Getting a chance to play in the NBA can be like winning the lottery. So for guys who have played basketball their whole lives and when a player doesn’t hit the lotto he goes to a league like the United Basketball League hoping to be seen.

“I want to be able to get each one of these young men that make this team an opportunity at a higher level,” said Texas Wranglers Head Coach Ozzie Denson. “Maybe it’ll be the D-League. Maybe it’ll be the NBA. Maybe it’ll be overseas. That’s my goal to try to get those twelve guys an opportunity just once in their lives.”

The league has come a long way and now Denson runs the league as its Commissioner. The Wranglers practice at Dallas Christian University and play their home games in Addison. Players who have been around like thirty four year old Wranglers Forward Reggie Griffin point to a number of positive differences from other minor leagues.

“You won’t have dates that are cancelled,” said Griffin. “If you buy tickets to come to a game you’ll have a game and you’ll have a professional game.”

Aside from running a high caliber basketball league Coach Denson also preaches value to his players and you can hear it in their voices.

“They’re not just looking for a basketball player,” said Griffin. “They’re looking for somebody that can conduct themselves the right way.”

“We don’t put up with all that cursing on the court,” said Denson. “You can come to a game and it’s a Christian atmosphere. You can bring the kids and the family. There won’t be cursing or arguing. We don’t tolerate that.”

With eight teams across the south from Jackson, Mississippi and Springfield, Missouri to Austin, Texas, Denson says he would like to expand but won’t rush it.

“I want good owners,” said Denson. “I want people that have a passion for basketball and want to build an organization.”

In the mean time, the teams that are in the league will continue to showcase their players hoping to get the same opportunity given to the NBA’s most recent phenom.

“You look at a guy like Jeremy Lin,” said Wranglers Forward Greg Baker. “He’s getting an opportunity that a lot of rookies don’t get. He got a chance.”

Watch the video in HD above produced by our News Without The Blues team – the only news team in Texas that only reports on positive news! The video was reported by Journalist Chris Blake and shot by Videographer Chris Ghanbari.

Former pro wrestler turned inspirational speaker Shawn Stasiak is preaching to students about overcoming their fears.

“Life’s going to have all kinds of obstacles, challenges and fears,” said Stasiak. “We’re going to face fears but it’s up to us to dig deep.”

He even has created a character called Fobia to help get his message across to young people.

“What was once a Halloween joke has turned into my reality,” said Stasiak. “Fobia is a depiction of me of all my fears and challenges that I’ve had to face over the years that I’ve overcome.”

Stasiak’s father wrestled for more than two decades which resulted in frequent moves around the country and high expectations in the ring. Those are among things the younger Stasiak says he’s overcome and his message resonated with officials at Irving’s Crockett Middle School.

“I think that the primary of topics of facing your fears and surrounding yourself by good people are something that’s going to be really valuable for our students,” said Raymond Edwards, Principal of Crockett Middle School.

“What he says is what our kids need to hear,” said Nancy Innis. “Perseverance, staying with it and don’t let people get in your way.”

So what’s a former wrestler doing back in the face paint after become a chiropractor five years ago?

“Everybody needs a hero, mentor or leader to look up to and it’s my time now,” said Stasiak. “Everything I’ve been through in my life, good or bad, has led me to this next chapter.”

In his next chapter Stasiak hopes he can make as much of an impact as a speaker as he did in the ring.

Watch the video in HD above produced by our News Without The Blues team – the only news team in Texas that only reports on positive news! The video was reported by Journalist Chris Blake and shot by Videographer Chris Ghanbari.

Ping Ping. Wiff whaff. Gossmia. Call it what you want but the Rams at Texas Wesleyan University call it table tennis and they’re pretty good too.

“We have a good team,” said Andreas Ball, one of the Rams top table tennis players. “We don’t have to fear any opponent. If we play at our best we can compete with anybody.”

They’ve won numerous national titles in men’s, women’s and mixed, but since the sport isn’t huge in the United States the roster resembles something you’d find at the United Nations. Not Fort Worth.

“They speak Spanish or German or Croatian like myself and another player, but we try to encourage everyone to speak in English when everyone is together,” said Jasna Rather, the Rams Head Coach.

And one of Rather’s best players is China native Sara Hazinski.

“I started when I was in China at the age of seven and I think my dad pushed me really hard to be good,” said Hazinski.

And Andreas Ball represents Germany. So what does he think of Dallas’ most famous German Dirk Nowitzki?

“I’m a big fan of Dirk Nowitzki obviously,” said Ball.

Schools like Ohio State, Stanford and Harvard come to mind when talking about the top table tennis programs in the country so how does NAIA Texas Wesleyan keep winning every year?

“We have to go around the United States and internationally to different tournaments to recruit our top players,” said Rather.

And the age old question why call the sport table tennis and not ping pong?

“Table tennis or ping pong it doesn’t matter,” said Rather. “It’s a fun game and it’s good for anybody to try to play.”

And at Texas Wesleyan, to win.

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Electric go karts are turning wheels in Frisco.

“They’re really, really fast but they don’t use gas,” said Robert Finley, Co-Owner of Pole Position Raceway.

Pole Position Raceway originally started in California in 2005.  Now, the company has seven locations across the country, and their newest electric kart racetrack just opened.

“The concept was, let’s do indoor karting like we’ve never done before,” said Finley. “It was always done with gas powered go karts. These are electric battery powered go karts.“

Don’t let the electric karts fool you.  Their torque and acceleration are arguably better than any gas kart out there and even the biggest race fanatics say their power is impressive.

“It’s better than the gasoline powered ones, which is shocking to me because I’ve been driving gasoline engines my whole life,” said customer Michael Arden.

“Actually coming in I thought electric go karts, forty five miles an hour there’s no way they can go that fast,” said Brantley Price, employee of Pole Position Raceway.  ”But then after I’ve been in the seat of these at least ten times, every time it’s an adrenaline rush.”

Finley is excited to see so many people enjoying the new concept, and he’s already announcing plans of a new track in North Texas.

“The goal is in about ninety days we’re going to start breaking ground on another one over in on the west side toward Fort Worth near maybe Southlake,” said Finley.

Finley says it’s been hard work opening the Frisco track, but he’s not complaining.

“I’m having a blast,” said Finley. “It’s not work when you’re having fun everyday.”

And he says his goal is to make sure everyone at Pole Position Raceway is having as much fun as he is.

Watch the video in HD above produced by DFW Reporting  – the only news team in Texas that only reports on positive news!

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