Explorers, more bad news!!

[jbirdmontana]

Got word from one of the Explorers players that at like 10 pm the Police came and escorted them out of their Extended Stay hotel rooms. Tuckman apparently hasn't paid the hotel at all since being there, and the players haven't been paid in almost 3 weeks. Upon being kicked out of the hotel the players loaded their belongings and got into a van and a Ford Explorer and left to go to Butte, where they are do to have a game tonight I think. Coach Turner has went home to Seattle and won't come back until he gets paid. Marlyn Bryant has also left the team to pursue other playing opportunities that have a guaranteed paycheck. There is a rumor circulating that the Explorers will finish the rest of their home games in Butte, but I can tell you personally that if these guys don't get paid in full soon, there won't be any players to have a team. Tuckman has obviously warn out his welcome with the businesses here in Great Falls, but he is no solely to blame. The players would get paid if the people in Great Falls would come to the games, they can't make money if they don't sell tickets. People in Great Falls constantly whine that there is nothing to do here, well, watching exciting, professional CBA basketball is something to do. But at least with the time they were here I made some good friends with last year's team and have some great memories of alot of exciting plays that I have seen.

[MontanaFella]

That is really sad..

I feel horrible for the players, who are just trying to do the best they can.

You are mistaken though about it not being soley Tuckman's fault. Why do you think people are not coming to the games. Do you remember last year how the games got more and more fans as the season went on? That is because bills were being paid and the General Manager and assistant coaches worked 20 hour days to invite people and make group sales so that the building would be full and the players would get paid.

It all comes down to Tuckman, who would let his players get kicked out of a hotel at 10 pm? He knew two days ago that it was going to happen. The people of Great Falls were ready to get behind the team, then Tuckman came in and sucked the life out of them.

[SUNKINGS]

I would probably go the the SunKings games if they were owned by Rush Limbaugh. But, I cant blame people for not going to GF games, in a smaller community everyone probably knows someone that *uckman has Tucked.
If they let him own a team next year they will pay. Everything in Seattle will cost more.Food,Lodging,arena. And he will end up with a bunch of Sea/TAc guys that can live at home. ABA ABA ABA

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

Got word from one of the Explorers players that at like 10 pm the Police came and escorted them out of their Extended Stay hotel rooms. Tuckman apparently hasn't paid the hotel at all since being there, and the players haven't been paid in almost 3 weeks. Upon being kicked out of the hotel the players loaded their belongings and got into a van and a Ford Explorer and left to go to Butte, where they are do to have a game tonight I think. Coach Turner has went home to Seattle and won't come back until he gets paid. Marlyn Bryant has also left the team to pursue other playing opportunities that have a guaranteed paycheck. There is a rumor circulating that the Explorers will finish the rest of their home games in Butte, but I can tell you personally that if these guys don't get paid in full soon, there won't be any players to have a team. Tuckman has obviously warn out his welcome with the businesses here in Great Falls, but he is no solely to blame. The players would get paid if the people in Great Falls would come to the games, they can't make money if they don't sell tickets. People in Great Falls constantly whine that there is nothing to do here, well, watching exciting, professional CBA basketball is something to do. But at least with the time they were here I made some good friends with last year's team and have some great memories of alot of exciting plays that I have seen.

The citizens of Great Falls aren't at fault in any way. The blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the CBA for allowing an underfunded organization like Apex to put multiple teams in the league. The current problems are simply the bad harvest of seeds planted over a year ago. The same thing will happen with the Miners' organization (remember where you heard that first, lol). The Trinity Group (Miners' owners) wants to own multi-teams also.

I have a few friends in the Billings area...Laurel, to be exact. They say there is nothing to do there also (although they have an indoor football team). Seems to be a recurring theme in Montana. 8)

[panchess]

..as long as he paid the bills. I have no idea of the political leanings of the Patroons' owner, nor do I really care.

Stiffing everybody in town is a different matter. I wouldn't be buying a ticket for this type of vagabond operation with no future either. Actually, if Tuckman formally leaves Great Falls, maybe the league can start working with local people to get a new team in there, though I wonder if the market is just too small for the CBA.

[panchess]

..while they certainly have tried to be multi-team owners in the past (they had the Alley Cats, and owned Pittsburgh for part of last season), this season they only owned the Miners. The result? A team that seems to have built a base and improved their operations during the season. That wasn't the case with the Alley Cats last year.

I think Ken is right on this one. Multi-team ownership is one of those ideas that sounds good and cost-efficient (particularly using a model like Apex, where the geography is relatively close and cross-management and selling ideas would seem to exist), but takes an extremely sound operator to make work.

[besl]

Coach Turner has went home to Seattle and won't come back until he gets paid ... Tuckman has obviously worn out his welcome with the businesses here in Great Falls, but he is no solely to blame. The players would get paid if the people in Great Falls would come to the games, they can't make money if they don't sell tickets.

Trust me, in Tuckman's world, even if the team was generating any sort of revenue, the players would be the last ones to get paid.

And you know the situation is bad when his lackey Rick Turner finalls heads home.

[wellington]

Just when you think things couldn't get any worse, they do... I just hope Tuckman never has an opportunity to own a sports team ever again -- the sad thing is this guy will be doing the same thing in 6 months in another town.

I still can't figure this guy out -- can anyone help me? -- 1.) does he have a good intentions, but is overly ambitious and overextends himself? 2.) is he just plain incompetent and a buffoon? 3.) or is he a con man?

[Pounder]

You know, for some of the crap implied regarding Tuckman, I think it's more a combination of 1 & 2 than it is 3. He don't know that he don't know.

[jjbballfan]

I don't think he is a con-man.... generally those guys can never be found or heard and Tuckman doesn't have that problem....

I think its parts of numerous reasons....
A) he wasn't put in a good situation, he bought a team a week before the season started and either negotiated a bad deal or was conned (I can't tell because neither of the guys seem like the most honest)
B) he shouldn't be playing in Great Falls, say what you want but if he wanted to put 100% into this team he would of moved it back to the Northwest and put it into a community he understands...
c) CBA/minor league basketball isn't what it used to be, the Dleague has alolicated players and gets to put NBA infront of it but it is even struggling....
D) Great Falls is pretty small for a minor league team to start off with, and from my understanding of the history of minor league sports is, local owners do better but they always do better in smaller markets... (if you have 4 business owners that own separate businesses that can help out the team it helps alot)
example
1. owns a hotel- teams stays there
2. owns an advertising company- cheap advertising
3. owns a car delership- has vechicles for the players
4. owns a travel agency- cheep travel

And if all of those guys are respected in the community I can bet that the arena will give you a better deal, the community will be more open to support you and other businesses will be more open to sponsor your stuff...... Some communities need outside owners to get the show started but after a while the locals should pick of most of the slack....

[Sam Hill]

Tuckman has obviously warn out his welcome with the businesses here in Great Falls, but he is no solely to blame. The players would get paid if the people in Great Falls would come to the games, they can't make money if they don't sell tickets.

Ohhhhh, now I see! Damn those people in Great Falls for not doing their civic duty and forking over money to people who don't know how to run a business!

People in Great Falls constantly whine that there is nothing to do here, well, watching exciting, professional CBA basketball is something to do.

At a high school. On a too-short court. With guys you've never heard of, who are indistinguishable from the hundreds of other college players who didn't go to class and are convinced they're just a handful of 30 point nights away from a 10-day NBA contract.

You can not tell me that there aren't other entertainment options in Great Falls, Montana. I mean, I'm sure it's small. I'm sure it's not on anyone's list of the Most Exciting Cities For Nightlife in America.

But you can watch exciting basketball with people who play hard by going to CM Russell High School games. And those guys live in Great Falls.

It's not the fault of the people of Great Falls. Nobody has the responsibility to support a pro sports franchise, especially one that doesn't pay its bills. Be a good citizen. Then we'll talk about supporting you.

And you have to actually try to sell tickets to sell tickets. You can't just open the doors and say "Well, it's up to the community to show up and pay money so that I can pay the players."

WTF kind of business model is that?

[sj2u]

Maybe you're right and Tuckman isn't a conman. Maybe he's just an unethical, morally bankrupt idiot!

[Minor Leaguer]

Tuckman is a piece of work!

[Kev the Cav]

Tuckman is a piece of work!

work.

Well, that is a 4 letter word, so I guess it'll do. Plus it keeps the message board rated PG :p

Kevin

disclaimer: I've never met the man or dealt with him, but chose to poke some fun here based only what I've read in newspapers and message boards. I don't believe EVERYTHING I read, but when 99.9% of it makes you sound bad, there's probably *something* there. If he's honest and doing everything he can to pay the bills he's responsible for then; I'd wish him the best. I'm sure most fans would.

[psbf]

I try to give people the benefit of a doubt. But given Tuckman's resume in the ABA and the many sources identified by the Montana Standard, I don't see any good in him. It's unbelievable that he would actually let his team take the fall with the police taking them in at that hour. I don't think he could ever learn anything. As I said, moving the team to Seattle will only make things worse, they won't accept them. The best thing for the Explorers is a new owner and a fresh start.