Tag: Big 3

The AAF Apparently Needed a $250M Investment Just to Make Payroll in Week TWO

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Yahoo – For all the good publicity the Alliance of American Football received early on, it’s still a startup business. Like plenty of other startup businesses, the AAF might have been underfunded to start. The Athletic’s David Glenn, citing multiple sources, reported that the league was in danger of not making payroll last week, just the second week of the league’s existence.

The crisis was averted. Glenn wrote that Carolina Hurricanes majority owner Tom Dundon will be introduced as the AAF’s new chairman after investing $250 million to the AAF. The NHL owner’s investment allowed the league to meet its financial obligations...

“Without a new, nine-figure investor, nobody is sure what would have happened,” one source told Glenn at The Athletic. “You can always tell people their checks are going to be a little late, but how many are going to show up on the weekend for games when they don’t see anything hit their bank accounts on Friday?”

Isn’t this the first thing they teach you in business school? How to fund your business and keep the doors open? Thats like Day 1 stuff.

Look I am all for capitalism and people trying to make money and I really want the AAF to succeed, but without any big names like Tim Tebow playing, the only chance this league ever has of making it is if the NFL acquires it. The NFL would have to decide after over a decade of having no minor leagues (RIP NFL Europe) that they want to buy the AAF as a talent pipeline.

But I also find it hilarious that they’re almost going out of business in Week TWO after the peacocking about beating a regular season NBA game in the ratings on a random Saturday night and after Mattes faced the wrath of AAF Reddit (yes its a thing) for saying he wasn’t watching.

 

It’s a decent concept, but not exactly anything groundbreaking. I’d be curious to see the market specific TV ratings as it compares to competitors’ programming in the same time slots. Because not to sound like a complete arrogant dickhead, but we watch the New England Patriots up here. They have the greatest quarterback and the greatest coach of all time. So I’m not exactly fighting over the remote to watch Christian Hackenberg throwing ducks for 2 hours.

My point being, the smartest thing the AAF did was put these teams in cities where there isn’t established NFL competition. I know they’ve said they’re not competing with the NFL; they’re complimenting it. But even if they’re not competing with the NFL directly, they’re still competing for the attention of the NFL fan, which is why I’d be curious to see the TV ratings in those non-traditional football markets. Markets that are starved for the sport. It’d be like putting a Big 3 League residency in Seattle. There’s an appetite for it.

So while I wish the AAF all the best, aside from watching a few minutes of a game at the bar, this whole story doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Not to mention they got Vince McMahon licking his chops with the XFL closer to kicking off every single day.

Power Wins BIG3 Basketball Championship; Big Baby Gets Another Ring

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A few weeks ago, I wrote a piece on my experience at the BIG3 Basketball Tournament, when the still infantile league made its way to TD Garden for a one-night showing on August 3, and the overall verdict was a “thumbs up.”

(Seriously, though, if you’re a long-time NBA fan be sure to click the link above for some highlights and a nice trip down memory lane.)

As I said in the article, it was an entertaining night of basketball for a cheap price, and there were some pretty impressive performances across the board – including ones from former Celtics like Nate Robinson and Glen “Big Baby” Davis.

Image result for shrek and donkey celtics

On Friday night, Big Baby’s season ended on an even more impressive note, as his team Power won the league championship by beating 3’s Company 51-43.

Former Clippers and Warriors star Corey Maggette led the way for Power, as he scored 27 of the team’s 51 points on the night to go along with six rebounds. (I’m actually not surprised at all. I was SUPER bummed when Maggette sat out the night in Boston on August 3, because he was honestly one of the players I was most excited about seeing. I guess he sure as hell made up for it in this one, though.)

The 8 Best Players in Los Angeles Clippers History

Real talk: Maggette was nasty in his prime.

Big Baby was the only other player on the team to score in double-digits on the night, finishing with 10 points, one board, one block, and one steal.

Andre Emmett, whom I selected as one of my “All-Mattes BIG3 Super Squad” starters a month ago, made my pick look completely justified by putting up 24 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists, and it was his string of buckets toward the end of the game which finally made it a close contest. That is, until “Cat” Mobley iced away the game for Power, nailing one of his signature silky-smooth, fade-away jumpers for the win.

Other former NBA players like Quentin Richardson, Drew Gooden, Dahntay Jones, and Jason Maxiell played in the game as well.

Will this be the first thing mentioned around the water cooler on Monday? Probably not. Does anyone else you’ll hear from today even know the BIG3 championship took place on Friday night? Again, doubt it.

But then again, maybe they do…

Per Deadline.com, the BIG3 championship finished with some pretty decent ratings on Friday night. FS1 has already been carrying the action all season long, and it will most likely expand even more upon its coverage in 2019. While it still certainly has a long way to go, perhaps with more and more former NBA stars signing on (COME ON, KOBE! PLEASEEEEEE) we could see the league’s popularity increase significantly in due time.

Also particularly noteworthy is the fact that Nancy Lieberman, who currently serves as the head coach for Power, became the first woman ever to win a title in a men’s professional basketball league. This is after she already became just the second woman ever to become an NBA head coach when she joined the Sacramento Kings – for whom she still serves an assistant – back in 2015. Hats off to her and her continued ascension up the ranks.

For those looking to join in on the fun, you’ll have to wait until next year when the BIG3 tips off for its third season early next summer. In the meantime, be sure to keep checking in with The 300s for all basketball-related news, BIG3 and NBA included.

The 300s Does the BIG3 Basketball Tournament Boston

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14-year-old Mattes was in his glory on Friday night, as I decided to head on over to the TD Garden to finally check out the BIG3 Basketball Tournament.

Red and I have been very intrigued by the BIG3 ever since its inception last year. The league – created by Ice Cube (yes, that Ice Cube) and executive Jeff Kwatinetz (I have no idea who he is either) – is comprised of mostly retired NBA players and features a 3-on-3, half-court style of play. The first team to 50 points wins the game, and while there is technically no game clock each game typically lasts around an hour (which is aided by a 14-second shot clock).

Players are also able to take their chances on a four-point shot at any time, which only adds to the nostalgia for those who grew up playing NBA Jam like myself, Red, and Big Z:

There are plenty of other unique rules as well, all of which I’mma let Ice lay out for you really quick:

(With those pretty punitive rules surrounding techs, I think it’s pretty safe to say we won’t be seeing guys like DeMarcus Cousins, Dwight Howard, or Draymond Green playing much post-retirement basketball.)

The schedule runs for 10 weeks, with the league traveling to different cities throughout the country each time (save for a stop in Toronto last week), providing long-time NBA fans everywhere with a little taste of nostalgia and old-school flavor.

Seriously, though, a short list of some of the guys playing this season reads like an early 2000’s NBA all-star game roster: Ron Artest; Mike Bibby; Chauncy Billups; Carlos Boozer; Baron Davis; Ricky Davis; Al Harrington; Stephen Jackson; Rashard Lewis; Corey Maggette; Kenyon Martin; Cuttino Mobley; Jermaine O’Neal; and Amar’e Stoudemire.

(Side note: Yes, you read that correctly; “Metta World Peace” is no more, as the now 38-year-old Artest has apparently decided to go back to the name his mama gave him at birth. Also, to make things even better he has been reunited with former partner-in-crime Stephen Jackson, as they both play for the Killer 3’s, leading fans throughout the Garden to be on full alert for any…ummm…unexpected interactions with the crowd. However, everyone behaved themselves, fans and players included.)

The rosters were also replete with former Celtics players, including such fan favorites as Marcus Banks, Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Nate Robinson, and, above all, the legend himself: the one, the only, the White Mamba…Brian David Scalabrine.

Unfortunately, Billups, B-Dave, Lewis (last season’s BIG3 MVP), and K-Mart all sat out on Friday night, but there was still plenty of fun basketball in store.

Rather than providing a recap of each of the four games (which can instead be found here), I’m going to give you some of my most noteworthy observations from the night:

Mixed Night for Former Celtics Stars

The first game of the night featured the guy I was obviously most excited to see, Scalabrine, but it wasn’t necessarily the most noteworthy performance for the big fella. Scal finished with two points and two boards in a closely contested game, which his Ballhogs ended up losing by six.

Game 2, which was probably the most entertaining of the four, featured the Lilliputian wonder Nate Robinson, and boy did he show out. It actually wasn’t surprising to me, as Nate was laser-focused during the pre-game warmup, working on his jumper right when the doors opened up at 6 p.m. until pretty much right before the first game tipped. I was expecting big things from the little guy, and he didn’t disappoint.

Nate started the game oozing with energy and flying around the court on his way to 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Not only do his stats look great on paper, but he also dropped eight points, including a clutch four-pointer, and had a key steal during the team’s furious comeback in the game’s final minutes against Artest and Jackson’s Killer 3’s.

Former Celtic Nate Robinson, now of Tri State in the Big3, celebrates with the fans after they defeated the Killer 3s at TD Garden.

I see you, Nate. And so didn’t everyone else in attendance at the Garden on Friday night.

And of course, we can’t forget about Big Baby, who also had a great game for his team, Power, finishing second on the team in scoring with 15 points.

The lovable goofball was also responsible for hitting the game-ending shot, after which he treated the crowd with a gyrating, wiggle-filled dance that would make even Antoine Walker proud.

So while it may not have been the best night for the White Mamba, at least Shrek and Donkey had a nice night in front of their former home crowd – and I loved every minute of it.

Reggie Evans Can Still BALL

The unquestioned MVP of the night was Reggie Evans, even in a losing effort. He finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, as he looked like an absolute force out there for the 3 Headed Monsters.

It shouldn’t be too surprising, as Evans was playing in the league as recently as 2015, and the Celtics were even considering bringing him out of retirement for a little extra help on the glass toward the end of the 2016 season. He also leads the BIG3 this season in both rebounds and blocks, and while he never posted huge numbers in the NBA the guy did play for 13 seasons and served as a great reserve big man who never got the credit he truly deserved.

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Big Success in the NBA Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Big Success in the BIG3

After three hours of play, I admittedly was starting to fade a bit until I heard the starting lineup for the Ghost Ballers, who were playing in the final game of the night: Mike Bibby, Carlos Boozer, and Ricky Davis.

Holy shit! You could do some absolute DAMAGE with a lineup featuring those three in NBA Live 2004! But all three came out shockingly flat, falling behind 8-0 in a flash and eventually losing the game by almost 20 points.

To be fair, both Davis (15 points) and Boozer (15 points, 13 rebounds) eventually woke up, but with a complete goose egg from Bibby and Marcus Banks, the team simply had no chance.

(I also wanted to give some shine to Andre Emmett, who played a total of eight career NBA games back in 2004-2005 before spending the rest of his pro career in either the D-League or overseas. He is having a bit of resurgence in the BIG3. I’ll be honest in saying that while I do remember the name, I can’t say I remember much of him as a player, but he looked great for 3’s Company in their win against the Ghost Ballers, finishing with 21 points, seven boards, three assists, and two steals. The guy also leads the BIG3 in field goals made this season. Hats off to him.)

Image result for andre emmett big 3

After watching all eight teams, here is the official “All-Mattes BIG3 Super Squad”:

  • Starters: Nate Robinson, Andre Emmett, Reggie Evans
  • Reserves: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf; Stephen Jackson; David Hawkins; Carlos Boozer

Overall, I’d say the night was pretty fun. Sure, while there was definitely some mediocre play at times (again, these are retired former players), it was an enjoyable night of basketball for the reasonable price of $15 a ticket.

While it’s probably going to be some time before the league makes its way to Boston again, you can check out all the action on the tube every Friday night on FS1. And just so you know, there are about three weeks left in the season, with the next scheduled stop on the tour being Atlanta.

Lets Officially Clear Up What Makes a Super Team in the NBA

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I am tired of everyone pointing out the other Super Teams around the NBA just to make LeBron feel better. They had multiple great players, see they’re a Super Team too. LeBron “I’ve never been on a Super Team” James can cut the shit.

People pointing to the 2008 Celtics as an example of one is what really drives me nuts. Listen, in my mind a Super Team is a team created when the AAU super friends get together, whether its at the Olympics, offseason events, or riding banana boats together with your besties, and decide hey lets all work together to put ourselves on the same team. Which is exactly what LeBron, D Wade and Bosh did with the Heat. They constructed that shit themselves intentionally.

You ever play Madden with a Fantasy Draft team and just ROLL through the league? Yea while it sounds fun going 19-0 with some fake team, you don’t really feel the same accomplishment than when you scrap by as a Wild Card team and win the SB on All-Madden with your auto-generated backup QB because Tom Brady broke his fucking wrist in Week 4.

The 08 Celtics were a team put together by the GM through trades. Danny was shaking hands and kissing babies to put together that team.

Sure they had 3 Hall of Famers on the same team, but one of them didn’t even want to come here in KG. Thats a great, championship winning team built through trades and the draft (who do you think Danny traded to get Ray and KG?).

Rather than 3 assholes sitting on a boat saying you know what forget this team and this city, lets all join up and play together! And as much as I’ll always be like a disappointed parent in Durant going to the Warriors, even that team was built primarily through the draft. Super Team is the new buzzword of the NBA, but however you define it LeBron you sure as shit were on a few of them. End rant.