2012 Olympic Games 87
Eurobasket 2011 Power Rankings: First take
As just nine days remain until Eurobasket 2011 tips off in Lithuania, BallinEurope today takes a look back at the performances of the two dozen teams slated to compete in the big tournament and deploys some good old power rankings – and lotsa highlight clips from friendlies and tourneys played throughout The Continent. Once again, […]
EuroBasket Women: A “huge moment” for Turkey against Russia
If there were any doubt that Turkey is experiencing a bona fide golden age of basketball, look no further than the FIBA EuroBasket Women championship match tonight. The unheralded Team Turkey will take on pre-tournament favorites/historically dominant Russia in Lodz tonight. At stake is an automatic bid in the 2012 Olympic Games, but one can’t […]
Pops Mensah-Bonsu talks England v. Ghana
Those of you who are fans of that other roundball sport they play in Britain and other parts of Europe, i.e. football a.k.a. soccer, will definitely want to check out the video clip below. On the occasion of next Tuesday’s historic first-ever meeting between England and Ghana’s national teams, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, he of the “Olympic-bound […]
Top 100 teams in Europe: The Return
After a few weeks off, BallinEurope finally returns the Top 100 list for your perusal this week. With Euroleague ball on a break, not much has changed near the top of the table, though Olympiacos’ dominance in EΣAKE ball has again leapfrogged them over Real Madrid for the no. 2 spot on the BiE table […]
FIBA grants Team Great Britain its Olympic bid for 2012 Games
Congratulations from BallinEurope go out tonight to Luol Deng, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and the boys of Team Britain tonight; the message came across to BiE via Facebook and read simply: “FIBA Central Board has GRANTED Team GB an automatic host place at the 2012 London Olympics.” We’ll see you in London, guys!
British Basketball: What they're saying on the eve of The FIBA Decision
If it hadn’t been for all the personality-cult stuff surrounding a certain King James, the fateful FIBA committee vote scheduled for Sunday would more rightly be known as “The Decision”: In Lyons this weekend, the final determination will be made as to whether Team Britain receives for the 2012 London Games the traditionally-granted automatic qualification […]
On streetballing and moving the goalposts: An open letter from Patrick Baumann
With the vote on whether to allow Team Britain automatic entry into the 2012 London Olympic Games set to take place on Sunday in Lyons, FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann has released a statement to media regarding the criteria for this decision-making process. Much of the verbiage is along the lines FIBA suddenly demanded of […]
Interview: Baumann on British basketball
A few days ago, BallinEurope noted some of FIBA secretary-general/International Olympic Committee member Patrick Baumann’s new demands for British Basketball vis-à-vis getting the team into the 2012 Olympic games to be held in London. The folks at Britball Media gave BiE the heads-up yesterday on an interview conducted by MVP, the “UK home for basketball” […]
Baumann of FIBA/IOC levies more demands on British basketball
Despite the fact that Team Britain has managed to qualify for 2010 Eurobasket tournaments on both men’s and women’s sides, FIBA secretary-general/International Olympic Committee member Patrick Baumann has placed yet another condition to be met in exchange for bids at the 2012 Olympic Games. According to today’s Scotsman newspaper via a letter sent from Baumann […]
Interview: The Man Who Would Save British Basketball
While much of international basketball fandom is anticipating the 2010 World Championship and the powerful teams’ backers dream of glory, one national team is fighting for its very survival against what some feel is an unfair burden placed upon them by FIBA and the IOC: Great Britain. Great Britain held on for their fifth consecutive […]
BallinEurope’s 2010 FIBA World Championship power rankings 4.0
BiE was waiting for a result from last night’s Brazil-Argentina game in Spain before preparing this week’s edition of the official BallinEurope 2010 FIBA World Championship Power Rankings. Now that those numbers are in, the long-awaited list may be unveiled; who’s hot and who’s not? In BiE’s opinion, readings off the lay lines of the […]
FIBA’s Baumann frets about British basketball post-2012; Spice reassures
UK-based Sporting Life recently posted an couple of articles regarding the odd state of the national program and which insinuate FIBA’s greater concern with basketball in the country. On Monday, the ‘paper presented a long interview with FIBA secretary-general/International Olympic Committee inspector Patrick Baumann. Among other issues, Baumann spoke at length about what he and […]