aba november master schedule

[hoopsjr]

the aba schedule has come out officially for november...two teams didn't make it, calgary and native america...everyone else has games scheduled for the month of november...brings total number of teams to start the season at 35.

surprisingly, teams like reno, pennsylvania, harlem, colorado springs and jacksonville are scheduled...

[CRUSADERSFAN]

Where did you find this info at?

[hoopsjr]

it isn't out to the public as of yet...

[BBall Fan]

Clearly then, the schedule is still not "out".

Having a draft of some kind floating around is not releasing a schedule.

Again, I'll believe it when I see it. Actually, I won't. I would guess that several, if not many, teams will fold prior to tip-off.

That's just what happens when you only have to invest $10K or less to get a team.

Its called a letter of credit Joe, look into it. It may add a bit of stability!!

[Sam Hill]

Native America didn't make it?

That's odd. Considering all the freaking talking they did about it.

[meyes]

ABAlive now has the schedule for the full season posted. The teams listed above are in/out as noted for the full season.

[Sam Hill]

So these are the 35 teams who are on the schedule:

Arkansas
Bellevue
Boston
Carolina
Chicago
Cincinnati
Colorado Springs
Fresno
Georgia
Gwinnett
Harlem
Hermosillo
Jacksonville
Juarez
Kansas City
Kentucky
Las Vegas
Long Beach
Los Angeles
Maryland
Mississippi
Motown
Nashville
New Jersey
Oklahoma City
Ontario
Orange County
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia
Portland
Reno
St.Louis
Texas
Tijuana
Utah

How many actually begin the season?

How many survive the season?

Who's the first team to fold during the season?

And at what date will the season be truncated?

[meyes]

Sam,
I have enough contact with people who do have inside information to say this about the upcoming ABA season.
The league does have a number of well organized, well funded franchises which are being run by very competent people who are well aware of the league's past shortcomings. The "cream of the crop teams" have made plans to insure that they will play complete home seasons, with high calibur competition at every game.
Ricardo Richardson has already said that there might be some revisions in the schedule. It would not surprise me terribly if a few of the listed teams do not start the season. I believe there is the possibility that one to three teams might not make it all the way. I fully expect the league will get through the year, whatever difficulties might have to be overcome, and be in a strong position to proceed to the 2005-2006 season.
Sam, the league has never yet been as successful As I expected, nor has it collapsed as you have expected. I will be interested in seeing how this season plays out, I expect you feel the same.

[Sam Hill]

Oh, I'm interested all right.

I'm amazed it hasn't collapsed.

But there's a difference between having a league and just kind of stumbling along on life support, just like there's a difference between living and just existing.

You see some people who have ensured their teams will finish the season. I see a whole bunch of teams that don't have names yet, and that are going to get 150 people to their home opener, if that. Weren't you telling us before that Pittsburgh was a very solid franchise?

Let's look at the facts:
1. The league announced the schedule on October 15, less than a month before the season starts.
2. Three of the announced expansion teams for this year were bumped to next year and three others apparently didn't make it, despite Joe's assurances that they were "great organizations with great owners."
3. Harlem doesn't have a name yet, that I can see.
4. I believe several teams have yet to announce a venue.

This is all with under a month to go before the season opens, mind you.

Now this is pure speculation, but just based on what I've seen, I have a hard time believing that the teams are staffed to the point they need to be, and that the investment has been made in human capital to actually be able to pull off professional basketball - you know, with people in the stands, a PA announcer, game programs, that sort of thing. Are we going to see interns coming back from Kinko's in the second quarter of the opener in Chicago again with lineups?

This has not been done professionally since Day One, and regardless of how much you try to spin it, the cycle has been the same. ABA makes grand plans, doesn't follow through, some games are played in front of nobody, a few sideshows like Dennis Rodman, they end things early, someone wins the whole nut and they promise that next year is going to be great.

People have to be tired of hearing about labor pains by this point. Produce the baby.

[Sam Hill]

Actually, you did tell us " I expect most, probably all, the announced expansion teams will play next season. I am very confident about Nashville and Pittsburgh and fully expect Little Rock, Louisville, Vancouver, Portland, Detroit and Gwinette to be good operations. (http://www1.infinitydesign.net/virtual/oursportscentral.com/www/messageboards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=2094&highlight=&sid=67d0e29199fa9095a4a9b8c980dc3ba1#2094)"

I fully expect Gwinnett to be horrendous, based solely on the stuff they allow to be sent out for public consumption with their name on it. How can they be taken seriously? Do the rules of common business practice and PR take a back seat? How long do these people get free passes before they have to start acting like an actual basketball league - one who's idea of a national TV contract is not a TV contract in African nations or wherever it is?

To paraphrase something you said to me once - you have strayed into an area where you don't know enough to have an informed opinion.

[meyes]

Sam,
Do you consider Harlem a whole bunch of teams?
There are two other teams without logos. That cetainly does not help marketing or show great preparedness.

[Anonymous Hardhat]

Meyes,

You consistently amaze me with your desire to defend the undefendable. Sam Hill is correct. This league may have strong owners that are financially capable of successfully operating their teams. However, they have involved themselves with good people with no money or bad people with no morals, all of whom create a negative image of the ABA that cannot be overcome by their so-called contingency plan. How can you have a contingency for a situation where the Pennsylvania Pit Bulls don't show up in New Jersey for the final homestand of the ABA season? Are you going to call up Boston to hop on a plane and come down to New Jersey on a moments notice? No. New Jersey is going to have to refund its ticketholders and sponsors for those games. Worse yet, New Jersey is going to have a hell of a time trying to sell season tickets for the next seasons when the ABA promises everyone (for the fifth time) that it has worked out all of the kinks and is finally going to provide a "professional" basketball leagues.

I am not trying to undermine or bash this league. I (along with Sam and others) would love to see the ABA flourish and expand. However, we are tired of a good thing being ruined by bad people. Joe Newman and Ricardo Richardson are bad people who won't set their egos aside and do what is best for the ABA by handing it over to someone that is more capable of running it. If you think about it, they aren't even good business people. They both have a financial stake in the ABA, yet they are more worried about their ego than handing it over to someone that can increase the value of that stake.

At some point, people aren't going to care anymore. Such apathy will ultimately lead to good people (like the owners that you mention) going elsewhere with their time and money and enthusiasm. It will be sad, but true. Let's hope that Joe and Ricardo open their eyes long before that happens.

Anonymous Hardhat

[Haro]

If you look at this article ( http://www.oursportscentral.com/sports/?display=&t_id=1402 ) it says that reno will be postponing their season till 2005, and if you look at the article (http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3092876&l_id=&t_id=) it says that calgary is playing utah on the 16th of nov. Reno is also not on the west/red division. i would assume that calgary still has a team and they accidently put Reno when they mean Calgary.

[Sam Hill]

I stand corrected.

One team that is set to play this year doesn't have a name yet.

This, of course, means that I was totally wrong and the ABA will be a huge success this year. :roll:

[patmc16]

Actually, you did tell us " I expect most, probably all, the announced expansion teams will play next season. I am very confident about Nashville and Pittsburgh and fully expect Little Rock, Louisville, Vancouver, Portland, Detroit and Gwinette to be good operations. (http://www1.infinitydesign.net/virtual/oursportscentral.com/www/messageboards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=2094&highlight=&sid=67d0e29199fa9095a4a9b8c980dc3ba1#2094)"

I fully expect Gwinnett to be horrendous, based solely on the stuff they allow to be sent out for public consumption with their name on it. How can they be taken seriously? Do the rules of common business practice and PR take a back seat? How long do these people get free passes before they have to start acting like an actual basketball league - one who's idea of a national TV contract is not a TV contract in African nations or wherever it is?

I expect Detroit or Motown, or whatever they want to call it to be horrendous as well. That is assuming they ever play a game. I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't consider a "good operation" one that, a month and a day until their first game, still has no website, no roster, no head coach, any marketing whatsoever, no tickets for sale to the public, and a most recent press release more than 6 months old. The listed fax and phone numbers for the team are still in 2 different counties. Actually, I'd be willing to bet the phone is a cell number since the team offices are supposedly in Oakland county and the phone is a Wayne county area code. I did a search on the word "Jammers" on both the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press websites, just in case I missed some publicity about the team. Both searches came back with "0" matches. The estimates of 150 paying fans at some teams home opener may be generous for the Jammers. I might go. Not to see a night of good basketball, but mainly out of morbid curiosity. I want to see if they actually play and, if they do, how many people show up to watch. Before I can do that, I have to figure out how to get ahold of a ticket. If they are on sale to the public, they haven't made that info "public".

If you start a new team and no one knows about it and, worse yet, no one comes to watch, did they really play? :?

[mexican fan]

Most of the ABA "organizations" don't have a clue of how to market a team, some of them not even exists. In the case of the Dragones, I might be the only person of the 1,500,000 who live in Tijuana who read the 2 notes about the team here in this page, because the local newspapers never mention the Dragones, thank to the poor organization. If they believe they will draw more than the 500 per game they did last season with the way they're doing things, they're dead wrong. The new AAA baseball team Tijuana Toros draw more than 600,000 fans this past summer, breaking the mexican league record for attendance and leading all minor league teams including USA teams. But the organization did a hell of a job, working with the media four months before the season start.
A lot of towns are hungry for sports, it's up to the organizations to make it work. Saludos Amigos !!!

[patmc16]

As of today the league website has no news, literally. All of the links to archived news releases are gone. The team pages are all dead, taking you back to a blank team page with no team contact info, team website link, team logo, schedule, or news releases. The "teams" page has no teams listed, which I'm guessing is much more closer to reality then it looked yesterday with 35 teams listed.

Some irresponsible speculation: When the information returns, it will look nothing like it did before. The teams that actually have a chance of playing will be listed, but it will be nowhere near the 35, maybe half that. Detroit/Motown (my home team) will be gone, never to be spoken of again (not like it ever really was before). Will your "home team" be gone too?

The only article on the Motown Jammers page on OSC is an article written a month ago today for www.ABAsite.tk. Here are some of the things written in it:

The expansion franchise, according to both General Manager Byron Willis and Marketing Director Gwen Titus, will play ABA basketball beginning in November.

I would love to know how much the "marketing director" gets paid and if her conscience bothers her when she goes to the bank to cash her check? This team has done absolutly no marketing of any kind, anywhere, whatsoever!

From their offices in Detroit, Willis said, “We will be putting out press releases soon,” to which Ms. Titus added, “The website is under construction right now.

Like I said, a month ago today, and no change.

Ask most ABA franchise owners, and they will tell you that one of the most important methods of marketing is community involvement. Willis mentioned that the Jammers have been involved in the Detroit community. “There are a lot of youth leagues out there,” he thought. Ms. Titus simply said, “We’re out there,” she said, “and we want to give back.”

THIS IS A COMPLETE AND TOTAL LIE!!!!!!!!!! Sorry to shout, but......... this team is not "out there". They have not been "involved in the Detroit community" in any way, shape, or form. 99.9% of the population in Metro Detroit has no idea that this team exists, even if only on paper. There has not been a single word about it in either major newspaper...... not one! No mention of them on TV or on sports radio in Detroit either. I always thought the most important method of marketing was one that made the general population aware that you exist!

Now, I am hearing that George Gervin's involvement with this team is the Jammers version of Bobby Hull's involvement with the WHA. He is apparently not really involved with the organization at all. He is just a paid face to put out there. Too bad they never really put him out there. That would require some marketing, which they have done none. The problem is that he apparently hasn't been paid so he doesn't want to be involved anymore. The same thing happened with the Detroit Dogs in their second season. Gervin was owed money for coaching the Dogs. He didn't get it, so he quit.

The ABA and specifically the Jammers are a total joke! Not that I am telling anyone anything new. It's just so frustrating!

[hoopsjr]

from the latest schedule, it looks like reno and native america are out...calgary is in...

[patmc16]

Now, I am hearing that George Gervin's involvement with this team is the Jammers version of Bobby Hull's involvement with the WHA. He is apparently not really involved with the organization at all. He is just a paid face to put out there. Too bad they never really put him out there. That would require some marketing, which they have done none. The problem is that he apparently hasn't been paid so he doesn't want to be involved anymore. The same thing happened with the Detroit Dogs in their second season. Gervin was owed money for coaching the Dogs. He didn't get it, so he quit.

Well, Motown seems to have survived the blackout on the ABA site (thats why I called it "irresponsible speculation"). I think I was right about George Gervin, however. The Jammers team page now makes no mention of him being connected to the team at all. Since the team was announced he was the main name associated with it and now.... nothing.

Today their first press release since April was put out to announce their head coach. 3 weeks and counting. Still none of the other things I have repeatedly mentioned (website, roster, tickets, marketing of any kind). Still wonder where they are, since they are "out in the community." I'm sure they can pull together in 3 weeks all of the things they couldn't accomplish in the last 9 months or so. Yeah right! :twisted:

[SK10171996]

Now, I am hearing that George Gervin's involvement with this team is the Jammers version of Bobby Hull's involvement with the WHA. He is apparently not really involved with the organization at all. He is just a paid face to put out there. Too bad they never really put him out there. That would require some Marketing (http://searchmiracle.com/text/search.php?qq=<a target=)">marketing (http://searchmiracle.com/text/search.php?qq=Marketing)</a>, which they have done none. The problem is that he apparently hasn't been paid so he doesn't want to be involved anymore. The same thing happened with the Detroit Dogs in their second season. Gervin was owed money for coaching the Dogs. He didn't get it, so he quit.

Well, Motown seems to have survived the blackout on the ABA site (thats why I called it "irresponsible speculation"). I think I was right about George Gervin, however. The Jammers team page now makes no mention of him being connected to the team at all. Since the team was announced he was the main name associated with it and now.... nothing.

Today their first press release since April was put out to announce their head coach. 3 weeks and counting. Still none of the other things I have repeatedly mentioned (website, roster, tickets, Marketing (http://searchmiracle.com/text/search.php?qq=<a target=)">marketing (http://searchmiracle.com/text/search.php?qq=Marketing)</a> of any kind). Still wonder where they are, since they are "out in the community." I'm sure they can pull together in 3 weeks all of the things they couldn't accomplish in the last 9 months or so. Yeah right! :twisted:


Don't worry, Motown is due to become one of the premiere franchises in the ABA, with their fast-paced, exciting brand of ABA basketball. :lol:

[SK10171996]

Now, I am hearing that George Gervin's involvement with this team is the Jammers version of Bobby Hull's involvement with the WHA. He is apparently not really involved with the organization at all. He is just a paid face to put out there. Too bad they never really put him out there. That would require some Marketing (http://searchmiracle.com/text/search.php?qq=<a target=)">marketing (http://searchmiracle.com/text/search.php?qq=Marketing)</a>, which they have done none. The problem is that he apparently hasn't been paid so he doesn't want to be involved anymore. The same thing happened with the Detroit Dogs in their second season. Gervin was owed money for coaching the Dogs. He didn't get it, so he quit.

Well, Motown seems to have survived the blackout on the ABA site (thats why I called it "irresponsible speculation"). I think I was right about George Gervin, however. The Jammers team page now makes no mention of him being connected to the team at all. Since the team was announced he was the main name associated with it and now.... nothing.

Today their first press release since April was put out to announce their head coach. 3 weeks and counting. Still none of the other things I have repeatedly mentioned (website, roster, tickets, Marketing (http://searchmiracle.com/text/search.php?qq=<a target=)">marketing (http://searchmiracle.com/text/search.php?qq=Marketing)</a> of any kind). Still wonder where they are, since they are "out in the community." I'm sure they can pull together in 3 weeks all of the things they couldn't accomplish in the last 9 months or so. Yeah right! :twisted:


Don't worry, Motown is due to become one of the premiere franchises in the ABA, with their fast-paced, exciting brand of ABA basketball. :lol:

[patmc16]

You mean they are not already??????????

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[hoopsjr]

juarez didn't make the cut...the aba will start with 34 teams...the updated (new) schedule is up on the aba website...

[Sam Hill]

Isn't this fun? I mean, it's not like the season is...oh, eight days away or something.

Convinced yet, meyes?

[patmc16]

Motown has a whole 15 days left til there opener on the 20th. I guess that's why they haven't marketed the team yet. They DO have a whole extra week! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Check out abasite.tk. No, I would say he is not convinced.