Twenty20 Basketball: What’s in it for me?

When Basketball Australia worked through the turbulence of last off-season by announcing an eight-team National Basketball League, the murmurs of a potential rebel competition were quickly quelled.

And with this season’s NBL producing the most even league in its 31-year history, the faith bestowed upon the governing body by its clubs and television partner appeared to be vindicated.

It was of great surprise, therefore, that a press release filtered through yesterday trumpeting the launch of a new eight-team tournament to be held at Adelaide’s Brett Maher Court in April 2010.

The tournament, which possesses a prize pool of $250,000 and is the brainchild of former Melbourne and Brisbane chief Jeff Van Groningen, does not have the sanctioning of BA and, if Townsville boss Ian Smythe’s comments are any indication, may struggle to include current NBL players.

”I’ll be reluctant to release any players, but I haven’t been approached by anyone,” Smythe told the Townsville Bulletin.

Despite its somewhat rogue characteristics, the “Foot Locker Elite Classic – High Stakes Hoops” still has the ability to benefit the sport.

The backing of ONE HD means that over 37 hours of live Australian basketball will be boomed into the country’s households via free-to-air television, while the sponsorship of recognised brands such as Foot Locker, Triple M and Spalding is a massive tick of approval for an undeservingly-maligned product.

However, the biggest threat to the tournament’s success is the decision by organisers to comprise eight generic franchises owned by Elite Classic Basketball and leased on an annual basis.

These teams have not been named according to geography, instead adopting names such as “Monarchs”, “Cyclones” and “Rush.”

This contradicts the very essence and appeal of sport. Sporting discourse is laden with nationalistic, patriotic and jingoistic undertones. We primarily choose our allegiances on the basis of a team’s spatial relevance and sense of personal ownership.

It’s typical “us against them” logic.

The Foot Locker Elite Classic has already been described as basketball’s version of Twenty20 cricket, yet even the Indian Premier League, with all its blatant commercialism, still recognises the importance of locality by having team names such as Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

Likewise, the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash – which has recorded a 40 per cent increase in television ratings and a crowd of 43,125 at a recent Victoria Bushrangers game – is an extension of state cricket. While this has been challenged by the signing of foreign players such as Dwayne Bravo and Chris Gayle, supporters and the media overcome this by welcoming them as “one of us.”

Football clubs, meanwhile, are often accused of turning into corporations; however their brands still carry historical values such as class, race and on-field folklore.

The Foot Locker Elite Classic has failed to give fans any reason to emotionally invest in its product.

The only attraction is the event’s novelty factor, which is unsustainable beyond its inaugural season.

Therefore, while organisers hope to replicate the successful Twenty20 Big Bash, the tournament is more likely to resemble Channel Ten’s Beach Cricket series, in which the sponsor gets blanket coverage, the commentators get a trip to idyllic beaches, ex-players get to reminisce and the viewer is left wondering: “What’s in it for me?”

There’s plenty in it for ONE HD, with the signing of Lance Franklin and Julie Corletto as team owners allowing the network to shamelessly cross-promote its AFL and ANZ Championship coverage respectively. Apparently Brad McEwan and Sandra Sully are ordering their “John Wooden’s UCLA Offense” DVDs as we speak.

But the ability to match television ratings with bums on seats will be a harder task. Adelaide has a strong basketball following, as seen by the 36ers’ league-best crowds, but they are a knowledgeable crowd who won’t appreciate having their intelligence insulted by lame gimmicks.

They’re questionable gimmicks, too, with 48-minute games and convoluted rules contradicting the Twenty20 concept of giving fans a simpler and abbreviated product in an era of instant gratification.

As the tournament’s title suggests, the stakes certainly are high. Not just for the players, but also for the organisers who have the job of turning this corporate enigma into anything more than a one-hit wonder.

Will Brad McEwan and Sandra Sully swap the auto cue for the white board and engage in some cross-promotion at the Elite Classic?

Fox fairer to fans but neglects Hodge homecoming

While the relationship between sport and television is typically a reciprocal one, it is the broadcast networks that usually wear the pants.

Sporting bodies around the world are pressured into scheduling games at the behest of their broadcast partner’s demands, with the lure of rights fees and advertising exposure usurping the convenience of those who still like to sit in the stands.

In the National Basketball League’s case, the Wednesday night timeslot on Fox Sports has been a necessary evil. Necessary because it allows the league to escape the competition of other summer sports such as soccer, evil because a mid-week clash is hardly family-friendly during the chunk of the season before and after school holidays.

It’s also particularly evil for those in Queensland, who have been expected to be in their seats by 6.30pm so Fox can maintain its regular 7.30pm timeslot in New South Wales and Victoria. The effect that this can have on attendances was evident in the Round Eight meeting between Cairns and Townsville. While no official crowd figure was given, the number of empty seats was embarrassing for a FNQ Derby which could have sold out the convention centre had it been played on a weekend.

It is appears, however, that common sense has prevailed. Just weeks after the Gold Coast Blaze happily announced that Fox had agreed to push back their remaining Wednesday night games to 7.30pm local time, the Townsville Crocs have struck a similar deal. This is a win-win situation. Fans now have ample opportunity to be in their seats by tip-off, while a larger crowd makes for an enhanced atmosphere and television product for the broadcaster.

This decision bucks the aforementioned trend of networks wielding their power to the detriment of fans, and symbolises a gradual turning point in Fox’s treatment of the NBL. The number of games being shown this year is a significant improvement on last season’s coverage, which didn’t commence until Round Six and included just one live game each week.

There has also been the introduction of regular “every second counts” promos filmed during the pre-season tournament in Darwin, and the decision to replace Steve Carfino with football commentators Brian Taylor and Dwayne Russell has assisted the league in its efforts to “Australianise” the product. Taylor’s wittiness has proven incredibly popular in the AFL and will attract the curiosity of mainstream viewers, although his lack of research and occasional inaccuracies must make some purists cringe.

Fox’s relationship with the NBL still has plenty of room for improvement, however, as all basketball fans will realise on Saturday 5 December. That’s when Melbourne Tigers recruit Julius Hodge makes his much-anticipated return to the Distinctive Homes Dome after walking out on Adelaide last season due to a pay dispute. Sixers fans are known for their passion and hostility at the best of times, meaning Hodge’s reception will make for a compelling spectacle in front of what will surely be a near-capacity crowd.

Compelling for those that can see it, at least.

As it stands now, the clash will only be shown on Rivus TV, a pay-per-view streaming service marred by technical difficulties.

The NBL should have done everything in its power to ensure this game would be accessible to the masses. If Fox refused to increase its broadcast schedule on economic grounds, the league could have asked to swap a future Saturday night broadcast for next week’s showdown. For example, the January 16 clash between Perth and Cairns is hardly going to have fans salivating in their living rooms and could have been sacrificed for the good of the game.

Instead, the only thing being sacrificed is another opportunity to showcase the best the NBL has to offer to a national audience.

Despite Fox’s improvements, it remains an all-too familiar story of neglect for Australian hoops fans.

Fox Sports' improved coverage has been a pleasant surprise, unlike the surprise Shane Heal received when he commentated a recent Snakes game.

Have you heard? Hawks’ heroics a tale to tell

The National Basketball League’s publicity machine has been in overdrive during the early part of season 2009/10, churning out press releases in the hope of repairing the sport’s battered image. First to arrive in the inbox was a release titled “BA chief hails NBL rule changes as a success”, in which Larry Sengstock credited the new ten-minute quarters and limit of five fouls per player as the reason for closer games. That theory has since been blown out of the water by a spate of shellackings, including Adelaide’s 37-point whitewash over Cairns last Saturday night. Nevertheless, the propaganda didn’t stop there, with the league’s PR man, Marc Howard, using the result of an online poll to declare: “Fans give NBL’s summer season thumbs-up”, after 80 per cent of respondents voted in favour of the current September-March timeslot.

One story which hasn’t been spun out of Coward Street, however, is perhaps the most heart-warming narrative that Australian sport currently has to offer. It’s a story which script-writers can only dream of and doomsayers say will never happen. It’s the story of the Wollongong Hawks. The league’s only remaining foundation club was dead and buried at the conclusion of last season, as 5,674 fans packed the WIN Entertainment Centre on February 13th 2009 to farewell a team which many of them had deserted. While the Hawks’ obituary had been written, an important precedent was being set in North Queensland. The folk of Cairns were opening their wallets to save the Taipans, who were also knocking on heaven’s door after big-spending owner John O’Brien decided to pull the pin.

Clearly inspired by the goodwill and generosity which had been generated by the Save the Taipans group, Hawks skipper Mat Campbell embarked on a similar campaign, in which the club would seek $500,000 in public donations and a $1m bank guarantee from a benefactor to remain in the league under community ownership. A band named Grinspoon will tell you “It’s hardly a comeback if you’ve never gone,” and, as it turned out, the Hawks were never gone. The team meant too much to the Illawarra region to collapse after 31 years of existence, and when mining magnate Arun Jagatramka answered an 11^th hour plea from Campbell to offer the guarantee, the Hawks had done Lazarus proud and risen from the ashes.

Don’t roll the credits just yet though, the fairytale hasn’t quite finished.  Even the most ardent Hawks supporter wouldn’t have been getting too excited about their team’s prospects this season. A shoestring budget means they are paying about 75 per cent of the salary cap, and names such as Dave Gruber, Rhys Martin and Tim Coenraad are hardly going to have opposition coaches shaking in their boots. The Top End Challenge in Darwin suggested otherwise, with the Hawks upsetting New Zealand to claim the inaugural pre-season title, but this was surely a fluke, onlookers thought. The onlookers clearly didn’t read the script, however, for the Hawks have continued their merry ways with four wins from their first five games to sit at the league’s summit.  

Crowds have been impressive, too, with the current average of 3,528 marking a whopping 40 per cent increase on last season’s figures. The front-office has done an excellent job of maintaining the buzz through innovatory use of social networking tools and high definition highlight videos (embedded below), while the Illawarra Mercury has heavily promoted star import Tywain McKee and his battles with opposition guards CJ Bruton and Corey Williams.  Therefore, enough promotional work is being done to keep the locals entertained in the event that the team’s on-court performances begin to decline. However, that’s an event sentimentalists would rather not contemplate, for the fairytale may still have another chapter to offer. 

Let’s just hope the league tells the world all about it.

Flagging interest bursts A-League’s bubble

The A-League has long been lauded as the ‘next big thing’ of Australian sport. The Giant, we were told, was finally awakening, set to conquer everything before it and consign Australian Rules and the rugby codes to the annals of irrelevancy.

The Giant obviously decided to hit the snooze button.

After flirting with the lofty heights of mainstream status and masquerading as an immediate threat to the dominant football codes, the A-League has reacquainted itself with the NBL and ANZ Championship as a Big Friendly Giant better suited to the cosy terrain of niche competitions.

It seems like only yesterday that the game’s followers, who have never been short of hubris since the 2006 World Cup, predicted that the round-ball game would envelop the land down under and have Andrew Demetriou and David Gallop shaking in their boots. Fast forward to this week and Melbourne Victory owner Geoff Lord is crying foul at the A-league’s scheduling, suggesting an October kick-off is required to avoid going head-to-head with the AFL.

“The games…in my view started too early and got caught up in the AFL finals,” Lord said.

“They’ve been down interstate as well per game and I don’t know whether the earlier start and longer season might have some impact.”

Lord then proposed a knock-out competition to be held during the festive season: “They could run a knockout cup and they might sell it to free-to-air television,” he said.

So, as well as admitting that it can no longer tackle the big boys, the A-League is also devising gimmicks in order to reinvigorate flagging interest in the product.

Crowd figures have fallen dramatically, with the Victory averaging just 17,567 fans to its first four games compared to last season’s average of 24,516. Gold Coast United, meanwhile, is averaging just 6,463 to its matches, a dismal number considering it’s the new glamour side of the competition and has the backing of Clive Palmer. Television ratings are also mediocre, with just three of this season’s games featuring in the weekly list of Top 50 Subscription Programs.

FFA chief Ben Buckley insists there is no cause for concern, stating “Our average attendance is down, but that was always to be expected based on the fact we had two teams from relatively smaller cities coming into the competition.”

Smaller cities? The Gold Coast is currently being targeted by almost every sporting code in the country, and the Titans have no such problems putting bums on seats at Skilled Park. Besides, it’s not just the new Queensland teams that are struggling. The Brisbane Roar attracted just 7,677 fans to its match against Sydney FC last weekend, well short of the 15,000 required to break-even at Suncorp Stadium.

While the 2010 World Cup is sure to add some much-needed buzz about the game, the league’s expansion plans are concerning. Next season will see the introduction of a second Melbourne franchise, which has offered no point of difference to the Victory and appears to be progressing at a snail’s pace. Then there will be a new West Sydney team, backed by a group which one rival bidder described as a “pack of Johnny-Come-Latelys…that didn’t exist a month ago.”

The A-League has been covered in bubble-wrap for most of its existence, escaping criticism from the media. Expect some bubbles to start bursting soon.

Empty seats provide the backdrop for the Gold Coast Vs Wellington game at Skilled Park.

Cash for comment? How NBL clubs can court the press

“I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!,” yelled Howard Beale in the 1976 film Network.

That’s the feeling Australian basketball supporters should have at the moment as they search for news on the National Basketball League. With the exception of the Adelaide Advertiser’s Boti Nagy, most mainstream media outlets have been conspicuous by their silence when it comes to the NBL in the past couple of months. This follows a 2009/09 season where AAP pulled the pin on their game reports and Fox Sports showed just one live game per week.

An example of the media’s apathy and laziness towards basketball was shown last week when the news broke that David Barlow had quit the Melbourne Tigers to play in Spain. Who was it who broke this news?

Grantley Bernard? Nope.

Radio SEN or one of the television networks? Nope.

It was ex-Townsville skipper John Rillie, on his blog JR, On Fire.

Rillie didn’t discover this news through any contacts he acquired during his playing days. He found it on a European website after searching the internet for original story ideas – something any investigate journalist could have done if they weren’t so “busy” waiting for official press releases.

The dilemma for Basketball Australia and NBL clubs, therefore, is how to overcome the media’s attitude towards the game and increase column inches and airtime. The internet is often heralded as the answer, however it’s important to understand the difference between reinforcement, which is where the web simply entertains those already interested in basketball, and mobilization, which is where the net attracts new supporters. In the case of blogs, live streaming and Wollongong’s new social networking website, these are just preaching to the converted. Only mainstream media can mobilize new supporter bases.

The mainstream media are about to undergo rapid change. Fairfax has been slashing jobs, overseas newspapers are on the brink of collapse, and advertising revenue and circulation figures will continue to drop as outlets turn their attention to online reporting. Now, therefore, is the time for sports to show some innovation and exploit the press’ economic vulnerabilities. For example, why don’t the Melbourne Tigers pay a portion of Grantley Bernard’s salary in return for guaranteed coverage?

This concept initially came from Dallas Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban, in his blog post Why Pro Sports Need Newspapers:

“My suggestion…is to…create a “beat writer co-operative”.  We need to create a company that funds, depending on the size of the market and number of teams, 2 or more writers per market, to cover our teams in depth. 

They will report to the newspapers where the articles will be placed, who will have complete editorial control. In exchange, the newspapers will provide a minimum of a full page on a daily basis in season, and some lesser amount out of season. That the coverage will include game reporting that is of far more depth than is currently in place, along with a minimum number of feature articles each week in and out of season.

For the newspapers, it’s a way to get employees off the books, retain good writers that have a history with the papers and teams, and actually improve their publications.

I know this is in violation of all previous principles of editorial church and state, but then again, watching papers going out of business and not even being able to give themselves away means it’s time to start a new branch of that church. ”

This suggestion is also similar to the concept of “interest funded journalism”, proposed by media blogger Dan Conover in his post 2020 vision: What’s next for news:

“Why shouldn’t the Sierra Club sponsor journalists? Why shouldn’t the Republican Party subsidize particular bloggers? If the American Petroleum Institute can spend millions on PR, advertising and political lobbying, why shouldn’t the Union of Concerned Scientists go beyond press releases and start funding, distributing and placing original content? Tired of trying to communicate your profession’s expertise to mainstream media? Why not hire some communicators and bypass the mainstream press entirely?”

While proponents of the media as a “Fourth Estate” will question the journalist’s ability to scrutinize their employer, commercial arrangements between sporting clubs and media outlets are nothing new. St.Kilda and Melbourne Victory are sponsored by The Age, and the Melbourne Vixens are sponsored by the Herald Sun. More blatantly, the Melbourne Storm is owned by News Limited. Storm’s column inches in the Herald Sun are clearly disproportionate to the size of its supporter base, and it’s hard to imagine the paper being critical of the club’s business practices. Dave Donaghy, who was the Herald Sun’s NRL reporter just 12 months ago, is now the Storm’s media manager. It’s difficult to imagine Caroline Wilson becoming Richmond’s media manager or Michael Lynch quitting The Age to become Melbourne Victory’s spokesman, but things are obviously very tight between the Herald Sun and Storm.

Cuban’s suggestion is simply taking these kinds of relationships to a new level by recognising the newspaper industry’s grim future and having the foresight to capitalize.

There are also other ways of being innovative, such as clubs filming their own press conferences and sending the footage to the television networks that don’t turn up. Of course, clubs could also put more effort into wining and dining their local reporters as if they were major sponsors.

The alternative is to continue sending off press releases and seeing them buried on page 80 next to the obituaries.

I don’t know about you, but that makes me mad as hell. I’m not going to take it anymore.

Scrutinising the Fourth Estate: A review of the AFL media in season 2009

As the AFL finals draw closer, let’s have a look at how some of the media outlets have performed this season….

The addition of Leigh Matthews has improved Seven’s telecast, as has the end of its ridiculous half-time switcheroo in the commentary box.

 Global Financial Crisis not withstanding, a massive pay rise should also be handed to the bigwig who relegated David Schwarz and Ricky Olarenshaw to Sunday afternoons,  where hung-over  and sleep deprived viewers won’t notice they’re being spoken to by inarticulate buffoons.

Bruce McAvaney’s constant questioning during play suggests he’s auditioning for Eddie McGuire’s gig on Hot Seat (“kicks it to Player X, gee he’s playing well isn’t he? You get the feeling they need one more goal, don’t you reckon?), while someone needs to tell Nathan Buckley that it’s pronounced “isn’t it”, not “innit.”

If Seven can broadcast its talent quests and C-grade dancing contests live, surely it can pay the same respect to football, and it should also return its nosebleed camera to the good folk at Google Earth.

The introduction of ONE HD has given viewers an extra dose of Robert Walls every Monday night, which is sure to curtail the Federal Government’s attempts to promote digital television.  

The channel has also made Julie Corletto and Irene van Dyk household names (what, you haven’t heard of them?) and has inspired little tackers all over the country to erect basketball rings next to their trampolines.

Mark Howard has been a surprise-packet on the boundary line and should permanently replace Christi Malthouse , while Pete Helliar should quit while he’s ahead with his stale “Strauchanie” character. Hey, he’ll have plenty of time on his hands to think of a new gimmick now that Pete and Myf has been given the Robin Nahas from Triple M.

It may be off Broadway, but Fox Sports is home to one of the best play-by-play commentators in the business. Brian Taylor is measured and spontaneous with his humour, as opposed to Dennis Cometti who almost forces his colleagues to giggle at his scripted and distracting one-liners.

Unfortunately there’s not much else to get excited about in the network’s commentary box.  Matthew Campbell should stick to spruiking his bookmaking gimmicks, while Dwayne Russell’s predictable commentary really is “enough to make a grown man cry”, with his repetitive expressions (e.g. “Nails it!) and trivial facts.

And has anyone looked more uncomfortable on television than Gerard Whateley on Before the Bounce? Poor old Gerard, who is your in-bed-by-nine type and is accustomed to serious chatter on the ABC, didn’t know what to do when he found himself sitting amongst the blokey banter of Jason Dunstall, Danny Frawley and Damien Fleming.

Footy Classified remains compulsory viewing, although it has suffered from the absence of the Beat the Press segment and regular interview guests.

Grant Thomas is an outstanding media performer and must be recruited by another radio network immediately, while Caroline Wilson appears to genuinely enjoy being on the show.

The only downside is the pretentious Craig Hutchison, who expresses his opinions as if they’re gospel and interrupts the engrossing dialogue of other panel members with contrived conflict.

The Footy Show has improved this year, although it would be even better if Supreme Court judges issued a suppression order on Shane Crawford’s immature antics, rather than worrying about harmless medical records.

Andrew Maher’s elocution has been the subject of much criticism this year, with one letter to the Herald Sun suggesting SEN should give away a bottle of “foine woine at noine” to anyone who can understand him.

 SEN’s refusal to replace Billy Brownless with a new co-host makes the breakfast program sound tired, while The Run Home’s soapbox segment is riddled with cringe-worthy impersonations and in-house jokes.

This blogger has  banned The Good Oil ever since Mark Doran told a talkback caller, who was a South Dragons  supporter expressing his disappointment at the club’s demise, to “get over it” and follow the Tigers.

And is Luke Darcy instructed to leave his personality at the door when he hosts Friday drive with Liam Pickering?

The others:

Triple M’s sliding ratings certainly haven’t been helped by the laconic Hamish McLachlan. Let’s hope Gillon has a job ready for him at the AFL.

 3AW would do well to promote Sports Today producer Bruce Eva to its AFL coverage. Eva’s football knowledge is second to none and he has shown during his time at SEN and NIRS that he’s a competent commentator.

Super SEABL not so Crazy after all

 

Australia’s summer basketball league may be tarnished by negative headlines, but its premier winter competition, the South East Australian Basketball League, is experiencing no such problems.

In fact, a recent trip to Geelong to watch the Supercats play the Mount Gambier Pioneers showed how the NBL could learn a few things from its semi-professional counterpart.

The on-court standard was obviously inferior to the big league, but the Supercats’ game-night presentation was almost of a comparable standard. While The Arena is no oil painting from the outside, the interior redevelopments make it a first-class venue which must be the envy of other SEABL clubs. There’s food and bar amenities, an audible sound-system hanging from the roof, two thousand numbered seats and a big screen which purports to be “Geelong’s first 16:9 projector screen.”

Supercats management were clearly taking notes at the South Dragons’ home games, with the player introductions seeing the lights go out, and there were also cheerleaders (albeit adolescents), a mascot imaginatively known as “Supercat”, and competitions including a half-court shot for five thousand dollars.

The game was exciting, too, with some hot shooting from the likes of Dallas Jeffree and Tariq Naqqash seeing the Pioneers come back from a hefty deficit and almost snare an unlikely victory. The Supercats regularly draw around the 1500 mark, and every single one of them would have gone home satisfied.

The moral of the story is that basketball clubs do not have to spend millions of dollars on world-class players to put bums on seats. There are critics who oppose the prospect of a rigid salary cap in the NBL, fearing it would dilute its on-court appeal, but money guzzling ex-NBA players are not fundamental to a successful league. A professional game-night presentation, strong community attachment, off-court stability and a positive public perception are the basics that the NBL should be striving for.

The SEABL, and other winter leagues, has achieved stability because many of its clubs are owned by local associations financed by registration fees, rather than a perilous reliance on gate-takings and benevolence from private owners.

The league has certainly found its niche this season. It has secured Crazy John’s as its naming-rights sponsor, it promotes itself through mainstream media such as WIN, 1116 SEN and a weekly wrap-up on the Herald Sun website, and it’s trialling a live streaming service.

It is moving forward. Let’s hope the NBL can do the same.

"Geelong's first 16:9 projector screen"

Blinded by vision – no point spending like it’s 1999

Vision is a quality we usually seek in our sporting administrators, yet the demise of the South Dragons shows the danger of having stars in one’s eyes.

Dragons co-owners Mark Cowan and Raphael Geminder had high aspirations when they bought an NBL licence in 2005, launching the club with a whizz-bang presentation at the late-Richard Pratt’s Raheen mansion.

While 5000 was said to be the crowd required to break even, Cowan clearly had bigger ideas. “Every time I walk into Vodafone (Arena) I’ll look up to the back and see if there’s any empty seats. Until they’re all full I won’t be happy. And then when they are full we want to move to Rod Laver (Arena). That’s the next step,” he said in October 2005.

Four years later, instead of moving into Rod Laver Arena, Cowan is now returning to his graphic design business in Prahran with his basketball dream all but over. And, over the past three years, every time he looked to the back of Hisense Arena, instead of seeing filled seats all he saw was black curtains.

Yet, despite the downfall of the league since the time of those comments and the millions of dollars he and Geminder have lost, Cowan’s visionary tune hasn’t changed a beat.

“Our aspiration would be to play a lot of our games back at Rod Laver Arena in front of 15,000 people, that’s what we aspire to,” Cowan said last week during his emotional announcement that the club was shutting up shop.

This, it appears, is the difference between the Dragons’ idea of reform and the plans of Basketball Australia. BA has recognised that basketball at the professional level is in dire straits and therefore needs to take one step backwards before taking two steps forward. The biggest step backwards is the salary cap, which will apparently be enforced this season to put a full stop on an era of reckless spending.

Cowan, however, is such a visionary that he cannot fathom the prospect of taking one step backwards.

While the Dragons could certainly be a viable entity paying below the million dollar salary cap and playing in smaller venues such as Knox or Dandenong , Cowan and Geminder want to own a quasi-NBA team. They want to continue with the 10,000-seat stadiums, the pyrotechnics, the full scale marketing, the expensive imports such as Donta Smith and even the prospect of a marquee player outside the salary cap.

This would have been a raging success in the 1990s, but the landscape has changed. The spending required under those plans is disproportionate with the size of the market NBL clubs are now pitching to.

During Cowan’s press conference last week, he pointed to netball as one of the sports which has achieved significant reform.

“Netball didn’t take any time off, but netball went through a reform of its own volition, and now it has a far better television presence than basketball does — it’s attracting big crowds, and it’s doing really well” Cowan said.

What Cowan conveniently overlooked is that the ANZ Championship only appears to be “attracting big crowds” because it plays in mainly 4000-seat venues. The sport is aware of its limitations and when the Melbourne Vixens do play the occasional game at Hisense Arena, they attract no more fans than the Dragons did at the same venue.

This is the lead basketball should follow – crawling before you can sprint again, as Boti Nagy described it in the Adelaide Advertiser.

When Cowan almost broke down at last week’s press conference, the pain he was feeling was palpable. But what’s really sad is that Cowan’s pain is self-inflicted. No one forced the Dragons to fold.

“The Dragons weren’t a two-year project, the Dragons were supposed to be the next 20 years of my life,” Cowan said.

They still can be, Mark. Just realise that you’re involved in a struggling Australian league and, for the moment, the 15,000 sell-outs you dream of are, as they say, only in America.

Time for private ownership to become public

This article can also be found at THE ROAR   Go there and give it a cheer!

 

The National Basketball League’s most recent crises have drawn several conclusions from the game’s heavy-hitters.

The respective captains of the two rebel clubs clearly don’t do decorum, with Mark Worthington labelling Basketball Australia “idiots” who “killed our game”, and Chris Anstey describing the league  as a “piece of crap.”

Victorian Sports Minister James Merlino, who prior to this month’s announcement of a new basketball complex at Knox had never shown any great interest in basketball, suggested the prospect of a national league without Victorian representation was “a joke.”

“Basketball’s dead”, meanwhile, has become a cliché within sporting discourse, particularly from those who conveniently become instant experts whenever the game hits troubled times, in the same way as people becoming racing aficionados when the spring carnival arrives.

Beyond the emotion and hyperbolic ignorance, however, is the realisation that basketball can simply no longer tolerate the perils of private ownership.

Too often an entire sport – which comprises hundreds of thousands of participants, supporters, sponsors, administrators and volunteers – has been dragged through the mud by the self-serving agendas of one or two individuals.

The fraudulence of former Sydney Kings owner Tim Johnston epitomised the risks of private ownership, as did the more innocent troubles of Eddy Groves.

Now, as basketball has sought unified reform through the establishment of an independent board, the actions of a few owners has once again shattered the game’s perception.

The Adelaide 36ers are perhaps one of the proudest clubs in Australian basketball, with ‘Title Town’ home to the most passion-fuelled, knowledgeable supporters in the country. Yet, when the whole club recently stared death in the face due to its inability to secure a million-dollar bank guarantee, owner Mal Hemmerling showed his commitment by hopping on a big bird for a holiday.

This shows the ludicrous imbalance in the fate of a club under the private ownership model. Consistent crowds, healthy media coverage and a successful on-court history are all rendered irrelevant by the dependence on a sole benefactor.

The South Dragons are a similar story. Mark Cowan was known as one of the most passionate and wealthy owners in the league, yet, according to the grapevine, the whole club has been brought to its knees by minority owner Raphael Geminder’s refusal to support changes which are incongruous with his personal agenda.

Melbourne Tigers owner Seamus McPeake, meanwhile, believes it is impossible to make a profit under the proposed 2009/10 model, and he wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning if there was no prospect of earning a dollar that day.

Cairns and Wollongong, albeit out of necessity, have turned to a more sustainable model of community ownership to lead them into the new age of Australian basketball. With the Hawks now operating under a not-for-profit board acting in the interests of the club’s members, it is difficult to see them ever withdrawing from the competition because of some personal gripes, or being driven into oblivion by reckless spending.

Ignore the doomsayers; basketball in this country is not dead. The national men’s league is on the cusp of being placed in an induced coma, but the product of elite basketball is too good not to make a full recovery.

All it needs is some tender loving care from people who genuinely love the game.

Exit The Dragon

Scibz’ Spiel has typically made a point of avoiding self-indulgence – not once has the letter “I” been used in any of its blogs.

But for the sake of letting a shattered man grieve, please let me get something off my chest. This is not the best time to be writing as a passionate Dragons supporter still shocked and heartbroken by the news that the reigning champion has pulled the plug indefinitely, but if they don’t want to provide answers then I’ll simply ask questions.

The overriding feeling right now is WHY? Just two days ago, co-owner Mark Cowan was quoted in an official NBL press release speaking on behalf of club owners, saying:

“The dialogue we had with the BA Board was very fruitful and I believe we are edging ever closer to having ironed out the finer details in the blueprint for the new league,” said Cowan. “We’re feeling optimistic about the outcome of the EOI and look forward to working with the BA Board towards an announcement next week.”

On Wednesday, the club issued a press release announcing coach Brian Goorjian had been appointed as team consultant to Team China, with Cowan quoted:

“We see this as a great thing for Brian,” said Dragons chairman Mark Cowan. “Not only is he coaching at the highest level, but he’s representing our club and spreading the word about the Dragons throughout China.”

Goorjian himself spoke in an AAP article on the new NBL:

“I’m hearing some good things right now about [BA] making some firm decisions.

“We’re going to have to start back, and we’re going to have build it. It’ll grow. I have a good feeling right now about the next step, and it’s hopefully going to make huge headway over the next few years.”

Then there was the news that Tigers owner Seamus McPeake had cut ties with the club, seemingly paving the way for the Dragons to finally move to the financially-friendly Cage.

So what happened in the last day-and-a-half?

The Dragons’ press release simply finished with the sentence:

Further comment will be available next week.

This is a poor way to handle things – either explain to your members why they no longer have a club, or don’t announce it until you’re ready to provide answers. As a member who followed the club before it was even granted a license, it is insulting.

It is also incredibly heartbreaking to contemplate a summer without the sheer enjoyment this club has provided over the past three seasons.

The enjoyment of walking up Swan Street, head-high with anticipation, watching cars turn into the car park and looking toward the box-office to gauge how many people would attend that night. GONE.

The enjoyment of sitting with the same familiar faces, watching our beloved team, and sharing the ecstasy of success or the despair of defeat. GONE.

The enjoyment of heading towards the function room and eagerly awaiting the presence of players and coaches to mull over another great game. GONE.

The potential enjoyment of sitting at a Dragons game with our championship banner hanging from the rafters, after two years of pain. GONE BEFORE IT HAPPENED.

Being a member, I sat next to the same lady all season. We gave each other the occasional nod and smile, but for some reason never introduced ourselves until the playoffs.  We came across each other again at the members day after the grand final victory, both agreeing to renew the same seats again next year. “See ya next season”, we both said when departing.

No we won’t. Possibly never again.

It’s enough to have this self-indulgent blogger crying all over his keyboard.