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ThunderDawgs' league grows by 6

By MIKE READLING

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 22, 2000

Since its inception this year, the American Basketball Association 2000 has added teams in the hope of becoming a premier player on the landscape.

Tuesday the league added six teams when it announced a merger with the 1-year-old International Basketball League.

The new 14-team league will incorporate the eight original ABA 2000 teams, including the Tampa Bay ThunderDawgs, and the six remaining IBL teams, in Cincinnati; Las Vegas; Albuquerque, N.M.; Richmond, Va.; St. Louis; and Trenton, N.J. The ABA also had teams in Detroit; Indianapolis; Kansas City; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tenn.; San Diego; and Chicago.

The merger comes three weeks before the scheduled start of the IBL season. Part of the compromise means the new league will begin play Dec. 8, although most of the ABA teams, which were preparing for a Dec. 26 start, will not participate.

"Our feeling is that we have three teams, -- Los Angeles, Detroit and Memphis -- that are capable of fielding a team right now," said Joe Newman, an ABA 2000 co-founder and president of the Indiana Legends. "Those three teams will play games in advance of our season, but the rest will start Dec. 26."

The new league will adopt the quirky rule changes the ABA had planned. A red, white and blue ball will be used, and the league will allow zone defense and promote the full-court press by rewarding bonus points for points scored off a backcourt steal. There also will be a 30-second shot clock, two referees and unlimited fouls.

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