Lazaros Papadopoulos 10
Olympiacos wins! Olympiacos wins! Olympiacos wins! (a.k.a. *The* European basketball story of 2011-12)
Let’s put this into perspective. The last time Olympiacos took the Greek national title, they were led by David Rivers and Dragan Tarlać. Vassilis Spanoulis was 15 years old and not near professional club play. Dejan Bodiroga was in the middle of his career and Mirsad Turkcan had just turned 21. Across the pond, Lebron […]
Report: Olympiacos’ Papadopoulos to miss Euroleague Final Four
As though the underdogs of the 2012 Euroleague Final Four needed more obstacles to bar the way to what would be the tournament’s biggest modern-era upset, here’s another. According to Talk Basket, center Lazaros Papadopoulos will not be suiting up for the Reds in the competition. Reports the site: “Papadopoulos hasn’t trained for days now […]
Anadolu Efes takes Two Nations Cup, “teaches Olympiacos a lesson”
Congratulations to Anadolu Efes for convincingly taking the inaugural Two Nations Cup two-day basketball tournament, winning the final match over Euroleague competitor Olympiacos, 87-62. Efes bested defending Euroleague champs Panathinaikos on Saturday to play for the cup. Olympiacos, meanwhile, had advanced by knocking out Fenerbahçe Ülker, which ultimately ended up in third after taking out […]
Foreign players, strikebreakers take floor in Greece in “parody” of basketball
Those who think an NBA lockout in 2010-11 could be crazy should check out the situation in Greek pro basketball right now. After seeing the first week of action cancelled due to a player strike called by Greece’s player union PSAK, EΣAKE got underway last night as some of the bigger *teams* broke picket lines […]
Crisis in Greece: EΣAKE players on strike
Greek basketball players union Lazaros Papadopoulos said just a short time ago, “Basketball has died in Greece and no one has taken notice.” It’s no exaggeration on his part, but surely soon some will notice. According to Talk Basket, the Greek players’ union unanimously decided to strike effective immediately – just before the league’s opening […]
Strike! (Maybe.)
Perhaps not such a merry Christmas for Greece, then: Due to continuing conflict between ESAKE and the Greek players union (PSAK), play in the country’s top league may be stopped as of January 1. Issues in play in the dispute include salary concerns, support for amateur ball, television rights and limits on non-European players. Talk […]
Bad news from Italy
Bad news from Italy. Much worse than that from France (Pau Orthez) or Germany (Giessen). Fortitudo Bologna has gone down to Legadue. It seems incredible, but such is the unhappy end to a desperate season, only the tip of the iceberg from an era characterized by a slow descent since “Emir” Giorgio Seragnoli left the […]
Monday's Cigarettes
After a short version last Monday, we are back now with a full force of tasty, smoky cigarettes. “At the end of the day, it is here where I am doing what I always expected, what I was supposed to do when I was young, before the injury: to be a leader of one of […]
Yarone's weekend Joints
Lots of three-ball action took place this week. Some went in with great accuracy. Others will have to pay for the rim damage. Lazos, Erceg and Childress are the most overpaid players of this week, the double OT in Istanbul had two sides, Spencer caught up, Nancy made history, Jennings made us proud, and one […]
Real Madrid turns it up a notch: Massey and Gasol to Madrid?
Of course, we’re talking about Pau Gasol’s younger brother who played for Akasvayu Girona this past season in the ULEB Cup. Eurobasket reports today that Real Madrid will make Marc Gasol an offer he cannot refuse this summer and will break the bank to get him to Madrid although this might be more complicated than […]