Newspaper Page Text
6A
MARCH 30, 2000
Second-tier hoops leagues owned
increasingly by African Americans
m TO AUGUSTA FOCUS
NNPA Staff
or brothers seeking to
slam-dunk their hoop
dreams, the options
wereonce as clear asa
Cinderella-team'’s
#iflss high-top: follow the yellow
bk road of college ball to the
NBA. With some players going
froin the high school cap and gown
strhight to showtime, college ball
mity change.
Dntil last year, what remained
constant were the alternatives for
those not yet ready for b-ball's
prime-time: either go play in
ieagues abroad or go to the obscure
Continenta! Basketball Associa
tion,
Either choice - Europe or rural
America ~ was out of the Black
mainstream. With time often comes
change Thistime, the changes shift
Black sports history a little.
Lastsummer, Isiah Thomas, the
retired Detroit Pistons superstar
and NBC-TV basketball commen
tator, purchased the CBA. He
bought out all nine franchises and
their 40 owners. “What I'd like to
do with the CBA is basically take
basketball and sports and connect
it back to our community and make
(sports) heroes again in our com
munity,” said Thomas, who visited
the NNPA headquarters in Wash
ington, D C. early last month
At almost the same time, an
ther, brand-new basketball
league, was starting its inaugural
ieason-the International Basket
sall League.
“We have literally carried every
iport except hockey. Now we're
retting on the other side of the
wckey puck,” joked Henry Mar
in, one of the owners of the 18,
The IBL 1s best-known for hav-
Funky Stix Music
r LR wER GNT SN SN ORWN SEOB ARG ‘
! CD Offer e b Recording & Music
| “Danger z_*m | Production Studio
l &r this u‘. t ' -
I wave An 1 | Retail Ready D
|<& : ('a.f:cm
' res 2000 l .
bl aeemmwd Dyt = s
I,' T . * Internet Service
i g el * Copying/Faxing
b (’] ; * Computer Services
i * Desktop Publishing
GENT'S Technol i - :
'—“B)’ * Administrative Services
Phone (706) 790-0570
'583 Tobacco Road Fax: (706) 790-8114
ulte F Email: jwilson @ mrgent com
fephzibah, Georgia ol wWww. mrgent com
) i A B iet N
|
& DVER 833 MILL REM S DUT-THEY-GOI
S s ESCRIPTION ) 2 DESCRPTION ~ow
o 12512 0 Whae Push Oye (ne s 183 &amfi: ::
: '.‘n\ W:Y:: :: '.‘:-.', :an?.r S
ik e (rowstone Heevy (o e 14 Mm-\a;:‘ :;
5 22 Ma ve Onagons e F YR o Corv
- . th &v:(w - s Lawr Greer Tt 1§
{ 1282 ey fegr Taowe 58 Wl it-&‘vnsnn 58
: e Tea i o 27 raste reer Savory sece
\ 12etde gy Traouess - Whad Fores (seer Soupturec a
" hate Lo reevy Bete "e 19X Moss ower e e
) 1530 e e e e ax e e s'%
. BRING ROOM SIZES 100's & 100's MORE TO CHOOSE.
| SAVENCW a
- Very extraordinary e T
i} Oriental R savin O T
28 r R Rl B N
bY } “'s’ LT R LIRS LT R 1y FRE
g L Ll s,
1 6x9, 338 and up DON'T MISS OUT!!! 3of
! p
‘»,. ' DONTMISS THIS ONCE-A-YEAR SAVINGS ON TOP BRANDS m
« . WEMUST RAISE CASH' 100 SOF CARPETS MUST BE SOLD
! AUGUSTA'S LARGEST SELECTION 17 xIS FT. 100's w
sranmina ars 3% 50 vo IN STOCK_ .
/ Renter's W& CASH & CARRY 13'Commercia|
Speqgjal CARPET OU".ET;’ (el 1e 5
L
"VISA | Call toll free 1 888.315-RUGS or 737‘@1 A
2521 Deans Bridge Rd., Mon - Sat 946 Sun 125 [A]
]
FWE WOW'T BE UNDERSOLD GUARANTEED
AUGUSTA FOCUS
The only
way we
.
get a chance is
“
our COMMUI‘II"Y
to see
fessi |
(professional)
basketball
@
now is on
. .
television.
— Isiah Thomas
ing Master P (Percy Miller), the
ultra-hyphenated hip hop multi
millionaire, on one of its teams
What is less known is that one of
the league’s five founders are Afri
can American, and some IBL.teams
are partially or fully Black-owned
The twodevelopments(skipping
Michael Jordan’s recently acquired
part-ownership of the Washington
Wizards) mark a new juncture for
a sport that Blacks have domi
nated for at least two decades-on
the court.
Thomas'CßA and the Baltimore
based IBL are training young,
mostly Black, athletes for life in
the NBA and beyond. Each claim
Black communities in urban cen
ters as their target markets
CBA puts Thomas truly in a
league of his own
Say the name Isiah Thomas and
to many it immediately brings to
mind his leading the Detroit Pis
tonstotwoconsecutive NBA cham
pionships in 1989 and 1990 He
still leads the league in smarts,
smiles, and cool
Business
But all of these attributes have
transferred from the court to the
boardroom. His boardroom. Tho
mas’ purchase of the 54-year-old
Continental Basketball Association
last summer, for an estimated $lO
million, marked the first time in
post-segregation history that a
Black man would own his own pro
fessional sports league.
The CBA, whose history pre
dates the NBA, has served as the
NBA's developmental league.
About 20 percent of the NBA's cur
rentroster comes from the CBA, as
well as 97 percent of all game offi
cials, according to the legendary
basketball superstar.
Thomas's plan for the CBA is to
expand the rural, Mid-western
league into chocolate cities, with
teams affiliated with both the local
community and the NBA franchise
there. Thomas said most of his
players are from the very commu
nities he is planning expansion
teams for: Gary, Ind., Flint, Mich.
and Detroit.
The CBA's nine teams are in
mostly rural areas in the following
states: Idaho; South Dakota; Wis
consin; Connecticut, Indiana;
Michigan; lowa, llinois and Wash
ington State.
With the proposed expansion,
Thomas hopes to create franchises
that will produce local players-and
their fan-bases-in urban centers.
“The only way we get a chance is
ourcommunity tosee (professional)
basketball now is on television,”
declared Thomas.
Fans would be able to come see
their local players both as basket
ball stars and local role models
trained in sports and business “life
skills,” he explained.
The CBA purchase is not
Thomas’s first brush with owner
ship. From roughly 1994 to 1998,
0 o How to Set Up and Care for Your
- w Aquarium CD-Rom
‘\ All you want to know
) - about fish! %
: v Ask Dr. Johnny %
' Editor of “Fish Talk"
00 (Visit online)
B‘ http://www johnnysaquariums.com
‘ 0 » e-mail: JPurdis@aol.com
O Bus: 399-4650 * Home: 790-6564
Take your business to new
heights -
with an ad in th ‘
Augusta k- -’
Focus L
(706) 724-7855
the former president of the NBA
Players Association also served as
vice-president of basketball and
part owner of the Toronto Raptors,
the NBA'sfirst Canadian franchise.
Thomas believed that with the
CBA and other leagues looking to
urban, predominately Black areas,
that Black-controlled sports and
entertainment — part of the legacy
of America’s racial segregation —
could return.
“What's old is new again,” he
declared.
The newly-formed International
Basketball League could fit into
that category.
For fledgling IBL, diversity,
commitment are strengths
The IBL, based in Baltimore, is a
new minor league for American
basketball. It just started its first
season. The league has eight teams,
located in Trenton, Richmond, Las
Vegas, New Mexico, San Diego, St.
Louis, Baltimore and Cincinnati.
Henry Martin, oneofthe league’s
five owners, is African American.
Its Richmond team, the Richmond
Rhythm, is owned wholly by
Charles and Wanda Gills, a local
African-American couple.
Goliath, meet David
The formation ofthe IBL 1s Black
history for today, said Fred H.
Black. A former acting executive
director for the NNPA Founda
tion, he is the co-author of “Mile
stones in Black Newspaper Re
search: Exploding Stereotypes.”
Black is serving as a staff person in
IBL's corporate relations depart
ment.
“This 1s the first opportunity in
any professional league (to have)
100 percent diversity, from board
room to bottom-not just basketball
players,” he declared.
T
T YRS AT TR
' A Minor Accident? _
Even a minor automabile accident can S B ez
have major ill effects on your health. It may kA e
be weeks, months, even years before you ] :
experience pain, headaches even arthritis. VN
But DO NOT settle with the insurance com
pany unless you get checked out. ‘e
Most Automobile
Cases are Accepteq
After the Accideat with MO out of
Health Check-List pocket Expenses.
. Headaches
) Neck Pain Stiffness
) Shoulder Pain
0] Low Back Pain -
.. Muscle Tension
O Difficulty Sleeping \ &
BN Injury CENTER
Chiropractor FAX 736-5933
Porsonalinyury WelnessCin 1125 Druid Park Avenue
Augusta, GA 30904
The hfelong sports fan pursued
this new dream after retiring from
a Richmond dental practice.
The goal, he explained, is to cre
ate an alternative for the “abun
dance of talent” caught in the hmbo
between college ball and the NBA
Martin is proud to be part of a
professional sports league that has
African-Amencan as majority own
ers of franchises. “It is the only
African-American owned (profes
sional basketball) team of any sort
in the country,” he declared.
Theleague has made some waves
for another reason, though. A big.
moneymaking publicity machine
named Master P.
The hip hop entrepreneur and
filmmaker is with the IBL's San
Diego Stingrays. Miller joined the
IBL after washouts with the Con
tinental Basketball Association and
ALL IRREGULARS
Buy 3 Get 4th
FREE
Shorts $2.50
T-shirts $2.50
Baseball Pants $4.44 & $6.44
First Quality
T-shirts $3.95
Shorts $8.95 2/816
Check out our
Basketball uniforms!!
Augusta Sportswear
Factory Outlet
Southgate 796-9131 ¢ National Hills 737-0343
's Grill
Arnold’s Gr
1801 Kissingbower Road . »
7290303 "
*(Good Food for Young and Hld“
*Hot Foods/Games Galore -
LERLTS e Non-alcoholic Environment
h_‘h 7 e Cold Cuts to Hit the S;?ut
Open Monday - Thursday 11-9 pm
g Friday and Saturday 11-Ilam
NBA's Toronto Raptors and Char
lotte Hornets.
Martin called Miller's participa
tion “a plus "
He and Black said the league is
planning to expand to Kansas City,
San Jose, Louisville, Norfolk and
Nashville within the next two
vears.
Another IBL prority is the de
velopment of the plavers as voung
men, saud Black, echoingthe CBA’s
similar program of life-skills semi
nars
IBL players will be ousted after
onedrugviolation, he warned But,
he added, they will also get one
vear of free college tuition for every
year they play in the league
The two leagues give wannabe
Black NBA hoop stars more op
tionsthanever — as plavers and as
voung men
* E
\ : .
S
R
Wy e
o :
T
:'
e
1 0
& '\;‘ 3