Patent ID: 7909715

Claim:
A basketball comprising: a bladder; a carcass covering the bladder, at least two cover panels positioned over the carcass, the basketball having an outer surface defining a first set of channels that form a conventional basketball channel pattern, the conventional basketball channel pattern including first and second great circles intersecting at approximately 90 degree angles at opposite points on the outer surface of the basketball, and an elongate curved channel forming generally the shape of an eight and intersecting the first and second great circles; and a set of grooves formed into the outer surface of the basketball, the depth of the grooves being greater than or equal to 0.7 mm and less than or equal to 10 mm, the set of grooves forming a second pattern that is different from the conventional basketball channel pattern, at least a portion of the set of grooves being spaced apart from the first set of channels, the basketball being configured for organized, competitive play, the set of grooves configured for receiving a portion of one or more fingertips of a player during use to facilitate shooting, passing and dribbling of the basketball; wherein the carcass defines a second set of channels, each of the channels of the second set of channels has first and second side edges; and wherein at least one of the cover panels extends over at least one of the channels of the second set of channels and the first and second side edges of the channel, wherein the at least one cover panel generally conforms to the shape of the outer surface of the carcass such that the at least one of the cover panels defines at least one of the set of grooves in the outer surface of the basketball corresponding to the at least one channel of the second set of channels.