In my 20-odd years with D Magazine, we’ve published some important journalism that fills my heart with pride. We’ve solved a few murders and exonerated a man who’d been executed. We’ve pushed the city to rethink its relationship with highways. We got an objectionable statue removed from Love Field. We got a cabal of dirty cops fired. Good stuff. But it all pales in comparison to the accomplishment I can share with you today.
I got the basketball goals at Carpenter Park leveled out. Mostly.
If you missed it, the $20 million Carpenter Park—recognized this year as a Best of Big D winner—features downtown Dallas’ first outdoor public basketball court. When Matt Goodman and I played the first official game of one on one on the court, I noticed that the rims weren’t even. In an exclusive investigation, I discovered in May that they were out of whack by 5 inches. Sarah Hughes, a VP and project director for Parks For Downtown Dallas, told me then that she’d have the contractor figure out a solution.
Well, it’s done. Hughes let me know Wednesday that the rims are now even. I stopped by the court this morning with my measuring tape.
Here is what I can report: the south rim, which once stood at 9 feet, 6.5 inches, now stands damn near the regulation 10 feet. It’s probably a half inch short, but it’s good enough for government work. The north rim, which in May was 9 feet, 11.5 inches, is now about an inch lower. Don’t hold me to this. It was hot this morning, and I was working quickly. I’d say the two rims are within an inch of each other, and they are both close enough to 10 feet that I would still destroy Matt Goodman if we were to play a rematch.
You can see in the image below how they addressed the problem. On the right is a detail from a pic I took in May; on the left is what both poles look like today. I’m not a metalworker, but that looks like some serious metalwork. Soldering? Welding? Phil Swift and five cans of Flex Seal? Whatever was done here, it worked.
So there you have it, Dallas. I don’t know how you guys want to proceed. Name the court after me. Sign me to a 10-day contract with the Mavericks and put my statue next to Dirk’s. Whatever you decide, just know that I will be humbled.
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