The good, the bad and the ugly
Published on March 2, 2005 under American Basketball Association (ABA)
Maywood Buzz News Release
Hello all,
For those that do not know me, my name is Burrel Lee III and I am the Head Coach/General Manager of the Orange County Buzz of the ABA. I first want to wish all the playoff bound team's good luck and those that didn't make it good luck next season. I title this email "THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY" for a reason. Why because that's just what the 2004-2005 ABA season was......We had our good times, our bad times and our ugly times.
This is more so just a tell all email about the good, bad and ugly I have encountered on my venue in the ABA. And with this being my fourth year in the league, I have seen and heard it all.
Let's start from the beginning......
When I was first hired in the ABA this season it was by Carl Harris, who is CEO of the Los Angeles Stars & Colorado Storm of the ABA and of BigIntertainment. He was a fraud and a hoax; after I was hired he then fired me, reason being I was too young to run a pro team. Well I have ran 2 this year and was great at doing it. After Mr. Harris fired me, Joe Newman and Ricardo Richardson asked me if I was interested in taking my coaching skills and half the team I had brought to be the Los Angeles Stars and take them and help ran Oklahoma for a few weeks until an owner was found. The day I was to leave, Mr. Newman and Richardson told me that Los Angeles was having problems and would I stay here and take over this team, I said yes, a chance to coach at home.....I loved it. Our first trip was to Hermosillo, Mexico and with no owner Mr. Newman sent us $2000 to rent 2 SUV's and drove to Hermosillo. Well we did and it took us 30 hours round trip, and we won 152-153 and we where on our way.
By our first home game 2 ½ weeks after the season started we played our first home game at Taft High School against the Long beach Jam. So for the first 3 weeks I ran a pro basketball team, played all the games to date and did it with no money. We worked and played for free all while myself, my mom, my fiancé & Cedric Ceballos paid the referees ($650.00 a game) found gyms to play games, practice, players played their asses off and got no salaries for it. While we played, we had fun, played for the love of the game, we had the #1 Scorer, assist and rebound leaders. We didn't have an owner, any office space; the team was ran out of my 2 bedroom apartment.
Then we had to host Utah and Fresno....this was in late December and I was already out of money and so the league paid for their hotels and I had to pay officials. I only had $350.00 left to my name and Ike Austin coach of the Snowbears paid the other half. We got KILLED and then I met a gentleman by the name Lowell Moore and he was interested in the Stars. Wanted to know who the owner was. After finding out I was running the team and we had no owner he said he was interested in the team. After talking with Mr. Moore and Mr. Newman, he became owner of the Los Angeles Stars.
Fast forward a few weeks.....Mr. Moore and I had a falling out, I was told before he took the team over that we would get paid down the line.....then he said no one will get paid this season....I felt bad because I had told the guys after he told me that they will be paid....not what they were to get paid when the season started, but $200.00 a week....gas money and he went back on his word. So I decided to part ways a quit (leaving the stars with an 8-7 record), something I will never do but I did. That's when Michael Forney a friend contacted me and asked if I would like to join his team....
The OC Crush had folded the same day I quit and he was now going to get it started. But he wanted to wait a few weeks to play and I had guys ready to play. So Mr. Newman needed a team to play ASAP because games where coming up and the OC Schedule needed to be played. So I talked with my present owner Jamie Garcia and he wanted to do it. We got uniforms, a team and insurance in a matter of 3 days. We had a home gym, a dance team, and 700 fans at our first home game. We were set. When we took over the OC Crush and became the OC Buzz we also took the record of 9-1. When it was all said and done we had finished the year with a 14-9 record and a #11 seed in the ABA Playoffs.
We received and email that we would be flying to Kansas City to play our first round game Friday, March 4th and this email came Sunday night. So of course the smart thing to do is in the am find tickets and fast. We did $4200.00 worth. Then it was told that the Los Angeles Stars will take of place because their record was a better then ours (13-12...you do the math).
Now lets rewind a little bit.....Joe Newman said on Thursday, February 24th that the LA Stars will be playoff ineligible. Well he went against his word and put the stars in....who cares the had a good record....but he took us out. Now why was the stars taken out the play-offs before the release of the teams....because their owner Lowell Moore bounced checks at Granada Hills High School over $2000 dollars worth. Then the story was released by Fred Roggin of NBC Channel 4 News, ESPN picked it up and so did Jim Hill and Channel 2.
Granada Hills High School is now filing a lawsuit and suing Mr. Moore and the Los Angeles Stars. It was also reported that they are filing bankruptcy, how can you play in the play-offs and travel if you filed for bankruptcy and have no money. That is the real reason while the stars where left out. Also Mr. Newman said since the Stars did not come to a game at Camp Pendleton that will tie in to his decision.
I think that since it is the stars and buzz, they should play a one game play-off with the winner going to KC, Newman says that Lowell Moore will not go for it, but I say you are CEO, put your foot down and if he declines to play, he is out the play-offs. All we want is what is fair, my owners look forward to next year, who knows if I will be in the ABA. Joe threatens me all the time about removing me from the ABA, a scare ploy.....so if I am here next year, I can't wait, if not, I had a great run....
If you look at the whole picture, I did what teams with money (the ones that folded) couldn't do.....I ran and put together 2 teams, TWO PRO TEAMS with no funds, nothing. My team reward for finishing 14-9 is a trip home, a few teams my hate me after this part, but let it be known.....
St. Louis 9-19
Bellevue 10-16
Tijuana 10-17
New Jersey 12-9
Are all in the ABA playoffs.
Orange County 14-9
Are not in......can someone please explain what went wrong. I know there are a ton of people out there bad mouths this league, the people who run it and even the teams for playing in it.....I am in no way trying to put the team down but just want what's fair. We also found out that the owner of the Stars served 6 months in a Federal Prison for Fraud. Is that the type of people we want owning teams in the ABA, let alone in sports?
BAD PRESS is not what this league needs. We need great press, guys playing for the love of the game, fellows putting things together with no funds, a team that is a family and no worrying about other things. Guys who show up to games and don't cancel the day of the games. Guys like the owners in Utah, Arkansas, Long Beach, Texas, Bellevue and many others...these are the type of owners this league needs. People in this not for themselves but for the advancement of the players, coaches and staff, not trying to get rich off of this people and lie and cheat to do it.....
If I hurt any feelings believe me that's what I wasn't trying to do. Just want everyone to know about what not only myself went through, but also my players. This shows tot hem that hard work, paying bills on time and showing up for games don't work. Next year doesn't show up; bounce checks, lie, cheat and steal. Don't pay players, nor are your rent and you playoff bound.
I spent over $6000 out my pocket running the stars as a favor to the league because they didn't want the biggest market to go under, then got another team started and ran that one. Don't know how I did it, just know I did.....with a website, with a real team, with stats, with a home gum, printed tickets, dance team and players and a staff that I would not trade for anything.
Well that's it for now, and again good luck in the play-offs and hope to see ya all next season.
Burrel Lee III
323-402-5309
blee@ocbuzz.net
OC Buzz
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 March 2, 2005
- The good, the bad and the ugly - Maywood Buzz
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.
