Basketball On The Internet.

THOSE of us who sat glued to our TVs in the 80s when Bill Palmer was introducing Seven's Sunday morning NBA match of the week - who can EVER forget his call of a "flying frapdoodle''? - will avidly remember Don Nelson.

A former Boston Celtics championship winner as a player, Nellie was coaching the Milwaukee Bucks back then, with a lumbering Bob Lanier in the middle and a bunch of enigmatic players he took to the playoffs for seven straight seasons.

Sidney Moncrief, Marques Johnson, Junior Bridgeman, Terry Cummings - he had some terrific players and played some great basketball.

Unfortunately or him, also in the all-powerful Eastern Conference at that time were a couple of other notable clubs - the Celtics of Larry Bird and the Philadelphia 76ers of Julius Erving, Maurice Cheeks and eventually Moses Malone.

It meant the Conference semi finals was usually as good as it got but the innovative Nelson was named NBA coach of the year three times, including twice with the Bucks (in 1983 and 1985).

His recognition for the Hall of Fame has been a long time coming - he had wonderful runs at Golden State and Dallas too -  but especially slow when you factor in he was named one of the top 10 coaches in league history by an elite panel of former players, coaches and executives back in 1996.

Seeing him finally earn HoF immortality takes me back to those heady days when names such as Magic, Bird and Dr J was what dreams were made of.

OK. Where are the ticketing details at www.dandenongbasketball.com.au to the NBL/WNBL Preseason Tournament?

I was directed to the site by BA's press release, went in all good faith and found... um, nothing.

An event this big surely should have Front Page status?

And if not, why not?

Or don't plug that before it is up, a lesson I too shall file.

WENT to the NBL website to check out the North South All Star uniforms competition.

Some very nice work was done by fans and, must confess, each of them caught my eye.

Erik Filipaz's Option One - map of Australia, our flag colors - has great merit.

Option Two by Nahum Ziersch was nifty too. I've always liked grey for some reason and not because of my new hair color. But in sweats, windcheaters, T-shirts.

Jay Wheeler's Option Three really caught my eye, and it also would work perfectly on those of you with black-and-white TVs.

(Those of you still WITH a black-and-white TV might want to tape the game on your BETA video-recorders too.)

Option Four by Leo Dwyer also was attractive for its simplicity.

My personal vote would go for Wheeler's Option Three, maybe because the stars were dramatic and captured my imagination. And this is the All STARS game, after all.

Go check them out yourself.

AUSSIES are doing good things now they have settled back into the WNBA, Opals captain Lauren Jackson going off for 23 points in 14 and a half minutes of a 101-74 rout of Tulsa by Seattle.

And while Gold Medal Olympian Maya Moore still steered Minnesota Lynx to an 88-77 win over LA, Jenna O'Hea was right in there with 15 points. Alana Beard, who played some games with the Caps in the WNBL a few years ago, had 17 for the Sparks.

THE Hudson Maher Foundation's annual dinner is on tomorrow night at Adelaide Convention Centre and some tickets still are available to the "Bollywood" event.

Tickets include a sumptuous three-course banquet accompanied by Coopers Beer, Wolf Blass Wines, Vodka Cruisers (kindly donated by Independent Distillers) and soft drinks.

There's a Major Auction and Silent Auction, plus a raffle with the prize to Hong Kong, donated by Prestige Travel.

All proceeds go to assist the vital work of the Hudson Maher Foundation, providing financial support for children dealing with life-threatening bone marrow transplants.

For bookings or inquiries phone Tanya 0403 877 200 or email at tanya@hudsonmaher.com.au and have no doubt, you will be setting yourself up for a wonderful fun night, and also assisting a terrific cause.

THE Black Pearl is back!

No, it's not me in my Zorro gear. It's the REAL Black Pearl, Cal Bruton. The NBL legend and Hall of Famer is launching a new nationwide basketball tournament, Bruton 2 on 2.

Yeah, forget that 3-on-3 nonsense. Who needs that many players? Just another teammate who wants the ball!

Screen and roll, give and go, pick and pop - these are the moves you need2succeed at Bruton 2 on 2.

Competitions run for both males and females with four divisions - 14-and-under, 15-to-20, 21-to-30 and 31-overs - with prizes on offer in each division.

Grab your buddy and get going to www.blackpearlbasketball.com.au and try out another form of this great game we all love.