BBL 47
British Basketball League regular-season tip-off: The roundup
BallinEurope’s man in the U.K., Sam Chadwick, spent his weekend watching lotsa British Basketball League action in the first week of the regular season there. See below for his roundup of the games.
Ron Artest on playing in Britain: "Why not?"
Wait a minute … what happened to the Finnish gig? Today, Los Angeles sportswriter Bill Plaschke has a short piece on Mr. Metta World Peace in which he envisions himself playing for either the Glasgow Rocks or the Cheshire Jets in case of an extended NBA lockout. Key quote: “The teams aren’t good, but I’m […]
Outside the comfort zone: An interview with John Staudt, Europe’s youngest top-division coach
As a teacher in an inner-city New York high school, John Staudt taught the values of pursuing a dream, even if one must go well outside one’s comfort zone. The 28-year-old recently personally got to opportunity to put both such ideals to the test with the Aalborg Vikings of Denmark’s Ligaen. That’s right: BiE said […]
Top 100 Teams in Europe: Pre-Cups Running Over Edition
As most European domestic leagues are taking a break for a week or two for national cup and/or all-star festivities, BallinEurope crunches the numbers again to determine where the Continent’s finest stand. Near the top, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Euroleague-side punishment of Union Olimpija shook things up a bit within the top 10 and Olympiacos reasserted […]
Iverson watch: Tough test in Fenerbahçe Ülker today, change of venue for Eurocup game Tuesday
So Allen Iverson acquitted himself reasonably (though nowhere near perfectly) well in his debut match for Beşiktaş Cola Turka; to riff on the old cliché, however, today is the first day in the rest of Mr. Answer’s European career. In Türkiye Basketbol Ligleri play today, A.I. and the Eagles today draw none other than defending […]
Official BallinEurope Euroleague Power Rankings: Week Three
As we head into week three of EL play, things haven’t quite normalized to preseason expectations, but BallinEurope’s Official Euroleague Power Rankings are looking a tad more normal. Well, except CSKA Moscow’s placement, that is. Rankings are based on current Euroleague record, plus play in other leagues and intangibles (like, for instance, this writer’s preconceived […]
Champions Crowned: Los Angeles Lakers, Brose Baskets Bamberg take titles, Montepaschi Siena almost
Congratulations go out from BallinEurope to the Los Angeles Lakers and Brose Baskets Bamberg for taking national titles last night/this morning, while Montepaschi Siena is one big step closer to ending up Serie A champs yet again. The last shall be first: You may have heard that the Lakers won their second consecutive NBA title […]
Fearless prediction: NBA game seven (also BBL, Serie A finals)
From the Because I Have A Blog Department, the BallinEurope official fearless prediction (TM) for game seven of the NBA Championship Series. (Drumroll, please.) Because BiE is a huge adherent to the completely irrational belief that only in sports can there be poetry, this fearless prediction says…
The BallinEurope Sunday playoff quadruple-header (plus Fearless Predictions)
All right, on this last World Cup-free weekend for the foreseeable future, who’s up for a little basketball? No, make that a lot of basketball. A barrage of basketball, if you will. Get ready to clear the schedule, stock up the liquid refreshment and blow off the familial obligations for the hoops marathon we like […]
Tibor Pleiss: “One year of Euroleague, then the NBA Draft”
Another European player has announced his intention to enter the NBA Draft … the 2011 NBA Draft, that is. Team Germany/Brose Baskets Bamberg big man Tibor Pleiss, the 2009-10 Bundesliga Rookie of the Year, recently informed German press that he’d like to play one more year in Europe before seeking to fulfill his dream in […]
No. 5 seed Brose Baskets tops NY Phantoms, advances to Bundesliga finals
In the topsy-turvy world of the Bundesliga playoffs, the one-eyed man – i mean, no. 5 seed Brose Baskets Bamberg – is king after this weekend’s semifinal victory over New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig, 94-82 to sweep the no. 8 team out of the playoffs. In a tournament which saw all four teams atop the table […]
Coach: Newcastle Eagles 50/50 to enter Eurochallenge in 2010
While basketball continues to grow all over the Continent, reaching the popularity level of no. 1 or 2 sport in nearly every country from Portugal to Russia, the countries of the British Isles have notoriously lagged behind in hoops enthusiasm. Maybe it’s simply the overwhelming lure of traditional pastimes like soccer, rugby, cricket and Gaelic […]