SBA actually stands for, wait for it… Skate Board Association. Despite an incredibly pedestrian name, the idea behind it is somewhat interesting. It’s another skateboarding league with a couple differences. Coed teams compete against each other, and everybody gets paid something, even if they don’t make the podium. Now I have to admit, I assume these are differences, because I pay zero attention to the ins and outs of the other skateboarding competitions. Seeing a coed team of skateboarders compete against other coed teams is something I’d watch least once. Who is paying for this and what are their motives? Some investors, including Professional basketball player and former skateboarder Gary Payton II.

– Thanks to Will Powers for the tip.

Maloof just unveiled the plans for the street course at the NYC leg of the Maloof Money Cup on June 5-6, 2010. The big news? The REALLY big news? The “course” is a permanent facility that will be donated to the city Instead of building a temporary course and dismantling it like they did last time. BRAVO!!!!! Lets hope the X-Games and the rest of the would-be contenders fall in step behind these plans if they know what’s good for them, the skateboarding public and the ecology. Details of the as yet unbuilt skate spot that replicates some NYC hot spots after jump.

– Thanks to Danimal for the tip.

First off, it’s better off that a skateboard competition circuit be owned and operated by skateboarders. However, this whole business of signing contracts to compete exclusively in one circuit and not another, although it may make sense from a business standpoint, reeks of, of something, well, something very stinky, like say, GVK’s knee pads. Which is appropriate because it is a “street league” to the exclusion of any sort of vert or bowl riding. (You know Grover never washes his pads. he says that would dilute the trick juice.) I’m not a big fan of the logo either. Aside from scrimping on the graphic designer’s fee, It looks vaguely like something NBA or MLB related. If skaters are going to claim skateboarding from the media for themselves, it would be smarter not to emulate the worst aspects of organized sports. Still, I wish Rob Dyrdek luck with Street League Skateboarding, despite the bad name choice. The million dollar purse would seemingly best the Maloof Money Cup (even worse name), but then again Maloof isn’t spread over three events. Why not wrestle all the skaters away from the X-Games and the like? Was it lack of interest in vert/bowl by Dyrdek, or fear of abandoning the golden goose on behalf of the the current crop of X-games competitors. I suspect the former. Check out the press release after the jump. There is essentially nothing up at the web site except the press release. Meanwhile, the Maloof Money Cup still prominently features Ryan Sheckler, who has supposedly signed a multi-year exclusive contract with Street League. Look for some fresh HTML soon!

– Thanks to Mike Ballard for the tip.