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Duane "Spyder D" Hughes Named Director of Entertainment

October 27, 2009 - American Basketball Association (ABA) News Release


Indianapolis, IN. The American Basketball Association (ABA) today announced that Hip-Hop pioneering legend, Duane "Spyder D" Hughes has been named Director of Entertainment. The position was created to help the league's fifty-plus teams create "the fusion of music and sports" throughout the country when the league begins play in December. "As a former and current team owner, I know first hand how important musical entertainment is to the sports experience - this has long been a goal of the ABA," stated Hughes. "However, since the league was revived, they have had growing pains, and have had a number of arrows slung their way. I was once one of those slinging arrows myself. I came back to the ABA though; I believe in the long time owners, and the newer owners seem better prepared for the challenges. I loved the original ABA and it has always been my goal to help revive the spirit of the original league. I think being in this position gives me the greatest chance of realizing that goal."

Hughes is currently the President and CEO of the ABA College Park Spyders that will begin play in the 2010-11 season, a team that features former And1 superstar Phillip "Hot Sauce" Champion as its star and captain. "This is quite a challenge and I have already begun to reach out to my peers in the entertainment industry such as Harold Whaley, Arthur Mitchell and Billy Wilson, President of the Motown Alumni Association as well as Al Pizarro of Heavy Rotation Promotion," added Hughes. "We are conjuring up all sorts of fan-friendly and affordable entertainment promotions that owners can bring to their basketball fans like Motown Night, Rap for Armed Forces and a myriad of other creative specials."

Hughes also plans to utilize his position to give back to the communities in all ABA cities. "I will be sitting down with my partner, Glen Toby, my former Queens rap rival and current super sports agent, who is also the Founder of the Book Bank Foundation. Through the Book Bank, we will reach out to local businesses to get involved and help children go to games that their parents may not be able to afford, while putting some books and school supplies in a swag back pack. All of us are rolling up our sleeves and diving in right now," Hughes continued. "I began my music career as a teen and was the first rapper to start my own label at the age of nineteen. Ever since then, I always felt that there was a synergy between music and sports and that no one until now has truly merged the two. It is not surprising that the ABA is on the cutting edge of this new endeavor. When it comes to creative, out of the box thinking, it's "no holds barred" with this league."

"We are thrilled to have Spyder and his associates involved with the ABA," stated Joe Newman, ABA CEO. "They are a truly remarkable group of people with tremendous contacts, tremendous experience, tremendous creativity and we believe that they will help take the league to a new level - starting with the introduction on our first televised game on VERSUS on Saturday, November 28th at 2pm."

The ABA is the largest professional sports league in the US. It is also the most diversified professional sports league in the country with nearly 70% of its owners being African American, Native American, Asian, Hispanic or women. The league employs over 2000 people including staff, players, coaches, management and fills 800+ venue dates at schools, colleges and civic arenas providing much needed revenue and works directly with Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCA's, youth groups and schools with mentoring programs as well as fund-raising efforts. "We consider this to be a giant step forward for professional sports," added Newman. "And we can't wait to see some of the exciting things that Spyder and his associates will be doing." For more information, email spyderd@spydomusic.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.



American Basketball Association Stories from October 27, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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