Florida Strat World Presents The

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.

On any given day, Akron Blimp driver Goody Yealring is never quite sure where he is or where he is going. But in a January Swing through the Midwest in January, Yearling found himself in familiar territory best described as somewhere in Iowa. While lacking in specifics, Yearling was surprisingly comfortable guiding the Blimps down row after row of corn rows. Never mind that the corn has been in the silos for weeks now, Yearling was as steady as Chris Mihm three-pointer. The result, the Blimps had one of their most successful months in the dreadful team history.

"This could bode well for the future," intoned Blimp spiritual advisor and financial whiz Lebron James. "I was threatening to lace up my shoes and show them how it's done," said James.

Of course, James was merely boasting. He's only 17 years old and cannot even hope to play at the level of competition so firmly established by Oscar Torres and Austin Croshere.

The first eight-game meeting of Big Three teams is a wash as the Chaing Mai champs beat St. Lucie in East Asia:

Asia hold the Aces to 49% shooting and lead on the boards and actually have one more assist in this one. Pierce has 28 to lead 5 Dragons with at least 14 points. Bobby Jackson has 20 in 21 minutes and Ben has 12 boards. Duncan has 25, 11 boards and 3 blocks to lead 5 Aces in double figures.

Aces outscore the Dragons by 21 in the second half to blow this one away. St. Lucie returns to form with 38 assists, 10 turnovers and 61% shooting. My team could shoot 50% on the Aces!!!! Webber's 25 leads 4 Aces with at least 20 and Stockton gets 11 and 11 assists. Pierce has 36 and 17 free throws, Williamson 23 in 21 minutes and Ben has 15 rebounds.

A close one here as Asia hangs on to a 13 point first quarter lead. Aces shoot 54% to Asia's 51% but Asia has 43 board to 27 for the Aces and create 19 turnovers with 12 steals. Duncan has 6 in 23 minutes. Bryant leads all with 27, with Webber at 25 and Pierce at 24.

Dragons do the (nearly) impossible and hold the Aces to under 100. Pierce goes off for 40 as Lewis is slapped around. Aces commit 28 turnovers to 11 for Asia. 'Nuff said about that!

With these losses, the Aces fall to second place and Galactic (34-4) moves into first place in the South Division.

Game #1
Brooklyn 106 - Richmond 124
Jeff McInnis scored 24 points and dished out 6 assists for Brooklyn, he was followed by Pau Gasol who scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds, and Kenyon Martin who also scored 17 points. Richmond was led by Baron Davis who was on fire scoring 35 points on 15 of 20 shooting including 3 of 5 from downtown, he also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Mark Jackson scored 15 points, while grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out a game high 10 assists. Dirk Nowitzki also had 15 points.

Game #2
Brooklyn 106 - Richmond 129
Brooklyn was led by Pau Gasol who scored 18 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Kenyon Martin scored 18 points, also. And Cutino Mobley scored 16 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 8 assists. Richmond was led by Baron Davis who scored 23 points, he was followed by Michael Finley who scored 15 points and had 7 rebounds. Mark Jackson scored 13 points and dished out 6 assists, and Dirk Nowitzki had 13 points and a game high 9 rebounds.

Game #3
Brooklyn 81 - Richmond 101
Cutino Mobley led Brooklyn with 22 points, followed by Bruce Bowen with 16 points and Kenyon Martin had 10 points and a game high 11 rebounds.
Keon Clark and Baron Davis both scored 15 points to lead Richmond. Dirk Nowitzki had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Mark Jackson dished out a game high 11 assists.

Game #4
Brooklyn 100 - Richmond 104
Brooklyn was led by Cutino Mobley who scored 32 points, he also grabbed 6 rebounds and had 5 assists. Kenyon Martin scored 18 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, and Pau Gasol scored 13 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out 6 assists. Richmond was led by Dirk Nowitzki who scored 24 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, followed by Michael Finley who scored 19 points, and grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 6 assists. Baron Davis had 18 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and dished out a game high 9 assists.

Game one: River City 110-94
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Battie leads the Renegades (11-13 from the floor againsat an ill advised double team strategy that left him open all game). Anthony had 10 assists , Chandler and bvattie 3 blocks each. The Renegades were also 10-14 from 3 point territory. Mobley led Brooklyn with 25.

Game two: River City 104-101
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The Renegades led comfortably until the 4th quarter when the Tigers staged a dramatic comeback. With one minute left they pulled within two, Rose missed, Gasol put the shot back up and also missed and that was their last chance. River City held on to win. Hamilton led River City with 25, Chandler blocked 5.
Mobley led brookly again with 23.

Game three: River City 101-98
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This time the Tigers dominated throughout most of the game. leading by 12 at the half, and 9 after 3 qtrs. despite Kenyon Martins' foul trouble. The Renegades held the Tigers to 18 points in the 4th as Tyson Chandler blocked 4 shots in the quarter, 7 for the game. Richardson had 22, Odom 20.

Game #1
Davenport 89 - Richmond 113

Mo Peterson led all scorers with 30 points, he was followed by Troy Hudson who scored 14 points. Richmond was led by Dirk Nowitzki with 19 points and 7 rebounds, Baron Davis also chipped in 19 points, and Keon Clark had 11 points and 12 rebounds (leading all rebounders).

Game #2
Davenport 99 - Richmond 109
Chris Whitney scored 30 to lead all scorers, followed by Morris Peterson and Troy Hudson who both scored 17. Richmond was led by Predag Stojakovic with 20 points, Courtney Alexander scored a career high 17 points and Dirk Nowitzki chipped in 16 points and led all rebounders with 10.

Game #3
Davenport 96 - Richmond 105
Morris Peterson again led Davenport scoring 22 points to lead all scorers and collecting 6 boards. Steve Smith chipped in 13 points and J. Collins had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Richmond had 7 players score in double figures led by Keon Clark with 13 points and 7 rebounds, followed by Baron Davis with 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Marcus Camby also scored 11 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.

McLean took three of four from Chapel Hill, 107-103, 101-111, 114-95, and 110-104. All the games were hard fought. McLean thought they were playing well, "then we looked around and the Jams were still there."

The Nats took game one behind Jerry Stackhouse's 33 points and a 50-32 rebound advantage. Derek Anderson, who hit five of eight threes, led the Jams with 21.

Game two featured six Jams in double figures and 22 Nat turnovers. Stackhouse again led with 27.

Game three was close going on to the fourth quarter, but Jalen Rose with 25, Stackhouse with 24, 57 percent Nat shooting and another big rebound edge (49-36) were too much.

Rasheed Wallace led the Jams with 19. In the last game, the Nats went back to there high turnover ways (24), but 58 percent shooting and a 46-28 rebound edge offset it. Stackhouse had 34, and Antawn Jamieson had 26. Andre Miller averaged 14 assists in the series.

Hapless, defenseless, pitiful, ridiculous Chapel Hill Jams lost 3 to Good News as the Roosters crowed and clawed their way to a 3 game sweep -- 101 - 91 103 - 96 and 97 - 95. The Jams tried various lineups and even benched Michael Olowokandi for all but 4 minutes of game 3. (Nothing worked).

The Dazzlers break a 14 game losing streak against Tri-City, but still manage only 1 win in 8 tries. Chris Feeney's Hawks move into second place in the North.

Tulsa was held to 25 baskets and 30% from the floor in an ugly half court thumping in Chiang Mai. Asia had 54 boards and more blocks (10) than turnovers (9). In fact, Asia would never turn the ball over 10 times in the 3 Twister games. Paul Pierce poured in 41 against poor Wes Person while Ben Wallace had 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. Tulsa's big four shot a combined 16-60 (27%) while Wallace held O'Neill to 10 on the night.

Dragons dominate all around here, committing only 2 turnovers while getting 11 blocks and 10 steals. Wesley Person was seen wandering dazed after Pierce laid 58 on his head (primarily, although Marion was also scorched). Big Ben had 24 boards, 5 blocks and 3 steals, with 0 turnovers. Marion had 26/12 and Jermaine O'Neill 14/11 for the Twisters.

Tulsa shoots a great 52% but loses it at the line once again in this one. Asia had 14 steals and 9 turnovers while Tulsa tutned it over 20 times with 3 steals. Tulsa had 9 steals in the series. Pierce had 29, Robinson 20/10 and Jerome Williams 16/4 steals in only 22 minutes. Marion led Tulsa with 21/12.

Game #1--Bettendorf-98 - Richmond 115

Lenard leads just 3 scorers in double figures with 16 points on 6 of 15 shooting, James had 8 rebounds for you, and Sam Cassell had 8 points and 7 assists.
The Raiders were led by Dirk Nowitzki's 20 points and 8 rebounds. He was followed by Baron Davis who had 15 points and 7 assists, Mark Jackson scored 14 points, and Eddy Curry came off the bench to score 11 points. The game was over by halftime as we led 62 - 42 at the break and coasted to the victory.

Game #2 Bettendorf 103 - Richmond 119

The game was again over by halftime as the Raiders led by the score of 63 - 40 at the break. Voshon Lenard led all scorers with 30 points, Sam Cassell had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and a game high 9 assists. Richmond was led by Dirk Nowitzki's 28 points and 8 rebounds. Baron Davis had 16 points and 8 assists, and Mark Jackson had 16 points, too. We outscored Bettendorf 22 - 5 at the free throw line.

Game #3 Bettendorf- 97 - Richmond 100

Bettendorf outscores Richmond 47 - 39 in the second half to make this game a close one. Sam Cassell led all scorers with 24 points and Bowen had 8 points and 9 rebounds. Anthony Carter chipped in 14 points and dish out 5 assists. Predag Stojakovic led Richmond with 23 points, Dirk Nowitzki followed with 17 points to lead 5 double figure scorers for Richmond. Baron Davis had 10 points and a game high 9 assists.

Asia outscored the Nats 106.3 - 97.0 over the series, led in blocks 11.3 - 3.8, FG% 49.7 - 43.5. Asia also averaged 28-37 from the free throw line, while McLean averaged a great 28 assists a game.

Ben Wallace averaged 11 rebounds, 6.0 blocks, 1.5 steals and 2.3 assist a game. Paul Pierce scores 32.3 a game while getting 2.5 steals and shooting 48-90 (53%). Stackhouse averaged 19.5 a game but only shot 34.6% and only going to the line 19 time in 4 games. Andre Miller averaged 11.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 14.5 points.

Game 1
Paul Pierce scored 32 points and Ben Wallace had 20 rebounds to lead the Dragons to a 103-75 victory. A tremendous defense held Iverson to a 7-25 shooting performance.

Game 2
The game went into overtime when Jeff Foster, of all players, swished a three pointer at the buzzer. However, East Asia took control in the overtime to
avoid the upset. The final was 101-97. David Robinson had 23 points and 12 boards. Iverson led the Roosters with 31.

Game 3
The Dragons quickly erased an early 12 point lead by the Roosters. Darrell Armstrong made 5-8 from the three point arc including three in a row. East Asia had balanced scoring with seven players in double figures. David Robinson tallied 21 points and took down 8 offensive rebounds. The reeling Roosters were again led by Iverson with 25 points. Final: 123-104.

Strat's basketball game is now allowing us to save the play-by-play files for every game. These files are a good way to know how a game unfolded, how your guys got in foul trouble, and they even let you know a little bit about how your game plan was followed. Next season, we are going to make that a requirement. So, along with .gfl and .prt files, you'll need to save the play-by-play text files, too, and send them to me and your opponent.

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.

The Galactic Thunder rolled into Chapel Hill and took three out of four from the Jams: 126 - 107, 125 - 95 , 106 - 120 and 131 - 106. Galactic's FG % was
amazing: 61% in game 1 followed by 59% 52% and 61 % in game 4. It is very difficult to beat a team shooting 61% from the floor! Karl Malone posting as
a SF is a very intimidating sight/thought.

BUT in Game 3 the Jams put together a mysterious 14 point win. The random nature of "dice" -- Jamison and Wallace, struggling from outside all year long, suddenly combined to hit 6 of 8 threes as Antawn poured in 35 points.

Rumors of franchise nickname change and massive trades are not subsiding. Director of Player Personnel Daffy Duck is having a difficult time explaining why the Jams keep trading away first round picks. At least no can accuse the Jams of tanking to improve their draft position!

Steve Walters' Galactic Thunder has set a new SABL record for most team free throws in a game: 62, vs. McLean on Dec. 3. That beats the old record of 61, set by Scott Ellis' St. Lucie squad vs. Randy Hulett way back in 1996-97.

East Asia's Pierce is currently top scoring dog in the SABL, just nosing out Good News' Allen Iverson. Akron's Kevin Garnett leads in rebounds (11.8 ppg), while Ace John Stockton leads in FG% (.637). Miles' Reggie Miller leads in FT% (.947) and Brooklyn's Jacque Vaughn is tops in 3PT% (.561). McLean's Andre Miller leads in assists (13.0 ppg) and Iverson leads in steals (2.5 ppg). St. Lucie's Tim Duncan leads in blocked shots (3.3 ppg) and Finney's Cliff Robinson leads in defensive stops (97).

The Dragons took three of four from the Nats by scores of 79-84, 120-99, 106-97, and 110-99. Coach Bob Storey thought his team had something going when double teaming Paul Pierce "held" him to 24 points on 7 for 25 shooting in game one. But East Asia's defense caused numerous Nat's turnovers (21 a game) to offset the Dragon team 43 percent shooting for the full series. McLean had a good shot a game three, when Pierce fouled out, and at game four. Both were tied with six minutes or less remaining. But, David Robinson carried them in both games. His game four performance was remarkable - 6 for 8 from the floor, 12 for 13 from the foul line, 6 rebounds, four steals, and two blocks. Jerry Stackhouse led the Nats in the series, averaging 22 on 49 percent shooting, and Andre Miller averaged 14 points and 13.8 assists.

Game 1: Holcomb wins 106-96. Holcomb gets out quick with a 30-15 lead after one qtr. East Asia behind Pierce cuts it to 10 at the half. Holcomb extends it to 11 at the end of 3 and after East Asia cuts it to 3 with 4 minutes to go extends it to 10 again at the end. Pierce led East Asia with 27 on 10 of 30 shooting. Robinson had 17 pts and 12 rebounds. Holcomb had 6 players in double figures, led by Jones with 19 and O'Neal with 17.

Game 2: East Asia wins 112-95.East Asia led the entire game. Pierce was unstoppable with 39 pts on 14 of 26 shooting. Jones led Holcomb with 30. Pierce was 7 of 12 on 3's.

Game 3: Holcomb wins 105-99. East Asia jumps out to a 30-21 lead after 1, Holcomb comes back to take a 2 point lead at the half. East Asia outscores
Holcomb 25-13 in the 3rd to grab a 10 point lead going into the 4th, only to watch Holcomb outscore them 34-18 in the 4th for the win. O'Neal had his best game of the series for Holcomb with 34 pts and 14 rebounds. Jones had 19. Pierce had another solid game with 32 pts followed by Williamson with 15.

In the first head-to-head matchup of Big Three teams this season, it was a rematch of last year's SABL Finals as St. Lucie wins an exciting series versus Paul Bennett's East Asia Dragons.

It was an East Asia ass-whuppin' as three Aces fouled out in St. Lucie's worst defeat of the season. The defending champion Dragons showed why they are champions in this one, making 43 foul shots to the Aces 14 and getting 14 steals to the Aces' 5. The Aces also turned the ball over 23 times to East Asia's 13.

East Asia's Paul Pierce led all scorers with an incredible 48 points and 6 steals. Corliss Williamson had 2 points and David Robinson had 10 rebounds. Eric Snow had 13 assists.

For St. Lucie, Tim Duncan had 36 points, 4 blocked shots and 10 rebounds. Chris Webber had 10 boards, John Stockton had 15 assists and Steve Nash had 10 assists.

It was the Dragons' turn to be in foul trouble this game, as Pierce and Snow fouled out in the second half to seal East Asia's fate. He still led his team with 25 points. Darrell Armstrong had 23 points and Big Ben Wallace had 10 rebounds.

Duncan led the Aces with 25 points, 4 blocked shots and 11 boards. Stockton had 23 points and Webber had 22.

Aces dominated from the second quarter on, as Ace Kobe Bryant finally came alive, scoring 37. Duncan had 26 points and Webber had 13 rebounds. Amazingly, the Aces outrebounded East Asia 40-29 and had 8 blocked shots to zero for the Dragons. But the telling stat was FG%. The Aces shot 62%, East Asia only 41%.

Foul trouble again hurt Pierce (5 fouls), but he still scored 27 points. For the second game in a row, new Dragon PG Eric Snow fouled out, hurting the Dragons' best-in-the-league-defense.

The deciding game was close until the fourth quarter, when St. Lucie outscored East Asia 37-20 to clinch the series. The Aces again shot a blazing 64% from the field to East Asia's 53% and had 44 assists to the Dragons' 23.

Duncan had 33 points, while Webber scored 23 with 10 boards. Bryant scored 20 points before again fouling out near the end of the game. Stockton had 16 points and 14 assists.

With this win, the Aces hold on to a percentage-point lead over Steve Walters' Galactic Thunder in the South, while East Asia falls to third, five games out.

However, the action now goes across the Pacific to the Golden Triangle of Chang Mai, Thailand and the home of the 2002 SABL World Champion East Asia Dragons, led by one of the league's best coaches ever, Paul Bennett. Can Paul win his home series against St. Lucie and keep the Big Three bunched together at the top of the South? Stay tuned!

Game 1
Elden Campell scored 14 first quarter points to lead the Blades to victory. He also had 2 blocks and 5 rebounds in that quarter. Bakersfield won 97-88 with Elton Brand scoring a team high 20. Coach Perigoni picked up his first technical foul. Iverson led the Roosters with 24 but was 1-9 from three point range.

Game 2
Bakersfield used a 12-0 run at the start of the second quarter to defeat Good News 106-95. Glenn Robinson was high man for the Blades with 24. Iverson again topped the Rooster scoring with 33.

Game 3
The Blades game back from a 4th quarter deficit to edge the Roosters 97-94. The Roosters missed a shot with 3 seconds to go that could have regained the
lead. Iverson scored 27 but was 3-15 from the field in the first half.

FINNEY (14-38) SWEEPS TWISTERS (6-24) IN TULSA, LEAVING COACH CREIDER FRUSTRATED AND EMBARRISSED

Tulsa- The catch phrase in Tulsa this season is “What the hell is going on here?” The phrase was shouted by many a Twister fan as the home team was swept by the Finney Longhorns in a 4-game series.

Trying to “mix things up” for the latest home battle, Coach Philip Creider sat down inconsistent PG Tony Parker in favor of Mateen Cleaves. (“Great move, coach,” as Cleaves scored a whopping series total of 6 points with 3 measly assists in 36 minutes…)

Finney took Game 1 95-85 even though they shot a piddly 38%. (Tulsa shot an even more crappy 35%.) The Longhorns spread their scoring around as 7 players on the team scored 10+ points. While the Twisters got a nice 17 pts from Wesley Person, Jermaine O’Neal held the team back by shooting only 25% on his 12 shots.

Game 2 was one of the more exciting games at T-town this year, seeing the two teams battle it out in overtime. Sad result, though, as the Longhorns outlasted the Twisters 116-114. Longhorn Ron Artest hits an outside shot with 1:19 left to keep the visitors ahead for good. Jason Richardson (30 pts).

Jason Williams (23 pts) and Brian Grant (12 boards) were the thorn in the home team’s side. Twister O’Neal redeemed himself with a game high 46 pts on 58% shooting. Making the most of his increased minutes, Eric Piatkowski responded with 21 pts in the losing effort.

Game 3 was a disaster as Finney dropped Tulsa 104-88 after having built up a halftime lead of 57-44. The Longhorns were led by Jason Williams (21 pts and 12 assists) and Ron Artest (19 pts). O’Neal led the Twisters with 23 pts but shot only 28%!

Game 4 turned out to be the most painful as the Longhorns won 99-97 with a clutch 3-pointer from Jason Williams. J-Will’s shot came with 9 seconds left in the game. Tulsa had one last chance but it hinged upon Alvin Williams hitting an outside shot. (Yea, right…) The Twisters actually outshot Finney, 48% to 41%. Difference came in free throw shooting. Finney 13-15 (87%) and Tulsa 4-9 (44%). Jason Williams, Jason Richardson, and Doug Christie each had 20 points for the Longhorns. Wesley Person had 25 points with 7 3-pointers on 9 attempts.

“This series really hurt; we had two victories within our grasp. I am frustrated trying to get the right mix of players and playing time. Our shooting and defense have been atrocious,” bellowed Coach Creider. “Our team field goal percentage is only 42.3% compared to our opponents’ 47.2%.”

As for possible changes, the embattled coach noted that he would consider a more up tempo offense and different rotations.

“None of my teams have ever finished with the league’s worst record and I want to keep it that way,” groaned Coach Creider.

G1) 134- 99 Jamison 29 points, Wallace 16.Malone 24 and 11 rebs, Wells 25 points.

G2) 129-106 Jamison 32 points, Wallace 18. Payton 30 and 13 assists.

G3)121- 88 Jamison 24 points. Wallace 19. Mr Jordan goes for 21 with 8 assists and 9 rebs.

G4)124-106 Wallace 34 points, Jamison 18. Payton 31 and 14 assists, Malone 19 and 14 rebs.

McLean swept three games from Bakersfield at home by scores of 115-113, 115-95, and 123-111.

The first game was the thriller, with Elton Brand having a monster game with 35 points and 15 rebounds. But Jerry Stackhouse led five Nats in double figures to open up a four point lead with under 30 seconds to play. Then Brent Barry (20 points on 9 for 11 shooting) hit a three. Stackhouse hit two foul shots after the intentional foul. Brand was fouled and scored on an inside move, but missed the free throw. Divac hit one of two after another foul, and the Blades could not get a shot off in the final two seconds.

Putting the shot blocker on Brand seemed to help in game two, holding him to 12 points, with Stackhouse going wild (while playing at small forward) with 37. Jalen Rose was 9 for 9 from the field with 11 assists. Glenn Robinson led the Blades with 23 but he was only 9 for 23 from the floor, missing all seven of his three point attempts.

The Nats ran away with game three in the final period. Jason Kidd had 23 and Brand, 20, but Stackhouse again had 30 to lead six Nats in double figures. For the series, Andre Miller averaged 16.7 points and 14.3 assists, and the Nats outshot the Blades from the field 59 percent to 46 percent.

The Chapel Hill Jams swept a three game series from Finney 111 - 103, 115 -100 and 100 - 97. The Jams have moved Tim Thomas and Christian Laettner into the starting lineup and reeled off 5 wins in 6 games. Thomas was 14 - 20 from the floor in the series. Jayson Williams had a great series for the Longhorns, highlighted by an astounding 31 - 3 A/TO ratio! Antawn Jamison had the highest scoring game in the series with 29 points in game 2 for Chapel Hill.

Holcomb wins game 1, 131-127 behind 27 points each from O'Neal and Strickland and 26 from Jones. Bakersfield had 4 players with 20 or more points in the loss. Brand had 24,Mourning 22,Kidd 23, and Barry 23.

Bakersfield had a 1 pt lead going into the 4th and exploded for 43 points to win going away 131-113. Robinson led the Blades with 25 followed by Barry with 20. Holcomb was led by Strickland and Jones with 20 each.

Holcomb thought they had game 3 wrapped up with a 3 pt lead and .02 left in the game , but Glenn Robinson hits a 3 at the buzzer with Thomas all over him to put the game in overtime. Bakersfield outscored Holcomb 19-9 in OT to win the game 120-110. Brand again led Bakersfield with 24 to lead 6 other Blade scorers in double figures. Holcomb was led by Jones with 28, Strickland and O'Neal with 21 each.

Bakersfield won game 4, 104-101 when Garrity missed a 3 pt shot with 1 second left that would have sent the game into overtime.

New Good News Coach Jeff Perigoni has played his first SABL games! At home, he won his first series vs. his gaming buddy, Chapel Hill's Tommy Field. Here is Jeff's report:

Game 1 Led by Allen Iverson's 31 points and inspired by their new coach, the Roosters defeated the Chapel Jams 92-81. The Jams (8-22) trailed by as much as 22 points at one time. They rallied behind Antawn Jamison's 28 points but ran out of time in their comeback effort.

Game 2 Chapel Hill took advantage of 22 Rooster turnovers to defeat Good News 101-88. Jamison led the way with 28 points. Iverson was high man for the Roosters with 25.

Game 3 The Roosters defeated the Jams in the rubber match 105-100. Iverson scored 22 first half points for the Roosters apparently unaffected by the trade rumors surrounding him. He finished with a game high 32 points. Jason Terry chipped in with 20 points for Good News. Jamison again led the Jams with 23.

With two teams reaching the halfway point this season and several others past the one-third or one-fourth mark, our divisional races are taking shape.

It's tempting to call this a Richmond (15-7) and Akron (17-14) race, but Iowa (9-15) hasn't played enough games yet to be counted out. Miles, however, is the first team in the league to reach the halfway point (15-29) and its playoff hopes are fading. Brooklyn's Steve Feldheim, a former SABL champion and one of only two SABL coaches to have been in the league since Day One (St. Lucie is the other), looks like he might bring up the rear again (8-20).

Perhaps the biggest success/comeback story in the league this year is shaping up with new Coach Kathleen Feeney's Amazing Quad City Rimrockers (17-7). She's already made some trades and her team is leading her division. This is all the more remarkable when you consider that she inherited perhaps the worst-run franchise in SABL history - the Garden City Gladiators. Boy, what a turnaround she has accomplished in just a few short months.

But ya' still can't give her the division yet because another Amazing Feeney in this division full of Feeney's is having another Amazing run of his own - in his last season as Bettendorf Druid coach, Mark Feeney is in second at 17-16 and is charging into playoff contention again with what many consider the worst team on paper in the league. Just goes to show you that good coaching can make all the difference and for years, Mark has shown that he probably gets the most out of his players than any other SABL coach.

Tri-City (10-12) and Davenport (12-18) are still in the hunt, but Mike Resnick's River City team (8-16) may be sinking, despite having some real good scorers.

It's poetic justice. Three top coaches, three top teams, all together, slaughtering the league and soon to slaughter each other. Put them by themselves in any SABL division, and they would likely win it. But they are all together and all three have led for a time so far this season. But none of them have played each other yet. St. Lucie (24-1), East Asia (22-2) and Galactic (27-3) are all gonna make the playoffs. But only after they have hammered each other will we know who takes the divisional crown.

It's really too bad McLean (15-15) is in this division. And it's really too bad that McLean lost all eight of its games against Galactic to open its season this year. Take away those eight tragic losses and this truly good team would be a shoe-in for the playoffs. As it stands now, Bob Storey's Nats are fighting for the sixth playoff slot.

It's already wait till next year for Chapel Hill (7-20), but the foundation is there to build on.

Bakersfield (19-8) and Charlie Dillingham's Heat (24-14) are showing who's boss in the West. It looks like everyone else there is out.

Marbury outscores McGrady 34-33 in game 1 and the Blackhawks prevail, 106-105. Iowa takes game 2 115-97. Marbury again had 34 points. Carter had 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists, McGrady had 25 points. Iowa committed only 7 turnovers. Tri-City wins the rubber game 111-96 behind a 31-12 3rd quarter blitz. Hughes had 21 points, and Marbury 19 points and 16 assists. Fortson added 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Marbury 35. Swift 20. Mashburn and Walker 22 each. Tri-City shoots 50% and commands a 58-33 rebounding edge at home.

St. Lucie took Game 1 136-122 as the Aces out-rebounded the Blades 42-27, blocked nine shots to the Blades' 3 and outshot the Blades 67% to 49%. Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and Steve Nash scored 21 for St. Lucie. Tim Duncan and new Ace Rashard Lewis each scored 20. Duncan added 15 boards and Lewis had 10. Old Man John Stockton has 12 assists and 17 points.

Bakersfield poured on the points, too. Glenn Robinson scored 27 and Elton Brand scored 24.

Bryant again lead the Aces with 25 points and Nash again scored 21. Lewis again had 10 boards and Duncan had 12, but Abdul-Rahim led all rebounders with 14. For Bakersfield, Brand led all scorers with 28 points and Jason Kidd had 12 assists.

Old Man John tied his season high of 25 points in this one, adding 11 assists and 3 steals to his line for St. Lucie. Lewis also scored 25 with 4 steals, Bryant scored 24 and Duncan had 10 rebounds. Blade Big Dog Robinson led all scorers with 26 and Brent Barry scored 23 with 10 rebounds. Kidd had 13 assists.

The Nats took two of three at home versus Tulsa, losing 104-98 before coming back to take the final two games easily, 112-90 and 110-93. The Twisters truly remarkable turnover numbers - 16 in the three games, only two in game three - could not compensate for truly dreadful shooting - only 37 percent for the series. Jermaine O'Neal averaged 19.7 on 42 percent shooting and Shawn Marion 17.7 on 28 percent. Double teaming them had a definite effect. Andre Miller averaged 17 points and 17.7 assists as the Nats shot 50 percent or better in each game.

With these loses, Tulsa drops to last again in the West with the second-worst record in the league. The worst record, so far, belongs to Chapel Hill (3-18), in last place in the South.

St. Lucie (21-1), last year's Classic Conference champs, are ahead by percentage points in the South, while David Squires' Bakersfield squad (17-2) tops the West. In the East, Frank Rowley's Raiders (15-7) lead Akron and in the North, the Amazing Quad City Rimrockers (16-7) continue that franchise's resurgence, staying ahead of another amazing team, the Bettendorf Druids. Check our Standings/Team Highs link for more info.

When the clock struck 12:01 am on Jan. 1, 2003, it marked the end of trading for this season in the SABL. Any trades made from Jan. 1 on (and we've already had one) take effect next season, immediately after our SABL championships are over.

Tri-City wins 2 of 3
Bettendorf wins 2 of 3
Miles splits 4-game series with Akron and Brooklyn

The most fun game of the marathon was Game 1 against Brooklyn. Miles outscored the Tigers 44-12 in the first quarter en route to a 117-89 win. I don't think I've ever had a quarter like that before.

The Raiders took a hard-fought 2 of 3 in Davenport. Game 1 was a 2 point contest with 3 minutes remaining, but the Raiders' balance (6 in double figures) proved too much for the out-manned Dazzlers, who fell 108-98. The Dazzlers used 57% shooting, a 53-30 rebounding advantage, and 33 assists (11 above average) to surprise the Raiders, 116-91, in game 2. Mo Peterson lead the way with 28 points. Whitney added 19 points and 8 assists, and Cato 11 rebounds. Keon Clark topped Richmond with 17 points. The Dazzlers overcame a 14 point halftime deficit in Game 3 and fought to the finish before falling to the Raiders, 97-96. Troy Hudson topped all scorers with 25. Baron Davis paced 6 Raiders in double figures. Richmond also won the battle of the boards, 45-42. Davenport now stands at 12-18 for the season.

Game 1: A strange game. Akron is 0-7 in the 1st 6 minutes, but converts 8-11 FT to stay close, and leads 25-22 after 1st qtr. With 6:22 left in the game the score was tied at 90. Dazzlers close with an 18-8 run to win 108-98. Morris Peterson had a season (career?) high 37 points. Hudson and Whitnet added 17 each, Gatling 11, and Steve Smith had 11 points and a Dazzler season high 10 assists. Ray Allen topped the Blimps with 22 points. Ilgauskas had 17, Wally Z (6-18) had 16, and Garnett (3-14) had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Game 2. Akron wins an ugly game 101-86. Both teams shot only 40%. The Blimps converted 26 FT to the Dazzlers' 7. Garnett again shot poorly (6-18) but had 20 points and 17 rebounds. Stoudamire also had 20 points and added 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Hudson topped all scorers with 22. Mo Pete (4-16) returned to normal. Cato did not score but grabbed 12 rebounds.

Game 3: The Dazzlers used a 16-0 2nd quarter run, and 31% Blimps' FG accuracy to propel them to a 96-86 win. Garnett, despite 9-24 shooting, had 22 points and 18 rebounds. Allen had 19 points and PJ Brown added 12 rebounds for Akron. Smith and Peterson had 19 points each and Cato grabbed 11 rebounds.

THIS DEAL TAKES EFFECT AFTER OUR 2002-03 SEASON IS OVER. IT IS FOR NEXT YEAR, NOT THIS YEAR. DO NOT ADJUST YOUR ROSTERS.

1. Chapel Hill trades Bender & Sura to Holcomb for VanExel, Newble, Finney's 2nd & Holcomb's 2004 1st

East Asia was led by Paul Pierce who led both teams in scoring getting 31 points, followed by Bobby Jackson with 15 points. Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace, and Kevin Willis all had 8 rebounds. And Darrell Armstrong led East Asia with 8 assists. Richmond's balanced attack was led by Dirk Nowitzki's 17 points, followed by Michael Finley who chipped in 16 points, Eddy Curry came off the bench to score 13 points and grab 4 rebounds in just 11 minutes. Baron Davis contributed 11 points and 8 assists.

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!

In response to many coaches that have asked for it, I'm emailing you a January league file that has all our January trades in it and almost all our January games. It it the official SABL league standings, stats, etc., that I keep right here on my good old computer. (The file on our website is different. It is still the pristine, Day One league file that I sent you at the first of the season. I will not be changing this file - we might need it for a rainy day.)

The reason I'm sending you this is because we have a lot of trades taking effect for January 1 games. If you don't make your trades in exactly the order listed on the website, then this can cause game plans not to import and players not to play at their correct positions. IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE PROBLEMS, UNZIP THIS FILE INTO YOUR STRAT BASKETBALL GAME AND USE IT INSTEAD. YOUR PROBLEMS WILL VANISH.

IF YOU DON'T HAVE THESE PROBLEMS, DO NOT USE THIS FILE. JUST KEEP PLAYING YOUR GAMES.

I'm also going to send out another league file on Feb. 1, because we have a lot of trades taking effect on that date, too. Please email or phone me if you have any questions. This is important and a necessary fail-safe step to take due to the poor way Strat computer basketball is programmed.

IF YOU HAVE NOT AUTOPLAYED GOOD NEWS FOR YOUR JANUARY GOOD NEWS GAME, DO NOT AUTOPLAY GOOD NEWS! WAIT UNTIL YOU GET INSTRUCTIONS FROM NEW COACH JEFF PERIGONI!

Some of you already may have autoplayed Good News, and if you have, those results stand. Send them to Jeff and I ASAP. But otherwise, Jeff is gonna get you emailed game plan instructions very soon, so wait for them. Jeff is taking over the team immediately.

Team stats and line scores have previously been listed beside each team's name on our Rosters & Stats link. That's 40 links for me to have to make and 40 links for you to have to click.

Not anymore. I've put all our Team Stats on our new Team Stats link. All 20 teams all in one convenient link for your perusal.

Florida Strat World Presents The:

Second American Basketball League

SABL

League LeadersPast NewslettersRecords All-Stars Draft Preview 2002 Message/Chat Board/Yahoo!

Standings/Team Highs MembersRosters2002 Draftable Players 2002-03 League Disk

E-mail The Commissioner 2002-03 Constitution2002-2003 Schedule Of EventsLine Scores

Past Draft Results Trades2002-03 Season Preview 2001 Draft 2002 Draft Team Stats

SABL Minutes 2001League Totals2000 Draft Histories Links Our Strat-O-Matic Forum

FINNEY (14-38) SWEEPS TWISTERS (6-24) IN TULSA, LEAVING COACH CREIDER FRUSTRATED AND EMBARRISSED

Florida Strat World Presents The:

Second American Basketball League

SABL

League LeadersPast NewslettersRecordsAll-StarsDraft Preview 2002Message/Chat Board/Yahoo!

Standings/Team Highs MembersRosters2002 Draftable Players2002-03 League Disk

E-mail The Commissioner 2002-03 Constitution2002-2003 Schedule Of EventsLine Scores

Past Draft Results Trades2002-03 Season Preview2001 Draft2002 DraftTeam Stats

SABL Minutes 2001League Totals2000 Draft HistoriesLinksOur Strat-O-Matic Forum

FINNEY (14-38) SWEEPS TWISTERS (6-24) IN TULSA, LEAVING COACH CREIDER FRUSTRATED AND EMBARRISSED

League LeadersPast NewslettersRecords All-Stars Draft Preview 2002 Message/Chat Board/Yahoo!

Standings/Team Highs MembersRosters2002 Draftable Players 2002-03 League Disk

Past Draft Results Trades2002-03 Season Preview 2001 Draft 2002 Draft Team Stats

SABL Minutes 2001League Totals2000 Draft Histories Links Our Strat-O-Matic Forum