THE FRESNO BEE, CALIF., KEN ROBISON COLUMN: LOCAL SCENE: TUNED IN TO LOVE FOR ALL THINGS NBA
Ken Robison

The Fresno Bee – California – KRTBN
Published: Jun 17, 2007

Connie Kirchberg was a 12-year-old in North Fond du Lac, Wis.,
in the late 1960s when she turned on her radio hoping to hear some
popular music.

What she got, instead, was a basketball broadcast.

Rather than tuning out, she tuned in to Eddie Doucette’s broadcast
of a Milwaukee Bucks game. Thus began a lifelong love of basketball
that has resulted in a book about basketball history.

"Hoop Lore: A History of the National Basketball Association" is
Kirchberg’s second book published by McFarland & Company Publishers
of North Carolina.

The first was "Elvis Presley, Richard Nixon, and the American Dream,"
published in 1999.

Writers who take on such an ambitious project as the history of the
NBA are either passionate or educated about their subject.

"Call me both," Kirchberg said, admitting that early Bucks broadcast
"drew me in and gripped me."

She still pays attention to the Bucks — and the Sonics, from living
in Seattle for 20 years. But today, after five years in Fresno,
Kirchberg is a fan of the Lakers and Warriors.

She described her husband Jody, owner of Granite Artwork, a granite
and marble outlet in Fresno, as "not as big a fan as I am."

"He makes the money," Kirchberg said. "And I write."

"Hoop Lore" was born from Kirchberg’s study of the game she loves.

"I was researching the history of the game on my own," she said. "There
were no books on the whole history of the game. So if there isn’t one,
I’ll write it."

Former NBA player Jim Barnett, now a television analyst for the
Warriors, delivers the forward:

"If you are specifically interested in basketball, particularly the
NBA, Connie Kirchberg’s ‘Hoop Lore’ is a must read. This story is the
most comprehensive I have read in all of my travels throughout the
basketball world. … ‘Hoop Lore’ is a history lesson, a compelling
story and a walk down memory lane told with accuracy and social
conscience."

Among Kirchberg’s favorite pieces of NBA history is the Boston Celtics
dominance led by legendary center Bill Russell.

"I don’t think [people] know what an innovator Russell was, what he
did racially for the league," she said. "When he got to the Celtics,
there were just a few blacks, but no real stars, no name players.

"He was responsible for ending racial bias in the league, then became
the [NBA’s] first black coach."

Kirchberg said "Hoop Lore" is available at Fig Garden Books and
online outlets.

For her next nonfiction work, Kirchberg might trade basketball shorts
for aprons and skirts.

"I’m playing around with an idea for a book on women in TV, how they
have evolved from June Cleaver to ‘Sex in the City,’ " she said.

"It’s in my head, not yet on paper."

Valley runners succeed

Three San Joaquin Valley runners earned All-America honors in the
steeplechase at the recent NCAA outdoor track and field championships
in Sacramento.

Colorado senior Billy Nelson (Taft) finished fourth at 8:33.33,
Arizona State junior Kyle Alcorn (Buchanan) finished seventh at
8:35.71 and Cal senior Kevin Davis (Clovis High) was 10th at 8:41.54.

Another Huebner title

Larry Huebner said his family has now accomplished the "Huebner Slam."

The veteran tennis player and retired professional watched his wife,
Gretchen, team with daughter Karin to win the U.S. Tennis Association
National Super Senior Mother-Daughter Indoor championship last weekend
in Vancouver, Wash.

They defeated Linda Hixenbaugh of South Lake Tahoe and Peggy Lucero
of Fair Oaks, the only other duo in the competition.

Karin Huebner, who played at UCLA and coached at USC, owns a national
father-daughter championship. Larry Huebner also owns national
father-son titles with John and Jim and a grandfather-grandson national
title with Chase.

"Now, everyone in our family has a gold ball," Larry Huebner
said. Winners of USTA national championships are awarded a gold ball.

Who, what, when, where

Fresnans Varoujan Der Simonian and Vatche Soghomonian will participate
in the fifth annual Bike for Hope charity bicycle ride beginning
Thursday in Armenia … Former Fresno State golfer Gunnar Avinelis
has been hired as Southern California representative for the College
Golf Fellowship, a Christian group … UCLA junior Kevin Chappell
(Buchanan) was named second team All-America by Golfweek magazine.

The reporter can be reached at krobison@fresnobee.com or (559)
441-6279.