premier internet advertising
by ADCLIX
Dueling Chair
Shots
by
Kurt La Mont
Column date
02/09/2001
Without much notice a troubled organization temporarily shutdown Thursday, and possibly permanently, without much fanfare. The root of their problem is financial difficulties.
Sound familiar? However, it's not ECW that I'm talking, about although the similarities to ECW are striking and worth examining. I'm talking about the Continental Basketball Association (CBA).
Here is an excerpt about the current CBA problems from the Associated Press and www.ESPN.com.
The Continental Basketball Association, the longest-running professional basketball league in the U.S., has had trouble paying its players, and announced Thursday it has temporarily suspended play 21 games into its 56-game season. Throughout its 55-year history -- and especially within the past decade -- the league seemingly had more turnover in its offices than turnovers on the court. Eight of the league's 10 teams failed to meet their player payrolls Friday, and it was questionable whether they had money to travel for road games.
The CBA, owned by Isiah Thomas, is looking to sell the teams to local groups. "My love of the game drove my decision to purchase the CBA," Thomas said Thursday. "I wanted to give others the chance to pursue their dreams of playing in the NBA.
Former Quad Cities coach Dan Panaggio, a nine-year veteran of the CBA whose 313 victories ranks second all-time to his father, Mauro, said he is crushed by the potential loss of the league.
"There's a character to the CBA that you cannot duplicate," Panaggio said. "From when it grew from the Eastern (Pennsylvania Basketball) League to the CBA, when it moved from a weekend league to full-time league, from vans to buses to planes. And it was second to none in quality of coaching as in the golden years with Flip Saunders, Phil Jackson, the late Bill Musselman, George Karl, Henry Bibby, (Indiana assistant coach) John Treloar, my father and myself."
While the league produced coaches who moved on to successful careers in college and the NBA, Panaggio said the CBA's shortcomings were obvious. He remembers how the league was "losing money every year" and that it could never maintain a steady fan base. "The league doesn't draw anybody," he said. He recalled some games played in front of crowds as small as 20 people in Pensacola, Fla., and Birmingham, Ala.
Off the top of my head a couple of CBA players have made the NBA All Star game in their careers, Anthony Mason and John Starks. Other notable CBA alumni include Chris Childs, David Wesley, Bo Outlaw, Erick Strickland, Tyrone Nesby, Anthony Carter, and Kevin Ollie.
Coaches were more successful making the jump from the CBA. The most notable coaches to make it to the NBA ranks are Phil Jackson, George Karl and Flip Saunders.
You could easily describe ECW the way the CBA was described. Both are organizations that have had trouble meeting payroll, and one that has temporarily suspended operations. The future of each organization is in question. Most people have written both off already.
However, the parallels do not end there. Both ECW and the CBA are organizations that were built from the ground up. Both have developed great talents that other similar organizations have used (although ECW's track record is much better). Both have had also had a revolving door feel to its talent. How many have passed through ECW in its 8 years or so? Turnover in the CBA has also been really high, although not as many made it to the NBA as have made it to WCW and WWF. Each also had its own unique character, distinct from other similar "major" organizations that appealed to a distinct group of fans, even if wasn't as mainstream as another similar product.
Playing the part of Isiah Thomas is Paul Heyman. Thomas bought the CBA to give players a chance to live out their dreams of playing pro basketball in the NBA. Paul Heyman has done the same thing with ECW. He has given his wrestlers the same opportunities as Isiah Thomas to show their skills and develop their talent for an opportunity to make it big in the WWF or WCW. As much as ECW fans consider ECW on par with WCW and WWF, it is actually much closer to being a "farm system" for those organizations. But much like a lot of people in Sioux Falls or Quad City like their team hometown team better than the NBA, a lot of us ECW fans prefer ECW to either the WWF or WCW, even if the majority of people treat it as a minor league product. While the names may come and go what we are really supporting is the organization, not the individuals.
I've never been to a CBA game. However, knowing what has happened in ECW over the years I feel that I've missed something by not going to a CBA game. If the CBA gets back on its feet I know I'll make a point of attending a game.
So while the future is uncertain in both ECW and the CBA, and many people have written them both off, I am rooting for these underdogs to make it back on their feet.
More good stuff next week. Send any comments or questions to me at [email protected].
Past editions of Dueling
Chair Shots
10/4/99
10/16/99
10/27/99
11/5/99
11/10/99
11/17/99
11/19/99
12/03/99
12/10/99
12/17/99
01/03
01/19
01/29
02/04
02/14
02/22
02/29
03/06
03/13
03/20
04/12
04/28
05/08
05/18
05/23
05/30
06/05
06/13
06/21
06/29
07/06
07/11
07/17
07/24
08/01
08/07
08/20
08/30
09/06
09/14
09/20
09/27
10/05
10/12
10/24
11/01
11/06
11/16
11/28
12/04
12/09
12/28
01/04
01/11
01/18