If you think the American Basketball Association’s Nashville Broncs are destined for a long tenure in Music City, then I have a “beautiful venue” called Municipal Auditorium in which you should invest heavily.

I’m not sure what to think of the ABA’s decision to host the finals for next season’s playoffs here in Nashville. Perhaps it’s an effort to make up for the fact that our previous ABA franchise elected to skip the playoffs during its first season before folding altogether in the middle of its second.

While I’m cautiously optimistic that this incarnation of professional hoops won’t (can’t) embarrass Nashville on the level that the Rhythm and owner/aspiring pop-star Sally Anthony did, I think the ABA’s local return is a bad idea and one whose time here will be lucky to be measured in years (two or three) rather than months.

I found it surprising that Nashville ranks in the middle of the pack in terms of volunteering, according to a study by the Corporation for National & Community Service. The Volunteer State as a whole is ranked in the bottom third nationally, which is even worse. Nashville’s volunteer rate now trails the U.S. figure, so the city is below average in donating its time.

I expected to see Nashville in the top 10. Considering how vibrant and active our nonprofit community is, I’m scratching my head at how the city landed where it is. I can’t blame it on tough economic times, either, because that’s likely influencing all of the results, not just Nashville’s, and these numbers are for 2007, when the downward trend was only beginning to emerge.