SemiPro in KC

In one of the few funny scenes in Semi-Pro, Will Ferrell exclaims, “Everybody panic! Oh, my God, there’s a bear loose in the coliseum! There will be no refunds! Your refund will be escaping this deathtrap with your life!” It’s hard to imagine anything quite as entertaining happening at a Kansas City Spartans game, but at least our town’s newest semipro squad has a chance to draw modest crowds without anyone wrestling a bear. The Spartans will be the first American Basketball Association team to play in KC since the Knights dropped out of the league in 2005. Though the ABA has been troubled in recent years by teams folding faster than Ferrell against a grizzly, the Spartans are banking on a combination of civic outreach and cheap ticket prices to get fans in the seats. With former Jayhawk Moulaye Niang at center, the Spartans open their season tonight at 6:15 at Hickman Mills High School (9010 Old Santa Fe Road, 816-872-6622). General admission tickets cost $10.

Kansas City Spartans

Sat., Dec. 13, 6:15 p.m., 2008