314 replies to this topic

[TiGgEr3]

I guess we'll see White Shadow when the season rolls around.

[WeekendWarrior]

Buckle up...here's what I heard over the weekend.....

Salary budget of $130k
Jamar Butler offered $30k of the above amount
Keith Diebler offered HC job

They are looking to approach the Pollitz twins and Josh Vorst.

How can Diebler be offered the job when it was already offered (and what I ######umed was accepted) to Quincey Simpson?

[caldwell]

"Glory Days" They could play the Lima Warriors for all I care.

[FanMan]

I'm pretty sure that knee issues will keep at least one of the Pollitz twins from being considered. Don't think he'd be willing to risk further injury to play "Pro" basketball in Lima OH....lol.....though the thought of playing with Jamar, instead of against him would have to be intriguing. Jamar and the Pollitz boys were pretty good friends during their HS days.

[slice slice baby]

"Glory Days" They could play the Lima Warriors for all I care.

HEY!

[kaizen]

will there be a drug testing policy in this league?

[chalk_it_up]

I think it's funny all of the people pointing out well-reasoned, logical thoughts on why the team will be a failure are being lauded as "defeatests" and looking at it in a "gl###### half empty" sort of way. That's like someone telling me, after ripping Obama's fiscal policy, that I "just don't like him." Just as my personal feelings for Obama are irrelevant to the fact that he's increasing our national debt at an alarming rate, people's feelings about the Explosion are irrelvant to the fact that the league's history, combined with the current economy, paints a pretty dim outlook for the future of the franchise. Sure, we all hope it succeeds, but that doesn't have any relevance to the real obstacles facing the Explosion.

[John Bell]

Wow, looks like I stepped away for a few weeks and things kind of went down hill from there. We've been working hard to build this business from the ground up and many of you have hit the nail on the head, it's an up hill battle. If it was easy, there would already be a team here in town. We saw the Mixers fail, but it definitely wasn't a result of a lack of support. If I remember correctly, the early 80's was an economic downturn as well.

You might not like us, personally or professionally. You might not think that Lima is able to draw some high quality talent. You might think that the community as a whole won't support a professional team because we're not a big town. Regardless, don't let the support end at you. Make an effort to just watch one game. After that, if you don't like what we do, how we do it or the product that we put on the floor, then fine, don't come back. I doubt that will be the case though.

Before you write off Lima as a whole, consider this: within the immediate 15 mile radius of Lima, there are over 100,000 people. A lot of people are surprised to hear that when the advertised population of Lima is well under half of that amount. That means that there are roughly 60,000 people in the communities that surround Lima and each of those communities support their basketball programs tremendously well. So, based on what you've heard about us so far, does it look like we're going after run of the mill guys who have no business playing professionally anywhere else? Or, maybe we're targeting specific communities to get their best player(s) and build a professional team that can compete around the globe. This professional team is going to be made of people that you know, people you went to school with, guys who have been to your house and watched games with you. This isn't going to be a bunch of people that are ######embled from around the country because they want to spend one more year playing basketball. We are not the Durham Bulls (please excuse the baseball reference on that one). Yes, we plan to be a stepping stone, but we plan to be a stepping stone for local athletes to keep moving onward and upward.

We know that Lima would most likely never be anyone's professional sports destination, but why can't Lima help someone achieve their dreams?

So many people say that it can't happen because that's the easiest thing to do. It's easy to give up. It's easy to forget. We hired Coach Simpson because he has the same p######ion that we have. We'll never take the easy way out and we'll never give up - in the end, we hope that you'll never be able to forget us once you see what we put on the floor.

[John Bell]

will there be a drug testing policy in this league?

Both by the league and by the team. It's written into the contracts of each player that we reserve the right to test and suspend based on those tests at any time.

[John Bell]

I would hope that you would want all of that in place, even before try-outs, just as a cover-your-hiney measure. I hold no ill will towards you or your other investors and I wish you luck in your new venture, but without that basic foundation already in place I am dubious at best. Young people who are chasing their dreams are often the easiest to lead down the primrose path.

Players at tryouts are competing at their own risk and they acknowledge that fact ahead of time. We do have policies in place, but Jamar is the only player covered at this point since he's the only one under contract.

I appreciate your concerns for the players and as a former athlete, I share your concerns.

[Restricted Call]

We are not the Durham Bulls (please excuse the baseball reference on that one). Yes, we plan to be a stepping stone, but we plan to be a stepping stone for local athletes to keep moving onward and upward.

It is clear you have no idea what you are talking about.

The Durham Bulls are the AAA affiliate for the Tampa Bay Rays...they are one step below the MLB. The players on the Durham Bulls have major league contracts. They are in the minor leagues working their way up to the big leagues...Some of them are making almost a million dollars.

I'd be amazed if the Lima Explosion will ever have any player close to that of the talent of the Durham Bulls.

The ABA is single A ball compared to other Professional leagues...it is not a stepping stone. It is a styro-foam mat to brace the fall.

If you seriously think that Kyle Meyer, Josh Vorst, the Politz Twins, or even Jamar, who is going to be the "face" of your organization, are going to get NBA, or even D-League contracts because they are playing in the ABA, you are sadly mistaken.

I'm sure I'm just some slack jawed yokel who doesn't know what the hell I am talking about. I'm sure I just hate everyone involved personally and professionally as well...

But what I said is fact.

Good luck in your foray into "professional" basketball.

[The Executioner]

When I think of minor league basketball i think of the likes of former division I college basketball players that has good college careers, but not quite up to par with NBA players yet. Nothing against the Vorst or Meyer boys but if they weren't good enough to even get a look from D-I schools then how in the heck can a minoe league program put a label on them as professionels? I know, give a guy a couple bucks to play a game and they are considered a pro. Certainly there are some ex Big Ten or even former MAC standouts around somewhere other than guys that were good high school division 4 players. If not, good luck selling tickets because it's gloing to take more than Jamar Butler and low level college players to get people to watch a product. Heck, at least the old Lima Mixers had some players that were top level college prospects. Dwight Anderson, Dewayne Scales and Kevin Figero come to mind.

Edited by The Executioner, 10 May 2011 - 09:03 PM.

[Rocketman]

when is the projected startup of this league? how many teams have committed to playing and how long will the season last?

[Jeff Spicoli]

Any tryout updates? Maybe kurt Huelsman from St Henry would play, if they need a 7 footer?

[Restricted Call]

Any tryout updates? Maybe kurt Huelsman from St Henry would play, if they need a 7 footer?

Hueslman is 6'8.

[Pulitzer]

We are not the Durham Bulls (please excuse the baseball reference on that one).

Let me run a very short sample of names by you that were Durham Bulls:

Evan Longoria (perhaps you've heard of him)
David Price (perhaps you've heard of him)
B.J. Upton (perhaps you've heard of him)
Carl Crawford (perhaps you've heard of him)
... and so on.

Yeah, you're right. You definitely will not be the Durham Bulls.

[John Bell]

It is clear you have no idea what you are talking about.

The Durham Bulls are the AAA affiliate for the Tampa Bay Rays...they are one step below the MLB. The players on the Durham Bulls have major league contracts. They are in the minor leagues working their way up to the big leagues...Some of them are making almost a million dollars.

I'd be amazed if the Lima Explosion will ever have any player close to that of the talent of the Durham Bulls.

The ABA is single A ball compared to other Professional leagues...it is not a stepping stone. It is a styro-foam mat to brace the fall.

If you seriously think that Kyle Meyer, Josh Vorst, the Politz Twins, or even Jamar, who is going to be the "face" of your organization, are going to get NBA, or even D-League contracts because they are playing in the ABA, you are sadly mistaken.

I'm sure I'm just some slack jawed yokel who doesn't know what the hell I am talking about. I'm sure I just hate everyone involved personally and professionally as well...

But what I said is fact.

Good luck in your foray into "professional" basketball.

My comment on the Durham Bulls was aimed at the movie "Bull Durham" not at the organization itself. I apologize for the confusion and I admit it was a poor choice for a comparison.

As for your comment about being a "slack jawed yokel", I'm not sure where that came from but apparently I have come off as something different than I have intended.

I am fully aware that the ABA is single A, but there's nothing that says that with quality coaching, recruiting and continued development that we can't help these guys get to where they want to be. If that means they're playing in Europe, China or the NBA, then that's up to them really, that's not up to us, but there are players that were in the ABA at one point and are now playing in the NBA.

[John Bell]

when is the projected startup of this league? how many teams have committed to playing and how long will the season last?

The league was re-opened in 2000 after the moratorium was lifted from the merger with the NBA. It currently has roughly 80 teams.