Jackson Free Press

The Jackson Rage won't have to leave home for the playoffs, a luxury for both the team and its fans. The WBA will hold its first championship weekend at Jackson State's Athletic and Assembly Center on June 25-26.

Jackson is far and away the league's attendance leader, averaging a reported 3,200 fans per game. Second-place Macon averages 900.

The Rage is also one of the most successful teams on the court. The Rage is in second place at 11-4 going into Thursday's final home game against Macon. Jackson concludes the regular season with a game at Macon on Saturday. The Rage has already earned a first-round bye for the playoffs.

The WBA is down to the minimum of six teams needed for the playoffs. Bristol, Tenn., ceased operations earlier this month. The bottom four teams in the league will meet in a pair of playoff games on June 22.

The action shifts to Jackson on June 25 for the semifinal games, starting at 6:30 p.m. The championship game is June 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Rage brass has dubbed the weekend's events as a "community reunion;" a tailgate party and a 3-on-3 basketball tournament will be held. Two of the state's top AAU teams, the Jackson Panthers and the Magnolia Stars, will also meet in a game prior to the championship game.

STRESSFUL SESSION
This has been a summer of discontent for the Jackson Senators. They have struggled for much of the season. As Mike Christensen recently wrote in The Clarion-Ledger, the timing couldn't be worse.

The Senators recently went through an eight-game losing streak. Before that, the Senators had never lost more than four games in a row. Through Sunday's games, the defending Central League champions were in last place in the East Division.

This is a pivotal season for the Senators. The team recently brought in a large number of new investors and plans to keep playing in Smith-Wills Stadium in 2005, despite the arrival of the Mississippi Braves in Pearl, the Atlanta Braves Class AA team.

If the Senators continue to struggle into the summer, it could hurt attendance. The Senators are averaging around 1,400 a game, about 500 less than last season's average. But attendance traditionally increases during the summer when school's out.

The Senators can't be accused of standing pat. They have made several deals recently to bring in new players. Those moves haven't always made for a happy clubhouse. But a team like the Senators, which isn't affiliated with Major League Baseball, stresses winning over player development.