m33p0
02-04-2009, 03:23 AM
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/9174852/A-fond-farewell-to-the-Crazy-Basketball-Association
A fond farewell to the Crazy Basketball Association
by Charley Rosen
The Continental Basketball Association is on its deathbed, so bang the drum slowly.
The league's abbreviated 63rd season will terminate in a three-game series starting on February 5 between the two best teams, Albany and Lawton-Fort Sill, for the "championship". There's some brave talk out of the league office about reorganizing and refurbishing the CBA next season. But that's clearly wishful thinking.
And the CBA will be missed.
The roster of once and future NBA coaches that have worked in the CBA are familiar to many fans: Phil Jackson, Flip Saunders, Bill and Eric Musselman, George Karl, Herb Brown, Bob Hill, and so on.
And the list of CBA players likewise contains some familiar names: Anthony Mason, John Starks, George Gervin, Cazzie Russell, Henry Bibby, Darryl Dawkins, John Lucas, Manute Bol and Ralph Sampson.
For the most part, the CBA players at the so-called "skilled" positions — point guard, shooting guard and small forward — were just a tad bellow NBA standards. Although several of them did wind up in the NBA, several who didn't were at least as good as many NBA benchwarmers at their positions.
Indeed, the primary difference between the two leagues was the power slots. In the CBA, power forwards were usually undersized (6-6 to 6-8), while the centers were mostly power forwards in disguise. That's because the NBA had a monopoly on the so-hard-to-find capable bigs.
In any case, CBA competition was fierce. Since virtually all of the players were seeking to get called up by the NBA — there were scouts at nearly every game — or to be signed to a humongous contract by a European team, hardly anybody ever coasted.
Back in the CBA's golden era — the 1980s and early 1990s — the league fielded as many as 16 teams. La Crosse (WI), Quad Cities (IL), Rockford (IL), and Albany (NY) led the list of the most successful franchises — at least in terms of longevity and box office receipts. And those devoted fans that did attend the games were uniformly passionate.
The CBA began the current season with five franchises, but Pittsburgh dropped out and left only four active teams. A sad remnant of what used to be such a vibrant, newsworthy and colorful organizato.
The most memorable aspects of my nine years as an assistant and head coach in the CBA were the antics of players, coaches, owners and refs in the Crazy Basketball Association. For example:
# A player getting traded for a sexual act to be performed later (by a secretary).
# A player stealing a coach's clothing (mine!).
# A player grabbing his coach's necktie, then lifting both as high as he could reach in an attempt to hang the coach.
# A player trying to drown his coach in a toilet bowl.
# And various other madcap adventures, many of which I describe in my Travels With Charley section.
Why, then, was the CBA on life support for so many seasons? And why is it suffering its terminal agonies?
# For one, the various CBA commissioners made perpetual efforts to convince the NBA to form a farm system similar to the long-established relationship between major-league baseball teams and their minor league affiliates. But the NBA Players Association just as perpetually fought this — simply because a farm system would result in an NBA team unilaterally controlling the fates of too many players.
# The Players Association also took notice of the fate of John Brisker, a double-digit scorer for Seattle in the mid-70s, whose lack of off- and on-court discipline irked his coach, Bill Russell. Strictly as a punitive measure, Russell sent Brisker to the CBA — where in a handful of games he averaged over 50 points. To the Players Association, the CBA was henceforth deemed to be a detention hall for unruly players.
# Since individual CBA teams were unable to negotiate profitable TV contracts, the only available sources of income were gate receipts and merchandise. Not nearly enough to balance out the roughly $1 million annual budgets required to field a team.
# Then there was Isiah Thomas, who bought the entire league for about $9 million while the NBA was developing plans for its D-League. Zeke's idea was that since the CBA had arena leases, sponsors and administrators already in place, David Stern would jump at the chance to secure these rights and provide Thomas with a hefty profit. Meanwhile, Thomas made the rounds of all the extant CBA franchises, promising all kinds of personal appearances and monies to be delivered. But the NBA low-balled Thomas, deciding instead to start its new venture from scratch. Thomas was never seen in a CBA city again, and various lawsuits are still pending.
# Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the only universally televised NBA games were those that were broadcast on the networks. Some CBA franchises that were in close proximity to an NBA city could also receive regular game-telecasts — the Bulls in Rockford, the Celtics in Worcester, or the Sixers in Lancaster. Aside from local high school games or the rare presence of a Division I college team, the CBA provided the only game in many towns. However, once cable-TV became established and the NBA Package was available, it was easier (and cheaper) for a fan to stay home and watch the best players in the world from his easy chair.
# And most recently, of course, the bottom falling out of the economy was the immediate reason for the CBA's death throes.
So, goodbye to the perilous eight-hour drives from Albany to Toronto through horrendous blizzards. Farewell to the 4:30 a.m. wake-up calls the morning after road games to enable teams to catch 6 a.m. cheapo flights out of town. So long to the sleazy motels where the snow and frigid cold blew into the room through the 2-inch space between the exterior door and the floor. Adieu to all the takeout stomach-burgers eaten in a rush, the ball games stolen by incompetent refs, and the insulting miserliness of too many owners. And a hopeful hasta la vista all of the players and fellow coaches whose lives I was fortunate to share.
Hey, do you know how to wind up with a small fortune? Start with a large fortune and buy a CBA team.
Vox Populi
Do you have any personal grudge against Allen Iverson? It seems that your opinion about him are all negative. — Glenn, Philippines
Absolutely not. Although I've seen him play in person dozens of times, and observed his conduct in various dressing rooms, I've never met A.I. and therefore hold no personal animus against him.
Actually, I try to divorce a player's personal quirks from my evaluations of his on-court deeds — except when one illustrates the other. Just think of what a transcendent genius Picasso was despite his being such a universally despised jackass.
Not that Iverson is a bad guy. Far from it.
I greatly admire his courage as well as his extraordinary point-making abilities.
What I do object to is the fact that he still doesn't know how to play effectively without the ball in his hands. Which means that his presence in the game is ultimately detrimental to his team-of-the-moment during that 80-90 percent of the time when someone else had possession of the rock.
I'm especially critical of his inferior defense which relies strictly on gambling for steals. Also his ill-advised shots — which have somewhat lessened with the Pistons. Plus his high-volume turnovers and his reluctance to practice hard — especially since every coach worth his salt knows that games are won and lost in practice sessions.
But the NBA publicity machine has emphasized his genius for scoring points. And, given that their goal is to promote NBA action, this is as it should be. Too bad, however, that so many fans are so easily fooled.
It all comes down to Iverson's selfishness — which is the primary reasons why the vast majority of his ex-teammates haven't liked playing with him.
In other words, Iverson is the face and the (by a secretary) icon of too much that's wrong with the NBA.
Travels with Charley
The Albany Patroons were scheduled to play the Toronto Tornadoes, and Phil Jackson was driving the van when we were stopped at the border.
The guard flashed his light into the back of the van, and noting the slumped and sleeping bodies of nine rather large black men, said to Phil, "What's this all about? What's your business in Canada?"
"I'm smuggling slaves into the country," PJ said.
The guard was so flabbergasted that he let us go.
A fond farewell to the Crazy Basketball Association
by Charley Rosen
The Continental Basketball Association is on its deathbed, so bang the drum slowly.
The league's abbreviated 63rd season will terminate in a three-game series starting on February 5 between the two best teams, Albany and Lawton-Fort Sill, for the "championship". There's some brave talk out of the league office about reorganizing and refurbishing the CBA next season. But that's clearly wishful thinking.
And the CBA will be missed.
The roster of once and future NBA coaches that have worked in the CBA are familiar to many fans: Phil Jackson, Flip Saunders, Bill and Eric Musselman, George Karl, Herb Brown, Bob Hill, and so on.
And the list of CBA players likewise contains some familiar names: Anthony Mason, John Starks, George Gervin, Cazzie Russell, Henry Bibby, Darryl Dawkins, John Lucas, Manute Bol and Ralph Sampson.
For the most part, the CBA players at the so-called "skilled" positions — point guard, shooting guard and small forward — were just a tad bellow NBA standards. Although several of them did wind up in the NBA, several who didn't were at least as good as many NBA benchwarmers at their positions.
Indeed, the primary difference between the two leagues was the power slots. In the CBA, power forwards were usually undersized (6-6 to 6-8), while the centers were mostly power forwards in disguise. That's because the NBA had a monopoly on the so-hard-to-find capable bigs.
In any case, CBA competition was fierce. Since virtually all of the players were seeking to get called up by the NBA — there were scouts at nearly every game — or to be signed to a humongous contract by a European team, hardly anybody ever coasted.
Back in the CBA's golden era — the 1980s and early 1990s — the league fielded as many as 16 teams. La Crosse (WI), Quad Cities (IL), Rockford (IL), and Albany (NY) led the list of the most successful franchises — at least in terms of longevity and box office receipts. And those devoted fans that did attend the games were uniformly passionate.
The CBA began the current season with five franchises, but Pittsburgh dropped out and left only four active teams. A sad remnant of what used to be such a vibrant, newsworthy and colorful organizato.
The most memorable aspects of my nine years as an assistant and head coach in the CBA were the antics of players, coaches, owners and refs in the Crazy Basketball Association. For example:
# A player getting traded for a sexual act to be performed later (by a secretary).
# A player stealing a coach's clothing (mine!).
# A player grabbing his coach's necktie, then lifting both as high as he could reach in an attempt to hang the coach.
# A player trying to drown his coach in a toilet bowl.
# And various other madcap adventures, many of which I describe in my Travels With Charley section.
Why, then, was the CBA on life support for so many seasons? And why is it suffering its terminal agonies?
# For one, the various CBA commissioners made perpetual efforts to convince the NBA to form a farm system similar to the long-established relationship between major-league baseball teams and their minor league affiliates. But the NBA Players Association just as perpetually fought this — simply because a farm system would result in an NBA team unilaterally controlling the fates of too many players.
# The Players Association also took notice of the fate of John Brisker, a double-digit scorer for Seattle in the mid-70s, whose lack of off- and on-court discipline irked his coach, Bill Russell. Strictly as a punitive measure, Russell sent Brisker to the CBA — where in a handful of games he averaged over 50 points. To the Players Association, the CBA was henceforth deemed to be a detention hall for unruly players.
# Since individual CBA teams were unable to negotiate profitable TV contracts, the only available sources of income were gate receipts and merchandise. Not nearly enough to balance out the roughly $1 million annual budgets required to field a team.
# Then there was Isiah Thomas, who bought the entire league for about $9 million while the NBA was developing plans for its D-League. Zeke's idea was that since the CBA had arena leases, sponsors and administrators already in place, David Stern would jump at the chance to secure these rights and provide Thomas with a hefty profit. Meanwhile, Thomas made the rounds of all the extant CBA franchises, promising all kinds of personal appearances and monies to be delivered. But the NBA low-balled Thomas, deciding instead to start its new venture from scratch. Thomas was never seen in a CBA city again, and various lawsuits are still pending.
# Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the only universally televised NBA games were those that were broadcast on the networks. Some CBA franchises that were in close proximity to an NBA city could also receive regular game-telecasts — the Bulls in Rockford, the Celtics in Worcester, or the Sixers in Lancaster. Aside from local high school games or the rare presence of a Division I college team, the CBA provided the only game in many towns. However, once cable-TV became established and the NBA Package was available, it was easier (and cheaper) for a fan to stay home and watch the best players in the world from his easy chair.
# And most recently, of course, the bottom falling out of the economy was the immediate reason for the CBA's death throes.
So, goodbye to the perilous eight-hour drives from Albany to Toronto through horrendous blizzards. Farewell to the 4:30 a.m. wake-up calls the morning after road games to enable teams to catch 6 a.m. cheapo flights out of town. So long to the sleazy motels where the snow and frigid cold blew into the room through the 2-inch space between the exterior door and the floor. Adieu to all the takeout stomach-burgers eaten in a rush, the ball games stolen by incompetent refs, and the insulting miserliness of too many owners. And a hopeful hasta la vista all of the players and fellow coaches whose lives I was fortunate to share.
Hey, do you know how to wind up with a small fortune? Start with a large fortune and buy a CBA team.
Vox Populi
Do you have any personal grudge against Allen Iverson? It seems that your opinion about him are all negative. — Glenn, Philippines
Absolutely not. Although I've seen him play in person dozens of times, and observed his conduct in various dressing rooms, I've never met A.I. and therefore hold no personal animus against him.
Actually, I try to divorce a player's personal quirks from my evaluations of his on-court deeds — except when one illustrates the other. Just think of what a transcendent genius Picasso was despite his being such a universally despised jackass.
Not that Iverson is a bad guy. Far from it.
I greatly admire his courage as well as his extraordinary point-making abilities.
What I do object to is the fact that he still doesn't know how to play effectively without the ball in his hands. Which means that his presence in the game is ultimately detrimental to his team-of-the-moment during that 80-90 percent of the time when someone else had possession of the rock.
I'm especially critical of his inferior defense which relies strictly on gambling for steals. Also his ill-advised shots — which have somewhat lessened with the Pistons. Plus his high-volume turnovers and his reluctance to practice hard — especially since every coach worth his salt knows that games are won and lost in practice sessions.
But the NBA publicity machine has emphasized his genius for scoring points. And, given that their goal is to promote NBA action, this is as it should be. Too bad, however, that so many fans are so easily fooled.
It all comes down to Iverson's selfishness — which is the primary reasons why the vast majority of his ex-teammates haven't liked playing with him.
In other words, Iverson is the face and the (by a secretary) icon of too much that's wrong with the NBA.
Travels with Charley
The Albany Patroons were scheduled to play the Toronto Tornadoes, and Phil Jackson was driving the van when we were stopped at the border.
The guard flashed his light into the back of the van, and noting the slumped and sleeping bodies of nine rather large black men, said to Phil, "What's this all about? What's your business in Canada?"
"I'm smuggling slaves into the country," PJ said.
The guard was so flabbergasted that he let us go.