Originally Posted by Ringer
What I haven't gotten a DEFINITIVE answer on yet though is, can the axis itself rotate while in the air?
Actually yes, the ball can veer in flight..ie the axis of rotation (the entire ball) shift. Due mainly to deformed balls, cover problems etc. As the ball's spin rate decreases as the ball falls toward the ground, you can also see wind gusts move the ball around and shift the spin axis orientation.
I'm trying to think of a perfectly formed and weighted ball and given an inital impact, whether there would be a certian amount of precession of the axis...would the dynamic equations yield any? I suppose from the explanation here: (
Precession - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) the answer is NO...unless further forces/torques are applied.