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The Eurocentric 2011-12 NBA Eastern Conference preview (plus Official Fearless Predictions™)
While basketball lovers are getting something of a Christmas gift this season in the December 25 NBA opening day – BiE says “something of” there because this belated debut is kinda like your parents saying, “Well, we’ll just give you your birthday gift at Christmas.” When your birthday’s in October – BallinEurope would like to […]
The official BallinEurope ballot for FIBA Europe Men's Players of the Year: Nowitzki, Navarro and…?
BallinEurope just loves season- and year-ending polls, and every December FIBA Europe offers hoops devotees the opportunity to participate in the naming the Continent’s Players of The Year. And while the winner of the award for 2011 – a.k.a. the Year of Dirk – is surely a no-brainer, the FIBA ballot calls for electors to […]
Welcome to Spain, Matt Walsh!
Well-traveled ormer Miami Heat/Union Olimpija swingman today announced his CV will be adding a stint at an eighth country via Twitter. Tweeted Walsh this afternoon: “Back to work!! Just signed with Spanish acb team Murcia!!! South of Spain here I come!!!” After some time in his rookie season as an undrafted player with the Miami […]
Profile: Bojan Bogdanovic, no. 31 overall selection in 2011 NBA Draft
Funny … after the 2011 NBA Draft, was BallinEurope completely alone in guessing the New Jersey Nets got a steal of a pick by landing via trade with the Miami Heat the no. 31 overall selection Bojan Bogdanovic? BiE’d like to think not. After all, contributions to Cibona Zagreb last season in the Adriatic League, […]
Dirk Swish: Entrepreneurs turn iconic basketballer Nowitzki into icon
File this one under “What’s Next”: It’s called the “Legendary Icon” (but you’ll surely be forgiven if you think of it as the “Dirk Swish”) and if a two-man team of Dallas entrepreneurs has its way, their icon will have you forgetting all about the Jumpman. The icon – and concomitant T-shirt – based on […]
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 […]
Pop Quiz: The Euro-/NBA-centric year in basketball
Just because the NBA Draft is over, the big league is heading toward a lockout, and the top European teams are thick into the wheeling/dealing of off-season acquisitions with an eye to 2011-12, that’s no reason to forget your history. Were you paying attention this season? Test your knowledge with the official BallinEurope 2010-11 season-ending […]
From Kanter to Bogdanovic: Brief looks at seven Europeans drafted into NBA
The 2011 NBA Draft is still going on as of this writing, but with the amazing amount of Continental players going early and often – a direct contrast to last year’s greatly Europe-bereft selections – BallinEurope gets in a quick two Eurocents with a brief look at (and YouTube clips of) the first seven players […]
Mavericks win: Nowitzki becomes first German to win NBA title
Huge congratulations go out from BallinEurope.com to the Dallas Mavericks for the team’s 105-95 win over the superstar-studded Miami Heat in game six of the NBA Championship. Excepting those in the Miami metropolitan area, the basketball world is collectively rejoicing in playoff MVP Dirk Nowitzki and his Mavericks’ first-ever title, earned with the defeat of […]
74 is the magic number: Nancy takes French title; Barcelona wins game two; Freak City cruises in Germany
While much of the basketball hype from the ‘States in currently focused on tonight’s scintillating NBA championship game six, BiE today runs a quick jaunt through Europe’s championship action, with video-embedded stops in France, Spain and Germany. Official BallinEurope Fearless Prediction™ at the very bottom. First up, congratulations to new LNB champs SLUC Nancy, who […]
Championship basketball: Galatasaray stays alive; Barça, Mavericks take care of business
It’s hard to believe the 2010-11 season is drawing to a close, but so it goes. Leagues in Turkey, Spain and the United States could be all shutting down for the summer (or, in the latter’s case, perhaps a good deal longer) within a week. A brief roundup this morning, then, of action in this […]
Daniel Gibson on Lebron quote: “You can’t help but take it personal.”
For those of you already well-versed in the hating of Lebron and his ever-closer incipient reign as King (or maybe Prince) James, BallinEurope brings a little antidote for your game one hangover. BiE got a heads up this morning on something called “Boobie’s Podcast” as presented by the Cleveland-based Dugout Sports Show. In this week’s […]