Well, we just completed the 100th season of the Tucson Basketball League. It was just 37 short years ago that, with the help of a couple dear friends, I started the League. In the beginning, I never gave much though about how long it would last. I certainly didn't think it would last until the Millennium and then (at least 25 years after that). But here we are. One of these days, I'll write a history of the Tucson Basketball League and post it as a clickable (permanent) feature on the website. It might be fun.
For right now, however, I'll just say that we had a bunch of really good Division Championship games. In some seasons, all of the good games are in the semifinals and the Championships are somewhat anticlimactic. Not this season. Frosty Hesson and Bron Bron Elite got the day off to a roaring start with a game that couldn't be decided in regulation time. Frosty Hesson hit a late three to send the game into overtime, but Bron Bron hit some free throws to put the game away in OT.
In the top Division, Flashback was set to play Splash Pad. The problem was that Dom Banks plays for both teams. Both squads belonged in that Division, so I put them on opposite sides of the bracket and hoped that they wouldn't have to meet for the title. But, meet they did. Dom exercised his discretion by not showing up for the game, thereby not having to choose one squad over the other. Splash Pad won a close one, 52-48.
In other games, Saints snuck past Icy Hots, 63-60, NOVA beat Soul Snatchers, 59-54, and The Avengers almost blew a 30-point halftime lead before just holding on for a 92-87 win over APEX. Also, The Hawgs, who ruled the top Division for a decade, got back in the winners' circle with a tight 60-55 win over Average Joes. That's another championship shirt for Jim McFarland.
Without a doubt, the highlight of the day was the stunning upset win by Side Loaders over Hickory. Recently featured herein as our favorite team due to their incredible determination (and horrible career record), Side Loaders hung in throughout the game and hit a couple big shots late for a 46-42 win.
A quick note: In a few days, this website will go dark for a while. My brilliant Computer Engineer son will be doing a complete revamp of the website, adding some exciting features. It's funny, my son wrote some of the code that has been holding this website together back when he was in high school. It will take an unspecified amount of time for him to do what he wants to do, but it won't be long and it will be worth it.
This year, we actually have three weeks off between the end of the Fall season and the start of the Winter season. (It's usually two weeks, but the calendar was weird this year.) I hope everybody enjoys the Holiday season (it would be nice to have temperatures that feel appropriate for the time of year). I want to make the start of the next 100 seasons exciting for everyone. Take care.