Colorado vs. RGV 1-12-09 2nd Half

6:29 remaining in the third. Colorado leads 78-74

Both teams have scored 12 so far in the third. Vipers need to shoot their free throws better only 48% from the charity stripe

1:59 remaining in the third Vipers lead 87-84

Vipers are on a 13-6 run and have taken the lead on Colorado. The three-point shooting woes are really hurting the 14ers. Colorado is just 2/17 from downtown. Josh Davis is 6/16 from the field but 0/4 from 3. If the Vipers could make free throws they would be up big

End of the 3rd Vipers lead 94-92

The Vipers continue to force Colorado to shoot from the outside right now because right now they aren't making their threes. Whatever works I guess. RGV outscored the 14ers in the third 32-26. I  can't remember the last time we held Colorado to fewer than 20 points in a quarter... We'll get our interns on that one.... Oh by the way the 147 points from Tuesday is a D-League record.

9:21 remaining in regulation 14ers lead 102-96.

Colorado has  started the 4th on a 10-2 run thanks mostly to Sonny Weems. FYI 'Melo Anthony and some other Nuggets are in the building tonight to watch Sonny Weems play.

6:27 remaining in regulation 14ers lead 113-101. 

Colorado isn't missing. John Lucas has taken a step or two in and the Vipers are taking bad shots.. and missing them. Colarod is outscoring the Vipers 21-7 in the quarter so far.

Game Over Colorado wins 126-109.

Colorado and Eddie Gill live for the 4th quarter that was no different again tonight. Re-cap coming later on.

Colorado vs. RGV 1-12-09 1st Half Running Blog

5:59 Remaining 14ers lead 17-12

The Vipers are trading baskets right now with Colorado, well at least they were early. The Vipers are making Colorado shoot outside jumpers rather than the lay-ups they were getting on Tuesday. The problem? Colorado isn't missing right now. Free throws coming up for Looby out of the time out..

2:52 remaining 14ers lead 29-21

Why is Sonny Weems in the D-League? He just threw another one down alley-oop style and made a bad John Lucas pass look good. The pass was behind Weems, he caught it with one hand from behind and slug his arm up and forward for a thunderous slam...Still not enough stops for the Vipers...

End of the 1st 14ers lead 35-28

Right now the teams continue to go back and forth. Neither team is going on a run, and that may be good for the Vipers. The Vipers have more points in the paint 24-14. Meaning a lot of Colorado's points are coming from jumpers. Make a team beat you with outside shots. That's the only way to beat Colorado. Another important number Fastbreak points. Vipers with 6. Colorado with only 2

2:56 remaining in the half Game Tied at 55

The Vipers had a lead for a bit as they led 54-48 at one point. But Colorado is on a 7-1 run to tie the game back at 55-55. 

Halftime 14ers lead 66-62

Colorado always comes back... a little run at the end of the 2nd has the 14ers back on top at the intermission

Vipers vs. Colorado March 12th Pre-Game

Back we are at the phenomenal Broomfield Event Center. It will be the last time the Vipers will take on the 14ers this season, and perhaps ever unless someone buys this team and does a MUCH better job of marketing it to Broomfield and the outlying communities. Crowds here are sparse to say the least and with the problems that Tim Wiens (Owner of the 14ers and Rocky Mountain Rage) is having it is unlikely that the 14ers will survive. Although the league is pretty adamant about not letting teams die. We will have to just wait and see I guess.

As for the game, the Vipers will need to get off to a much better start than they did on Tuesday when they were down 30-20 at the end of the first and shooting the ball at a 9/31 clip. That's just not gonna get it done. As I've said before the 14ers are the Mongoose to our Snake, Or is it the Snake to our Mongoose?? Either way it's bad... I don't know animals. :)

The Vipers are 1-13 against Colorado... 0-6 in Broomfield...I'd like to say they are due...but Colorado is the best team in the league. I don't think its close. But I don't think they will win the 2009 D-league Championship. They just remind me too much of Phoenix and in a one and done, a bad shooting night for Colorado could mean an early exit. I am going to try to blog during the game. But the info at each time-out will be short. 

We are the only night game in the D-League tonight. Iowa lost to Tulsa 108-107 in overtime... (wait what?) Yes the Tulsa 66ers beat one of the best teams in the D-League on their home floor earlier today. Don't know how that happened. But hey if there is one upset in the league today, why can't we have another one in Broomfield tonight?

Starters are out here they are

RIO GRANDE VALLEY VIPERS

• G- Jared Jordan
• G-Stanley Asumnu
• C- Kurt Looby
• F- Jawad Williams
• F- Trent Strickland

COLORADO 14ERS

• G - Eddie Gill
• G - Dominique Coleman
• C - Joe Dabbert
• F- Trey Gilder
• F- Josh Davis

Tip-off is coming up shortly... check out all the action on ESPN 1240-AM.. Or you can watch on Futurecast and listen to Chad Andrus who is one of the better broadcasters in the D-League...Or follow the live stats on D-League.com

D-League Expansion..Rumblings.. etc.

A lot has been happening around the D-League lately. There has been a lot happening around the Vipers as well. I apologize for not updating In the Key a little more often. The travel has been crazy and I have taken on some new responsibilities as well. But I should be able to spend a few minutes to blog.So here I am.

I posted several weeks back about possible D-League expansion. D-League Maine has already been announced. Congrats to Abby Pierce who is head of their marketing efforts. She was in RGV when we started up and I think she's awesome. Maine made a good hire. They will be the Maine (Insert Nickname here). They want to market to the whole state and didn't want to be confused with the Trailblazers home city. They also will not be the Shamrocks... which I thought would have been awesome since they will unofficially-officially be the Celtics affiliate. You can help choose the name HERE.

Now you can't just add one team right? But where else is the D-League expanding to? There were a lot of rumors and the D-League did a great job this year of keeping the potential additions hush-hush as opposed to last year when we all knew it was Erie and Reno. We knew about Portland since last season, but the 18th team was a mystery. Just rumors. Well it appears the secret is out finally as Springfield, MA (the home to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and the birthplace of basketball) will be home to a D-league franchise. 

It will be interesting to see who Springfield will be affiliated with since Boston appears to be going to Maine. Although I think it doesn't really matter it's out in Western, MA. You could easily put the Nets, Sixers or, Knicks in this same area. Or even both NJ and NYK. 

The real questions is will the D-League be at 18 teams next year? Or will it still be 16? We have documented on this blog before and Scott over a RU has as well, the financial problems the Colorado 14er owners are having. The word on the street is that Anaheim may be in even worse shape than that of Colorado...If that is even possible. It's a shame that the nicest building in the D-league (Not named Staples Center) may not be back but it could be a reality. Kroenke apparently would only have interest in managing the arena... not buying the 14ers, and it doesn't appear anyone wants to buy the team and move it to Loveland, CO to the Budweiser Events Center. Will the league operate this team until a buyer can be found? Will the new "Hybrid Affiliation System" change the Nuggets mind? I guess we will have to wait and see.

I will post my thoughts on the Hybrid System soon.. I want to get more details and get some thoughts from D-League coaches. 

I will post a brief pre-game blog before tonight's game versus Colorado as soon as I get to the building. 

14ERS SCORE TEAM RECORD 147 POINTS IN WIN OVER RGV

March 11, 2009

BROOMFIELD, Colorado-

The Colorado 14ers scored a franchise record for points, including 49 in the fourth quarter, and led from the opening tip as they knocked off the Rio Grande Valley Vipers 147-119 Tuesday night at the Broomfield Event Center. The 147 points is the most Rio Grande Valley has ever allowed in franchise history. The win for Colorado extends their home win streak to eight straight and their fourth straight overall. The loss ends RGVs season high three game win streak. RGV is now 1-13 lifetime versus Colorado.

Rio Grande Valley struggled from the opening tip. The Vipers could not find the bottom of the hoop in the opening frame as the shot 29% from the field and were outscored 30-20. The Vipers could not stop the bleeding in the second frame. Julian Sensely’s jumper with 5:54 remaining in the half capped off a 22-4 Colorado run that ran their lead to 28 points. The Vipers did manage to close out the quarter on a 15-5 run to cut the deficit to 18 at the break.

The Vipers attempted to chip away at Colorado’s lead in the second half, cutting the deficit to as few as 11 on a Craig Winder three-point play with 6:18 remaining. Colorado pulled away outscoring RGV 49-40 in the 4th to finish off the win.

Williams’ 29 points led Rio Grande Valley’s scoring load. Kurt Looby tallied another double-double with 10 points and 12 boards. Denver assignee Sonny Weems led the 14ers in scoring with 27 points. Eddie Gill scored 21 and dished out five assists in the Colorado win.

The Vipers will play Colorado for the final time in 2008-09 on Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 pm at the Broomfield Event Center.

Running Game Blog 3-10-09 vs. Colorado 2nd Half

The second half is about to begin, and I am still not one the air. The phone line guy for the arena is here and working on the issue. Still no go. I have never had phone line issues here. This isn't Chad Andrus's fault. He's always got stuff goin right. Erin Pahl too. This is the arena being terrible...Hmm where have I heard that before..

Phone works now... If you want to listen to the game head on over to 1240 AM ASAP.

5:43 remaining in the 3rd. Colorado leads 75-64

The Vipers are starting to chip away at this Colorado . They've score 19 points so far in the 3rd.  The Vipers are doing a much better job at making Colorado work.

2:48 Colorado leads 85-70

After the Vipers cut it down to 11. It's been back and forth ever since. The lead has stayed between 13-15 the last few minutes. Jawad continues to dominate for RGV. Weems for Colorado.. although it is Gill who leads Colorado in scoring with 14.

End of the 3rd Qtr. Colorado leads 98-79

That's it... Eddie Gill just gets up for RGV. His first game with the club this year after no practice... he nearly gets a triple double. By the way did I mention tonight is the one year anniversery of Eddie Gill's 15 assist performance against us. That is by the way the most assists an opponent has had against RGV in their history.. I am just saying.. 

5:17 remaining in 4th Qtr Colorado leads 118-104

The Vipers have made this interesting, but it could be too little too late.The Vipers have cut the deficit to 11 a few times in this 2nd half... but Colorado comes back each and every time and pushes it to 15 16 or 18. It has been the second unit shining for RGV with a lot of hustle and slashes to the basket.

Game Over... Vipers lose 147-119

Colorado scored 49 points in the 4th.

Re-cap is coming soon...

Running Game Blog 3-10-09 vs. Colorado 1st Half

I am having technical issues with my radio broadcast tonight, which hopefully will be alleviated by the 2nd quarter. But for you will have to settle for the blog. (Which I know hasn't been updated in forever).

6:09 remaining Colorado 18  Rio Grande Valley 10

The 14ers have gotten out to a hot start. What else is new?  Colorado is 6/8 from the field, RGV is 5/18 from the field. The Vipers need to start better and dig out of this hole... and fast. 

In case you didn't know the Vipers are 1-12 lifetime versus the 14ers. They would love a reversal of fortunes in a rivalry (can you call it that?) That has been ALL COLORADO.

More updates as we move along..

It is always tough to play in this building. Why? BECAUSE THERE IS NEVER ANYONE HERE!!. The financial problems of Colorado's ownership has been well documented. Don't forget that the altitude plays a factor and the floor has the tendency to be a little slippery. I hope Colorado doesn't go away next season. Wait... what am I saying. No in all seriousness. I love their building, the town, the front office, the press table. This is a trip I always look forward to. Except for the 0-5 record here in the Broomfield Event Center. I hope they find a buyer for the team. But in this financial landscape, I find it highly unlikely.

1:00 min remaining in the 1st Qtr. Colorado leads 27-20.

We got our first look at John Lucas III. He's a guy that's as good as any point guard in the NBA, but his size limits him tremendously. Right now they have Lucas and Gill on the floor at the same time. Gill is struggling right now he already has 4 turnovers, but he does have 4 points. (One turnover was Dominique Coleman not paying attention so I'll spot Gill one)

Coach said before the game that Jared could have 25 assists in this game... well he has 5 already. Not quite on pace for 25... but pretty close. The Vipers have closed the gap.. but need more defensive stops... or of course Colorado could miss a few shots...(sigh) wishful thinking sometimes.

End of 1st Qtr. Colorado leads 30-20

The Vipers can't buy a bucket tonight. We've seen a couple airballs and a ton of shots that haven't been close. Colorado does a nice job of switching up their defenses. Half court trap, zone defense, etc. RGV is shooting a terrible 29% right now. They need to find some offense somewhere. so far Jawad Williams leads the team in scoring with 6. 

Can I just say that Eddie Gill is another one of those players you love when he is on your team, but loathe when he is a opponent. Not just because he's good... which Gill is. But he's good and he plays hard, and with a little bit of a swagger...I love to hate Eddie Gill. He reminds me a little bit of Stockton...you know as a player you love to hate.

8:52 remaining 2nd Qtr Colorado leads 42-24. 

12-4 run to start the second period for Colorado. They are absolutely relentless. They just keep coming at you and THEY DONT MISS SHOTS. They are like the Mike D'Antoni Phoenix Suns... a ton of points... no defense. Maybe that's why their the best regular season team in D-league history. But with no championship to show for it.  Did I mention every 14er who has entered the game has scored. This may be a long night.

 

6:34 remaining 2nd Qtr Colorado leds 50-24. 

Did I say 12-4 run? I meant 20-4 run. No offense...We've been scoring at will lately. Just not tonight. Colorado is not good defensively we just cannot make shots. RGV is 11/38 from the field. Math majors that's 28.9 %. Last time a team won shooting under 30% from the field. They were still shooting at peach baskets with no holes on the bottom. 

By the way Sonny Weems is REALLY GOOD! He has nine points, two alley oop dunks, but the second was not intended to be an ally-oop just a pass to him in the lane. But he was so athletic he caught the ball while jumping and still elevated above the rim for he Jam. With the way the Nuggets have been playing lately. I think they should call him back up, like tomorrow.  Please?!

Ok It's official. The 14ers are the Utah Jazz of the D-League. For a team who is up... 58-33 as I write this, they COMPLAIN about EVERY CALL. Pick your Jazz team.. the late 90's team or the current Jazz team. They are exactly the same. I know. I know I am a Rockets fan, so I am supposed to hate the Jazz... but the 14ers are the Jazz... don't try to argue this point with me.... jus't don't. I mean D-league fans of other teams....do you or do you not hate the Colorado 14ers... I rest my case.

Halftime - Colorado leads 63-45.

In the imortal words of this guy "AYE AYE AYE AYE AYE" We just cannot buy a bucket right now. Meanwhile the 14ers continue to do what they do. Score, SCORE  and SCORE MORE!! It will be interesting to see what happens to the rights to all of the players if the 14ers don't come back. Six 14er players have eight or nine points. No one is in double-figures for them. Lucas and Weems both have five assists.

On the Viper end of things Jawad has been getting to the foul line where he was 8-8 to aid in his 14 point first half. RGV still shooting an AWFUL 33.3 % from the field including 1/10 from downtown. RGV will have a tough time coming back in this one sorry to say. Unless Colorado misses a bunch of shots.. and when I say a bunch... I mean like...35+ The 14ers don't surrender big half time leads... they just don't. The Vipers may have to play for Thursday now and watch their minutes for guys like Jordan, Williams, and Strickland.

FYI last time we were here , there was no William T. Goat and no dancers. Today we have both. Too bad they are performing in front of a crowd of about... 200, and I am not joking. This is the best facility in the D-League. I hope I get to come back. SOMEONE BUY THE 14ers!!!

Jordan out 2-3 Weeks and other Rumblings.

The Vipers continue to be snake-bitten... No pun intended... I am really bad with that. Jordan suffered a high left ankle sprain in the third quarter on Wednesday night's loss to Tulsa. Jordan is expected to miss three, perhaps even four games. He did not travel with the team yesterday and is in RGV recuperating.

Obviously this is tough for both Jordan..who had been playing out of his find the last few games for RGV. Also the Vipers will have to entrust Mo Carter with the offense for the time being.... did I mention the next four games are against Austin (1st SW Division) and Colorado (2nd SW Division) who the Vipers are a combined 0-4 against this year... YIKES.

Coach Moser has been workin the phones a lot so I expect some moves to be made...I don't know what he has planned, but all I can say is stay tuned.

OTHER NOTES

A lot of people have been asking me about any new teams for next year in the D-League....I think there may be some interesting changes next year and they don't just include expansion cities, but perhaps some teams being re-located, sold, or folding. The state of our US economy has not been kind to minor-league sports and lets face it, there are some teams in this league that just don't work. There are some markets with little to no fan support, and others who do really well. Minor league teams will always last until the fans stop coming or the sponsorship pool runs dry.

This news broke about Colorado...I have to say it doesn't surprise me. Broomfield is way to close to Denver and if I have a choice of wether to go to a Nuggets game or a 14ers game... what do you think I am going to choose. The development around the arena is going to be awesome... but they almost built the event center too close to Denver and not around anything else. The fact is they should have built that arena closer to Boulder. It looks as if Rio Rancho, NM is having similar problems with their CHL team. Global keeps building these arenas where no one lives. Rio Rancho is too far outside Albuquerque for them to draw much from those bigger cities into the suburbs.

But, back to Colorado, I think the D-League has a few options... (also it depends on who is managing the building)

1. Sell the team to the Nuggets and have them operate it and keep it in Broomfield

It seems as if Kroenke sports group may be interested in managing the facility. If that happens I would also expect the Nuggets to buy the 14ers and keep them alive in Broomfield. The development will eventually happen around there and if it is a separate front office... (currently their front office works hockey, basketball, and events at the same time)

2. Sell the team to the Nuggets and move them to Loveland, CO

Loveland-Ft. Collins would be a nice little extension of the Nuggets much like Austin is for the San Antonio Spurs. It is far enough away that it is a separate market of fans who aren't likely to make the drive to Denver everyday. But its close enough that everyone in Loveland who is a basketball fan is a Nuggets fan. The CHL team at the BEC has sold out every game since they opened the building 6 years ago. The D-League would salivate at selling out half the games in the same period. The one problem is... the Eagles are king in that building. Battle for quality dates would be tough...but if the Nuggets own the team that may not be a problem and the Eagles sellout no matter what day of the week they play....Personally I love this scenario because Loveland-Ft. Collins are SPORTS FANATICS and I think the Nuggets would be looking great to their Ft.Collins fans if they put their owned and operated team in their backyard.

3. Fold the team.

This is the worst case scenario. I think the D-League likes being in Colorado...somewhere in Colorado. But if something can't be worked out, and if the Nuggets don't want to buy the team...then the team will go away. I expect the D-League and the NBA will do everything they can to keep the team somewhere in Colorado... but again you never know.

EXPANSION

The team that will be coming in for sure is Portland, Maine and that is no secret. As for other teams joining. Halifax wants in BAD. But they are so remote, I doubt the other teams would want to add them into the fold. I wonder if you could take a boat to Halifax from Portland? I keep hearing a lot of the same cities we always here. Frisco, TX, Trenton, NJ. Springfield, MA, Hamliton, Ontario. But nothing is really concrete. Honestly people just aren't willing to buy teams right now. It is a HUUUGE investment. Unless NBA teams (who are trying to save money themselves right now) buy D-League teams... I expect expansion to slow down a little bit. But, I have been wrong before.

The D-League wants to be strong in the markets they are in, and they want to strengthen the relationship with their NBA affiliates. Expansion just for the sake of expanding would not be smart right now. One thing I would like to see the league do one the league is above 20 teams. Have two conferences with two divisions each. Either East and West or North and South conferences. Stay with the 50 game schedule. Have two showcases and play only within your conference to cut down on crazy travel. Triple-A baseball has two different leagues who don't play each other... the D-league should look at it like that. This is no longer a bus league and you can save a lot of franchises from going under if you help cut down their travel.

That's all for now.. I'll have another post from the arena tonight.

66ERS BIG FOURTH QUARTER ENDS VIPERS WIN STREAK

January 21, 2009

HIDALGO, Texas-

Keith Clark scored 19 of his game high 25 points in the second half as the Tulsa 66ers ended the Rio Grande Valley Vipers two game win streak with a 113-103 win at Dodge Arena Wednesday night. The win by Tulsa ends a three game losing streak and it’s the 66ers first win over Rio Grande Valley this season.

The Vipers led at half time after outscoring Tulsa 25-18 in the second quarter to lead 59-50 at the intermission. Vipers point guard Jared Jordan was on pace to shatter his career high point total he set in Tuesday’s win over Anaheim. Jordan would leave the game with 8:40 remaining in the third quarter with an undisclosed foot injury and did not return. Jordan finished with 18 points and four assists.

The Vipers held an 94-90 lead with 6:06 remaining in regulation after a Trent Strickland dunk. Tulsa then went off on a 13-0 run over the next 3:26 seconds, with seven of the points scored by newly acquired Gary Forbes, to take a 103-94 lead with 2:40 to play in the game. Forbes finished with 14 points in his Tulsa debut.

Marcus Hubbard tallied his first double-double of the season in the Viper loss. Hubbard scored 11 and hauled in a career-high 17 rebounds. Alpha Bangura’s streak of 20+ point outings also ended on Wednesday as he scored 19 points in the loss. Quin Humphrey and Stanely Asumnu scored 13 and 12 points respectively for Rio Grande Valley.

The Vipers will travel to Austin on Friday night as they face the Southwest Division leading Austin Toros with a 7:30 tip-off time at the Austin Convention Center. The 66ers will travel to Orem, UT on Friday night to face the Utah Flash.

Vipers versus Colorado 1-14-09 Pre-Game

Live from Dodge Arena... it's The RGV Vipers versus the Colorado 14ers. Let me just say this, if I was a fan of the Vipers, and I'm not, since I am employed by the team, I would HATE the Colorado 14ers!. They are the mongoose to our snake..Ok yeah that was a bad joke... but, they DOMINATE RGV. The Vipers are 1-9 lifetime against Colorado including two losses this season. They are good and they lead the league or are among the league leaders in every major offensive categories, they score, they go to the line, they distribute. However, they don't play defense, which may bode well tonight.

Clay Moser, not to be confused with Robert Loggia, told me they have added a new offense, one that encourages consistent ball movement and discourages stopping the ball. We will see how it works tonight.

As for Colorado, they are in second place in the division and have played great basketball, but like RGV have had a ton of changes lately. Gone are James Mays, Cheik Samb and Sonny Weems. Sean Williams is with the club from the New Jersey Nets and he along with Josh Davis, who has been incredible lately, will be Eddie Gill's go to guys tonight.

Don't forget you can follow all the action on Futurecast , or you can get the live box and play-by-play here  or check out Todd Mavreles' live game blog