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An occasional Basketball Diary ... (from Yorkshire, in case tha'd not noticed)

HOME; Archive 2003-4; May 2004; June 2004; July 2004;

30/08/04

• So, I managed to get away with another weekend away without missing the "mid-August" release of the BBL fixtures!

Having decided to spend a couple of days in Wensleydale, to walk off a few of the excesses of my fortnight abroad, I confidently expected to have missed the appearance of the fixtures, which Plymouth had described as due "sometime later this week".

While it's pleasing to discover that I haven't missed them, it's rather more worrying that the BBL timetable has slipped even further.

The messageboard sites are making great play of the fact that the delay seems to have been occasioned by Leicester Riders' problems with relocating back to their home town, and querying why they have been given so much time to sort themselves out.

However, I wonder to what extent the continuing non-appearance of the fixtures is due to the increased pressure on the few remaining full-time staff at BBL Headquarters, For instance, the BBL website still hasn't added Plymouth to the list of teams in the "2004/05 standings" (though it does state that "The table below will be updated when the season tips off in October").

In view of the fact that the EBL fixtures (which are far more numerous, and cover every competition from seniors through to passarelle) have been published for several months, it's disappointing to see that the supposedly professional branch of the sport in this country has still not been able to come up with the goods.

26/08/04

• Well, that was a tough fortnight - full of difficult decisions. During the day I had to make up my mind whether it was yet time to turn over on the sun-lounger and fry my other side, and then in the evenings there was the even more fraught business of choosing between the local rum-liqueur and the whisky-cream!

Anyway, those choices are now in the past, so there's a chance to begin to catch up on events while I've been away.

So far I've managed to update the player-signings that have taken place over the past couple of weeks, together with the results and reports from the final five days of the European Under-16 Championships at Burgess Hill. I'm about to start working my way through the various news items that have come through, together with updates on EBL fixture changes. Should keep me out of mischief for a while.

• I was particularly interested to notice that the BBL fixtures, scheduled for release in mid-August, still don't seem to have appeared. I reckon it's really thoughtful of them to hold publication until I got home!

A recent Plymouth press release suggests that the fixtures should be out "sometime later this week" ... which gives us today and tomorrow. They also state that there are 22 BBL home games, which suggests to me that teams will play each other four times (twice each at home and away), with two home games (and two away) in the BBL Trophy pools.

08/08/04

• While I was compiling the flowcharts for the Sureshot Cup competitions, I spotted something I hadn't noticed before - that the men's and women's finals are on different days!.

The Sureshot Under-16 and Under-18 men play on 5th March 2005, while the women's finals are a week later, on 12th.

I can't find out why this is so, and all I can assume is that it was felt that having separate events would give the women's games a higher profile.

I'm personally disappointed, as I've felt that since the four finals came together in one promotion, around eight years ago, they have provided one of the major events in the season's calendar. Not only can I not see how there is any benefit in splitting them, I actually feel that the women may well lose out as a result.

When all four Finals are part of one major event, I suspect that there are many fans who come to watch the men's games and see the quality of the women's games for the first time. That's certainly what happened with me, and I must admit that had the events been held separately I may never have come to appreciate that the standard is so high!

• This is the last Diary entry for a couple of weeks.

I'll update the Under-16 Championship scores and table tomorrow, and anything else that comes in, but than I'm off to lie in the sun in Fuertaventura for a fortnight.

Unfortunately that means I shall miss the release of the BBL fixtures (if they finally get round to it), so I shall have to catch up on them as soon as I'm home.

I hope nothing major happens while I'm away ... but as from Tuesday I shan't care any more!

02/08/04

• July proved to be a remarkably successful month for "Pawprint".

With over 4,300 "hits" during the month, it proved not only to be the best-ever month for "close season" visitors to the site, but even exceeded the total for December - in the middle of the season. In fact July recorded the eighth best month in just over three years online.

Not that we have to look too far for the reasons for this. Partly it seems to have been that visitors were keen to check out the provisional fixtures for the coming season, which we were able to post much earlier this year, as they were released early by EB. More important, though, has been the news of the ongoing upheavals at BBL, and with nothing official coming out from that organisation, and little mention of the events elsewhere, we've been able to keep fans reasonably well informed about what has been happening.

With BBL fixtures still to be released, England Under-16 Women competing in the European Championships in Estonia, and Brighton about to embark on hosting the Under-16 Men's event, there's still plenty to look forward to in August.

Thanks to all who have logged on during this time. I hope you've found what you were looking for - and that we can continue to keep you up to date with events. And, in that respect, thanks to all those who have passed on tips to help us to do that.

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