With Deron getting shipped out in February, I was sure that meant the Dodge Barrage was dead. At the least it would be moved to New Jersey which is a little too far for me. Matt Mitnick, Deron's #1 and event organizer tweeted a while back that they were looking at moving it to Chicago. That's a little bit closer and definitely more doable. It looks like though that it's going to be in the SLC again. From Mitnick,
I don't know the factors behind having it here versus Chicago or New Jersey. Perhaps the cost is a bit lower? Those other venues would also have a large population to draw from so I don't think filling up the tournament would be an issue.
So why would Deron return to the place that shipped him out? Shouldn't he harbor some ill-will against some in the community that felt he was the main reason for Sloan's retirement? I have a gut feeling that Deron truly likes Salt Lake City and Utah and doesn't need the big city as some would suppose. That's not a knock on NJ/Brooklyn/Chicago. Of all of the NBA superstars, there are a few who don't need the big markets. I think Deron is one of them. There's also little doubt that there are a lot of Deron Williams fans in Utah still.
Kyle Korver will also be returning as one of the co-hosts. He and his brothers still continue to do work in SLC through their SEER clothing line. We not only lost a couple of good ball players but two really good people that did, and still do, a lot of work in the community. No word if Ronnie Price will be involved though I suppose he will be.
So mark the date. August 27th. Hopefully we'll get everyone from last year's teams back plus be able to field another team.
Maybe I should get working on writing the recap from last year's DB.