MarylandNighthawksBlog.com

2008-05-15T17:01:00.002-04:00

4:55PM…AD here…OK you probably already saw the new site design entering this blog! What do you guys think?! Everyone here at the Nighthawks and the PBL is happy with this great new look and slick feel. We tried to emphasize ease in the new layout and minimize the number of clicks to get to your designation. The RSS feed is also a nice add on enabling you to receive streamed information in real time. All of the other PBL team’s websites will look similar to the Nighthawks site and feature the same technology. Let us know what you think of the site by responding or casting your vote on the front page!

2008-05-14T12:42:00.001-04:00

12:42PM…AD here, I apologize for the lack of posts, but believe it or not, the off season is more busier than the regular season, at least from the front office’s perspective. This is the time where we get out sponsors that enable us to scout and sign our players, cover some of our expenses, as well as get involved in the community. Dunkin’ the mascot is a whole operation/business alone so, as you can see there is a lot going on right now…Thought you guys would like to get the inside scoop, MarylandNighthawks.com is going to be launching a brand new website within this coming week. The look is like no other and will have all of the latest technology and is very fan interactive! Maryland is the first of the 14 PBL teams that is having its website re-designed. All of the other team’s sites will look similar to the Nighthawks web layout. The league is also having its web site re-designed so get ready and excited for this brand new look of the Nighthawks!

2008-04-29T11:41:00.003-04:00

11:45AM...AD back on the internet airwaves...The PBL announced that Nighthawks guard Randy “White Chocolate” Gill has been named to the 2008 PBL All-Playoff team. Gill helped lead the Nighthawks to the second round of the playoffs averaging 26 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and 5 apg in two post season games.

The 2008 Premier Basketball League All-Playoff Team is listed below:

Nick Tuggle, Arkansas Impact
Jeremy Bell, Arkansas Impact
Anthony Lumpkin, Jacksonville Slam
Randy Gill, Maryland Nighthawks
Bobby Anderson, Quad Cities Riverhawks
Tayron Thomas, Reading Railers
Keith Friel, Rochester Razorsharks
James Reaves, Rochester Razorsharks
Rashi Johnson, Rockford Fury
Byron Mouton, Wilmington Sea Dawgs

The PBL will announce the 2008 All-League Team award winners shortly, including Most Valuable Player and Coach of the year honors.

2008-04-18T08:05:00.002-04:00

8:12AM...AD here….there was an article that appeared in yesterday’s Washington Post that talks about the new proposed arena in which the Nighthawks would play in. The proposed midsized arena, which would hold anywhere between 6,500-8,500 seats, would be built on Montgomery College’s Germantown Campus and would be similar to George Mason’s Patriot Center. If all goes as planned, I am hearing the arena would be ready for the 2009-2010 season!

2008-04-17T09:22:00.003-04:00

9:25AM…AD back on the blog…been a while since I last posted, lots of stuff evolving with the Nighthawks and the PBL. The PBL just announced that there will be a Southeast Asia expansion team in the PBL next season, and the PBL is planning on touring J.O.’s native Thailand this summer. The Nighthawks have a busy schedule and are going to be appearing in a lot of events this offseason, starting with Randy “White Chocolate” Gill appearing at Montgomery Knolls ES to talk to the students and motivate them before they take a week-long test….going off-topic, but I thought the following interview would give you guys a laugh. At the 3:32 mark in the video, Gheorghe Muresan, the former Washington Wizard was asked on Washington Wizards Magazine how he felt playing for the Nighthawks in the tallest staring line-up game two seasons ago…the 7-foot-7 Muresan replies “It was kind of weird for me...I feel very short”

2008-04-04T09:14:00.001-04:00

9:17AM...AD Bloggin...MarylandNighthawks.com recently caught up with Nighthawks guard Tamir Goodman and discussed this season, an update on his finger injury, his summer plans and much more! Read the complete chat transcript here!

2008-04-01T08:20:00.005-04:00

8:25AM...AD back again…it’s been a busy week since the Nighthawks season ended, the Razorsharks took home the inaugural 2008 PBL Championship with a win over Arkansas in front of over 9,000 fans AND quietly, the Nighthawks front office has been talking non-stop, to lets just say a former legend and they finally sealed the deal…the Nighthawks have scheduled a HUGE press conference today at 10AM at the Hanley Center to announce the signing of Michael Jordan who will come out of retirement and wear the #23 for the Nighthawks!....APRIL FOOLS!! Just had to throw that in :) Anyways…for those who didn’t watch the PBL Championship game on the PBL Virtual Stadium network, you missed a heck of the game…yes the score was a blow-out 142-112, but during the first quarter, Rochester’s James Reaves and Sammy Monroe went up for a put-back dunk, grabbed the rim, and the backboard shattered! See the picture taken by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Newspaper. James Reaves got the best of it with glass going in his eyes and cuts but was okay and returned to action. The game was delayed close to 50 minutes, but Rochester came out and won the Championship, which they deserved. Hopefully next year the Nighthawks will make a huge stride to bringing a ‘Ship to Maryland!

2008-03-24T13:01:00.000-04:00

1:04PM...AD on the boards...With the season in the books, I thought I’d give out my season awards to this year’s team. Although the team did not perform as well as they had hoped to this season, there were many positives that came out this year and lots of reasons to look forward to 2008-09. Here we go!

Most improved player: David Bailey…this was an easy pick. The 6-foot-9 forward from Prince Georges CC took on a starter’s role, something that he has not done previously in his career and gave it his all on both ends of the floor. Bailey showed immense improvements in various parts of his game this year. In his third season with the Nighthawks, Bailey posted career highs in almost every statistical category averaging 10.6 ppg, a team-high 7.6 rpg, and just under 1 bpg. He started the season off with a double-double (10 points and 15 rebounds) and had 5 more double-doubles on the season. Bailey is one of the most aggressive rebounders in the game and if he can develop a consistent mid-range jumper, he will be an All-Star for years to come.

Sixth Man of the Year: Derick Payne…Although Payne cracked the starting lineup towards the end of the year, this true small forward built like an ox is deserving of sixth man of the year honors. Payne was one of the most consistent scorers on the Nighthawks and filled up the stat sheet across the board each and every night. Payne averaged 16.6 ppg and tallied double-figures in 13 of his 16 games with a season high 27 points against the Razorsharks. He topped the 20-point mark six times and showed vast improvements to his game as the season progressed. Payne vouched at the end of the season that he will be back for another exciting season. Should be very exciting to watch this fearless up-and-coming dynamic forward!

Defensive Player of the Year: Germel Stoute…plain out beast! This 6-foot-9 255lb forward/center came all the way from Trinidad to play for the Nighthawks. With a body built like Aristotle and game similar to former NBA star Charles Oakley, opponents feared to drive the paint. Stoute posted solid numbers across the board with 8.2ppg and 5.8 rpg while leading the team in fg% at 55%. Germel started the season off slow but earned his way into the starting lineup and finished the season scoring in double figures six out of the last seven games.

Offensive Player of the Year: Randy Gill…known to most of the world as “White Chocolate,” Randy at times seemed like he was from planet Mars heating up the scoreboard. This 6’2” shooting guard posted a 17.1 scoring average to along with a solid 4.2 rpg and 4 apg. Gill posted a career-high and PBL single-game record of 45 points against the Razorsharks on Feb 24 and finished with 37 points in the Nighthawks second round playoff game. Gill also set a Nighthawks record with 8 3-pointers made in a game. Gill is a competitor and does not like to lose, look for this flashy veteran to start next season just where he left off!

MVP: Warren Jefferson…this was a tough-choice just because there were a number of players who were well deserving of this honor, but from a team’s perspective, the Nighthawks floor general, Warren “D-Nice” Jefferson got the slight edge. Jefferson posted impressive numbers coming from the point guard position with 14.1 ppg 3.9 rpg, 3.8 apg. When D-Nice was rolling, the Nighthawks were rolling. Jefferson proved he could run and control a team on both ends of the floor. Jefferson scored 20 or more points six times this season including career-high 29 in a win against the Chicago Throwbacks. Jefferson’s tremendous efforts were seen just as much on the defensive side as this pesky-speedy guard averaged 2.1 steals and gave offenders a difficult time. His trademark was forcing a steal, using his speed to go coast-to-coast and converting on the other end of the floor. Jefferson has a feel for the floor and always manages to find the open-man to knock down the big shot. Warren Jefferson, M-V-P!

2008-03-19T10:00:00.001-04:00

10:00AM…AD blogging post-season style ;)…The Nighthawks upset the 2nd seeded Wilmington Sea Dawgs yesterday 125-112 in the first round of the playoffs! The win advanced the Nighthawks into the East division semi-finals where they will play the Reading Railers today at 12pm EST. The Railers are the third seed and beat the fourth-seeded Jacksonville Slam 136-120 yesterday. The Railers have beaten the Nighthawks in all three meetings I the regular season including a 112-81 win five days ago. The Nighthawks have their hands full today, but should be another exciting post-season game!

2008-03-18T08:02:00.000-04:00

7:50AM…AD on the blog…well it was a tough way to finish off the season, three losses, BUT it’s not over until it’s over! The Nighthawks begin the post season today and will try to make a run at the championship. It’s one-and-done playoffs, so if the Nighthawks shall lose today, the season is in the books…hopefully that will not be the case. Today’s first round match-up has your #5 seeded Nighthawks (6-14) going up against the #2 seeded Wilmington Sea Dawgs (11-9). I like this match-up and it should be a close game. The Nighthawks lost the head-to-head series in the regular season one games to two, but did win 123-116 in their last meeting in Maryland back on Feb 9. Since then, Wilmington has added Byron Mouton. That name probably sounds familiar to a lot of you…Mouton was a starter on that Maryland Terrapin team which included Juan Dixon, Steve Blake, Chris Wilcox, and Lonnie Baxter that won the NCAA National Championship back in 2002. Should be an exciting game later today! Should the Nighthawks win today, they would play tomorrow at 12:00pm EST against the winner of the #3 seeded Reading Railers vs. #4 seeded Jacksonville Slam.

2008-03-12T12:30:00.000-04:00

GAME DAY: ROCHESTER RAZORSHARKS

12:30PM AD here…the Nighthawks have a HUGE game against the Razorsharks tonight at 7:05pm….the team flew to Rochester yesterday and are preparing for tonight’s game…the Nighthawks have won 3 out of their last 4 games and this is a crucial stretch for the team as they look to keep the momentum they have built and carry it into the playoffs. Rochester has already clinched the East Division and have an automatic spot in the East Division Championship Game. The Nighthawks have never beaten the Razorsharks although they did play them close in their last meeting. Randy “White Chocolate” Gill dropped in a career high 45 points against the Razorsharks 17 days ago and said after the game he did not care about his individual performance, all he wanted was a W…the game will be audio streamed live online and a link will be on the front page of the Nighthawks website so you can tune in and listen! Let go Nighthawks!

2008-03-10T11:41:00.000-04:00

11:45AM…AD on the blog…the PBL just announced this year’s playoff format and structure. ALL team will be eligible and compete in the postseason. The postseason games will be set up like the NCAA tournament being all games will be played at a mutual site, that being the Attack Athletics Center in Chicago (the same venue that the Triple “S” Showcase games were played). The top seeded team of each division will earn two byes and an automatic spot in the Division Championship games. The Rochester Razorsharks (16-2) have already clinched the East Division and Quad Cities Riverhawks (14-4) clinched the West Division. Division games will be played on March 18th which will consist of the #2 seeded team playing the #5 seeded team, and the #3 seeded team playing the #4 seeded team. The winners of these games will play the following day on March 19th for the right to compete in the Division Championship game the following day. The Division Championships will be held March 20th, with the East Division Championship in Rochester, and the West Division Championship in Quad Cities. Game times will be announced shortly. The Championship game is scheduled for Sunday March 30th at a site to be named shortly. The Nighthawks have won 3 of their last 4 games and will look to ride the momentum into the postseason and make some noise! Should be an exciting March!

2008-03-05T13:21:00.004-05:00

1:25PM..AD bloggin...what-A-GAME! For those of you who watched on the PBL Virtual Stadium, you just witnessed the Nighthawks pick up a come-from-behind-WIN for the second consecutive day 102-101 against the Arkansas Impact, the second best team in the West. Nighthawks guard Warren Jefferson hit the game-winning running jumper with 1.9 seconds remaining. Check back soon for a full boxscore and recap.

2008-03-04T21:53:00.002-05:00

9:53PM…AD on the blog…the Nighthawks WON this afternoon 101-98 against the West Division’s best Quad Cities Riverhawks (13-4) in the second of three games of the Triple “S” Scouting Tournament in Chicago. The Nighthawks were trailing 35-22 after one quarter but picked up the momentum in the second period on. Maryland was led by Omar Weaver’s 22 points and Derick Payne’s 21. Three other Nighthawk players scored in double figures. The Nighthawks shot 59.1% fg and 60% 3fg, a vast improvement from yesterday’s game vs Reading where they shot a disgraceful 31.8 fg% and 16% 3fg. The Nighthawks were playing without starting point guard Warren Jefferson who flew back to Washington earlier in the morning to take care of personal issues. Jefferson will not play tomorrow’s game vs Arkansas. Kevin Robinson suffered a knee injury in the third quarter and did not return. He is questionable for tomorrow’s game. The Nighthawks complete the Triple “S” Showcase tournament tomorrow when they take on the Arkansas Impact at 11:00am.

2008-03-04T09:12:00.002-05:00

9:15AM…AD Bloggin…I’ll get right to the point even though it’s ugly…after picking up a promising road victory last Friday against the Chicago Throwbacks, the Nighthawks suffered a 115-86 loss against the Reading Railers in their first of three games in the Triple “S” Showcase Tournament held in Chicago. Scouts from all over the world were in attendance (including a scout from the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers) as well as many scouts watching the games via live video stream on the PBL Virtual Stadium network...I don’t have the complete boxscore from Chicago…it should be e-mailed to me today...once I receive will upload into the stat program and it can be viewed on the stats page on the website. All I have is the point totals as follows: Derrick Payne -21, David Bailey – 14, Germel Stoute – 14, Omar Weaver – 10, Warren Jefferson 9, White Chocolate – 7, Barry Mitchell 6, and J.O.- 2. Tyrone Hammond played but did not score. It was an ugly game from the start. Reading built a 10-point first quarter lead and led the entire game. They extended their lead to as many as 36. It was the Nighthawks largest margin in a loss this year. The Nighthawks look to rebound today at 2:45PM when they take on the West Divisions best 13-3 Quad Cities Riverhawks.

2008-03-01T11:19:00.004-05:00

11:25AM...AD here...The Nighthawks WON last night in Chicago 129-118! The Nighthawks record improved to 4-10 with the victory....don't have a full boxscore or game recap from last night's game, I'm still waiting for Chicago to send it to me. I spoke with Coach Moten and he gave me the point totals...leading scorer for the Nighthawks was Warren Jefferson who dropped in a season-high 29 points, Omar Weaver added 23 points, Derrick Payne had 18, White Chocolate had 17 points, Tyrone Hammond dropped in a season-high 15, David Bailey had 13 points, Germel Stoute 10, and Barry Mitchell and J.O. scored 2 points apiece. Kevin Robinson traveled with the team but did not play because he had an alergic reaction. He should be ready for the Showcase tournament games. Be sure to check back later for a complete box score and game recap.

2008-02-29T15:23:00.003-05:00

3:30PM...AD on the blog…sorry it’s been awhile since the last post, which also means lots of news…it was a tough week for the Nighthawks even though they played some promising ball. The Nighthawks lost last Thursday up in Rochester even though they kept it close at the beginning and made a run at the end after Rochester pulled away…Sunday’s game was a classic even though the Nighthawks fell 108-104 against Rochester once again (0-9 all time against the Razorsharks)…Randy “White Chocolate” Gill set a number of records after he scored 45 points in the loss. It was Gill’s career high in points, Nighthawks All-time high (previous high was Ray "Hops" Cunningham – 39 points Feb 3, 2006 116-115 Loss @ Montreal Matrix) and PBL All-time high in points scored in a single game. The loss dropped the nighthawks to 3-10 on the season. Tonight the ‘Hawks are up in the Windy City set to take on the Chicago Throwbacks (4-10) for a 9PM EST tip-off. After this evenings game, the Nighthawks along with all of the other 10 PBL teams will take part in the PBL’s Triple “S” Showcase tournament set for March 3-5 to be played at the Attack Center in Chicago...scouts from all over the world will be in attendance including scouts from the NBA. The Nighthawks will play 3 games in 3 days and they will count in the regular season standings…all of the games will be televised locally in Chicago and also video streamed online via the PBL Virtual Stadium free of charge for the whole world to see…a link will be placed on the Nighthawks front page to view the games…some roster moves also occurred this week…J.O. returned to action, to make room on the active roster the team released forward Ernest Graham Jr… the team also released Anton Jenifer (team misconduct), while Andrew “Spongebob” Washington signed to play in Mexico and Antric Klaiber signed to play in Venezuela…Tamir Goodman is still injured and will not play in the Triple “S” Showcase tournament, he is aiming for a March 16 return at home against the Arkansas Impact, which is also the last regular season game. The playoff structure will be announced shortly...keep checking the blog and website for the latest Nighthawks news!

2008-02-21T11:18:00.005-05:00

GAME DAY: ROCHESTER RAZORSHARKS

11:30AM…AD here giving you the latest Nighthawks news you need to know…first off, the Nighthawks are in up-sate New York to take on the PBL’s best Rochester Razorsahrks tonight. The Nighthawks have never come away with a victory against the Razorsharks since their days in the ABA, but did play them tight in their last match-up. The Nighthawks look to put an end to this streak tonight when these two teams square off at 7:05 pm. Tonight’s game will be streamed live via radio broadcast. A link will be placed on the Nighthawks front page under the courtside section shortly ten minutes before tip-off...Nighthawks head coach Lawrence Moten has been busy doing interviews in Rochester, as he is Mr. Basketball up there playing his college ball at nearby Syracuse University and becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer as well as the Big-East’s all-time leading scorer…in other news, the Nighthawks away game scheduled for this Saturday at Arkansas has been rescheduled as Triple "S" Showcase Game to be played in Chicago the beginning of March. Scouts from various leagues (including the NBA) from all over the world will be attending this event in Chicago. The games will be played March 1-3 and will be televised on local TV and streamed online through the PBL’s website. More information to come soon! I will be on the blog during tonight’s game to share my comments…lets go ‘Hawks!

2008-02-18T18:31:00.003-05:00

6:30PM…AD here…lots happening here in MD…the nighthawks just wrapped up their two game homestand and spilt a pair of games. On Saturday they won in impressive fashion 144-116 against the Jacksonville Slam while on Sunday they lost to the Rockford Fury. Saturday’s 144 points was a season-high for the Nighthawks as eight players scored in double-figures for the ‘hawks. Sunday however was a much different story…the Nighthawks fell behind 18 points but cut the deficit to 5 in the fourth quarter before Rockford would make a run and pull away with the win. Daniel Artest, the younger brother of the Sacramento King’s Ron Artest started at forward for the Fury and scored 20 points and pulled down 7 rebounds. After the game he came up to me at the scorer’s table and assured me he had more than 7 rebounds…luckily they don’t serve beer at Georgetown prep…wink wink…Sundays game also marked the first time in professional basketball history that all three officials were female…they were honored at halftime by Nighthawks owners Tom Doyle and Jeanette McCool… The Nighthawks play two road games in Rochester on Thursday night and then in Arkansas Saturday evening before returning home on Sunday to host the Razorsharks again.

2008-02-13T11:29:00.002-05:00

11:27AM…AD here..It was just announced yesterday that Maryland Nighthawks forward Andrew “Spongebob” Washington has been named PBL Player of the Week. Washington averaged 27.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, and 3.4 spg in three games this week (2 of them wins) while scoring 32 points in Saturday’s 123-116 victory against Wilmington. Congrats Sponge!

2008-02-06T17:40:00.000-05:00

5:45PM...AD blogging....nothing much new here except preparing for this weekend's games vs. Wilmington and Rochester. Tickets for the sunday afternoon game against Rochester is selling quickly so be sure to get your tickets now while they still are available...Spongebob should be a great addition...scored 30 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists in his first game at Dallas in the victory...J.O. re-injured his ankle again in practice but should be able to go this weekend....thought you all would enjoy this picture...yes thats Nighthawks Head Coach Lawrence Moten (then of the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies) going up against the great one...Michael Jordan.

2008-02-04T08:54:00.000-05:00

8:55AM...AD here....the Nighthawks picked up their first victory in the PBL yesterday afternoon winning in fashion 127-101 over the Dallas Defenders. A complete recap and box score will be posted on the site later today...rumor has it that Andrew "Spongebob" Washington will be returning to play for the Nighthawks and our "big" friend from last season is recovering from foot surgery and will be ready to play soon. Keep on checking the site for updates....in other news the Nighthawks announced today that the postponed Reading game originally set for 1/27 will be played on Friday, March 7 at 7PM. Click here to find out more info on the ticket policy.

2008-01-29T11:33:00.000-05:00

11:34AM...AD blogging...Sorry it’s been a while since the last blog…lots have been going on…crazy ending to the game vs. Jacksonville, Sunday’s game being postponed due to mechanical problems with the Reading Railers bus…and a couple of roster changes which will be officially announced in the coming days. From reading the comments on the blog, a lot of you know that Saturday’s game was officially marked down in the books as a forfeit because Nighthawks forward Hugh “Baby Shaq” Jones came back from the locker room onto the floor after picking up his second technical foul. The Nighthawks were down 98-105 at the time and the officials were forced to end the game with 5:07 remaining. As stated in the PBL official rule book, a player who re-enters the the court after picking up their second technical foul is assessed a $500 fine and suspended for the next game. The team has decided to release Baby Shaq. It’s an unfortunate situation but coach Moten is all about being a professional. A complete recap from the game will soon be posted on the website.

2008-01-26T13:11:00.000-05:00

GAME DAY: JACKSONVILLE JAM

1:15PM…A.D. here…today your maryland nighthawks will be hosting the Jacksonville Jam. The Jam come into tonights game with a 4-3 record and handed the Wilmington Sead Dawgs their first loss of the season with a 100-89 victory last night at Wilmington. These two teams last met in Jacksonville on January 18 where the Nighthawks lost a close game 101-99. The team announced today that they have re-signed Randy "White Chocolate" Gill. To make room on the active roster, the Nighthawks have released guard Johan Matos, their 2008 second round draft pick. Yours truley will also be DJ'ing tonights game...should be a great game!

2008-01-24T15:55:00.000-05:00

6:20PM…A.D. here again. The PBL's Rochester Razorsharks are retiring Lazarus Sims' jersey tonight. Sims played for the Razorsharks and was also a former teammate of Nighthawks Head Coach Lawrence Moten at Syracuse University. During tonight's ceremony, the Razorsharks will be playing a video tribute on the jumbotron including a segment of Lawrence Moten speaking about his former teammate....enjoy!