The Maine ????

So - what's the team name??

I have a a few very good ideas on that front. Let's check on that another day.

First things first.

A very special congratulations goes out to Jon Jennings and his group from Portland, Maine who yesterday were officially awarded the first NBA D-League franchise in New England. There will be plenty more on this topic as the team evolves. For now, a toast to Jon Jennings, the NBA D-League Prez Dan Reed and best wishes to Rich Gotham of the Celtics and Danny AInge - the two people (among others) who will benefit the most from this tremendous development for basketball in Boston, Portland (Maine) and the New England region:

See:

The team, as yet unnamed, is owned in part by Jon Jennings. We sat down with Jon the other day to get some background on him, get his take on the NBA D-League, and get some facts about Maine.

Here's a snippet:

Q: What attracted you to the NBA Development League?

Jennings: I actually got my start in the NBA as an intern with the Indiana Pacers. After my career with the Pacers, I went to work with the Celtics, where I became an assistant coach when I was only 27. When I was coaching and doing scouting for the Celtics, I always believed that the NBA truly needed a minor league system in the way that baseball has one. I remember when the NBA D-League was first created, I was very excited about the prospects. The changes over the course of the last several years, I think, have only made it more exciting. To have a true minor league system is really so important for the future of the NBA.

Q: What qualities of the city will make the NBA D-League successful in Portland?

Jennings: The one thing about Portland is that it embraces minor league sports. It loves the Portland Sea Dogs [baseball], it loves the Portland Pirates [hockey], and it will love our team. The other thing is that the state of Maine has a fanatical love of high school basketball. When I was first getting started in this entire process, I met with the governor of Maine and he gave me a two-hour tutorial on how great high school basketball is in Maine.

The full interview can be found here:
http://www.nba.com/dleague/maine/jennings_090225.html

Ramble on ... Portland Readies for the D-League

The Portland City Council voted unanimously to approve a lease agreement which will open the doors for the NBA D-League to expand to Maine, the first key franchise for the northeast. The proposed D-League franchise will play in the cozy Portland Expo, a 3,200-seat "Cameron Crazy-like" gymnasium which will undergo a modest face-lift in the year to come.

The facility, which frequently hosts Maine high school basketball tournaments, is the perfect match for an upstart D-League franchise.

See maineprobasketball.blogspot.com

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Sox Appeal on NESN is a lot of fun.

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We have a little letter 'k' on our weekly planning calendar for the family and it now marks the day when Dice-K starts. Pretty cool, as the kids like to keep track of the rotation. Nothing like 10 and 8 year old girls charting the pitching rotation of their favorite team.

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The Long Island Lizards list six people on the team directory, including a mascot and two team photographers. Go figure.

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I have taken a couple shots at Ari Fleischer and his newfound sports vocation, but I really have to ask? Ari, my main man, you stood up in front of the US flag and the Presidential seal, shoveling the malarkey your superiors asked you to dish out, the agenda stroked by the evil axis of the Bush Administration, Karl Rove, the bad excuse for a VP and Secretary of Defense, and now, you're trying to pedal a crisis communications and media training shop to pro sports leagues, franchises and players?

Ari, tell me you can relate to Lebron, D-Wade and Yao Ming? Tell me you can hang in the media relations oit of the batting cages with Manny and Prince Fielder? Tell me you can skate circles around Larry Brooks and Harry Sinden?

Tell me you have a clue as to the real inner workings of the IOC and BOCOG as the torch relay PR crisis unravels in the streets of Paris?

Tell me you have more?

Now, are these the questions I was called here to answer?

Please tell me you have something more, Ari. The Olympics are on trial for their lives. Please tell me that their media relations, crisis communications expert man hasn't pinned their hopes to a phone bill?

We want you on that wall, Ari, we need you on that wall.

Nevermind.

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Since when did Matt Stover become Samuel Gompers?

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Overheard in my NYC apartment elevator:

Dad holding hand of a three-year old on her way to preschool: "You can have some fruit salad for a snack."

Three-year old girl to her Dad: "I don't like fruit salad"

"It's not even salad. It's just a bunch of fruit in a bowl."

I will miss moments like that.

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Alumni Hall (Carnesecca Arena) at St. John's has looked the same since the 1960s. The only work done to the place was some paint and a new court now and then. Now, I am moving to Boston and they decide to put $5 million into the place to renovate and create a whopping 800 good seats with chairbacks and remodel the lobby and ticket area. It will be a step in a $30 million dollar renovation/upgrade of the Arena. Go figure.

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Do you think Bob Ryan would be "SHOCKED"... "SHOCKED" to read about this story?

TAMPA - Police and prosecutors are discussing whether to file additional charges against a Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher who police say spat blood on people outside a South Tampa bar.

Tampa police zapped Rafael "Al" Reyes twice with a Taser about 2:30 Friday morning after a fight outside Hyde Park Café. Police charged him with a misdemeanor related to causing a fight and released him on his own recognizance.

However, police are reviewing the situation with the state attorney's office, and additional charges could be filed, police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said.

Rays spokesman Rick Vaughn said this morning that the team just learned of the situation and is looking into it.

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MLB's Mosiac is pretty damn cool. I watched Gavin Floyd attempt a no hitter on-line as I was multi-tasking some email, researching a column and watching the Masters on CBS.

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The Weekend WSJ included a special section pull-out on the Beijing Olympics. Milwaukee Bucks forward Yi Jianlian was listed among the six athletes to watch as China goes for the gold this summer. Swimmer Wu Peng, Diver Guo Jingjing, Beach volleyball player Xue Chen, women's volleyball player Zhao Ruirui and badminton player Lin Dan were the others.

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Has there even been a name that better suits a professional athlete than that of Gary Player?

I've listed the favorite venues, my favorite sporting events, but how about my favorite names:

It doesn't get any better than boxing's Ali ... For tennis it has to be Bjorn Borg ...Hockey has a name or two in Maurice "Rocket" Richard and Jacques Plante, but Bobby Orr says it all ... Babe Ruth conjures up the very best in baseball. I'll expect some reader comments to provide a few more.

Group from Maine in talks for D-League Franchise

I was so happy to see this story on the AP wire today.

As quick side note, I have been in touch with Jon Jennings on this venture as far back as September and hope to lend a hand to his efforts in some shape or form.

My overall view?

This is a terrific development for basketball in New England. I am a huge fan of Jon Jennings, the former assistant coach of the Boston Celtics. He is the kind of guy that can make this happen and all Celtics fans should get behind this effort, especially the fans from the great State of Maine.

I will write more about it when the time is right... Until then,

Maine group pursues NBA Development League franchise

By Clarke Canfield, Associated Press Writer | January 23, 2008

PORTLAND, Maine --An investment group headed by former TD Banknorth president Bill Ryan and his son has launched an effort to bring an NBA Development League team to Portland.

Ryan and his son, Bill Ryan Jr., who owns the Oxford Plains Speedway, are working with former Boston Celtics assistant coach and team executive Jon Jennings. They also have signed on former Celtics player and coach K.C. Jones as an adviser.

The NBA Development League is a feeder league to the NBA, essentially the equivalent of AAA leagues in professional baseball.

The team hopefully would be affiliated with the Boston Celtics and begin play in the 2008-09 season, Jennings said. League officials planned a visit to Portland next week.

Jennings approached the Ryans after visiting other potential expansion cities in New England, including Worcester, Springfield and Lowell, Mass., Hartford, Conn., Providence, R.I. and Manchester, N.H.

"I immediately knew Portland was the place to be," Jennings said.

Portland was home to a United States Basketball League team in the mid-1990s that folded after one season.

Bill Ryan Jr. said he doesn't see that happening if the city gets an NBA Development League team. The team would play from fall through spring, not in the summer like the USBL team did, and would draw more fans if it were affiliated with the Boston Celtics, he said.

"The resurgence of the Celtics has spurred on more interest in the NBA in northern New England," Ryan said.

Portland has proven it has the fan base to support professional sports with the Portland Sea Dogs baseball team and the Portland Pirates hockey team, Ryan said.

The group is looking at both the Portland Expo and the Cumberland County Civic Center for a place to play.

The NBA Development League now has 14 teams, but most of those are in the Midwest and West. The league is looking to add expansion franchises in the East, Jennings said. The Celtics, along with the Utah Jazz, are now affiliated with the league's Utah Flash.

"We're interested in expanding to other regions, with the Northeast among them," league President Dan Reed said.

When looking at possible expansion sites, the league looks particularly close at the ownership group, the market and the arena where the team would play, Reed said.

Team franchises sell for more than $1 million, but Reed wouldn't give the precise figure.

The Celtics are aware of the group's efforts to land a team in Portland, but haven't entered into any formal talks, said Jeff Twiss, vice president of media services.

"It would be a positive for New England, especially northern New England," he said.