Olympiacos 295
Best of the (basketball) net: Short-but-Sweet edition
Though we only have a few hits from the cybersphere this weekend, most of them are quite substantial and well worth a bit of your time on Sunday. Happy reading, everyone! Awesome, with a capital *AWESOME* is heinnews’ interview with Oscar Robertson, actually undertaken during the Eurobasket 2009 on the eve of the Big O’s […]
Stern to become involved in Olympiacos controversy?
What does NBA commissioner David Stern have to do with Greek basketball, an Ohio court, the U.S. House of Representatives and Michael Jackson? Everything, if player agents Tom McLaughlin and Gary Ebert and Rep. Peter King (R.-N.Y.) have anything to say about it. As noted here, Olympiacos allegedly owes McLaughin and former Reds player Chris […]
Betting on basketball: Who makes the Euroleague Final Four?
Along with the obligatory odds for outright winner of the big enchilada, the bookmakers at Euroleague/Ball in Europe sponsor Sporting Bet have also released odds on your team to make the Final Four – well, OK, especially if your team is Greece- or Spain-based. And speaking of those twin national teams, what are the odds […]
Olympiacos shows something, gets posterized often against Cavs
Well, Olympiacos may not have put up too much of a fight against the Cleveland Cavaliers last night in a 111-94 defeat while Baby Shaq lost the individual battle against Daddy Shaq, but together the teams made one heck of a highlight clip. That O’Neal-James combination already looks pretty OK, n’est-ce pas? (Video below the […]
Iverson confirms Olympiacos offer, may yet play in Greece
While on his promotional tour through Europe, Allen Iverson has stated that he did indeed receive a formal offer from Olympiacos this summer, but ultimately declined the offer “due to family commitments.” Greek-language website Red Planet, via Goal magazine, reported Iverson making the statement on Olympiacos’ contract offer after checking out Marc Gasol’s play for […]
Europe's top 12 basketball team names
The worst thing about NBA basketball? That’s easy: The team names! What with the rapid franchise movement and just incomprehensible obsession with the uncountable noun, American professional basketball is simply bogged down with names that are mostly laughingly displaced (e.g. Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies), generic (e.g. Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Hornets, Phoenix […]
First thoughts on first Euroleague outright winner odds
Someone over at online sportsbook and official Euroleague sponsor SportingBet.com doubtlessly cannot wait for the 2009-10 season to begin, though we’re still, as the handy Euroleague.net countdown timer reminds, 67 days, 10.5 hours and change away from opening day. Already posted are odds for the upcoming season and whoo boy, is it some fodder for […]
L.A. ain't the Answer, A.I.: Come to Europe!
I’ve been waiting to talk trash to my NBA-supremacist friends ever since the announcement in April of an imminent deal between free agent Allen Iverson and Olympiacos: Ha! That’s what you get for trying to make a Hall of Fame stud sit on the bench for some second-rank team in the ‘States! Think Europe’s top […]
Eight (or nine) key dates on the Euroleague schedule
Yes, yes, it’s waaaaaaaaaay too early to be making serious predictions about specific games in the 2009-10 Euroleague regular season, but a leisurely look at the newly-released schedule reveals some clear highlights that’ll have Euroleague fanatics marking their calendars early. BallinEurope will be watching the following, for sure.
Roster rule changes in Serbia and Greece
Good news and bad news, definition and redefinition of “foreign player” ruled the basketball headlines in Serbia and Greece last week. While the reigning basketball federation of the latter expanded the number of roster slots available to non-EU players from two to three, Serbia not only limited the number of foreign players allowed on team […]
Catfight at Euroleague.net: Cheerleaders in video battle royale
Say what you want about Euroleague.net, but somebody over there has good ideas about filling a lull in the seasonal schedule. Currently running at the website is the “Euroleague Video Faceoff” tournament featuring video submissions from the teams’ cheerleading squads, and with winners determined by popular vote. The following are one man’s choices for the […]
Why Americans should watch Euroleague Final Four
Many observers and participants are already calling the 2009 Final Four in Berlin in early May the best ever. While that remains to be seen, one thing that is certain is that the affair in the German capital is anything but just another European party. And American basketball fans will have plenty of reasons to […]