3 FEBRUARY 2001
Deep Thoughts
by DEREK NIELSEN

Those of you visiting the NBL Live forum will have noticed a post from NBL boss John Rymarz, asking why fans ‘talk down’ the league. My response is, because they do a whole bunch of really goofy things and wonder why fans complain… but I’ll go into detail on a few points.

-Rymarz says that crowds are up, and he’s right, although I don’t think it’s as much of an increase as he’d like. Crowds continue to be healthy (there isn’t much room for a rise) in Townsville, Perth and Adelaide, Cairns crowds are up substantially over last season (possibly as much as 30%), and Wollongong crowds are improving after the team’s return to form this year.

I think when people refer to ‘freebies’ they’re talking about Sydney and Melbourne, where teams are notorious for comping people just to get them in the door. The only time they’ve got more than 10,000 bums on seats at Superdome was on 1999/2000 opening night, and from memory there were several thousand 'promotional' (read: free) tickets floating around.

-just on a tangent about that opening night attendance figure, has anyone noticed that while the league gets good crowd figures for Publicity Stunt games (Open Air games, double-headers, etc), crowds for ‘normal’ games in Melbourne and Sydney continue to be poor?

Stunt games are good if you generate REPEAT sales, but having a series of ever-more-elaborate stunt games because your team can’t draw flies normally just makes the league look like a circus.

-Of course Shane Heal’s retirement from international basketball drew national attention. Shows like Sports Tonight and Fox Sports News don’t give two hoots about basketball unless they can include the Kings somehow.

-The claim about NBL Zone appears to be correct- it is, indeed, winning its timeslot for Ten. Okay, it’s no Blue Heelers on the ratings front, but you take what you can get.

It’s a pity the league can’t fix ABC’s problems, though. I was never a big Clinton Grybas fan, but removing a popular host from a show and throwing someone new in at the deep end probably isn’t the best way to build an audience.

Seven’s new-found commitment to the National Soccer League- where their new slogan is “Please Watch- Please Please Please Please Please!”- means the league probably won’t get much assistance there, either.

-Finally, don’t expect an announcement with any sort of substance regarding the new naming rights sponsors. I personally don’t think it’s good form to tout a new partnership while the old partner is still paying the bills…

If you want to read Rymarz’ message, just click on the Forums link at the top left of the page. Then join in the discussion!

And if you haven't visited the forums in the past fortnight or so, take a fresh look- our tech gurus on site have been busily coding away to make the forums more fan-friendly, because YOU asked for it.

MEDIA WATCH

After the Cairns/Adelaide game last week, the Cairns Post reportedly asked Phil Smyth, “how much longer are we going to have to put up with substandard refereeing?” Smyth, the smartest man alive, didn’t answer.

Unfortunately, the Post’s sub-editors let down their writer by proclaiming “Taipans Humbled By Reigning Premiers.” Of course, everyone in Perth remembers the Sixers’ three-peat victory parade back in April.

And while I’m mentioning Cairns, I’d like to thank the reader who pointed out that the Taipans’ match program for the Crocs game two weeks back listed Axel Dench as Townsville’s starting centre.

LOOKING BACK

Two for six. I picked Melbourne, Adelaide (v Townsville), Perth (v Sydney), and Wollongong, and all the favourites failed me. It underlines the dangers of being complacent in this league, though. Or something. I’m 37/57 on the year, if you still care.

LOOKING FORWARD

Cairns v West Sydney: The Razorbacks actually trail this series on points difference, believe it or not, but most people probably expect them to pick up the win on Friday. For the first time this season the team has managed to string together back-to-back wins, and if new import James Cotton is all that, the Pigs will have too much firepower for the Taipans. I might have given the Snakes a chance a week ago, but not now. Razorbacks by 8.

Brisbane v Townsville (ABC): The Bullets haven’t beaten Townsville in over two years, and on current form they’re not about to. The Crocs are missing Sam Mackinnon, but new import David Hinton has impressed in training and should provide assistance to the forwards. The backcourt is where the Bullets’ scoring comes from, and Rutherford and Kerle will post their share of points, but without help they won’t win games on their own. Crocodiles by 14.

Melbourne v Victoria (FOX) (NBL Live): Melbourne leads the season series, and they could really use a few wins in order to fight off the Sydney teams for sixth place. A big win against Townsville last week was followed by a disastrous result against West Sydney, and the Tigers need to regroup. Unfortunately, the Tigers’ useless defence will be stretched by the Titans; Victoria is the league’s second-highest-scoring team (an oddity for a Goorjian-coached club), while allowing the fewest points. It should be an interesting little match, but I’m picking the Titans by 6.

Adelaide v Wollongong: Arguably the match of the night, Wollongong head to Adelaide leading their season series 1-0. Sixers coach Smyth might need to set a rocket under his charges this week- they face a scrappy Wollongong team that fights on every possession, after getting crushed on the boards by an undermanned Crocodiles squad the previous week. The backcourt matchups will have fans drooling in anticipation, but it will be the forwards where the game is decided; David Stiff appears to be back and healthy again, and a good test of his ability will be against the Hawks’ hardhat-wearing front line. Whatever happens on the night, the series decider is next week- in Wollongong. Sixers by 4.

Sydney v Canberra (FOX): Crocs coach Ian Stacker would describe the Kings’ task in this game by saying simply, “Good teams win these games.” The Kings are five games ahead of the Cannons in the battle for sixth- if you consider the Cannons are still in the battle for sixth- and Canberra are ninth on the ladder, on offence and on defence. The Cannons traditionally seem to get up for Kings games, but Sydney shouldn’t be expected to be taken seriously if they lose here. Kings by 12.

A whole column, and not one mention of the referees. See you next week!

Deep Thoughts
3 FEBRUARY, 2001
Miscellaneous notes about the state of the league- some even positive!
Gone Troppo
25 JAN 2001
It's okay to rev up your home crowds, but eventually you reap what you sow.
Shades of Grey
17 JAN 2001
The referees under fire?  Surely not!  Whatever next?