11/21/00--The HBL doesn't start til May, but several players may just be in action much earlier. Dee Hartley, who organizes the HBL and plays on the Warriors, is trying to get a team together for a Clinton, IA recreational league, which runs from January until early to mid Spring. "At this point, I've talked to most of the guys and they're cool with it," says Dee. Possible players include Dee, Shooter Hartley, Ryan Pranschke, Domino Hendrickson and PureSugar. All have responded positively to the idea. Also, non-HBLers Matt Anderson and Bruce Kreider would likely round out the squad. "I'd be really excited to do this, because I love representing the league and playing as a team for once, instead of against one another. It also gives me a sense of pride when guys from the league team up and do well against non-league players. It means a lot for the credibility of our league." KG would have been more than welcome to play, but his distance from the Clinton area rules it out. Dee also says that if Lee Eberhart, a likely addition to the 2001 Season, decides to play he would be welcome, but he hasn't been asked about it yet. If there is indeed an HBL-sponsored team in the league, of course, HBL Online would have complete coverage of their (hopefully) successful season.
In other news, the roster issues surrounding HBL's 2001 Season have not been solved, and likely will remain the top story surrounding the league until March and possibly April. Dee Hartley says, "KG wants to play, we all know that...unfortunately he simply won't know until he has more details on his internship that he'll do over the summer. We'll just have to wait." Ryan Pranschke has also been a question mark, but in his case Dee is more hopeful. "I think Ryan is a strong candidate to return for a second season. He's coming back to the Mount next year, and now he's got a decent job in Clinton, so hopefully he'll consider staying here over the summer like last year. We'll have to see." As mentioned earlier, Lee Eberhart of DeWitt is also a candidate to play. Lee has been a friend of some of the players for years, and over the past year or so has gotten to know everyone. "Lee would be a great asset to our league...we're always looking for well-mannered, competitive, and fun players," says Dee of the prospect.
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