Basketball from a fans perspective

August

Beginning Monday August 2 Off the Dribble will begin a Monday, Wednesday, Friday publishing schedule. The first week of April college basketball crowned the Baylor Bears 2021 men’s NCAA champions. On July 20 the Bucks defeated the Suns 4 Games to 2 becoming 2021 NBA champions. On Thursday July 29 the NBA draft will be held and August 1 NBA free agency begins. There is basketball news however the world slows at this point. If a story breaks in between the published dates a special edition consisting of that story will be published. In closing allow me to thank you once again for being a loyal reader.

Research, research

It’s proven valuable to me, and I hope to you as well. Conducting research, I’ve uncovered bunches of stuff before my time regarding my hometown Kansas City and it’s pro basketball connection. This one is brand new; the Professional Basketball League of America came into being in 1947 one year after the Basketball Association of America began play. The PBLA consisted of 16 teams spread across the nation, the team representing Kansas City was named the Blues. The name is interesting in more ways than one, the AAA baseball team playing here also utilized the same name, we guess it wasn’t much of a concern since the basketball team and league only lasted one season. According to the information I uncovered the PBLA was severely underfunded unlike the BAA and NBL.

It’s believed the basketball Blues played their games at the Pla-Mor Ballroom which has since been demolished. The cities second team and league was the American Basketball League mentioned earlier. The Kansas City Steers were certainly more successful than the ABL which lasted from 1961 to December 31, 1963. As with the PBLA the ABL was also not financially sound. The Steers played most of their games in Municipal Auditorium and a number at Memorial Hall in Kansas City Kansas. Finally, we cover the American Basketball Association which operated from 1967 to 1976, you say Kansas City never had a team in the ABA. Well, they did, for some odd reason the lack of an arena to play sealed their fate. The franchise after being awarded to Kansas City was passed to Denver which became the Rockets, they moved from Kansas City without ever playing a single game here. I’m sure several you probably might debate if these leagues and teams were professional level. Stop and think a moment, despite the winning record of the Celtics the NBA was perceived as a minor league probably through the late 1950’s. 

Wait for the dust to settle

As this is written we don’t have an outcome for the Big XII, despite that fact some thoughts by this local guy. It is possible the former Big 8 rivals (Kansas, Kansas State & Mizzou) will play in three conferences. Mizzou long time conference member moved to the SEC in 2012. Reports indicate Kansas is looking toward joining the Big 10, as for Kansas State it’s the Pac-12. Apart from Mizzou, the other portion is strictly speculation but worth considering based on the history of the institutions. Kansas City Missouri has served as host city for the old Big 8 and now the Big XII Basketball Tournament forever. Most interesting after the Texas schools were added the tournament was moved.

It’s been played in Oklahoma City and Dallas however it was moved back to Kansas City in 2010 and will remain here until 2024. With the status of the conference unclear will 2024 be the last tournament played in Kansas City. Mayor Quinton Lucas when questioned claimed the city earns about $15 million annually from the tournament. It was mentioned by one of the local sportscasters said, “whatever occurs hopefully Kansas City could compete for a tournament.” As for the immediate future we must wait for the dust to settle to determine how these proposed moves work out. Perhaps there are elements remaining who are still upset with for leaving the Big XII back in 2012. 

The nearness of Lawrence Kansas to Kansas City MO might be part of the reason, they conveniently forget conference members Nebraska and Colorado left prior to Mizzou and Texas A&M. The schools must have had a problem with the manner the conference was being operated. As for Mizzou they could state success on the football field or basketball court is negligible in the SEC. There would be no argument from this corner however there are benefits. The revenue has been greater in the SEC and now an additional plus. They certainly have stability now over Kansas, Kansas State and other Big XII programs. Is it the Big 10, Pac-12, WAC or something else for the "former" Big XII Conference?

How important is a name?

It was mentioned at the time the owners of the Cincinnati Royals moved the NBA team to Kansas City they made a name change. Because the baseball Royals were in place, they chose to avoid confusion with two professional teams with the same name, it seemed in other historical instances it didn’t matter. Did you realize there was a New York Yankees baseball team and football team that played at the same time? The football Yankees were in the All-American Football Conference and played in NYC from 1946-1949.

You just read a story of the basketball Kansas City Blues above, there was a Blues baseball team that played in the city from 1907 until 1954. Brooklyn Dodgers baseball and Brooklyn Dodgers football operated during the same period. The NFL Dodgers played under that name from 1930-1943, baseball Dodgers had use of the name for a much longer period. The City of Chicago had two NFL teams, the Bears and the Cardinals. In 1960 the NFL Cardinals moved to St. Louis, so we had a baseball team and an NFL team playing at the same time as the St. Louis Cardinals. Perhaps the Royals ownership wanted to make a distinction between the city’s baseball team and NBA…who really knows?