American Basketball League (1996–1998)
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American Basketball League (1996–1998)
The American Basketball League, often abbreviated to the ABL of 1996 was a professional women's basketball league in the United States. At the same time the ABL was being formed, the National Basketball Association (NBA) was creating the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The ABL began league competition in the Fall of 1996, while the WNBA launched its first game in June 1997. Both organizations came into existence during a surge in popularity for women's basketball in the United States that followed the perfect 35–0 national championship season for the Connecticut Huskies in 1995 and the undefeated, gold medal-winning performance of the United States Women's basketball team at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The ABL lasted two full seasons: 1996–97 and 1997–98. The Atlanta Glory and Long Beach Stingrays folded prior to the start of the 1998–99 season, and were replaced by two expansion teams, the Chicago Condors and Nashville Noise. On December 22, 1998, with alm ...
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United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ...
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The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ...
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Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Lake Buena Vista () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World—although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located in the adjacent city of Bay Lake. It is one of two Florida municipalities inside the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which also contains Walt Disney World, the other being Bay Lake. The permanent residential population of Lake Buena Vista was 24 at the 2020 census. Lake Buena Vista is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Chapter 67-1965 of the Laws of Florida, incorporating the City of Reedy Creek, was signed into law by Governor Claude R. Kirk, Jr. on May 12, 1967, the same day he also signed chapters 67-764 (creating the Reedy Creek Improvement District), also known as the Reedy Creek Improvement Act, and 67-1104 (incorporating the city of Bay Lake). It was located fully inside the Reedy ...
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Disney's Wide World Of Sports Complex
The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a multi-purpose sports complex located in the Walt Disney World Resort, in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, near Orlando. The complex includes nine venues and hosts numerous professional and amateur sporting events throughout the year. In reference to the weekly ABC Sports television show, '' Wide World of Sports'' (Disney bought ABC in 1996), the complex was originally known as Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex from 1997 until 2010, when it was rebranded with the name of the Disney-owned ESPN. The complex is a part of the sports tourism emerging market. The complex is mainly used for AAU tournaments; however, many prominent professional sporting events have taken place here, including the 2020 NBA Bubble, MLS is Back Tournament, 2016 Invictus Games, Pro Bowl skills competition from 2017 to 2020, 1997 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and Atlanta Braves spring training from 1997 to 2019 among other events. The complex hosted ...
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Tari Phillips
Tari L. Phillips (born March 6, 1969) is an American professional women's basketball player. She currently plays with Acer ERG Priolo, an Italian A1 team based in Priolo Gargallo, Sicily. Her cousin Tayyiba Haneef-Park plays for USA Volleyball. Born in Orlando, Florida, Phillips attended the University of Georgia during her first three college years, and helped its ''Lady Bulldogs'' team to the NCAA Regional Finals in 1987 and 1988. She transferred during her senior year to the University of Central Florida, where she graduated in 1991. She played for the Seattle Reign and the Colorado Xplosion in the American Basketball League (1996-1998). She made the ABL's Western Conference All-Star team in both 1997 and 1998, and was named the MVP of the 1997 All-Star Game. After the ABL abruptly folded, Phillip was selected by her hometown team, the Orlando Miracle in the first round (eighth overall) of the WNBA Draft on May 4, 1999. After her WNBA rookie season in 1999, she was s ...
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Hartford Civic Center
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the 2010 United States census have indicated that Hartford is the fourth-largest city in Connecticut with a 2020 population of 121,054, behind the coastal cities of Bridgeport, New Haven, and Stamford. Hartford was founded in 1635 and is among the oldest cities in the United States. It is home to the country's oldest public art museum (Wadsworth Atheneum), the oldest publicly funded park (Bushnell Park), the oldest continuously published newspaper (the ''Hartford Courant''), and the second-oldest secondary school ( Hartford Public High School). It is also home to the Mark Twain House, where the author wrote his most famous works and raised his family, among other historically significant sites. Mark Twain wrote in 1868, "Of all the beautifu ...
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Seattle Reign (basketball)
The Seattle Reign was the first women's professional basketball franchise in Seattle, Washington, USA. The Reign was a charter member of the American Basketball League (ABL). The team played from 1996 through 1998. The team's name was a reference to the city's reputation for rain and its location in King County, with an additional allusion to "The Reign Man" Shawn Kemp, then the city's biggest basketball star. The Reign played most of its home games in the Mercer Arena, part of Seattle Center, but occasionally the team played at the larger KeyArena, home of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics. The Arena was an old-fashioned, intimate setting for a basketball game, but its seating capacity of about 5,000 limited the team's upside attendance potential. In the team's inaugural season, the Reign drafted 1996 Olympic team veteran Venus Lacy to play center, but Lacy was generally outshone by the team's other two "big women", Cindy Brown and Tari Phillips. (This was the case even before Febr ...
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San Jose Lasers
The San Jose Lasers were a women's professional basketball team in San Jose, California. It was a member of the American Basketball League. Their home games were primarily held at the San Jose State Event Center with an occasional game being played at the San Jose Arena The SAP Center at San Jose (originally known as San Jose Arena and the HP Pavilion at San Jose) is an indoor arena located in San Jose, California. Its primary tenant is the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, for which the arena ha .... The head coach of the Lasers for their first season was Jan Lowrey, who was fired after an 18-22 season. For the second and partial 3rd season, the head coach was Angela Beck, who gave up her position as the University of Nebraska women's basketball coach, to head the Lasers. The team folded along with the rest of the league during the third ABL season in 1998. References {{reflist American Basketball League (1996–1998) teams Defunct basketball teams in th ...
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Portland Power (basketball)
The Portland Power was a women's professional basketball team in the American Basketball League (ABL) based in Portland, Oregon. The Power began play in 1996, and disbanded when the ABL folded at the end of 1998. The Power hosted home games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which had a capacity of 10,934. 1996-97 season The Power held their pre-season training camp at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon. A scrimmage was held in Monmouth on October 6, 1996, against the Seattle Reign. Portland's first head coach was Greg Bruce, who had previously been the head women's basketball coach at Portland State. The Power's first roster included: * Lisa Harrison, forward for Tennessee's 1991 national championship team * Michelle M. Marciniak, guard for Tennessee's 1996 national championship team *Katy Steding, Portland native, 1996 basketball Olympic gold medalist, and forward for Stanford's 1990 national championship team *Coquese Washington, guard for Notre Dame * Natalie W ...
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Colorado Xplosion
The Colorado Xplosion was the first women's professional basketball franchise in Colorado, an American Basketball League (ABL) team based in Denver. Playing from 1996 through 1998, the team produced many memorable moments for Colorado sports fans and followers of women's professional basketball in general. Team highlights include winning the Western Conference title in 1997, Edna Campbell being voted on to the 1997 All-Star Team, Crystal Robinson being the inaugural ABL Rookie of the Year, Debbie Black being the league's first Defensive Player of the Year, and Sylvia Crawley winning the 1998 Slam Dunk Contest at the ABL All-Star Game with a blindfolded dunk. Black made pro basketball history on December 8, 1996 when she became the first woman and only the second player ever to record a Quadruple Double, with 10 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists and 10 steals against Atlanta. Players for the Xplosion included Edna Campbell, Crystal Robinson, Debbie Black, Sylvia Crawley, Nekesh ...
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Philadelphia Rage
The Philadelphia Rage, were one of the eight original franchises of the American Basketball League (ABL), a women's professional basketball league. The franchise existed for just two-and-a-half seasons—1996-97 in Richmond, Virginia, 1997–98 and late 1998 in Philadelphia—the team produced many memorable moments for fans of women's basketball its highest level. The Rage were led by the 1996 US Olympic team point guard, Dawn Staley, and by the less heralded but equally energetic play of Adrienne Goodson, who shot like a guard and rebounded like a power forward. With power forward Taj McWilliams, the Rage had three players out of the ten named to the 1997 All-ABL First and Second teams—the most of any team. The Rage scored a PR coup by signing the great heptathlete and long jumper Jackie Joyner-Kersee, probably the best-known player on any team, but the unofficial World's Greatest Female Athlete was more effective as a fan draw than she was on the court. Their initial draf ...
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New England Blizzard
The New England Blizzard was a women's professional basketball franchise based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Blizzard was a charter member of the American Basketball League (1996–98), American Basketball League (ABL). Playing from 1996 through 1998, the team produced many memorable moments for New England basketball fans and followers of women's sports in general. The Blizzard played most of its home games in the Hartford Civic Center, but occasionally the team played at the smaller Springfield Civic Center. Though they never won a title, the Blizzard consistently drew the most fans of any ABL franchise. This was partly because of the strong winning tradition established at the University of Connecticut, which built a large, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable base of local fan support for the women's game. Additionally, the Blizzard hired Boston Celtics legend K. C. Jones as Head coach in 1997. Jones was easily the most widely recognized of the ABL coaches. Finally, the team feat ...
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