They used to say youngsters dreamed about running away from home to join the circus.
Christian Stoinev "did the opposite." He left the circus for college.
His great-grandfather established a circus in Mexico in 1888. Stoinev first performed when he was five, literally standing on the shoulders of his father, a Bulgarian acrobat, in a balancing routine. At 17, he left that life, seeking a sports-broadcast journalism degree, hoping against hope it might lead to a life in basketball.
Turns out it did, seven minutes a night.
Now, he is among a self-contracting troupe of entertainers — independent but united in spirit — who travel the continent making a living during fleeting halftimes at NBA, NCAA and G League basketball as well as NHL and minor league hockey.