The Staten Island Basketball League of Craig Raucher Becomes 44 Years Old
Author : Liam Smith | Published On : 17 Jun 2024
The Staten Island Basketball League was founded by me, Craig Raucher, in 1980. It is now 44 years old and will approach the half-century mark very soon. The basketball matches are held at PS 8 in Great Kills, and this institution is one of the oldest public schools on Staten Island. It is Principal Lisa Esposito who is running the institution at present. I am grateful to her since she has made provisions for me to organize the basketball matches in this school.
Surgeries could not prevent me from playing
I, Craig Raucher, am the Commissioner of the aforementioned league, and I have already undergone a couple of knee replacements. Besides this, I had to survive several other surgeries as well. Despite these surgeries, I am playing basketball to the best of my abilities even now.
More than 350 players have played in the SIBL
Some outstanding players from the island have played in this league over the years. The SIBL has been making the headlines in many articles and online publications. Instead of being operated as a conventional league, SIBL is considered to be a top-notch pick-up basketball league. The age of the players participating in the SIBL is between 30 and 75 years. More than 350 players have played right here much to my satisfaction.
Individuals of all spheres of life play here
Here, you will come across a blend of players coming from different sections of the society. There are police captains, ex-convicts, detectives, fire department lieutenants, alcoholics anonymous attendees, stockbrokers, former drug abusers and dealers, factory workers, surgeons, inventors, CEOs, emergency room physicians, and businessmen, as well as retirees, competing right here. Apart from this, you will come across plumbers, subway conductors, union men, carpenters, non-union men, and small business owners in addition to big business executives too. Affluent people, as well as those whose financial conditions are not up to the mark, also participate in the SIBL. High school dropouts, college graduates, PhDs, plus computer nerds can also be found playing here.
Players play here in a competitive spirit
Many players have also battled cancer, and some of them also suffered from Tourettes Syndrome. You will likewise find those playing in this league who have undergone shoulder, hip, or knee replacements. I, Craig Raucher, would like to assert that I had the experience of undergoing total knee replacement surgery at 58 years of age. Once again, surgery was done when my age was 60 years old. It is because I started playing basketball when I was ten years of age and endured lots of damage to my knees over the years. For this, several surgeries were required, and I had to suffer lots of pain.
I had to withstand lots of agony
I had the will to play basketball but I was not capable of moving freely. I had to endure plenty of discomfort. The doctors informed me that it would not be feasible for me to play competitive basketball once again. But I, Craig Raucher, did not break down and made a vow that I would come back strongly. The most interesting thing is that I succeeded in doing that in the long run. Now, I am more than 70 years of age and am still playing the game along with people half my age.
Apart from my knees, I also experienced debilitating pain in my left shoulder. I, Craig Raucher, always shot while playing basketball with my right hand. There was no other solution for me than Arthroscopic outpatient surgery.
Online access
Sometimes I found it tough to comprehend the medical terms. In such situations, I took the help of the Internet. It has helped me to know about the surgical procedures beforehand so that I could become mentally and physically prepared before the surgery. I succeeded in figuring out the anatomy of various parts of the human body including the rotator cuff after going online.
The doctors provided me with an MRI report for me to go through it. I, Craig Raucher, watched the entire surgery online and this gave me a good idea of how the operation was going to be done. I comprehended that the medical practitioner would insert a small balloon full of saline between the rotator cuff and the acromion. This would help me to reduce my pain while accelerating the healing procedure too. It will take roughly a year for the balloon to become decomposed.
Final thoughts
I, Craig Raucher, am rather lucky to find the appropriate orthopedic surgeon who has lots of experience when it comes to performing complicated surgeries. This person happens to be Dr. Gregory Montalbano from Staten Island itself. The surgery took place at New York University Langone Hospital. After the surgery, I, Craig Raucher, can rightly mention that if someone wants to undergo surgery in New York then he should contact Dr. Montalbano without fail.
