`dawson's Creek' Has Enough Steam To Melt Most Viewers

3 Field Hockey Stars Named All-americans

Monday, January 19, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





Time will dull the Diamonds &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Give the Wilkes-Barre Diamonds credit for putting a decent Eastern
Basketball &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Alliance team on the floorToo bad the whole concept is 30 years past its
prime. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The club's main failure so far came in its season-opener on Sunday, Jan.
11. The team advertised a one-on-one contest during halftime between
Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom McGroarty and Scranton Mayor James Connors that never
materialized. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 So with that in mind, I ventured over to Coughlin High School on Sunday
expecting to see a bush league outfit. What I saw surprised me. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 About 200 fans showed. Take away the biddy basketball players (and their
parents) who took the floor before the main event, and the count was less than
100. I was expecting to see about two fans. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Diamonds have decent players, as far as minor league talent goes. They
also have a pair of local drawing cards in Bishop Hafey High School and Wilkes
University graduate Matt LaBuda, and Bishop Hoban and Bloomsburg University
graduate Tony Modrovsky. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The team also does a nice job of making things interesting with Jim
McCarthy as the public address announcer, and a deejay who plays before and
during the contest. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In the 1960s, when there was no cable and televised sports events were
scarce, this would have packed any gym in the area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Problem is, this is the 1990s, and the local squad has to compete with a
smorgasbord of better quality basketball on television. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And don't try to compare the Diamonds to the area's Triple-A baseball team,
the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. It doesn't work. The Barons are the top
minor league affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Diamonds have no such
affiliation that can generate fan interest. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Those things are what doom the Diamonds, just as they've

Time Will Dull The Diamonds Give The Wilkes-barre Diamonds Credit For Putting A Decent Eastern Basketball Alliance Team On The Floor.