Paul Pierce 11
US Presidential Election 2012: America’s basketball diplomat hits hardwood for last-minute votes (plus Official Fearless Prediction™)
Love him or hate him after nearly four years in office, one thing is for certain: Barack Obama is the first basketball president – a fact that could curry lots of favor with Generation X and Y voters in a celebrity-charged election. Sure, Bill Clinton was lucky enough to enjoy his home-state University of Arkansas’ […]
Touring bullets: Notes, links, videos on Euroleague American and NBA Live tours
Who cares if the games are meaningless in any real sense? BallinEurope missed the Euroleague American Tour and NBA Live Tour games tremendously in 2011 – one item doubtlessly on BiE’s list of underrated casualties of the player lockout – and is thrilled to see them back. In just a couple of hours, the Boston […]
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 […]
Watching the Las Vegas Superstar Challenge online
In the wake of the NBA lockout, those players from the big league not hawking their wares in Europe or elsewhere overseas are looking to schedule alternative games. Though a big-name international tour appears to be stalling at present, this weekend will see quite an exhibition in the four-team “Las Vegas Superstar Challenge” headed up […]
Bricks, snickers and root canals: The week in Twitter
BallinEurope thinks he’s in love … with Twitter. (Yes, BiE knows he’s behind the times for this relevation, but still.) And so, for no better reasons than idle amusement and trying to justify a bit too much time spent over on *that site*, BiE presents a look at some of the top basketball-related tweets of […]
Most popular jerseys in Europe: Top 10 half European; Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade still rule
In advance of the Los Angeles Lakers-FC Barcelona game next week, fans of both teams in Europe are helping make Pau Gasol’s NBA jersey one of the hottest items among The Continent’s basketball faithful. Gasol reached no. 4 on the NBA’s official list of jersey sales in Europe. The list was compiled from sales at […]
Paul Pierce: Italy or Greece for a year before retiring
From the In Case You Haven’t Heard It Yet Department, a bit of news that won’t take effect until the second Obama Administration, yet still has BallinEurope just giddy. From Comcast Sports Net Philly, here’s the quote from Paul Pierce on his future in the NBA: “As far as retiring from the NBA, I think […]
Lithuanian prime minister guarantees Eurobasket 2011 win (also Eurovision win and adoption of Euro)
Though the insufferable practice of athletes guaranteeing victory may have finally been killed with Paul Pierce’s unfounded recent declaration that “the Celtics ain’t coming back to L.A.,” it seems at least one prime minister is happy to continue talking trash in this vein.
WWDD? (What would Dirk do?) Four destinations for free agent Nowitzki
So the big German’s gonna do it, huh? The ever-loyal Dirk Nowitzki, he whom many would dub “the greatest European player of all-time,” will apparently be leaving the only NBA home he’s ever known to test the free-agent waters this summer, opting out of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks. Not that anyone asked, but […]
Draft profile: Jan Vesely
In tribute to that great international pastime known as “NBA mock drafting,” BallinEurope’s man in the U.K., Sam Chadwick, periodically takes a look at some of Europe’s prospective high draft picks. Today’s profile features the Czech Republic’s Jan Vesely, a power forward reckoned to be the second European taken in the NBA draft (after Donatas […]
Short Monday's cigarettes
Not too much to tell you this morning, unfortunately… Evin Demirel writes a detailed report about the beginning of the new Euro-duo (Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum) in Portland. Paul Pierce told journalists of Eleftheros Tipos that he’s thinking about ending his career in Greece (found via The Hoop). Italian TV commentator and coaching legend […]