The Winter 2024 season of the Tucson Basketball League is finally behind us. Not enough courts, too many byes, testiness creeping back in. It was certainly not my/our finest hour. It was certainly better than most leagues, but that's not enough for me. I want to be the best all the time. I promise you that I will do everything I can (and whatever is necessary) to make this coming season the best ever. Almost all of you deserve that, and those who don't will be surprised to learn that they are no longer a part of the League.
When we paused the League back during the pandemic, it sucked exponentially. But when we finally came back, all of the players were so happy to be back on the court, it was like a love-fest. Since then, it has gotten a little touchy at times with a handful of guys playing the wrong way for the wrong reasons. Two or three guys have been asked to leave permanently. Nothing really hostile, just...go. There will actually be a couple teams from the past season who won't be returning. They didn't fight or anything. They were just invariably unpleasant. It's addition by subtraction. It will make the League better.
It's absolutely bizarre how some people and teams act in the Championship games. It's like they go crazy over the prospect of having a championship T-shirt with my picture on it. I mean, I have the perfect shooting form (and the 16-inch vert to go along with it), but jeez, Guys. I personally sat two guys down for the entire second half of a game for a minor thing that they would have laughed at in a regular-season game. Instead, they squared off like little B-words and had to sit and watch the rest of the game.
We did have some great games. Among them:
Average Joes 35, [Enter Team Name Here] 31
Splash Pad 56, Most Hated 55
Bisbee 50, Mambas 49
Marana Monarchs 70, Black Mambas 69
4PF 49, Soul Snatchers 48
Those last two games mentioned were killers. The Mambas and the Monarchs traded the lead back and forth over the final five minutes, with the Monarchs scoring the winning bucket with six seconds left. In an even-crazier game, 4PK was down two and hit a highly unlikely three-pointer from the dead corner at the buzzer for the win.
This Sunday is Mother's Day and you all know that we NEVER play on Mother's Day. We will start the Summer season on May 19th. All of the teams that played in the Championship games will NOT play on that day. That's just tradition.
Be nice to your mothers and I'll see you in a week or two.