No refs, no team ... no USBL?

[HAC]

No refs were assigned to Cagerz-Dodge game.

Gray travels to Jackson MS .... No Jackson. They must be closed for business.

Delaware's future undetermined.

Boy, oh, boy. This is beyond looking bad.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

No refs were assigned to Cagerz-Dodge game.

Gray travels to Jackson MS .... No Jackson. They must be closed for business.

Delaware's future undetermined.

Boy, oh, boy. This is beyond looking bad.

Jackson is still there. The owner went AWOL though. Obviously, the owner's ego is bigger than his pocketbook. At least the guy who wanted to bring back Rockford as a USBL team didn't get past first base like Mr. Moore.

I wonder about the ref situation though. Aren't there local refs in the Salina area with a lot of time on their hands on a Monday? Couldn't they fill-in? Don't the Cagerz have a few ref shirts in a back room somewhere?

I still think teams have to help-out when they can. What happens next year with the remaining teams and the USBL is for next year. Now is a concern.

[HAC]

Jackson is still there. The owner went AWOL though. Obviously, the owner's ego is bigger than his pocketbook. At least the guy who wanted to bring back Rockford as a USBL team didn't get past first base like Mr. Moore.

I wonder about the ref situation though. Aren't there local refs in the Salina area with a lot of time on their hands on a Monday? Couldn't they fill-in? Don't the Cagerz have a few ref shirts in a back room somewhere?

I still think teams have to help-out when they can. What happens next year with the remaining teams and the USBL is for next year. Now is a concern.

Trust me, Jackson is gone.

By the time they realize there are no refs it's too late to start calling around. People are ready to leave. And they must use refs with SOME knowledge of the professional game. This isn't the YMCA ... OK, maybe it is.

Salina has two USBL refs, one was in Wichita.

[BreakersFan]

No refs were assigned to Cagerz-Dodge game.

Gray travels to Jackson MS .... No Jackson. They must be closed for business.

Delaware's future undetermined.

Boy, oh, boy. This is beyond looking bad.

Add Brooklyn to the wobbly list as well. So the league may be down to 5 teams before too much longer.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

Trust me, Jackson is gone.

By the time they realize there are no refs it's too late to start calling around. People are ready to leave. And they must use refs with SOME knowledge of the professional game. This isn't the YMCA ... OK, maybe it is.

Salina has two USBL refs, one was in Wichita.

Just my dry (too dry, I guess) sense of humor. I meant, Jackson the city was still there. Heck, the team and the coach were still there too. All dressed-up with nowhere to go.

Referees: It wouldn't be too late to start calling around if there was a short list of available local refs already in place. It's all about organization. It also depends on how hungry refs are around there. I know I'm about to compare apples to oranges, but I was at a Northern League baseball game last year when the umpires got stuck in traffic. There was a qualified umpire sitting in the stands--I dunno, eating a snowcone or something. They gave him a uniform and he helped ump the game. No problem.

[HAC]

Just my dry (too dry, I guess) sense of humor. I meant, Jackson the city was still there. Heck, the team and the coach were still there too. All dressed-up with nowhere to go.

Referees: It wouldn't be too late to start calling around if there was a short list of available local refs already in place. It's all about organization. It also depends on how hungry refs are around there. I know I'm about to compare apples to oranges, but I was at a Northern League baseball game last year when the umpires got stuck in traffic. There was a qualified umpire sitting in the stands--I dunno, eating a snowcone or something. They gave him a uniform and he helped ump the game. No problem.

Ha, I almost thought that's what you meant!

I'm not sure exactly when they knew no refs were coming. About 10 minutes after scheduled tipoff there was an announcement that the refs were on the way.

I'd say about 20 minutes later came the announcment that the league had forgot to schedule officials -- so I'm not sure why they made the first announcement.

Like I said, Salina has two USBL sanctioned officials and one wasn't in town. And if I'm a high school or college ref I'm not sure I'd jump into a USBL game if I was caught up on the rules, etc. Not for the money they pay.

The crowd would have been kind, not sure about everybody else.

[panchess]

...I am guessing Delaware will be folded next.

The Gary papers reported a May 3 game with Albany, which was originally scheduled for Delaware, and the Pats' web site says Brooklyn.

Personally, I hope it is Gary. They have a good team and will show up. I can't go Friday, but can on Thursday, and don't want to drive the 35 miles for a black hole.

[HAC]

...I am guessing Delaware will be folded next.

The Gary papers reported a May 3 game with Albany, which was originally scheduled for Delaware, and the Pats' web site says Brooklyn.

Personally, I hope it is Gary. They have a good team and will show up. I can't go Friday, but can on Thursday, and don't want to drive the 35 miles for a black hole.

I've been told that Delaware is done.

[Okinenid]

I'm from Oklahoma so I don't know much about the other leagues. Can someone tell me what the problems are? What is the problem with the CBA? Why did Gary bail out of that one? From what I read on this board, every leagues seems to have lots of troubles and all are pretty shakey. Is that true or am I interpreting incorrectly? :)

[MJHankel]

I'm from Oklahoma so I don't know much about the other leagues. Can someone tell me what the problems are? What is the problem with the CBA? Why did Gary bail out of that one? From what I read on this board, every leagues seems to have lots of troubles and all are pretty shakey. Is that true or am I interpreting incorrectly? :)

Well, Gary bailed from the CBA (according to the ownership) due to lack of stability and cost. Basically it would be better to pay less for the league and more for the promotions if you are gonna have an unstable league no matter what.

The CBA had multiple teams leave for the NBADL and some fold after the 2006 season and the league counteracted this by replacing them with ABA teams and a few new ones owned by one owner. Basically, it looked sketchy and the fact that it went as well as it did was a surprise. Though it still is not the most stable league.

When it comes down to it Gary is probably better off in a spring league due to the lower franchise fee and less competition. Once they can regain their CBA fanbase and reach out to new fans they should do much better (I hope). I am just hoping the USBL does not kill them now.

I actually have a question, does anybody think that the Steelheads will survive after this season if the USBL dies?? I really hope that neither die I am just curious if anybody (with better knowledge then me) has any thoughts on the matter???

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

I really had to go way back for this quote 10/28/2006.

I was wrong in assuming the stable USBL franchises would jump ship to the WBA, but I was right when I stated that the CBA was in better shape than the USBL. The USBL would be ok if they just need to stop expanding (maybe add one more chicago area team) and focus on keeping the 6 franchises they have afloat. Jackson and Delaware were just awful expansion choices. The league must also stop its practice of operating teams in the New York Area.
Brooklyn and Albany will suffice for the foreseeable future.

The CBA is in better shape than the USBL?!? It's only been one season for the CBA and the USBL season isn't over yet. Too early to tell.

MJ,
The Steelheads' viability is not tied to the future of the USBL. The USBL just happened to be a better choice than the CBA. You're right on the money with your assessment of the situation. If you're going to be in a flakey league, then you might as well be in a less expensive flakey league.

[HAC]

The Dir. of Operations has been asleep at the wheel. He did not know that Jackson did not have a venue? .

Maybe he didn't know Jackson had a team.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

The USBLs expansion efforts are comical. (as is your reply)...

Well, I try to entertain.

It's still too early as I stated before, but you'll find that out with time. The CBA wasn't an option, as I've also stated. Just forget the CBA and Gary. Forget Rockford and the CBA. It's not gonna happen. No, I'm not in denial about the USBL. It's also too early to tell, but maybe the Steelheads have found their niche in the spring.

...I saw that it cost Gary 8,000 to travel to Jackson. Maybe I should take a volunteer job auditing the Steelheads and bring those dudes into the 21st century. That trip should not have cost one penny over $5,000. You can fly a team from Seattle to Miami and back with hotel rooms and car rentals for $7,500.

How do you think the steelheads are able to attract great talent? First-rate travel and accommodations. :rolleyes:

[panchess]

..but it's easier said than done. A cluster is only as good as its weakest link. Look at Long Island/New Jersey this season. Nebraska won the championship last year and folded.

Maybe copying the summer league model, with multiple teams in one location, might work, particularly in a big city like NYC. Four teams there would hardly make a dent.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

This is kind of off-topic, but this is what I mean when I keep saying time will tell and it's still too early. The first year the Arkansas Rimrockers hit the scene I was told how great a franchise they were and would be. However, Alltel arena was inappropriate for minor league hoops from day one. Now look at the Rimrockers:

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Sports/189137/

They want to relocate to LaCrosse, Wisconsin now? Forget about it. The CBA has already failed there. The NBADL won't do any better.

[panchess]

..I just used New York City as an obvious example because the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx each have over a million people, and obviously could serve as independent market areas.

Many people laughed when short-season, class A baseball was introduced to Brooklyn and Staten Island, wondering how that could possibly work in the biggest city in the country with two major league teams.

The Cyclones sell out practically every game. Staten Island hasn't been as successful, but they are still there.

[PHXfan]

I think staten island may have some potential as a good market. Just sign some local kids from the college there (CSI), or maybe even a bosnian, italian, and albanian kid to get support from the diverse population.