Newman about to Crash!

[chuck43]

I am absolutely shocked at Joe Newman's incredible stupidity. Hiring "Rico Suave" Ricardo Richardson as the marketing genius for the ABA was bad enough (this guy was a train wreck and ruined many franchises with his "techniques"), but to give a "Reserved market" to an SI writer.....????

Sweet Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Look what happened to John Rocker, right, wrong or indifferent, when he met with an SI reporter.......key word here is reporter!!.

This writer is PURELY doing this for a FEATURE story that will sink the ABA. No IF'S, AND'S OR DOUBT's about it. That is the ONLY reason he is doing it. He has heard the behind the scenes happenings, the disgruntled "owners", he is putting together an expose that will not only put Joe in jail, but expose him and his moron side kick Ricardo to lawsuits that are untold of.

He is paying $10,000 for the chance to write a story that will grace the front pages of SI.....not a bad trade off for a journalist and a story that is being written now and will appear in 120 days.

[BCRantzilla]

Personally I don't see how this will be any different from the Sally Anthony fiasco last year when CNN covered it. Just because a big media outlet puts damning info out there doesn't mean the league will die. Joe will only be stopped if he is banned by every hole in the wall across North AND South America.

He may even LIKE SI bashing him in print because it will put him in the national spotlight, something he clearly enjoys.

[Chuck the Writer]

Look what happened to John Rocker, right, wrong or indifferent, when he met with an SI reporter.......key word here is reporter!! ... This writer is PURELY doing this for a FEATURE story that will sink the ABA. No IF'S, AND'S OR DOUBT's about it. That is the ONLY reason he is doing it.

Your statement assumes facts not in evidence. It assumes that Sports Illustrated intentionally destroyed John Rocker's career, when in fact it was Rocker's own comments that destroyed his career, and it wouldn't have mattered if he said those words to Sports Illustrated or the Sporting News or Baseball Digest. It's funny - half the time you want someone to expose Joe Newman for the ineffectual commissioner/league owner that he is, and then one post later you are telling Joe Newman not to give a franchise to an SI reporter, because SI will destroy the ABA2000. Which is it?

He has heard the behind the scenes happenings, the disgruntled "owners", he is putting together an expose that will not only put Joe in jail, but expose him and his moron side kick Ricardo to lawsuits that are untold of. He is paying $10,000 for the chance to write a story that will grace the front pages of SI.....not a bad trade off for a journalist and a story that is being written now and will appear in 120 days.

Or maybe, just maybe, this story is about the perils of owning any minor league sports franchise - that anyone who thinks they have a few thousand dollars to buy a franchise suddenly discovers it's more than just matching uniforms, a webpage, a dance team with a mixture of Maxim Girls and Hooters Girls, and some warm bodies on a basketball court - is more difficult than one can imagine. Owning a basketball team in a minor league is more than just an ego-stroke. It takes years of commitment, involvement in the community, sponsorship, stability, etc. Right now the ABA2000 has that in just a few squads, and as soon as those teams jump to the CBA or the D-League next year, what's left? The Vermont Frost Heaves?

Listen, I give Alexander Wolff all the credit in the world, he's an excellent and objective reporter, but unless he can figure out a way to draw basketball fans away from the only hoop team in town (the University of Vermont, whose Catamounts actually won an NCAA Div 1 tournament game over Syracuse), he's got a tough road ahead of him.

[ABARedWhiteBlue]

And in Vermont, there is also the pretty successful Catamounts hockey team taking much of the fan base away from a minor league basketball team.

But, even so, this team is probably guaranteed to start and complete its season next year - which can be said for maybe a half-dozens teams (at best) this year.

[BCRantzilla]

My take on the John Rocker thing was that Perlman goaded him into much of if not all of those tirades. Not that it would have been hard but the whole thing smacked of tabloid crap. (I know much of my stuff isn't much better but at least I don't try to pass it off as hard journalism.) The final nail in Perlman's coffin was the David Wells hatchetjob he pulled later that year, effectively ending his writing career at SI. (At least for stories that made the cover or at all feature stories there.)

With that kind of reputation in the last 10 years of so, I find it hard to believe that any SI article would be taken seriously by anyone. Especially an ABA story. In fact, Newman could probably take his BS to the next level and get away with it.

Chuck43, I support what you are trying to do as I have tried to do the same thing to put mike killbreath away in the hockey world. However, no news article is going to put joe newman in his place. It is going to take hard evidence and players willing to break the code and blow the whistle on the boss. Without either, you've got nothing as I learned the hard way in 2003-04.

[chuck43]

To Chuck the Writer I am NOT defending Newman, I am simply mentioning how idiotic he is to not see through this SU stunt as a charade to sink him or expose him, which I think is GREAT!

And who the hell is "Barkley 34" you keep quoting? I am Chuck 43, I guess you are trying to make some keen observation that I am a Barkley fan or Barkley 34 because Charles number was 34 and I reversed it and used Chuck instead of Charles and 43 instead of 34. Wrong. My name is Chuck Sechler and I was born in Peoria, Il. in 1943.

Nice try though.

[Sam Hill]

Ever asked "What's in it for SI?"

Nothing's in it for SI.

If Alexander Wolff went to his editors and said, "Look. I'm going to do a story about this fly-by-night minor basketball league and how messed up it is, and it's only going to cost me/you $10,000 to do it," he'd be writing for Highlights for Kids before lunchtime.

I don't quite know how Alexander Wolff could sit through Newman's spiel, see that the guy's a complete phony and STILL want to be in the league, but I'm sure it's not because he just wants to write an "expose" on a basketball league that's (arguably) one step up from AAU ball. At least AAU teams show up for their games with players who are actually on their rosters.

You're seeing a conspiracy that simply isn't there.

[skippy]

I agree with Sam, there is no conspiracy.

But it will be bad for the ABA when teams don't show up to play the Frost Heaves, and it will be bad for the ABA when they end the season early to start the Round-Robin tournament of champions.

But....unfortunately, nothing will kill the ABA short of a successful lawsuit of misrepresentation and failure to fufill a contract.

[rams80]

To Chuck the Writer I am NOT defending Newman, I am simply mentioning how idiotic he is to not see through this SU stunt as a charade to sink him or expose him, which I think is GREAT!

And who the hell is "Barkley 34" you keep quoting? I am Chuck 43, I guess you are trying to make some keen observation that I am a Barkley fan or Barkley 34 because Charles number was 34 and I reversed it and used Chuck instead of Charles and 43 instead of 34. Wrong. My name is Chuck Sechler and I was born in Peoria, Il. in 1943.

Nice try though.

1) You're Barkley, or you're 62 years old (which I find hard to believe)
2) I've lived in Peoria for most of my twenty years-PM me a list of landmarks, sights, etc. if you wish to prove that you were born there. (and if the Peoria part is true, I feel sorry that my city cranked out an idiot like you)

[chuck43]

Nooooooooooooooo!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!!! RAM called me an idiot!!!!!! What am I to do???? This man is one of the most basketball savvy people on OSC, I mean RAM is a man I respect, admire, (and he called me an idiot.....), I cannot sleep, eat, hell,.....even breath for that matter. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE Ram, show mercy, I can't live with an idiot, uneducated j++++++s from Peoria LIKE yourself not liking me. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

I need to catch my breath....OK, OK, OK...I am calm. Please Ram, please forgive me

[nksports]

I'm feeling a lot of love here.