October 16-31, 2004

GLOBAL SPORTS PROGRAMMING NETWORK

October 30th, 2004

Walkin the Deck

by Jak Sparrowe

Pirate fever is back after last years amazing run the Baltimore Piarates (43-37) are ready

for another return to the playoffs. Coach Arnold says the team has worked this off season

after their exit in round one after having Budapest down 2-1 they didn't go for the kill and paid for it when the 'pest rattled of 2 straight victories to advance to the second round.

So here are the Pirates

PG Anson Valente 5.4 reb 10.7 asst 7.5 ppg. Coach Arnold is asking his all world PG to

step it up this he is wanting him to be more vocal on the court and to be the coach on the

floor . Anson is eager to take on this role and try to work on his shooting this season.

Bailey Wood 1.5 apg 3.3 ppg has stayed on as the number two pg. Not much ws expected from this guy but he really suprised us with his tenacity and dedication to learning

the game. Bailey is soaking up as much as he can from AV to help with his game.

Johnny Burns is back after originally being singed as fa by Baltimore then traded to the Warrriors for AV he was signed this off season to see if he can get his jump start his

career. Managemen was sorely dissapointed when showed up to camp out of shape.

Johnny Tatum 47.9 fg% 3.2 rbg 3.0 apg 2.2 stl 19.1 ppg. Johnny really stepped it up last seaon by becoming the Pirates leading scorer. he reported to camp early this season

ready to improve on last season and to make a better showing in the playoffs.

Steve Vernie 46.7fg% 1.2 apg 6.1 ppg. Alot more is going to be expected from the back up sg Coach Arnold thanks Steve could be a starter for some other teams if he could just keep focus on the games Hopefully getting a taste of the playoffs can adjut his attitude.

Gene Thorpe not much expected from him when he ws picked up in the off season but has really shocked the staff with shooting he hit from mid range and 3pt line also.

After a long and heated exchange with Obide King agent King was let go in favor of Mike Ivey.Ivey had been pushing for playing time after last season were he avg 40.4% from the floor

33.3% from the arc 4.4 reb and 10.7 ppg. and had his contract in the off season.

Lonnie Graham was brought in from Montana where he was not given a chance to play. This has already started some debate who will start at the sf postion. Graham can play some good d and Ivey is the more offensive weapon. It will be interesting to see who hits the court first.

Joe Herra was the only draft pick for Baltimore he may go through the same kind of season as last year #1 Matt Archer to learn from the others and get used to life of the WBA

Lance Armstrong this guy just wont go away every year he comes back more determined to

crack the starting line up. If could only shoot this guy would be unbelivable.

After many tries at slimming the budget the Greatest player ever to play for Baltimore

George Lush was let go. Coach Arnold was devasted and very upset with managements

handlimg of this future Hall of Famer.

Clarence Collins 50.7 fg% 6.1 rpg 2.9 asst 1.8 blks 18.0 ppg.

Clarence really proved that he was the man last season as he put in all the Dirty work for the Pirates. More is expected out of this man child so watch out.

Matt Archer looks like the back up management is waiting to see if he was worth bieng traded

up for in last seasons draft. If he does not work out Ivey will do some back up at the Pf spot.

Zane Rivers 46.9 fg% 8.3 rpg 1.7 blks 12.8 ppg.

Zane really shocked us last year. All we wanted out of him was rebounding and blocks and the goes out and gives us a scoring punch which made are front court fard to defend. We are expecting him to continue to improve on his fouling.

Don Laine 5.3 rb 6.0 ppg

When Zane does get in trouble Don does an good job at taking his place. Don has been putting time on his shooting so hopefully he can help us when he is out on the court.

October 29th, 2004

WEEKLY STATISTICAL REPORT

WEEK 1

For all the stats' lovers, University of Siberia has started a program to compare some of the most famous ways of looking at how a player contributes for his team. From Magic Metric Formula, to VORP index, including TENDEX, Approximate value.

Every week we will provide the top 30 players in each index, in order to know who is the best player in the league out of Harry Jarvis of course. Here are the first results

		MMF
1	Lou Gonzales	190,65
2	Wayne Taylor	171,2
3	Cory Mosley	145,15
4	Shane Strom	142,6
5	Heiko Van Brand	140,7
6	Kent Mercer	139,45
7	Jay Vasquez	138,15
8	Bob Delaney	136,5
9	Bishop Stein	136
10	Oman Fatafehi	135,05
11	Obafemi Mabruke	134
12	Harry Jarvis	132,45
13	Otto Hameleers	131,65
14	Dave Williams	131,3
15	Cristobal Dashe	130,05
16	Scott Nicholson	129,6
17	Jaxon McCall	128,7
18	Devonta Corriga	128,45
19	Roy Base	127,7
20	Jim McCarthy	126,55
21	Chuck Henderson	124,55
22	Pat Stephenson	124,1
23	John Greene	123,7
24	Mario Bailey	123,65
25	Yuri Vilasny	123
26	Jerry Bramson	121,9
27	Bill Yeager	120,6
28	Dave Short	116,5
29	Donavan Jones	116
30	Ramiro Watts	114

		VORP
1	Lou Gonzales	78,9322774
2	Jaxon McCall	50,9100939
3	Oman Fatafehi	50,8776582
4	Wayne Taylor	50,7157666
5	Harry Jarvis	49,5441184
6	Bob Delaney	47,1155308
7	Pat Stephenson	45,1672827
8	Bishop Stein	44,9046129
9	Cory Mosley	44,832964
10	Kent Mercer	44,3064506
11	Otto Hameleers	44,1941841
12	Chuck Henderson	43,7359568
13	Cristobal Dashe	42,8258404
14	Jay Vasquez	42,4124727
15	Mario Bailey	40,35862
16	Jerry Bramson	39,3387558
17	Roy Base	38,9385872
18	Obafemi Mabruke	38,9270263
19	Justin Krueger	38,7460607
20	Heiko Van Brand	38,1087963
21	Dexter Kodak	36,4670596
22	Scott Nicholson	36,3089173
23	Dave Williams	36,2691705
24	Oliver McCarty	35,792944
25	Tom Perkins	35,178771
26	George Holt	35,0959342
27	Ramiro Watts	34,9687306
28	Devonta Corriga	34,8781893
29	Jack Berger	34,445479
30	Bill Yeager	34,2254198

		AV
1	Lou Gonzales	2,80322086
2	Wayne Taylor	2,3595775
3	Cory Mosley	2,26165856
4	Kent Mercer	2,16230507
5	Bob Delaney	2,15228665
6	Heiko Van Brand	2,14225267
7	Oman Fatafehi	2,13220299
8	Jay Vasquez	2,11205608
9	Obafemi Mabruke	2,08171488
10	Cristobal Dashe	2,06140534
11	Jim McCarthy	2,01033626
12	Pat Stephenson	1,98978754
13	Bishop Stein	1,96916784
14	Jerry Bramson	1,96916784
15	Devonta Corriga	1,96916784
16	Shane Strom	1,95883098
17	Roy Base	1,94847591
18	Jaxon McCall	1,93810246
19	Bill Yeager	1,93810246
20	Chuck Henderson	1,88595372
21	Greg Lacy	1,88595372
22	Mario Bailey	1,87546647
23	Donavan Jones	1,87546647
24	Harry Jarvis	1,86495963
25	Scott Nicholson	1,86495963
26	Otto Hameleers	1,85443303
27	Dave Short	1,85443303
28	Yuri Vilasny	1,85443303
29	Dave Williams	1,84388647
30	Ramiro Watts	1,84388647

with these 3 ratings, we have a 1st week balance like that

	MMF POS	VORP POS	AV POS	TOTAL POINTS
Lou Gonzales	1	1	1	3
Wayne Taylor	2	4	2	8
Cory Mosley	3	9	3	15
Bob Delaney	8	6	5	19
Kent Mercer	6	10	4	20
Oman Fatafehi	10	3	7	20
Jay Vasquez	7	14	8	29
Bishop Stein	9	8	13	30
Heiko Van Brand	5	20	6	31
Jaxon McCall	17	2	18	37
Obafemi Mabruke	11	18	9	38
Cristobal Dashe	15	13	10	38
Harry Jarvis	12	5	24	41
Pat Stephenson	22	7	12	41
Otto Hameleers	13	11	26	50
Shane Strom	4	31	16	51
Roy Base	19	17	17	53
Chuck Henderson	21	12	20	53
Jerry Bramson	26	16	14	56
Devonta Corriga	18	28	15	61
Mario Bailey	24	15	22	61
Jim McCarthy	20	31	11	62
Scott Nicholson	16	22	25	63
Dave Williams	14	23	29	66
Bill Yeager	27	30	19	76
Donavan Jones	29	31	23	83
Yuri Vilasny	25	31	28	84
John Greene	23	31	31	85
Dave Short	28	31	27	86
Ramiro Watts	30	27	30	87

WE can conclude that LOU GONZALES is the player of the week

October 27th, 2004

82 Road Games For Roswell

By Greg Ross Dino Beat Reporter

The Roswell Dinos our 1-1 and that win came on the road at Gabon. The road maybe a friendly place for the Dinos as the season opener at Roswell so many empty seats as the news hit that the team will indeed be heading for the great white north. When the interview with Roswell Owner James Borbath was posted on the WBA website the calls flooded the headquarters and the arena at Roswell. So it looks like the season will be long and hard as far as it goes in realation to fan support many of the few fans that were there actually came to cheer against the home team. Borbath always one to turn a negative into a postive is said to be offer discount rates for travel packages to come to Roswell from any other WBA city. What it boils down to is 82 road games. Despite the what the scedule may say.

Big Jim Jones is the head of the Roswell XT fan club and I talked with him about the situation. During the entire interview Big Jim refused to respond to me when refering to the team as the Dinos. At on point he suggested he would stick a branding iron in a not so great place lets just say. Big Jim plans to start a protest to have the name changed back and the team remain in Roswell. If the name sounds familar to people it should. You see Big Jim has been the first man eliminated for 5 straight years in the GSPN World Series of Poker. He has a record of gambling depts that our bigger than the state of Texas itself. He is regaurded has the Worst Poker Player on the planet. The only luck in life he ever had was winning his season tickets for live for the Roswell franchise.

I asked owner James Borbath if Big Jim would be able to carry his season tickets over to the new home of the Dinos in Toronto and he stated that Big Jim could indeed have seats anytime he was willing to make the trip to Canada. When being told of this Big Jim Replied I have never left the great state of Texas and I sure as #%#! ain't going to go play with $%#?(& eskimos. On thing is certain from this story is home games in Roswell may get ugly especially if Big Jim has a few brews in him. Owner Borbath has said if any incidents occur he will double security. He went on to say that with the strength of the Canadain Dollar and the much larger market in the Toronto area, He feels that any finacial loses from lack of fans he will more than make up for in the move and in his creation of WBA TV. He went on to say that Canadains have lost sports franchises and he understands the frustration of his current fan base but unfortunately sports in a profit business and that if Roswell was ever to put in for an expansion franchise he would support a motion to do so.

He hopes fans will get over the anger and bitterness and enjoy what expects to be a much improved team on the floor. Big Jim will never forgive Borbath he says and said if there was any justice in Texas they should send him to the chair. When I pointed out the fact of Borbath being a Canadain and probably not subject to the death penalty in Texas. Big Jim replied I think we should invade Canada and melt all there snow and flood the entire country. I contacted the RCMP or for american readers the Mounties and the said that people like Big Jim our ignorant and dangerous. However he is always welcome to visit the country if he leaves his guns at home in Texas.

It is said on the first off day the Dinos have Borbath planes to fly the team to Toronto to show them their new home for next season. It is rumoured that Borbath has already helped Christbal Dasher, Buck Jones and Walt Jackson high end condos in the city. At last I checked no such deal has been offered to yours truly.

October 24th, 20004

Andorra Team Preview

By: Joe Spencer

After struggling through a 27-53 season under the first season under coach Corey Daubanton, the Andorra Highlanders are back, trying to improve. Most of the big name players, such as Devonta Corrigan, and Mark Miller are back. And although John Van Horne is gone, the team is looking for big contributions from rookies Pete Nelson and Al Herbert, as well as center Oshodi Bombata.

Here is a current look at the team's roster:

PG:

Pete Nelson will most likely be the starting PG for the Highlanders. He was drafted by the team with the #16 pick due to obvious reasons -- the team lacked a PG who could pass the ball last season. Being perhaps one of the top PGs in the draft class, it looks like Nelson could be a good fit with the team. Although he's not expected to be able to put up many points (as his 5.7 ppg on 32.7 FG% shows), he did do well passing the ball in the preseason with 5.0 APG and only 0.7 TOs in 22 minutes, and should help with improve the team's struggles at the guard spot.

Walt Coleman will split time at the PG spot with Pete Nelson. He spent all of Season 8 and most of season 9 skiing in the mountains of his home state of Colorado, as he was without a team. However, late last season, he was called by Andorra management as joining the team, as a desperate attempt to improve the PG situation. Coleman is not a flashy player -- he isn’t the greatest shooter, and only a mediocre passer for his position, but he was liked by team management for his ability to get to the free throw line, and the fact that he doesn't make many mistakes, averaging just 0.5 TOs in 24 minutes during the preseason.

Nikos Atirides played most of the games for the Highlanders last season, but he'll only be looked upon as a reserve this season. Team management still likes Atirides, as he's capable of putting up lots of points, but with the addition of Pete Nelson, the team finds it safer to have Atirides spend a season or two more working on his poor shooting skills before he is relied on as an everyday player again.

SG:

Tristen Collins is back as the starting shooting guard for the Andorra team. He had a hard time shooting the ball, as last year was only 34.0% at FGs. In a somewhat criticized move, the coach tried working on his passing skills by sending him to Ball Handler's Camp over the off-season, so he would have other options than shooting when he's heavily guarded. In the preseason, he's been the team's second leading scorer with 17.4 ppg in 28 minutes, and has 3.6 assist per game. He's still shooting only 37.7%, but the team thinks he'll be able to improve as over the next few seasons.

Zachariah Salera, also referred to by fans as "Zack Attack" is going to be the team's backup SG again. Last season was somewhat disappointment for Salera, as he spent half of the season nursing a broken arm. He hasn't put up the greatest stats this preseason -- only a 30.6 FG% for a person expected to be one of the better shooting guards on the team. However, Salera is a team player, and as long as the team isn't struggling with him on the court, he should be safe on the team for now.

Ryan Cuevas surprisingly was on the All-Rookie team as a PG, but Cuevas' role is diminishing to only a reserve this year. The main reason is that although Cuevas did improve in passing and rebounding in the off-season, he still has been unable to hit even the easiest lay-ups during practice. Management doesn't want to risk having a player who can't fix the team's struggles at shooting on the court, so the future of Cuevas is uncertain.

SF:

Devonta Corrigan is the star player of the Andorra Highlanders, and he's looking to get back to putting up the numbers he's known to be able to, after last season's somewhat dismal season. His preseason performances have been mixed. He led the team with 19.4 ppg and 10.5 rpg, but he only shot 41.2% from the floor. If his shooting woes can be fixed, Corrigan will likely be considered among the top forwards in the league.

Kelian Fabares was signed to a minimum free agent over the off-season, as part of the team revamping its bench. Although he only played a few minutes in the preseason, I wouldn't be surprised to see him play more backup minutes in the regular season, as he is a relatively good shooter, and the team would like to take advantage of that.

Pierce Shea is another option for backup SF, as well as SG. He's not a great shooter, but he is decent passer, and can get some steals. He hasn't had the most impressive career, and he probably isn't going to rejuvenate himself as a Highlander.

PF:

Mark Miller hasn't been playing up to expectations ever since he received his $11.0 million a year contract. He has continued he struggles last season of shooting the ball, with a 39.4 FG% in the preseason, and he hasn't been getting as many rebounds and steals as is usually expected from him. The team hasn't given up hope on him yet, and hopes to figure out how to get the most from him somehow.

Jon Morgenland, as a backup SF and PF, is going to be looked upon to be a scoring punch off of the bench. He really doesn't do much else, but he has shown an ability to score, whether from the floor or at the free throw line during the preseason. However Morgenland has been plagued with injury problems during his career, and he is going to miss the first several games of the season with a sprained ankle he suffered from during the preseason.

Oshodi Bombata looks to be a rising star in his own right. There was some competition over whether he or Al Herbert would be the starting center, but for now, Bombata will have that job. He put up some good numbers this preseason, with 13.2 ppg on 64.5% shooting, and 5.7 rpg, in 27 minutes. The only problem is, he plays aggressively, and has been fouling a lot. But on a team that has been struggling with its shooting, Bombata is one person who has been doing well.

Al Herbert, the top rookie center of this year's draft, was obtained by the Highlanders to as an effort to replace John Van Horne. Herbert has a lot of potential as a center, as he can grab his boards, and play some defense, but he'll have to look to refine his offensive game in the next few seasons before he becomes a star. Because of the competition between Bombata and Herbert for time at the center spot, Herbert will likely play some minutes at PF as well.

Ossie Gordon was picked up as an emergency reserve in case Bombata or Herbert get injured or are unable to play. He's a great shooter, but he's poor at getting rebounds and playing defense for his position. He shouldn't be expected to play much this season.

Summary: The Andorra Highlanders will likely improve over last season, as they now have a point guard to count on in the future in Pete Nelson, and their roles players, especially Devonta Corrigan and Oshodi Bombata, improved significantly over the off-season. However, with the resurgence of the Montana franchise, and the fact that the Pacific Division continues to be dominated by teams such as Oregon, Nebraska, and Colorado, the team is going to likely miss the playoffs this year, although posting an almost .500 record. However, the team has most of their key players (Corrigan, Miller, Collins, Bombata) under contract long-term, and should have the cap space available to re-sign Herbert and Nelson when their rookie contracts expire. Therefore the team should be a competitor in the next few seasons, if everything works out as expected.

Prediction

37-43, 5th in the Pacific Division, 9th in the Western Conference

October 22nd, 2004

WBA TV IS COMING SOON......

(Here is a sneak peak at the WBA TONIGHT STUDIO WITH IT'S HOST AND FOUNDER JAMES BORBATH)

You have heard the ads on this week in the WBA. The excitiment is building for the launch of WBA T.V. Along with GSPN there will now be a new source to get all your WBA news. The flagship program will be the WBA Tonight. It will be a complete round up of the WBA action of the day. All the highlights all the scores, the trends, the predicitions. It will be the complete package of what happens in the WBA. James Borbath the owner of the Roswell Dinos is the money behind the concept of WBA TV. He is a media giant that has bought a franchise and now his own TV Station. We sat down and talked with him about the WBA TV. Concept.

Reporter: Is this not a huge conflict of interest given that you own a franchise in the league?

James Borbath: Not at all if my team sucks they will say we suck. I have never been a fan of "homer" type broadcasting. So WBA TV will have a opinion all of it's own. I think if success full teams could all have there own versions of WBA TV for the individual franchises. I have already been getting help on the project from Oregon and Rochester Owners and once were up and running I welcome all owners to contribute.

Reporter: Is this going to eliminate GSPN a long time media partner of the WBA?

James Borbath: Well that is not the goal behind WBA TV. We feel there is enough going on that both GSPN and WBA TV can live together. GSPN is a my written based medium as it also produces a magazine. In fact GSPN has provided use studio space. WBA TV will be a Visual based medium as well as written. It is going to be very unique and exciting.

Reporter: What can we expect to see and when?

James Borbath: Well we our hard at work in pre production on the WBA Tonight program. It will be the Flagship program and will start out as a weekly show. Perhaps it may expand beyond in the future or extend coverage once playoffs get started. As for other programing we our open to any idea people have out there. WBA TV will be as big or as small as the owners and fans of the WBA make it.

Reporter: What about A historical look back as this is the annversary of WBA?

James Borbath: It's a great idea however my historical knowlege is very little. However there our people out there who do and if they want to produce some material we would put it on.

Reporter: Is there a scheduled launch date?

James Borbath: We haven't set that yet but we have been using the preseason as a trial peroid on coming up with stuff. I can tell you I can't wait to see it happen.

Reporter: Our you hiring?

James Borbath: You were asking me about personal biasis. Actually I am going to host WBA Tonight at least for now. I have broadcasting experience and i'm a born ham so it works I don't know if will get guys off the radio to clean up for WBA T.V but they our welcome too. We may in the future Similcast the WBA this WEEK as well. The sky is the limit.

Reporter: What other things do you see for your network?

James Borbath: Well we hope some day that every team will have there own specific network for it's fans but that probably is down the line. I plan on perhaps making DINOS WBA TV in a few years. With the specfic team channels you could see player profiles and stuff people want to know about there home team as well as programing about the league in general with shows like WBA TONIGHT. We would like to have extra programing at key points in the season like the ALLSTAR Weekend, WBA PLAYOFFS and THE DRAFT.

Reporter: It sound like you have big plans?

James Borbath: That I do but the success or failure of WBA TV will all depend on how the Owners and fans of the WBA respond to it. We hope they will respond and enjoy it. Once that happens get involved in it.

Reporter: Well thanks for your time and look on GSPN for more details about the WBA T.V. The season will be under way before we know it.

October 20th, 2004

A LOOK AHEAD TO THE DINOS SEASON

GREG ROSS

Roswell Dino BEAT REPORTER

Changes were needed and the certainly have come in big ways. I mean most our well documented. The team even has a new name and by all accounts will have a new home next season. The bitter irony for longtime Roswell fans is that not since the team made a run for the WBA title way back in Season 2 has this team looked to have a more bright future. It was already looking good when the Roswell franchise was able to win the Draft lottery and get the #1 pick which the used to grab the GCBA Player of the Year Walt Jackson. Jackson has struggled early in the pre-season but you see the flashes of brilliance that make some around the league predict that he will be a mega star while others our not as convinced.

No one will question the value of Buck Jones he was picked up on waviers from Alaska. Sources in the Roswell organization say that alone bumped up expectations within the organization by 5-10 wins in manys minds.

Than there was the big deal with nebraska that saw Tyler Durden leave the franchise along with King Paras who was a second round pick in this years draft and Andruw Williams was also released. Durden is a good player and has since signed with Roswell rivial Montana. However the Deal allowed the franchise to get #10 overall pick Ajani Valentine who has looked great in the preseason. Also in the deal the dinos got Quinton Pitts and Caloun a big center. But the biggest part of deal may be yet to come in the first round pick obtained from Alaska. Many people around the WBA say that the Alaska franchise is a mess. Many would not be suprised to see them finsh dead last. An 0-6 start to the preseason would indicate that may be the case. Roswell was without any draft choices for next season before the nebraska deal.

The off the court moves made by this franchise seem sound having put together in a short time one of the youngest and most exciting teams in the WBA. While on the court scouts from other teams around the league say that this team may just be good sooner than later. The thing the preseason for Roswell has tought many is you have no idea what you'll get night in and night out from this squad. There have been night they look like one of the better teams in this league and other nights where they look like they belong in the GCBA. About the only thing consistant is what they get from Christabal Dasher. He seems reenergized by the youth and change around him. The fact that they our so young and two of the starting five our rookies I think it is predictable that the performance level will lack consistance on a night in night out basis. The new coach Jack Armstrong seems to be a good teacher and is looking to mold his young line-up into WBA stars and contributers.

Owner James Borbath has real taken a hands on approach with his investment and it shows. He is never far away from his team and has been doing a ton of public apperances has well as radio and television interview. Not suprising as the owner made his millions in the media that he knows how to work a microphone and has even tap danced around the issue of the teams move to Canada next season.

What will the tail of the final season in Roswell be? I don't think anyone can say for sure but the ride to finding out I think everyone will agree other than perhaps the good people of Roswell that it will be a fun one. With that being said I will do my best to try and make a perdiction that won't make me look foolish.

Roswell 40-44

Finshing 5th in the divison

9th in the conference

(seems save enough but if they slide into the playoffs I wouldn't be TOTALLY Shocked just Mildly Shocked)

October 17th, 2004

Bombata "Bombed" with Questions

By: Joe Spencer

Hi, I'm Joe Spencer here to interview Oshodi Bombata, center of the Andorra Highlanders.

Spencer: Hi, Oshodi, I hope I'm not bothering you right now.

Bombata: Nah, we just finished our practice for today, so go ahead.

Spencer: First I want to talk about your early days. Being an African yourself, you were a huge Capetown fan back in your college days. So why was it that Capetown was unsuccessful in trading for you when you were a rookie on Miami during Season 8?

Bomata: Because they were unwilling to sacrifice have the league's worst guards for me.

Spencer: Actually, I think Coach Daubanton traded Alvin Simpson so he would have the money to re-sign Mark Miller, and was able to get you in the deal. But you can wish what you want. Now lets talk about your status with Andorra right now. With Van Horne's departure eminent, there was talk about you being the team's #1 center. So how did you feel when the team went ahead and drafted Paris University star Al Herbert to replace him?

Bombata: Well, I was suspicious the day I went into Coach Daubanton's office, and there were Al Herbert bobble-head dolls on his desk, Al Herbert posters on the walls, and he was even wearing an Al Herbert jersey.

Spencer: I see that Daubanton's not good at keeping a secret. However, let's talk about the good things that are going on.

Bombata: I guess you're right. Last year Daubanton trusted me enough to trade a solid backup player in Leonel Coles to have me be the 2nd string center. And when Ezequiel Grunspan turned out to be a disappointment, he trusted that I could play out of position as a PF. And even if I end up being a backup to Herbert, I still know that I'll be able to get my minutes in his coaching schemes. I shouldn't complain much, as I did receive the $6.25 million a year contract extension I was looking for, so I have to do whatever is expected of me. I'm not Mark Miller, you know. He's more worried about winning the WBA championship on his PlayStation than in real life.

Spencer: That might be true, but now let's talk about your season last year. Your stats weren't exactly impressive for you. Only 6.0 ppg and 3.8 rpg in 21 minutes. What makes you think that this year will be different?

Bombata: At the end of last season Coach Daubanton thought I could refine my skills by going to Big Man camp. I was taught how to be more aggressive in grabbing rebounds and scoring against my opponents. Before camp, I used to think of guys like Pat Stephenson and giant gorillas, but now they look like cute little monkeys to me. I also worked hard this off-season, and hope it shows.

Spencer: You have been having a good preseason so far, but I don't want to jinx you at all, so we'll have to see how you do once the regular season comes along. Now let's talk about Al Herbert. In the first few weeks for practice, you two were tending to get into fights, and shouting matches with each other. What has changed between you two?

Bombata: Well, we learned that it's difficult to judge each other, as we're made of different molds. Herbert is a solid rebounder, and knows how to control himself better defensively, while I'm looked upon to be a scoring punch. Since we're different players, we can only learn from each other, even though we'll always be rivals at heart. And I learned that it doesn't matter whether or not I start or not, it's up to the coach to decide. Brad Bangerter won championship games as a 6th man, until somehow he was traded to Salt Lake City. I never did get that move.

Spencer: Neither did I, but let's talk about your team in general. What do you see your team doing this year?

Bombata: It's hard to tell at this point. Devonta Corrigan had a great off-season, and is looking to rebound for his subpar season last year, but after that, things are a little fuzzy. Mark Miller isn't the most reliable player in this league, and I was hoping our team would get some new guards this off-season. Well, we're still stuck with Tristen Collins, who my grandma beat at HORSE last night, and I'm skeptical if Pete Nelson is going to have an immediate impact for this team. At least he can pass better than anyone could on our team last season. So overall, I'm hoping we'll at least be a .500 team, and make at least a low seed in the playoffs, which would be an improvement over the previous season.

Spencer: Well, that's all the time I have for now, Oshodi. Thanks for the interview.

Bombata: Sure thing, dawg.

October 16th, 2004

Andorra's Preview

By Clark Lane

The beginning of a preview is something I always find tricky. This time I am going to start with a simple statement:

Andorra was one of the worse teams last season. It shouldn't be the case anymore.

Now let's try to explain my point of view with a few arguments. This first part of the statement is easy. They had twenty seven wins for fifty three loses, the fifth worse record last season. Wow. That was bad. They are, by the way, the third worse FG% team on WBA history. Only Miami season 5 (number 2) and VI season 7 (the worse FG% team ever) has shoot worse than them. Amazingly, shooting so badly they have nine wins more than that Miami and eleven more than that VI. How is that possible? Easy, this team plays okay all around, and knows how to go to the line. There he was recovering his huge deficit. He was playing a Washington kind of basketball, they just were way worse than the original. Look at Nicos Atirrides, and compare him with Emmett Yee, and there you see the difference between Andorra and Washington last season.

This explains the first part; now let's see if I can explain the second one. And I am going to put a shade on it, just so it is clear. They are better now; they may even fight to go to the playoffs. But nothing more, at least not yet.

They have done a couple of things that should improve them quite a lot in the field. Now they know how to shoot. Or at least they have people that can play on the backcourt without throwing stones to the hoop. This should improve the performance of the team dramatically; it should give them a few more wins. Maybe even put them close to the 40 wins, but not a whole lot more. The guards position keep being pretty thin, but they will be better than last year, even if that was pretty easy to do.

Now lets see the team in detail.

Bringing Al Herbert at the center will really help this team in the near future. He is going to be a hard nosed player at the center, he will just not lead the team on offense. Oshodi Bombata on the other side is a big scoring threat. They complement each other pretty well. In the future the team will have to chose between both of them, keeping them both in two or three seasons will be too expensive, but for then he will have an easy choice.

The power forward spot is held, as always, by Mark Miller. He is huge and he brings the whole package to this team, scoring, rebounds, defense. What else do you want? Well, maybe that he took a little bit more of care when he has the ball, but he is a very good player. He should improve his stats if Andorra does not put Atirides on the floor. Backing him up we will see Morgenland and Corrigan.

At small forward we have the leader of the team Devonta Corrigan. He is a scoring machine, he rebounds, and we can only say that the only thing he is missing is a little bit more of defense. Apart from him they have the same problem that at PF, the spot is very thin. Too thin to have any real expectations, it is not Zacharia Salera or Kelian Fabares or Pierce Sea that is going to save them once Corrigan goes to the bench.

Shooting Guards. Here he has a lot of choice. It is just a shame than most of the choices are between evil and more evil. Let's start for the good things. Tristen Collins. He is going to help the team from here and it is going to be a hell of a scorer than can hold his own against anyone. Zacharia Salera will, as well, see minutes at the spot. He can score and help around. Aside from that, the rest of shooting guards are more dangerous than helpful. I still can not understand how someone could try to put them on the field. On a good day, they could shoot 30 % from the field. On a bad one I let you imagine how that can go.

Let's see the point. A much improved point from last year. With Walt Coleman and Pete Nelson they have a huge improvement. Now they have a couple of guys that can run the point. Nothing fancy, but at least they will let the big man of this team to run the show giving in a few assists. I won't talk again about the other players on this position. I have said already the poor opinion I have of them.

With this all said you can see that they have a pretty thin team. They will improve, but they will not fight for anything more than a first round exit during the playoffs, if they can go that far. At least there is some light at the end of the tunnel. This light is Al Herbert. If the training goes okay, this will give them 3 real quality players. And after that they need to play on FA and get some cheap talent to cover other spots and the bench. Because as we have seen for several seasons now it is impossible with no bench to do anything on the playoffs.

A team in the rise, but the management needs to keep things going if they don't want to go back down. And they need to consider the cap. It may help them a lot if they handle the cap smartly. Very few teams know how to do that.