The Halifax Rainmen '09 Holiday Classic starts this weekend!

Rainmen basketball is returning to Halifax tomorrow night, as the Rainmen kick off their Holiday Classic with three games this weekend at the Halifax Metro Centre:

December 19 vs. Manchester 7pm AST
December 20 vs. Quebec 2pm AST
December 21 vs. Vermont 7 pm AST

As far as this year's roster is concerned, the Rainmen have three familiar faces back this season with Eric Crookshank, Tony Bennett and John Strickland returning.  The rest of the Rainmen roster are all new faces to the team including the 7'3" center, Shagari Alleyne, who played for the Kentucky Wildcats.

Some facts about Alleyne:

• Played three years with the Kentucky Wildcats and was teammates with the likes of Rajon Rondo, Chuck Hayes and Kelenna Azubuike
• He played with the Harlem Globetrotters and was nicknamed the "Skyscraper"
• Played on the Philadelphis 76ers training camp roster but was not drafted into the NBA
• He has an eight-foot wing span
• His favourite movie?  Oh yeah....House Party!

In terms of local content, the Rainmen roster includes Devon Norris (Dalhousie) and Garry Gallimore (St. FX).

Come visit Haligonia.ca for live broadcasts of all Rainmen homes games this season!

Romy Aquino covers the pro basketball game (the Canadian Flavour of the NBA, the PBL's Halifax Rainmen) from a fan's perspective.  He also can be found at NBA hoops blogs, Hip Hoop Junkies (A Member of TheScore.com's Sports Federation) and Hoop Heads North.