I received a Facebook message Friday night. A friend of mine needed a PA announcer for their basketball game Saturday night, as their regular PA person was not available.
Quickly checked my schedule. Yeah, I’m free. I can do it.
This was a very important game for this team. The Saratoga Racers were playing a dedication game at Mechanicville High School, and the court was to be renamed in honor of local coach Joe Loudis. This means a lot to the team and to the high school. So, yeah, I’ll do it.
And with that … I returned to a league I thought I left 20 years ago.
Explanation.
Back in 2006, I was a freelance writer for several different publications. And trust me, some of these publications were a little slow on pay. Or in some cases, I received more pay in excuses and promises than in dollars and cents.
One of those publications was an online website called MinorLeagueNews.com. They were looking for stringers to cover various minor league sports, and they promised a good pay rate.
I signed up and offered them some stories. They published a few of them … and barely paid me for them. If at all. And when they did, I got short-changed.
So I was not sad when MinorLeagueNews.com got shut down over their abuse of photo licensing rules – as in, they used the photos of major outlets and didn’t pay for those rights.
The last time I did anything for MinorLeagueNews.com was when I traveled to Rochester to cover the American Basketball Association’s championship tournament. Basically at that time the ABA was a mishmash of three dozen teams spread all over the United States. The tournament was a single-elimination knockout event, and was hosted by the eventual champion Rochester RazorSharks.
The RazorSharks put serious money into this venture. Other teams, however – not so much. Some of the teams arrived at the tournament with barely enough players to field a squad. And it doesn’t help when you’re playing in front of tens of fans in the cavernous Blue Cross Arena – until the RazorSharks showed up and then the arena filled with thousands of Sharkball fans.
Suffice it to say, back in 2006 the ABA was barely one step above a Friday night rec center “first to 20 points” league.
As for the game last night, the Saratoga Racers had a nice dedication ceremony for the newly-named Joe Loudis Court. Loudis, a member of various local basketball Halls of Fame, was represented by his family and former players. The Racers’ head coach conducted the dedication ceremony, and everybody enjoyed the moment.
Then came the game. Remember what I said about teams showing up with barely enough players to field a starting lineup? That’s called foreshadowing, kids. The Boston Sharks arrived with five players. FIVE. And one of the players was the team’s coach – and team owner. Needless to say, the Racers sent the Sharks back to Amity Island with a 170-128 triumph that wasn’t even THAT close.
And in case you’re wondering how someone could run up 170 points and still give up 128 to a five-man squad … well, the ABA has a weird “3-D” rule. If there’s a turnover in the backcourt, the team in possession can score and receive an additional bonus point. Yep, you get a steal, you can hit what’s technically a 3-pointer in any other league, and it’s now four points for your squad.
The 3-D rule appeared throughout the game, even when one team tried a full-court pass and threw the ball so high that it bounced off one of the ceiling supports and BACK onto the floor – yep, that was a turnover in the backcourt, 3-D rule activates. It’s pinball basketball, folks.
In the end, the Racers won, everybody went home happy (well, except for the Boston Sharks), and the floor at the Mechanicville arena is now named for a legendary Capital District basketball coach.
That’s as good as a win for me.
Chuck The Writer 
well done on all counts
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