IBL

[patmc16]

Grand Rapids went on to beat up the Macomb County Mustangs in their inaugural game the next night. I attended said game. Unlike the ABA Motown Jammers inaugural game that I also attended, I will probably be back for more. I believe the final was 143 - 95. I know they won by 48. In the pre game shoot around I couldn't help notice a blonde haired little (he's actually 5-11, but everyone else is over 6') guy on Grand Rapids. I thought, "what's he doing out there? He's gonna get rolled over by these other guys." Man, was I wrong. He was the best player on the floor by far. He is #1 Jason Boucher out of Grand Valley State University. He alone made Macomb County look silly. If this game was any indication the IBL is extremely fast paced. I personally liked it even though "my team" looked bad. I think they practiced free throws with their heals on the line instead of their toes! More Mustang free throws bounced off of the front of the rim then actualy went in. There were even a few airballs from the line!

BTW: Grand Rapids scored 99 in the first half of the game against Vancouver!

[CRUSADERSFAN]

Grand Rapids went on to beat up the Macomb County Mustangs in their inaugural game the next night. I attended said game. Unlike the ABA Motown Jammers inaugural game that I also attended, I will probably be back for more. I believe the final was 143 - 95. I know they won by 48. In the pre game shoot around I couldn't help notice a blonde haired little (he's actually 5-11, but everyone else is over 6') guy on Grand Rapids. I thought, "what's he doing out there? He's gonna get rolled over by these other guys." Man, was I wrong. He was the best player on the floor by far. He is #1 Jason Boucher out of Grand Valley State University. He alone made Macomb County look silly. If this game was any indication the IBL is extremely fast paced. I personally liked it even though "my team" looked bad. I think they practiced free throws with their heals on the line instead of their toes! More Mustang free throws bounced off of the front of the rim then actualy went in. There were even a few airballs from the line!

BTW: Grand Rapids scored 99 in the first half of the game against Vancouver!

How was the attendance?

[patmc16]

How was the attendance?

I do know it was way better than the Jammers home opener. It's hard to say for sure since I couldn't sit across from the crowd. I understand the gym they play in holds about 1,500, but they only opened one side. No one sat behind the benches. The side that was open was a good part of the way full. If each side holds 750, I would guestimate the crowd between 500 and 600. Big surprise... you have a functioning website and sell season tickets ahead of time and get a couple of stories in the local weekly paper and, what do you know, people actually show up. The Jammers, with none of those, were lucky if they pulled 200 for their first game and they were the only minor league team in town. The Mustangs managed 3 times the crowd and they have to share the market with the Detroit Pros.

As a side note, and not that I want to turn this into an ABA thread, but I spent a couple of moments speaking with David Myers' mother and she told me something I hadn't heard before. Myers played for the Jammers and now plays for the Mustangs. I happened to be behind her as we walked into the gym and over heard her comment on how it was nicer than the Jammers home (before they became a road team), so I told her how I went to their first game as well. She asked me if I had gone to the game that got cancelled at halftime?!!!!! I never heard about that one. Apparently they had to call the game because the refs walked out at the half because, when it was time for them to collect their $$, they were told they wern't getting paid that night! I don't know why I was shocked, afterall, that's the ABA. I wonder if that was one they counted in the Jammers record or not? I also wonder how many other stories are out there that we haven't heard?

[patmc16]

There is a photo from the game with the crowd in the background on the Mustangs web site.

http://www.macombcountymustangs.com/

BTW, I made it into this pic. That's me in the red shirt if you look directly above the name on the back of #00's jersey. That's Boucher between the shooter and the crowd under the net.

[Pounder]

Once again proving that I'm easily humored...

http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregon ... xml&coll=7

Four pages of this, no less!

I could chide Terry Emmert for his "vision" in this case... or I could side with him against the tennis snobs. Or both!!

[patmc16]

Those quotes were great for some laughs. I side against the tennis snobs. What a bunch of wrinkled up rich a-holes. They don't have anything better to do than this? Kind of reminds me of the Grosse Pointe (rich Detroit suburb) old women who got their addresses changed from 5 digit to 3 digit numbers because a lower number is "higher class." They just don't have enough to do with their time while their husbands are making all the $$ "working late" with their secretaries.

"I'm shopping for a new club," Kris Pimienta said. "It's terrible. I've been playing here for so long. All our friends are here, and now we're going to be separated."

WHAAAAAAAAA! If they are snobs too, then they can all leave and stay together somewhere else.

Emmert questioned whether opposition to the Chinooks was racially motivated. Most of the team's players are black. The majority of Eastmoreland residents and tennis club members are white. "That's insulting," she said. "I'm appalled he would even think that. We have black members at the club. He's really reaching for an answer."

They forgot to add where she said she might be able to remember some of their names if she thinks really hard. I don't usually think racism, but its hard not to here.

"I've got nothing against basketball," Guimary said, "but dog-gone it, we joined the club to use the tennis facilities."

It's 20% of the courts for 3 months of the year, dog-gone it. Get over it.

Holding spectator basketball games at the club, Kohler said, "does not appear to be a legal use of the property, which is why (Emmert) would need to go through a land-use review to make it legal."

I'm guessing they wouldn't complain if the court was used for a tea party or antique auction.

Deborah Reiersgaard, vice president of the Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association, said residents are worried that night basketball games will increase noise, traffic and trespassing in the upscale community.

Ya, and it might bring in the "undesirables", eh Debbie?

Emmert said he does not share the concerns of members, who pay individual monthly dues of $87.50.

"I pay probably in excess of 2,000 percent of what they pay for dues," he said. "You're not going to please everybody."

There's telling 'em like it is.

[CRUSADERSFAN]

I side with Emmert as well, but he should move out if he wants the team to survive past this year, he needs to move them out.