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AABL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Knoxville Hawks vs Cleveland Quarks
We’ve done the draft thing. Hit the 1998 Draft button for complete results . . . We’ve had some trades, with more to come, as there are some lop sided rosters. Hit the Transactions button to see them, then the Rosters button to see what they look like now.All that’s left of year 29 is the Championship Series thing . . . and, as previously stated, the two principles agreed to throw out their questionable home games and start from scratch, using Netmeeting to play the games through the internet . . . the next best thing to being there . . . Game 1 A nip and tuck battle from the outset. The Quarks shoot poorly, but are kept in the game through the good graces of the officials. Free throw shooting gets the Quarks to a 24-23 lead after 1. The Hawks battle through the foul trouble, and their more accurate shooting leads to a 46-41 halftime lead. The Quarks continue to get the benefit of the calls in the 3rd, Coach Selvidge working the referees to no avail, the Quarks tie it up after 3. In the fourth quarter, the Quarks go flat, the referees swallow their whistles, and Coach Selvidge finds a winning combination, clobbering the Quarks in the 4th for a 102-85 win. Gary Payton led the winners with 28 and 9 assists. Allan Houston chipped in 18 from the bench. Karl Malone led all with 34, Sir Charles adding 16 and 19 boards. The Quarks enjoyed a 52-22 FTA advantage, but Coach Selvidge worked the officials over . . .
View the Boxscore. Game 2 Another nip and tuck battle. The referees calling the game more even, not falling for Malone’s flopping, but the Quarks have found better range in game 2. After a tied 1st quarter, the Hawks creep out to a 5 point lead, only to have the Quarks score the next 8, Mugsy Bogues doing the most damage. Coach Chaikin assigned the task of keeping Payton at bay to his defensive ace (at guard) Keith Askins, but it has little effect. The Hawks eek out a 2 point halftime lead. In quarter 3, the referees find their whistles and call 3 Hawk fouls on the first possession. Coach Selvidge pulls a Quark jersey from under his chair and offers it to the head referee, drawing a technical. The Quarks try to capitalize, but Shawn Bradley picks up 2 quick fouls, his 4th and 5th, and the middle is unplugged. Still, the Hawks have trouble solving the Bogues mystery, as he calmly nets 2 3’s, the third again ending in a tie. Coach Chaikin reminds his team of the 4th quarter collapse in game 1, and they seem to remember it well enough to repeat it, falling behind by 6 early. But Mugsy, Karl, and Chuckster begin to find the range and storm back within 2 in the final moments of the game. Bogues begins to tire of lifting that “big heavy ball” and heaving it towards the basket from 3 point range, and begins to get careless with the ball, getting pulled in favor of Darrick Martin. The two coaches set up their final plays, the Hawks turn the ball over, Malone misses. The Hawks score, the Quarks, faced with their final possession, cannot come up with a 4 pointer, Malone missing wildly from 3 point land. The Hawks polish the Quarks off with another basket for a 109-103 win. Gary Payton again led the Hawks with 27, Houston adding 21, Mourning 6 BS. Barkley led the Quarks with 28, Malone added 26, Bogues 20, but 2 costly turnovers near the end.
View the Boxscore. Game 3 Game 3 the Hawks started where they left off, racing to a 12 point lead in the first half. Then, Keith Askins, of all people, got hot, netting a 3, grabbing an ORB on the next possession and assisting a Karl Malone basket, later grabbing a DRB and nailing another 3. Mugsy Bogues continued the comeback with a 3 at the end of the half to cut the lead to 4, 58-54. The Hawks persisted in building a 10 point lead, only to have the Quarks surge back and take the lead with 7 minutes left in the half. The Hawks then went ice cold, allowing the Quarks to run off 9 unanswered points and hold the lead for a 106-97 win. Karl Malone led all with 35 and 11 boards, Barkley added 20 and 17 boards, Shawn Bradley 15, 9 boards, and 5 BS. Alonzo Mourning was the lone Hawk bright spot with 20 and 15 boards. After the game, Hawk coach Kreis Selvidge brought $10,000 to the post game news conference, setting it on the desk to pay his fine. He then proceeded to berate the refereeing that resulted in 50 Quarks free throws to 20 for the Hawks. He then calmly got up, leaving the $10,000 in a brown bag labelled to “David Stern.”
View the Boxscore Game 4 Game 4 was another tight opening, the Hawks teamwork offsetting 17 first quarter points by Karl Malone for a 5 point lead. The game then began to get out of hand, with the entire Hawk team clicking well, and only Malone providing offense for the Quarks. He had 29 by halftime, but the Quarks trailed by 15. Malone continued his onslaught, but the Quarks continued to slip behind, at one time being down by over 30, and finishing the 3rd 24 behind. Malone played the whole game, and was obviously tired at the end, taking no shots in the last 7 minutes, but still finishing with an amazing 53 points in a 20 point loss. After the game, he berated his teammates for not coming to play and putting forth a pitiful effort. The Hawks were led by Mourning with 20, Horace Grant quietly netting 19 and grabbing 10 boards. Final score, Hawks 112-92.
View the Boxscore Game 5 This was a wild one. After battling hard in the first quarter, separated by only 1 point, Darrick Martin of the Quarks decided to take the game into his own hands. Darrick took over the 2nd quarter, and when the dust settled, he had 21 points, hitting 3 of 4 3 point attempts, giving the Quarks a 68-55 halftime lead. The Hawks came out hot in the 3rd quarter, and Martin cooled off, settling in to the set up Malone and Barkley roll. Payton and Mourning led the Hawks back to a 1 point lead at the end of the 3rd. The 4th was nip and tuck, with neither team getting more than a 4 point lead until the end. With the Quarks up by 4 with 2 minutes left, both coaches called detailed plays for their team. For the Quarks, it was a 2 man game with Mugsy (Stockton) Bogues and Karl Malone. The Hawks distributed the ball, calling mostly on Mourning and Payton. The Quarks formula worked, but not like you would predict, as Mugsy nailed a 3 and a 2 to seal the win 112-103. Malone finished with 32 and 11 boards, Barkley adding 21 and 11 boards, Martin did not score in the 2nd, finishing with 21. Payton led the Hawks with 22 and 9 assistes, Mourning adding 21 and 10 boards, but 2 costly turnovers near the end.
View the Boxscore Game 6 A true classic, the reason both coaches agreed to play this championship head to head. After a nip and tuck first half that saw neither team lead by more than 5, the Hawks capturing a 3 point halftime lead, the Quarks surged ahead after 3 by 5 points, trying to force a pivotal game 7. Charles Barkley, playing his heart out, had to be carried off the floor on a stretcher, requiring oxygen for pure fatigue. Charles had scored 16, but had grabbed 17 boards, 10 offensive. Anthony Mason was sent in, but the signs were not good, as he was already clutching his shorts. The teams continued to battle until Mason, too, passed out on the court with 4 minutes left. Another stretcher, more oxygen, and Charles Outlaw into the game. With 3 minutes left, the coaches began to diagram each and every play, the Quarks relying on Bogues and Malone, the Hawks Payton and Mourning. With a minute left in the game, the Hawks led by 1, 110-109. A feed into Mourning, he hit a falling fadeaway jumper for a 3 point lead. The Quarks 2 man game resulted in a silly foul on Eddie Jones on Bogues. After a stern lecture by Coach Chaikin (rumor has it, he told Bogues that if he didn’t net the free throws, he’d bring Dana Barros in to run the show next year), Bogues calmly netted the free throws to bring it back to 1. Then, the improbable, seeminly impossible. The ball was inbounded to Gary Payton, who turned around, saw daylight, and broke the hearts of the Quarks with a 3 pointer for a 4 point lead. Chaikin set up his play, but the Hawks fouled Malone immediately, knowing that BBALL has no “flub the free throw and try to get the offensive rebound” feature. Malone netted the free throws for a 115-113 final margin and a HAWKS CHAMPIONSHIP. Gary Payton finished the game with 33 points, 8 assists, 0 TO’s, and the championship series MVP trophy. Mourning added 17 and 11 boards. Karl Malone netted 36 and had 10 boards for the Quarks. After the game, a Hawks ball-boy was seen racing to the locker room with the Gatorade bottles that Mason and Barkley had used during the game. Both coaches praised the series (it was really a classic), Selvidge remarking that those who didn’t believe the Quarks belonged in the series should have to play them this way. Selvidge then issued a challenge to the Texas Turkeys, who beat them in 2 previous championship series, to come meet your maker on Netmeeting in a grudge matchup. We’ll see if Coach Pawlik is man enough to accept the challenge. Coach Chaikin congratulated the winners, then promised a major re-write of the BBALL software, changing the way the game handles fatigue, and adding a “flub the free throw and try to get the offensive rebound” feature, plus a “body up on Payton” feature.
View the Boxscore I have to add, I enjoyed this series even more than the one’s I had played in, save possibly the head to head matchup years ago with Jimmy. The netmeeting software is for real, if you don’t believe it, ask Kreis, Bob, or Rick Dean, who visited the series. I plan to encourage its use for head to head games next season. (read that, I’m gonna bug the pee out of you until you download and install it). Hats off to both coaches for agreeing to settle this like men in a real series, and congratulations to Kreis for his first ever AABL championship! First Round Playoff Results
Colorado vs Texas
Game 1, at Campbell County
Turkeys 106, Rockies 101
Jordan 25, Olajuwon 24 for Texas, Steve Smith 17 for Colorado Game 2, at Campbell County
Rockies 128, Turkeys 85
Smith 28, KJ 24 for Colorado, Jordan 40, Olajuwon 19 for Texas Game 3, at Colorado
Turkeys 103, Rockies 90
Jordan 29, Pippen 21 for Texas, Kidd 25, Ewing 22 for Colorado Game 4, at Colorado
Rockies 114, Turkeys 107
Schrempf 24, Ewing 22/14 RB for Colorado, Olajuwon 23, Pippen 20 for Texas Game 5, at Campbell County
Rockies 116, Turkeys 103
Ewing/KJ 21 each for Colorado, Jordan 39, Olajuwon 22, Pippen 20 for Texas Game 6, at Campbell County
Rockies 117, Turkeys 102
Ewing/KJ 21 each for Colorado, Jordan 22 for Texas Colorado wins 4-2 Cleveland vs Motor City Game 1, at Campbell County
Quarks 127, Madmen 102
Malone 24 for Cleveland, Hill 21/13 RB for Motor City Game 2, at Campbell County
Quarks 107, Madmen 87
Mason 16/14 RB for Cleveland, Miller 19 for Motor City Game 3, at Motor City
Madmen 121, Quarks 102
Ellis 24 for Motor City, Barkley 21/12 RB for Cleveland Game 4, at Motor City
Madmen 121, Quarks 98
Rice 29, Miller 23 for Motor City, Malone 25, Barkley 22 for Cleveland Game 5, at Campbell County
Quarks 112, Madmen 87
Malone 30, Barkley 21 for Cleveland, Rice 24 for Motor City (73-40 RB edge for Cleveland) Game 6, at Campbell County
Quarks 123, Madmen 120
Malone 37, Barkley 23 for Cleveland, Rice 25, Miller 23 for Motor City Cleveland wins 4-2 Knoxville vs Lake Erie Game 1, at Knoxville
Hawks 111, Dredges 103
Sabonis 29 for Knoxville, Shaq 27 for Lake Erie Game 2, at Knoxville
Hawks 122, Dredges 88
Webber 27 for Knoxville, Strickland 20 for Lake Erie Game 3, at Campbell County
Hawks 127, Dredges 98
Payton 32, Mourning 22, Jones 20 for Knoxville, Rider 22 for Lake Erie Game 4, at Campbell County
Hawks 131, Dredges 108
Payton 24, Webber 22, Jones 21 for Knoxville, Coleman 23, Rider 21 for Lake Erie Knoxville sweeps 4-0 Mesabi vs Campbell County Game 1, at Campbell County
Cougars 108, Rangers 93
Sprewell 23 for Campbell County, Mills/Galtling 19 each for Mesabi Game 2, at Campbell County
Rangers 110, Cougars 104
Brandon 29, Gatling 21 for Mesabi, Sprewell 29 for Campbell County Game 3, at Campbell County
Rangers 115, Cougars 106
Brandon 35 for Mesabi, Sprewell 30, Wallace 23 for Campbell County Game 4, at Campbell County
Rangers 106, Cougars 94
Brandon 32 for Mesabi, Sprewell 21 for Campbell County Game 5, at Campbell County
Rangers 125, Cougars 104
Gugliotta 29 for Mesabi, Kemp 21 for Campbell County Mesabi Wins 4-1 Second Round Playoff Results
Cleveland vs Colorado
Game 1, at Cleveland
Quarks 110, Rockies 108
Barkley 27/16 RB, Mason 21/13 RB, Bradley 18/11 RB for Cleveland, Smith 24, Ewing 21 for Colorado
Game 2, at Cleveland
Quarks 119, Rockies 112
Malone 33/11 RB, Mason 21/12 RB, Barkley 18/10 RB for Cleveland, Ewing 21, Kukoc 18 for Colorado
Game 3, at Colorado
Rockies 115, Quarks 95
Ewing 25 for Colorado, Mason 18 for Cleveland
Game 4, at Colorado
Rockies 113, Quarks 103
Schrempf 32 for Colorado, Malone 28, Barkley 22 for Cleveland
Game 5, at Campbell County
Quarks 121, Rockies 108Malone 24, Barkley 19 for Cleveland, Smith 25 for Colorado
Game 6, at Phoenix
Quarks 115, Rockies 100
Malone 28/10 RB, Barkley 24/14 RB, Mason 20/10 RB for Cleveland, Ewing 24 for Colorado
Cleveland wins 4-2
Knoxville vs Mesabi
Game 1, at Knoxville
Hawks 122, Rangers 100
Jones/Webber 19 each for Knoxville, Brandon 20 for Mesabi
Game 2, at Knoxville
Hawks 113, Rangers 95
Webber 30/14 RB, Mourning 21, Jones 18 for Knoxville, Brandon 24 for Mesabi
Game 3, at Campbell County
Hawks 117, Rangers 103
Payton 20/10 Ast, Mourning 19/12 RB for Knoxville, Hawkins 21, Gugliotta 20/11 RB for Mesabi
Game 4, at Campbell County
Hawks 105, Rangers 92
Mourning 20/10 RB for Knoxville, Gugliotta/Brandon 19 each for Mesabi
Knoxville sweeps 4-0 |
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