Eba

[Wiffleman2009]

Why don't we have a page dedicated to the Eastern Basketball Alliance, from what I see it looks like a good minor league. They play their games and report stats. Am I wrong?

[stevemerk]

I coached in the league back in 1996-97 and they used to play their games on the weekends. Many of the players worked during the week at other jobs. Players got paid $50 to $100 per game. I enjoyed the league but some of the facilities used were not up to professional standards. Many were high school or YMCA gyms.

[preeths]

They did not consistently report scores when OSC covered them several years ago. A couple teams occasionally issued press releases, but they were few and far between, and almost none of the teams got local press. In the end, there really wasn't any reason to have them on the site.

[arlingtonway]

it's true, I live in Harrisburg home to the Horizon, the leagues perennial champs and they don't even post the scores or standings in the local paper

[Wiffleman2009]

I coached in the league back in 1996-97 and they used to play their games on the weekends. Many of the players worked during the week at other jobs. Players got paid $50 to $100 per game. I enjoyed the league but some of the facilities used were not up to professional standards. Many were high school or YMCA gyms.

I think we get to hung up on facilities. It is minor league baskeball, and people realize that. I believe this is where most leagues really over estimate their place in the city. I live in Charleston, WV. Why would a minor league team rent the civic center that holds 12,500 and pay 3,500 dollars a game. When they will be extreamly lucky to get 1,000 paying fans. Probably more like 250. This is iresponsible and a sure road to failure. Why is it so bad to play in a high school gym in a small town and get 500 people out. Most times the rent is free if you let the local boooster club have or split the concessions. People were ripping the WV Wild for doing this at Sherman High School. I thought it was a geat idea. He had a scimmage game when the wild were in the IBL at Madison, Wv in a high school gym with a one line advertisement in the paper and over 500 people showed up. We all know the Wild and their management have had their problems. However, I believe that an owner who had a buisness plan and a league that their teams would show up. A big if, I know. I think it would work better in smaller gyms and communities. What do you think?

[arlingtonway]

i couldn't agree more about the facilities when we had the harrisburg hammerheads of the cba they played in a 7,000 seat venues but got no more than 500-600 people max. The horizon play at harrisburg high school which holds like 400 people it perfect and is pretty full for games.... Ive been to my share of minor league games and nobody likes to go to a big empty building

[stevemerk]

There is nothing wrong with playing in a high school gym if you are only going to get 200-300 people for a game. The team I used to coach played in a junior college gym that was far too big for the small crowds that we got. We also had a charter bus to take us to games!

When we used to go to Deleware, they played in a YMCA gym and the other teams played in high school gyms. All the other teams traveled in vans. I enjoyed the league but they did a very poor job of promoting themselves!

[Evad]

They did not consistently report scores when OSC covered them several years ago. A couple teams occasionally issued press releases, but they were few and far between, and almost none of the teams got local press. In the end, there really wasn't any reason to have them on the site.
And the difference between the EBA then, and the ABA now is ??????

If your going to have standards for other leagues, then you need to pull the ABA off the boards right now!!

Dont prop up the ABA by giving them space, and then put down another league for doing what the ABA does right now.

[preeths]

The ABA has slipped more every year. The lack of information from the league this year places it at or below the level of the EBA when we removed it from the site. Having said that, we're not going to remove a league during the season.

[stevemerk]

I believe and this is very true of the EBA.... minor pro basketball leagues fail to put their signings, cuts, releases and trades in the "transactions" sections of the major newspapers. Minor league baseball and hockey seem to want to get the word out about their teams and leagues. For example: This was in my local paper this morning..the Jersey team is the only local team for my area. Not one minor league basketball transaction! I deleted the NBA transactions.


National Hockey League
ANAHEIM DUCKS-Assigned D Brett Festerling to Iowa (AHL).
WASHINGTON CAPITALS-Recalled D Brian Pothier and G Simeon Varlamov from Hershey (AHL). Assigned G Michal Neuvirth to Hershey.

Central Hockey League
AMARILLO GORILLAS-Signed G Jamie Vandespyker.
TEXAS BRAHMAS-Announced F Scott Sheppard was recalled by Rockford (AHL). Signed D Adam Davis.

Eastern Professional Hockey League
JERSEY ROCKHOPPERS-Acquired F Mark Lebenns fom Hudson Valley to complete an earlier trade. Activated F David Carpentier from team suspension. Signed G Dejan Perduloski.

[elmirabulldogs1]

Many of what you say about the EBA is true, but compared to the 4 team CBA and the train wreck the ABA is maybe the EBA deserves a second look.
As a Co-Owner of the Elmira Bulldogs we work very hard to provide a very professional Minor League environment at our games. In the past year 2 of our players (David Ruffin and Jerry Cheves) have signed high dollar overseas deals due to exposure from playing for our team and Tic Snow was a very late cut for the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA D-League.
We get very heavy coverage from local TV and media in the Southern Tier Area of NY state and I would put our web site up against any in Minor League Basketball for info and stats loaded quickly after games and events.
True our venue leaves much to be desired as we play in the Chemung County YMCA. With a slow economy it has been a struggle to locate sponsor dollars. But in early March we had a standing room only crowd of 1,100 due to a sponsorship from the City of Elmira and the County of Chemung. We are also proud of being one of the few Minor League Basketball Teams with a Professional Mascot which is a big Red Bulldog named "Brutis". Our games provide a family fun environment for all ages.!! For more info check out the league website at www.easternbasketballalliance.com or www.elmirabulldogs.com

[Irving Thomas]

I guess the Eba i surviving most because they don't charge fees on legaue services as much as others. I saw some franchises are run in leisure centers or by someone who has yet some other sports related activities.. this makes sense to them ad there are no big dollars involved but still they manage to respect many of the theyr fixtures..except for a couple o wild card games..

[Irving Thomas]

I coached in the league back in 1996-97 and they used to play their games on the weekends. Many of the players worked during the week at other jobs. Players got paid $50 to $100 per game. I enjoyed the league but some of the facilities used were not up to professional standards. Many were high school or YMCA gyms.

Which team did you use to coach?