Logging Some Minutes
December 5, 2006 - American Basketball Association (ABA)
Vermont Frost Heaves News Release
I had a hunch that the Logger would someday wear a Frost Heaves uniform, as he will on Thursday night at the Aud in Barre.
Maybe it's the thing Rusty Dewees has for tanktops. Maybe it's that we ran into him all summer, with our booth near or next to his at this or that county fair. Maybe it's that he snuck into our tryout camp at Rice High School like any fan, to watch the team take shape.
His CDs keep me company while I crisscross the state on team business, and as a writer, I'm in constant awe at the way he uses language, Vermont-style. Not sure my editors at SI would like it if I filed a sentence describing Kobe as playing "up to L.A.," but they'd sure applaud a guy with so finely tuned an ear. And as a fledgling sports promoter, I've learned a whole lot from the Logger about how to market homegrown entertainment. (Could just as easily call Rus "the Flogger.")
Few know how extensive his hoops pedigree is. He spent two summers at the K.C. Jones Basketball Camp in junior high before joining the Stowe High School varsity. He played guard as a junior and-can you spell pituitary?-center as a senior. After graduation he spent four years doing the dump-trucks-and-concrete thing, the vein he mines for his Logger material, and played rec ball whenever he could.
Rusty may have appeared in a few movies, but his real Schwab's Drug Store moment took place in Stowe in the early Eighties, when a touring team of New York Giants came through to play the town team in a fundraiser. Bobby Roberts, proprietor of The Rusty Nail, tipped off legendary Champlain College coach Bob Tipson, and Tip showed up to find the rugged red-haired kid holding his own against the likes of Lawrence Taylor, Dave Jennings and Harry Carson. For two years Rus logged starting minutes at Champlain, knocking down the signature jumper from the elbow that Pete Hartt, the sage sports editor of the Times-Argus, still rhapsodizes about. In 1984 none other than Stan Van Gundy tried to recruit the Logger to play at Castleton. But the bright lights beckoned.
It's been about 15 years since he last played serious ball. As a result of those years lugging concrete, Rus has a back that acts up, and his appearance on Thursday night comes with the proviso that he not jeopardize his upcoming string of holiday variety shows. But as our Northfield Savings Bank 110% Community All-Star, Rusty will take the usual shots for charity at halftime. And immediately following that, he has some entertainment in store.
We'll pull a handful of the best Logger dress-alikes from the stands. Then Rusty will say something Logger-like, and ask each contestant to repeat it Logger-like. Fans will vote with their applause for the best. The winner will get a selection of Frost Heaves stuff and Logger stuff, and everyone will share in the satisfaction that, on account of their participation, great fun was had on this "NC" (no cussin') evening.
We're so jazzed about Logger Night that it's tempting to overlook what's going on with the team. After a split over the weekend, we're still in first place in the Blue North, 6-2 and a half-game ahead of defending ABA champion Rochester. On Friday night we fell behind the Strong Island Sound by 19 points twice-once in each half-yet succeeded in clawing back to force overtime, where we lost 104-98. The next night, in Newark, we trailed by eight early in the fourth quarter, only to get a burst of post offense out of Kevin Mickens and a handful of defensive stops where we needed them to win, 86-80. Can't complain about our start: Despite opening with six of our first eight on the road, we're two overtime losses away from being 8-0. Now we dive into a stretch of seven out of eight at home, eager to get back in front of those cow-bell ringing fans in Barre. Tip time Thursday is at 7:05 p.m.
And to think that the words "versus Chicago" will grace the marquee at the foot of Auditorium Hill: It's the stuff of which a Logger sketch is made.
Take it away, Rusty!
Tickets for all Frost Heaves games are available through the Flynn Regional Box Office, 802-86-FLYNN or at flynntix.org. General admission tickets for games in Barre may be purchased in person at the Barre Opera House during regular box office hours, noon to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; and now at First in Fitness in Montpelier, behind City Hall. Or if you're a gambler, as Rusty says, "You can try your luck at the door."
by Alexander Wolff
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 December 5, 2006
- Strong Island ranked fourth in ABA Power Rankings - Strong Island Sound
- Logging Some Minutes - Vermont Frost Heaves
- MTV star to join ABA's Hollywood Fame for home opener - Hollywood Fame
- Wilmington Sea Dawgs Welcome Boy and Girl Scouts To Free Ticket Day - Wilmington Sea Dawgs
- RazorSharks look for revenge on next two home opponents - Rochester RazorSharks
- Tropics Jam It To Jax - Again - Miami Tropics
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