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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 The ABA is coming to town The American Basketball Association says the Everett Longshoremen will begin play this December By Scott M. Johnson Herald Writer Just over a year has passed since the city of Seattle lost its NBA franchise to Oklahoma City. Snohomish County, meanwhile, seems to be stockpiling professional basketball teams. The American Basketball Association announced recently that the Everett Longshoremen are among seven Pacific Northwest expansion teams scheduled to begin play in December. The Longshoremen come to town nearly three years after Marysville native Nathan Mumm purchased an International Basketball League team, named it the Explosion and began play at the Everett Events Center. The Explosion lasted one year at the facility before moving to Monroe High School, where the team recently wrapped up its third season. Where the Longshoremen will call home is still unclear. Majority owner Regina Joseph, who lives 21/2 hours away in Castle Rock, offered several possibilities, including the Comcast Arena. But she admitted that she has yet to make any inquiries. Contacted by phone Tuesday afternoon, Comcast Arena general manager Kim Bedier said that her facility is an unlikely fit because the team already has the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips and a new expansion team in the National Lacrosse League playing home schedules during the same winter months. "So it would be somewhat challenging adding a third team," Bedier said. Joseph said she also plans to look into the gyms of some local community colleges, most likely to be Everett CC and Edmonds CC. Joseph has plenty of experience with minor league basketball. She originally owned an IBL team called the Lewis County Raptors, who eventually moved into the ABA and now competes under the name Washington Raptors. Joseph also has 51 percent ownership of the other six expansion teams that were named Tuesday: Seattle, Portland, Yakima, Walla Walla, Vancouver and Spokane. A former state worker, Joseph said she got into minor league sports because she wanted to spend more time with her husband, Tim, who spent more than 30 years in the marketing and sales departments of teams like the Mariners, Seahawks and Sonics. While the other 49 percent of the Everett franchise is held by unnamed owners, Tim Joseph said that he hopes to secure some local ownership in the near future. Joe Newman, CEO of the ABA, said that his league was eager to expand to this part of the country, and the addition of seven teams made it possible because of reduced travel costs. Newman added that he was aware of the IBL's Explosion but that their existence did not dissuade his league from moving to this county. "We're not competing for players or fans," Newman said, adding that it is likely there will be overlap in rosters for the two Snohomish County teams. "They play in the spring, and we play December through March. "There's no competition or animosity. It's great. I don't know if the people at McDonald's are looking out the window at Burger King or Wendy's and saying, 'I wish they'd go away.' They say, 'We've got to make a better hamburger.' It's the same with us." Mumm, the Explosion's owner, did not return a phone call on Tuesday. The Herald also left a message for Explosion general manager Sean Keck, who did not respond for comment. The Josephs said that part of the ABA's strength is a focus on youth. Children under 6 get in free, while prices for youth ($5) and adults ($8) are affordable and fixed so that they will not be raised in the future. "It's a more stable league," said Regina Joseph, who was attracted to Everett's sense of community and its importance on family. "They really make sure the owners are stable. They have marketing information and make sure that the owners do things right." The ABA has been around in its current format since 2000, when it bought the rights to the name of a once-proud league from the 1970s. The league currently has 53 teams, not included the expansion teams, that play throughout the country. The Josephs said that the number could expand to 60 by the time the 2009-2010 season begins in December, and they have already been granted permission to seek future expansion in Montana, Idaho and Hawaii. The ABA mixes both professional and international rules, and its most unique scoring feature is an extra point for any shot made after a backcourt turnover. The makeup of the Longshoremen's roster is still a work in progress. Newman said that the team will hold open tryouts, beginning later this month, and he expects in-state players to make up the bulk of the roster. The birth of the Longshoremen marks the fifth professional team to come to The Longshoremen are the second professional team in as many months to announce plans to settle in Snohomish County. The Washington Stealth, a National Lacrosse League team that begins play at Comcast Arena in January, announced last month it intends to move to Everett from San Jose, Calif.

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