind Trivedi
Did Arvind Trivedi play Sumali in the Ramayan (2008 TV series)? Thanks. 184.147.128.34 (talk) 19:01, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Engaged To Kill (2006 movie)
This movie was based on true story. Did anyone watch this film before? Is the woman really responsible for the death of the girl? Since the girl died, is it because she fell onto the ground really hard? (76.20.90.53 (talk) 09:37, 26 August 2012 (UTC)).