EuroBasket 2011 126
France vs. Spain friendly: Parker to play 100th for France, Noah gets first warmup
Happy 100th, Tony Parker! As in the 100th appearance he’ll be making for the French national team tonight in a friendly between Les Bleus and Team Spain in Almeria. Parker has been synonymous with both Team France and the FIBA Eurobasket tournament itself; barring injury, the San Antonio Spur’s appearance in Lithuania for this year’s […]
NBA stars playing in Europe: What are the odds…?
First, BallinEurope would like to a couple more American players to The Continent, as Milwaukee Bucks second-round draft pick Jon Leuer has signed with the Bundesliga’s Frankfurt Skyliners to play during the NBA lockout and undrafted Colorado State University forward Andy Ogide has joined the ranks of LEB club Breogán. But as the BiE schadenfreudometer […]
Update from the North: 2011 Nordic Championship roundup
From Sweden, sportswriter/broadcaster Magnus Dahlborn checks in with BallinEurope today to give us reportage on the recently completed Nordic Championship tournament, which saw the title awarded to undefeated Team Finland. Due to the tragic events in Norway, a sombre feeling overlay the past weekend when the Nordic Championships between national teams from Sweden, Finland, Norway, […]
Eurobasket 2011: French, Russian NBA players insured; Joakim Noah still rehabbing
Good news for backers of the French or Russian causes at Eurobasket 2011 came out yesterday, as both national federations announced their overcoming of insurance issues related to their top stars. With certain agreements between the NBA and FIBA temporarily suspended in the wake of the player lockout in America, national squads all over the […]
Nowitzki: “Not exceptional” in the NBA Finals
No matter how you feel about Dirk Nowitzki’s place in NBA history vis-à-vis “Top 10” lists and whatnot, yesterday’s interview in Der Spiegel will certainly put him among the all-time greats in terms of humility. In the interview, which touches on subjects including Barack Obama, race relations in the NBA, and the upcoming 2011 Eurobasket […]
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 […]
Celebrating good times: The official 2011 Eurobasket anthem
Okay, so BallinEurope finally got the chance to sit down with the official anthem (no, really) for Eurobasket 2011. Entitled “Celebrate Basketball,” the seriously poppy three-minute ditty features music by Marijus Mikutavicius and Andrius Borisevicius; lyrics were written by Mikutavicius and Aidas Puklevicius. Everything in the song is copyright Promostar. The official video is full […]
CSKA Moscow takes Russian championship; J.R. Holden announces retirement
The 2010-11 champion has been named in Russia and for the ninth consecutive season, it is CSKA Moscow. Along with the exultation of the Red Army’s 74-63 victory over BC Khimki, however, came the sad (if inevitable) news that longtime Muscovite J.R. Holden would be retiring from professional basketball. Playing nearly the entire game, Holden’s […]
Parker, Noah, Diot lead big names filling France’s Eurobasket 2011 squad
Twelve players and four backups have been selected to represent France at the upcoming Eurobasket 2011 tournament; gut reaction says that Les Bleus would appear to be one of the favorites to emerge out of Group B in pool play. The group competition will include Germany, Israel, Italy, Latvia and Serbia. The 12-man roster is […]
Germany: Bamberg-Berlin game two tonight (watch it on YouTube!)
With NBA Championship game four in the books, German basketball fans can turn their attention back to the home country where game two of the Bundesliga final will be played tonight between Alba Berlin and 2010-11 Euroleague team Brose Baskets Bamberg. At stake in the series, aside from the actual title itself, is automatic qualification […]
Kestutis Kemzura names 20 to preliminary Team Lithuania roster
Team Lithuania coach Kestutis Kemzura this morning named 20 players to his preliminary squad in advance of the Eurobasket 2011 tournament. The home team will be returning seven players from the side that took bronze in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and including one NBAer – but not Linas Kleiza. Returning from the surprise of […]
Dirk, Dydek and beyond: Weekend video clips
European basketball leagues and the NBA may be coming to a close for 2010-11, but there’s still plenty of hoops to keep up with – and even more online video clips for the watching! BallinEurope starts your Sunday with a dozen clips shot in the U.S., Greece, Spain, Israel and other locales. Enjoy today’s action […]