Courtside seats: priceless
August 25, 2005 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Ohio Aviators News Release
Tallmadge, OH. "There are simply things in life that money can't buy." Ask the fans at any Ohio Aviators game. The three premiere teams in Ohio gathered for a summer league tournament for pre-season bragging rights at the carefully selected neutral site in Tallmadge, Ohio. (The beautiful host city of Tallmadge celebrates its Bicentennial in 2007). The Toledo Ice, the Lake Erie Rockers and the Ohio Aviators of the ABA met for the first time to make a little history. Somebody must have forgotten to tell the crowd and the players that these were being billed as exhibition games. The crowd simply would not allow the players to let up and the players, to their credit, simply would not let their fans down. Jimi Hendrix would have called it an "Experience" with a capital "E". Tallmadge fans did, however, get a close up look at some of the players competing to become "Ohio Aviators" and the stature and recognition it will bring them as players on one of the ABA's premiere teams.
A sneak peak at some of the candidates vying for envied positions with the Aviators. First, there was Dave Johnson who plays with the composure, style and leadership of the San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker. DJ is his name and Up Tempo is his game. Steve "Las Vegas" Vega proves day in and day out that size matters. He has to have the biggest heart because everyday he plays with the most heart. The way LV will take a charge is scary. The notorious Kevin Netter: Slam, bam, thank you Sam. Suitable for the ABA. Recruitable for the NBA. As for Angelo "Big Guns" Edwards, he just may be responsible for radar guns becoming mandatory for all future ABA games. "Big Guns" threaded a backdoor cut pass in traffic to Netter from downtown deep with such precision and with such velocity that "Big Guns" would have been arrested for felonious assault if Netter would have missed the pass.
"Notorious" quickly got rid of the evidence by throwing the rock down the drain for the way too easy slam. Speaking of near arrests, Paul "Riverboat Gambler" Webster made his steals look so easy that the officials could not figure out why he did not have an outstanding warrant or two. There is just no way all of those steals could be legal. "RG" forced the refs to doublecheck the books. The Ruling: You cannot be charged when the hand is quicker than the eye. The Streetball "And One" Dunk Champion, Warner "Big Easy" Cook unintentionally made life difficult for the new rookie photographers. His 40 inch plus twisting vertical took him right out of most snapshots. The photographers struggled to capture each Slam Dunk, more acrobatic and dramatic than the previous dunk. The "Big Easy" is just too fast for digital cameras). Antonio "The General" Robinson, aka the "Soldier" must be related to David "The Admiral" Robinson. His leadership on and off the court is unmatched. Day in and day out, he sets the course so that his teammates follow. Steady and true. As for "Marvelous" Marco Morgan. So strong, so gifted, so unstoppable under the basket. The strength of Samson. The hands of Michaelangelo. Lawrence "L.C." Culver. Strong. Powerful. Dominant on the Boards. Give him RESPECT. John West. Lots of Fire and Desire. Jason Cornute and Dante Simmons. Icing on the Cake.
Part 1 & 2 - Tallmadge Pro Summer League Championship Game: Ohio Aviators 155, Lake Erie 116. Consolation Game: Toledo Ice 133. Rockers 117.
(A little taste of what's coming this season in the ABA - Courtesy - The Ohio Aviators).
For more information, email manhatbren@aol.com or visit www.abalive.com.
Note: OurSports Central no longer actively covers the American Basketball Association (ABA) as a professional league due in part to its inability to publish and play a schedule and the transitory nature of many of its teams. For information on professional minor leagues, please see OSC's basketball section.
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American Basketball Association Stories from August 25, 2005
- ABA Rochester Razorsharks name head coach - Rochester RazorSharks
- ABA Pittsburgh Xplosion names head coach and TV coverage - Pittsburgh Xplosion
- ABA and Pit Bulls to host VIP VMA party - Miami Majesty
- ABA Live Talk to preview schedules Friday - ABA
- Courtside seats: priceless - Ohio Aviators
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