30 for 30 On Marvin Barnes Alert!

[improbus]

Tomorrow night, the 30 for 30 will be about the Spirits of St. Louis from the ABA. That means Marvin Barnes and Fly Williams. I am counting down the hours. If you don't know about Marvin, please read Terry Pluto's Loose Balls, an excellent oral history of the ABA.

[redsfanmia]

Loose Balls is an absolute joy, I have read it at least 4 times. Thanks I will make sure to DVR it, I'm sure the sweetheart deal the owners got to fold during the merge will be mentioned.

[cumberlandreds]

I concur. That was a great book. I have my DVR set. Should be a good one.

[Yachtzee]

Terry Pluto is a great sportswriter when he isn't formulating theories on how Art Modell, the Lerners, and the NFL conspired to move the Browns or how Phil Seghi and Gabe Paul conspired to make Indians fans miserable.

[IslandRed]

Same here. Great book, great topic (ABA). My earliest sports memories -- even earlier than seeing the Big Red Machine -- are from the Colonels at Freedom Hall.

[cumberlandreds]

Same here. Great book, great topic (ABA). My earliest sports memories -- even earlier than seeing the Big Red Machine -- are from the Colonels at Freedom Hall.

I remember listening to Kentucky Colonel games on WHAS every night they played. They weren't on TV much so I had to listen. I was an avid fan. Since they disbanded I have never had another favaorite professional team.

[Chip R]

We'll probably see a lot of Bob Costas in this film since he was the announcer for the Spirits. He's got a great story (that was in Loose Balls) about when he was doing a pregame show after the Spirits blew a game in which they had a big lead and said something to the effect of, "Well, I hope we don't see another (choke) job tonight." Only he didn't use the word, "choke."

[improbus]

I remember listening to Kentucky Colonel games on WHAS every night they played. They weren't on TV much so I had to listen. I was an avid fan. Since they disbanded I have never had another favaorite professional team.

My dad worked at a McDonald's and the Colonels stopped in right at closing for dinner. They stayed open longer. He couldn't believe how tall Artis was.

[IslandRed]

My dad worked at a McDonald's and the Colonels stopped in right at closing for dinner. They stayed open longer. He couldn't believe how tall Artis was.

Probably around 7-6 if we're counting the 'fro.

[Razor Shines]

Probably around 7-6 if we're counting the 'fro.

Fletch always did, so why not?

[redsfanmia]

A strong 30/30, makes me wish it was the 70's now. I was talking to my friend who played basketball at UNC Asheville in the late 70's and he said he scrimmaged against a few aba guys like Warren Jabali, I found that pretty cool.

[cumberlandreds]

Another very good 30 for 30 episode. I watched it last night. I'm pretty sure I would have listened to Costas calling some Spiirts games back then. I used scan the radio dial every night back in those days in search of a game to listen to. KMOX would always come in good for me after dark. Barnes was one in a long line of athletes who destroyed a great career by using drugs. Fly Williams was probably in that category too. The deal the Silna brothers got has to be the best in the history of sports and maybe in all of business. They have raked in over $250 million over the years and it was said are currently sueing the NBA for more. I'm sure John Y. Brown,the Kentucky owner,had to feel like a boob for the deal he got for throwing away the Colonels.

[Roy Tucker]

I remember listening to Kentucky Colonel games on WHAS every night they played. They weren't on TV much so I had to listen. I was an avid fan. Since they disbanded I have never had another favaorite professional team.

Yep. Louie Dampier, Darrel Carrier, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, and my personal favorite was Mike Pratt. He had played 4 years before me at Dayton Meadowdale and UK and I idolized him.

I remember seeing some ABA games on TV, but I can't remember if it was a network thing or just a random showing. I specifically remember a Nets playoff game getting televised and seeing Dr. J for the first time. Scored at will and was like elasto-man grabbing any available rebound. As a white suburban kid with vertical leap of about 2 inches but a deadly lefty jumper, my jaw dropped and I was like OMG, I've never seen this kind of player or this kind of game before. I then knew my future was very limited.

[cumberlandreds]

Yep. Louie Dampier, Darrel Carrier, Dan Issel, Artis Gilmore, and my personal favorite was Mike Pratt. He had played 4 years before me at Dayton Meadowdale and UK and I idolized him.

I remember seeing some ABA games on TV, but I can't remember if it was a network thing or just a random showing. I specifically remember a Nets playoff game getting televised and seeing Dr. J for the first time. Scored at will and was like elasto-man grabbing any available rebound. As a white suburban kid with vertical leap of about 2 inches but a deadly lefty jumper, my jaw dropped and I was like OMG, I've never seen this kind of player or this kind of game before. I then knew my future was very limited.

I remember all of those guys. Throw in Maurice Lucas,Wendell Ladner,Bird Averitt and Ron Plummer too.

I think the ABA may have had a small contract with ABC for a time. Before my dad finally hooked up to cable I never saw ABC since we couldn't pick up an ABC station.We had a TV line he had strung up the mountain to an antenna and for whatever reason just could never get the Kingsport,TN ABC station to transmit to the house. So I rarely saw anything on ABC until 1975.

[New York Red]

*When I was in my early teens, you weren't cool if you didn't own one of those ABA basketballs.

*I destroyed numerous nerf basketball goals by pretending to be Dr J.

*Long live the Kentucky Colonels.