OurSports Central Independent and Minor League Sports Forums

Well I hope they have enough money, and I hope the pbl has verified this. The league really doesnt need another Augusta.

Miners moved out of there office this past week, from a great source I am hearing...that if demetrius and fiedler will make things right here by ticket holders, sponsors, expo center, and players, that a person from lexington is interested in taking ownership in the team. It would be great to see another owner take over and keep the Miners alive but so far demetruis's track record isn't that great when it comes to paying people it seems, lets just hope jay fiedler will come through for us so this guy can come in and keep pro. basketball here.

I doubt the current ownership will return next season, although I do feel they will make good on their debts. I do however believe the Minors will be back in the PBL under new ownership. Have you ever been to Pikeville? Have you ever experienced bball in eastern KY? There is much interest and surprisingly much money in the region. Not all of Appalachia resembles Loretta Lynn's version in Coal Minor's Daughter.

Yeah, Im from pikeville, and yes there is alot of money around here...and yes we are not as backwards as the tv shows always show...LOL...but I know for a fact Demetruis and Jay are gone...How i work for a local phone company and I took their phone system out of the office...and its empty, plus i spoke to coach...as far as Trinity paying who they owe again i hope so...(who knows) if they do then i would suspect we will see the miners again in one league or another...lets keep fingers crossed

[quote=""runninref""]I doubt the current ownership will return next season, although I do feel they will make good on their debts. I do however believe the Minors will be back in the PBL under new ownership. Have you ever been to Pikeville? Have you ever experienced bball in eastern KY? There is much interest and surprisingly much money in the region. Not all of Appalachia resembles Loretta Lynn's version in Coal Minor's Daughter. [/quote]

Historically speaking, when an ownership group with no local roots closes shop this abruptly, then they have no intentions of paying outstanding debts. How do debtors collect??? There is no property to seize. There isn't a home to go knocking on the door of. There isn't even a person to coincidentally meet on the street and say, "Hey! When will I be expecting that payment?"

This should be a wake-up call for communities considering minor league sports. The ownership group needs local ties, despite the owners' good intentions. Business is business and it's difficult to collect a debt from someone who has left town for good.

I agree with Ken. I am sure the Miners are a shell corporation under the surface with basically no assets.

If the office is closed, the party is over.

My My My...how quickly things can change. Life sure was good for me and the gang in 2008.

The whole organization was mismanaged and mis run. Wasted money- name another CBA club that flies in a mascot from Florida for games then cries the blues about not having any money for debtors. What a joke

[quote=""preeths""]A Miners source said that had East Kentucky moved to the PBL, Shuler would have continued funding the team.[/quote]

I've always found this quote quite disturbing because when people stop paying their bills and start stiffing people, then it is because they have run out of money. It isn't because they rather move to another league. I would take what the Miners' source said with a grain of salt. This organization is out of money. Former and present major league athletes don't want to lose money any more than anyone else. Maybe they want to lose money even less than others because an athlete's career is so uncertain.

Ken I fear that you are right concerning the situation in EK, however I do still hold out hope that they will at least pay their bills as it is the right thing to do. I still have faith (although naive) in the goodness of people.