Santa Barbara Breakers vs. Chico Force

Saturday night I traveled up to beautiful Santa Barbara, California to check out the area's only professional basketball team, the Santa Barbara Breakers of the IBL. Welcome to the Sports Pavilion on the campus of Santa Barbara City College...

An announced crowd of 725 (probably more like 400-500 actually in the stands) rooted the Breakers on to a 128-115 victory over the Chico Force. Former UCLA star Toby Bailey led the way for the Breakers with 35 points while Allen Purnell added 23. Tyree Jones and Larry Smith both scored 22 for the Force in the loss.

Those are the facts, now onto my impressions of my first minor league basketball game. First of all, the Sports Pavilion at SBCC is a dump. One of the dingiest, dirtiest buildings that I have ever been in. The entrance is a shambles, the ticket office is an unfinished room, the area where you go back to the bathrooms is disgusting, the seats are uncomfortable and rickety and the lighting in the gym messed up my eyes and gave me a headache. I probably won't go to another Breakers game because of the Sports Pavilion alone.

Another reason I won't be back to a Breakers game is because of false advertisement. On every single one of the team's publications (like the schedule they handed me with my ticket purchase seen above) and on all of the ticketing websites the Breakers list their ticket prices as $6, $10, $14, $18, and $25 for regular seating. When I got to the game, the ticket prices listed were $8.50, $12.50, $16.50, $20.50 and $27.50. They fail to mention that there is an extra $2.50 charge on all tickets. I know some places charge extra for day-of-game tickets but this isn't made clear anywhere and I feel like it's a bit of a shady bait-and-switch tactic on the part of the Breakers.

Also, like I predicted when I took them to task for their ticket prices in an earlier post, they were sold out of the cheap seats and I had to purchase a $12.50 ticket. Now take a look at the first picture again, do you see anyone sitting in the top corners of the bleachers? I don't. There never was anybody sitting in those seats even before the game. Even in an empty building, usually there are a few honest people that sit in their assigned seats at least until the end of the first half, but not tonight. I can't prove anything, but I don't think that the cheap tickets actually exist. Is this another bait-and-switch ploy by the Breakers?

I feel a little bit ripped off by the game play as well. The Breakers made a big deal about signing former Utah Jazz star Bryon Russell, but he has yet to play in a game. There also was no Samaki Walker or Fred Vinson or Mike Efevberha or Shantay Leggins. Heck, there wasn't even local kid Santiago Aguirre to root for. Toby Bailey (seen above pouting after scoring 35 points, sorry for the poor picture) and Billy Knight aren't bad, but what happened to the rest of this "star studded" roster?

And while the game was fast paced and high scoring it wasn't very interesting or exciting. It's basically just a bunch of guys playing pickup basketball trying to score as many points as possible for themselves. This is a big problem throughout minor league basketball and is one of the reasons that fans don't ever get invested in these smaller teams. Players are just looking to catch the attention of somebody higher up in the food chain so team play that leads to more interesting basketball goes straight out the window.

The Breakers do try to put on a show, albeit a bush league one. They have a cheers squad that does a little bit of dancing and throws t-shirts into the crowd. They have some random guy that stomps his feet and yells at the crowd during timeouts, but only in the first half for some reason. They play repetitive pump-you-up music throughout the entire game. And the players all sign autographs on the court following the final buzzer. Nothing is very imaginative or creative, they do just enough to get by.

There were only a couple positives that I could single out. There were a lot of kids at the game that were really, really excited to be there. They danced around on the floor, slapped five with the guys, even got into the huddle at one point during a timeout and yelled "BREAKERS" louder than the players did.

They also seem to be doing a fair amount of sales of their replica jersey. I saw quite a few people shell out $50 for the blue jersey with a big sweeping Santa Barbara across the chest. It's probably because it was the only piece of merchandise that wasn't completely boring. And at least the Breakers have team jerseys. Chico's jerseys were blank other than the number.

So while I wish that I could say that my Santa Barbara Breakers experience was better, I just cannot report anything more than being completely underwhelmed and a little bit angry at the team. Minor league sports has to provide to it's customers the feeling that you are getting more than what you paid for. But between the bait-and-switch tactics and the boring game play, after the game I felt like I spent far too much money on an inferior product. I sincerely doubt that I will be back.

Everett Aquasox

I got an email earlier this week from Dan (thanks Dan!) requesting that I review the Everett Aquasox logo. Unfortunately, I will have to abstain from making a true judgment because I am extremely biased. You see, just for fun, kind of a as a hobby, I spent the 2004 season working as an usher for the Aquasox. It had a great time even though I got stuck out in the bleachers on most nights (lots and lots of unruly kids running around), so I have a big soft spot in my heart for their logo.

Here's me as the "Fantastic Frog", AKA, employee of the previous night.

Me and the Aquasox mascots, Frank and Webbly. Webbly tried to get a little fresh.

One thing that I can say about the Aquasox logo is this, it is extremely popular amongst their fans. Sometimes we look at a logo and don't understand that just because it doesn't do anything for us doesn't mean that it doesn't work for the team. I think that's what a lot of people see when they look at the Aquasox logo. They see a nickname that isn't really a word and a frog with two big red eyes and four red feet catching a baseball.

But what you don't see is how kids and adults alike respond to the logo and everything that goes with it when you are actually at the game. It just works and that, as a fan of logos, is all you can really ask for.

Team: Everett Aquasox
League: Northwest League
Location: Everett, Washington
Stadium: Everett Memorial Field - best ballpark anywhere for kids
Mascots: Frank and Webbly
Online Store: Their hats are cheaper than other websites

I Miss Eckersley

Dennis Eckersley's Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame plaque seen while waiting for a delayed flight out of the San Francisco Airport. Is there a current major leaguer that looks that trashy? I can't think of one.

Today in Sports Logos

Today I bring you a new feature here on The Sports Logo Pundit. In an attempt to keep up with what seems like a never ending amount of sports logo news that I am notoriously slow to react to, from here on out I will do what I can to gather that news and present it semi-daily along with the normal reviews. I really would like this to be a post-a-day blog containing up to date news, but I don't always have the time or motivation to think about and then write a full review. So we are going to this new quick wrap, linky style format for the off days. Anyway, watch for Today in Sports Logos often and if you have any tips, please don't hesitate to email me.

New ABA Team of the Day - Say goodbye to the Las Vegas Venom and hello to the Las Vegas Lights. The over/under for amount of games played next season by the Lights is currently listed at three. (OurSportsCentral)

USBL Loses Two - The new USBL season is off to a rough start. First the Boston ownership group pulled out days before the season leaving the league to field the coachless New Jersey Meteors for one game against Albany. Then today the Meteors and the Long Island Primetime folded. (Jackson Clarion-Ledger)

Sonics Gone? - The Washington State legislature decided that they would not be voting on the financing package for a new arena for the Seattle Supersonics during this session. In response, Clayton Bennett popped open the bubbly, smoked a cigar and celebrated with all of the lobbyists that he kept as far away from Olympia as possible. (Seattle PI)

Corporate Ballpark Deal of the Day - The Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League announced today that five year old Falconi Field will now be known as CONSOL Energy Park. The over /under for years until CONSOL Energy is swallowed up and renamed causing the park to also rename itself currently sits at two. (Ballpark Digest)

Santa Barbara Breakers

I'd like to congratulate the Santa Barbara Breakers of the IBL for the job that they did to kick off their inaugural season over the weekend. On Friday night, Santa Barbara's only professional sports franchise knocked off the Seattle Mountaineers 135-105 in front of a near sellout crowd of 1,800 fans at Santa Barbara City College. From the video that I saw of the game, it truly looked like that many fans were in attendance and that number wasn't inflated for effect (no word on how many of those tickets were comped though). By all accounts, it was a pretty successful debut for a city that hasn't had professional basketball since the Santa Barbara Islanders of the CBA folded in 1990.

The Breakers have done a pretty good job of getting the word out around town about the team. They held a name-the-team contest drawing a thousand entries including the victorious and debatable Breakers moniker, they held a draft party in which they claimed territorial rights over two local collegiate players, they've tried to get the area's celebrities involved as much as possible (Rob Lowe threw the inaugural tipoff and the Breakers name was chosen by a celebrity panel) and they have signed quite a few players with local ties or good name recognition like UCLA star Toby Bailey, former Laker Samaki Walker and Michael Jordan's rag doll, Bryon Russell.

But I have to take the Breakers to task on a couple of things. First of all, they decided on a team name, couldn't they give us a logo that represents that name? I'm not a big fan of the Breakers nickname, it's too generic and too obvious to be effective, but you could still do something creative with it to give the team a visual presence in the city. The name of the city over a basketball and a halo means absolutely nothing.

Secondly, the biggest draw for me to minor league sports and especially to an extremely low level, unproven, kind of sketchy commodity like the Breakers is value. I expect to be able to sit nice and close, maybe even courtside, and enjoy the game without blowing a big wad of cash. It's one of the reasons that I go to a lot of Ventura College basketball games, it's the best entertainment value in the entire county.

The Breakers offer tickets at a low $6.00 price point, and in a small community college gymnasium the seats probably aren't bad. However, they also have tickets priced at $10, $14, $18, $25 and for courtside seats $100, $150 and $200. You've got to be kidding me. $200 tickets to watch Shantay Legans and Fred Vinson? What a joke. And who wants to bet that not many of the $6 tickets are available on gameday?

Just as a comparison, on Ticketmaster right now you can purchase Los Angeles Lakers tickets for the first round of the NBA playoffs. Tickets start at $12 and go up to $2500. However, the second most expensive ticket after the $2500 seats is $250. Let's see, courtside for Santiago Aguirre or drive two hours for Kobe and the playoffs? You make the call.

I wish the Breakers all the luck in the world and I plan on taking in a game either next weekend or the weekend after. But unless I am underestimating the sheer wealth in Santa Barbara (it may seem like everybody is rich, but I know that isn't the case) this pricing structure is going to keep average fans away in the long run and the Breakers will disappear into obscurity just like Islanders 17 years ago.

Team: Santa Barbara Breakers
League: International Basketball League
Location: Santa Barbara, California
Arena: City College Sports Pavilion

Lewiston MAINEiacs - Update!

First of all, I'll get back to reviewing logos shortly. I've been out of town, finishing up the taxes, generally slacking and nothing has caught my eye over the last couple of days. But I've noticed a couple of new logos that are begging to be reviewed so we'll get this bad boy rolling again this week.

One of the first logos that I reviewed was the Lewiston MAINEiacs of the QMHJL. I like to try to keep up with the teams that I have reviewed over the years but somehow I missed out on the MAINEiacs alternate jersey...

I'm not sure what to think of it. It's both awesome and horrible for the exact same reasons. But since this is an alternate jersey for a junior hockey team, I'll go ahead and proclaim that it's awesome. If it were an NHL jersey, I would have to side with horrible. It's all about context with me.

Unfortunately, I noticed these much too late and it appears that they only have adult smalls left in their team shop. So if you are one little tiny hockey fan, you can buy one by clicking here. Enjoy teeny weeny.

BREAKING NEWS - Charlotte Bobcats Sold

CHARLOTTE, NC - Charlotte Bobcats owner Robert Johnson surprised everybody in the organization by announcing that he has sold the team to a Charlotte based group including former C&C Music Factory singer Freedom Williams, according to a source close to the team. The announcement was made at an emergency all staff meeting late Wednesday night. The official announcement will be made at a press conference that has been scheduled for 9:00 AM tomorrow.

The source within the organization also reports that the new owners will be wiping out any and all references to the current ownership group including a nickname change. It has been widely speculated that owner Robert Johnson named the team the Bobcats after himself. The new owners have already been granted permission by the NBA to change their name immediately to the Charlotte Krunk, resurrecting one of the most beloved nicknames and logos in the history of the ABA.

It is also being reported that this news is just an April Fools Day post that influential sports logo review superblog, The Sports Logo Pundit, never got around to writing on Sunday.

"It's a shame too," said Brandon from his home on Wednesday night. "If I would've taken a little bit of time that day instead of hanging out with the wife, the joke would have been way funnier and much better written. Now it's just lame."

Robert Johnson was too busy allowing BET to ruin hip-hop to return any of our calls about this story.

Welcome! / 2007 Bigger Dance

First of all, I'd like to welcome Nick over at Logo Quality Control to the sports logo reviewing game. He is going to be focusing on Minor League Baseball logos. He joins myself and the Bush League Factor (who reviews hockey logos) as the only sports logo review blogs that I have found so far. There are a lot of message boards but very few blogs, which is the main reason I started The Sports Logo Pundit a couple years ago.

Tomorrow we'll start our post-NCAA Tournament reviewing (I realize that's pretty much all I've done lately, it's my favorite time of the year so it's hard not to talk about it), but first I bring you something that I originally posted over at my other blog Down With Pants!...

Calling all meatheads! Seattle's sports radio station KJR has opened up the brackets for the 2007 Bigger Dance pitting 64 of the hottest pop culture females against each other in a battle to determine who is, and I feel really gross just typing this, "The Queen of the Hardwood," yuck, I feel all slimy.

This annual "wacky morning show guy" tournament is a favorite of mine and it isn't because I am a massive chauvinist who loves to objectify the accomplishments of women, that's only part of it. The biggest reason I enter this contest every year is because the grand prize winner gets two tickets to any sporting event anywhere in the world. I never have figured out where I would go if I won, but there are some options that just blow my mind and the possibility of winning makes it too good of a prize to not enter.

My final four is Gisele Bundchen vs. Jessica Biel and Eva Mendes vs. Jessica Alba (last years winner) to set up an all Jessica final with Jessica Biel winning the championship. If you've seen the preview for the new Adam Sandler/Kevin James movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (click here to watch), you know why I am picking her to "go all the way" (ick).

I was thinking about setting up a Down With Pants! pool, so if you want to sign up and compete for a trip to any sporting event anywhere, leave me a comment or email me and I will invite you to my pool. If you do sign up here's a little tip, for some crazy reason Elin Nordgren, Tiger Wood's wife, always does really well. Don't ask me why.

So, like I said, if you are interested in signing up, please leave me a comment with your email address or email me with your information and I will add you to the pool.