Save the Explorers

I know most people in Great Falls have probably had enough of the Great Falls Explorers and the drama they have created here in the Electric City over the past several months.

Let's take a look, in chronological order, at the Explorers in 2008:

January 3rd: The Explorers pick up arguably their biggest win of the season, a 96-95 victory over the American Conference leading Minot Skyrockets. However, unbeknownst to the team as well as their head coach, Scott Wedman, Explorers owner, Michael Tuckman fires Wedman after a 6-15 start.

January 5th: According to Wedman, he still doesn't know he has been fired as he prepares his team for the final game of a short 3 game homestand against Butte. However, the Explorers are forced to cancel their game due to a players strike. According to Wedman as well as several of their players, the Expos were not being paid for their efforts, and because of it, organized a secret players meeting in which they decided they would not play until they were paid. Later in the evening, Tuckman officially announces the termination of Wedman, and releases all but three of the players on the roster. Meanwhile, Tuckman also announces the hiring of the Explorers current head coach, Rick Turner, a former assistant head coach at Bellevue Community College who also spent a year alongside Lorenzo Romar at the University of Washington.

January 6th: Turner arrives in Pittsburgh to meet his three players as they prepare for a CBA game the next day against the Xplosion. According to Turner, he begins recruitment efforts immediately to rebuild a dessimated roster by adding seven new players.

January 7th: The Explorers play the Xplosion, and lose 133-101.

January 10th: The Expos pick up their first win under Turner, a 105-100 victory against Albany.

February 8th: The Four Seasons Arena here in Great Falls reportedly closes its doors to the Explorers after they accuse them of failing to pay $16,000 dollars worth of rent due. According to Tuckman, he won't pay the fee because he believes he was forced into a poor lease agreement with the Arena and had reportedly tried to contact the ExpoPark General Manager, Bill Ogg about restructuring the contract. However, both sides seem to disagree.

February 13th: The Explorers play their first official home game in 42 days at Cascade High School, 30 miles south of Great Falls. They lose to East Kentucky, 111-103.

February 14th: The Explorers redeem themselves against the Miners with a 126-108 win. The game is played again at Cascade High School.

Feburary 16th: Great Falls is forced to postpone their second game of the season after failing to find a location to play.

February 17th: The Explorers score 173 points against the Atlanta Krunk in their first game played at Fairfield High School, 37 miles northwest of Great Falls.

February 18th: Great Falls is forced to postpone the second game of their homestand after their opponent, the Oklahoma Cavalry's head coach Michael Ray Richardson, protests the location of the game which was scheduled to be played in Fairfied as well as the officials being used. Because of their late scheduled notice the previous night, the Expos were forced to recruit college referees for their game against the Krunk.

February 19th: The Explorers finally convice Richardson and the Cavalry to play in Fairfield as Oklahoma hands the Explorers a 112-106 loss. Great Falls continues to look for a permanent location, while negotiation talks with the Four Seasons Arena are still stalled.

As you can see, there has been a lot of drama over the past month and a half revolving around this franchise, and there are talks about the team moving to another city. I might find myself standing alone when I say we must find a way to keep the Explorers in Great Falls. The Electric City went 25 years without professional basketball until the Explorers made their inauguaral mark in the CBA last season bringing back the excitement that was lost here for a quarter of a century. Last night, I saw that same excitement. Unfortunately, for the first half of the season, we saw a bad team here in Great Falls. There was no excitement because it seemed like there was no chemistry amongst the players. For the first time all season long, I saw chemistry on the court from this team. It was exciting to watch. Say what you want about their troubles off the court, but you have to admit, Michael Tuckman has improved the product on the court. I think that's evident in the fact that they scored 176 points in a game! Somehow, Great Falls must find a way to save the Explorers, otherwise, it will just be another failed franchise in the Electric City.