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There used to be a professional basketball team in Kentucky known as the "Kentucky Colonels." The team was apart of the ABA and won the ABA finals in the 1974-1975 season. About two years later, the Kentucky Colonels had ended along with many other teams. A majority of those teams (if not all) ended as a result of financial problems. These are some other statements from wikipedia.org:

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Aftermath
The ABA had entered the 1975-1976 preseason with ten teams. After three preseason games, the Baltimore Claws were shut down by the league due to financial problems and unpaid bills. The San Diego Sails and the Utah Stars each folded shortly after the season began, the Sails after eleven games and the Stars after 16. The ABA was reduced to seven teams for the remainder of the season. Shortly after the regular season ended, the Virginia Squires were forced to fold because they could not meet a league-mandated financial assessment. The six remaining ABA teams began negotiations for the eventual ABA-NBA merger.

In the end, the NBA agreed to take in four teams—but the Colonels weren't among them. Although it has never been confirmed, it is likely that the NBA selected the Pacers over the Colonels because Indianapolis was a more lucrative market. However, the Colonels were on far stronger financial footing than the Pacers.

On July 17, 1976 the Kentucky Colonels ceased to exist as John Y. Brown, Jr. agreed to fold the Colonels in exchange for $3 million. Brown used the money to purchase the Buffalo Braves of the NBA.

Unsuccessful efforts were made to bring the NBA's relocating Charlotte Hornets and Vancouver Grizzlies to Louisville, along with the Houston Rockets at a time that they were demanding a new arena. However, professional basketball has not returned to Louisville since the demise of the Colonels except in minor leagues such as the Louisville Catbirds of the Continental Basketball Association, the Louisville Shooters of the Global Basketball Association and the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA 2000.
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Here's the link: [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Colonels"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Colonels[/ame]