| OCR Text |
Show Men's basketball league attracts only six teams by Randy Hanskat Following in the path of a decrease In softbajl registration last summer, only six teams have signed up to participate in this years winter basketball league. Mike Osher of the Park City Recreation Department said this year's enrollment is half of last year's 12 teams. The Men's Basketball League is usually a very competitive forum for top notch local b-ball talent, but just how balanced this year's league will be remains to be seen. With only six teams, it is very possible that one team could dominate the league, Osher said. This year's sponsors include Texas Reds, Mark Stemler, Holiday Inn, Cofer Chiropractic, Kamas Forest Products, and the recreation department. From that list, only Cofer and Kamas are returnees from last year's league. Osher attributed the drop to a lack of sponsors. "We can't get the commitment from businesses to sponsor teams," he said. "Stemler's the only one who has money in town, but even he'll only sponsor one team." Stemler evidently believes the $250 fee to enroll a team in the league is too high, Osher said. He proposed to only have one referee cover each game, instead of the usual two, to cut costs. Osher, however, countered that the additional fights and arguments wouldn't be worth the money saved. Each team in the league will play 10 games, one every Tuesday, starting Jan. 8. The last regular season games will be contested March 12. The winning team at the end cf the regular season will receive a trophy. Then a playoff tournament will begin, involving all six teams, Osher said. In the first round the sixth place team will face the first place team, the second place team will face the fifth place team, and the third place team will face the fourth place team. Osher said the playoffs will probably run over three nights, two Tuesdays and a Thursday. The top three teams in the tourney will receive trophies. |
