CBL Blog
Headed North to Georgia
Headed North to Georgia—
This weekend will be an interesting one as I head to Savannah, GA for the first set of tryouts for the Savannah Wildcats. For those who are interested in trying out, or watching the festivities, they will take place at the Savannah YMCA located at 1110 May Street and will start at 1:00.
Tryouts are always interesting to watch for someone who isn’t faced with the stress of trying to make the squad of a professional basketball team. I remember watching the Vermont Frost Heaves tryouts up in Burlington, VT and seeing a bunch of guys who were just trying to keep their dream of playing professional basketball alive and kicking. They were running drills as if their very lives depended on it with guys whom they hoped would be their future employers watching literally every step they made. I will never forget guys like Kerry Lyons who were smiling from ear to ear and enjoying every second of the tryout experience. Lyons, an AAU coach in Milton, VT, ended up making the team and becoming a local cult hero despite not playing a minute for the entire season. This is what trying out for a pro basketball team is all about.
From the point of view of someone who represents the CBL, there are a couple of things I will be looking for from the players. Now, I played in high school, but am not the greatest judge of talent in the world so I will be looking at the intangibles. Although I will have no say in the final roster, for my own interest I will be looking to see what guys hustle the most, the guys who think out on the court, and most importantly which guys play as if they are a part of a team. Tryouts are interesting in this respect as guys have to look out for themselves but have to show they are team players as well. Having gotten to know coach/owner Lamont Moreno over the last year or so, I know he will be looking at these things as well.
Doing PR for the league puts me in an interesting position: I get to speak to the players as to what it means to be a professional basketball player. I firmly believe that part of not only the coaches jobs, but my job is to teach these guys how to act both on and off the court. Scouts are going to not only look at what a guy can do while double teamed on the low post; they are going to look at their character as well. Is this player going to be a problem off the court? Does he have issues with authority and being coached?
Needless to say, it will be an interesting day here in Savannah. Stay tuned and I will keep everyone posted on what is going on.
April 5th--CBL Weekly Report
CBL WEEKLY RELEASE AND INFORMATION
My apologies for not posting last week, but things have been hectic with the long awaited release of our schedule and the first edition of “This Week in the CBL” on Blog Talk Radio. With the season just 25 days away, there is much to report from the league office.
First of all, our schedule has been completed, signed off on, and should be on the website by the end of the day on Monday. We will play a 16 game schedule leading off with Georgia at Savannah at 7:00 on April 30th. We did the best we could to create a balanced and fair schedule and believe we have done just that. The season will conclude with a four team tournament with the winners of the first round facing off for the league title. The site of the tournament has yet to be determined.
“This Week in the CBL” kicked off on Blog Talk Radio (www.blogtalkradio.com) last Tuesday night and was a huge success. On the show we had Director of Basketball Operations Gary Perry, Carolina Cougarz owner Wayne Washington and CBL commissioner Dennis Truax. Other than the fact Chris couldn’t operate the control panel on the Blog Talk interface, the show went very well. We had people in the chat room asking questions and we hope the show will just get bigger and better. Make sure to catch the show this Tuesday at 7:00 EDT as Lamont has a ton of great guests lined up. Now the interesting thing will be is to see if Lamont can handle doing the show on his own as Chris has to work the University of North Florida/Florida State baseball game in downtown Jacksonville. To listen to the show, go to www.blogtalkradio.com or go to www.cblhoopsonline.com. “This Week in the CBL is presented by Our Sports Central.
Speaking of Lamont Moreno, his Savannah Wildcats will be holding open tryouts this coming Saturday at the Savannah YMCA located at 1110 May Street. Registration starts at noon with the tryout starting promptly at 1:00. The cost to tryout is $50.00 and can be paid with cash, money order or certified check. For information on the tryout, or to pre-register, contact Lamont Moreno at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Director of Basketball Operations Gary Perry and Director of Media and Public Relations Chris Munson will be in attendance. I talked to Lamont the other day and he told me, “Chris, you have no idea how excited I am about the tryouts. We have some great talent lined up and there is going to be serious competition for the ten spots we have available on the team.” Lamont continued to say, “This is where it all starts for us and I can’t wait.”
The Carolina Cougarz have been busy establishing themselves in the Fayetteville area with a couple of events coming up. On Wednesday April 7th, the team will be appearing at a blood drive at Methodist University starting at 9:00 am. Methodist University is located at 5400 Ramsey Street in Fayetteville. On Wednesday April 21st, the team will be helping out with the Special Olympics Spring Games at Methodist University from 8-1. The team will be assisting with setup for the event as well as assisting athletes during their competitions. For more information on the Special Olympics and the Cougarz efforts, please contact Jamie Scruggins at 910-433-1000.
The Birmingham Steel will be holding their final set of tryouts on Sunday April 18th at Jackson-Olin High School located at 1300 Avenue F in Birmingham. Registration for the tryout starts at 5:45 pm with the tryout starting at 6:30. The cost to tryout is $50.00. Prior to the tryout, interested players must submit a bio complete with playing experience, stats (if available) and references. Interested players can submit their bios to Coach Ashmon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
There is the latest from the CBL. For more information on each team, go to www.cblhoopsonline.com and then click on your team’s logo. Until next time………….
THE LATEST FROM THE CBL
Since last week, the e-mails have been flying back and forth with tons of announcements made. Leading off, we have announced the start of “This Week in the CBL” which will air at www.blogtalkradio.com. The show will kick off on March 30th at 7:00 Eastern Time and will be hosted by Director of Media and Public Relations Chris Munson and Savannah Wildcats owner Lamont Moreno. On the show we will discuss the weekly happenings in the league, player signings, game previews and have interviews with league personnel. The show is presented by Our Sports Central (www.oursportscentral.com) and will be available via podcast at Our Sports Central by Thursday afternoons.
On Tuesday the Savannah Wildcats announced they will play their home games at A.E. Beach High School in Savannah. Interestingly enough, the school opened back in 1867 to educate recently freed slaves, so there is quite a bit of history involved with the school. The Wildcats have also announced their first set of tryouts. The first tryout will take place on April 10th at the Savannah YMCA located at 1110 May Street. Registration starts at noon with the tryout starting promptly at 1:00. The cost to tryout is $50.00 and can be paid with cash, money order or certified check. For information on the tryout, or to pre-register, contact Lamont Moreno at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . A press conference is also planned with details to come later on in the week.
The Birmingham Steel have announced the hiring of Rodney Harris as their Director of Marketing. Previously, Harris was a Marketing Assistant with Cox Radio in Birmingham and the Marketing Director for “Just in Time Music”. The CBL welcomes Rodney to the CBL family.
The Wilmington Sea Dawgs are holding a Spring Break Kids Camp Monday March 29th thru Thursday April 1st, at the Wilmington Family YMCA located at 2710 Market Street in Wilmington and there are still some spots left. If you are in the Wilmington area, you may want to check this out. For more information go to www.goseadawgs.com.
The Fayetteville based Carolina Cougarz have announced a change in time and location for their March 28th tryout. The tryout will be held at the Fayetteville YMCA located at 2717 Ft. Bragg Road. Registration starts at 4:00 with the tryout starting at 5:00. The fee to tryout is $75.00 in advance and $100.00 the day of. For information on tryouts, or to pre-register, please contact Head Coach Wayne Washington by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or by phone at 910-229-6229.
For now, that is all from the league office. Be assured we are working very hard to ensure we have a fantastic first season of play. If there are questions on the state of the league, or general questions, feel free to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Until next week……….
The Latest from the CBL
Greetings from the CBL Media Relations office in Jacksonville, Florida. In between our various offices in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Jacksonville and Wilmington, NC, we are busily preparing for our inaugural season.
Since my last entry, we have added a new team, the Birmingham (AL) Steel. The Steel will be run by Richard Ashmon, a former coach, player and now successful businessman. The Steel will be holding tryouts on March 27th at Jackson-Olin High School in Birmingham. More information, including their venue will be coming in the next couple of days.
This week has been a busy one for many of our teams. The Carolina Cougarz held their first tryout in Fayetteville and had quite a bit of success. Owner Wayne Washington told me he had 25 players turn out for the tryout and this was with limited media coverage due to some miscommunication between the league and the main newspaper in Fayetteville. On the even better side of things, Wayne told me a good number of the players had college playing experience and that he expects at least four players to be signed from this round of tryouts. Because of the incredible depth of talent in North Carolina, the Cougarz will be holding a second round of tryouts in Raleigh on March 28th. For more information, go to www.carolinacougarz.com or www.cblhoopsonline.com.
Wilmington has been busy as well with numerous public appearances leading up to the beginning of the season. Wilmington, who were previously affiliated with the ABA and PBL, have established themselves with not only great crowds, but by being strong in their community as well. The SeaDawgs will play their home games at the Schwartz Center on the campus of Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington. Owner Pete Gratale and returning coach Dale Kuhl are in the process of recruiting players for the upcoming season. Pete is also very involved in recruiting sponsors for the 2010 campaign.
The Marietta based Georgia Gwizzlies will hold their tryouts on Saturday April 18th at the Stone Mountain Bally’s, located at 5370 Stone Mountain Highway in Stone Mountain. If registered before April 18th, the cost of registration is $100.00. Registration the day of the tryout is $150.00. Please note the date has been changed from April 4th. Gwizzlies owner Embry Malone says of the tryout, “We are looking forward to April’s tryout as we are hoping to find new and fresh talent for our first season in the CBL. We know there is considerable talent in the area and we are hoping to be able to sign some outstanding players.”
One other thing of note that has not been discussed in prior press releases, or in this blog is that we are going to play by straight NBA rules. Although fans may enjoy the four point shot, the “plus one” foul rule, etc, we have to remember what we are and that is a developmental league. Our purpose is to develop players so they can hone their skills to play at the next level. International leagues and the NBA don’t have those types of rules and nor will we. This is something that we owe to the players we are developing.
Overall, we have been quite busy getting ready for the 2010 season. With seven weeks to go until the opening tip, we are securing corporate sponsors, entering into contracts with companies for apparel, basketballs and uniforms. Commissioner Dennis Truax said to me the other day, “Honestly, I am pleased with the progress we are making. All five teams of our teams are on board with our philosophies on team ownership, marketing and the media. We are working well as a cohesive unit to ensure we put a quality product out on the floor.”
Again, it has been quite busy in our respective offices. As of this writing, we have 49 days until our first game and still have a ton of work to do. What we are doing is taking “baby steps”. We are making sure we have one thing done correctly and then move on to the next item. We expect to have our schedule out in the next two weeks along with a statistics program as well. Our teams are working on webcasting their games and we hope to have an announcement on where CBL fans can watch their favorite teams in the coming weeks.
Again, I welcome suggestions, feedback and comments from fans and players. Please feel free to contact me by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will get back to you within 24 hours.
The View From the Front Office
Greetings fans from the front office of the Continental Basketball League. To introduce myself, my name is Chris Munson and I am the Director of Media and Public Relations for the league. As the saying goes, this isn’t my first rodeo when it comes to professional sports. I have been involved in the minor leagues for quite some time as a broadcaster and a writer. Now I have the task of creating some buzz when it comes to our new league. Fans will be seeing regular newsletters coming from each of our six teams and out of my office in Jacksonville, Florida. As a league, we will strive to keep our fans informed as possible and to create a fan friendly environment. This is something you have our word on.
We have what seems to be a very basic theory when it comes to minor league basketball; we want a fan friendly environment, a league where all games will be played and for our players to be involved in their communities and ideally become role models for our children and young adults. Again, this seems basic, but it is more difficult than it sounds. As a staff, we are aware of the reputation that not only minor league basketball has, but professional sports as a whole. We have all heard about teams not playing games, not paying their players, and players being arrested for a myriad of offenses. These are things that simply will not happen in the CBL. Everyone from Commissioner Dennis Truax to our owners, league personnel and team personnel will be held to the highest standards of personal and professional conduct. Games will not be missed, players will be paid, and we will all be model citizens in our communities. You the fans have our word on this.
We have a very dynamic and experienced staff who will accomplish these goals. Commissioner Dennis Truax is a long time veteran of minor league basketball having served as a coach, general manager and commissioner in the United States Basketball League and more recently the Continental Basketball Association. I have a different set of skills in where I know the ins and outs of working with the media, what to do, what not to do, and just how we as a league need to present ourselves to our fans and to the media. Pete Gratale is the longtime owner of the Wilmington Sea Dawgs whose franchise has been a model in both the PBL and the ABA. Pete’s staff ( including our intern Ashton) in Wilmington is top notch and bring a ton of experience in marketing, public relations and everything that it takes to make not only a basketball team work, but to make a league work as well. We are a staff that has been working together for a very short time, but within seconds we clicked. This is a big part of what is going to make the CBL a success.
For those who are new to the minor leagues, the CBL is strictly a developmental league. We have no ties to the NBA or any other professional league. Our purpose is to develop players abilities so they can move on either to other domestic minor leagues, or overseas. We aren’t going to promise fans that they will see the next Kobe, LeBron or Shaq. What we will promise is that fans are going to see guys who are busting their tails, diving for loose balls, and busting their tails because they want to keep their dream of playing professional basketball alive. I remember broadcasting the PBL Showcase in Chicago a couple of years back and talking to one guy who had played for something like 17 teams in his career. I asked him how he kept doing it and he simply said, “Chris, at 36, I still believe I can catch a break somewhere. And guess what, I still get paid to do what I love.” Those are the kinds of things you will see in the CBL.
Now, onto what the fans want to know; where will our teams be? We will have teams in Fayetteville, NC; Savannah, GA; Atlanta, GA; and Wilmington, NC with two teams that are left to be announced. Those announcements should come by the beginning of next week. We will play a 20 game schedule that will go from the middle of April through the end of June. The top four teams will qualify for the post season. The post season will consist of a single elimination tournament at a site to be determined. Our ownership groups are solid, financially set and we are all on the same page when it comes to making the CBL a success.
Now, we ask a favor from the fans. We want to know what you expect to see and want to see at a CBL game? Do you want crazy promotions? Do you want access to the players? What do YOU want? You the fan are our customers. Without you, we don’t have a league, and basketball junkies like Dennis, Pete and myself don’t have jobs. (Which in turn would make our wives miserable, but that is another story.) We want what you want. We want you to be able to come to the arena, watch quality basketball, get some autographs, have a GREAT time, and be able to do so without taking out a second mortgage on your house. I encourage fans to e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so we can talk about what your ideas.
