The NBA Development League's 2008-09 season begins Friday, Nov. 28, with six games scheduled, including the first-ever game for the Erie BayHawks, who travel to take on the Fort Wayne Mad Ants at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in a Central Division matchup.A The following night, the Reno Bighorns tip off their inaugural season, hosting the Bakersfield JamA at the Reno Events Center, in a Western Division showdown. This season, the league's eighth, and the fourth in which D-League teams have direct affiliations with NBA teams, tips off with seven NBA assigned players on NBA D-League rosters, including Boston's J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker, playing for the Utah Flash; Golden State's Richard Hendrix and DeMarcus Nelson suiting up for the Jam; Memphis' Hamed Haddai honing his game with the Dakota Wizards; Oklahoma City's Steven Hill with the Tulsa 66ers and Ian Mahinmi returning to the Austin Toros from the San Antonio Spurs.A The NBA D-League has also seen it's first GATORADE Call-Up to the NBA this season, with Dakota guard Blake Ahearn earning a spot on the Spurs' roster.A The NBA D-League is coming off a record-breaking 2007-08 season in which an all-time high 31 NBA players were assigned 53 times to their team's NBA D-League affiliate and an all-time high 18 players earned 29 GATORADE Call-Ups to NBA teams.A At the start of the 2008-09 NBA season, 60 players with NBA D-League experience were featured on NBA opening day rosters, including 2007-08 assigned guard Ramon Sessions (Tulsa, Milwaukee) and Kelenna Azubuike, who earned a GATORADE Call-Up during the 2006-07 season from the Fort Worth Flyers to the Golden State Warriors.A Last season, 15 percent of all players in the NBA were NBA D-League alumni, including the NBA D-League's 100th GATORADE Call-Up, GoldenState's C.J. Watson Additionally, one-third of the 2007 NBA draft class played in the NBA D-League to improve their skills and accelerate their development.A For the 2008-09 season, the NBA D-League's 16 teams are broken into three divisions: the Central Division, West Division and Southwest Division. The Central Division is comprised of Dakota, Erie, Fort Wayne, the Iowa Energy and Sioux Falls Skyforce while the West Division includes the Anaheim Arsenal, Bakersfield, 2007-08 NBA D-League Champion Idaho Stampede, Los Angeles D-Fenders, Reno and Utah.A The Southwest Division consists of the Albuquerque Thunderbirds, Austin, Colorado 14ers, Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Tulsa. NBA D-League teams each play a 50-game regular season schedule, including 24 home games, 24 road games, and two games at the annual NBA D-League Showcase. The Showcase, which features all 16 NBA D-League teams playing 16 games in four days, will take place from January 5-8 on the Flash's home court in Orem, Utah, with all games aired on NBA TV.A The regular season begins Friday and ends April 11.A The Playoffs will begin on April 13 at the earliest. The NBA D-League will continue to have a large presence during NBA All-Star festivities, with the third-annual NBA D-League All-Star Game taking place in PhoenixA NBA D-League All-Stars will also participate in the second annual Dream Factory Skills Competition and numerous other community and fan events.A on Feb. 14, 2008.Source: NBA Development League A OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Editorial: Citigroup Walking Away from Mets Naming Deal Isn't as Easy as it Seems - The Biz of Baseball Time Magazine Cites MLB Instant Replay as One of its "Inventions of the Year" - The Biz of Baseball How Sports Sites Are Unwittingly Selling Everything from Watches to Tickets - The Biz of Baseball Marlins Bump Opening Date of New Stadium to 2012 - The Biz of Baseball Plan B. Branding Offers Glance at New Era Cap Offerings - The Biz of Baseball Delta Becomes Official Airline of the New York Yankees - The Biz of Baseball Maury Brown on XM 175. Citi Field, New Marlins Stadium, Barry Bonds, Free Agent Market - The Biz of Baseball Judge Throws Out 4 of 14 Charges Against Barry Bonds - The Biz of Baseball Curt Schilling Heads to Persian Gulf as Part of USO Tour - The Biz of Baseball What Will MLBNetwork.com and the Latest Version of "At Bat" Offer in 2009? - The Biz of Baseball Amidst Near Collapse, Cititgroup Confirms Retaining Naming Rights Deal with Mets - The Biz of BaseballNHL and CHL Reach Marketing Alliance - The Biz of Hockey Will Smith Goes NHL-Style at Premier of "Seven Pounds" - The Biz of Hockey NHL Network to Broadcast 20-Part Series on NHL Captains - The Biz of Hockey NHL Partners with Ticketmaster for First-Ever Ticket Resale Service - The Biz of Hockey NHL Sees Key Gains in Attendance, Television, Online, and Corporate Growth - The Biz of Hockey Organizational Report: Nashville Predators - The Biz of Hockey Thursday Night Football to Go 3-D - The Biz of FootballSaints to Freeze Ticket, Parking and Concession Prices for 2009 Season - The Biz of Football Joe Paterno Says He'll Coach at Penn State in 2009 - The Biz of Football NFL Adds Second Instant Replay Referee After Blown Polamalu Play - The Biz of Football ESPN and BCS Reach Four-Year Agreement - The Biz of Football All in the Family: Rooneys to Continue to Own Steelers - The Biz of Football Taking a Knee? NFL to Lower Playoff Ticket Costs by 10% Due to Economy - The Biz of Football Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.Don't forget to register and log in on The Biz of Basketball site to get updates via your in-box, and see information only logged in members can see.