American Basketball League

With the first pick in the women's American Basketball League draft Monday morning, the un-nicknamed Long Beach team chose Yolanda Griffith, a 6-foot-4 veteran of European basketball. The 1993 NCAA Division II player of the year at Florida Atlantic University, she has played in Germany the last four seasons. Before the ABL's combine workout two weeks ago in San Francisco, many thought Old Dominion University's 6-5 Final Four standout, Clarisse Machanguana, would be the first pick.

Going on two weeks of training camp, Phil Jackson still hasn't seen Kobe Bryant practice. Nobody has seen Shaquille O'Neal practice, or Derek Fisher. As the Lakers packed up to leave Hawaii-their charter flight was to leave for Los Angeles this morning-less than three weeks remained before opening night, Oct. 30 against the Portland Trail Blazers. And still, it seemed, there is so much to be decided, and more to be done.

The American Basketball League, hemorrhaging money with its $900,000-a-year payrolls for each of its nine teams, announced Tuesday it was closing down. The league's board decided late Monday to suspend operations and file a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition "to ensure an orderly liquidation of the league." The ABL died after 2 1/3 seasons of top-flight women's pro basketball, most observers rating the league superior in talent to the rival, richer WNBA.

Proposed Anaheim and Los Angeles franchises in ABA 2000, a planned revival of the American Basketball Assn., came up with their wish lists of players Tuesday in the league's draft of veterans and first-year players. Anaheim selected Alabama guard Schea Cotton, a former high school standout at Mater Dei and Bellflower St. John Bosco, as its No. 1 pick among rookies, and Los Angeles took Long Beach State center Mate Milisa, the Big West Conference player of the year.

Sonja Henning of Beverly Hills, holder of a Stanford economics degree, a Duke law degree and now an attorney in a Century City firm, was hard-pressed to explain why she's ready to chuck it all . . . for basketball. "It's hard to explain to someone who's never played college basketball," said Henning, 26, seated at a picnic table at Emory University. "But that feeling of competition, that intense feeling . . . I can't forget what that was like, how much I loved it.

American Basketball League sources said Thursday the one-year-old women's league is "very close" to a network television deal. The network was not identified, but sources said the package will give ABL games live exposure in more than 50 million households. The league had a limited cable TV contract last season. The new deal will be announced in two weeks. The nine-team league--which includes the expansion Long Beach StingRays--will begin its 44-game schedule in October.

While the WNBA moved slowly toward formation, three public relations executives announced in the spring of 1996 they had formed the the American Basketball League and had signed seven members of the gold-medal winning '96 U.S. women's Olympic team. The ABL launched its first season in 1996-97, but TV viewers had to hunt to find ABL telecasts.

The American Basketball League's Long Beach StingRays unveiled their coach and a new logo, then bid farewell to one of their premier players Wednesday. In a news conference at the Pyramid, Coach Maura McHugh, 44, said her new team would play "tough-inside, high-scoring and pressure-defense basketball." But she'll have to achieve that without Cindy Brown. The 11-year pro out of Long Beach State has decided to play next season in Europe. Last season, she was the ABL's No. 4 scorer (17.5) and No.

The Long Beach StingRays of the American Basketball League begin preseason practice today at Long Beach State. Coach Maura McHugh will guide the women's team through two-a-day drills, before going to Seattle for an exhibition game with the Reign on Sept. 20. Two other road exhibitions are scheduled, against Colorado at Austin, Texas, Sept. 28; and against Atlanta at Chattanooga, Tenn., Oct. 5. The StingRays begin their 44-game regular season Oct.

While the WNBA moved slowly toward formation, three public relations executives announced in the spring of 1996 they had formed the the American Basketball League and had signed seven members of the gold-medal winning '96 U.S. women's Olympic team. The ABL launched its first season in 1996-97, but TV viewers had to hunt to find ABL telecasts.

When the WNBA's ABL-loaded draft was over Tuesday morning, Los Angeles Spark Coach Orlando Woolridge looked around and said he didn't see anyone who looked healthier than his team. "Yeah, I feel we had the best draft, but I'm biased," he said, "and I know a lot of teams got better. But I'm really excited about how this came out for us." The Sparks, picking fourth in the first round, chose one of the premier defenders in women's basketball, DeLisha Milton.

By noon today, women's pro basketball will have made a sudden pivot in the low post and executed a slam dunk. Finally, after having been divided for more than three years, all the world's best women players will be in one league. The WNBA will conduct a telephonic draft today that will probably never be equaled in depth of talent and experience.

There is still one women's professional basketball league, which is one more than when Kristin Clark and Adrain Williams started college. But it's never good news when you're a senior in college and almost half of the jobs in your desired profession disappear. That's one ramification of the demise of the nine-team American Basketball League. Just like that, there are 90 fewer women's basketball roster spots in this country. It's the WNBA or pack your bags and grab your passport.

Bill McGillis, former general manager of American Basketball League teams in Long Beach and Columbus, had this thought Tuesday, after it was announced the ABL had shut down: "I'll tell you one thing for sure: There'll be a lot of WNBA players out of work next summer." But one prominent player agent, Bruce Levy, said he'd be surprised if the WNBA loads up its rosters with ABL players. "They may want to be careful how many ABL players they sign," he said.

The American Basketball League, hemorrhaging money with its $900,000-a-year payrolls for each of its nine teams, announced Tuesday it was closing down. The league's board decided late Monday to suspend operations and file a voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition "to ensure an orderly liquidation of the league." The ABL died after 2 1/3 seasons of top-flight women's pro basketball, most observers rating the league superior in talent to the rival, richer WNBA.

Agonizing over a punch-related concussion suffered by a player in their first all-star game, executives of the women's American Basketball League are telling referees, coaches and players to cut out rough play. "It is far too physical," Ernie Yarbrough, the league's head of officiating, said Tuesday. "We don't want to have the bad-boy reputation that some of the players in the NBA have."

When the NBA announced a year ago that it would form a women's league, many wondered what would become of the rival and upstart American Basketball League. Now, after the ABL's announcement Friday that it had signed yet another group of prominent seniors, some were left wondering which league is the upstart. During a break in the ABL's three-day workout for 80 players, the league announced the signings of Beth Morgan of Notre Dame, Kedra Holland-Corn of Georgia, and LaTicia Morris of Auburn.

The American Basketball League will launch its third season next Thursday and its top executive says the women's pro league has a stronger financial base. Gary Cavalli, chief executive for the nine-team league, said recent infusions of money by "equity investors," the sale of operating rights for three teams and rising sponsorship sales have put the ABL on track to break even financially in two years. One investor reportedly invested $6.

American Basketball League executives did something Wednesday most of its teams couldn't last season. They made the Long Beach StingRays disappear. The women's pro league, citing financial losses by the team last season, closed the franchise after one season. And just like that, the StingRays are gone . . . players divvied up to the nine remaining ABL teams, eight front-office staffers terminated and the team's powder blue uniforms on their way to the memorabilia bin.