View Full Version : Time for action
Hopefully, by this time tomorrow(Fri), we'll be talking about the results of the first night.
Unfortunately, the Pgh. Xplosion began their first game in the CBA with a 126-101 loss in Albany. Hopefully things will improve for us on Sat..
Chuck the Writer
12-01-2006, 11:04 PM
The Pittsburgh-Albany game was pretty exciting. The Xplosion took the first quarter, then Albany roared to a big lead and took the second quarter point. Albany finished by taking 5 of 7 standings points (for all new CBA fans, the quarter point system can earn a maximum of seven standings points for each game - 3 for a win and 1 for each additional quarter in which you outscore your opponent). Kevin Pittsnoggle got the first points for the Xplosion, and he played pretty well - a little sporadic, had some trouble trying to guard TJ Thompson. Albany's Jamario Moon dunked I think about 6 times, and their new rookie Klaiber pulled down some key rebounds and got some clutch scores.
I got some great action photos at the game, will be uploading them to various sites either tonight or tomorrow.
It's good to see Kevin get his first points as a pro and I'm glad that we were competitive tonight. Hopefully it won't take us too long to adjust to this new league(new for us). I look forward to seeing the pictures.
Chuck the Writer
12-02-2006, 08:47 AM
There's a shot already up on pittsburghxplosion.com, it features Albany's TJ Thompson ready to score, only to find a big Kevin Pittsnogle in his way. Click here to see it:
http://www.pittsburghxplosion.com/images/Players/pittsnogle_albany.gif
I know(ty), I visit that site frequently. According to their paper, the turnout was 1,597.
Besides Albany, Utah, Yakama and Butte won.
utahstarsticketholder
12-02-2006, 03:11 PM
I was on shift at the firehouse last night but on the telly The Eagles game was covered but looking behind the action on the court the crowd could not have been more than 100! Not good! Hope to attend a game next week, if they are still in business.
From what I'm learning, the average turnouts are around 1,500.
Ken, Steelheads fan
12-02-2006, 07:22 PM
From what I'm learning, the average turnouts are around 1,500.
psbf,
Maybe my math is a little rusty. I thought Average attendance = Total Attendance / games played.
Around 1500? Where are you getting your input data? I can't seem to find the same numbers.
Sam Hill
12-02-2006, 08:13 PM
Pittsburgh 101 @ Albany 126 (1,597)
Indiana @ Butte (1,213)
Great Falls 92 @ Yakama 105 (3,062)
Minot @ Utah (unknown, but wasn't much, apparently).
The average of the three games for which we have numbers is 1,957.
The Utah game did give us this nugget, from the team release:
"The Utah Eagles shook off early game jitters, a 19 point deficit, and a talented Minot team to win its home opener, 134-120 Friday in Salt Lake City. The Eagles fell behind early and seemed well on their way to a blow out loss, before spreading its wings and high flying to the going away win over the Skyrockets."
Can't anybody in minor league basketball write? Anybody? That's God-awful.
Ken, my figures came from the local newspaper articles online. As for Utah, from the fan discussion(on the Eagles sight), one fan who was apparently at the game, reported that their turnout had to be about 100 tops.
bdaly
12-03-2006, 01:56 AM
Not surprising on Utah. The CBA wasn't wise to follow the ABA's mistakes with large markets (especially given the CBA's cost structure). Utah isn't so large that it would be impossible to get coverage if they did everything right, but judging by the opening night crowd, they aren't doing a whole lot right. Hopefully they have the financial depth to complete the season with under 100 season ticket holders. Atlanta will be even more daunting, so they might be wise to reconsider that one unless they start marketing very early.
Yakama did well at the gates at least. Minot looks like one of the more promising additions judging by their web presence anyways. It'll be interesting to see how they do.
The Eagles are competing with the NBA Jazz, I don't know when their next game is, so the Eagles have to promote to compete.
I'm looking forward to when the Xplosion open up on Wed., to see what our crowd looks like. From what I've read, our season tickets have risen since we joined.
I also feel that the team is improving since our opening loss against a tough Albany team.
bdaly
12-03-2006, 01:08 PM
Pittsburgh looks like they're the best promoted CBA team this year (at least from a public relations perspective). They're getting great coverage from what I can see in the newspaper. It's very impressive for a market that should be more challenging than many of the other smaller CBA markets. I hope they draw well. Off the court, they could be the class of the league along with Yakama.
On Utah, I have my doubts. Some AHL teams have done fairly well in large markets by either being tied to the NHL team or by establishing themselves as the affordable, family friendly alternative. But, usually they get some initial buzz going in the community. Utah hasn't done that, and you don't see that many great come back stories in the minors. You either start with a bang or crash and burn.
heavesrock
12-03-2006, 08:14 PM
There are pics on the Eagles website. It is more than 100, but is far from a sellout.
bdaly
12-04-2006, 12:42 AM
Yes, definitely not a great crowd, but it's certainly more than 100. Minot's crowd isn't reported on the box score as of now, which probably isn't a good sign. Opening on Sunday probably didn't help their cause though.
rice_web
12-04-2006, 01:01 AM
Yes, definitely not a great crowd, but it's certainly more than 100. Minot's crowd isn't reported on the box score as of now, which probably isn't a good sign. Opening on Sunday probably didn't help their cause though.
Reported ~1864 at the game, but rough head count yielded 700. Opening on a Sunday with near-blizzard conditions in the area didn't help, but frankly, this team is going to have to do a better job of marketing themselves. This community will gladly support the Skyrockets given the rich tradition of basketball in the Magic City, especially given the quality of the play and presentation that Kim Mueller and team has put together.
And what a performance it was. The production value is far and away better than that of the IBA days. It is clear that the Skyrockets are an organization looking out for detail. But after seeing games at the Betty Engelstad Arena, the Alerus Center, and the Bismarck Civic Center across the state, it is clear that the Civic Auditorium is antiquated even for the state of North Dakota. But the arena issue isn't too important for Minotians; they just want to see good basketball with a good atmosphere.
And they Skyrockets have both.
I fully expect that word of mouth will bring more fans to the gates, and that within only a couple of weeks, they'll no longer have to inflate their attendance figures.
panchess
12-04-2006, 09:59 AM
.. I am guessing that is what they reported.
I actually like Minot's scheduling of Sunday afternoon games, particularly if they do some family-friendly promotions.
It looks like, compared to the ABA, that the CBA teams are drawing decent crowds to start the season. With the possible exception of Utah, it is a good sign.
bdaly
12-04-2006, 11:46 AM
.. I am guessing that is what they reported.
I actually like Minot's scheduling of Sunday afternoon games, particularly if they do some family-friendly promotions.
It looks like, compared to the ABA, that the CBA teams are drawing decent crowds to start the season. With the possible exception of Utah, it is a good sign.
Whether paid crowds of well under 2,000 are viable when you're using hotel rooms and flying guys from city to city is another question. Time will tell the story. Great Falls and Indiana are the two big remaining question marks IMO.
Saturday/Sunday afternoons have worked well for the Razorsharks too. Make no mistake, they get those dates due to a lack of arena availability. But, it has worked out pretty well.
utahstarsticketholder
12-04-2006, 08:21 PM
Okay, I underestimated the crowd. After going to the Utah Eagles website, and viewing the pictures, I counted heads in the two good view pictures. The result was within ten "heads".
Between 150 and 160 heads in each picture. The other side of the court had no one sitting in the stands. Add the 30-40 webcasters, officals,teams and coaches. Perhaps a total of 200-210 were in attendance.
I tried to give this estimate on the Utah Eagles website but it will not let me login! I hope I'm not banned from the site! I did ask some pointed but respectful questions as to the wisdom of changing owners 10 days from the start of the season and the lack of any promotions to hype the public to attend! Hardly questions that would challenge the intelect of the team.
In any event I plan to attend tomorrow nights game with my wife to see for myself and support the new franchise.
BTW - When I worked at UFA Firestation 117 across the street from the campus, we played basketball in the same building and court. It is a GYM - on the campus of Salt Lake Community College. It is a nice facility with good seating and sight lines. Hope this team can make it in the CBA. However not good news that a NDBL team is to come to Orem just 30 minutes south of SLC!
BTW2 Larry H. Miller is a sponsor of the Utah Eagles! For those who have never heard of Miller, he is the owner of the Utah Jazz, The Dump (EnergySolutions Arena -was Delta Center), and a million car dealerships and yeah an Indoor Football Team - Utah Blaze.
Remember our troops, jack and cheryl
Chuck the Writer
12-04-2006, 10:37 PM
Dec 4, Indiana knocked off Minot 102-97 (5-2). Will Caudle from Indiana had 40 points, the second player to break 40 points this season, shooting 17-26 from the floor (Desmond Ferguson had a 40+ game for Minot earlier in the season, only notched 18 in this contest). Dayshawn Wright for Minot had 2 points, went 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the line, 0-1 from the arc.
The American division of the CBA (a/k/a the East) is looking rather intriguing, with Albany getting two early wins before their Western road trip, Minot establishing itself, Pittsburgh with some solid scorers, and now the Alley Cats avenging a standings point shutout the night before.
Letzplayball
12-04-2006, 11:40 PM
Dec 4, Indiana knocked off Minot 102-97 (5-2). Will Caudle from Indiana had 40 points, the second player to break 40 points this season, shooting 17-26 from the floor (Desmond Ferguson had a 40+ game for Minot earlier in the season, only notched 18 in this contest). Dayshawn Wright for Minot had 2 points, went 1-4 from the floor, 0-1 from the line, 0-1 from the arc.
The American division of the CBA (a/k/a the East) is looking rather intriguing, with Albany getting two early wins before their Western road trip, Minot establishing itself, Pittsburgh with some solid scorers, and now the Alley Cats avenging a standings point shutout the night before.
Desmond played only sparingly, due to an injury he suffered early in the game. He played a little on the injury, but was visibly in pain. Caudle had a great game, he was on fire. Wright got minimal minutes, after not playing at all yesterday. The kid has talent, he just needs to pull it together. He needs to get his head in the right place. Fair crowd, but we need to see a better turnout.
rice_web
12-05-2006, 12:30 AM
Desmond took a pretty good shot to the ankle on Sunday; did he aggravate it Monday night?
heavesrock
12-05-2006, 08:55 AM
Do you have a estimate for attendance at the second Minot? Could be interesting to see how it compares to the official attendance on the box score when it comes out. Predictions anyone for tonights games? I would follow along on the computer, but instead I will watch the Arizona-Louisville game. GO CATS!!!!
bdaly
12-05-2006, 10:05 AM
There's a picture from the Minot newspaper article:
http://www.minotdailynews.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=7300 (http://www.minotdailynews.com/sports/articles.asp?articleID=7300)
It looks sparse, although I'm not surprised being it was a Monday.
Letzplayball
12-05-2006, 04:11 PM
His ankle appeared fine. He landed on his hip on a scramble for the ball, and got a hip pointer. Hopefully nothing major.
Letzplayball
12-05-2006, 04:14 PM
Do you have a estimate for attendance at the second Minot? Could be interesting to see how it compares to the official attendance on the box score when it comes out. Predictions anyone for tonights games? I would follow along on the computer, but instead I will watch the Arizona-Louisville game. GO CATS!!!!
I'd guess 800 or so. I think they announced 1200...
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