Hoops

Larry Kestleman's "Ugly sister" proposal

very big sponsors... :)

NBL Chair Graeme Wade spoke on Melbourne SEN to Andrew Gaze this morning. He was very positive about the future of the league and had a fair bit to say.

Here is what I can recall:

The Crocs are fincnially sound and will be in again next season, the Hawks are going to be a lock also, just waiting for confirmation.

The Kestleman deal is good for everyone and will not be a confilct of interest because the basketball managament of the league and the board will be two different entities essentially doing what each does best.

A TV deal is looking very much like going ahead, 'they are all over us and we are all over them', he said.

Lots of changes are happening and Wade has been very busy with all of the changes, can't wait to read about these...

The NBL is talking to some very gib sponsors and things are looking bright here as well.

Looks like the NBL is an 8 team competition again next season folks, let's be positive about it all again now shall we...

Adelaide, when full looks very good. The arena itself is OK if not a bit dated looking.

Wollongong has the most ideal NBL venue going. Their problem is that they can't get anywhere close to filling it. Which makes it look bland.

Most of the venues are pretty reasonable I think, with Perth Arena, Hisense, and Vector the standouts.

wollongong, snakepit, townsville, sydney are hideous on TV.

The 'NBL product' on TV can look a lot better with the following improvements:

1. More instant replays.
2. Better camera angles.
3. More camera angles.
4. Better lighting.
5. More action such as cheer leaders during breaks.
6. Better or more entertaining commentary.
7. More stories or player bios and basketball facts.
8. Increasing the crowd involvement, boosting crowd noise.
9. Suitable and common sense music pre game and during games.
10. Action, action action! Prepare better and deliver what people want...

Basketball is an action sport, we can view it with cameras everywhere, not just one up in the stands to follow the ball. If Larry can bring the bling and introduce the cash needed to spring the game to life on TV I am all for it and I have confidence it can work.

To start with, the NBL is generally pretty ugly on TV. There are only 2 or 3 stadiums which are up to snuff visually.

Wise words, as always, Paul.

I dont understand. The NBL is a private organisation. Someone buys 51 percent which gives them majority voting rights.

And then in 3 years later if the ship isnt sailing better you want that person to sell his now shares (worth even less) to someone else. So he basically takes the loss then leaves.

No maka da sense!

I guess we have to trust the board members on this one - no option, really - but I hope they take the 'devil in the detail' concept to heart and make sure there is a 'hands off' clause in there, particularly in light of the apparent shemozzle with the Melbourne 'team'... a term I use loosely in that context!

If Melbourne is an indication of how well this group's approach works in basketball the sport could well be MUCH better off with the 'devil we know' rather than whatever is in the detail of this deal, particularly if that detail means the guy with the money is running the show rather than simply providing the resources needed by the sport.