It's the end of the year - and of my commissionership, too

Because I want to save my marriage and because I want to spend more time with my family again, I have to resign as commissioner of the Second American Basketball League, effective immediately.

I am sending a burned CD copy of our league's website, including all its history and webpages, to our other two league officers, Cave Creek Coach Mark Long and Galactic Coach Steve Walters. I will keep paying for the league website for another year - it's what I have left of the dues you have paid me. Please don't email or phone me about this, dudes, 'cause I don't want my wife or family exposed to Strat-O-Matic anymore. Direct all league inquiries to Mark Long or Steve Walters. Keep playing your games, too, 'cause Steve is still handling all the stats and game files.

There's no reason this league cannot continue without me. You have the talent and brains to keep it alive, if you want to. I hope Mark and Steve can find another webmaster among our current 24 coaches to keep this wonderful league going. They have the league website in their hands, now. You guys are the best Strat coaches I've ever played with. I will miss you all more than I can say.

But while I love all of you guys, I love my wife and family more. This is my exit from the Strat-O-Matic world. Tomorrow is a new year and a new day. Good luck to all of you.

New SABL League File Is Sent - You Can Play Richmond Games Now!

Start using this SABL January League File, SABLFixx.bbk, immediately. It will extract to your game as the SABLFix league.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO REPLAY ANY GAMES, JUST STOP USING THE SABLFinal LEAGUE IMMEDIATELY AND START USING THE SABLFix LEAGUE FROM NOW ON.

And, of course, you can play Richmond Raider games now.

The problem with Frank Rowley’s team is that for some inexplicable reason, the January backup file gave the Richmond Raiders a completely blank defensive card. In other words, if the dice roll hit Frank’s team defense card, it was an automatic miss.

I think any coach in that situation should definitely vote against Emphasizing Individual Defense!

How this got into the January League File backup I sent is a total mystery. This glitch was not present in the December league file and you can’t manually create an individual team defense card – you have to copy it. And there’s never been a defense like that in NBA history.

I can only chalk it up to yet another incredible computer bug in a truly incredible computer game – Strat-O-Matic Computer Basketball.

Anyway, thanks to the sharp eyes of McLean Coach Bob Storey, this glitch was caught before Richmond set any all-time SABL defensive records. And thanks to Steve Walters, who added in 240 game files today to our new SABLFixx League File, we are rolling once again.

Aces (21-11) split with Tulsa (9-13) in St. Lucie

Tulsa comes out firing and opens up an 11 point lead in the 1st quarter.  David Wesley scores 15 in the 1st quarter to get them off to a great start.  St Lucie runs them down and owns the 2 point lead at halftime.  Tulsa stays hot the entire game and the Aces poor shooting dooms them in the second half as Jermain O'neal gets 26 and 13 in the win.

In the second game of the home series with Tulsa, St Lucie gets the win in a hard fought game.  Jermain O' Neal was unstoppable in the 1st quarter as he got Tulsa off to an 8 point lead.  The Aces had a 4 point lead at the end of 3 on Tim Duncan's driving layup at the buzzer.  The game was still in the balance late in the 4th but Corey Maggette's 13 4th quarter points, in a duel with Shawn Marion, brought the victory home.  Unlike the previous game between these 2 teams, David Wesley cooled off and made only 3 of 11 3 pointers and the Aces shot a blistering 58%.

Aces win two over Cave Creek (14-8) in St. Lucie

In a contest between 2 teams with winning records, St Lucie outlasts Cave Creek 113-103 behind Duncan and Garnett's inside play.  Garnett and Duncan outrebounded the duo of Dampier and Etan Thomas.  The Aces won the rebound battle by 15.  Despite foul trouble that limited him to only 22 minutes , Corey Maggette scores 21 including clutch baskets down the stretch.  Kobe Bryant was brilliant leading all scorers with 28 points.

This is the second home game of thseries with CaveCreek.  St Lucie gets the win behind Chauncey Billups' 23 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds.  The Aces had opened up a 22 point lead in the second half before Kobe Bryant led a furious comeback, cutting the lead to 8 with 6 minutes left but that was as close as they could get it.  Bryant and Jason Richardson had 34 each.

Aces get revenge over Tucson (10-18) in second game in St. Lucie

In the second game of the home series between Tucson and St Lucie, the Aces gain revenge with a 129-93 pasting.  Everything went right for the Aces in this game including an improved 78% from the foul line.  St Lucie's gameplan from the start of the game was to get KG involved after 2 subpar games from him.  KG scored 30 points on 23 shots and pulled down 12 boards.  Tim Duncan had 14 points, 16 boards and 6 blocks as he ignited the FB.  St Lucie had 61 rebounds to the Sky's 33.  8 players scored in double figures for the Aces.  Latrell Sprewell had another impressive game for the Sky.

Springfield (6-16) edges Tucson for the second straight game, in Springfield

Springfield edges Tucson for the second straight game, this time by a 101-98 margin. The Bulldogs had to come from behind to win the game, as they entered the fourth quarter down by 4 and didnt take the lead for good until Carl Crawford scored inside and was fouled with 2:12 left in the game for a 3 point play. Then the next time down, Crawford drilled a 3 to put Springfield up by 5. Sprewell scored on the fastbreak for Tucson to close it to one point with just over a minute left, but Raja Bell penetrated and scored 12 seconds later, and the home team was able to put the game away and win a contest in which neither team led by more than 7 throughout.

Al Harrington led the way with 19, and Crawford scored 17 in 18 minutes of play on 6-10 from the floor. Rodney White also scored 17, in 17 minutes of play, hitting 8-12 from the floor. Gadzuric came off the bench to score 10 and grab 8 boards, which led the Bulldogs. For Tucson, Hamilton scored 22 points to lead the way, and Fisher added 15 off the bench. Both teams shot very well from the field, with Tucson nailing 51% and Springfield 49%.

Galactic (15-9) crushes Monsoon in Chandler (9-22)

Tucson beats Aces in St. Lucie

It was double-overtime game that featured 2 buzzer beater 3's, one at the end of the 1st overtime by Darrell Armstrong to send the game into the 6th period. Latrell Sprewell hit a 3 with 3 seconds left in the game to win it for Tucson. St Lucie had just called a timeout and set up a play for Maggette who drove and got the bucket. Out of the timeout Sprewell knocks down the game winner. The Aces had a chance to win the game in regulation with 48 seconds left but Tim Duncan was called for the charge and his 6th foul on a questionable call. KG fouled out of the game with 3:35 left in the last period. Joe Smith fouled out late for Tucson. St Lucie played with foul trouble the entire game as KG, Duncan, Maggette, and Corliss Williamson were in foul trouble early and often.
Hamilton gets 31 points, 12 of 12 from the charity stripe. Maggette paced the Aces with 29.

Galactic sweeps Sun-Burns in Scottsdale (13-13)

Galactic beat Scottsdale in Game 1. Galactic led the whole game until about four minutes left in the game. This proved just to be a tease to Scottsdale as their false hopes were dashed by Sam Cassell's lead of the fast break. This game had many fouls. Juwan Howard was impressive, he had four fouls in the first three minutes of the game.

Galactic completed their sweep in Scottsdale's Palace. This game was close for the first quarter only. Scottsdale was in severe foul trouble the whole game. Galactic did a phenomenal job of cleaning the glass as they out boarded Scottsdale 45-29.

Aces beat Scottsdale in St. Lucie

In the 2nd game of the home series versus Scottsdale, St Lucie again had to overcome poor foul shooting and a 4 point Scottsdale lead with just under 3 minutes left.St Lucie had taken a seemingly safe 9 point lead with about 6 minutes left to play.  Scottsdale runs off 8 straight point at the 4:10 mark puntuated by Vince Carter's penetratin basket to tie the game.  Van Horn's 3 took the lead to 4.  Maggette's 3 point play gave the Aces the lead and it fouled out Carter.  St Lucie scored 11 of the last 12 points of the game to secure the victory.  Jason Kidd had an outstanding game keeping the Scottsdale team in the game with 12 assists, 7 boards and 16 points.  Duncan despite only playing 25 minutes because of foul trouble leads the Aces with 20 points and 14 rebounds.  His foul shooting(4 of 8) remains a source of concern though.

Bulldogs (5-16) beat Tucson (9-16) in Springfield

Springfield plays their best game of the season as they defeat Tucson 109-92. The Bulldogs shot 53% from the field and were led by Al Harrington's near-triple double. Harrington goes for 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists on the night. Rodney White, officially the league's biggest gunner (32 shots per 48 minutes) for the first 20 games, goes for 19 points in just 17 minutes on 6-11 from the field. Carl Crawford adds 16 more points in 18 minutes on 6-7 shooting from the floor. Raja Bell scores all 11 of his points in the 4th period to help the Bulldogs break open a close game. The Bulldogs, who improved to 5-16 on the season, outrebounded Tucson 46-36 and had to overcome 21 turnovers, as the Tucson press got to them at times.

Tucson was led by Joe Smith's 19 points and 15 rebounds.

Aces (16-9) beat Scottsdale (13-10) in St. Lucie

Here is the results for Scottsdale at St Lucie on 1-7.  Scottsdale had the 3 point lead after 3 quarters of basketball.  In fact Scottsdale had a 7 point lead with about 2:30 left in the 3rd quarter when the Aces decided to slow the game down to a crawl.  Taking advantage of the presence of Duncan and Garnett, the Aces pounded the ball down low.  After Anthony Peeler's 3 pointer just inside of the 4th quarter put Scottsdale's lead back to 6, Duncan scores inside and gets fouled for the 3 point play.  Korver knocks down a long range bomb to tie it up.  St Lucie scores 9 straight points capped by KG's 2 free throws with 38 seconds left.  During this stretch Vinsanity missed alot of shots to open the flood gated for the Aces.

BUCS (16-8) SWEEP CHANDLER (9-20) DOWN SOUTH, go into first in the South!

New Orleans wins game one 93-76. Rasho gets in early foul trouble. Boozer and Nash have double-doubles to lead the Bucs.

 

Bucs win game two 104-91. Bibby leads all scorers with 27.

Jeff Perigoni's Bucs go ahead of the defending SABL champion Aces in the South Division with this win.

Renegades (7-17) steal 2 from Tigers (10-16)

Game 1: River City 103 Brooklyn 95
Quentin Richardson had 27 points and 12 rebounds to lead River City. Pau Gasol topped all scorers with 31.

Game 2. River City 94 Brooklyn 87
Each team put 5 players in double figures with Lamar Odom's 18 as tops. Odom also had 13 rebounds. Jon Barry's 14 paced the Renegades, while "star of the game" Kelvin Cato had 11 points and 10 boards.

Jams (11-11) smoke Chandler in Chandler

Aces lose one to Chandler in St. Lucie

Chandler goes into St Lucie and falls behind in the 1st quarter by 9 points.  They win every quarter after that as the Aces only shoot 38%  from the field.  Welsch has a real nice game for Chandler scoring 21.  Duncan misses 7 of 12 free throws.

Tigers take two from River City in Brooklyn

Game one - Brk 105-95: Mobley spurs the Tigers with 20 pts, in 22 minutes off the bench. Rod strickland had 9 assists in 18 minutes.

Game two - Brk 107-79: A rare laugher for Brooklyn. Kmart with a 26-14 game, Odom 20-11. The three PG's McInnis, Strickland and Ford had 13 assists.

Quentin Richardson had 26 points in each game, but he can't do it alone. Butler (12 pts) and Dalembert (10 pts) in game one were the only other renegades to hit double figures in the series.

Chapel Hill 91 Chandler 87 in Chandler
Sun-Burns beat St. Lucie in Scottsdale

Scottsdale played a tight game with St Lucie and managed to win by 1 point. The difference in the game was that St Lucie kept getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Scottsdale converted 33 of 38 free throw opportunities. Vince carter had 30 points in the win.

Chandler 96 Atlanta (7-18) 86 in Chandler

Bucs (14-8) sweep Sky in Tucson (9-15)

Amare Stoudamire breaks open a tie game in the final two minutes to lead New Orleans to a sweep in Tucson.

Bucs win easy over Tucson in Tucson

Carmelo Anthony scores 47 (30 in the first half) to pace Bucs to an easy win over Tucson.

Atlanta (7-17) sweeps Sky in Tucson

Going to be a LONG block if Atlanta is a 5-15 team.  Stephen Jackson torches the Sky for 37 as Atlanta comes from behind in the 4th quarter to complete the road sweep over Tucson.

Chandler 94, Atlanta 89 in Chandler (7-16)

Aces (14-7) beat Monsoon in Chandler

Chandler took an early lead in this contest but St Lucie gets out on the break and gains control. There was no answer for KG who posts 26 points and 13 rebounds. The game was won at the free-throw line as St. Lucie went to the stripe 35 times compared to 12 for Chandler.

Atlanta beats Sky in Tucson

Homestanding Tucson falls behind by 15 to visiting Havoc but battles back late in the 4th quarter to take the lead. Atlanta regroups as Voshon Lenard nails a trey with 23 seconds left to give Atlanta the lead by 2. Sprewell misses on a drive & Havoc's Stephen Jackson goes baseline to baseline to give Atlanta a 98-94 win. Lenard lights the Sky up for 25 points to lead the way.

Druids (18-4) take two from Tigers in Brooklyn (8-14)

The Druids take a pair. The Tigers consistently missed fast-break and second chance opportunities. Brooklyn threatened in both games, but whenever they came close Bettendorf hit a couple of threes, or fastbreaks and pulled away.

Game one - Bett: 102-89
Game two - Bett 105-98

Chandler beats Havoc in Atlanta - January SABL games are underway!

Stephan Jackson scored 24 points in the first quarter and 45 for the game. Vlad Radmanovic had a double/double (15 pts/11 boards). But the Atlanta Havoc came up short as Chandler won 94-90. Michael Doleac pulled down 6 boards but there were really only 2 players of merit for the Havoc. Chandler had 4 players in double figure scoring and three players (Nestrovic 9, Mutombo 8, Voskuhl 8) with 8 or better rebounds.

Who's Trading?

Rosters are updated on website, new league file is out, it's time to play January games!

Stats, commentary, rude opinions coming from yours truly after holidays

Yes, sports fans, once the holiday hubbub is over and I've recovered from my drunken reverie, I will endeavor to agitate you in a manner heretofore unseen in previous years of my commissionership. Look for stats postings, news and more in a couple of weeks or less.

SABL News - We Report, You Decide.

All December games are done, terrific job by all coaches!

Congratulations on one the most efficient blocks of game play in SABL history. All 240 December games have been played and I've just sent out our January League File, our first SABL League File to be sent out after a season has been started – sablDec04.bbk.

All the trades have been made in it. All the stats from our first 20 games are in it.

Just restore it through the Strat game and you’re ready to send out January instructions and start playing January games! Don’t delay, start sending out those instructions and playing all your January games today!

Do not, however, play any other games than January games. There will be another league file sent out at the end of January for February play.

Good luck and play ball!

REGGIE ROBS REBELS WITH A 3 RINGER

Chandler's Reggie Miller Sank a trade mark three-pointer to sink the visiting Indy Rebels 78-75. Stevenson and Nesterovic led the Monsoon with 15 each and Maurice Taylor led Indy with 14.

Tri-City prevails, 100-94 over Springfield in TriCity

RICHMOND TOPPLES TULSA FOR ROAD VICTORY, 119-102

Stojakovic (25 pts) and Redd (24 pts) lead the Raiders to the win. While held to only 9 pts, Nowitzki does his part by pulling down 12 rebounds.
Eddie Curry also showed "his game" by scoring 15 pts and claiming 10 boards.
Lowlight for Richmond was Baron Davis heaving up 13 3-pt shots and only hitting 1 of them.

From the 5:14 mark of the 2nd Period to the end of the game, the Raiders outscored the Twisters 77 to 59. Adding "salt to the wound" were the contributions ( 9 pts and 3 assists) of former Twister, Alvin Williams.

Parker leads Tulsa with 20 pts. J. O'Neal recorded 9 blocked shots.

Only 4 games left to play in December! Great job by all!

With our league disk deadline of Dec. 22 fast approaching, we only have four games left unplayed in this December block:

Dec. 18, Springfield at TriCity

Dec. 21, Richmond at Tulsa & San Francisco at Akron

Dec. 22, Indy at Chandler

What none of you are doing, however, is notifying Steve Walters or me about late results. According to our Constitution, if you don't get away game results by the date of the game, you are supposed to email Steve, me and the offending coach to let us know what's going on. Here's what I emailed you several times before the season started:

"3. Play games and send results to away manager and cc to Steve Walters at myril@gate.net. The away manager will reply to that e-mail with the words 'Received results'. This verifies, to the home manager, that his results were received.

    A. If away manager does not receive results by date game(s) are to be played, away manager will: (1) E-mail home manager and cc to Commissioner at scottiefl@bellsouth.net and Operations Director at myril@gate.net, to let home manager and league office know that results not received. (2) One penalty point will be assessed to the late team. (3)Permission to play game(s) in question by letting computer manager set eligible players and lineups for home game instructions to be played by away team, authorized by Commissioner or Operations Director Steve Walters."

To my knowledge, none of you are notifying the away coach, Steve or I when away game results are late. It's been the other way around - I've been notifying you.

That's OK for this month, because we all have to get used to the new system. That's why I've been checking the schedule every day and emailing those that have been late every day. And since it is a new system, I'm not gonna give any penalty points out for December lateness.

But all that's changing in January. Our new league file system means the trains have to run on time. You've had a month to get used to used to the new system. Penalty points will be assessed for lateness in January.

And if you don't bother to notify the opposing coach, Steve and I that your opponent is late with results, you won't get penalty points - but that game will get autoplayed by your friendly neighborhood commissioner. We're not gonna hold up 21 or 22 on-time coaches for the 2 or 3 that are late.

I don't want to end this email on a downer, though, because most all of you are doing a great job. I'm confident you are gonna get these few remaining games in the hopper by Dec. 22.

Thanks for making this season's start our best ever!

Tulsa beats Raiders in Richmond

 In a double overtime thriller, the Richmond Raiders fall @ home to the> Tulsa Twisters.
>
> Tulsa 148 - Richmond 139
>
> Tulsa was led by Jermaine O'Neal's 36 points and 9 rebounds. He was > followed > by Shawn Marion's 22 points & 9 rebounds. Tony Parker had 18 points & 8> assists, Darius Miles had 18 points and 5 rebounds, (4 on the offensive> glass). Kirk Hinrich had 15 points and 7 assists. Tulsa outrebounded
> Richmond 61 to 48 and had 20 offensive rebounds, this was the key stat of> the game.
> Richmond was led by Michael Redd who 33 points, he was followed by Predag> Stojakovic who had 32 points and 10 rebounds. Eddy Curry had 20 points> before fouling out in the 2nd OT. Baron Davis scored 15 points & dished > out> a game high 9 assists. Dirk Nowitzki had 14 points & a game high 12 > rebounds> before fouling out in the 2nd OT.

AKRON - 102, SAN FRAN- 84 at SF

Akron took care of business in San Francisco and controlled this one most of the way.  Ray Allen scored 26 for the Blimps.  Yao Ming had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, P.J. Brown pulled down 11 boards and Eric Snow dished out 8 assists.  Shareem Abdur-Rahim led the Terminators with 26 points.

Bettendorf out-shoots Atlanta in Atlanta

Minnesota puts Havoc in deep freeze in Atlanta

River City beats Havoc in Atlanta

Chapel Hill Jams defeated Tri-City 103 - 85 in Chapel Hill

Andrei Kirilenko had 25 pts 9 boards and 5 blocks to lead the Jams.  Tri-city shot only 34% against the improved CH defense.

Tigers top Chandler in Brooklyn

In an incredibly tight and low scoring battle the Tigers pulled away in the last minute to win 85-80.

Chandler had a 49/33 rebound advantage. And Brooklyn added to there struggle by hitting only 7 of about 25 fast break shots. Manu Ginobili led Brooklyn with 22, Pau Gasol blocked 6 shots.

Jiri Welsch led the Monsoon with 19 pts, Mutombo had 13 rebounds, Nesterovic 11.

San Francisco terminates Tigers in Brooklyn

The Terminators stunned the Tigers with a 26-14 1st quarter and never looked back with a 109-87 victory. Six Terminators were in double figures none in a very balanced attack. Crawford and Johnson led with 18. Kmart led all players with 22.

Tucson takes out Tigers in Brooklyn

Richard Hamilton hits a jumper at the buzzer for a 114-113 win.

Warning: Don't wait until last day, Dec. 22, to play games in first block

What if the Internet or your email goes down? What if your computer crashes? What if you wait until the last minute, Dec. 22, to get a hold of me and Steve and we are out Christmas shopping and you miss us?

Well, meet Commissioner Ebenezer Scrooge. We have a new league file system now and we are gonna play any unplayed games on Dec. 24. We'll give your opponent a day to autoplay your team, but if you or your opponent can't get those games in my or Steve Walters' hands by 11:59 pm on Dec. 23, by 11:59 pm on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, those games will be autoplayed on my computer.

Except for a couple of teams, everyone is doing a great job getting your December games played. With our new league file system, we just can't afford to wait more than a day for everyone to get their games finished. Lateness kills leagues and with our new league file due in everyone's hands by Jan. 1, time is of the essence.

FYI: Detailed stats will be posted once December games are done

Never fear, detailed stats, standings and commentary from your friendly neighborhood commissioner will be on our website once we get our December games done. That's when the standings will start having some meaning.

You'll be able to regale your friends during the holidays with yarns and numbers from the SABL website before year's end.

Keep up the great game-playing! Everyone's doing good!

As we launch into our new league file system, everyone is playing their games and getting their instructions and results out! You all are doing terrific!

Let's all welcome Todd Melton, the new coach of the St. Lucie Aces

Todd is a Strat computer basketball veteran and is a member of two other leagues, owning the Sacramento franchises in both the SPIBA (www.spibl.com) and also in the USBL (www.usbl.homestead.com).

Todd's vitals: 8523 Cliffwood Way, Sacramento, CA 95826. Phone: 916-425-1821. Email: melt12@comcast.net

Todd will take over the team beginning January 1, 2005. This means you should send all instructions and results for your January games onward to him.

I'm just your friendly neighborhood commissioner from now on

We've made it through expansion. We're making it through our new league file system. We have a new Executive Committee that's working fine. And most of all, we have the best coaches in the country - you're all doing a great job. All systems are A-OK.

We have a league that will last as long as you all want it to last. And I'll be your commissioner as long as you want me to be. However, I just don't have the time anymore to be your commissioner, webmaster and a coach, too. It's hard for a coach to retire, but when the time comes, you know it. My time is now.

So, I'm giving up my beloved Aces to another younger and stronger man. He's gonna do a great job with it, I'm sure.

But just because I don't have a team, don't think I'm not gonna be playing games. I'm sure I'll be autoplaying a lot of late games and perhaps a few playoff games too, since I'm truly a "neutral" coach now! I may be quitting my team, but I ain't quitting the league. If you want me to play your playoff games for you, just let me know!

And I'll always be here to help any of you anyway I can, whether it be advice or playing some games for you when you don't have time to do it. Just email me or give me a call anytime. I'll have the time to help you now.

The Second American Basketball League is a place where you can be the best that you can be. I'll help you keep it that way. Thanks so much to all of you for giving me so much happiness.

AKRON DROPS TULSA 108-99 IN TULSA

Yao Ming leads the Blimps with 28 pts, hitting 14 of 21 shots. Lebron James and Ray Allen chip in 20 and 19 pts, respectively.

The Twisters waste a 30 pt game from Tony Parker. Jermaine O'Neal and Shawn Marion hit only a combined 9 out of 26 shots.

Tulsa returns the favor and wins in Brooklyn

It was too much Jermaine O'neal (31 pts., 13 reb, 4 blk). It was tight for most of the 1st half, until Tulsa went on a late 2nd qtr and early 3rd qtr run to pull away by as much as 17. The Tigers kept chipping away at the lead, and pulled to within 5 with a minute and a half left. But, it wasn't enough. 5 other twisters hit double figures. Odom 23, and Ginoboli 20 led Brooklyn.

NY - 105, SF - 99 at SF

New York led most of the way in a hotly contested game, and nipped San Francisco in a close one.  Glen Robinson scored 20 for NY and Shaq hit for 19 on 8 of 11 from the field and picked up 9 boards.  For the Terminators, Elton Brand scored 20 points and ripped down 16 rebounds.  Abdur-Rahim hit for 15 points and had 10 rebounds.

Blimps beat Chandler in Akron

Holcomb easily tops Jams in Chapel Hill 96 - 82

INDY - 72 SAN FRAN - 94 at SF

San Francisco cruised to an easy home win for a change. For the winners, Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, and Elton Brand
grabbed 6 rebounds. Shane Battier led Indy with 19 points, shooting 5-8 from 3-point range. Malik Rose had 11 boards for Indy.

BROOKLYN DROPS TULSA IN T-TOWN, 114-107

The Twisters did not take care of home court as the Tigers nursed a lead throughout the game. The home team had no answer to the inside presence of Brooklyn star, Kenyon Martin, and his game high 31 points. High point man for Tulsa was Shawn Marion with 21.

Richmond beats Longshots in Cave Creek

Brooklyn beats Longshots in Brooklyn

Cave Creek had a big run at the beginning of the 3rd period, to break open a close game. But never led by more than 9. The Tigers clawed their way back and finally with 1:19 Manu Ginoboli (who was limited all game due to foul trouble) popped a jumper to tie the game at 106. Dampier picked up his 6th foul (offensive) after the inbound pass and Pau Gasol coverted both free throws for the lead. Ford mismatched on the switch with Hilario was called for a foul, and Nene Hilario converted the pair to tie at 108. Kenyon Martin hit a jumper with :19 left to go ahead 110-108, and finally ,game MVP, Lamar Odom stole the inbound pass and ran out the clock for the victory.

Brooklyn committed 33 personals sending Cave Creek to the line 51 shots (they hit 41). They only took 27 themselves, but hit a strong 24, on 22 fouls by Cave Creek. The Longshots outrebounded the Tigers 45-32 (13 offensive. The Tiger's strenght this season is in their passing. Ford, Strickland and McGinnis combined for 12.

Odom led the Tigers with 25 pts, 9 reb, Gasol had 22, martin 21.

Jason Richardson led Cave Creek with 21 pts, Kobe Bryant had 21, Ginoboli and Anderson combined on defense holding him to a poor 6-21, from the field.

Fort Hays beats Bucs in New Orleans

Fort Hays broke open a very tight game in the
4th quarter by outscoring the Bucs 29-12 in the
final period. Pierce was awesome with 34.

Druids destroy Bulldogs in Springfield

Bettendorf blows out Springfield by 19, outscoring the Bulldogs 24-12 in the
third quarter. The Bulldogs had a chance in the fourth to close it to single
digits, but missed three straight fastbreak shots, and then fell behind
again after that, and that was all she wrote.

The visitors outshot Springfield 51%-34% from the field. Rashard Lewis led
the way with 25 points on 9-14 shooting. Tinsley handed out 14 dimes and
only turned it over twice. For the Bulldogs, Rodney White led the way with
15 points on 5-15 shooting in 16 minutes. He has a license to hoist the ball
in the general direction of the basket anytime he wants to whenever he is in
the game with all the non-scorers. Harrington added 13 points and 14
rebounds. Bell was held to 8 on 2-12 shooting.

Aces trumped by Thunder Storm

St. Lucie manager Scott Ellis and Galactic Manager Steve Walters go face to face in 4 game Thunder home stand.

Thunder booms loud as Galactic sweep series 4-0 by scores of:

1) St. Lucie 130 2)St.Luice 127 3)St.Luice 114 4)St. Lucie 131
Galactic 132 Galactic 135 Galactic 122 Galactic 137

Game1: Aces lead by Garnett with 32 and 9 rebs, McGrady 25, with 4 rebs, 5 assists, 4 steals and Duncan with 16, 8 rebs and 6 assists.
Thunder lead by Cassell with 38, 5 rebs and 6 assists, Payton with 26 and Iverson with 21 9 assists and 3 steals.
Galactic made 35-41 FTs(Payton 12-15). Ace's Knight fouled out in 8 minutes!


Game 2: Aces lead by Garnett with 31, 12 rebs, 8 assists, Duncan had 28 with 15 rebs, McGrady 27 with 7 steals.
Thunder lead by Cassell with 33 and 10 assists, Iverson 24 with 10 assists. Rodney Rogers added 7, 6 rebs, 6 assists in 23 mins. Payton 17 Bogans 15.
Galactic made 34-44 FTs (Iverson and Payton both 9-11) Knight fouled out in 17 mins, Watson in 15 mins and Willamson in 22 mins!! Aces made 32-39 FTs (Marshall fouled out in 16 mins. Thunder out scored Aces 46-26 in 2nd quarter.

Game 3: Aces lead by Garnett with 28 and 15 rebs(8 off). Duncan 20 with 7 rebs. McGrady with 21, 5 rebs, 3 assists. Artest had 14 with 8 rebs, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Watson had 8 with 13 assists. Knight had 4 with 4 rebs and 9 assists.
Thunder had 7 players in double figures lead by Cassell with 26 and 12 assists. Iverson with 21, 5 rebs, 9 assists, 2 steals. Payton 20. Kukoc had 12, 5 rebs, 4 assists and 2 steals in 23 mins.
Galactic made 28-34 FTs(Kukoc 8-8). Williamson fouled out in 10 mins, Garnett 38.

Game 4: McGrady lead Aces with 37, 4 rebs, 5 assists. Malone 20, 3 rebs and 5 assists in 29 mins. Arrest had 19 with 4 rebs, 7 assists, 4 steals. Garnett 14 with 11 rebs. Duncan had 12 with 7 rebs, 3 assists, 2 steals. Watson had 6 with 10 assists in 24 mins.
Galactic had Cassell go for 57(23-41 FGs, 3-5 on 3's, 8-10 FTs) and 11 assists in 34 minutes!!! Iverson had 20 with 7 assists. Marshall 18 with 9 rebs, 4 assists, 4 blks. Kukoc 12, 5 rebs, 8 assists in 18 mins. Bogans 13, 6 rebs, 4 assists, 2 steals in 28 mins.
With the score tied at 93 at the end of 3 quarters Galactic took with victory by out scoring St.Luice 44-38 in 4th quarter.
Galactic shot 63% from the field and 11-20 on 3's.

During the series St.Luice used the press every second of every of game. Galactic pressed about 2/3 of the time.

Chandler 88 Brooklyn 85 in Chandler

Miller hits a 3 with three seconds left for the win.

Tri-City squeaks by Chapel Hill 105-103 in Tri-City

New Orleans beats Hawks in Tri-City 119-113

Tri-City falls 129-110 to Galactic in Tri-City

Tri-City beats Havoc 106-95 in Atlanta

Hawks beat Havoc in Atlanta

Fort Hays beats Atlanta in Atlanta

Slammers beat Tulsa at NYC

Slammers storm back from a 20 point deficit to escape with a 106-99 victory.

Blimps beat Scottsdale in Akron

Akron's Rubber Bowl was filled to rafters (it really doesn't have rafters)
> to see native Lebron James make his SABL debut. The lid-lifter was
> supposed
> to be against Richmond, but their team bus showed up several days late.
> James didn't disappoint, scoring a game-high 25 points with three assists
> and three rebounds.
> Scottsdale had some trouble playing the rubber bowl, normally a football
> field. The Sun-Burners had particular trouble bouncing the ball off the
> athletic turf on the Rubber Bowl surface. James, of course, had no
> problem.
> "I've played on much worse here in Akron," he said, referring to the many
> grassy backyard hoop venues on Akron's West side.

Scottsdale beat Indy 97-60 to close out December at home 8-2

Scottsdale's defense put the clamps on Indy and held them to 31% shooting. Meanwhile Van Horn finally had a bust-out game for Scottsdale with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Van Horn was quoted after the game as saying, "I told coach if he would let me log some minutes I will find my stroke." Find his stroke he
did.

Richmond 99 Chandler 97, in Chandler

Sun-Burns beat NYC in Scottsdale 111-98

Havoc loses to Holcomb in Atlanta

Richmond beat Scottsdale 118-107 in Scottsdale

Richmond had a balanced scoring attack with 5 guys with 16+ points each. Nowitzki was shut down, but was happy for the team win.

Springfield splits 2-2 in Atlanta

Mclean trounces Chandler in Chandler

Akron beats Chandler in OT in Chandler, 112-109

BROOKLYN - 97 SAN FRAN - 87 in SF

Brooklyn erased a 16 point San Francisco halftime lead and rolled to a big victory.  Brooklyn embarrased San Francisco by outscoring the Terminators 61-35 in the second half.  Pau Gasol led the Tigers with 24 points and Kenyon Martin hauled in 13 rebounds.  Elton Brand scored 21 for SF and Zach Randolph picked up 10 boards.

NYC 109 Chandler 85 in Chandler

Monsoon put the clouds over Sky in Tucson

Expansion Sky put a gallant effort but falter vs. Richmond in Tucson

Tri-City outlast St. Lucie 131-125 in Tri-City

Slammers go 6-4 at home in NYC in December

Slammers start the season at home under new management and are fairly successful going 6-4 for the month. Shaq leads the way as expected scoring a little over 32 points and grabbing 10+ rebounds per game.

LINE SCORES FOR New York City Slammers

 

DATE	FINAL SCORE	HIGH POINTS	HIGH REBOUNDS	HIGH ASSISTS
12/6	IND 104  @  NY  95	S.O'NEAL 32	M.ROSE 9	Multiple 6
12/7	NY 112 vs IND 110 (1 OT)	S.O'NEAL 56	C.BOSH 13	D.WADE 9
12/9	IND  88  @  NY  83	B.WELLS 19	S.O'NEAL 12	L.BARBOSA 5
12/10	NY 108 vs IND  76	B.WELLS 26	S.O'NEAL 16	L.BARBOSA 4
12/13	NY  87 vs CHN  85	B.SURA 25	B.SURA 9	Multiple 4
12/15	NY 132 vs TUC 124 (1 OT)	S.O'NEAL 44	J.SMITH 13	D.ANDERSON 8
12/16	CAV 103  @  NY  98	S.O'NEAL 35	E.DAMPIER 14	A.HOUSTON 7
12/18	NY 106 vs TUL  99	S.MARION 32	S.O'NEAL 13	Multiple 7
12/20	NY 120 vs  SF 103	S.O'NEAL 39	S.O'NEAL 11	D.JONES 8
12/22	SCT 111  @  NY  98	V.CARTER 34	S.FRANCIS 12	J.KIDD 6

 

New Orleans is red hot in 109-103 win over the Heat in New Orleans

By far the best game the Bucs have ever played. Amare shot an incredible 15 of 16 from the floor and tallied 38 points in the win. Nash and Boozer both had double-doubles. Melo was 13 0f 16 from the floor. All of this and only a six point win as the Heat made 17 shots from behind the arc. It was the inside game of the Bucs versus the outside shooting of Holcomb. In the end, the inside game barely prevailed. Bobby Jackson led the Heat with 33.

JAMS TAKE 3 OF 4 FROM NEW ORLEANS, in New Orleans

The Chapel Hill Jams evened the season series 4-4 with the Bucs. N.O. is now 10-7.

Game 1 Jams win 119-104
Jamison had 22 and Kirilenko scored 20. Carmelo led the Bucs with 31.

Game 2 Jams win 109-93
Kirilenko scores 30 and dominates the game.

Game 3 Bucs finally win at home vs. Jams 110-90
Six Bucs tally in double figures. Boozer has a double-double with 15 boards.

Game 4 Jams win again 106-89
Kirilenko again dominates with 33 points and 11 rebounds.

The Twisters Survive a Scare From Indy, 108-96 in O.T., in Tulsa!

The final score does not begin to describe the excitement from this game.
Indy played inspired ball, out rebounding and out-hustling the Twisters through much of the contest. By the 11:03 mark of the 4th Period, the Rebels led the home team by a score of 73-57. At that point, the Tulsa players got their "rears in gear."

Over the final 11:03 of the 4th Period, Tulsa outscored Indy 37-21 to send the game into overtime. In making its 4th Period run, two key players in the Twisters' comeback, Jermaine O'Neal and Ronald Murray, had to sit out the last 2 minutes or so due to fatigue. Their replacements, Michael Ruffin and David Wesley, ended up playing huge!

In addition to 2 key offensive rebounds, Ruffin hit an outside jumper with
35 seconds to go to bring Tulsa to within 1 point.

The Rebels Kendrick Brown, with 20 seconds left, was fouled but only hit 1 of 2 free throws.

Tulsa then called timeout and elected to run a play for David Wesley - their most rested player on the floor. The son-of-a-gun hit an outside jumper with 5 seconds left to tie the game. His only points of the evening.
The Rebels failed on their desperation shot so the game went into overtime.

The visitors from Indy were obviously disheartened as the Twisters outscored them 14-2 in the extra 5 minute period to grab the victory.
Darius Miles had 8 of those 14 points. (Tulsa's 14 overtime points outpaced the measly 13 points that they scored in the game's 1st Period.)

What a game!

TULSA DEFEATS NYC, 103-102, ON BUZZER BEATER in Tulsa

For the second game in a row, Tulsa's David Wesley provides last second heroics to lead the Twisters to victory. With New York up by 4 points with 28 seconds left in the game, Wesley hits a 3-pointer to draw within 1 point. The Twisters chose not to foul and New York missed on its final possession, with the rebound going to Tulsa. Then, with 1 second left, Wesley hits an outside shot for the victory!

MCLEAN STOMPS TULSA - 121 - 100 in Tulsa

Key element - and bone of contention by Coach Creider from Tulsa - were the 56 free throw attempts put up by the Nationals. (McLean made 42 of them for a percentage of 75%.) "I have never seen so many touch fouls in all of my years of coaching", exclaimed Creider. "And the foul called at half-court on Tony (Parker)was a disgrace. (That foul proved to be Parker's 6th.) "The refs just had it in for us from the opening tip-off..."

Upon hearing of Creider's ranting, Coach Storey of McLean just laughed and rolled his eyes.

Getting past the foul stat (no pun intended), the National's Richard Jefferson reaffirmed himself as a star in the league, pouring in a game-high 36 points. Fellow stud, Corey Maggette added 24 points.

No one cares about Tulsa's scoring leader.

Longshots beat McLean in Cave Creek

The first game was, it seems, at least partially won by McLean because of Kobe Bryant foul trouble. Well, Kobe again was a mess of fouls, fouling out and only playing 24 minutes. Much of the damage was done by Gilbert Arenas and his 33 points. However, several Longshots pick up the slack left by Kobe's fouling out, and Jason Richardson's 2-12 shooting performance. Rose finished with 18 points, Hilario with 13. In limited time, Ridnour finished with 6 points and 6 assists and 4 boards, and Cook and Sweetney were a combined 4-4 from the filed. However, the real star was Eric Dampier who almost single handedly destroyed McLean with his 22 points and 21 boards. He led Cave Creek to a +18 rebound margin and a 104-94 victory.

Rebels Get First Home Win in Indy vs. Chandler

Three late game free throws byTravis Best and Marcus Taylor provided the margin of victory 72-69, giving the Indy Rebels their first home game win in block 1. Indy now 3 and 14 got 17 points from Malik Rose. Chandler had 15 from Welsch and 10 each from Bob Sura and Reggie Miller. The game was close all the way with Chandler leading 35-33 at halftime.

Chandler 100 Tucson 88 at Chandler

McLean Continues Hot at Home, Beats Cave Creek

McLean finished the home part of their December schedule with a 114-101 win over the Longhorns in McLean. Kobe Bryan picked up two fouls in the first minute and the Nats took a 19 point first quarter lead they never relinquished. Damon Stoudemire led Cave Creek with 21 and Kobe finished with 17. Richard Jefferson led the Nats with 30, Corey Maggette added 23, and Brad Miller was names star of the game for his ten points and 15 rebounds.
McLean has won eight of their ten home games and six of seven road games for an overall record on 14-3 to date.

Aces beat Druids 136-101 in St. Lucie

Nationals take 3 in Brooklyn

Game one - McLean 103 -100:
Brooklyn led 100-99 , and had led most of the way, but with 1:33 left but couldn't hold on. Andre Miller drove to the basket for a 1 point lead, Kenyon Martin and Gasol each missed from inside, and Martin later missed two free throws. With 2 seconds left Corey Maggete hit a pair of freebies to ice the game. A. Miller and Maggete led McLean with 21 a piece. Odom 24 and Gasol 20 led Brooklyn.

Game two - Brooklyn 117-105:
The Tigers again led almost all the way, but this time they pulled away in the 4th for the win. Martin led Brooklyn with 21, Gasol had 19. Arenas had 31, and A. Miller 22 for McLean.

Game three - McLean 116-104:
Maggete 27, A. Miller 21 and Jefferson 20 led a National team that never trailed. The Tiger's were led by Martin's 17 points.

Game four - McLean 117-103:
Brooklyn made a run in the 3rd quarter pulling within 9 points, but couldn't overcome what had been a 27 point deficit. Arenas 30, A.Miller 27, and Maggete 24 all torched the Tigers. Gasol 23 and Martin 20 led Brooklyn.

Longshots shoot Akron in Cave Creek

Cave Creek Coach Mark Long reports:

Akron comes out firing, leading by 10 at the end of the first, and 18 by half (66-48). However, Akron collapses and scores just 32 second half points on the way to a 105-98 loss to Cave Creek. Ray Allen hit his first 3 shots of the game (all 3 pointers in about the first 5 minutes), then goes 1-9 the rest of the way. Ming and his 24 points and 15 boards tries to keep things close. Bryant and Richardson score 27 and 24 respectively, and Nene finishes with a double-double. Cave Creek wins another at the foul line (32 for 40 vs. Akrons 17-21).

Overall maybe the weirdest game I have ever played. One point Akron leads by 19. Within just a bit over a quarter they trail by 12.

McLean Whips Tucson in McLean

The Nats thoroughly whipped the Sky on the boards, 69-45, on the way to a 115-92 victory.  Ric Hamilton and Derek Fisher led the sky with 15 each, and Joe Smith did have 15 rebounds.  But Corey Maggette had 35, Vlade Divac had 15 rebounds (Vlade?!), and eleven Nats scored.

McLean Routs Chandler at Home

The Monsoon went out to an early six point lead, and led at the end of the first quarter 22-19.  An upset?  Not today, as the Nats got their act together and won easily 97-73.  Brian Skinner led the Monsoon with 12, and Corey Maggette led the Nats with 34.  Brad Miller was the star of the game with ten points, ten rebounds and six assists.

Scottsdale Rips Nats in McLean

The Sun-Burn must have enjoyed the cloud skies of McLean as they went out to a 69-55 half time lead, withstood a Nat rally that cut the lead to four, and emerged with a 129-116 victory.  Vince Carter led the Burn with 33 and Jason Kidd had 17 points, seven rebounds and 14 assists.  Richard Jefferson led the Nats with 36 and Corey Maggette added 25.

Scottsdale 100 - Richmond 124 at Richmond

Richmond finished their December home stand 6 - 3!

Scottsdale had only 3 players score in double figures. They were led by Vince Carter who led all scorers with 32 points. He was followed by Keith Van Horn who contributed 18 points and a game high 13 rebounds.
Richmond had 7 players score in double figures. They were led by Dirk Nowitzki with 24 points, followed by Predag Stojakovic with 22 points & 7 rebounds. Baron Davis scored 17 points with 6 assists, and Eddy Curry had 16 points.

Chandler 87 - Richmond 103 at Richmond

Chandler had 5 players score in double figures led by Deshaun Stevenson & Brian Skinner who both had 16 points, they were followed by Bobby Sura who chipped in 13 points. Chandler held a 45 to 32 advantage in rebounding, but were out shot 39 to 9 at the free throw line. Richmond made 30 of those free throw attempts, where Chandler could only "sink" 2 free throws!
Richmond had only 4 players in double figures led by Dirk Nowitzki who scored 23 points, he was followed closely by Predag Stojakovic who scored 21 points. Eddy Curry chipped in 17 points and Michael Finley rounded out the double figure scoring with 10 points off the bench.

Scottsdale beats Akron in Scottsdale

Very close game. Vince Carter went off for 38 points. Scottsdale finally took the lead late in the 4th quarter and held on.

Terminators Win In Overtime At Indy

Jamal Crawford scored the final four points to ice the overtime victory and deny once again the Indy Rebels a possible first home win. Zach Randolph led all scorers with 23 and Shareef Abdur-Rahim had 16. Shane Battier led Indianapolis with 15. The Rebels still suffered their 3rd quarter blues and the Terminators won the game by shooting 44%.

New Orleans defeats Tri-City 107-91

Amare and Boozer pace the Bucs both having a double-double. Jamaal Magloire and Marbury had the same for Tri City.

McLean Holds Off San Francisco at Home

The Nats took care of business, beating the Terminators at home, 108-98 behind six players in double figures.  Andre Miller was the star of the game with 23 points on eight for nine shooting with five assists.  Corey Maggette had 21 and Elton Brand led San Francisco with 22, but the Terminators fell behind by as much as 21 and shot only 42 percent from the floor to the Nats 55 percent.

Game #1 Akron 123 - Richmond 118.

Akron won a game that the final score was closer than the game itself. Akron had 5 players in double figures. Led by Lebron James with 33 points, followed by Ray Allen's 30 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
Richmond had 6 players in double figures, led by Predag Stojakovic's 29 points, followed by 19 points from Michael Redd. Dirk Nowitzki had 17 points, and Baron Davis had 16 points.
Richmond was outrebounded 52 to 34 & that was the major factor in the games result.

Game #2 Akron 118 - Richmond 132

Akron had 6 players in double figures, but was in foul trouble most of the game. Ray Allen led with 23 points, 7 rebounds & 6 assists. Lebron scored 22 points. Ilgauskas scored 19 points with 10 rebounds.
Richmond was led by Michael Redd's 30 points with 11 rebounds. Richmond actually won the rebounding battle 44 - 42. Predag Stojakovic chipped in 19 points.

Game #3 Akron 117 - Richmond 102

Akron again had 6 players score in double figures. Led, again by Ray Allen's 24 points. Followed by Yao Ming's 22 points & 11 rebounds. Eric Snow had 15 points and 12 assists. P.J. Brown had 13 points and 14 rebounds! Akron won the battle of the boards 60 to 43.
Richmond again had 6 people in double figures. Led by Dirk Nowitzki's 21 points & 15 rebounds. Baron Davis also collected a double-double with 10 points & 10 assists.

Game #4 Akron 122 - Richmond 113

Akron had 5 players in double figures. Eric Snow led the way with 28 points & 7 assists. Lebron James had 22 points & 8 assists. Ilgauskas had 21 points & 8 rebounds, and Yao Ming had 19 points and a game high 15 rebounds. Again, Akron won the battle of the boards 52 to 35.
Richmond again had 6 players in double figures. Led by Michael Redd's game high 35 points on 15 of 19 from the floor. Dirk Nowitzki had 18 points, followed by Michael Finley & Eddy Curry who both scored 16 points.

Cave Creek had 4 players score in double figures, led by Kobe Bryant's 31, he also pulled down 9 rebounds, with 5 assists. Jalen Rose scored 16 points, with 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Nene had 15 points, followed by Damon Stoudamire's 14 points. Erick Dampier had 9 points and a game high 18 rebounds. Richmond had 6 players score in double figures. Led by Predag Stojakovic's 28 points and 6 rebounds. Michael Redd scored 23 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 13 points & 13 rebounds.

In a very tight game decided on a Michael Redd 3-pointer, Richmond pulls out the nail-biter.
Tucson who had 6 players score in double figures was led by Richard Hamilton who score 19 points, he was followed by Anderson's 16 points. Joe Smith had just 6 points, but a game high 22 rebounds!
Richmond who only had 4 players score in double figures, was led by Michael Redd's 24 points, followed by 20 points and 11 rebounds from Predag Stojakovic, and 20 points from Eddy Curry.

San Francisco had 6 players score in double figures, but it was still not enough as they fell to Richmond in Richmond.
Leading the way for San Francisco was Elton Brand who scored 29 points & pulled down a game high 15 rebounds. He was followed by Zack Randolph who scored 21 points, followed by Jamal Crawford who had 16 points & 8 assists. Damon Jones scored 14 points with a game high 9 assists, and Shareef Adbur-Rahim scored 13 points. Rounding out the double figure scoring was Joe Johnson with 10 points.
Richmond was led by Dirk Nowitzki who scored 29 points. He was followed by Eddy Curry who scored 21 points with a team high 7 rebounds. Predag Stojakovic had 17 points and 6 assists, and Michael Redd had 18 points & 5 assists.
Richmond had 7 players score in double figures, but was outrebounded 42 - 33. Richmond did commit only 10 turnovers vs. 20 for San Francisco.

In an overtime thriller. San Francisco had Abdur-Rahim and Zach Randolph foul out in the overtime as Jason Kidd took control of the game.

The Nats took an early lead and cruised to an easy 117-98 victory over the Twisters at home.  Jermaine O'Neal led Tulsa with 27 points, although he did it on nine for 27 shooting, part of an series of twisted shots for the Twisters, who shot on 38 percent from the floor.  The Nats, who made 35 free throws to the Twisters 15, were led by Corey Maggette with 30 and Richard Jefferson, who had 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

The season got off to a thrilling start as the Nats took three of four closely contested games from the Tigers at home. The Nats took game one 112-101 behind Corey Maggette's 32 points, 59 percent shooting, and a 41-31 rebound advantage. Lamar Odom had 25 and Kenyon Martin had 24 for the Tigers.
In game two, Brooklyn held a four to ten point lead through much of the second half before the Nats' press closed the gap. In the final minute, down by a point, Richard Jefferson and Andre Miller each stole the ball and scored, and the Nats won 113-110. Maggette and Andre Miller each had 26 and Pau Gasol had 28.
If anything, game three was even more of a cliff hanger, as the Nats scored the last nine points of the game to win 104-103. Maggette again led the Nats with 27 and Gasol had 22.
The Tigers had their turn in game four, coming back to win 109-105. Odom had 24 and Martin 22, and Maggette led the Nats with 27.
For the series, McLean outscored Brooklyn by 11, out rebounded them by three, had ten more turnovers, and made 30 more free throws. Maggette made 44 of 47 free throws in the series.

December  2004

55. St. Lucie trades Darrell Armstrong & McLean's 2nd to Chapel Hill for Claxton

THE DEAL ABOVE TAKES EFFECT FEBRUARY 1. IT WILL BE REFLECTED ON THE FEBRUARY LEAGUE DISK, WHICH WILL BE SENT OUT BY EITHER ME OR OPERATIONS DIRECTOR STEVE WALTERS. ROSTERS WILL NOT BE CHANGED ON THE WEBSITE UNTIL FEBRUARY 1.

November  2004

54. St. Lucie trades McGrady & its 2006 1st to McLean for Maggette & McLean's 2nd pick

53. St. Lucie trades Jerome Williams to Holcomb for Ely & Holcomb's 2nd pick

52. Richmond trades Eddy Curry, Michael Finley & its 2nd pick to Fort Hays for Ben Wallace, & Aaron McKie

51. Holcomb trades Voskuhl to Chandler for Mercer and Chandler's 2006 2nd pick.

50. St. Lucie trades its 2nd pick & Palacio to Bettendorf for Jerome Williams

49. St. Lucie trades Jake Tsakalidis to Chandler for Palacio and Chandler's 2006 3rd pick

48. St. Lucie trades Ron Artest to Fort Hays for Billups & Fort Hays' 2006 1st pick

THE DEALS ABOVE TAKE EFFECT JANUARY 1. THEY WILL BE REFLECTED ON THE JANUARY LEAGUE DISK, WHICH WILL BE SENT OUT BY EITHER ME OR OPERATIONS DIRECTOR STEVE WALTERS. ROSTERS WILL NOT BE CHANGED ON THE WEBSITE UNTIL JANUARY 1.

PRE-SEASON TRADE PERIOD ENDED ON NOV. 14.

By Paul Christian

Rochester Post-Bulletin

 

Thousands of drunk Minnesota Chill fans were injured tonight while celebrating the team's first two home victories of the season.

 

After losing eight straight at the Rochester Civic Center's Outdoor Amphitheater, the expansion Chill ended a December homestand with victories over Springfield and Atlanta.

 

Frost-bitten Chill fans flooded the streets of downtown Rochester following the victories but were injured in what they thought was a snowball fight.

 

"We haven't had any snow yet -- they were throwing rocks at each other," Rochester Police Chief Tom Weber said. "Chill fans aren't very bright."

 

For the expansion Chill, it's just nice to have some success on the court, according to humor columnist and Coach Dave Barry.

 

Tyron Lue led five Chill players in double figures with 19 points in a 92-84 victory over Springfield. Slava Medvedenko added 10 points and 9 rebounds off the bench for Minnesota, which shot 45 percent from the floor. Springfield, playing outdoors for the first time, shot just 35 pecent from the floor. Dan Gadzuric led the Bulldogs with 13 points.

 

'Mittens -- not gloves," Barry said in explaining the secret to shooting well outside in Minnesota in December. "That, and we iced down the court."

 

Minnesota followed-up that win with a 84-80 victory over Atlanta.

 

Full of confidence and eggnog, the Chill started hot against Atlanta, building as much as a 25-point lead en route to an 18-point lead after three quarters. However, too much eggnog made the Chill sleepy and sloppy, and the Havoc scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to seven.

 

The Havoc got to within three with 1:37 left before fastbreak baskets by Doug Christie and Lue sealed the game.

 

"Okay, no more eggnog," Barry said. "From now on, we stick to rum and cokes."

 

Bruce Bowen led the Chill with 20 points, while Greg Ostertag pitched in 10 points and 12 boards. Stephen Jackson sparked the Havoc's rally and led the team with 25 points.

 

Chill fans will be hospitalized, jailed or committed until the January homestand begins.

Bettendorf opened up a big lead early, then coasted to a 101-86 victory over Atlanta. Marcus Camby had a double-double (13 points and 11 rebounds) and was chosen the star of the game. Stephen Jackson led Atlanta with 21.

A nail biter that went down to the final buzzer, as Abdur-Rahim sinks a 3-pointer as time expired to leave the Terminators 2 points short of victory.  Corey Maggette led the Nationals with 23 points.  For San Francisco, Abdur-Rahim scored 24 points and Elton Brand hit for 23 points and snared 12 rebounds.

A tight battle all the way that went down to the wire.  Vince Carter missed a 3 pointer at the final horn that would have tied the game!  Elton Brand hit for 23 points and Zach Randolph collected 11 boards for the Terminators.  For the Sunburn, Vince Carter netted 20 points and Jason Kidd distributed 12 assists.

The Terminators outscored Scottsdale by 13 points in the 4th quarter to pick up the victory.  Elton Brand and Shareef Abdur-Rahim paced the Terminators with 19 points apiece, and Vince Carter led the Sunburn with 26.

A close battle all the way.  Zach Randolph was high scorer for SF with his second straight 30 point game.  For Scottsdale, Steve Francis scored 23 points, Keith Van Horn pulled down 13 rebounds and Jason Kidd dished out 10 assists.

Scottsdale led the whole game and won this one going away! Vince Carter rocked the house with 40, and shot 67% from the field for the Sun Burn.  Zach Randolph led San Francisco with 30 points.

Bettendorf rolled to an easy 124 - 106 win over Chapel Hill on the Jam's home court.  The Druids won every quarter and were led by Rashard Lewis who had an incredible offensive game with 37 points, highlighted by 7 -11 from behind the arc.

Chapel Hill was iced by Minnesota in a very strange game.  The Jams blocked 15 Chill shots but were mauled on the boards 50 - 31.  Chapel Hill shot a woeful 32 % from the floor in the 83 - 71 loss.  Greg Ostertag had 14 rebounds in 26 minutes for Minnesota.

Minnesota tries to blow it, but hangs on -- 84-80. Almost blew an 18-point lead in fourth quarter.

Close one, but Chapel Hill wins, 89-83. A two-point game with one minute left ... 

A 30-5 second quarter sparks New Orleans, 92-69. Yikes! Almost threw the computer out the window during that second quarter!