Clutch and the Remedy Return, Vipers to Host Pre-Game Tailgate Parties

(Photo Credit: Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images)

April 22, 2010

MCALLEN, TEXAS - The Western Conference Champion and second-seeded Rio Grande Valley Vipers announced today that they will host games two and three (if necessary) of the NBA Development League Finals (best-of-three) against the eighth-seeded Tulsa 66ers on Tuesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at State Farm Arena.

Houston Rockets Hall of Fame mascot Clutch the Bear will perform, courtesy of Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance. The band, The Remedy, will perform again as well. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

The game will be preceded by a tailgate party at 6:00 p.m. in the State Farm Arena parking lot, courtesy of Pepper’s at Uptown, Roosevelt’s at 7 and Budweiser.

Single-game playoff tickets are on sale now and can be purchased through the Vipers (972-1144), Ticketmaster or the State Farm Arena box office.

The Vipers will play game one on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. at the Tulsa Convention Center.

All three games will be broadcast on VERSUS, presented by Papa John’s. VERSUS can be found on channel 314 (SD)/1314 (HD) on Time Warner Cable, channel 151 on Dish Network and channel 603 on DIRECTV.

The Vipers were 4-2 against the 66ers this season, including a 3-0 record at State Farm Arena.

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are the NBA Development League affiliate of the NBA Houston Rockets. The NBA Development League, founded in 2001, is the NBA’s official minor league and features 16 teams with direct affiliations to NBA teams. 63 former NBA Development League players were on 2009-10 NBA start-of-season rosters, amounting to almost 15 percent of NBA players, and the league continues to develop coaches, referees, and front office staff for the NBA and its teams. In fostering the league’s connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote health and wellness, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational development through NBA Development League Cares programs. The NBA Development League also advances the game of basketball as the research and development arm of the NBA. Throughout the season fans can watch all NBA Development League games on NBA Futurecast, the free live Web-streaming initiative found at nba.com/futurecast.