MBA SEASON 37 PREVIEW

Standings Predictions

The four playoff teams from last season, plus Chicago, will vie for post-season spots. Houston may have slightly more talent than Chicago, but the Iguanas draw the league's toughest schedule, with crossover games against Oklahoma City and Seattle, the two toughest teams in the West.

Tyler believes that expected rookie sensation Naf Naf, who he has dubbed "unstoppable," tips the scales in favor of Oklahoma City in a big way, going so far as predicting no losses for the Lariats. That remains to be seen.

East Division
1ST—Charleston Mountaineers
2nd – Chicago Gale
3rd – Houston Iguanas
4th – Milwaukee Greyhounds
5th—Philadelphia Phobia

West Division
1ST – Oklahoma City Lariats
2nd – Seattle Stampede
3rd – Dallas Demons
4th – Sacramento River Dogs
5th – San Jose Fighting Amigos

Major Moves
Chicago adds Hall of Fame guard Ching-Chong Chung to starting lineup from San Jose and longtime Seattle starting guard Ginger Vampire, who will come off the bench. Didger A’doo and Chung will be potent scoring punch for Gale. Glut of forwards by Houston allows Gale to pick up rookies Stu Gatz and Pap Smears, both candidates to start for Chicago. The bad news is they lost Harold Arlen.

Houston gets rebounding great Harold Arlen, who immediately bolsters starting lineup and teams with regular season MVP and Rookie of Year Vic Hitler at forward, pushing Blue “Rondo” Alaturk to bench. Iguanas lose league’s top scorer and All-MBA guard T. Kanes Masterson. But they have Hall of Famer Hrundi V. Bakshi ready to move back into starting lineup in his place. We’ll see what he has left.

Philadelphia snatches league’s leading scorer from Houston as T. Kanes Masterson adds much needed scoring punch to once-proud franchise.

The Rookies
6-0 Guard, Naf Naf, Oklahoma City Lariats…Comes into league with rep as maybe best scorer ever
6-7 Forward, Walter Sobchack, Oklahoma City Lariats…Best rookie forward, another starting scorer
7-1 Center, Ugatta Noluvfer Spikie, Milwaukee Greyhounds…Ama’s younger, taller brother a good one
6-8 Forward, Tea Time Typhoo, Charleston Mountaineers…pressing for starting spot for champs
6-9 Forward, Stu Gatz, Chicago Gale…will step into starting role, good player
6-11 Center, King Schmeckpepr. Sacramento River Dogs…shot-blocking newcomer will take over pivot
6-8 Forward, Pap Smearz, Chicago Gale…battling fellow rookie Gatz for starting position
6-7 Forward, Jairo Capoeira, Seattle Stampede…adds even more youth to starting lineup
6-0 Guard, Lapiz Lapiz Bligrafo, Dallas Demons…will start at point guard
5-11 Guard, Bob “Fats” Kittle, Seattle Stampede…good passer will see lots of action
6-1 Guard, Mel A. Noma, Philadelphia Phobia…gets starting nod at point for Philly
6-8 Center, Diz McMasters, Dallas Demons…backup center
6-0 Guard, Rosebud Petrie…joins brother Rob “Pitter Patter” Petrie in cut pile
6-8 Center, Steve “Drunk Uncle” Bromberger…the best among the league’s worst cut pile centers
6-8 Forward. Philo Catmando … cut pile, maybe for life
5-11 Guard, Cremeofsum Yun Guy…not horrible on offense…horrible on defense…cut pile

Best Improvements
6-6 Forward Joe “Blue” Pulaski, lost a number on free throw misses, got a Deny on 7 against shot, up to a +2 against the pass…still not out of cut pile
6-2 Guard, Simon Barsinister of Philadelphia improved four times, hits on 8 medium shot, Denies Shot on 10, slam dunks on 6 low and goes to a 4 on defensive rebounding…the team’s high scorer last year will still not start in front of newly acquired All-MBA guard T. Kanes Masterson, who led the league in scoring last season.
6-11 Forward, Gulemon Mon-Mon of Dallas improves big time going into 12th season with a Deny Shot on 8
6-0 Guard, Totes McGoats of San Jose loses a foul and gets a Deny on 8
5-11 Guard, Funsy VanSlochum of San Jose…the ageless one, going into his 14th season, is still starting and returns to his old team after a five-season absence, improving to a 6 dribbler and +3 defender against the dribble
6-4 Guard, Ginger Vampire of Chicago, longtime starter for Seattle will come off the bench for the Gale an even stronger player who now hits on 8 from medium, advances to a 6 passer and a +3 against the dribble
6-7 Forward, Art Vandelay of Chicago adds two “goods” down low and becomes the league’s best passer, now an 8
6-9 Forward, Sven Marquardt of Seattle improves to a 5 passer and fills in the 7 spot on his down low shot where he now only misses on a 12
6-7 Center, Dis Reflexia of Seattle…last season’s All-MBA center as a rookie, improves 3 times significantly…now a +2 against the dribble, improves to a 7 passer and gets a Deny Shot on 10, giving him 7-8-9-10 defenses against the shot.
6-1 Guard, Lemon Jell-0, Oklahoma City Lariats…All-MBA guard who has led the league in steals the past four seasons in a row, got better at stealing the ball…he is now a +6 against the pass.
6-3 Guard, Snarkey Comment of Houston will be better on defense with a Deny on 6 to go with his FM on 8
6-8 Center, Hodor of Houston pushes past Sanjay Patel into the starting lineup, going to an 11 offensive rebounder and adding a deny shot on 4.
6-1 Guard,Beezow Bop-Bop of Charleston came into his own as the Playoff MVP for the champion Mountaineers last year and will be even more assertive this season, increasing his tendency to shoot the ball in the short zone, where he is deadly.
6-1 Guard, Jesus Moron Joseph of Charleston was promoted to a starting spot and immediately improved, adding a good down low on 9 and increasing his passing ability to a 6 to match his dribbling capability.
6-6 Forward, Cy A. Nara of Charleston improved on both his ability against the pass and against the dribble where he is now a +4 both ways. Not bad for a fourth forward on the team.

FIRST GAMES

Dallas at Philadelphia
Seattle at Chicago
Charleston at Oklahoma City
Houston at Milwaukee
San Jose at Sacramento

As you can see, Seattle at Chicago will be a good test for both teams and last season's champs from Charleston travel to take on this season's predicted champs at Oklahoma City. San Jose at Sacramento pits the two worst teams in the league.

RETIRED PLAYERS FILED AWAY IN PROPER PERSPECTIVE

The Championship Parade

As is the custom for every Charleston, West Virginia championship MBA team, the Season 36 version of the Mountaineers posed for a team picture, then paraded, naked, through the many coal mines in the area until they were clothed in coal dust.

It is a tradition they hope to repeat next season.

MBA SEASON 36 POST-SEASON REVIEW

**With its third MBA championship (others in Season 26 and 27), Charleston becomes Dave Masterson's most successful franchise. All three of their titles have come in the past 11 seasons.

**Charleston went from last (3-7 in Season 35)to first (7-3 in Season 36)on the wings of one of the best pre-season drafts in history. They picked up:
--Beezow Bop-Bop, who would be most responsible for the team's playoff success.
--Hall of Fame center Max Payne, who followed up a championship season with Oklahoma City the previous year by getting his second title ring in a row and third overall in this, his 11th season.
--B. Quiet, the Rookie of the Year for Charleston the previous campaign who entered the draft, then returned to his team.
--Jesus Moron Joseph, the most improved cut pile player was picked up in the secondary draft and became a valuable addition to the Mountaineers off the bench.
--Azher "the Amazer" Merchant returned to the squad and contributed mightily off the bench as a defensive guard, picking up his first award in a 10-season career.

**Even though T. Kanes Masterson of Houston was superb throughout the playoffs, leading everyone in scoring with 22.4 points per game, he was easily outdistanced by Beezow Bop-Bop of Charleston for MVP of the Playoffs. Bop-Bop, has had the potential to be one of the MBA's star players, but up until this playoff campaign, his three-season run has been rock solid but not spectacular. In fact, the championship ring and Playoff MVP awards will be the first to garnish his card. No, he has not even been a member of a mid-season All Star Team. Bop-Bop exploded this post season, taking over games and dominating them ... finishing second in scoring (18.9 points per game) setting a playoff assist record of 6 per game and leading everyone in blocked shots with 16 in addition to pulling down 3.4 rebounds per game.






**T.K. Masterson of Houston registered the third-highest scoring average ever in one post-season with his 22.4 per game. The only ones to score more in one post season were:
1. Dan Mann of Milwaukee, Season 11...27.6 per game
2. Cappy Gambol of Milwaukee, Season 3...23.0 per game







** The 83.3 points per game scoring average by Charleston is tied for the fourth highest average ever and it is the highest since Season 31 when Philadelphia racked up 83 points per game. The top playoff scoring teams ahead of (and tied with) Charleston are:
1. Milwaukee in Season 11...90.2
2. Milwaukee in Season 8....85.8
3. Milwaukee in Season 13...84.0
4. Philadelphia in Season 22...83.3
Charleston scored 74.8 per game in the regular season, third in the MBA and first in the East.






TUG HERSHORTS MAKES MBA HALL OF FAME




Three seasons after his retirement, Tug Hershorts has made the MBA Hall of Fame as chosen by the Veteran's Committee.
Since no player made the Hall based on 10 awards this season, the highest-rated 9-award player earns induction...that being Hershorts.
He is the 39th player inducted into the Hall of Fame and takes his spot as the 36th best player of all time, right after Bub Wright and just before Silo Chamberlin. He is the 8th player to gain the Hall via the Veteran's Committee rule.
He is the 14th forward to gain Hall of Fame status in league history and the first Hall of Fame member to have never achieved first-team All-MBA status in his career.
Hershorts played nine seasons in the MBA with three different franchises.
Although lacking in All-MBA stars, Hershorts is tied with fellow Hall of Famer Cam Bodia for having the most championship rings in history...6. He gained one as an important backup forward with the San Jose Fighting Amigos in that franchise's only title campaign, then won five in a row as a starter with the Philadelphia Phobia during that team's record-setting run. That five-year run began when Hershorts joined Philly and ended when he retired.
The 6-11 Hershorts has the distinction of having played both power forward and small forward with equal ability. He was a superb passer who led his team in assists twice. His versatility allowed Hershorts to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, free throwing and field goal percentage at various times in his career.
He is just the fifth lefty ever to gain the Hall.

CHARLESTON 78, HOUSTON 64
BOP-BOP LEADS CHARLESTON IN BLOWOUT FOR TITLE

HOUSTON -- Beezow Doo-Doo Zoppity Bop Bop-Bop completed one of the most memorable post-seasons in league annals with a triple-double, leading the Charleston Mountaineers to a 78-64 road win in Houston and the third MBA championship in franchise history.

Bop-Bop was magnificent for the third straight game in these finals, capturing his third consecutive MVP of the Game honor with a team-high 19 points, and game-highs in both rebounds (7) and assists (9). It was his fourth MVP of the Game honor this post-season and the triple-double was the only one registered by any player in this post-season.

T.Kanes Masterson was again spectacular for Houston in defeat, scoring a game-high 29 points from his shooting guard position.

Thanks to a 23-6 second quarter, advantage Charleston, this game was all but over at halftime. Leading 29-22 after a foul-plagued first quarter, Charleston ran off the first 10 points of the second quarter on the way to a 24-point lead at the mid-point.

The Mountaineers scored just 26 points in the entire second half and had three players foul out, but still won by 14. One of the three foul-outs was guard Chuckie "Swishcat" Sellegren, playing his final game for the Mountaineers. The shooting guard who could fill it up will be retiring, albeit, with a ring.

The Terrarium crowd watched in anguish for the second time in these finals as the visitors destroyed their young heroes.

In all, the two finalists played six times this season, with Charleston winning five.

NEXT UP; The Playoff recap and awards.

20-PLUS GVP PERFORMANCES
--Bop-Bop, Chicago's point guard and shoo-in for Playoff MVP, could not be guarded again. His triple-double included a 2 for 3 day from beyond the arc, and his 9 assists were one shy of a playoff record. He also blocked yet another shot.
-- B. Quiet, the second-year power forward had 12 points, 5 rebounds, a steal, a blocked shot and an assist.
-- T.Kanes Masterson's 29 points included 9 for 12 from the field, 9 for 11 from the charity stripe and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. He also pulled down a pair of rebounds. Masterson was a monster in this series.
-- Vic Hitler, the regular season MVP and Rookie of the Year had a steady, if not spectacular game with 11 points, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Season 36 Finals, Game 3...Houston at Charleston

HOUSTON 80, CHARLESTON 67
IGUANAS KEEP CHARLESTON CHAMPAGNE ON ICE

CHARLESTON -- The championship bubbly will have to wait.

The young Houston Iguanas, backs to the wall, responded in fine fashion in this elimination game on the road with a convincing 80-67 win. Led by their two All-MBA first team players, guard T. Kanes Masterson and rookie forward Vic Hitler, Houston overcame a bumpy first quarter, grabbed an 11-point halftime lead and never looked back.

The series now moves back to Houston with the Iguanas trailing 2 games to 1 and the Mountaineers still needing just one win to clinch the title.

The Houston win overshadowed yet another brilliant game by Charleston point guard Beezow Bop-Bop, who registered his second consecutive MVP of the Game effort and third of the playoffs. This was an even better game than Bop-Bop's previous effort, which drew raves. He lit up the Iguanas for 30 points, but got almost no help from anyone else on Charleston.

"They're going to make us earn this," said longtime Charleston coach Bill Rustler. "We can't expect to just throw our jock straps out there and win a championship. Hell, that's what it looked like we were doing on defense half the time tonight...just throwing jock straps at 'em."

Houston featured an all-rookie front line that included the first start for 6-8 first-year center Hodor, subbing for the injured Sanjay Patel. The big, bulking rook held his own against the Hall of Famer Max Payne, who for the second straight game, did little offensively.

20-PLUS GVP PERFORMANCES
-- T. Kanes Masterson of Houston had yet another brilliant scoring game with 25 points, going 10 for 12 and slowing down not at all even with Bop-Bop switched over to guard him. He also had 5 boards, 2 assists and a steal.
-- Vic Hitler was not as prolific in scoring, but did get 13 points, 6 rebounds and a blocked shot for the victors.
-- Beezow Bop-Bop, playing the best ball of his three-season career, continued his dominating ways with a game-high 30 points, a game-high 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. That's a 40 GVP effort if you're scoring at home.

Season 36 Finals, Game 2...Charleston at Houston

CHARLESTON 84, HOUSTON 59
MOUNTAINEERS RUN ROUGHSHOD OVER HOUSTON TO TAKE COMMANDING 2-0 LEAD

HOUSTON -- The Charleston Mountaineers annihilated the home team Houston Iguanas 84-59 to go ahead 2-0 in the best of five finals and now stand on the doorstep of the first franchise championship since Season 27.

Led by Game MVP Beezow Bop-Bop, the visitors racked up a 30-point third quarter with a relentless attack and led by 17 going into the final stanza. This time, there would be no furious last-minute push by Houston, which was held to just 10 points in the last 70 time units.

The Charleston defense was withering throughout the contest. Only T. Kanes Masterson managed double figures for Houston, while the Mountaineers had four players with 10 or more points, including substitute guard Jesus Moron Joseph.

Vic Hitler, the MBA's regular season MVP, was in foul trouble from early in the second quarter on and was one of two Houston starters to foul out.

Additionally, the Iguanas' starting center, Sanjay Patel was injured badly in the second quarter and will be out the remainder of the series. He will be replaced on the roster by Zinon Sjef, although we know most MBA fans were hoping Pug Mahone would emerge from his long purgatory stint in the cut pile.

Charleston has now beaten Houston all four times the team has met this season, and one would assume the odds are long that Houston can win three straight. They will have to do so with a front line comprised entirely of rookies, which I believe is a first for any team.

20-PLUS GVP PERFORMANCES
-- Beezow Bop-Bop dominated this contest for Charleston. In addition to scoring 19 points, the point guard dished out a game-high 7 assists, blocked a game-high 3 shots and registered a steal.
-- Second-year forward B. Quiet led the victors in scoring with 20 while pulling down 4 boards.
-- Quiet's running mate at the other forward, Buck Naked dominated the league MVP Vic Hitler with a 16-point game that included 4 rebounds and 2 assists.
-- T. Kanes Masterson led his team with 20 points and out-rebounded everyone from his guard position with 5 boards.