RW

YBL: A Retrospective

May 20, 2013

AB
Stage· 276 messages
May 20, 2013
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:00 AM

Wattup gringito?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:00 AM

am I here?
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:01 AM

yes you is
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:01 AM

who's in the forum? Any YBL legends?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:01 AM

Appears Carbaugh is here. The question: where is Don?
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:01 AM

Haha we got some trickling in. but i think you're the biggest YBL legend of them all.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:02 AM

Fittingly, folks are late...since all YBL games started 15 minutes late
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:02 AM

Haha, and were then generally given a few extra "do over" minutes at the end.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:03 AM

anyway let's get started
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:03 AM

do over minutes were granted only as a means of preserving parity
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:03 AM

"It's all in the game though"
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:03 AM

I think what we're attempting to do tonight is not only relive some of YBL's greatest moments...
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:04 AM

but also discuss YBL as an institution. what made it so special, so polarizing
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:04 AM

I wanted to begin a bit by exploring what made YBL so unique and so successful and really so memorable as a youth basketball league
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:05 AM

I think YBL tapped into something really deep in terms of its egalitarian spirit and that was somethign that made it so uniquely Northampton and so distinct from other leagues...Let me elaborate for a moment
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:05 AM

Recall that at the creaiton of YBL in 1992-1993, Northampton was a changing town and rapidly at that but it was a town still grounded in the traditions of a relatively normal blue collar/middle class New England town.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:06 AM

Go on...
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:06 AM

And yet you had a sizeable population of ex hippies, folks from the projects near the Y and just people yearning for a better brand of hoops than the bullshit found at Rec
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:06 AM

In walks Dennis Jackson
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:07 AM

a singular legend in all ways but a legend uniquely situated for the times
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:07 AM

He had crossover appeal
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:07 AM

On the one hand, your Hamp traditionalists liked his old school, disciplined style
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:08 AM

On the other, the Noho crowd yearned for their kids to be influenced by a black dude, since most of their kids seldom interacted with black people
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:08 AM

so in a sense he's the only guy who could appeal to both the Unitarian crowd and the Hatfield folks
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:09 AM

The cult of personality that surrounded him began slowly but quickly picked up as people got word that he was the main sheriff in town
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:09 AM

By year 3 or 4, I'd guess each league (NCAA and NBA) had 8 or so teams and people used to literally have to wait in line at the Y the night registration went down just to get a place. The golden years were really 96-2002 or so
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:10 AM

Yes i remember how intense YBL signups became
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:10 AM

Parents were just as invested as the players by that point
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:10 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dina Fein

“Anybody interested in a parent's perspective on YBL.”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:10 AM

Parents were often MORE invested than players
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:11 AM

Yes, let's hear it.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:11 AM

And yet it was a decidedly kids league; the parents harbroed way less influence than in rec or suburban
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:11 AM

I will never get over the way parents just regressed when they stepped in that gym on saturday mornings
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:11 AM

Maybe their passion stemmed from the fact that YBL coaches were often not parents
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:12 AM

Sure you had Lynz and Witkos in later years
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:12 AM

Maybe. Remember the way Peter Bigwood used to keep Will's stats on his palm pilot?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:12 AM

But a lot of YBL coaches were relative randos...not power players in the racket that is most of youth sports
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:12 AM

How could I forget. And then int erms of parents, there was the parent of all parents: MEAN GENE
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:13 AM

Mean Gene deserves a Tawk of his own.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:13 AM

It was unclear how he became such a coaching legend.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:13 AM

The calipari of YBL
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:13 AM

I mean, he didn't appear to know ANYTHING about hoops when eh started
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:13 AM

but he was an early adopted of advanced statistical analysis
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:14 AM

and by that I mean, he WATCHED EVERY SINGLE GAME AND KEPT EVERY SINGLE PLAYER'S STATS
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:14 AM

and, according to some testimonials on Facebook, he was quite the savyy and relentless recruiter
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:14 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dennis Radgowski

“I only played under parents of my younger teammates, Witkos and Camposeo. Both hardasses... it was during my anti-authority years so I ended up playing both of them one on one in front of entire team”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:14 AM

but like I said, YBL is a players league and even gene's championships were the byproduct of Ivan and Jose, the ringers he brought in from Holyoke
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:15 AM

but i remember his catch phrases far more than i remember his players..."hands up jameson, hands up." "pass around, pass around"
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:15 AM

yes, i will give that to him, he was always hardest on his own son.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:15 AM

★ Spotlighted from Andy Carbaugh

“I remember mean gene showing up to our team's practices lol”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:15 AM

not to mention, the ubiquitous and intimidating presence of his daughter Elery, who served as a cheerleader, trainer, assistant coach, advanced scout, and general fear mongerer all in one
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:15 AM

You're KIDDING - he scouted other practices??
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:15 AM

He scouted every single game
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:16 AM

he had legit hundreds upon hindreds o fpages of reports
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:16 AM

And i' not exageratting AT ALL
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:16 AM

I remember those binders he carried around.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:16 AM

How many championships did he win?
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:17 AM

I thought I remembered him being fairly underachieving in that respect
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:17 AM

I wanna say like 2 or 3? And fyi I never won one
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:17 AM

10 seasons as a player and 3 as a coach...still no rings
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:17 AM

maybe that's why i go so hard in slow pitch softball
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:17 AM

Yes that is quite a legacy
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:17 AM

Na, Gene def has rings
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:17 AM

★ Spotlighted from Andy Carbaugh

“At least 2, right?”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:17 AM

I actually wouldn't be surprised if he had actual rings
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:18 AM

Speaking of YBL achievement
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:18 AM

Who would you consider to be the best player ever to pass through?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:18 AM

tough, tough question
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:18 AM

I look at it in eras
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:18 AM

And not necessarily the most talented, as you said, but the one who, for whatever reason, incited the most fear within those walls.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:18 AM

early years, the greatest performance I ever saw was by Dan Crowther. Scord 44 points on 13 3's. in NCAA no less
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:19 AM

but he got fat and his career ended early. never lived up to billing
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:19 AM

Quite the accomplishment
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:19 AM

the reality is: COLLEEN HESSION
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:19 AM

she was simply unreal
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:19 AM

John Kelly was great but also got fat
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:19 AM

haha WOW what an amazing retrieval. She was amazing.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:20 AM

John Kelly was also perceived as perhaps even better because he always had new Jordans...and I believe a diamond earing
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:20 AM

I gotta say that Ray Witkos is synonymous with YBL for me.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:20 AM

Colleen scored over 2K in HS and I believe is among the top 3 leading scorers at Williams
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:20 AM

Such a feared match up
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:20 AM

Ray dominated. no doubt about it.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:21 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dina Fein

“Time when YBL games were as intense as anything you saw at Lafrak (:”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:21 AM

quiet assassin
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:21 AM

ended up playing D1 ball for Bryant
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:21 AM

★ Spotlighted from Danny Workman

“Andrei.........maybe your lack of rings is because of your strict adherence to the 1st and 3rd, 2nd and 3rd conundrum.”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:21 AM

Lahovich Award winner...wmass player of the year.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:21 AM

dropped 40 a few playoff game sin a row to take tiny holyoke catholic to the cage and upset whomever they upset
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:22 AM

and yet, I bet if you asked him (and he's supposed to be joining us), he'd tell you YBL were his best memories
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:22 AM

Mama Jane brings up a good point - the vibe in that gym on saturdays was so intense.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:22 AM

who is mama jane?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:22 AM

dina?
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:22 AM

yup.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:23 AM

Not only were the games taken very seriously from a competition standpoint, but it was also a full on SOCIAL EVENT
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:23 AM

the best part of ay YBL game was the last few minutes because all the people for the NEXT game were trying to get in and couldn't so it was just PACKED
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:23 AM

to the point where girls who didn't play would come and watch, like Caitlin Flynn
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:23 AM

first generation jersey chasers
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:23 AM

good luck getting to the vending machines if there was a swim meet goign on on the same day
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:23 AM

★ Spotlighted from Andy Carbaugh

“the last couple got hazy, dominance-wise because all the best players left for AAU in the middle of the playoffs”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:23 AM

oh absolutely.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:24 AM

★ Spotlighted from Andy Carbaugh

“Ray Witkos and the Hammills dominated all of the years I remember clearly”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:24 AM

YBL meant so much more than any other league because it was the only league that featured peopel from all swaths of Northampton life
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:24 AM

truly a melting pot in a community that was sometimes deceptively separatist
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:24 AM

true andy, the hamill mamill duo was killer
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:25 AM

it really was - were you able to appreciate that in real time?
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:25 AM

I wasn't, i just knew it was fun.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:25 AM

But I'm sure parents appreciated it for that reason.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:25 AM

I sort of intuitively "got it."
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:25 AM

but I was so invested in the games
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:25 AM

and HATED Bowers
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:25 AM

FUCKING HATED HIM
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:25 AM

Yeah elaborate on that hatred
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:26 AM

which you are harboring into your late 20's
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:26 AM

The real reason I hated Bowers was because he was the only person in the gym who didn't truly share the passion for the league
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:26 AM

he didn't "get it" and yet he acted liek such a hero for showing up to shittily ref 8 games a day
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:26 AM

Like no dude, actually you're ruining dreams
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:27 AM

ironically, he coached me in micky mantle baseball when i was 16 and knew a shit ton about hitting
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:27 AM

probably the reason i was able to manage a spot in varisty baseball in hs, even as i never made it in hoops, whioch i was much better at pre 13
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:27 AM

but he was so damn smug as a ref
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:28 AM

In his defense, the rules were a little loose. Probably hard to ref consistently.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:28 AM

★ Spotlighted from Andy Carbaugh

“Ahhh Bowers. Quick aside, I had a throwaway facebook comment about comparing YBL personalities to Game of Thrones characters. George Bowers being Joffrey spurred this idea in my brain.”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:28 AM

The rule sweren't lose...the enforcement was loose
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:28 AM

That's brilliant, Andy.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:28 AM

★ Spotlighted from Blake Ian

“http://www.northamptonma.gov/recreation/Youth_Programs/Basketball/”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:28 AM

what did andy say? i can't see it
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:29 AM

Blake, Rec is a whoooole different animal.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:30 AM

in fact Drei - DJ was pretty clear in how he positioned YBL against Suburban and Rec
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:30 AM

like there was a rivalry of sorts that formed -- and that was DJ's doing.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:31 AM

Ahh great comments ya'll
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:31 AM

I see them now
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:32 AM

DJ was clear for sure. HATED suburban and actually disliked me when i finally made it as an 8th grader
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:32 AM

Why do you think he hated it? Because it poached his players or was it more ideological than that?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:33 AM

Rec was just a shit show...no community vibe to it. just a sloppy assortment of people who didn't know or care about basketball but wanted to get away from their wives to coach for a morning a week
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:33 AM

partly the poaching, partly the self-seriousness of it, particularly at youngr ages
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:33 AM

DJ hated guys who taught kids zone
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:33 AM

he was an ideological zealot against zone or even double teaming
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:33 AM

i mean there was a DOUBLE TEAMING RULE
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:34 AM

"NO NO, THAT'S A DA-BO"
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:34 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dina Fein

“YBL was a way to connect with the community, for people who didn't always choose to connect to the community”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:34 AM

A rule, ironically, he wouldn't enforce tightly provided you were doubling suburban players
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:35 AM

What were some of the more heated moments you can recall in games?
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:35 AM

There's been talk of ejections, fights, etc
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:35 AM

Well for me, I got more heated as a coach, ironically
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:35 AM

A new guy in town, an engineering prof at smith, some big wig who'd gone to michigan and insited his team be Michigan, had 7 players one day
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:36 AM

the classy way to handle that is, of course, to have your shitty guys play up with the 2nd and 4ths
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:36 AM

but he played his top guys DOWN
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:36 AM

and they took, and i kid you not on this, a 20 TO NOTHING lead after the first quarter
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:36 AM

To people who don't know, leads like that were frowned upon.. again, in the spirit of PARITY.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:37 AM

I'm smirking at him, pissed off, not realizing that he was probably devoid of the social skills to even know that he was engaging in a deeply unethical display or competitiveness
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:37 AM

well the lead wasn't the issue
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:37 AM

it was the playing of the top kids in the 1st and 3rd
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:37 AM

cause the good thing was, if everyone had their 10, parity was actually pretty apparent
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:38 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dennis Radgowski

“YBL let kids of all talent levels play high stake basketball in front of an enthusiastic crowd, I think the difference was atmosphere. That atmosphere made it popular and eventually beloved. Suburban, HS, CYO etc were talent tiered and cold.”

AB

Andrei Berman · 1:38 AM

but the exploitativeness came when, invariably, you didn't have your full roster...that's when the great ethical tests emerged
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:38 AM

I want to take a minute to talk about what Dennis just said
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:38 AM

Dennis is right also because YBL was largely devoid of politics
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:38 AM

YBL felt WARM - was that a top-down thing that started with DJ?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:39 AM

Little known fact: first 3 years of YBL had individual trophies and an all star game (which i made my 3rd grade year)
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:39 AM

YBL was truly egalitarian
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:39 AM

Drew all swaths of a diverse but often fractured community
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:39 AM

and the kids and DJ ran the show...very little power in the hands of shitty parents
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:40 AM

even mean gene was far from your archetypal sports parent
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:40 AM

I also think it's important to note that, because such a wide age range was welcome, often entire families were participating together
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:40 AM

like Willy and I are 4 years apart and YBL was one of the only things we ever got to do together.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:41 AM

very good point. I played with my sister on UNLV in 92-93...our first a dthirds starting 5 consisted of us, coleen hession, dave hammer, and bobby marvel...we lost in the finals to an omar rivera-led UMass team. HEART BREAK
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:42 AM

That reminded me of a question - I forget - how were teams picked/assembled?
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:42 AM

What was that process?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:42 AM

SIZE ORDER BABY AND THEN TRADES
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:42 AM

the mythical parity that coach spoke of was basically just him counting 1-8 for kids in size order
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:42 AM

and then making sometimes quite arbitrary trades to "even things out"
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:42 AM

Size Order!!!!! YESS, I forgot.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:43 AM

he'd just grab a kid by the collar and trade him to "team 8" and that was that
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:43 AM

There was no ego boost like the boost that came with getting traded for a shitty player, knowing that you were evening things out.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:43 AM

then, my favorite ybl quirk, they'd release schedules with the teams as "1, 2, 3," etc and you'd have to look to the key to see what team you were...6 was UConn...4 was UNC etc
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:44 AM

those schedules were typed on a type writer and would be gobbled up within days and then seemingly for the rest of the year no one really knew when their game was
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:46 AM

Sorry kids, temporarily distracted by Miguel on the Billboard Awards. that boy can croon.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:46 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dennis Radgowski

“so manhy sibling-to-sibling rivalries began in YBL and many have been perpetuated thru high school, college, and now twentysomething bar rivalries”

RW

Rachael Workman · 1:46 AM

Dennis, care to drop some names?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:47 AM

hammills vs coffeys
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:47 AM

or did they p[lay together?
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:47 AM

Haha I don't remember.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:48 AM

One of my favorite things about YBL was the team names
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:48 AM

sponsors not involved, no corportization
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:48 AM

just straight ripping off NCAA copy righted and NBA copy righted material instead
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:49 AM

Haha true - Umass being the coveted hometown assignment
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:49 AM

and those teams were named after whatever loose affilitations DJ had with various NCAA teams
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:49 AM

YES - UNLV being a good example. Like, what?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:49 AM

speaking of UMass: I'm convinvced that part of YBL's success from 94-98 or so was because of the overall enthuisiasm for umass hoops at that time
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:49 AM

the whole area was transfixed
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:49 AM

UNLV was dope in early 90s
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:49 AM

they didn't last
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:49 AM

NO ONE WANTED TO BE ON NEW HAMPSHIRE
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:50 AM

Jamhal had played there
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:50 AM

and not only were they irrelevant but they had white t shirts
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:50 AM

Hahaha, the white tshirts... a fate worse than death
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:50 AM

so kids would routinely have like red dots of gatorade sprinkled over their UNH t's
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:51 AM

best part was the huge sneakers on the front of every YBL t shirt...team name and numbers on the back
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:51 AM

one year i remember, they had yellow purdue shirts but they spelled it perdue, like the chicken, not the school
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:51 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dennis Radgowski

“sorry for the delay, lotta nudity on Game of Thrones this week.. can I pose the question of most dominant YBL siblings? Hammils have been said, Workmans might have been past my time, there the Camposeos, Hammerschmiths, who am I forgetting?”

RW

Rachael Workman · 1:52 AM

That's a great question Dennis.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:52 AM

Coffeys were sneaky good.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:52 AM

The only advantage the workman squad has was the fact that no dudes would actually guard me, especially once we grew increasingly pubescent
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:52 AM

Then there were siblings who didn't play on the same team, a ybl-specific dynamic that wouldn't have been seen elsewhere
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:53 AM

there were siblings who didn't play on the same team?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:53 AM

mak krawsynzki and brian might have been a dynamic duo for a minute
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:53 AM

regularly.
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:53 AM

me an dmy sister did only one year, then we split up
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:53 AM

and i remember others
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:54 AM

does anyone remember Jimmy
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:54 AM

from deerfield
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:54 AM

family was straight out of a 1976 sitcom
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:54 AM

★ Spotlighted from Andy Carbaugh

“Not that we were any good, but yeah me and jonny seperated teams for a few of the excessivily twin angst years of age 11-14 or so”

RW

Rachael Workman · 1:54 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dennis Radgowski

“the Premos??? Hamps forgetton sons”

RW

Rachael Workman · 1:54 AM

I remember Jimmy !
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:55 AM

The Premos definitely had a run where they were dynamic but they were in like 4 leagues plus indoor soccer so they weren't ybl gym rats...ie kids who worked the clock and tried to get beechnut life savers out of the vending machines
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:56 AM

hahah Drei your memory -- it's uncanny.
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:56 AM

those lifesavers were so money
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:56 AM

speaking of the clock...KEN LYNZ INTENTIONALLY FUCKED WITH THE CLOCK ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:56 AM

haha, really??
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:57 AM

the Y lounge had that one shitty tv where people would watch the tail end of UMass games
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:57 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dina Fein

“I have to say that the kids working the clock caused a lot of major parental stress!”

RW

Rachael Workman · 1:58 AM

What was the biggest scandal that you can recall?
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:58 AM

hmm...good question...one time in a consolation game, gleason me and the nagles colluded to extend our game to as many OTs as possible
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:59 AM

we all scored career highs in the process. and managed to take it to a 2nd to at which pt dj just made up a rule that this ot would be 2 minutes
AB

Andrei Berman · 1:59 AM

then it went to triple and he just threw his hands up and said "sudden death"
RW

Rachael Workman · 1:59 AM

hahaha
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:00 AM

★ Spotlighted from Andy Carbaugh

“hahaha I remember watching that game!!! He kept shortening the overtimes. Was it really only 3?”

AB

Andrei Berman · 2:00 AM

there was also the one year where the entire army of darkness and various off shoots just joined the league out of nowhere and people were trying to get raul matta in the scorign column and shit. just out of nowhere...
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:01 AM

I remember that - a serious infiltration
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:01 AM

i've heard some great teddy bach stories but those were maybe a year or two past my player retirement
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:01 AM

Yes he seems to have been a legend in his own right.
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:01 AM

My brother speaks highly of his exploits
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:02 AM

YBL was also the unexpected beneficiary of budget cuts...ie, they had cut the freshman team, thus ending my serious hoops career...but just sending tons more to the Y and improving the NBA
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:02 AM

the NBA got REALLY good at one point
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:02 AM

If there are people out there listening, sign up so you can comment and contribute
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:03 AM

The NBA got EXCELLENT to the point that the court was actually way too small
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:03 AM

5 on 5 ball by big 16 year olds is too big for that tiny court
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:03 AM

We should wrap up this installment soon - but i want to talk about one more thing before we do.
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:04 AM

And that is how and why YBL ended
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:04 AM

Sad sad story, to which I don't know all the details, but I've heard some new hardo Y director came and tried to play hard ball with DJ
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:04 AM

sometimes i feel like maybe we as alumni should've rallied around DJ a little bit, once we heard the news.
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:04 AM

so he took his act to Jackson street and said fuck it. now runs a smaller shop out of the dusty, poorly lit floors of Jackson street, but a league nonetheless.
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:05 AM

I think we were all in college or post college by that point and it wasn't even on my radar.
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:05 AM

I remember hearing about it -- but i was at pique selfishness as like a junior in college
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:05 AM

but a part of me wonders: had th eleague lost some of its heft by that point? I mean, even the Rolling Stones had their glory years...tough for all the stars to align for more than a 15 year run
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:06 AM

UMass hoops falling off didn't help. the valley's passion for hoops fell a bit...bandwagon region
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:06 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dina Fein

“Dennis got a community hero award last week in Amherst. He's still very beloved.”

AB

Andrei Berman · 2:07 AM

plus by that point, the town had become way less divided and maybe the sociological imperative to field a league which unified the town wasn't as needed
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:07 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dennis Radgowski

“The YMCA as we knew it ended about 2002ish, became a business... gone were the Sundays of 1-6pm open court, gone were the days of 5 kids walking past the desk unquestioned, impromptu bench sessions in the basement, cannonballs fully clothed etc”

AB

Andrei Berman · 2:07 AM

dennis, I LOL'ed
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:07 AM

Haha it's true, the dynamics of the town, and of the Y, were all changing
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:07 AM

Maybe DJ needs to launch in Easthampton
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:08 AM

and all good things must come to an end.
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:08 AM

the Northampton of 1993
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:08 AM

last question...
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:08 AM

You can ask my parents all abou that, they love the vibe in E-Ho for just that reason
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:08 AM

If you had to have one t shirt featuring an image and a slogan that truly defined YBL, what would it be?
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:08 AM

oh wow
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:09 AM

Toes on the line will always be it for me. But if i were designing a shirt for aesthetics, i could do something cool with Ice Cream Pass.
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:10 AM

hmm...i might say "Match-ups" with the number on the back being "U2" and the name "YBL"
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:10 AM

i guarantee if we made a batch of either T, we could sell em out.
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:10 AM

the picture ight just be black and white of DJ's face...stache perfectly trimmed, head totally bald
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:11 AM

We'd just bring em to Ganza and they'd blow out.
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:11 AM

Yeah we could fill an order for 50 no problem...the one with just DJ's face might have broader appeal for all those poor AMherst and commerce kids who dealt with his wrath as a dean
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:11 AM

Alright dude - this was a nice look back. Let's pick it back up at some point. Get some more peeps involved.
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:11 AM

no doubt. one.
AB

Andrei Berman · 2:12 AM

AND DONT' WEAR YOUR HAT IN THE GYM
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:12 AM

ONE LOVE TO MY YBL #FAM
RW

Rachael Workman · 2:14 AM

★ Spotlighted from Danny Workman

“U2,U2.,U2”

RW

Rachael Workman · 2:14 AM

★ Spotlighted from Dennis Radgowski

“good tawk. til next time, out!”

RW

Rachael Workman · 5:51 PM

★ Spotlighted from Andy Carbaugh

“Just called Donal and made his night telling him about this talk. It was fun, guys! And always remember to bend those knees on your free throws”

RW

Rachael Workman · 1:26 PM

★ Spotlighted from Dina Fein

“Do you all remember how someone would trip over the extension cord and the clock would power down, invariably with seconds left?”

RW

Rachael Workman · 9:18 PM

★ Spotlighted from Dennis Radgowski

“Drei is right, a lot of it had to do with it just being the 90s in the Pioneer Valley... BASKETBALL WAS EVERYTHING. Dennis Jackson had a powerful personality, but it was also very much right place at the right time”

RW

Rachael Workman · 10:14 PM

★ Spotlighted from Danny Workman

“Also siblings had to be on the same teams”

RW

Rachael Workman · 10:17 PM

★ Spotlighted from Jordan Birnbaum

“Who won the one on ones?”

RW

Rachael Workman · 3:16 PM

★ Spotlighted from Blake Ian

“Good times ”