Adios, 'Rays

Despite boasting the best brand of women's basketball in the country, American Basketball League officials decided to close the doors on the Long Beach StingRays.

Rick Alonzo

Say goodnight to the team that came within one game of sweeping the best-of-five championship series in March.

I recently visited the StingRays' web site. Its once informational and visually impressive content has been reduced to nothing. Well, almost nothing.

Gone is the StingRays logo, the most visually attractive in women's pro basketball.

Gone are the updates about the team that finished its first and only regular season with a 28-16 record.

Gone are the news stories that so often tracked Yolanda Griffith's domination of the opposition. It reads, "The Long Beach StingRays organization no longer exists. For information ... "

Due to the league's financial woes, disappointing StingRays ticket sales, as well as lack of corporate sponsorship, CEO Gary Cavalli said the league terminated the franchise to "streamline operations, reduce expenses and improve profitability."

The StingRays' attendance figures were the worst in the league, averaging 2,117 per game. That is 1,121 less people per game than the second-worst team, the Philadelphia Rage, who averaged 3,238.

It is not that women's basketball is not popular in this country - the ABL's New England Blizzard franchise averaged 8,857 fans per home contest this past season.

It is just that women's basketball is not popular in Long Beach. Long Beach State women's basketball games drew just hundreds, and what at times seemed like dozens, of fans last season.

I attended 20 of the 22 StingRays' home games, including a couple at the Pond of Anaheim. I have never seen more competitive basketball, and that includes the NBA. Regular season games are all-out battles. Everyone wants to win.

Long Beach might not have ever embraced the StingRays.

It is just unfortunate for the franchise that it was not given the time to win over the public.