Basketball Referees 8
In Romania, referee can’t see, whistles foul anyway, adds technical, possibly shifts semifinal series
While BallinEurope has been focused-to-obsession on the Euroleague and NBA playoffs, basketball marches on all over the world. BiE buddy Adi Micinic of Romania-based Total Baschet, for example, recently told us of a bit of a controversy in the season-ending tournament in his country. Warning: Those intolerant of refereeing errors should not read further. First […]
Sarunas Jasikevicius: “I don’t get” why Team USA players’ traveling uncalled
European fans (and many others) have often noted that NBA players appear to be traveling on many a routine or highlight-clip play, and Team USA backers are certainly shocked at the number of such turnovers their side has been guilty of through four games – seriously, have Lebron James and Kobe Bryant ever racked up […]
Danilo Gallinari: Steve Kerr “hasn’t played basketball for too long”
Did Danilo Gallinari really flop in the final minute of his Denver Nuggets’ recent loss to the Lakers while Ramon Sessions hit a key three? Or did Pau Gasol foul Gallinari on the pick? If the latter is true, why was there no call? After words to the American media to the effect of “It […]
A “classic Italian mess”: National basketball federation suspends 15 referees for wearing the wrong uniform
A bit of a weird one from Italy for you this morning … BallinEurope contributing writer Enrico Cellini reports on a symbolic protest within his country’s national basketball league which subsequently saw nearly half the Serie A referees – including the well-esteemed Fabio Facchini, one of two Italians who will be calling games at the […]
Timekeeper tried to extend Lietuvos Rytas' Euroleague season?
BiE has heard of officiating errors changing the outcome of games, but how about the timekeeper? An egregious mistake has been noticed (and chased down a bit) by some fans and sent on to Lithuanian-language Basket News, one that might be ascribed to computer or human error, if it weren’t so strange. Toward the end […]
Serbian suspicion confirmed: Photo shows Tunceri stepped out
All Joey Crawford jokes and half-kidding aside, BallinEurope tries not to fault referees for blown calls too often. Nor does BiE want to get into the habit of blaming the zebras for losses; for a long time, the rant from yours truly has been something along the lines of “Well, your team shouldn’t have been […]
Russia’s own “Artest melee” gets Lokomotiv, Dynamo fines; CEO says “We broke the law”
Those attending last Saturday’s match between Russian Superleague contenders BC Lokomotiv Kuban and Dynamo Moscow in Krasnodar Sports Arena got way more than they bargained for in both positive and negative fashion. After the hometeam Lokomotiv finally eked out the 94-91 double-overtime win after serious back-and-forth throughout the game, trouble started. Dynamo players had been […]
Interview: Ten minutes with Romualdas Brazauskas
In every single professional basketball game ever played, one team on the floor goes full bore the whole time the clock is running, yet is invisible. In fact, the team that plays this way best serves the fans by remaining absolute unknowns and making as little perceptible impact on the match as possible. We’re talking […]