Millrats in the Armory...

[panchess]

..not to read too much into it, but there were three guys in Manchester Millrats sweats sitting at the media table at the Armory for tonight's Albany-Yakama game. Could they have been scoping out a possible move?

The way the Pats played for stretches of the second half, I am sure they were thinking they could have kicked the Pats' butts.

[Patroons1]

Understand the Millrats have their own share of attendance issues but do have a potential new arena in their future and an owner with very, very deep pockets who would like to see NBDL in Manchester NH and the northeast. Not sure how moving the Patroons to Manchester fits into that strategy but could see how the Patroons in the NBDL fits into that strategy.... :o

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Millrats%2Btalk%2Bfuture%2Bw ith%2BNBA&articleId=d4103f45-eca4-4545-a703-ca2cee47952c

[heavesrock]

Understand the Millrats have their own share of attendance issues but do have a potential new arena in their future and an owner with very, very deep pockets who would like to see NBDL in Manchester NH and the northeast. Not sure how moving the Patroons to Manchester fits into that strategy but could see how the Patroons in the NBDL fits into that strategy.... :o

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Millrats%2Btalk%2Bfuture%2Bw ith%2BNBA&articleId=d4103f45-eca4-4545-a703-ca2cee47952c



Not Albany. moving to MAnchester, but Manchester moving to the CBA.

[panchess]

..the Millrats coming up to the CBA. If their eventual goal is the D-League, and they talked to the D-League officials, I can easily imagine the sequence going something like this.

1) The D-League says we like Manchester, but we aren't expanding to the Northeast for another year or two, at least.

2) The D-League says your chances of being awarded a team would be improved if you proved you could operate effectively in a bigger league than the ABA Northeast.

3) Manchester takes the hint, and calls the CBA, who is looking for expansion teams.

4) The Millrats visit the CBA offices, and take in the Albany-Yakama game as guests of the CBA.

While the D-League and CBA are rivals, in this case their interests align. The proven CBA operators, after all, remain the best teams in the D-League.

We'll see if anything happens, but I would like to see some team close to Albany in the league for sure.

[Patroons1]

That would be great....the local rivals in the northeast are one of the things missing in the "new" CBA. We need a real eastern conference with a nucleus of anchor franchises, Manchester, Albany, Pitt, Vermont (ABA), East Kentucky and a Rochester team for example. Atlanta is not going to make it at the risk of stating the obvious. Back in 1984 it was Toronto, Albany, Lancaster Pa, Bay State (Worcester Ma I think), Sarasota Fl amd Puerto Rico...that was the entire east division expanding from the original Eastern League at the time. We didn't play the western division until the championship. The booster club used to have charter vacations to PR or Florida around the away, away trips and bus trips to the closer teams. It was great basketball and great fun. $2 or $3 bucks for a GA ticket that had a first drink free coupon at the back of the ticket stub (for after the game) at the bar down the hill from the Armory on Lark Street (New York Sports Bar). I remember the animated discussions and down right complaining when beers went to $1.25 a cup from $1 and Fritz dancing during the late 4Q time out that all but spelled a loss for the other team in a tight game, down the wire. The place ROCKED. Those were the days.