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[Karra Porter]Mad Seasons The Story of the First Womens Professional Basketball League, 1978-1981(pdf){Zzzzz} torrent


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As the popularity of women’s basketball burgeons, Karra Porter reminds us in Mad Seasons that today’s Women’s National Basketball Association, or WNBA had its origins in a ragtag league twenty years earlier. Porter tells the story of the Women’s Professional Basketball League WBL, which pioneered a new era of women’s sports.

Formed in 1978, the league included the not-so-storied Dallas Diamonds, Chicago Hustle, and Minnesota Fillies. Porter’s book takes us into the heart of the WBL as teams struggled with nervous sponsors, an uncertain fan base, and indifferent sportswriters. Despite bouncing paychecks, having to sleep on floors, and being stranded on road games, the players endured and thrived.

Karra Porter brings to life the pioneers of the WBL: “Machine Gun” Molly Bolin, who set lasting scoring records—then faced an historic custody battle because of her basketball career; Connie Kunzmann, a popular player whose murder rocked the league; Liz Silcott, whose remarkable talents masked deeper problems off the court; Ann Meyers, who went from an NBA tryout to the league she had rebuffed; Nancy Lieberman, whose flashy play and marketing savvy were unlike anything the women's game had ever seen.

A story of hardship and sacrifice, but also of dedication and love for the game, Mad Seasons brings the WBL back to life and shows in colorful detail how this short-lived but pioneering league ignited the imagination of a new generation of female athletes and fans.

Publisher: Bison Books; 1st edition, edition (May 1, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0803287895
ISBN-13: 978-0803287891

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
For a nearly forgotten league that lasted just three years, the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) enjoyed a surprising share of good stories, recorded here for the first time. Having represented WNBA players in her law practice, Porter is well-versed in women's basketball past and present, and treats her subject with care. From the beginning of its first season in October 1977, the league was populated by women whose motivation was "love of the game"-unsurprising considering the pay they were (supposed to be) pulling in, but surprising considering their astonishing level of commitment to the chaotic league. Players washed their own uniforms; crammed three or four to a hotel room; traveled long distances to games by van (often driven by their coach); and, of course, were generally paid very little, if at all (by December 1979, Washington Metros players had yet to be paid). Through it all, there was some good basketball played-and some really good players making it happen; WBL stars included Ann Meyers, Molly Bolin, Nancy Lieberman and Carol Blazejowski, some of whom remain in the game as coaches, managers and commentators. Still, Porter's account is largely about the forgotten names, the players who sacrificed so much to advance women's basketball long before the success of the WNBA, and pays fitting tribute to them. Dramatic and insightful, this should please anyone with an interest in the history of hoops.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Porter has a keen eye for the telling detail, a reconteur’s love of storytelling, and amid the important cache of stats and box scores, she creates vivid heroes of the league.”—Cassie DeHahn, Aethlon
(Cassie DeHahn Aethlon)

“Relive all of the great moments, the troubling challenges, the highlights, the star players, and gain a whole new perspective of what it took to get professional basketball into the spotlight that is today’s NBA and WNBA. There’s plenty for men and women alike to enjoy about Karra Porter’s Mad Seasons.”—Bill Ingram, Hoopsworld.com
(Bill Ingram Hoopsworld.com 2006-07-24)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

So Close, Yet So Far
By Best Of All on August 16, 2006
What would you say about a league that survived for three tumultuous seasons due to players who many times had paychecks bounce higher than the basketballs, a handful of owners who truly wanted to operate a first-rate league and a fandom that came out in impressive numbers for the final championship series?

Karra Porter, an attorney who has represented several WNBA players, pens the first history of the WBL, that operated from 1978-1981. It is an important addition to the knowledge of a reader who enjoys exploring basketball history or wants to better comprehend the battle waged in women's team sports to have viable leagues at the professional level.

Porter covers every facet of the game - from the front office and hardcourt, to the media and fans - and thoroughly describes the financial stumbling off the court that doomed the product on the court.

Ultimately it was the shabby treatment of players that destroyed the league. In the final season, several teams and individuals staged walkouts in protest of not being paid. A showdown between owners who wanted the league to be operated professionally and those who had more shallow verbiage than cash caused a rift that sunk the WBL in a sea of broken promises.

But how close the WBL came to making it.

At least one NBA owner was interested in investing in an existing team, but watched to see if the league would stabilize financially. The league just missed on what became the sports boom in cable television, when a then regional operation in Bristol, Conn., espn, began its search to show sports 24 hours a day.

As much oral history as it is research, Mad Seasons is a great read.

Mad Love
By Kim Callahan on July 22, 2006
This book from new author Karra Porter was well worth the wait. It is not a dry history of the oft forgot WBL, but rather an engaging and fun read. The years of research that went into this book is obvious with its detailed accounts and interviews. A true labor of love by a dedicated basketball fan, "Mad Seasons" offers an objective "insider's" look at the rise and fall of this pioneering effort.

Fans and women's basketball professionals alike should read this book to see just far we've come and what the phrase "playing for the love of the game" really means.

I would, however, have included the unpublished "Media Glare" chapter (see the book's website for more info) rather than the "Snapshots" chapter. While the snapshots are interesting and amusing, media coverage remains a hot issue among fans and I think many would have been greatly interested in it - particularly as it also gives us the history of the first women's college basketball poll.





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