Interview: Pat Croce, Commissioner of SlamBall

Without recording capabilities on my cell phone, I was forced to actually write notes by hand. I seriously can’t remember the last time I wrote so much; my chicken scratch has gotten worse over the years, that’s for sure.

This will look a little informal for an interview, but seeing as most of the other attendees were recording and will likely put out a transcript, I thought I’d change it up a bit! Story time!


I joined the conference promptly at 11:00 AM PST and some of the others had already joined. I was fortunate enough to hear a few bleeps on the conference line and realized I was not the last one in!

Other blogs in attendance:

20 Second Timeout (David)
Hoops Addict (Austin)
Fantasy Basketball Pros
Pure Point (Sara)

From there we waited for Pat to come on while his assistants struggled to connect him. (Isn’t ‘working a conference line’ on their job description?) They reminded us that we had time to each ask one question with one follow up. (OK!)

While on hold, the rest of us bantered a little about SlamBall’s past and what people thought of the sport. Of course most had the same answer, “I saw some of it on TV in clips but never really had a chance to watch an entire game.” (In my dealings with the SlamBall crew, it is definitely understood that the Spike TV deal sucked a%#.) There was also this obnoxious buzz in the background that we figured would go away if we kept talking, but I’m not sure that was really the case. We may have just been drowning it out with our cheese.

And finally, Pat joined!

Sara from Pure Point was up first and asked Pat about the comparisons between SlamBall and the XFL. Probably not the wisest choice as Pat jumped all over her. The first words out of his mouth were, “Are you crazy?!?! There is no comparison!” It was a classic start to my first interview and I had trouble holding in a burst of laughter. He then went into a hilarious rant on the XFL flopping while comparing SlamBall to skateboarding, snowboarding and other extreme sports. (Keep in mind that Pat Croce is the most high energy cat on the planet. Oh, and he doesn’t drink coffee.)

The second set of questions came from Fantasy Basketball Pros and they asked about the lengthy hiatus for SlamBall and what improvements are in store. Pat expressed his dissatisfaction with Spike TV and the idea that SlamBall is a “made for TV” sport. He went on to say that the backing was not there and now that IMG has taken over, the league is ready to roll again. As for improvements, the league has asked for the help of special basketball consultants to work on plays and strategies to make the game more entertaining and faster paced.

Their follow up had to do with attracting players and the thought of SlamBall as a high injury sport. Pat shut down the high injury portion immediately and stressed on the fact that in order to be a part of SlamBall, the athletes must be in primo-condition. The level of injuries is not that high because these athletes are incredibly well trained before they ever set foot on the court.

The third set came from David of 20 Second Timeout and he asked about Pat’s past and how he came into SlamBall. (This is foreshadowing!) Pat went into a story about a friend of his telling him he had to check out this new sport he was working with. He checked it out and was blown away by it within seconds. He then decided that if he were to be involved in this new sport, he needed the approval of his 20 something son who is the sport’s targeted audience. Sure enough, his son loved it and that was all Pat needed to sign up.

The follow up was a question about Croce’s duties as the commissioner of the league. The answer was simple and too the point, “Just think of me as David Stern on steroids,” he said.

Then it was our turn and we were lucky enough to not have anyone ask our questions! (Our pits stopped sweating at this point. Whoo hoo!)

I asked Pat if there was a TV deal in the works or if they would be focusing their efforts toward internet promotion. He said that a TV deal is definitely in the works but they cannot announce it just yet. They’ve had offers but want choose the right option this time. (Another shot at Spike. Love it!) They definitely want a big network but will always remain internet saavy.

I then followed up with a question about live games and whether or not fans would be able to attend. Pat said that for the first season, games could be filmed in L.A., Vegas and possibly New York but locations have not been finalized as of yet. The goal for next year is to be franchised and hopefully have teams in every major city. At that point, fans would be able to attend just like any other sporting event. (I still want to know how I score tickets to a Vegas filming. Brendan?) He also threw in a quick point about Shaq, Kobe and other stars attending games and loving what they saw.

The fourth set came from Austin of Hoops Addict and he went big picture on us. He asked about the vision for SlamBall, 5 years from now. Pat is definitely thinking big and answered by saying, “The 2012 Olympics!” He also wants to have facilities around the country to allow kids the opportunity to play SlamBall just like they would any other sport.

20 Second Timeout then chimed in with the bomb of all questions and asked about player salaries. Pat sort of tip toed around this one but you can definitely understand why. He did say that during this season, the salaries for all players would be the same across the board. Some of the veterans may receive a little more, but next year when the league becomes franchised it will all be different. Austin tried to grind a little more and get some numbers but Pat wasn’t having it and said to ask Mason Gordon that question. (Mason is the founder of SlamBall.)

From there, the conversation sort of opened up and anyone who had extra questions was allowed to shout them out. Unfortunately, David of 20 Second Timeout dominated with questions about Pat’s past and the Sixers. You see, David is Mr. Philly and wanted to get the history of the Sixers in our final 2 minutes. Oh well, it was still a great interview. Pat Croce is definitely a man driven by insane amounts of energy. You just start smiling when you talk to a guy like that and that is a great thing for the future of SlamBall.

I’m sure the others will have their versions up soon, so check them out!

Tryouts start this month with the season kicking off in June. We’ll have plenty of updates and interviews on the way, stay tuned!

Interview: Brendan Kirsch, Coach of Slamball's MOB

A few days ago we wrote a brief article on the return of Slamball! As you may well remember, Slamball is the high flying, trampoline dominating, basketball/football mix of a sport that you couldn’t help but watch a few years ago on Spike TV. After a 5 year lay off from television and a trip overseas to grow the sport, it returns and is backed by mega-company IMG and led by new commissioner Pat Croce. The league expects big things this time around including a new TV deal in hopes of becoming the “Arena football of the NBA.”

I was approached by one of the league’s coaches last week to help promote the return of Slamball by posing as an outlet for the sport during its rebirth. Brendan Kirsch of the MOB took a few minutes out to chat about the league, his love for Spike TV, Pat Croce, and his role in the new Will Ferrell hit ‘Semi-Pro.’


Le Basketbawl: Why the return of Slamball and what should we be expecting after a 5 year absence?

Brendan Kirsch: Timing is everything and 2002, 2003 was not the right time for Slamball in the US. Trust me when I say that no one involved with Slamball ever thought of it as a “made for tv sport” but that’s all we kept hearing because execs with the network were trying to format the sport in a 30 minute time slot. Our executives wanted to get as far away from that as possible, so they took the sport off the network and went overseas. We played exhibition tours all over Europe until they felt it was the right time to come back to the States. Now that we are back, we’ve partnered with the professionals at IMG and Slamball is stronger than it ever has been.

After five years, the sport is going to be testing new limits and finding even more talent all over the world.


LB: Would we recognize anyone from the league: players, coaches, personalities, announcers, etc.? And who should we be looking out for?

BK: Yes. Many of the Slamball veterans will be back for the season, but the beauty of Slamball is that it's a league with truly open tryouts. We have tryouts this year in LA on April 6th, NYC on April 9th and Bradenton, Florida on April 10th. Even the Slamball veterans who played both seasons have to go through the tryout process. That being said, I think we'll find that having played the sport before is going to give those guys an advantage. It will probably end up being a solid mix of superstars from season 1 & 2 and new hybrid athletes. As he has been from the beginning Pat Croce is our Commissioner. Mason Gordon (creator) is the CEO and Rob Wilson, who was the first ever draft pick in Slamball history (Bouncers) is the Director of Player Personnel. We are looking to hire other coaches in the coming weeks and a lot of ex-NBA guys have shown interest.


LB: How is being a coach in Slamball different from the regular game of basketball?

BK: It is very different. The toughest thing is that basketball has been around since 1891. So as you grow up playing and then coaching the game, you are familiar with thousands of drills and hundreds of offensive and defensive philosophies. With Slamball, every drill has to be invented. Every philosophy has to be invented and tested… It’s exciting and in all honesty, to this day I wake up in the middle of the night with ideas for new strategy and philosophy that I think may help develop the sport.


LB: How can people stay updated on the league? Possible TV deal in the works?

BK: Our website is the best way at http://www.slamball.net/, and a TV deal is in the works. By the time we go to training camp in April, it will be solidified. And trust me, it won’t be Spike TV. (Laughs)


LB: Tell me about Pat Croce and what he means for the league.

BK: Pat is a professional and everything he has touched throughout his career has turned to gold. He is a high energy human being and he truly cares about the sport and its’ success. Having a man like Croce in your corner makes just about anything possible.


LB: If fans are interested in checking out a live game, how can they?

BK: A few different cities are bidding for the season this year. The home city will be named soon, and ticket information will be on our website. Slamball is amazing on television, but if you ever find someone who was at a game, they’ll tell you, it’s a whole different experience.


LB: What do you expect in the long run?

BK: After this season, Slamball will sell the 8 franchises to 8 different cities and the league will run from there. We want Slamball to be a mainstream sport someday, co-existing with the NBA. What the UFC is to boxing and Arena Football is to the NFL, we’d like to be to the NBA.


LB: Is it true you helped out with the new Will Ferrell flick ‘Semi-Pro’ and were a regular on ‘One Tree Hill’?

BK: (Laughs out loud!) When Slamball went on hiatus, I started getting hired by a lot of movie and television productions to coordinate their basketball and teach the actors how to play. It IS true that I did the basketball for the Will Ferrell movie, Semi-Pro (and Will can actually play, body build aside) (Laughs). I was never a regular on One Tree Hill, but I did all the basketball for the last 5 seasons.



LB: Anything else you want to bring up to the fans?

BK: Just that Slamball is a poetic sport to watch. It will succeed and we want you to come along for the ride. Your readers and our fans are what it’s all about. We have a beautiful sport played by blue collar yet extremely talented athletes who play without fear. Who hit and get hit 20 feet in the air. Who play without multi-million dollar contracts. It’s a good sport.


A huge THANKS goes out to Brendan for taking a few minutes with us! Please continue to check back at Le Basketbawl for updates on the league including news on the upcoming tryouts!

Dialogue with the NBA: The Playoffs

I had a minute to sit down and chat with the NBA today about the upcoming playoff picture. He definitely had some interesting things to say!

Le Basketbawl: So…NBA, how are things?

NBA: Things are fan-doodly-tastic LB thanks for asking!


LB: Things are fan-doo…err, what? How come?

NBA: Well our trade deadline frenzy just went down and the Lakers just got better! Plus, the Celtics are leading a pathetic Eastern Conference and isn’t that all anyone cares about?


LB: (I sure as hell don’t!) But NBA, aren’t you looking for some parody league-wide once the playoffs start? I mean, come on now, the east was so pathetic last year that LeBron carried his B-list Cavaliers all the way to the NBA Finals only to get swept looking like a bunch of D-Leaguers. Is that really what you want?

NBA: Actually, LeBron and his new B-list crew don’t stand a chance this year! I’ve worked my off-season magic to bring the Celtics back from hell and they should have enough All-Stars now to run through the east and take on the Lakers for the NBA Championship. However, I do have to figure out a way to make sure the Pistons lose early as we all know they could possibly take down Boston. I could always lower the technical foul rule or you never know, maybe we’ll have a Tim Donaghy sighting! Is he in the slammer yet? I’ll have to get Stern on this one.


LB: Wow, already ensuring us of a Lakers vs. Celtics Finals huh? There are a lot of great teams out west besides the Lakers don’t you think?

NBA: If there are, I could care less! Wasn’t it obvious enough with that lopsided Gasol trade what I’ve been trying to do? Once we get the Lakers and Celtics in the Finals, I’ll have so much worthless media hype to flood your TV’s and newspapers for a solid month! And that reminds me, did I fine Greg Popovich for those comments he made publicly about the Laker/Memphis trade?


LB: Not that I’m aware of and I’m not sure that’s necessary. So you really are prepared to utilize the “bench rule” or something else to keep teams like the Suns or Pistons out of the NBA Finals again?

NBA: Of course! The bench rule is my favorite of all time! I’m not sure you could find me another league rule in any sport as absurd as that one. And wow is it fun to use and really irritate the hell out of everyone! Sternie, my little puppet, plays it to perfection!


LB: So the Lakers vs. the Celtics is what I should be expecting this year?

NBA: Damn right LB. Haven’t you noticed all of the articles starting to pour in about the NBA being back? Well once I get my way for the championship, I’ll really be back! “Kobe vs. KG!” “L.A. vs. Boston!” “Bird vs. Magic!” ESPN Classic will have a hay day with this one! Ratings will soar! And don’t forget Outside the Lines! Bob Ley you better get to work son!


LB: You really are sounding pathetic NBA…

NBA: Not as pathetic as that MLB/Roger Clemens saga! Until we have players’ wives HGH’ing their buttocks while comparing augmentations, we’ll be just fine.


LB: Damn…you’re absolutely right! I love this game.

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• Gilbert Arenas: On NBA Live 08 and cashing that check.
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• Coby Karl: George Karl's son and cancer survivor at age 24.
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• Kobe Bryant: Funny how things change so quickly when you are winning.
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• OJ Mayo: Sorry if I'm a little skeptical of anything that comes out of this kid's mouth.

(Rick Bowmer/AP)