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Scott Ellis, Commissioner

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The SABL BS

Issue 97 December 2002

FROM COMMISSIONER SCOTT ELLIS, 2^ND AMER. BASKETBALL LEAGUE

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE SABL!!!!!

Who's Trading?

THESE DEALS TAKE EFFECT JAN. 1, 2003. DO NOT ADJUST ROSTERS UNTIL YOU'VE PLAYED YOUR DECEMBER GAMES WITH THESE TEAMS. I WILL NOT ADJUST ROSTERS ON OUR WEBSITE UNTIL JAN. 1.

62. St. Lucie trades Kirilenko & Claxton to Quad City for R. Lewis & George

61. Galactic trades Gatling & its 1st & 2nd picks in 2004 to Davenport for M. Jordan, Davenport's 3rd in 2003 and Davenport's 3rd in 2004

60. Good News trades Snow & Moore to East Asia for Best & Outlaw

59. Good News trades E. Johnson & East Asia's 2nd and 4th to Brooklyn for S. Walker & Brooklyn's 3rd

Who's Trading?

THESE DEALS TAKE EFFECT FEB. 1, 2003. DO NOT ADJUST ROSTERS UNTIL YOU'VE PLAYED YOUR DECEMBER & JANUARY GAMES WITH THESE TEAMS. I WILL NOT ADJUST ROSTERS ON OUR WEBSITE UNTIL FEB. 1.

69. St. Lucie trades G. Wallace & Richmond's 3rd to Holcomb for Holcomb's 1st pick & Gugliotta

68. St. Lucie trades Garrity to Chapel Hill for Kedrick Brown

67. St. Lucie trades Kukoc, Kirilenko & Abdul-Rahim to Holcomb for S. O'Neal, Garrity & M. Curry

66. Holcomb trades A. Hardaway and Lorenzen Wright to Finney for Jason Williams and Weatherspoon

65. St. Lucie trades Gugliotta to Holcomb for Demarr Johnson

64. St. Lucie trades R. Lewis & George to Quad City for Kirilenko & Claxton

63. Miles trades Sabonis to Brooklyn for East Asia's 2nd pick

Marbury, Iverson have scoring lead, so far

Tri-City's Stephon Marbury (27.5) and Good News Allen Iverson (27.3) lead the SABL in scoring and Tri-City also has the rebounding leader, Danny Fortson, at 12.1 RPG. Iverson also leads in steals with 2.6 a game.

Bakersfield's Brent Barry has the FG % lead with a torrid .665 and Miles' Reggie Miller has the leading FT % with .983. East Asia's Bo Outlaw has an amazing 3-Point % of .593, while McLean's Andre Miller and Galactic's Gary Payton are tied for the assist lead at 11.8 APG. Payton also leads in Turnovers with 4.3 TPG. St. Lucie's Tim Duncan leads the league in blocks with 3.0 a game. Finney's Cliff Robinson leads in Defensive Stops with 65.

The team scoring the most in the early going is St. Lucie, with 122.9 PPG, followed by Galactic with 120.6 PPG. The best team defense belongs to perennial defensive stalwart East Asia, who has only allowed 90.7 PPG.

As year ends, Dragons and Aces edge into first in South

The Big Three haven't played each other yet, and that's why it's totally up in the air who is going to win the South Division. But for the first time this season, at the end of the year, Scott Ellis' St. Lucie team (21-1) is claiming at least a share of the divisional lead, tied with defending champion Paul Bennett's East Asia Dragons (21-1). Steve Walters' Galactic Thunder is just behind at 27-3.

Bakersfield starts to roll, Quad City & Richmond lead their divisions

Coach David Squires is getting his first SABL games under his belt and they are winners. The Blades (15-2) lead the West, followed by Charlie Dillingham's Holcomb Heat (24-14). In the North, Richmond (9-6) barely leads Akron (14-10).

Heat take two of three from Galactic at Holcomb

Steve Walters' Galactic Thunder lost only its second series of the year at Holcomb in three exciting ballgames. Here's Heat Coach Charlie Dillingham's report:

Galactic won Game 1 big, leading by as many as 28 at one point, Holcomb cut it to 3 only to watch Galactic reel off 11 straight to win going away 128-109 Galactic led by 16 at half. Holcomb had no answer for Gary Payton, as he hit his first 11 shots, he finished with 36 pts and 10 ats,Coleman had 21pts for Galactic. O'Neal had 42 pts and 13 rbs for Holcomb.

Game 2 was just the opposite og game 1. Holcomb had a 22 pt lead at one point and won going away 121-105.Holcomb led by 13 at half and 20 at the end of 3. Payton was big again for Galactic with 23 , Malone had 19 and Coleman 17 pts and 11 rbs. O'Neal had 37 ptsand 14 rbs for Holcomb, Van Exel set a new Heat record with 19 assists.

Game 3 - Best Game of series. Holcomb held on to win in a seesaw battle 129-123. O'Neal had 32 pts and 12 rbs, Van Exel had 25 pts, and Hardaway had 20 to lead 6 Heat Players in double figures. Payton again was hot shooting 11-17 for 28 pts. Malone and Marshall each had 24 for Galactic.

Thunder sweeps Holcomb at Galactic

G1) Holcomb 109
Galactic 115

Heat were lead by O'Neal with 20 points and 7 rebs, Jones with 20 points, 5 rebs and 6 steals. Van Exel with 19 points, Mohammed with 17 points and 14 rebs (11 offensive). Thunder were lead by Malone with 27 points 14 rebs, Wells with 27 points 4 rebs and 4 assists and Payton with 11 points and 13 assists.
Galactic had a season high 30 turnovers (Heat 17), but shot 62% from the floor(Heat 38%).

G2) Holcomb 103
Galactic 123

For Heat Van Exel had 26 points, 4 rebs and 8 assists and Jones had 17 points, 7 rebs, 7 assists and 2 steals. Shaq only attempted 12 FG's(made 6) and was 2 for 8 on free throws. For Thunder Malone had 33 points, 9 rebs, 2 assists and 4 steals in 32 mins. Coleman had 20 points, Wells 16 and Payton added 8 points and 13 assists.

G3 Holcomb 114
Galactic 123

For Heat O'Neal comes back from subpar game with 40 points on 16-21 from the field(8 for 16 on FTs) and 8 rebs. Van Exel had 12 points and 13 assists and Jones added 19 points 4 rebs, 5 assists and 2 steals. For Thunder Malone had 30 points, 8 rebs and 7 assists and Payton had 21 points, 6 rebs, 15 assists and 4 steals and Brandon(who did not play in first 2 games) had 14 points, 3 rebs and 2 assists and 1 steal in 20 mins. Thunder trailed 97-88 going into the 4th quarter. Brandon and a pressing defense helped turn the game around as Galactic out scored Holcomb 35-17 to win going away.

Who's Trading?

THESE DEALS TAKE EFFECT JAN. 1, 2003. DO NOT ADJUST ROSTERS UNTIL YOU'VE PLAYED YOUR DECEMBER GAMES WITH THESE TEAMS. I WILL NOT ADJUST ROSTERS ON OUR WEBSITE UNTIL JAN. 1.

62. St. Lucie trades Kirilenko & Claxton to Quad City for R. Lewis & George

61. Galactic trades Gatling & its 1st & 2nd picks in 2004 to Davenport for M. Jordan, Davenport's 3rd in 2003 and Davenport's 3rd in 2004

60. Good News trades Snow & Moore to East Asia for Best & Outlaw

59. Good News trades E. Johnson & East Asia's 2nd and 4th to Brooklyn for S. Walker & Brooklyn's 3rd

Who's Trading?

THESE DEALS TAKE EFFECT FEB. 1, 2003. DO NOT ADJUST ROSTERS UNTIL YOU'VE PLAYED YOUR DECEMBER & JANUARY GAMES WITH THESE TEAMS. I WILL NOT ADJUST ROSTERS ON OUR WEBSITE UNTIL FEB. 1.

69. St. Lucie trades G. Wallace & Richmond's 3rd to Holcomb for Holcomb's 1st pick & Gugliotta

68. St. Lucie trades Garrity to Chapel Hill for Kedrick Brown

67. St. Lucie trades Kukoc, Kirilenko & Abdul-Rahim to Holcomb for S. O'Neal, Garrity & M. Curry

66. Holcomb trades A. Hardaway and Lorenzen Wright to Finney for Jason Williams and Weatherspoon

65. St. Lucie trades Gugliotta to Holcomb for Demarr Johnson

64. St. Lucie trades R. Lewis & George to Quad City for Kirilenko & Claxton

63. Miles trades Sabonis to Brooklyn for East Asia's 2nd pick

Richmond (9-6) inches ahead of Akron (14-10) in East Division

In what's shaping up to be a really close race in the East, Frank Rowley's Raiders have moved into first place for the first time this season over Dave Scot's Akron Blimps.

Druids beat Bakersfield at Bettendorf

Sam Cassell scores 34 to lead the Druids to a 123-109 victory.

Druids top Roosters at Good News

Druids put nine players in double figures in 123-110 victory over Good News on the road.

Druids take two of three from Akron at Bettendorf

Quad City Rimrockers defeated Holcomb Heat 99-95

Quad City Rimrockers defeated the Finney Longhorns 107-89

Quad City Rimrockers defeated the Bakersfield Blades 108-96

Yep, time waits for no one. Dick Clark's gonna drop that ball no matter what, and we still have several teams that haven't finished their December games, despite a schedule specially designed with no games the last week of the year to make it easier. One team already has enough penalty points to be dropped down one place in the 2003 Draft.

Anyway, lateness kills leagues, and we ain't gonna let slowpokes or the uncommunicative stop the rest of us. EVEN IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED ALL OF YOUR DECEMBER GAMES YET, ON THE AFTERNOON OF DEC. 31, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, GO AHEAD AND MAKE YOUR JANUARY TRADES AND GET YOUR JANUARY INSTRUCTIONS OUT. Here's what may happen after you do that:

1. December game plans from teams that have made January trades and are late with December instructions may not import into your game properly. That's too bad. They have made trades, they are late, they will suffer any consequences. IF GAME PLANS FROM TEAMS THAT HAVE MADE JANUARY TRADES DON'T IMPORT, PLAY THEIR DECEMBER GAMES ANYWAY, AUTOPLAYING THEIR TEAM IF YOU HAVE TO. BUT DON'T AUTOPLAY THEIR TEAM UNTIL YOU HAVE TRIED TO IMPORT THEIR GAME PLAN. And make sure you check the trade list below to see if they've made January trades.

2. Wait the normal amount of time for game plans and results. If a coach is even a day late with instructions, you should be contacting them to ask why. If they are more than a week late with results, you should be contacting them to ask why. If they are a week late with instructions, they can get a penalty point. If they are two weeks late with results, they can get 2 penalty points.

3. Stats could get messed up on teams that have made January trades and are late with December instructions. Again, that's too bad, they are the ones that are late and they are the ones that made the trades. The rest of the league should not be punished or have to wait on them. It ain't right. Lateness causes most leagues to fold. As long as I'm running this league, we ain't folding.

Penalty point report

Now the part of my commissioner's duties that I like the least, assessing penalty points. I also check our Yahoo! group site, too, to look for results, but since Yahoo! is not reliable, you must email me directly to avoid getting penalty points. Please let me know ASAP if I've made an error. Sometimes my email server screws up. And if you are gonna be late for some legitimate reason, let me know by telephone or email what's going on so you can avoid getting penalty points.

It's your responsibility to follow up with coaches that don't send you instructions. You have to stay on top of the schedule to find out who's supposed to be sending you what and when. "I didn't get any instructions" better not be your only defense. Did you contact your opposing coach and make an effort to get those instructions? "Why did you wait and let the games get two weeks late?" will be the question I'm gonna ask.

Home games are the home coach's primary responsibility. You need to let me know that you have tried to contact your late opponents to avoid penalty points. If you didn't try to contact them and find out what's going on, then you'll probably get some penalty points. Get enough of them and you'll drop down places in the draft.

LATENESS KILLS LEAGUES. IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO PLAY THE GAMES, YOU DONT HAVE TIME TO BE IN THE SABL. UNLIKE OTHER LEAGUES YOU MAY HAVE BEEN IN, THE TRAINS RUN ON TIME HERE.

Here's the current tally:

Bettendorf - 2 points total.

2 points for no results for Akron at Bettendorf, Dec. 7

Yep, time keeps marching on and we have yet another way to communicate. Check out our new message section on the Strat-O-Matic Game Company's official message forum, the Strat-O-Matic Forum, at this link - http://www.vicksburgmarine.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=27&DaysPrune=1000. It will be yet another way for us to communicate with each other and for others in the Strat world to communicate with us.

The Richmond Raiders woke up in the 4th quarter after trailing the entire game to defeat Chapel Hill 103 - 98. The Raiders were down 15 points with just 10 minutes left in the game! Antawn Jamison played with the flu, a sprained ankle and a hard cast on his left knee as he hit just 1 of FIFTEEN from the floor. Peja Stojakovic scored 25 points to lead Richmond.

Druids franchise is now available! Contact the commissioner ASAP!!!

Well, we still have a franchise available in the SABL and it's that evil team of the North, the Bettendorf Druids. You can assume control of the team immediately (or take over Feb. 1, if you prefer), if you have the right stuff. Seize the moment! Become an SABL coach today! Contact Commissioner Scott Ellis ASAP! This team could end up with Yao Ming next year! Wow!

RICHMOND RAIDS McLEAN, 99-80

The Nats went quietly again as the Raiders forced 24 turnovers and 41 percent shooting. Stojakovic had 22 points and nine rebounds, while Stackhouse led the Nats with 23.

NATS BLOWN AWAY BY TWISTERS, 127-111

McLean came back from a southern vacation well rested, and after this game, they seem to still be well rested. Iowa hit 8 of 13 threes and 37 of 46 free throws as they walked away from the Nats. McGrady had 27 on only 12 shots from the floor, and Mark Jackson chipped in with 18 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes. Andre Miller led the Nats with 27 points and 13 assists.

Aces (21-1) sweep Longhorns (6-25) at Finney

St. Lucie pulled even with second-place East Asia (21-1) in the South by taking all three games at Doug Dillingham's Finney home court. The Aces took all six, home and away, from Finney, last year's West Division winners that are struggling in last place so far in the first part of this season. Here's Finney's report:

Game 1- St Lucie leads at half 54-51 after spotting Finney 7 in the 1st. St Lucie outscores Finney 55-41 in 2nd half to win 109-91 St Lucie was led by
Duncan with 31 points and 20 rebounds

Game 2- St Lucie outscored Finney in each qtr to win going away 132-92.StLucie had an 22 point lead at the half,stretched it to 32 at the end of 3 and 40 at the end. Duncan had 26 points and 12 rebounds, Kobe Bryant had 26 points and Stockton had 25 points and 14 assists. Finney was 9 of 30 from 3 pt land and 9 of 16 from the charity stripe, sealing their fate.

Game 3-St Lucie again wins big. St Lucie only led by 1 at half, but outscored Finney by 16 in the third and 13 in the 4th to win going away. Stockton had 16 assists and Bryant 288 points to lead St Lucie.

Good News franchise assumed by Jeff Perigoni

Well, I didn't think it would happen so quickly (the same day, Dec. 27), but let's all welcome the new Good News Roosters coach, Jeff Perigoni, to the SABL! Jeff is a good friend and Strat buddy of Chapel Hill Coach Tommy Field, so next season, Jeff's franchise will probably move into the South Division and the East Asia franchise may move to the West. Jeff is taking over the team that was so ably manned by ex-SABL Coach Chris Gertridge.

I'm sure Jeff, who is a civil law attorney in New Orleans, will be renaming his team next year, too. But this season, Good News is still in the West, so here's what we are doing:

Jeff has requested that his Good News team be autoplayed for all its remaining December and January games. Please send all the results to me and to Jeff, at this email address: lperigoni@aol.com.

Jeff's mailing address is P.O. Box 805, Chalmette, LA 70044. His telephone is 985-643-7479.

Jeff says he likes to play, trade and draft, so he'll fit right in with our bunch. Give him a phone call or send him an email and welcome him to our league. Good luck Jeff!

Good News Coach Chris Gertridge leaves the league. Roosters franchise available immediately! Contact the commissioner!!!!

One of our most exuberant coaches, the Roosters' Chris Gertridge, has left the SABL, effective immediately, due to time constraints. We will really miss Chris and he is welcome to join us again anytime.

What that means for the rest of us is this:

1. If you have any outstanding December games with Good News, home or away, please autoplay Good News and get those results to me ASAP.

2. Do not play any January Good News games yet or send out any January Good News instructions until you hear from me.

2. We need a new coach for Good News, which is a playoff contender with Allen Iverson, Al Harrington and plenty of draft picks for next season. Email

Scott Ellis, Commissioner, if you are interested and with this team, you better contact me quickly.

At month's end, Quad City, Akron, Galactic & Bakersfield lead

With almost a month's games played, Dave Scott's Akron Blimps (13-8) sit atop the East, two games ahead of Richmond (7-6). In the North, Amazing newcomer Kathleen Feeney leads with her Quad City Rimrockers (12-7). In the South, veteran Steve Walters' wily Galactic Thunder (23-1) are a game ahead of the defending champs, East Asia (21-1) and 2.5 games up on the defending Classic Conference champs St. Lucie (18-1). David Squires' Bakersfield Blades (5-0) are the only undefeated team left in the SABL this year and they lead Charlie Dillingham's Holcomb Heat (22-8) by percentage points.

What a great season we are having so far! Lots of exciting series yet to come, too! Stay tuned!

Merry Christmas! Stats, leaders, totals & line scores are posted!

Check out our League Leaders, Standings/Team Highs, Rosters & Stats, and League Totals links for more stats than you can shake a stick at! Enjoy!

Aces (18-1) sweep Finney in St. Lucie

In the toughest series of the season for St. Lucie, the Aces took all three games against Doug Dillingham's great defensive unit. Only great foul shooting by St. Lucie saved the Aces.

Game 1 - Aces 128, Longhorns 117

The Aces sank 27 free throws, Finney just 4. Tim Duncan had 33 points and Kobe Bryant scored 24. Jason Williams scored 25 points with 12 assists for Finney and Cliff Robinson scored 22. Finney led St. Lucie 40-25 at the end of the first quarter, but St. Lucie clawed its way back to take the lead in the fourth quarter.

Game 2 - Aces 119, Longhorns 108

Duncan scored 29 with 14 rebounds while Steve Nash sank 23 points for St. Lucie. Finney's Robinson canned 23 points and Brian Grant had 10 boards.

Game 3 - Aces 114, Longhorns 98

24 points for Duncan and 21 for St. Lucie's John Stockton. Jason Williams sank 25 for Finney and Jason Richardson scored 24. Brian Grant had 11 rebounds.

Blades beat Dazzlers in Davenport

Tulsa toppled in Tri-City

Tri City survives an ugly game, 94-82. Now 4-4.J. O'Neal 35 points and 11 rebounds. Marbury 22 points and 11 assists. Blackhawks shoot 51%... Twisters 37%.

Hawks lose to Holcomb in Tri-City

Holcomb pulls away in 4th quarter to win 116-101. Shaq and Marbury each score 42.

Good News loses in Tri-City

Tri-city prevails 93-91. Iverson 30. Hughes 20. Fortson a franchise-record 19 rebounds.

NATS CAN'T SEE TO SHOOT OVER BLIMPS

The Blimps stifled the Nats in McLean, easily winning 119-94 in the Nats worst offensive outing of the season. Jalen Rose and Jerry Stackhouse shot a combined 9 for 32 - no match for six Blimps in double figures.

In-season trade deadline approaching fast

At 11:59 pm on Dec. 31, our annual Mid-Season trade deadline arrives. Players swapped between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31 can be used in games beginning Feb. 1. Any players traded from Jan. 1 on cannot be used until our 2003-04 season.

Complete Standings now posted!!

The complete Standings and Team Highs file is now posted on our Standings/Team Highs link. Stats and League Leaders coming soon, too!

St. Lucie (15-1) finishes December games with win over Iowa 140-131

The Aces' light December schedule ended with a home win vs. the tough Tornadoes (7-14), coached by Dennis Derby. Iowa's Tracy McGrady led all scorers with 31 points and Stevie Franchise had an incredible game, with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists, just missing a triple double. Vince Carter had 28 points.

Four Aces scored 20 points or more, however, to nail it for the home team. Tim Duncan (23 points), Kobe Bryant (22 points), Chris Webber (20 points) and Steve Nash (20 points) kept St. Lucie a few steps ahead at all times.

Blimps (11-6) knock off East Asia (21-1) in exciting Akron match

The score was 100-99 and at the end, the last of the Big Three not to lose a game this year finally lost a game. Paul Bennett's East Asia Dragons were burned by the Dave Scott's Blimps as Akron's Kevin Garnett (31 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists) and East Asia's Paul Pierce (32 points) duked it out. Ray Allen added 20 points for Akron, while the Dragons' Jerome Williams had 13 rebounds.

Akron stays in first in the East, while East Asia drops just behind Galactic in the South.

Aces (14-1) beat Akron at Akron, 132-90

Tim Duncan had 33 points and 15 rebounds in this win, with Ace John Stockton adding 12 assists and Chris Webber scoring 26. Wally Szczerbiak led Akron with 26 points and Kevin Garnett had 10 boards.

Galactic (22-1) and St. Lucie (13-1) lose their first games, to Richmond

Raider Coach Frank Rowley is checking in with some results and he is a giant-killer. Among other conquests, he is the first team of the year to beat any of the Big Three, 121-112 over Galactic and 115-108 over the Aces. He also took two of three at home from Tri-City and beat Chapel Hill 103-93.

Now, can Frank, who is perhaps the favorite to win the East this year, knock off the last of the Big Three, East Asia (21-0)? We'll soon see as this exciting SABL season continues.

East Asia's Paul Bennett reports on four wins . . .

East Asia blows out Finney in all three games on Finney's home court

McLean 105 - Brooklyn 85

The Mclean 'Rebels' invaded the North and put a whuppin on the Yankee dogs...err cats , they are Tigers. Brooklyn had no answer for Jerry Stackhouse, defensive specialist Bruce Bowen, double teams, nothing helped. The Tigers , as thye have been all season, were outrebounded (46-37) picking up only 8 offensive boards. Pau gasol was held to 2 points, and turned the ball over 8 times. The Tigers may be improved, but they are still regretting the Brand for Odom trade. Hopefully Ervin Johnson will help in the middle, the 1st real center they've had in a couple of years

My email server burped again . . .

Not sure why this happens, but it does. My email server has just sent me Dec. 3, 4, 9, 11 & 18 dated emails from you all. My apologies if I scolded you for not sending me results due to this blip, but if I sometimes ask to resend, this is why. My emails sometimes "get lost" and I'll usually get your resend before I get the original. So bear with me and understand why I ask for  resends - it's not your fault or my fault, it's just the Internet playing its tricks.

BTW, I will never give penalty points for something like this and I will rescind any points given because of things like this.

In one of these old emails, I received another vote in our uncarded player referendum. It was a "No," making the final tally 9-8 against.

McLean votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Bakersfield votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Quad City votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Akron votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Iowa votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Richmond votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Holcomb votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Finney votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Tulsa votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Chapel Hill votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Miles votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Brooklyn votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Good News votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

East Asia votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Galactic votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Davenport votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

St. Lucie votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Dragons 103, Akron 87 at East Asia

Heat split two with Roosters

Roosters 121 Heat 107

Shaq scores 26 buts shoots 38%, 5 rebs and 0 blocks. van Exel 17 and 11 assists in 29 minutes. Rooster offence at season's best so far. AI 33, Terry 31, Snow 21 and Harrington 13 in his debut game. Brilliant D and Iverson/Terry on fire equals a Rooster win.

Roosters 87 Heat 100

The Roosters never were close in this one. Heat shoot 55% and crush the Roosters on the glass. Shaq has 24/11 in 28 foul plagued minutes. Eddie Jones brilliant on Iverson (15 pts) and scores 18. Lorenzen Wright has 14/10. Terry solid with 21 on 9-12 shooting. Stepania has 13 in 13 minutes against Shaq.

TIGERS BARELY SCRATCH NATS

Brooklyn didn't give McLean much trouble - not many teams can when they hit only 38 percent from the floor - as they lost on the road 108-84. Cuttino Mobley played well with 20, but Pau Gasol got his 17 on 6 for 18 shooting. Meantime the Nats were led by Brad Miller's 25 and Andre Miller's 12 assists as all 12 Nats scored.

Thunder (22-0) takes Iowa at Galactic, increases record win streak

Trailing 86-82 going into the 4th quarter Galactic out scored Iowa 42-26 pulling way to a 124-112 victory. Iowa had 6 men in double figure scoring lead by Francis with 21 points, 8 assists, 8 rebs and 2 steals. Galactic was lead my Malone with 25 points, 7 rebs, 4 assists and 5 steals. Payton had 25 points and 13 assists. Brandon had 12 points and 12 assists in 25 min.

Galactic and East Asia (21-0) are both increasing the SABL all-time season-starting victory streak record with every game they win. Combined with the Aces (13-0), the Big Three of the East have a combined 56-0 record.

Home cooking helps Druids broil Roosters

By Don DeBatts
BETTENDORF NEWS

Bettendorf used a little hometown magic to defeat Good News 104-100 in OT. With 1:24 to play, the Roosters held a 87-81 lead. Sam Cassell hit a three and drew a break when a late-whistle signaled a foul.

"I didn't think (Eric) Snow touched me," Cassell said. "But the referee is always right."

Cassell made the free throw, but Snow scored on a drive to stretch the lead to three with 34 seconds left. Cassell rushed a three with 26 seconds left, but missed. The ball was tipped out of bounds, but the Druids got another taste of home cooking.

"That rebound definitely went off Horace Grant," Snow exclaimed in the locker room after the game. "First, I get called for a foul when I'm a mile away from
Cassell and then this. We had the game wrapped up, and the stripes took it away."

The TV replay showed Grant tipped the ball out of bounds, but the Druids were given the ball. This time, they worked for a final shot and Vashon Leonard hit a three to tie the game. In overtime, Rafer Alston took charge for Bettendorf by sparking a 9-4 run with three dazzling assists separated by his own three-point shot. Good News had a chance to tie the game with 57 seconds left, but Allen Iverson missed one of his two free throws. Charlie Ward hit a three and Fred Hoiberg made one of two free throws to ice the game.

Druids down Tulsa 109-100 at Bettendorf

After Tulsa cut the lead to 98-95 with 3:59 to play, Bettendorf went on a 9-2 run over the next three minutes. Marion hit a three with :30 left, but Hoiberg's two free throws clinched it.

We are not going to have a new coach for the Bettendorf franchise by January 1, so send all your Miles instructions and results, as always, to Tom Jargo and all your Bettendorf instructions and results, as always, to Mark Feeney. We will shoot for getting another Bettendorf coach by Feb. 1.

 If you have a friend or relative that would like to take over one of our league's most interesting franchises, this is their chance! Contact Commissioner Scott Ellis ASAP! This team could end up with Yao Ming next year! Wow!

Even though Bakersfield has not played any games yet, I've gone ahead and posted our first standings of the season. I'm holding off on posting stats and league leaders until Bakersfield checks in with some results. Check 'em out at our Standings/Team Highs link.

Galactic (21-0) is now in first place in the South, one game ahead of East Asia (20-0). So, at least temporarily, Steve Walter's Thunder has the record for the best start in SABL history. And East Asia has the record for having an SABL record for the shortest length of time (one week). The Aces (13-0) round out the Big Three in Dixieland and those teams now have a combined 54-0 record.

In the East, Dave Scott's Blimps (5-3) lead. In the North, new Coach Kathleen Feeney's Rimrockers (9-5) are tops, while the West is lead by veteran Coach Charlie Dillingham's Holcomb Heat (17-8).

The vote was 9 for and 8 against. 11 votes in favor did not come in by the Dec. 15 deadline. And we are evenly split on this issue, too, so we're gonna leave 'er as it is.

This puts the Blimps in first place in the East Division!

This puts the Blimps in first place in the East Division!

By Tulsa Coach Philip Creider

With all December home games now under their belt, the Twisters start off with a disappointing home record of 2 and 6. (Currently 2-9 overall)

The home season started with a 3-game sweep by the St. Lucie Aces. The score in . . .

Game 1 after 3 quarters had the Aces leading by only a 80-77 score; however, they pulled away in the 4^th by outscoring the Twisters 33-27. While K Bryant led them in scoring with 24 pts, the real killer was J Stockton’s performance (16 pts and 10 assists, most of which were dazzlers.) S Marion and J O’Neal led the home team with 24 and 21 pts, respectively.

Game 2 was a blowout with the visitors winning 124-102. Team scoring leaders were K Bryant (35 pts) and J O’Neal (27 pts).

Game 3 was the most exciting yet disappointing. The Twisters led after 3 quarters, 81-70, but the Aces put together an amazing 4^th quarter, outscoring me 36-22. Final score, 106-103 visitors. The Aces’ final basket to win was a 3-pointer by J Stockton. Once again, the Twisters relied heavily on J O’Neal for leadership as he poured in 36 pts. Talk on the street is already about possible All-Star recognition.

With the Aces out of town, the Tulsa team turned its attention to a 1-game set (Game 4) against the Davenport Dazzlers. Unfortunately, their attention span was obviously limited. The visitors win 99-90 with M Jordan leading the way for them with 27 pts. M Peterson and T Hudson also created damage with 16 pts each. Tulsa’s solid play was limited to S Marion (19 pts), J O’Neal (23 pts and 13 boards), and D Miles (12 pts). Contributing to Tulsa’s poor showing was a mere 14% (3 of 21) behind the arc.

Still searching for that first home victory, the Twisters welcomed the River City team (for Game 5) and promptly got pounded 105-87. The 3^rd quarter was a disaster as the visitors outscored the home team 23-13. River City was led by A Houston (25 pts) and R Hamilton (17 pts). Tulsa’s only highlight was a monster showing by J O’Neal (44 pts and 12 rebounds). To heck with All-Star talk, we’re talking MVP, baby!!!

Game 6 was a good battle with Quad City but the Twisters still come up on the short end, 102-99. The game was a "foul fest" with Quad City shooting 41 free throws and Tulsa shooting 46. Difference in outcome was basically that the vistors hit 6 3’s while the Twisters only hit 4. Quad City highlights included R Lewis (24 pts) and former Twister, J Smith (13 pts and 11 rbs). J O’Neal cooled off, scoring only 18 pts; A Davis finally had a good game, however (23 pts and 11 rb).

Game 7 finally was the charm as the Twisters beat Tri-City 108-98. Game was more exciting than the final score indicated, however. Tulsa led at halftime, 57-44, and in fact built up a 20 point lead early in the 3^rd quarter. By mid 4^th quarter, the Twisters had all but given that lead away and it was not until late in the game that they sealed the year’s first home victory. Nothing is easy in T-Town… J O’Neal was the stud again going for 37 pts. A Davis added 20 pts. Tri-City was led by S Marbury (26 pts) and L Nailon (22 pts.)

Game 8 also ended up as a Tulsa victory as they defeated Bettendorf, 90-83. Game was not a thing of beauty as each team shot 38%. J O’Neal had limited minutes due to foul trouble so only had 19 pts. A Davis (16 pts and 12 boards) and R LaFrentz (12 pts) came up big for the home team. S Cassell did his best to keep Bettendorf in the game by scoring 31 pts.

In musing over the first 8 home games, two things are obvious. First, J O’Neal is a stud so the team will continue to lay its hopes on his shoulders. Second, the play of Tulsa’s point guards (T Parker, C Childs, and A Williams) has been ineffective. Parker, especially, has not provided the scoring that I had expected. As a result, more playing time will shift to Williams.

"Once again, I think that we got a major talent in the draft by selecting PG Tony Parker with our first-round pick (#5 overall). In the past 3 drafts, we have selected Shawn Marion, Darius Miles, and, now, Parker. Last year, we also picked up Alvin Williams (via a trade of Joe Smith). Pleased as punch, with these picks."

"I must admit, though, that I am already having regrets about my second-round pick in this year’s draft (Wesley Person at Pick # 25). My preference for this pick was at SG but was hoping that Joe Johnson would fall this far. When he didn’t, I went with Person who has a strong strat card. My fear is that Person may not have "much in the tank" beyond this year’s card. I am still trying to figure out why the Memphis Grizzlies signed him as a free agent; cannot see much in the way of playing time for him this new NBA season. In retrospect, I now wish that I would have selected the talented Gerald Wallace instead. He could end up having a career like Jermaine O’Neal: sit on the bench for a couple of years and, then, explode upon the scene. Oh well, not going to beat myself on the head over the pick. Who knows, the addition of Person may result, this year, in a few more victories and improve my chances at a post-season berth."

Thunder had 4 players scoring 20 or more points lead by Wells' 27. Payton had 24 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds. Coleman had a excellent game with 20 points and 17 rebounds in 29 mins. Malone had 22 points and 4 steals. Galactic shot 5-19 on 3's. Miles as lead by A.Walker with 47 points on 11-20 3's.
R.Miller had 19 points and 9 assists. Bibby had 10 points and 14 rebs. Miles was 17-34 on 3 pointers, but only went to the line 6 times making 3. Miles had more assists that Galactic 42-38. Galactic won the reb war 55-34 and had 12 steals.

Heat and Finney split at Holcomb

Coach Paul Bennett's Dragons have won their 20th regular season game in a row, setting a new league record for best team start. The previous mark of 19-0 was set by the St. Lucie Aces in 2000-01 and that team won the SABL championship that year. Way to go, Paul!

Will East Asia also break the all-time SABL win record of 77 wins? That mark also is held by the Aces, set in 1998-99 and the Aces also won the championship that year, too.

But if you think that means East Asia is cruising to a South Divisional title, think again. Galactic (19-0) is right behind the Dragons and the Aces (12-0), who have a light December schedule, haven't lost yet either. The Big Three's combined win total is now 51-0. In fact, East Asia's 20-0 record might not stand too long - Galactic or St. Lucie could break that, too! Wow!

Who will flinch first?

In our other divisions, Kathleen Feeney's Amazing Rimrockers (7-5) lead the North, a half-game up on Bettendorf (6-6). Davenport is next at 9-13, followed by River City (7-12) and Tri City (1-2). Just like the South, this division is definitely up for grabs.

And so is the East. Iowa (3-4) leads in the early going, followed by Miles (6-12), Brooklyn (4-10), Akron (1-3) and Richmond (0-3).

And so is the West, with Holcomb (17-8) out front so far. Next is Finney (6-11), Good News (6-14) and Tulsa (2-9). Bakersfield still has not played any games yet.

McLean is 5-11 and Chapel Hill is 3-9 in the South.

Miles Coach Tom Jargo has NOT resigned, do not autoplay Miles.

The SABL now has an Axis Of Evil: Miles Coach Tom Jargo has decided not to leave the SABL after all. He and Bettendorf Coach Mark Feeney will jointly manage the Miles franchise in a historic new GM/coaching arrangement.

Tom Jargo quit the SABL this month because he is not able to play an 82-game basketball season anymore. But Tom still really loves the drafting, trading and planning of his beloved Bulldogs. The solution? Tom Jargo will continue to be the GM of the Miles Bulldogs. Mark Feeney will coach the team, playing all its games and sending out all its instructions and results.

If you have already autoplayed Miles, those results will stand and are official. If you have not autoplayed Miles, don't. Wait for instructions from Tom Jargo. Continue to send all December Miles instructions and results to Tom Jargo. Continue to send all December Bettendorf instructions and results to Mark Feeney.

Do not send out any January Miles/Bettendorf game plans or results until you get instructions from me. We hope to have a new coach by January 1 for the Druids.

All trades between Bettendorf and Miles are frozen until a new Bettendorf coach is found to replace Mark. If you have a friend or relative that would like to take over one of our league's most interesting franchises, this is their chance! Contact Commissioner Scott Ellis ASAP!

Antawn Jamison scored 43 points in game 2 to highlight a series that saw Miles struggle offensively with 41% and 43 % FG shooting in the two games. Jamal Mashburn typified Miles problems with a woeful 9 - 30 from the floor for the two games. Conversely, Rasheed Wallace was a stunning 20 - 28.

Rudderless Bulldogs thrashed by East Asia 126-68

Now without a coach, the Dogs were annihilated by Paul Bennett's Dragons 126-68 at Miles, giving the Dragons a record 20 straight wins to open the season.

Asia was up 70-38 at the half and then used a 34-6 third to lead 106-44 after three. Asia made 50 buckets to Miles 25 and won every team category. Walker had 20 and was the only Bulldog in double figures. Corliss had 31 in 20 minutes and Pierce 22. Five Dragons scored at least 16 points.

McLean votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Bakersfield votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Quad City votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Akron votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Iowa votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Richmond votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Holcomb votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Finney votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Tulsa votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Chapel Hill votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Miles votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Brooklyn votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Good News votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

East Asia votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

Galactic votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

Davenport votes "Yes" on drafting uncarded players

St. Lucie votes "No" on drafting uncarded players

OK, we're voting on this again. Here's what you are voting "Yes" or "No" on:

"SABL coaches can draft any Strat carded/computer player or any non-carded player on an NBA roster at the time of the SABL's annual draft, beginning in 2005."

This is an official SABL vote to change our Constitution! Please vote Yes or No on this proposal and email me on it by Dec. 15. We must have 11 votes in favor of this proposal for it to pass. Only one caveat - if any coach objects to this enough to quit over it, we will not do it. I don't want to lose a coach over something this minor.

Our roster size will still be 14 players. And you still must have enough minutes to complete an SABL season. If you can do that with just 11 or 12 carded/computer players, that's OK. If you need 13 carded/computer players to do it, then you could only draft one uncarded player. Also, you can still draft any carded/computer player you want, even if he's retired from the NBA in the current season.

Send me your votes today!

That old Thunder just keeps rollin' along and at 18-0, Steve Walters' Galactic squad has passed East Asia (15-0) for the South Division lead. The all-time best start in the SABL was 19-0 in 2000-01, by the St. Lucie Aces, who went on that season to win the SABL championship. This year, combined with St. Lucie (12-0), the Big Three are now an unbelievable 44-0.

St. Lucie made 33 of 42 free throws while Miles only made 15 of 18 in this downer for the Dogs. Ace Chris Webber led all scorers with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Tim Duncan had 15 boards, while Andrei Kirilenko scored 23. John Stockton scored 19 with 15 assists. Reggie Miller led Miles with 22 points.

The Thunder just keeps on rolling and moves into first place in the South with these wins. Here's Galactic Coach Steve Walters' report:

G1) Good News 92
Galactic 111

G2) Good News 88
Galactic 111

G3) Good News 93
Galactic 114

For the series Roosters shot just 37.4% from the floor. Iverson was just 30%(21 for 70) from the floor 5-17(29.4) on 3's. Roosters, as a team, shot 17-59 on 3's. Terry shot ony 18-54(33.3%) from the floor and 11-35(31.4%) on 3's. Al Harrington had a nice game in game #2 with 19 points and 9 rebs in 28 mins.

For Thunder, Malone averaged 30.3 points a game, Payton 11 assists per game. Game three saw Derek Coleman come up big with 25 points, 10 rebs and 2 blk.

Roosters get spanked 115-91 and 122-111.

Raiders were lead by Finley with 32 points on 14-17 shooting. B. Davis added 20 points 7 rebs and 5 assists. Thunder leaders were Payton with 25 points, 9 assists and 2 steals. Malone had 21 points 7 rebs and 5 assists. Wells added 19 points. Games was close except for 2nd quarter 36-17 blowout. Raiders were 8 of 26 on 3's and only attempted 10 free throws making 6. Thunder missed 10(21of 31) same number of free throws as Raiders attempted. Galactic had 27 assists, a season low.

Galactic is now 13-0, but that's not good enough for first place in the Super South Division. Steve Walters' Thunder is in 2nd, behind East Asia (15-0) and ahead of St. Lucie, who is in third place at 11-0. The Big Three are a combined 39-0 so far.

After 8 contests the Dazzlers and Druids found themselves deadlocked with 4 wins each. The teams traded two game winning streaks as the Dazzlers took the 1st 2 games, 108-105 and 90-75. The Druids came back to post 102-97 and 116-95 victories.

"I told my guys that the were playing soft," said Dazzler coach Jeff Ruland. "Nobody was setting picks or blocking out or hammering people. We stepped it up in the next 2 games and won." (79-73 and 133-95). "After that I thought we had them, but with these guys (not sure if he meant there's or ours) you never know."

The Druids took the final 2 games, 110-100 and 111-101 and stand at 8-6, just % points behind the 6-4 Rimrockers. The Dazzlers are now 9-13, above only the 7-12 Renegades.

Two more games to go in this River City series.

Philip Credier's Tulsa team wins its first game of the season. Tulsa is now 1-9, last in the West. Chapel Hill also has had a rough start and also is at 1-9, last in the South.

Drobnjak scores the game winner.

Game 1: Miles wins a wild game 126-124 as the teams combined for 226 shots from the floor. Matt Harpring's three-point play gave the Bulldogs the lead for good, 116-114, with 4:18 left in the game. Chucky Atkins led seven Bulldogs in double figures with 20 points. Jamal Mashburn added 18 points and
11 rebounds, and Dikembe Mutombo had a nice game with 14 points, 17 rebounds (including 7 on the offensive glass) and 6 blocks. Alan Houston was awesome for River City with 41 points, hitting 16 of 26 shots from the floor, including 6 three-pointers. Rip Hamilton added 17.

Game 2: A more subduded game won by Miles, 110-101. River City led by 5 after three quarters, but Miles used a strong finish to win the game. The Bulldogs finally took the lead at 86-85 and then never looked back. Antoine Walker had 23 points, including 5 of 10 from beyond the arc to lead Miles. Quinten Richardson had 25 points, and Houston and Hamilton added 23 apiece for the Renegades.

Game 3: River City broke open a sluggish game by both teams in the third quarter to win 108-98. Hamilton scored 26 to lead the way. Former Renegade
Reggie Miller paced the Bulldogs with 28 points.

"We still take too many wild shots," Miles Coach Hayden Fry said. "We're much more fun when we're running up and down the court flinging the ball every
which way, but that needs to change if we want to win consistently. We need to play smarter basketball."

Heat 96 Roosters 88, Heat 94 Roosters 107

Roosters have 6 guys score in double figures, but fouled their way to defeat at home against Holcomb. Only 3 Heat players scored in double figures but a strong team effort pulled out the win. Eddie Jones smothered Iverson and that was the story here.

In game 2 Iverson ate up Jones for 28 with 7 steals. Terry had 19 and Harrington 19 and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes. Shaq has 21/12 but shoots terrible. van Exel is 1 of 14. Lo Wright has 16/12 in 29 minutes and Nazr Mohammed is perfect (5/5 floor, 5/5 stripe) and has 15 in 19 minutes. The fast break is the only way the Roosters can score.

Overall, Holcomb and the Roosters went 2-2 at Good News' arena.

Holcomb is another team off to a great early start, too. Coach Charlie Dillingham's Heat is 15-6 atop the West Division.

Galactic sweeps Nats at McLean

All the games were competitive, and the Nats had fourth quarter leads in three, but the Thunder executed flawlessly down the stretch every time. The results were 138-121, 119-113, 118-111, and 137-128. Payton averaged 27.3 while shooting 72% from the floor, and Malone led five others in double figure averages with 20. The entire team shot 60%, with assists on over 70 percent of the baskets. Jerry Stackhouse averaged 27.8, and McLean slightly outrebounded the Thunder, but couldn't handle the offensive firepower.

Galactic has started the season 12-0, so far.

Galactic foul Iverson with 26 seconds left, down by 1. AI tanks both. Galactic hold the ball. With 1 second left, Bonzi has AI in his face and he cans the jumper. Galactic 94, Roosters 93.

In game 1 Holcomb led the entire game,most in double digits. O'Neal went 15 of 27 from the field,for 37 points,along with 15 rebounds. Kenny Thomas
added 21 points and 12 rebounds. Iverson led Good News with 37. Holcomb won 121-108.

Good News led game 2 by 9 at half but watched Holcomb come back and win it on a Eddie Jones jumper with 2 seconds left, 101-100. Iverson again led
Good News with 31. O'Neal and Jones topped six players in double figures for Holcomb with 19 each.

Holcomb led game 3 by 22 at the end of the 3rd and held on to win by 13, 113-100.Iverson and Terry topped Good News with 21 and 22. Holcomb again
had six players in double figures topped by O'neal and Strickland with 16 each.

Game 4 was back and forth with the lead changing several times. Holcomb holds out for the win , 104-103 when Iverson misses a shot at the buzzer. Iverson
and Terry were phenomenal for Good News with 32 and 29. O'Neal and Jones had 28 and 25 for Holcomb.

Dragon Coach Paul Bennett is having no problem so far competing in the supposedly tougher Classic Conference. The defending SABL champ is 15-0, just four wins away from tying the league record for the best start ever, 19-0, set by St. Lucie in 2000-01. In fact, all of the South Division's "Big Three," East Asia, Galactic and St. Lucie, are a combined 33-0 in the early going.

East Asia is in first in the South, followed by St. Lucie (11-0), then Galactic (7-0). It's quite possible that these three teams will be fighting for the South Division title right down to the very last regular season game in what's shaping up to be one of the best title races in SABL history. Who will be the first of these high rollers to lose their first game?

Dragons sweep all three at Finney

Aces go 11-0 by beating Richmond 135-107 at St. Lucie

Frank Rowley's Richmond Raiders, favorites to win the de-Dragoned Royal Conference this year, lost their opener at St. Lucie to an Ace squad that shot 61% from the field. Raider Peja Stoky led all scorers with 31 points and Mark Jackson had 10 assists, but it wasn't nearly enough to stop the rampaging Aces, led by Abdul-Rahim with 30 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Other ace Aces were Kobe Bryant with 28 points and 6 assists, John Stockton with 26 points, 9 assists and 2 steals, and Tim Duncan with 17 points and 10 boards.

Another warning - Yahoo! not reliable. I ain't gonna check it regularly anymore. Send all your league communications directly to my email

I now know why I haven't been getting email and notification's from our Yahoo! group site: When Yahoo! couldn't reach my email due to a temporary server problem at my Internet provider, Yahoo! unilaterally decided to deactivate my group membership. It seems that my Internet provider's server and Yahoo!'s server are having a failure to communicate.

Ugh.

So far, since our Yahoo! group use has started the past couple of months, the following has happened:

1. Only 12 of our 20 coaches have joined the Yahoo! group.

2. Only 5 of those 12 Yahoo! coaches have uploaded files to our Yahoo! site.

3. Some coaches are sending emails, results, trade confirmations, etc., only to the Yahoo! site and not directly to my email address.

4. I'm not getting notified about the Yahoo! emails & postings that I used to get in my email box.

5. I've had to do extra work checking our Yahoo! group site to get news & results that I used to get directly in my email box.

6. I'm not doing extra work anymore.

One more warning: If I don't get it in my email box, then as far as I'm concerned, it didn't happen. And if it didn't happen, you can get penalty points for it not happening. A Yahoo! posting will not save you from getting the penalty points. Only an email directly to me will save you from penalty points.

. . .Or a phone call . . . Or money . . . Or your best player for Tom Gugliotta.

Roosters beat Dazzlers at Davenport

The Roosters used a 31-8 4th quarter to defeat the Dazzlers 100-88. Iverson had 30, Terry 21, and A. Harrington 19. Snow had 13 assists. The Dazzlers as a team had 16 assists and shot a dismal 35%.

BULLDOGS TENACIOUS, BUT FALL SHORT AT MCLEAN

Miles took an early ten point lead, and held it into the fourth quarter before falling to the Nats, 105-101. Early strong three point shooting gave them their lead, just as their fourth quarter cold spell let the Nats back into the game. Antoine Walker and Jamaal Mashburn led Miles with 24 each, while Jalen Rose had 28 and Jerry Stackhouse had 27.

Bulldogs and Iowa split four-game series at Miles

By Pregnant Chad
Rochester Post-Bulletin

Miles played Jeckyl and Hyde basketball during a series split with the Iowa Tornadoes before a foggy crowd at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minn.
The erratic Bulldogs shot poorly and were outrebounded in blowout losses to the Tornadoes in Game 1 and Game 3.

"We get too excited and shoot too many threes," Iowa Coach Hayden Fry said. "Can't help it -- chicks dig the long ball."

Miles played calmer steadier basketball to win Game 2 and Game 4 of the series.

"We got the ball inside more and drew more fouls -- and we capitalized by hitting our foul shots," Fry said. "We did a better job of hitting the
boards, and we didn't get three-happy. It makes a difference."

Game 1: Iowa wins, 107-88. The Tornadoes capitalized on a 32-17 second quarter to open up the game and cruise to victory. Vince Carter led five players in double-figures with 28 points. Despite only 8 of 23 from the field, Tracy McGrady chipped in 19 points and 11 rebounds. Antoine Walker led the frosty Bulldogs, who only shot 37 percent, with 20 points. Jamal Mashburn added 11.

Game 2: Miles wins, 104-87. Bulldogs took a 4-point lead at half and extended it to 14 after three quarters. The Bulldogs hit 27 of 36 free throws en route to their first home win of the season. Mashburn had 18 points, including 8 of 10 from the line, to lead Miles. Rasho Nesterovice chipped in a double-double off the bench with 10 points and 11 rebounds. McGrady and Carter led Iowa with 19 and 15, respectively, but the pair combined to hit only 13 of 37 shots from the field.

Game 3: Iowa wins, 113-97. The Tornadoes built a lead each quarter en route to an easy win. McGrady poured in 34 points, and Juwan Howard added a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Miles reverted to old bad habits, hitting only 7 of 24 three-point attempts. Walker was 4 of 16 beyond the arc. Reggie Miller led the Dogs with 23 points.

Game 4: Miles wins, 121-115. The Bulldogs used a 40-21 second quarter to build a 16-point lead at the half -- then held off a furious second-half rally by the Tornadoes. The Bulldogs, who had 8 players in double-figures, helped their cause by hitting 32 of 36 free throw attempts. Walker led the way with 24 points. Matt Harpring, the subject of early season trade inquiries, had a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards off the bench. Antonio Daniels chipped in 10 points in only 10 minutes of action.

Dragons 103, Akron 87 at East Asia

The Dragons held Akron to 14 in the fourth to blow open a tight match. Lamond Murray led all scorers with 20 on the night. All the Akron stars stunk it up offensively. Ilgauskas was good, as was PJ on D. Five Dragons scored double figures and were led by Pierce and Robinson with 19 each. The Dragons continue to have problems getting the ball to Pierce. Dragon defense was the key in this game.

Heat and Roosters split first two games at Good News

Game 1

Roosters 121 Heat 107

Shaq scores 26 buts shoots 38%, 5 rebs and 0 blocks. van Exel 17 and 11 assists in 29 minutes. Rooster offence at season's best so far. AI 33, Terry 31, Snow 21 and Harrington 13 in his debut game. Brilliant D and Iverson/Terry on fire equals a Rooster win.

Roosters 87 Heat 100

The Roosters never were close in this one. Heat shoot 55% and crush the Roosters on the glass. Shaq has 24/11 in 28 foul plagued minutes. Eddie Jones brilliant on Iverson (15 pts) and scores 18. Lorenzen Wright has 14/10. Terry solid with 21 on 9-12 shooting. Stepania has 13 in 13 minutes against Shaq.

Full standings, stats will be posted as soon as everyone plays some games

Some teams have yet to report any games and some have only played a few games. I will get some standings and league leaders posted as soon as I get enough results to become meaningful.

River City 105, Twisters 87 at Tulsa

Tulsa has yet to win a game this season.

McLean 105, Tigers 85 at Brooklyn

The Mclean 'Rebels' invaded the North and put a whuppin on the Yankee dogs...err cats , they are Tigers. Brooklyn had no answer for Jerry Stackhouse, defensive specialist Bruce Bowen, double teams, nothing helped. The Tigers , as thye have been all season, were out-rebounded (46-37) picking up only 8 offensive boards. Pau Gasol was held to 2 points, and turned the ball over 8 times. The Tigers may be improved, but they are still regretting the Brand for Odom trade. Hopefully Ervin Johnson will help in the middle, the 1st real center they've had in a couple of years.

Thunder 119, Akron 96 at Galactic

Galactic scored the first 17 points before Stoudamire hit a 3 pointer with 6:25 left in the first quarter. Akron was led by Garnett with 24 points, 14 boards
and 3 assists. L. Murray added 23 points and 8 rebs. Allen had 19 points (4 of 12 on 3's).

Galactic was lead by Malone with 28 points, 5 rebs, and 4 assists. Payton had 16 points and 12 assists. Coleman added 12 points and 12 rebs.

Quad City takes 3 of 4 at River City

Aces 113, Akron 82 at St. Lucie

St. Lucie shot 62% from the field and Akron only mustered 34% from the field in this rout. The Aces' Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 25 points. Steve Nash had 21 points, while John Stockton scored 19 with 11 assists and 3 steals. Andrei Kirilenko blocked 6 shots. Tim Duncan had 12 rebounds.

For Akron, Kevin Garnett scored 23. The Aces are now 10-0 and their fellow South Division mates East Asia (7-0) and Galactic (6-0) are also undefeated in the early going.

Roosters lose one at home to Tri City, 100-96

Tri-city outscored the hometown Roosters by 5 in the 4th, to narrowly escape with a 4 point victory. The Blackhawks were led by Marbury with 26, one of 6
players over 10 scoring. AI had 29 and Terry 24. Fortson and Magliore both notch strong double-doubles, which was the deciding factor.

Our Yahoo! group site is not reliable for email notification. You must email coaches individually with results, as we always have

I wanted to wait until I was sure before sharing this with you, but I know it for sure now. The Yahoo! email notification/relay system is not reliable. There have been four or five messages posted to the group that I have not received. I check our group site frequently and there are a few emails up there that I haven't received email notification for, even though my email preferences are set correctly on Yahoo!

Sometimes I get the notifications several days later, sometimes not at all. What this means is that you can't use this for official SABL business. You have to send files directly to the coach, via email, as we have always done, until Yahoo! becomes reliable.

I want to make this real clear - IF YOU POST SOMETHING TO THE YAHOO! SITE WITHOUT ALSO SENDING IT DIRECTLY TO AN OPPOSING COACH, AND THE OPPOSING COACH DOES NOT GET THE FILE ON TIME, THE PERSON USING THE YAHOO! SITE WITHOUT ALSO USING REGULAR EMAIL IS SUBJECT TO PENALTY POINTS AS SPECIFIED IN THE CONSTITUTION.

First trading period is over. All deals made now take effect Feb. 1

It's Dec. 1 and our first regular-season trading period has now expired. We are now in our last regular-season trading period, which is Dec. 1-31. All deals made from now until Dec. 31 will take effect on Feb. 1.

Any trade made from Jan. 1 onwards will take effect next year.