Spain 224
Crisis in Spain: Player strike averted, ACB playoffs to continue as planned
Phew, that was close… Typically, it’s a bad sign when a sports page follows up a headline story with a photo like this: However, good news from Spain is the order of the day today, as ACB officials have announced that at least a temporary agreement is in place to avert a player strike scheduled […]
Podcast: Interview with Team Spain U19s head coach Luis Guil; review of The Last Boy Scout; gobs of basketball talk
Episode #36 of the weekly “Taking the Charge” podcast series is now available online and, if you think the end of the Euroleague season means a paucity of subjects to discuss, well, you don’t know BallinEurope and heinnews once we get started… At center is an interview with current Team Spain U19s/former Murcia head coach […]
Podcast: Talking Euroleague Final Four, Liga Endesa with Jeff Taylor; also lamenting the Lakers, reviewing ESPN 30 for 30 doc “From Elway to Marino”
Another week, another “Taking the Charge” podcast. Available now through heinnews or iTunes, it’s once again lotsa talk on European basketball and other sports. BallinEurope and heinnews this week host Jeff Taylor, Spain-based writer for Basketball World News and FIBA.com. With Spain as the main item on the chat menu this week, we analyze the […]
March Madness a la Europe, Part I: Walk-ons, bench guys, standouts
The easy way to introduce a piece like this: Are you ready for March Madness? But of course that’s a rhetorical question as – despite the morphing NBA playoff picture and the Euroleague Top 16 round homestretch – the basketball world’s attention turns to the U.S. college game. Fans of international ball will be pleased […]
Yes! ACB releases new Pops Mensah-Bonsu highlight video!
It’s about time we got a fresh Pops Mensah-Bonsu highlight video … On the happy occasion of Pops’ return to European courts with Cajasol Sevilla for the final six games of the season, the Liga Endesa official website reminds us of Pops’ great moments on Spanish hardwood during stints with CB Granada and DKV Joventut […]
Mario Hezonja slams home Dunk of The Weekend, compiles one-game highlight reel
The NBA All-Star What Contest? Over in the ‘States, basketball superstars created highlight-reel clips while facing little opposition … so forget canned exhibitions (especially Flight White’s sad showing) and check out a show most missed: Croatian wunderkind Mario Hezonja submitted the dunk of the weekend with an incredible one-handed finish to an alley-oop pass from […]
Las Dreamcheers strut stuff, show skills at Copa Del Rey
Damn straight BallinEurope’ll run these videos. Alongside this year’s top-notch hoops for which the Copa Del Rey has become world famous, the 2013 edition of the tournament featured some amazing athleticism, choreography and straight-up gorgeousness from Las Dreamcheers, a dance team made up of ACB cheerleaders. Check out the Liga Endesa-produced video directly below for […]
Cup finals highlights: Barca dominates Valencia; Siena squeaks past Cinderella; PAO bests “club of filth” Olympiacos; Korac Cup final postponed
Congratulations go out from BallinEurope this morning to FC Barcelona, Montepaschi Siena and Panathinaikos, perhaps each respectively their nation’s top basketball club, for taking domestic cup titles this weekend. In Spain, FC Barcelona showed no letup after outlasting Real Madrid in Thursday’s barnburner from the Copa Del Rey quarterfinal round and cruised through Valencia BC […]
Rudy Fernandez: D’Antoni “doesn’t understand Pau Gasol,” “one of the world’s best centers”
With so many observers, players and blogosphere fanatics weighing in on both perpetual trade-bait Pau Gasol and his currently sorry-looking Los Angeles Lakers, it’s no surprise that Spanish-language media outlets have taken to speaking with Pau’s Team Spain teammate Rudy Fernandez on the maddening situation. In a piece appearing in El Confidencial under the headline […]
Podcast: Interview with Spurs draftee Adam Hanga leads Hungarian-flavored show
Episode #19 of the BallinEurope/ heinnews co-hosted “Taking the Charge” podcast is now online. Bearing a nice Hungarian accent, our centerpiece interview this week will be of great interest to Spanish basketball fans, San Antonio Spurs nation and NBA prospect-watchers, as Team Hungary’s Adam Hanga joins David Hein and yours truly for a solid 20 […]
Highlight clip of the weekend: Valencia outlasts Bilbao in 113-111 shootout
Who needs “more speed, more excitement, a more free-flowing style” of basketball? Certainly not a couple of teams in the Liga Endesa this weekend, namely Eurocup contenders Valencia Basket and the Euroleague-bounced Uxue Bilbao. Valencia ultimately triumphed in overtime by a whopping final tally of 113-111. The boxscore alone is worthy of goggling over, with […]
Monday hangover: Power struggles in Italy, Spain; Zalgiris’ continued rise; Obama vs. the Lakers Rule
It’s never too late for the ‘Hangover (or so BiE’s telling himself). Excuses aside, following are a few Eurocentric impressions, notes, highlight clips – and the no. 1 reason why Barack Obama is thrilled the Los Angeles Lakers went down in the playoffs last season… • Power vacuum in Italy? Coming into 2012-13, most pundits […]