Efes Pilsen 72
The EuroChallenge Championship Curse: What of Beşiktaş’ future?
In this second piece of a two-part series, sportswriter/commentator Uygar Karaca again considers the EuroChallenge Championship Curse, with special reference to this year’s champions, Beşiktaş; unfortunately for the Eagles, Karaca feels a distressing amount of déjà vu… In this article, I will try to answer the question as to whether Beşiktaş Milangaz fits into the […]
The BallinEurope tribute to all-time Euroleague great Marcus Brown
Marcus Brown retired from professional basketball this week as the Euroleague’s modern-era top scorer (with 2,715 total points to his name) and with a CV of success the envy of many. After getting drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1996 and playing sparingly there for a season, Brown jumped the puddle to embark on […]
Jaka Lakovic signs with Galatasaray Café Crown (who oughta be in Euroleague…)
BallinEurope was shocked (and is still simmering a bit) when EL officials announced their nomination of Armani Jeans Milano to the single available “wild card” spot on the league table. Why not a runner-up from a more dynamic association, like the Bundesliga’s Alba Berlin or, best of all, Galatasaray Café Crown? After all, Galatasaray played […]
European Vocation: Early fallout from NBA lockout
The NBA fan’s nightmare came to pass yesterday with the expiration of the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players, the concomitant announcement of a player lockout, and fresh new fear that professional basketball in 2011-12 might not even happen in the ‘States. BallinEurope’s gut reaction, at least on a visceral Eurocentric level? Cool! Bring […]
List of 2010-11 European Basketball Champions
With most leagues drawing to a close and playoffs beginning – not to mention champions already crowned in Albania, Cyprus, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Norway and a few regional leagues – BallinEurope returns its “List of European Basketball Champions.” At present, only the above-listed domestic leagues have shut down for the summer; BiE supplies information on […]
Video clips: Championships, cheerleaders, Carroll crushes, Barcelona loses (again)
Happy Monday, everyone. To get that week started right, BallinEurope has compiled a healthy-sized video play list at which you may goggle over morning coffee. From all corners of Europe (and Portland, Oregon) came the action last week as the barrage of title-awarding begins on The Continent. • First up: BiE offers congratulations to Žalgiris […]
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 […]
A.I. owes in Colorado; no word on return to Beşiktaş Cola Turka
No word on Allen Iverson’s return from injury and to Turkey to resume playing for Beşiktaş Cola Turka, but negative press is out on Mr. Answer this week. The Denver Post first reported – in a story later picked up by several sources – that Iverson had stopped paying off a $3 million-mortgage on a […]
Vassilakopoulos: Full steam ahead on Mediterranean League
BallinEurope admits to having felt a great deal of skepticism when the rumors of a new major pan-European (and now -Asian! But more on that momentarily) basketball association were first announced; day by day it seems, however, that the Mediterranean League comes closer to reality. The prospective league could potentially involve teams from nine nations, […]
Top 100 Teams in Europe: After the cups, then what? Edition
The dust – and in Germany, the glass – has settled on a week of Cup tournament action throughout The Continent, so it’s time for BallinEurope to crunch the numbers in compiling the weekly Top 100 Teams in Europe list. But, ran the first question, what relative weight should be prescribed for these games for […]
Allen Who? Beşiktaş Cola Turka shocks Efes Pilsen in Turkish Cup
Just two games are in the books in the 2011 Türkiye Kupasi, but certainly the shocker of the tourney has already been played: Last night in Kayseri, the scoreboard read “Beşiktaş Cola Turka 57, Efes Pilsen Istanbul 55. In what was not exactly a shooting clinic – Beşiktaş (10-7 in TBL play in 2010-11) collectively […]
Top 100 Teams in Europe: Tops in ACB tops on Continent
The changes begin near the top in this week’s edition of the BallinEurope Top 100 Teams list, as Montepaschi’s third consecutive Euroleague loss dumps the Italian side down to no. 3, passed by their most recent vanquisher, Real Madrid. The top 20 stays fairly stable thereafter, with some jostling of position but no seismic shifts. […]