The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL) Thread

[MonctonRad]

Good one David!!

[Monctoncore]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Good one David!!

I had a feeling the penguin was involved in this.

[Marty_Mcfly]

London Lightning: St. John's joins Central Division

Now that the St. John’s, N.L., franchise is officially a part of the National Basketball League of Canada, the NBL is expected to release its schedule Wednesday afternoon.

St. John’s city council approved a lease at Mile One Arena for the franchise Monday.

“There are few dates that some teams aren’t happy with but we’re having a conference call (Wednesday) and the schedule will be released after that,” league president and London Lightning owner Vito Frijia said.

With six teams geographically located in the same region and only four located in the Central Division, Frijia confirmed that St. John’s will play in the Central with Kitchener, London, Windsor and Niagara so that the divisions are balanced.

But the St. John’s schedule will be weighted because of their location and the fact the team will have to fly everywhere it plays. Teams facing St. John’s will play a doubleheader to cut down on the travel and expenses. With nine teams playing St. John four times each, another four games will be made up by other teams to round out the 40-game schedule.

“A doubleheader doesn’t necessarily mean playing a Friday and Saturday,” Frijia said. “It could mean a Friday and Sunday. The good thing is there’s no hockey team up there so the venue is wide open.”

Mile One is a 6,000-seat venue and right now the basketball team is the sole.

St. John’s Sports and Entertainment operates Mile One and the deal guarantees 20 regular season games, with the potential for 10 playoff games according to SJSE’s chief executive officer Sheena McCrate.

But while the basketball teams is the sole tenant right now, McCrate said in one story that the deal to bring basketball to town doesn’t close the door to the possibility of a new hockey team coming to Mile One.

“This ownership group has a particular interest in bringing hockey so we’re planning on working with them to hopefully make this happen for next season or the following season,” she said.

In fact owning a team that is the main tenant will make it easier for the ownership group to bring a hockey team to the arena.

http://www.lfpress.com/2017/09/19/lo...ntral-division

Welp.

I hope when Sudbury joins the league next year St. John's gets shifted back to the Atlantic division.

[Taeolas]

Since they have to fly everywhere regardless, the Central division may make more financial sense ultimately. How expensive are flights to Toronto vs flights to Halifax for example?

It doesn't do much for regional rivalries, but the Saint John's team is going to have a tough time developing those no matter which division they are in.

[Marty_Mcfly]

Originally Posted by Taeolas

Since they have to fly everywhere regardless, the Central division may make more financial sense ultimately. How expensive are flights to Toronto vs flights to Halifax for example?

It doesn't do much for regional rivalries, but the Saint John's team is going to have a tough time developing those no matter which division they are in.

Flights to Halifax are about half the cost as flights to Toronto, as you would expect.

[Marty_Mcfly]

St. John's Edge are having their press conference right now. I'm curious as to the explanation behind the team name.

EDIT: Edge, not Sound. Somehow all the rumors of the team name were false.

[CodiacCanuck]

Here's an article that explains the choosing of the team name... dealing with St. John's (and Newfoundland) being at the eastern "edge" of North America.
I like the logo... it's different and has a unique feel to it.

http://www.thetelegram.com/sports/st...CxM0Q.facebook

[josh_cat_eyes]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbur...bury-1.4653264
The Sudbury Five is coming to the NBL Canada this year. I wonder if that means the Edge will move to the maritime division?

[CodiacCanuck]

Hope so. St. John's belongs in the Atlantic.

[lirette]

Magic receive over $300k from City council in a vote tonight, to allow them to continue their operation at the new events centre.

This will bring out a few pitchforks (has already got humanity projects attention)

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by lirette

Magic receive over $300k from City council in a vote tonight, to allow them to continue their operation at the new events centre.

This will bring out a few pitchforks (has already got humanity projects attention)

The Magic had already made their voice know that they wanted to stay at the Coliseum (not that they would have been allowed).

I imagine the city felt they owed this to the organization as compensation for the move, but I certainly hope this is a one time only payment.........

[felip_ars]

Not really sure where they got their "The Magic saw attendance grow from about 800 to 1,500 over its first season", as I calculated the attendance of every home games (thank you NBL website), and the average is more in the 1150. They had one game that went higher than 1500, and it was in March where they got 2186 (it helped raise the average to 100 spectator).

Attendance did pick up at the turning of the new year (from an average of 800 to 1100), but they'll face challenges, like an extra Ticketmaster fees (not sure what it will be, but for a 12$ Armada ticket, it's 5$ extra), up against a new wave of events/concerts being announced left and right.

Plus they'll probably be push around in favor of a more profitable if SMG is giving the chance.

But who knows, it could lead them to get a more suited and permanent venue. Kinda like when the Alouettes were forced to move out of the Big O because of a U2 concert. They were supposed to be at Percival Molson just temporarily....its now been over 20 years.

[drewber]

Originally Posted by lirette

Magic receive over $300k from City council in a vote tonight, to allow them to continue their operation at the new events centre.

This will bring out a few pitchforks (has already got humanity projects attention)

Not to be that guy but the humanity project complains when anyone in the city other than them get a dime. There are other expenses to a city than its homeless population.

[BlackYear]

Jean-Louis Lévesque Arena at U de M would be a great venue. It has 1650 seats and parking.

They could easily work the schedule around the Blue Eagles hockey season.

[lirette]

Originally Posted by Budyser

Jean-Louis Lévesque Arena at U de M would be a great venue. It has 1650 seats and parking.

They could easily work the schedule around the Blue Eagles hockey season.

I thought about the 4plex as well. I think what becomes the issue with these smaller rinks is the are already being used 7 days a week, ice time availability is hard to come by with other things like high school hockey, midget hockey etc going on. I'm also not sure if basketball can be played in a local style rink that is designed to be freezing cold most of the time.

[PEI highway guy]

Originally Posted by lirette

I thought about the 4plex as well. I think what becomes the issue with these smaller rinks is the are already being used 7 days a week, ice time availability is hard to come by with other things like high school hockey, midget hockey etc going on. I'm also not sure if basketball can be played in a local style rink that is designed to be freezing cold most of the time.

I saw the post on the Levesque arena this morning and my first thought was there is not enough heat in the building for basketball. There used to be heaters in the stands,, however, the building never was a heated building the way the Coliseum or the DT Centre is going to be. Maybe this has changed, It has been a few years since I have been in the building.

[CodiacCanuck]

Fantastic opportunity for the Moncton Magic. They have been invited to a special international tournament in China, hosted and funded by the Chinese Basketball Association, to play games against teams from China, Australia, Bosnia, and Latvia.
Incredible experience and exposure for the team. They are the first NBL Canada club team to ever be invited to this type of tournament.

http://monctonmagic.ca/sports/mbkb/2...re-Season_Tour

[Bishop2047]

Originally Posted by CodiacCanuck

Fantastic opportunity for the Moncton Magic. They have been invited to a special international tournament in China, hosted and funded by the Chinese Basketball Association, to play games against teams from China, Australia, Bosnia, and Latvia.
Incredible experience and exposure for the team. They are the first NBL Canada club team to ever be invited to this type of tournament.

http://monctonmagic.ca/sports/mbkb/2...re-Season_Tour

NEAT! Plenty of ex NBA players are heading to the CBA now, and if you love watching a shoot out the CBA is where it is at. If however you are a lover of staunch defence the Chinese Basketball Association is not for you.This is a huge market to showcase the quality of players we have.

[jenike]

Originally Posted by Bishop2047

NEAT! Plenty of ex NBA players are heading to the CBA now, and if you love watching a shoot out the CBA is where it is at. If however you are a lover of staunch defence the Chinese Basketball Association is not for you.This is a huge market to showcase the quality of players we have.

China is also a huge pay day for guys that are currently in the NBL loooking for bigger things. By the magic taking a team of NBL players, this is a huge recruiting advantage as it gives the Magic players exposure to a market where they could land huge contracts.

Only thing I wonder about is how does this get reflected in the salary cap? I mean if I am a player, I'll take less on my NBL contract if it means I get a change to land a huge pay raise in China.