ABA Question of the day

[BasketballCoach]

Indianapolis, IN -- The American Basketball Association (ABA) today announced the teams that would comprise the division named after original ABA All-Star Marvin Barnes.

The teams are Maryland, Richmond VA, Norfolk VA, Carolina and Charlotte NC.

That quote is from the ABA league office on July 11th, 10 days ago. Did you know that with the exception of Maryland and the Krunk, neither the other three teams within the division have websites or contact people who respond to emails/phone calls?

So the question of the day is this: How do you name a division that has more than half of its teams that could not begin the season if you gave them until 2007?

One owner had bad history with the USBL (money problems or money taking) and the others are non-existent. His website is one that was formed by the previous ownership of the Raleigh/Durham team and has no information of the current ownership or team info. I doubt seriously there is an arena that has been rented and leased the right way.

The Richmond and Norfolk teams have had no information leaked to the media of any sorts. Normally for an ABA team there are hundreds of releases waiting to go out to someone that will print them. They send out releases by the dozen that were written by their four year old child, oh whoops, that were written by their well educated public relations manager.

Living in Norfolk area, I recall the city looking into leasing the arena to the ABA team or a possible D-League team next year. Tough call.

But with all of the crap from Joe about doing things the right way, he created a division with half of the teams that are not stable nor do they have their arena lease! Please quit insulting the common man. But as long as their are ignorant people out there believing this is the next big thing, then the ABA will keep sticking around. Please wise up folks.

[Pounder]

Hey... this division's teams are as dysfunctional as the man it's named after. Why not?

[minorleagueball]

I'm still trying to figure out how you name a team the "Krunk."

[BasketballCoach]

Forget the name, it is on par with the league. Any league office that would approve such a name either wants headlines or truly believes that Krunk will catch on and be the nickname of the newest member of the D-League.

What about the fact they added another team yesterday, three months after the suspected deadline passed? Please, can you say sucker! And everyone in minor league sports can agree that it only takes a few weeks to advertise and market your team to ensure any type of success. Hell I wonder why they approved them so soon?

They advertised this ABA Summer League forever and now at the end of the summer, they are running a combine at the low cost of $200. Can you say thank you, sucker? If they do well, they will be invited to the actual summer league to play. Let's see, you have the AAPBL running a summer league for two weeks at the low cost of $1,000 per person and now you are running a tryout for a summer league.

Gentlemen, if your league has any respect and credibility, you simply invite the best fifty or sixty men to the summer league with no cost to them. You place them on teams and let them play for six days or whatever, then you let them know that their agents will contact them if they are tendered a contract. But instead you rip people off, many with talent that landed them in D-3 and NAIA in the first place to pad your wallet and then claim you are running a respectful and clean league. Your vision is blurry from being drunk moronic stupidity. You are killing a system that could use a shot in the arm of positive reinforcement.

And if I hear one more comment about these players 'just needing a chance' I may throw up. They had a chance that landed them where it did. The diamond in the rough theory, albeit cute, is way overplayed at the expense of these naive and somewhat uneducated players.

Sorry for the rant but with the new team added 3 months after the fact, the AAPBL rosters looking like, well a division 3 post grad league, it just sickens me that no one can or has stopped the madness. $1,000 to play in a summer league, where are the parents at? I am all about dreams but let me remind you hopefuls, dreams happen when you are sleeping. When you are sleeping the world is passing you by. Set goals, but realistic goals. You accomplish goals while you are awake.

[BasketballCoach]

Owner Duane "Spyder" Hughes said, "The first camp was for guys to make our summer league team and they are vying for a playoff spot in Jeff McGuiness' Summer Pro League. By no means, however, should they be comfortable in thinking they are on the permanent roster. They do have the advantage of getting a longer look, but spots are wide open at every position. Coach Floyd and our GM, Brian Rowsom, are very much still looking for the horses to get us into championship caliber basketball. So, if you can play - sign up and tryout."

I missed these quotes and releases from a year ago. So allow me to share and correct.

First off, the summer pro league his guys were vying for is the Jeff Mcinnis Summer League. Not McGuiness.

And it was my assumption that you would play in the league rather than jump right into the playoff spot, but hey this is the ABA.

And lets go back to this, Jeff McInnis is not a well respected person in the state. He banged on a UNC assistant coaches wife and is known for his shady dealings. So I guess that anything is possible with the ABA and the Krunk.

[tstidm]

Baltimore's team doesn't have a Venue or a name. They aren't selling sponsorships or Season Tickets. I think this team is not even going to start the season. This is deeply insane not to have a name three months from the start of the season. I have tried ot contact the team, but I can't even get an automated e-mail back from them. I have given up on ever seeing the ABA in Baltimore.

[dshaw62197]

tstidm,
I follow Baltimore sports very closely, and NO ONE I know has any clue about the ABA team. That includes some guys that actually work for the local newspaper. So go figure: you've got a new team in town, and you haven't even given the local paper any press releases to drum up interest in the team?!?!?

At this rate, the original Baltimore ABA team (the Hustlers/Claws) will have played more games than the new one. Whaddya say to that, Uncle Joe? :lol:

[ABARedWhiteBlue]

Also, the big announcement on Thursday about the big ABA kick-off has yet to be reported in the local papers.

Are Sidney Crosby, Steelers' training camp and Wild Things minor league baseball - among other things - more important than the ABA's THIRD attempt in Pittsburgh???????

But, this is the same franchise that is still looking for a venue, and is playing in a tournament with Toledo, Columbus and the old Cleveland Rockers of the WNBA (according to their website)...

[Sam Hill]

Jeff McInnis is not a well respected person in the state. He banged on a UNC assistant coaches wife

You gotta respect him for that, at least.

[ABARedWhiteBlue]

ABA League Release:

ABA Pro League Stages Training Boot Camp
07/25/05 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Westchester, CA. The American Basketball Association (ABA) Summer Pro League will offer a training opportunity for candidates interested in employment in the field of professional basketball operations. The Training Opportunity Fair will be held at Westchester High School on July 28, 2005 from 11am - 1pm. There is no cost for application and training. Training candidates must be at least 18 years old, a high school graduate, bring 3 resume copies and identification. Interviews will be conducted on the spot for select candidates.

Candidates admitted into the training program will attend a one to three day boot camp starting August 1st. Some candidates may be offered an opportunity to work at the ABA Summer Pro League to be held August 5-20.

The ABA opens it regular season November 2005. This is a great opportunity for candidates to prepare for job opportunities with ABA teams throughout Southern California. Teams will look to fill positions in Basketball Operations, Ticket Operations, Sales & Marketing, Administration, Hospitality, and Public Relations. If you have transferable skills, education, enthusiasm, an interest in basketball, good attitude and willingness to learn, we're looking for you.

Please, no phone call. Doors will open a the Classroom Bungalow next to Boys Gym at 11am. No one will be admitted after 1130am. For more information, go to www.9sportsentertainment.com. Select the "Career" page. For more information about the ABA, go to www.abalive.com.


Hopefully, someone will be hired who will be more capable of writing a press release than the person who wrote this one...