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Dunk brings it home for Lewy body fight

The game was knotted at 18. It had been getting a little intense, some might even say ‘chippy.’

The next bucket would win.

Every  shot was fiercely contested. Most shots brought shouts of ‘Foul,’ and the ensuing usual arguments. 
“You’re holding.” “He traveled.” That’s to be expected when the two best teams in a field of 17 are duking it out.

It was the finals Saturday morning, Aug. 20, for the 2022 MikeMadness’ basketball fundraising event. Lives were on the line.

Say what? MikeMadness raised a Madness record, about $16,000 for research and awareness of Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disease that is always fatal.

I have the disease. So they were playing for me and the other 1.4 million affected by the disease in the U.S.


Jim Bakken/UAB

The event brought 100’s of family members, friends, and curious spectators and thousands of dollars (we are still awaiting official tallies.)

So it all came to down to this, 18-18. Nineteen wins it.

Jim Bakken, chief communications officer at UAB, had the ball in his hands at the top of the key.

“You have no idea how much I look forward to Mike Madness,” Bakken said later. ” Getting to play in it this year with my son and showing him why the day is so special was really meaningful to me.”

His son, Jack Bakken, a 16-year-old hoopster at Mount Brook High School, was on dad’s team. And he was a chip off the old block: long and lanky, only a few inches shorter than his 6′ -foot-6-inch father.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham and the UAB Student Rec Center have hosted Mike Madness for four of the last six years since 2017. COVID thwarted attempts in 2020 and 2021.

MikeMadness has raised a total of more than $55,000 with the the four tournaments.

“So much of what UAB is about – like health and wellness, research and serving the greater good – is embodied in the tournament, and we are honored to join Mike in his fight.” 

Jim Bakken splits the double-team at MikeMadness, a fundraiser to find a cure for Lewy Body dementia. The3X3 basketball event at UAB Rec Center was all tied up and at game point when Bakken drove the lane and slammed down a vicious dunk. (Photo: Trisha Powell Crain)

But what about the game? The UAB team and the Power Ballers have met before in Mike Madness finals. They are usually hard fought games, and this was no exception as it came down to the wire.

”It is a bit of a blur,” Bakken remembers.”I was actually planning to pass to a younger teammate but saw an opening to go left and create some separation. I decided to drive hard and see what happened. As a 44-year-old weekend warrior, my athleticism and ability to drive hard can be pretty inconsistent, but luckily I caught a little burst of adrenaline. ”Without that, I’m pretty sure it would have been a boring but fundamentally sound left handed lay-up.”

Instead it was a slam dunk amid three defenders. The crowd went wild.

NOTE: Early post of this story had the wrong date for the tournament. Correct date was Aug. 20, 2022. Also corrected to say 17 teams participated. For more information see www.myvinylcountdown.com and the Lewy body dementia association LBDA.org.

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Basketball and me

Basketball has long been my measuring stick for how my disease was affecting my game.

And no, I don’t mean that I make up a little game and say to myself if I can make 5, 3-pointers in a row I am cured.

But I did keep close tabs on how Lewy was affecting the various skills that basketball requires. Eye-hand coordination, stamina, and lateral movement. Could I still hit from long distance without too much overcompensation for lost strength? Could I still dribble drive around someone?

Notice how I am writing this, in the past tense. I ‘did’ keep tabs: That’s because sometime in April I made the call to take me out of the game — to quit my Old Man Hoops league playing in a full court run in a church gym in Irondale.

Since the 2016 diagnosis of Lewy body dementia, it was a slow but steady ride down. I could have easily discounted the changes to age — I was the oldest player out there. I am currently 62. I so want to dunk on Lewy.

But Lewy is a master of defense. There is no cure.

In the early years post diagnosis, 2016-2018, I noticed little deterioration in my game. In the middle years 2019-2020 I found my shot was short. and I got winded easier. I sucked it up and created a slogan “Step Up” to remind myself to take a step or two closer than 3-point land. It worked well enough to make me think I could still contribute.

But, alas, as the leaves turned colors and died at winter’s entrance late last year, it was abundantly clear I could no longer play.

I think I tried playing in March or April, and it firmed up my decision.

Now I’m into new challenges like buttoning a shirt, writing on the computer, tying my shoes.

The disease is similar to Parkinson’s disease in which proteins produced by the body form in the brain. The proteins over time kill off enough of the 100 billion brain cells (or neurons) in the average human brain as to be debilitating and ultimately fatal.

This brings me to really the most important reason for writing this. We are having our Lewy body fund-raising 3X3 MikeMadness basketball tournament this coming Saturday (Aug. 20) at UAB Recreation Center starting at 9 a.m. To find out how to register and about the after party at Cahaba Brewing go to MikeMadness.org

This will be our fourth MikeMadness since 2017; Covid knocked us out for 2020 and 2021. We’ve raised about $40,000 for research at UAB and and the Lewy Body Dementia Association, (LDBA.org) Also, see www.myvinylcountdown.com