Vladimir Romanov 29
End of an era as Zalgiris Kaunas formally announces resignation of Mad Vlad
All signs indicate that it’s the end of an era, but it just doesn’t seem real. Yesterday, a patriarchal figure over one of Europe’s most prestigious and historically significant organizations officially stepped down from his high post as observers speculated about what millions of followers could expect next. No, BallinEurope’s not talking about this guy, […]
Sunday hangover: Notes, clips from Euroleague week one
Since BiE will typically have to play catch-up with a week’s worth of Euroleague games on Saturdays, a new concept comes to the website in the Sunday hangover. Those of you who have followed BallinEurope since the days of its origins may recall the old “Monday cigarettes” column – and this one hopes to recall […]
Euroleague Power Rankings: 2012-13 Opening Day Edition
All right, it’s that time again! With hours to go before the 2012-13 Euroleague season tips off, BallinEurope breaks out its first power ratings for the big league. Whereas normally a disclaimer to the effect of “the following ratings are based on current trending only and are not necessarily based on the overall quality of […]
Romanov hit with key Žalgiris question: “Will Plaza be sacked as quickly as Zouros?”
Over at Russia-based Sport Express is a lengthy interview with Žalgiris Kaunas basketball/Heart of Midlothian football club owner Vladimir Romanov. Popularly Sometimes known as “Mad Vlad,” the Ūkio Bankas man weighed in on quite a few topics related to his basketball team, including the Sonny Weems departure, the state of Russian basketball and just what […]
If Žalgiris Kaunas misses Top 16, does Milovan Rakovic return to Montepaschi Siena?
Though Žalgiris Kaunas club director/former interim coach Vitoldas Massalski has categorically stated that no changes to the Greens’ roster will be forthcoming until the end of the Euroleague regular season, this can hardly stop the speculative future-gazing in Lithuania and beyond. To wit: Yesterday, the Lietuvos Rytas website ran a report stating that Milovan Rakovic […]
Euroleague Power Rankings: November edition
With two Euroleague games in the books for each team and something of an overall picture developing, BallinEurope unleashes the November edition of its ever-“popular” power rankings for the two dozen squads. For reference, edification and jollies, the preseason edition of the ‘rankings may be seen here. Once again, advisories in effect: These ratings are […]
Highlights from Ty Lawson’s epic Twitter venting (P.S. Unicaja over Žalgiris, 85-78)
Has a Europe-based basketball player ever garnered so much attention in one day on Twitter? Those who follow locked-out Denver Nugget/current Žalgiris Kaunas baller Ty Lawson on the ‘site watched for a span of two hours as a complaint about practice snowballed into a barrage of speed tweeting among Lawson, detractors and supporters. The story […]
Chicken move or clever maneuver? Conspiracy theorizing on Spain 96, France 69
With not nearly enough time spent in Lithuania, BallinEurope doesn’t wish to make any generalizations regarding the national character vis-à-vis tendency to conspiracy theory. Having been based in Central Eastern Europe for plus-10 years now, however, BiE knows how it goes, with “it” here representing “management of professional sport clubs well above and beyond normal, […]
Martynas Pocius injury: Vladimir Romanov to blame?
Stepping outside the realm of the Euroleague playoffs for just a moment, BallinEurope was saddened to hear quite the insidious story of BiE fave Martynas “Air” Pocius’ season-ending injury. As though not bad enough that Pocius is gone for the traditional LKL championship series between Žalgiris Kaunas and Lietuvos Rytas, BiE buddy Simonas Baranauskas yesterday […]
Sub-gate: Zalgiris owner Vladimir Romanov plans player substitutions for coaches
Just when you think things at Zalgiris Kaunas can’t possibly get crazier, Mad Vlad comes through with a heavy dose of weirdness for observers to goggle over – though surely jaded Lithuanian fans aren’t surprised one bit by the Green barrage of oddity now commonplace in the Vladimir Romanov Era. What American media types might […]
Euroleague Top 16 highlights: Day one
It wasn’t exactly the most inspiring set of Euroleague basketball games last night, with all four losing sides “held” under 60 points and nearly all blown out. (The operative verb gets quotation marks because the three crushed teams all shot under 40% overall with incredibly abysmal numbers from beyond the arc, to some extent helping […]
Official BallinEurope Euroleague Power Rankings: Heading into the Top 16
With just a few more hours before the Euroleague gets fired into action, BallinEurope has just enough time to get in some quickie power rankings! Purely subjective, these rankings have been based on recent Euroleague and domestic league performance, but also on serious speculation about season-break transactions. Enjoy the games!