By Mike Ainger
In the words of Phil Lynott – “Guess who just got back today? Them wild-eyed boys that had been away. Haven’t changed, had much to say. But man, I still think them cats are crazy.”
To those in attendance at the Spruce Glen gymnasium, easy parallels could be drawn to Lynott’s supposed reference to Manchester’s ‘Quality Street Gang’ of the 1970’s, and Huntsville’s own version of the AND1 Mixtape Crew, otherwise known as ‘The 705’.
After a five-month offseason, the boys were indeed back in town, with play opening in the traditional “free-throws for teams” format. The duration of this process suggested that summer training was mostly dryland in nature. Nevertheless, by 8:10, play was underway through sweat-soaked brows and bloodshot eyes.
Team Red jumped out to a quick lead, winning the first match of the ‘3-on-3, first to 7’ format, as both teams combined for 27 turnovers in nine minutes of play.
While opening-day jitters were evident early on, by 7:20 the rust and dust had settled. Team Black bravely shot their way to a comeback win, evening the score at a game a piece, led by the strong ball handling of a rookie call-up whose attendance shattered the record for the youngest player in league history.
By halftime, it was clear that the opening salvo in a long season would be defined by small lineups, with coaches evidently opting to rest their big men for an additional week. Speculation on this decision ranged from “he had to go to his actual job” to “he sustained an upper lower-body injury while cutting wood.” With pace picking up, Teams Red and Black would split the subsequent two games, after league officials boldly opted to switch to a four-on-four format, with no subs.
In the final match, Team Red managed to squeeze out a closely contested victory (7-6), on a largely uncontested layup, given that it was 8:58 and their allotted gym time was up.
Injuries for the evening were reported as minimal, with one player sustaining two sprained ankles. Team doctors confirmed that the standard RICE treatment would likely suffice, with the affected player expected to return next week.
Play resumes in the 705 next Wednesday, barring potential labour action due to increased league fees.
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