I have a dream...

I have a dream. Here it is, a professional indoor men's volleyball league, call it the MPVA (Men's Professional Volleyball Association). Now, when I say professional, don't think NBA, or NFL. Think USBL, CBA, or Arena League football. At best this would be a lower level league, with maybe 8-12 teams, probably all regionally located in either California or the Northeast. Salaries would be limited, no one would be playing volleyball as their full time job. Lots of coaches at colleges and high schools and beach players could supplement their incomes this way, so it would have to be a Winter League, with a short season after the end of football season, say January to April. If you have 12 teams, two divisions of 6 teams each, play same division twice, other division once, that comes to a 16 game season, which could be increased to 22 by playing every team twice. Top 4 teams make the playoffs, maybe top 6 if you give the two division leaders a bye. Another competition option would be to play in for-profit tournaments outside the season. MPVA teams could play exhibition tournaments at major events, like Super Bowl, World Series, Holiday Season, or something of the nature. The tournaments would be sponsored and the top 2-4 teams could take home some extra money in the offseason, while advertising the league. Player salaries could be season or by game, and national team players would command more money than rookies. Some structure would have to be established as far as contracts and salaries, that allowed for flexibility, but also continuity. One major factor would be publicity. It would be essential to have a major sponsor, Sony, Adidas, Nike, Kodak, Mizuno. Anyone that wants to shell out the cash, Major League Soccer has private donors that are personally invested in the success of the league, beyond profit, and that would be helpful with the Men's Volleyball League. Television would be the next key. ESPN, Fox Sports Regional Coverage, or something in the way of regional coverage would be very important. Plus the major market teams would have to be willing to distribute the wealth throughout the league. So for the sake of argument, here we go.

MPVA South Division
1. Los Angeles
2. Malibu
3. San Diego
4. Phoenix
5. Las Vegas
6. El Paso (or Albequerque)
MPVA NorthDivision
1. San Fransisco
2. Oakland
3. Sacramento
4. Salt Lake City
5. Reno
6. Fresno

All these teams are within driving distance, and many could be played during single trips. The North Division would be a little more difficult, but still doable. All the teams would be in large cities, and the Nevada teams could be supported by casinos. Many also have historic links to men's collegiate volleyball, and have venues already established for volleyball. Not to mention they have a fan base of people familiar with men's volleyball, who don't consider it a women's only sport. This could happen, I think its merely a functon of putting the money together with the people. Providing a league of this nature would increase public interest in men's volleyball, it would provide a place for our National Team members to improve their games without having to play in foreign leagues, and it would provide a low cost family entertainment option.

NBA Playoffs

I'm so ready for the NBA Playoffs to start. It's been a long and frustrating season. I'm glad to see that Kobe and LeBron won't be participating, because Kobe is getting what he deserves after running Shaq out of town and LeBron is showing that being the next great thing doesn't equal tangible success. I like LeBron, but I honestly don't beleive he is as mature as he comes across. Even the most mature 20 year old has some severe limits. I look back on his choices during his senior year of high school that got him suspended more than once, and I ask what kind of team mate he really is, regardless of all the ass-kissers out there all over his jock. I do think he'll turn out to be one of the best players ever. I just also think it wouldn't have hurt for him to spend a year or two in college. Getting back to my original subject, I'm hoping the Pacers can pull something off in the playoffs. I want Reggie to go out battling, somewhere past the first round. After Ron Artest screwed his final season, its great to see Reggie step it up and lead the way he has. He's a beast. My predictions are pretty straight forward, I think San Antonio will take it in the West (and even though I'm from SA, I'm not a Spurs fan, so this isn't a homer pick). Duncan is too solid, unless he breaks a hip, Spurs win the West. The East is much less clear, Miami is the favorite, and Detroit is the defending champ, but I think that Philly will make a suprise run. Not too far though, I see Boston getting them in the Conference finals and going to the championship round. From there I see San Antonio taking it in 5 games. Take into consideration that I don't follow the NBA with the zeal that I devote to college basketball, but I think I have some clue. Time will tell.