League hurt by constant identity crisis

After seven weeks of ESB League action, positions among the leaders continue to shift. Notre Dame, Waterford, the Saints and Limerick have all flirted with the lead in the last month, but no one has proved particularly consistent.

And that's not the only thing confusing the race for the top. Only four clubs are going by the same name as last season, and a couple more have actually changed their name since the season started. Of course, no club can survive in modern sport without sponsorship, but it's beginning to have a bad effect on the public perception and interest in the sport, not to mention the abuse of Irish Basketball Association's (IBA) rules.

According to the association's PRO, Maire Scully, the rules stipulate that each team must include a reference to either the club or the geographic location in their name. Bending that rule a little bit, the Tralee Tigers have become the Frosties Tigers (the cereal) and Dungannon have become Tyrone Towers (a hotel).

"I can see the club's point of view," says Scully, "and few other sports need the sponsorship as much as basketball. But clubs need to build up some recognition instead of going by sponsors names that come and go."

Other confusing changes have seen St Vincent's become O'Hagan Saints, Notre Dame now preceded by Big Al's, and the Sligo All Stars become Abbey Foods Sligo. Killarney started the year known as St Paul's and are now known as Gleneagle Killarney, and Star of the Sea recently added 24 Connect to their name. Esat Telecom Demons have now become Esat Business Demons. Most of the media drop the sponsors name altogether. Others don't. So come Sunday evening, many clubs have been referred to by two or even three different names. That does nothing to raise the profile of the game. Greater discipline is needed before the whole thing is out of control.

Waterford (Crystal), meanwhile, have the chance to pull ahead of joint league leaders (Big Al's) Notre Dame this weekend. They play host to (Burger King) Limerick on Sunday, their second game in four days, while (Big Al's) Notre Dame sit out the action this weekend.

But that will leave the Dublin side with three games in hand, and after returning to winning form last weekend against Tolka Rovers, they won't be too concerned about Waterford gaining the slight advantage.

The main attraction tomorrow will be the Dublin clash of Killester and the Saints, who are currently third. The match goes out live on TG4 at 5.0. Both sides have been struggling of late, especially the Saints, who crashed to their third successive defeat last weekend. Another defeat here would seriously dent their title aspirations, but there is some welcome team news for coach Joey Boylan.

Stephen McGuirk returns from injury, as does Karl Donnelly from GAA duty with Na Fianna, and that should help them close the gap on the top two. Killester should have a full squad except for Paddy Kelly.

Elsewhere, Limerick start their doubleheader weekend against Star of the Sea tomorrow - an important game for both. Star have been finding it difficult to produce their usual consistency this season and are currently fourth from bottom. Limerick, in joint third, will again be looking for a big show from Cleoitus Brown, who recently shot a season high 52 points.

In the women's league, champions Tolka Rovers meet cup holders Wildcats in what is always a closely-fought game. The Wildcats have seized the early advantage this season and a win here would give them further momentum to regain the title they held for five years straight, between 1995-99.