WAS just chatting with a few of my journo colleagues at The Advertiser here in Adelaide and saddened to hear their perceptions of the NBL haven't changed greatly, the Wildcats-36ers’ aftermath a case-in-point.

"Can you imagine what would have happened in the AFL if a club CEO tweeted a photograph from an incident minutes after it occurred when it was obvious the league would be investigating it?" one asked me.

“Picture Eddie McGuire tweeting a pic from a post-match melee between, say, Collingwood and Carlton, allegedly incriminating a Carlton player or coach?

“What do you think would happen to him?”

While I was trying to reply to that one, I copped: “And how is it a coach gets charged for an incident three days later and after he already has coached again?

“It is absolute amateur hour.”

I was about to make a point but was hit with: “And then, a few days after that, another participant in the incident is belatedly charged.

“And you wonder why no-one outside the NBL takes it very seriously?”

Well, no, not when reminded of the fact it is a league almost embarrassed to discipline itself, in case any stakeholder/director/GM gets upset and decides to take their ball and quit.

“If that was the NBA, it would have been sorted out overnight, the various people involved would have been fined in 24 hours and life would move on, instead of having it roll along like this for a week,” I was summarily informed.

“Actually, if it was the NBA, they probably would have reprimanded James, Joey and Adam, told them to 'play nice’ and focus would have been on heritage round.”

Suitably assailed and unable to defend the indefensible, I shuffled back to my desk, glad I hadn’t mentioned that Perth’s lovable second assistant coach Adam Tatalovich was unlikely to even have his charges of misconduct and bringing the game into disrepute heard now before next week.

No-one would believe that.

REALLY? That's how we leave this week? Joey Wright’s charge still not heard and no end in sight?

And here we thought PLOCH used to be fairly ordinary. He looks positively the height of tribunal efficiency these days.

How does the NBL expect the world at large to view it as anything but bush league when resolving an issue which could have - should have been settled within 24 hours – still hangs in the air a week later?

Just nonsensical. For starters, before anything else, both clubs ALREADY were found guilty of breaching the NBL Code of Conduct for their roles in the melee. Why haven’t those penalties and/or sanctions even been finalised?

Wright (striking) and Wildcats import James Ennis (attempting to strike) were charged on Monday, Ennis exonerated on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, at the 36ers’ prompting, the NBL decided to review the culpability of Wildcats second assistant Adam Tatalovich and charged him with misconduct and bringing the game into disrepute.

By this point, anyone not directly associated with either club or a fan of either already was starting to yawn with indifference.

Not sure whether the league somehow believed prolonging this nonsense into a second week meant more publicity than usual or if it was a victim of circumstances but ultimately, it makes no difference.

The league just looks amateurish and barely competent.

"So why should the NBL care about the afl or nrl?"

So true.

Also NBL brought professionalism in playing at nights instead of every fixture being played at a fixed time and weekend day of the week which is what the AFL and NRL were doing well into the 90s, they were in the stone age. There were games on TV throughout weekends and full regional coverage.

NBL revolutionised the professionalism of sport in Australia. Yet it is easy to forget and not give any credit this is what it did. History can be forgotten but its effects will forever be felt.

When NBL was being played in primetime on Friday, Saturday nights and also Sundays, spread schedule, regional coverage with all games on TV the AFL & NRL shat themselves about their prehistoric approach and while in awe proceeded to erect lights in stadiums everywhere as to finally have night games. So primitive and this was only 20-25yrs ago. Easy to forget.

Oh and also NBL was the first truly nation wide league from coast to coast. Not focused on a million teams in Sydney or Melbourne like others.