The PBL:
An accelerated eXtreme pack of wolves
loosely tethered to two road worthy wheels clashing around a twisted track
of dangerous obstacles clawing at each other with thick leather gloves and
riding up the spines of their opponents to steal a point and ultimately
humiliate their way to VICTORY!
"X"treme, with a Capital
"X", Sporting Event!
Professional Bicycle League (PBL) has member teams located
in major metro markets. The teams are comprised of world class athletes,
including past and present Olympians and World Champions. The innovative
race format puts team bicycle racing in up close arena course.
See Ride Magazine's latest Article
on the PBL.
Teams battle it out to score points every other lap in
a full contact race made up of four quarters with a half time. The PBL is
designed to be very exciting and affordable to young main stream television
viewers. Bands perform at half time each race. What the NFL was to football
in the 60's is what the PBL has formed for cycling now.
The PBL's mid season tournament will be held on May 6 at 4:00pm in Philadelphia and attended by Philly, Baltimore
and Tampa.
Races: March
18th , March
25, and May 6, 2000 at the Philadelphia Armory, 23rd and Chestnut
Streets, Philadelphia, PA. October 14th at Tampa Boneshakers.
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The Philadelphia Liberators
PBL Team Home
Page
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2000
Olympic Gold Medal winner
Marty Nothstein
raced for the
Liberators team against Tampa on October 14th, 2000
in Tampa, FL.
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Click
here for Marty's Press release and a link
to his personal web site. |
Download
a Real Player Streaming Video1 Video2 Video3
of the PBL
in action! (Philly vs. Balt.) 400kb
The Philadelphia team now has three
Olympians on the team (Marty Nothstein-velodrome Gold Metal Winner in Sydney
and the Olkerr brothers from Holland, former Olympians)
- Confirmed 2001 Home Race Dates now set on
league Master Calendar:
- Philadelphia: Saturday Sept. 29th , (double
header ), Saturday Oct. 27th, 2001 ( Drexel Armory 35th & Market
St.)
- Redding: Sunday June 24th ,Saturday July
21st, Sunday August 26th, 2001.
- New York: TBA
- Tampa: TBA
- San Francisco: TBA
- Expansion Team(Los Angeles) : TBA
- Expansion Team #2 : TBA
- Last Race of the 2000 Season at Tampa, Fl
- By Jim Ryan
- Liberator's Business Manager
-
- On October 14, 2000, the Liberators traveled
to Tampa, Florida, in need of a vacation. This they got as they beat the
Tampa Boneshakers 44-22.
-
- The Liberators were led in scoring by
their stalwart captain, Ryan Oelkers, the Thunder from Down Under Leigh
Bryan, and last but by no means least,
- Olympic Gold Medallist Marty Nothstein.
-
- The Liberators immediately demonstrated
their mastery of the game as they cruised to an early 8-2 lead they
never relinquished. In desperation, the
- Bonshakers hurled themselves at the
Liberators in a kamikaze attempt to knock them from their bikes.
-
- This became too much for Marty
Nothstein, who after one such attempt picked up his bike and threw it at
his boneshaker assailant, leaving wire marks from the spokes on the
Tampan's face.
-
- A general melee ensued, during which
the Boneshakers tried to induce a forfeiture by the Liberators through
the referees.
-
- This was their last (and only) chance
at a victory.
- After a sobering halftime discussion,
the Liberators and Boneshakers came back out and concentrated on some
serious technical riding.
-
- This was not however without some
"incidental contact" in the spirit of the game. My personal
favorite was when Marty sent a small but troublesome Boneshaker
with the moniker of "Turbine" over his handlebars and onto one
of the
- triangular plastic barriers surrounding
the course. Turbine struck the barrier with such force that he moved it
about five feet, leaving the sandbag that weighed it down in
place.
-
- Turbine flew headfirst onto the crest
of the barrier and went down the length of it, compressing his bollocks
as his body squeezed against the chloroplast.
-
- After flying down the top ridge of the
barrier he lay on the floor in pain. His Boneshaker comrades helped him
up and gave him resuscitation on the sidelines until he felt better.
-
- This victory caps the first season for
the Liberators, the clear winners of the Eastern Division for the year
2000.
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