Canadian Basketball League (CBL)?

National Basketball League of Canada

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IceManLikeGervin
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In The News

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Sun Sep 13, 2015 3:41 pm

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IceManLikeGervin
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In The News

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Tue Sep 15, 2015 11:01 pm

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IceManLikeGervin
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CBL Listed Franchise Info

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:57 pm

https://twitter.com/nblcnet
NBLCNET ‏@nblcnet
.@TOButchCarter's CBL has K-W, Hamilton, Scarborough and Ottawa as franchises listed on http://cbltickets.com .

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IceManLikeGervin
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CBL

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Thu Sep 24, 2015 9:24 pm

https://twitter.com/TOButchCarter
Butch Carter ‏@TOButchCarter Sep 22
Working for Canadian Basketball League @maxwellsmusic @citywaterloo @570NEWS @CTVKitchener @1075daverocks @UWaterloo

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IceManLikeGervin
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3 Basketball Leagues 1 Province (Ontario)

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Sun Oct 04, 2015 3:38 pm

Click link for Steve Clark Media site: http://steveclarkmedia.blogspot.ca/2015 ... vince.html
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Get your scorecards out because you are going to need them! If you enjoy hoops of a professional nature, you might want to pay attention.

There will be three different semi professional basketball leagues operating partly or fully in Ontario for the 2015-2016 season. Add in the Toronto Raptors and it is a veritable hoops bonanza. Lets try and keep them straight while I offer up an opinion or two on the entities. I am going to stick with the three minor pro leagues in Ontario , rather than the Raptors, who are the clear and undefined kings of the mountain. One wonders if people will meaningfully support semi pro basketball, or have they been spoiled by having an NBA team for 20 years in the region. Plus, there is OUA and OCAA university and college basketball to deal with. Is there enough hoops support to spread around? In a general sense, there is. While there are three different leagues and 10 teams with minor pro basketball, each of those teams is regional in nature, and there should not be a lot of crossover of fighting for fans. one NBL team threw in the towel today in Brampton, as they moved their operation to Orangeville, home of the owners of the team. One of the reasons they cited was the fact that they were too close to Mississauga, home of Raptors905, and felt that they could not compete against them in the market, given the two cities are separated by only ten minutes.


THE CBL http://www.cblbasketball.ca/

The driving force behind the CBL is ex- Toronto Raptors coach Butch Carter. Despite being long removed from the Raptors, Butch loves Ontario so much that he put down roots here by getting married and having a child. It is very clear that he is committed to starting a pro basketball league in Canada. He's starting small, with four franchises in Ottawa/ Scarborough/ Waterloo and Hamilton, but hopes to expand to 12 teams cross country in the foreseeable future. Utilizing a business model and approach used in European basketball leagues Carter hopes to capture the imagination of basketball fans in Ontario and Canada. His league is set to tip off December of 2015:

THE POSITIVES

Butch himself. He's a commanding presence with a deep resonating voice who works the media rounds with ease. He has also been successful as a basketball coach, likely retaining some great basketball contacts. Other business ventures helmed by Butch have been a success, and his career as a guest speaker is very solid. The franchise in Ottawa is rumoured to have both Leo Rautins and Dave Smart involved, and if he's smart, the first phone call in Hamilton should be to Ron Foxcroft. He is smart, calculated and seems to, at least on paper, addressed the pitfalls of previous attempts at basketball leagues. Whether it will translate to a financial success remains to be seen. If it does not succeed, it will not be due to carelessness.

A TV deal with CHCH TV that would give the teams maximum exposure on a bigger stage than the other two rival leagues in Ontario. While the sports broadcasting market is saturated, having a station like CHCH which broadcasts all over the province is great. The old OUA(A) Game of the Week in Football and Basketball was a long standing tradition on CHCH and always drew well, put athletes in the spotlight and gave the sport a much needed boost.

High quality basketball. There are a ton of CIS players, and small U.S. college NCAA D 1/2/3, etc players who would jump at the idea. The on court product will be fantastic.

The markets chosen and the venues will be catered to basketball, and won't be converted hockey arenas. That will keep costs down and will avoid conflict with hockey in the area. All the markets were specifically chosen for their commitment to amateur or semi pro sports. Population density, support of sport in the area were all carefully analyzed. The travel budget and schedule should be reasonable, given the close proximity of three of the markets and the relative ease of transportation to Ottawa. The research was thorough.

THE DRAWBACKS

A lousy track record of pro basketball success in the area. Ghosts of leagues and franchises past that started with big ideas and flamed out in a hurry due to lack of interest and unforeseen costs. I've been involved with a couple of them, and the outcome was not pretty. I really can't pull off this line, but survivial is indeed "all about the benjamins", and in the past the dollars were not flowing and butts were not put in the seat. Many rental agreements and facilities were left unpaid.

A late start. The first franchise was announced this week and the league is expected to start playing in December. That gives you just three months to find players, referees, coaches, off court officials, employees, and cement your corporate sponsorship, social media and marketing plan.

It is not a whole lot of time.

Just four teams the 1st year might get stale as the teams will player each other 8 or 9 times a year. Gearing up for that 6th Ottawa/Waterloo match up might be tough, though the fans will see the players a lot, so they should become familiar with them!


THE NBL http://www.nblcanada.com/

Hard to believe but now considered the old guard of semi pro basketball in Canada. In Ontario teams operate in Windsor, London, Niagara and Orangeville, who just got a team thanks to Brampton pulling up stakes and leaving town. There are also teams in Halifax (with new ownership), PEI , and Moncton. It has been a tumultuous end and off-season for the NBL with a championship fiasco that saw Game 7 get cancelled when Halifax left the building and went home, citing safety concerns after a pre game shoot around dust up. Franchises have been lost in Mississauga and Brampton, while the league will rely heavily on a new franchise in Niagara to join Windsor and London as pillars of strength.

THE POSITIVE

London, in many ways, has been the gold standard for minor pro basketball. They draw good crowds, have solid ownership and good media coverage. They wave the flag for the league and have been unflappable as there has been league turmoil the past few years.

Good potential in Niagara and Windsor. Windsor is a step or two behind London , but is starting to make strides. They are the defending champions and play out of the lovely WFCU Centre. Niagara is a good market, isolated with a strong fan base. It is asking a lot for a new franchise to be a cornerstone in its first year though.

Commissioner David Magley, former Coach /GM of Brampton's franchise is the new commissioner. After a turnstile approach to the most important job in the league, Magley brings credibility and respect to the office after a few years of rotating commissioners.

THE DRAWBACKS

League has seen a lot of franchise shuffling. Ontario has lost teams in Oshawa, Mississauga and Brampton (gone to Orangeville), an attempt to put a footprint in Quebec failed miserably and the Atlantic teams have had assorted issues, from attendance to ownership. This league is far from stable.

Media coverage has been spotty, and live game coverage is restricted to streaming through YouTube. YouTube might be a major player down the road in sports properties but little is being gleaned right now for the league outside of a small, dedicated fan base.

They too are fighting the stigma of pro basketball in Canada. The track record is ugly, and the fact that this league is still in business should be celebrated.


RAPTORS905 THE D-LEAGUE http://raptors905.dleague.nba.com/

Following the model of a lot of professional hockey teams, the Raptors sought to have their NBA D-LEAGUE team close to home. After some fancy maneuvering , Mississauga was chosen to be the location of the franchise. It shuffled the NBL franchise out of town and will be the only Canadian DLeague based team.

THE POSITIVES

The mighty marketing arm of MLSE will give it Raptors905 a decided advantage over the other two leagues. Cross promotion/marketing should be easy across the MLSE platforms. Calling the team Raptors905 is a stroke of genius that should gain traction from all 905'ers. The name is slick and current and appeals to a younger fan base.

Quality of play/name recognition of the players should be good as well, as many will be Raptor draft picks. The quality of play should be high and the Hershey Centre in Mississauga is a nice sized venue. Plus the team will get further exposure when they play two games at the Air Canada Centre.

THE DRAWBACKS

Few really, outside of having no natural rivals, as they are the only Canadian team right now. It is going to be hard for fans to get up and get excited for the likes of Bakersfield, Grand Rapids, Sioux Falls and Westchester.

OVERALL

This is great for basketball fans in the Ontario. Hopefully the leagues can tap into a young and enthusiastic fan base. The grassroots growth of basketball is outstanding in this province and country. Tons of players play the sport, but do they want to watch the sport if it is not the Raptors? That remains to be seen for all the markets. Also, the success of Canada's national teams and the types of players on the team who are stars, or going to be NBA stars is light years ahead of what it used to be, when it was Steve Nash and a bunch of guys no one had heard of. The betting here is that the NBL and CBL will eventually eat their young, keep the strong franchises and form one league, while the D League franchise will stand alone and draw better than the other leagues thanks to MLSE's marketing and reach.

Fun times ahead though if you love basketball! END

IceManLikeGervin
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Joined:Wed Apr 04, 2012 4:42 pm

Ticket Info

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Tue Oct 06, 2015 10:23 pm

https://twitter.com/nblcnet
NBLCNET ‏@nblcnet
.@CBLTickets now says tickets for Hamilton, Ottawa & Scarborough will be available tomorrow. Initially said Oct. 1.

https://twitter.com/vzriverlion
Rich ‏@vzriverlion
@nblcnet cbl tickets now October 15.

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IceManLikeGervin
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CBL Notes

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Sat Oct 10, 2015 11:13 pm

https://twitter.com/570NEWS
570 NEWS - Kitchener ‏@570NEWS
New Waterloo Canadian Basketball League team to open season at home December 18th http://ow.ly/SKBGM

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IceManLikeGervin
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Updated Season Ticket Info

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Thu Oct 15, 2015 6:23 pm

https://twitter.com/nblcnet
NBLCNET ‏@nblcnet
CBL has pushed back their ticket availability date for Ottawa, Scarborough & Hamilton to Nov. 1. (h/t @vzriverlion)

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IceManLikeGervin
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In The News

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Tue Nov 03, 2015 11:05 pm

Click link for The Spec site: http://www.thespec.com/sports-story/607 ... ll-league/
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The fledgling Canadian Basketball League, which plans to begin play in the second week of December, has formally announced that Hamilton will have a team in the league.

League founder Butch Carter, the former coach of the Toronto Raptors, has engaged in negotiations and meetings with a variety of organizers of Hamilton amateur basketball for several weeks and Tuesday's announcement has been anticipated for some time.

The Hamilton United Basketball club will operate on not-for-profit basis and will be led by a board of directors headed by Jeff Young as president and Rob Bowden as vice-president of basketball operations. Both have been very active in Ancaster Basketball.

Carter said Tuesday that United has had ongoing discussions with Mohawk College, where the team would like to play, "but no agreement has been signed yet."

The CBL has unveiled only one other official entry, in Waterloo, but it's believed that there is interest in Ottawa and eastern Toronto.

The league will operate under the rules of the International Basketball Association (FIBA), the games global governing body which supervises such tournaments as the Olympics and world championships.

And there will definitely be a nationality quota.

"We hope to have six Canadians (on the overall roster)," Carter says, "regardless of how that might hurt us in the first year. We have to make a commitment to Canadian players and to Canadian basketball."

More details about Hamilton United Basketball and the CBL are expected to emerge soon.

"Historically, Hamilton has been a huge supporter of basketball in Canada," Carter said in a news release. "We all realize that we'll have to work very hard to engage the community to FIBA basketball." END

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Waterloo Names Head Coach

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Thu Nov 05, 2015 10:29 pm

Waterloo CBL https://twitter.com/WaterlooCBL

Click link for The Record site: http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/6 ... ead-coach/
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Waterloo Region's yet-to-be-named professional basketball franchise took another bold leap forward Wednesday night when the team announced its head coach.

Garrett Kelly, 28, a U.S. college coach from Arden, N.C., has taken the reins for the fledgling Canadian Basketball League's inaugural community-owned franchise.

Kelly previously coached at Siena College in New York state, Virginia's Radford University and at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.

He played at Loyola College in Baltimore, Md. from 2007 to 2010.

"Butch Carter. He's the reason I'm here," said Kelly who connected with the CBL founder and former Toronto Raptors head coach through social media.

"He's an incredibly intelligent man and he's been working very hard to push this entire concept of a true Canadian league."

Details from additional league teams in Hamilton, where a team board of directors was named this week, as well as Scarborough and Ottawa are expected shortly, Carter said.

CBL teams will eventually feature at least six Canadian players each with an emphasis on local talent, said Carter, among the 50 or so people in attendance for Wednesday's news conference.

The next step for the coach is finding bodies to fill out the Waterloo No Names' 10-player roster.

"We will recruit high-character men," said Kelly. "They will compete hard.

"We will play an uptempo, aggressive, entertaining style of basketball."

The team is expected to sign six players within the next 10 days, Kelly said.

Additional roster spots could be determined at an open tryout on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at RIM Park. There is a $100 fee for interested players.

Carter said his dream is to give the 250 Canadian players playing the game on foreign soil the opportunity to play at home.

"Someone had to have the strength to nationalize basketball in Canada."

The team named its chief executive officer, John Thompson, last week.

Thompson, a longtime local sports promoter, told the crowd assembled at a Waterloo night club he hopes the new team can eventually emulate the success of another community-owned franchise, the Ontario Hockey League's Kitchener Rangers.

"This is not Butch's team or my team," said Thompson. "It's your team."

The club also issued an invitation to founding members and launched a name-the-team contest on Wednesday.

For $1,000, fans can purchase a founding membership with an option to buy two floor seats.

The team, which will play a 28-game schedule, is set to take the court at the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex for its home opener on Dec. 18.

"Rome was not built in a day. We are taking a whole bunch of baby steps," said Thompson.

"But we will be up front, accountable and transparent."

A casting call for team volunteers was also issued Wednesday.

An information session will be held on Nov. 12 at the K-W Granite Club at 8 a.m.

For more information on the club, contact Thompson at johnthompson@cbltickets.com. END

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Waterloo News

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Mon Nov 09, 2015 11:48 pm

Click link for The Record site: http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/6 ... -waterloo/
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Richardo Dunkley wants to get in the game.

The speedy point guard from Kitchener boasts an impressive basketball resumé with stops at Toronto's Ryerson University and the Windsor Express of the National Basketball League of Canada, and even a stint playing pro in China.

Dunkley said he hopes his next assignment is playing point guard for the yet-to-be named, community-owned pro basketball franchise in Waterloo.

The fledgling four-team Canadian Basketball League is set to launch its inaugural 28-game schedule next month.

"I'm all for the community," said the Cameron Heights grad, one of six players auditioning for roster spots at an open tryout for the Waterloo team held Sunday at RIM Park.

"It'd be great motivation for kids coming up. Dreams are possible."

The team's head coach Garrett Kelly and the fledgling league's founder, former Toronto Raptors coach Butch Carter, watched about a dozen players, some from the Toronto area, over the weekend.

Kelly said evaluating their future players' off-court demeanour is as important as their on-court talent.

"We are going to be so involved in the community that we can't take a chance on a guy who is going to be a knucklehead," said Kelly, of Arden, S.C.

"There's too much at stake here."

Although Kelly's hiring was only announced last week, he's been on the job scouting and vetting North American players for the league since May.

Six player signings for the Waterloo team's 10-player roster are imminent, Kelly said, adding that a marquee player from Saskatchewan has already committed to the team.

That announcement will be made shortly, once a contract is finalized, the coach said.

Three other players for the Waterloo team are Americans that Kelly, a former coach at Siena College in New York state, Virginia's Radford University and at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., recruited out of high school.

"I know their families. I know their high school coaches. They are very solid young men."

Full-time roster players will be paid anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500 a month with housing provided and signed to a five- or six-month contract.

The team will also carry a practice squad.

Kelly has also scheduled a tryout for players in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 10.

Carter was busy helping Kelly put the players through their paces on Sunday.

"What I've seen is a young man who really knows how to coach," Carter said of the 28-year-old Kelly.

"I'm really pleased. He's extremely organized and his communication skills are very good. From the start, I felt he is a person that can fit into this community."

The Waterloo team's first home game is scheduled for the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex on Dec. 18.

The team is also looking for volunteers. An information session will be held Nov. 19 at 8 a.m. at the K-W Granite Club in Waterloo.

League teams are also set to hit the floor in Scarborough and Ottawa, Carter said.

Another league entry in Hamilton announced its staff over the weekend.

Rob Bowden will serve as the Hamilton club's vice-president of operations and general manager. Tarry Upshaw has been named the club's head coach. END

IceManLikeGervin
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Tickets Available On December 1st

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Wed Nov 11, 2015 8:31 pm

Click link for more info: http://www.cbltickets.com/

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Last edited by IceManLikeGervin on Thu Jun 23, 2016 6:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.


IceManLikeGervin
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Waterloo Team News

Post by IceManLikeGervin » Mon Nov 30, 2015 10:26 pm

Click link for The Record site: http://www.therecord.com/sports-story/6 ... continues/
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Butch Carter's plan to launch a pro basketball team in Waterloo is on ice. His ambition is not.

"Someone in my family told me that this is what I was born to do," said Carter, the Ohio-born and Indiana University-educated former Toronto Raptors head coach said.

"I'm totally committed to this idea," he said of his intention to launch a domestic professional basketball league.

Last week, a proposed community-owned Waterloo franchise in his start-up Canadian Basketball League was put on hold until next year as the team scrambled to meet its deadlines for a December tipoff at the Waterloo Memorial Rec Complex.

Carter said the fledgling league will carry on with three teams this season – in Scarborough, Ottawa and Hamilton – however their launch dates have been pushed back a couple weeks to the middle of January.

The CBL, Canada's first pro league to play under FIBA rules, is intended to provide a home for some of the 250 Canadians currently playing basketball in the U.S. or overseas, he said.

"The NHL started with three teams. And now, it's not just hockey. It's a nation-builder.

"Right now, we have a whole new generation of Canadians feeding off the Raptors who have no place to play their game (professionally) at home."

The still un-named Waterloo franchise, which appeared to be farther along than the other league teams, was stalled by a more complicated launch, Carter said.

The three other teams will play in dedicated basketball facilities, Carter added.

The increased changeover costs with an ice arena in Waterloo and nine home dates that conflicted with the OHL's Kitchener Rangers schedule could not be overcome this year, he said.

Carter said to create a local buzz, he'd like to schedule a couple neutral-site games for the league's three existing teams in Waterloo, possibly at the University of Waterloo, in mid-February.

Last year, Carter prepared an exhaustive 111-page business plan for his league, based on proven formulas used by the Canadian Hockey League, Euroleague Basketball and Major League Soccer.

The plan included the Waterloo club serving as the loop's cornerstone franchise.

In September, city councilors voted to support the local CBL franchise with nearly $500,000 in upgrades at the Rec Complex and other costs to be paid back with three per cent interest.

City officials said they expect a profit of about $381,000 from the new team after six seasons.

"I said this thing wasn't going to be easy. It is hard. I made my mistakes. And I'll probably make some more. But I got to keep pushing to get this done," said Carter.

The Waterloo team's CEO, John Thompson, said the freeze on the local franchise will allow the team time to roll out the club properly.

"There's a lot of interest in the local basketball community in our team," Thompson said. "But we have to get those people engaged."

U.S. college coach Garrett Kelly, hired to coach the Waterloo team six months ago, will instead coach the league's Scarborough franchise this season.

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