Maybe far from perfect, but...

[strongislandsound]

...let's hope that the 2006-07 ABA season has an exciting ending like last season. Yea, I know. A lot of bad stuff happened in 2005-06, just like the other previous campaigns. But this is what you get in minor league sports. Teams come and go, drift away as fast as they appear. Can the ABA have done things differently to possibly prevent some of it? Of course. But such is the nature of the beast.

The playoffs last season were great, especially the Great 8 tournament in Rochester. The Razorsharks made their fans happy by winning it all, and they replace a huge loss (Chris Carawell) with a big signing (Caleb Gervin). They should be strong once again.

Can the new teams cut it? Can the teams coming back do the same? We will find out. By naming John Salley and Tom Doyle to the front office, the league seems to be headed in the right direction. And having SI writer Alexander Wolf as a team owner (Vermont Frost Heaves) has been a positive thing for the league, with the national magazine giving the ABA some coverage every few issues.

I would rather concentrate on the positives instead of dwelling on the negatives. Sure it's frustrating when a team has its act together, but has to cancel a home game because the opponent cannot afford the transportation to come down. But hopefully that will not happen this year (or at least not as often) and the games will get played. There are enough teams that are doing it correctly, with good in-game promotions to get the fans involved. If the league has weeded out some its weak sisters, then maybe the more 'professional' teams will be the majority and not the minority.

[bdaly]

I think there are some great points here. All of us who saw the 'Great Eight' got to see what's right with the ABA. All of those eight teams had a great product on the floor and the ownership teams seemed very committed. While there are some late additions this season that make me a little skeptical--it's tough to sell seats and gain sponsors in two months--the more stringent enforcement of standards should be a good thing. The ABA concept is a good one. The execution hasn't been perfect in the past. However, if Doyle and Salley do what was mentioned, it'll drastically improve the execution.

As an aside, I know the SI organization gained some fans in Rochester. Between the exciting win and handing out some shirts in the semis (and the mascot), I heard some folks mention they have a second favorite team. Too bad they probably won't travel to Long Island, but it was a class gesture.

[nksports]

The problem is the league is set up for failure. The scam is the more teams fold and are replaced by new teams, the more money that comes into the league front office.
It's a disincentive to doing due dilligence, background and financial checks and requiring items such as venue leases, letters of credit and/performance bonds before allowing a team in the league.
I appreciate that there are some people with strong loyalties to teams, but the regular, everyday fan that is paying his hard-earned money doesn't give a rats' petoot about how nice an owner is if opponents don't show up or some pick-up replacement team gets waxed by 75 points.
The fans get angry, players missing paychecks get angry and the league starts to look like a very unfunny joke. A once burned sponsor or advertiser is lost forever.
I agree there is something about the general philosophical concept of a new ABA. It just has the wrong people in charge for the wrong reasons.

[bdaly]

[quote=""nksports""]The problem is the league is set up for failure. The scam is the more teams fold and are replaced by new teams, the more money that comes into the league front office.
It's a disincentive to doing due dilligence, background and financial checks and requiring items such as venue leases, letters of credit and/performance bonds before allowing a team in the league.[/quote]
True, but this could be said for every league. That $20 million expansion fee in MLS sure provides them with reason to let in anyone with $20M. Of course, if someone has $20M to spend, chances are they have the cash to operate a franchise. So, that doesn't make the league unique.

What does make it unique is the expansion fee is so low that people of more modest means can acquire teams. So, the league needs to do more with making sure they have big enough bank accounts to operate teams after they pay their initial fee.

So, is the league setup for failure? No. Its problem has been in the execution. Every league has a large incentive to expand. But, the larger expansion fees do a nice job of screening out those without the financial means.

[TEN]

between a 20 million dollar franchise fee for MLS and a 10000 dollar fee for ABA...

It doesn't take another 20 million dollars to run a MLS team every year...Your $10000 fee to the ABA gives you the opportunity to spend $300 to $500 thousand dollars MORE (if you do it right). The majority of these teams don't realize that you can't do this for a mere $10000.

This league is KILLING minor league basketball...No if's and's or but's about it!

[nksports]

The other big difference is the MLS (NBA, NFL and MLB) will make darn sure you got the money and the venue in place before they give you a franchise. The MLS now won't let anyone in unless they come up with a soccer-only stadium and they are pushing the few remaining teams without one to get one (that's why Hunt just sold off the Wizards).

[psbf]

Not to get off topic here, but as far as the Wizards go, Lamar Hunt sold them to an owner who would build them a new home, which the new owners are in the process of doing.

[BruceB]

With the possible exception of the NIFL, the ABA may be the worst minor league in any sport today. Teams come, teams go, teams leave behind unpaid bills, and Joe Newman laughs all the way to the bank every time some sucker pays a franchise fee. What gets me is that the other minor league basketball message boards on OSC get almost no action, even though most of those leagues may have a greater claim to validity than the ABA. Meanwhile, this trainwreck gets all kind of attention. It's like saying, "Well, I want to buy a CD...Think I'll take this one that pays 3.25% (if the bank doesn't default) and ignore that one that pays 5.05%." This is the same as watching a NASCAR race to see whose car hits the wall and breaks up. What am I missing here?

[nksports]

[quote=""BruceB""]With the possible exception of the NIFL, the ABA may be the worst minor league in any sport today. Teams come, teams go, teams leave behind unpaid bills, and Joe Newman laughs all the way to the bank every time some sucker pays a franchise fee. What gets me is that the other minor league basketball message boards on OSC get almost no action, even though most of those leagues may have a greater claim to validity than the ABA. Meanwhile, this trainwreck gets all kind of attention. It's like saying, "Well, I want to buy a CD...Think I'll take this one that pays 3.25% (if the bank doesn't default) and ignore that one that pays 5.05%." This is the same as watching a NASCAR race to see whose car hits the wall and breaks up. What am I missing here?[/quote]

Actually, I'd put the EIFL in front of the NIFL and ABA. They're waiting 5 to 10 years for their marquee player to get out of prison.

[psbf]

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What gets me is that other minor league Basketball message boards in OSC get almost no attention--
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Yes, I've noticed that too.