Open letter to Bill Simmons and America

After checking out the Unicaja-Olympiacos match and witnessing yet another stellar performance from my compatriot Josh Childress, i was moved enough, as all sports-worshiping Americans eventually do at some point in our lives, to whip off an email to The Sports Guy, ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons. Since he’ll never publish it, we’ll run it here, too.

Dear Bill,

I live in Budapest, where I’m able to catch quite a few Euroleague basketball games. I’m sure you haven’t kept close track of Josh Childress’ progress with Greek team Olympiacos, so I thought you might appreciate a brief update on Childress in his first year of that three-year, $20 million contract.

This week, Olympiacos lost a close one in Unijaca in which Childress contributed 3-of-9 shooting for seven points (his fourth Euroleague game of seven in which he scored fewer than 10) and seven rebounds, and it looked even worse.

Childress first helped fuel a comeback for Unijaca at the end of the first half by consistently awkwardly driving to the basket while flailing about in hopes of drawing a shooting foul; unfortunately, his efforts to draw fouls were in vain, resulting in Childress’ Olympiacos shedding six points in short time and took just a five-point lead into the half.

In the fourth quarter, Childress assisted a momentum shift to Unijaca in the fourth quarter by alternating far-off jumpers with getting poor position underneath against guys like Jiri Welsch and Carlos Jimenez. Naturally, his teammates keep feeding him the ball despite the fact that he thinks he’s still playing with the Atlanta Hawks because, well, he’s Josh Childress.

To cap it all off, with his team down by two with 33 seconds and four on the shot clock, Childress took a guarded, off-balance jumper at the three-point line, not even trying to create space after getting the pass once again because, well, you know.

In summation, you know in Europe, we got the same shit over here as in America, it’s just a little different. In Europe, they’ve got the Ewing theory, they just call it Le Ewing Theory.

Yours,

Os Davis

Musings of a Partizan virgin

Sorry for the lateness; i knew a true fan wouldn’t miss the live Euroleague TV feed, but in a small corner of hometown Budapest it was the US last night and an American holiday. First thing this morning, though, it was on my screen.

The following is my first riff on Partizan basketball as a black-and-white fan, inspired by the wonderful minimalism of the all-time greatest fan blog ever. (An opinion which surely has nothing to do with my devotion to the Los Angeles Lakers and Red Hot Chili Peppers diehard.)
If a Budapest flat was Thanksgiving town on Thursday, Belgrade was certainly heart-attack city.

CSKA Moscow had allowed fewer than 60 points per game, but the Pionir crowd like a football crowd could exhort more out of Partizan on adrenaline alone.

At first, it all looked so good to take down the monster: Planinic was planless, Morris out early with foul trouble, Langdon lackadaisical through the first half.

Partizan is defined by the three-pointer, said the Euroleague.TV head; Partizan would go 4-of-23 for the game and all its key plays threes made and missed.

Like when Tripkovic nailed the three to tie it at 52 to end the third and glimpse the end to CSKA’s streak.

Like when Tepic’ long ball, cruising leisurely ‘round the rim, wasn’t left well enough alone by Vilicovic. And went out, maybe to make the difference.

But hope stayed alive as the clock ticked down: Tripkovic another buzzer-beater … a Vilicovic steal and a coast-to-coast two to tie it up.

And then hearts went into throats at one, two,
Three,
Four…

Five?

Five! shots underneath fail to go in. The Pionir run ends at seven and Partizan stands at 2-3.

63-62: Not quite a backbreaker or a dealbreaker. Not quite the Moscow kingmaker or Belgrade eliminator. But an Undertaker heartbreaker, nonetheless…

All of the editor’s Devotion to…

The masses (well, a few of you anyway) have weighed in and i’ve tossed around a few considerations as to my favorite Euroleague team since opened for discussion here at BallinEurope.com and over at Facebook last week.

As you no doubt have noticed, it’s Partizan. The arguments pro and con were weighed, but most impressive was the sales pitch delivered on behalf of the Serbian team.

Longtime BallinEurope loyalist UHG80 noted Partizan’s tradition, mid-range budget, excellent fanbase (well evidenced by response to my posts) and good chance at the Final 16 – all even though he’s “pretty much neutral”! Plus, UHG80 also mentioned one of this b-ball fan’s favorite words, “Divac”; this ultimately may have put Partizan over the top for my heart.

Stefiva, apparently also not a Partizan fan as her comment went without mention of such, described getting in with Partizan as tantamount to “cheering for Golden State Warriors only much more satisfying.” Big plus points there.

Finally, Facebook user Ivan Wani Molerovic from within the hardcore fanbase declared, “Let die everyone who don’t love PARTIZAN … Partizan iz more than a club, it’s our life, hope and biggest love … Forever together…” All right, then, that’s settled.

Runners-up for this fan’s attention included:

•  Maccabi Tel Aviv. I loved the display on Maccabi history at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts this summer and damn, you gotta dig that yellow-and-blue color scheme. Plus, they do have a killer website in English, great fans, and what NBA fan could easily resist a chance to cheer for Carlos Arroyo and Marcus Fizer?

•  Lottomatica Roma. One of this traveler’s favorite cities in the world, fandom would surely give me a great excuse to visit la Città Eterna again, no? Figure in Brandon Jennings with those sweet deep red unis and Roma was tough to pass up. But surely losing Jennings and probably missing the Top 16 in 2010 will suck, and who wants to be around for that?

•  Montepaschi Siena. Francesco Cappelletti, BallinEurope’s man in Italy, sent me an email which read, “choose Montepaschi! Not only because it is my team, but also because they probably play the best European basketball after CSKA Moscow, and because Italian basketball was born in Siena in 1871!” Tobias himself also pointed out that Siena is not affiliated with any football club, surely a rarity in Italy. It was tough to pass on these guys, particularly since their play in Euroleague 2007/2008 was so enjoyable, but if I’m siding with an Italian team, it would be Roma.

•  Le Mans. Since I’m residing in Hungary, a country with apparently little hope of improving its basketball program within the next 137 years, Le Mans would probably be the closest thing i have to a home team, less than 150 km from the family’s ancestral homeland of Poitou-Charentes. Unfortunately for Le Mans’ hopes, i dithered on this decision until last week, meaning Le Mans had plenty of time to sink in the Euroleague standings and in the race for my Devotion.

Despite these worthy contenders, however, Partizan it is – and what a time to join, eh? Right on the eve of hosting the monsters from Moscow; we’ll see about that awesome home crowd. Go black and white!

For sale: BallinEurope editor’s loyalty

Now that the Euroleague is in full swing, a couple of problems have arisen (What can i say? I’m living in Hungary where the dominant cultural paradigm says, “Complain first, enjoy later.”) and I’m appealing to the BallinEurope crowd for help.

Problem one: So much basketball, so little time.

Between writing/editing for this website and RealFootball365.com combined with any number of freelance jobs, a good fraction of my time is taken. Plus, there are the actual games to watch: Twelve a week, which already puts a crimp into a sports-viewing schedule already crammed with sixteen games of NFL football. Somehow, i’ve got to find time to sleep in there. And spend time with the, um, what do you call them…? Oh, yes: the children.

Problem two: Lack of focus.

I love basketball, i love Euro and Euroleague basketball, i love writing and i love BallinEurope.com. Putting all gushing aside, however, makes way for a bit of a confession: My knowledge of Euroleague specifics is short; i’ve only been following the league for three years now and that mainly through highlight clips, Babelfish-translated game reports and Euroleague.TV. (Hungarian TV coverage, much like the state of the country’s game, is pathetic.)

Somewhere in the blur of watching Roma take out Tau Ceramica earlier this week, it struck me how much fandom, through its single-minded obsession with a single team, can accelerate the learning process. You may not know everything about the league, but you know everything about one team; and odds are you’re motivated to study up on the league’s remainder as competition for your team.

Besides, the Euroleague motto is “Devotion,” is it not?

Therefore, i, Os Davis, am hereby declaring my Euroleague team loyalty up for grabs!

Tell me: What is my Euroleague team to be?

Write us here at BallinEurope.com explaining why i should be a fan of your team (or even an opposing team, heh heh). Make your argument interesting, compelling, irresistible, and most importantly funny. History is impressive, as are pictures and videos (because then we can run them here at BallinEurope and i can increase the size of my PC’s wallpaper collection).

Bribes are not only accepted, but encouraged.

Once we get a few good suggestions, i’ll throw them together for consideration with two other teams that i’m already considering. Several factors – among them history, uniform (hey, i’ll be buying the paraphernalia, right?) and likability – will be considered. I’d also prefer a team with a chance of making of it to the Euroleague Sweet 16, to as extend my first season of official fandom a bit longer.

Unless, of course, i get a good bribe, which will in all likelihood win the contest.

In return, i will contribute my Devotion to the team, blogging my fan-based learning experience as a Team X fan for BallinEurope. I’ll talk trash online as much and as verbosely as required, and i’ll spread the good word about Team X in exotic nearly Euroleague-free places like Hungary and America. Plus, as stated previously, i’ll be buying up team gear and knickknacks, so that should increase future payroll possibilities for Team X that much further.

I encourage all readers and all BallinEurope contributors to throw in their two Eurocents into the argument: This is a (basically) virgin fan for the taking out here, boys and girls! Be gentle with me and my Devotion.

(Incidentally, did i mention that i’m taking bribes?)

The token American responds: Be afraid

My main man Tobias is, as we’d say in the ‘States, fighting the good fight this morning with his “US national team announced - are you scared?” Mr. T. engaged in some positive cheerleading for Europe in stating that teams like Lithuania, Spain and Russia need not be scared at all of Team USA.

Do European national teams play at Team USA’s level? Absolutely. Should the Europeans be afraid of the American Dirty Dozen? Well, a little creeped out, to be sure; just look at the arsenal one more time. Will Team USA take the gold in Beijing? Yes.

While only now in the ‘States is the mainstream willing to admit that national-level European ball has “caught up with” that of the US, this writer believes the world will learn a valuable lesson about the new Team USA: Namely, that the red, white and blue can in fact play the best team ball in the world.

Blinded by the star power in 1992, people forget that the Dream Team of lore was an incredible team, always making the extra pass, sharing the ball and playing tight D. Along the way to bottoming out in 2004, the Team USA roster had become polluted by the showboating Vince Carters of the world; great leaders like George Karl were at the helm; and USA Basketball the organization just didn’t seem to get it.

It’s different now, though, I’m telling y’all here on The Continent.

Wrote Tobias:

You still need to have a team and really take pride in representing your nation. I do know guys like Dirk Nowitzki are busting their a** off right now, with three or four training sessions a day, just to qualify for the Olympics. Do you really think one of the guys above does care that much?

Yes, I do. Kobe Bryant. On whom do you think Kobe is going to take out his frustrations at barely competing in the NBA Finals? Um, Lithuania, Russia and especially Spain. Today, Kobe reckons that Pau Gasol is soft, and Bryant will be taking it to the hole against the Gasol Brothers all day long in a semifinal matchup.

And please, world in general, make a note of the attitudinal change reflected in some of these post-announcement quotes as well:

“I’ve always seen greatness in the Olympics, but that was never one of my dreams. I never really expected to be on the Olympic team, especially in my first year. I didn’t have a clue what I was getting into. … Now, we respect the game so much. We respect the team basketball that they play internationally so much.” – Dwayne Wade

“Going through that experience [at the 2004 Olympic debacle] really helped me to learn the international game.” – Carmelo Anthony

“We’re a team already. The thing that this program has done is … provide continuity and relationships. … We’ll hit the ground running.” – coach Mike Krzyzewski

Assuming that Team USA can play the team game, here’s how the Continental competition looks on the other side of the Atlantic:

• Germany is Nowitski’s one-man show and German basketball is at an ebb in general. When was the last time a German team placed in the Euroleague Final Four? Or final eight? The 1980s? And how many Germans are playing in the NBA right now?

• Spain lacks stamina. Here’s what the NBA Finals and EuroBasket 2007 taught me: Spanish ballers have a problem with a long grind of games. Check out the Russia-Spain final again. The fresh-looking Team Russia runs rings around haggard and possibly hungover Team Espana while shutting down a much better (and home!) team to eke out the win. This level of slightly less than 100 percent energy doesn’t increase your longevity in the Olympic tournament.

• Russia can’t play Team USA’s game, but Team USA can play Russia’s. In terms of T-E-A-M, Russia has a nice advantage on most teams in the tourney, as many of these guys run with two or three pro teams in the big country; plus, Andrei Kirilenko almost always shows that latent virtuoso ability typically repressed in Salt Lake City on the international stage. But Russia may be the most “American” of all the Euro teams in style, playing a (relative) power game favoring lots of action in post down low. The strongman Russian style has been in effect since the CCCP days, though, and it didn’t work against Team USA back then, either.

• Lithuania … well, they’re a bit of an enigma. But, um, the USA is not afraid.

Tell you what, though, Tobias and I see 100% eye-to-eye on two things:

You might be the best guy in the world, but if somebody wants it more than you do - you will lose…

and

As excited as I am about the start of the Euroleague season, I’m excited about this year’s Olympics…

This American’s pumped as well; can’t wait to see Team USA on the court…

Cheers!

An open letter to European Basketball

I’m writing you today on behalf of the Los Angeles Lakers. I have no official capacity with the club, but after watching three games of the NBA Finals, you can’t help but feel sorry for guys like Phil Jackson, Sasha Vujcic, Kobe Bryant and especially Jack Nicholson, who’s about one more fourth-quarter comeback away from open-heart surgery. Something has to be done, and as a fan I appeal to you, the Old World, for assistance.

Simply put, the Lakers are one player short of a championship and European basketball may be uniquely qualified to help: The player I envision would be exactly the sort bred and trained in the European style.

Of course, the Zen Master is primarily known for two things in the world of hoops: His nine championship rings and his triangle offense. The two are inextricably linked and when properly executed, the triangle has proven deadly time and again. When the triangle is broken and the double-post offense becomes another variation on big guy-in-the-paint, Phil’s Lakers or (albeit far less frequently) Bulls lost.

During the heyday of Shaquille O’Neal’s time with the Lakers, Jackson once explained that one of the reasons why Wilt Chamberlain was so dominant in his time was because his teams employed the triangle offense. With such a presence in the lane to act as a sort of human lighthouse overseeing ball movement on the court, Wilt’s teammates could set Chamberlain up underneath over and over and over … sometimes up to 100 points’ worth of over.

With Andrew Bynum out, the problem for the Lakers in these playoffs has been a complete lack of inside presence. I can’t quite remember how Los Angeles continued winning after Bynum went down, but that was a long time ago anyway…

Now I know what you’re thinking, Europe: Guys like Shaq are rare anywhere in the world, much less in much of Europe. Hell, the only European O’Neal couldn’t single-handedly destroy in his prime was Arvydas Sabonis and another Sabonis is hardly waiting in the wings. But a force of nature like Shaq is hardly required for Phil & Co. to win a title, however; as evidence, check out the hardly megastar-level centers employed by the 1990s Chicago Bulls: Bill Cartwright and Luc Longley.

All the Lakers need is a center that can find the open man on the pass once in a while, a skill for which Longley was underrated throughout his career and one developed to perfection by Shaq by the time he left L.A.

Plus, the all-around skills the European game teaches the big guys are solely lacking American training. Another guy from the Continent would create just a beautiful passing game with the likes of Vujacic, Bryant and Derek Fisher on the floor at the same time. It seems to me the Lakers had something like that not so long ago…

To tell the truth, the Lakers don’t even need a star in the middle right now. With Lamar Odom capable of producing a double-double on any night even against the tenacious Celtic ‘D’, all Los Angeles needs in a capable big body to put on the hardly huge Kevin Garnett. On offense, a Laker big guy would only need skills enough to get around the hardly quick Kendrick Perkins. In fact, Perkins is just ready to be eaten alive by a quick guy unafraid to take it to the hoop.

Oh yes, fearlessness: That’s another quality I’m looking for in my new Laker player. Perhaps a player with a little high-pressure international play on his CV would be able to handle the high intensity of an NBA best-of-seven series. Like all other fans, Laker fans need to know their center won’t wilt under the heat of the media spotlight.

Finally, a modicum of hustle would be great. Sometimes a little awareness can go a long way. A prospective Laker from Europe would always have the stamina to run the length of the floor, to always know whom he’s playing against on defense, and to constantly put his body between the opposition and the basket. Just look at the energy and smarts displayed by Vujacic and Luke Walton, guys that might never make the Hall of Fame but will have earned it just as much as Michael Jordan if ever immortalized as champions.

Again do I appeal to you, o Europe, great father of the USA. You’ve gotta help the Lakers. In short, what the team appears to need is a Marc Gasol type, but maybe a year or two older, with some NBA experience.

You have anybody like that over there?

Thank you for your help.

Yours,
Os Davis

P.S. Como se dice “Wake up and smell the coffee, Pau, game four’s in two days!” en Español?

Mayors make America-sized bet

It’s true, it’s true: Everything is bigger in America.

Want an example? Check out the huge USA-sized wager taking place between the mayors of Los Angeles and Boston over the NBA Finals.

(Incidentally, this bet accidentally makes for the best argument for an eight-team America/Europe tournament: Just imagine the Cleveland and Moscow heads wagering the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame against 1,000,000 square miles of Siberia on the Cleveland Cavaliers-CSKA Moscow finals in 2015…)

The bet is as follows.

L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:

“If the Celtics win, we’ll send you the best professional [American] football team L.A. has to offer: the Arena League’s Los Angeles Avengers.

“If the Lakers win, we get the [New England] Patriots.

“I know what you might be thinking: ‘Villaraigosa must be nuts! Bostonians would make out like bandits in that deal! With an indoor arena team, the fans would not have to risk frostbite to see a mid-September game. And with the smaller field, our coaches wouldn’t even need cameras to steal opponents’ signals.’

“I’m sure my constituents might not be happy with this deal, but I am so confident in the Lakers’ victory that I am willing to put it all on the line.”

“Oh, and to sweeten the pot, in the event of a Lakers victory you can keep the Patriots’ coach.

“We have a pretty good guy down the street who might be interested in the job — and who probably still has the gear.”

(Note to Europeans: Villaraigosa was not referring to famous Californian and the most well-known American football player abroad, O.J. Simpson.)

From Thomas Menino, mayor of Boston:

“Tonight is indeed an historic evening – the great competition begins once more between two of the NBA’s fiercest rivals. I remember well the last time we BEAT L.A. – there certainly have been a lot of changes in those 20-plus years. …

“But you’ve come up with an interesting bet. I know you don’t have much to offer so I appreciate your creativity. I would love to accept the arena (minus the team), but only because we could use the extra space for all of our banners – the rafters at the Garden are getting a little too crowded and we’re having trouble finding room for the 17th. …

“While I understand you won’t have the chance to come out and see a game in Boston, I hope you will have the opportunity to attend a game in Los Angeles. This series is bound to be a memorable one, so I suggest you consider breaking the L.A. custom of missing most of the first quarter and leaving early to beat the traffic.

“Your city is renowned for its great storytellers including yourself, Mr. Mayor, but I am sorry to say that this time there won’t be a fairytale ending. Best of luck, and Go Celtics!”

Now, anybody wanna bet on the Olympics? Germany…? Spain, maybe?

Adande on the Euro Lakers

Now i don’t like to give free advertising to that all too well-known Worldwide Leader in [American] Sports, a.k.a. ESPN, but Euroball fans must check out J.A. Adande’s piece entitled Euro Lakers two wins from NBA Finals.

At the beginning of this season (in those already now seemingly long-ago days of the just pre-Gasol Era), one couldn’t help but look at the Laker boxscores and notice the Euroflavour of this team: deadshots Radmanovic and Vujacic, plus Turiaf le Grand. Throw in Mbenga and you’ve got quite the international team even before the gift from Memphis arrived.

Plus there was Kobe; when Americans scoffed at his lack of college education, it could always be pointed out that Jellybean’s kid was educated in proper European grade schools and how many languages do you speak fluently, by the way?

When Gasol came along and particularly when Andrew Bynum went down, there was a look about the guys on the floor, the perimeter game, that was different from all Lakers teams that had come before, that looked different from any other team in the league.

Adande — or rather, the Zenmaster — got it scoped and into words: “Phil Jackson has said that the Lakers have taken on another European basketball characteristic and aren’t as physical as other teams. But this style is working for them.”

That’s it exactly: The Lakers are the best Euroleague team not in the Euroleague.

J.A. excellently touches upon all the other aspects social and humourous about these Lakers: Difficulties with the insane English language (including a hilarious “lol”-type story about Radmanovic introducing himself to the Seattle Supersonics), Kobe’s polyglot talents, the futball influence, and the rounded skill set the top European players are generally trained in.

Well worth a look, BallinEuropeans. Not all American sports journalism is this engaging, well-written and fun.

Cheers.

Three points: The quintet, some questions, and the continuing quest

Welcome to this week’s Three Points, the column in which the expatriate takes his shot (or three) at roundball from Europe, a far-off galaxy where three- and four-day holidays are plentiful and thus are weekly columns actually submitted every eight days…

This one’s a tad short, but this week the YouTube pictures can easily speak about 1,000 words each, making this about 37 pages’ worth of printed matter. (Remember that stuff?)

Without further ado, then…

The Ideal Quintet. Everybody expected this Spanish Inquisition. (Sorry, Monty.) Spanish national league ACB named its Ideal Quintet – excellent name, that – with decent representation from the mother country in Rudy Fernandez (DKV Joventut), Marc Gasol (Akasvayu Girona and the Memphis Grizzlies, too, maybe someday), Felipe Reyes (Read Madrid), and just-seventeen Ricky Rubio. Topping off the five was Marcelinho Huertas (Iurbentia Bilbao) of Brazil.

Congratulations to la quintet and good luck in your various post-seasons! Ideal are you all! Hopefully, Gasol is right in his prediction that “It’s possible that four of these players in the quintet will play together later this year in Beijing.”

Almost time for Europe to come ‘round and get on the Team Spain bandwagon in overturning Team USA, eh?

Pau on “PTI.” Really? And the first question is on Phil’s “I felt guys just bailed out on him” line? Cool! (Yes, I know pimping for The Worldwide Leader in [American] Sports is lame. So shoot me.)

Quest for Team Cape Verde (and up-to-date information on Cape Verde) continues. Don’t know if you’ve heard this story, but hoops-worshipping Cape Verde recently got into the Olympics qualifiers by placing third in the 2007 African National Championship. Of course, they may not actually be attending the tournament in Athens due to financial reasons.

According to a local report on AfricaBasket.com from Pedro Gomes in April, the Cape Verdean Basketball Federation has established a deadline of 15 days to decide whether the national team will participate in the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament to be held in Athens from June 14-29.

At that time, federation members have yet to receive any guarantees for the financing of the operation, which budgeted around 40 million Cape Verdean Escudos (approximately USD 576,000/EUR 362,000).

Since then … nothing. Hell, the team’s official website hasn’t been updated since March. It’s a shame we can’t get more on this Cinderella story…

We do know, though, thanks to Boston reportage of Sunday that spry 41-year-old Boston resident Dana Barros may play for Team Cape Verde if in fact they actually physically arrive at the Olympic qualifiers. 

Anybody out there know anything else…?

Cheers.

Three points: Patriotism, Pepu and Pot

Welcome to this week’s (read: last week’s slightly belated) Three Points, the weekly column in which the expatriate takes his shot (or three) at roundball from a galaxy far far away, a galaxy called Europe…

In the afterglow. An excellent, if sleep-derived weekend was had by all Eurohoops fans, with Euroleague Final Four and championship games punctuating the NBA playoffs.

(Incidentally, what a run for top-level basketball this year, eh? Just consider this calendar: March Madness, followed by various European league playoffs in April; Euroleague finals and NBA playoffs in May; NBA finals in June; the Acropolis-Eurobank International Tournament and Olympic qualifiers in July; and the Beijing Games in August. Sweet.)

As a personal note, i’d like to thank the BallinEurope head cheeses Tobias and Christophe for going to Madrid and partying, um, i mean for their reportage and virtual presence in live chat. It was great fun rapping with Rob, uhg80, Michelle, Dimitrios (sorry about all those hits to your wallet, dude), Stevan and the rest. Let’s do it again next year, and bring a virtual friend.

Niceties aside, the rant now begins. Trajan Langdon was named MVP of the finals – no problem there; 21 points, seven boards and a couple steals is pretty impressive. And most American fans will surely remember Langdon as having put together a distinctly unimpressive three-season career with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the early 2000s – again, no problems there to be fair; 5.4 points and 1.3 rebounds per over 119 games is easily critiqued.

This expat’s problem came in a mostly quite good piece by ESPN’s specially contracted reporter on Euroleague, the Times of London’s Ian Whittell. Some representative lines from “Langdon wins Euroleague Final Four MVP” included stuff like “ ‘Home’ for Langdon is now Russia” and “Making a career in Europe is not a bad alternative.”

Sure, i’m taking The Worldwide Leader in [American] Sports personally, but that’s what blogging is for. Though we know the NBA is the top level of basketball competition in the world, the tone of “America number one” in Whittell’s piece is a bit off. (As one not familiar with Whittell’s soccer stuff, one wonders about his attitude toward the Premiership’s partyline of its own “obvious” “superiority.”)

The “alternative” line kinda stung because of certain personal experiences applying for work in the ‘States. Let me tell you, in many America-centric circles, the prevailing attitude is that any sort of publishing work done in, say, Europe simply doesn’t matter, and European professional certification is often disregarded. Those with differing experiences should feel free to tell me all about it, because i could use some positivity on the subject.

After all, for this writer, making a career America is not a bad alternative.

Sayonara, Señor Hernandez. International b-ball will soon be wishing Pepu Hernandez well, as the Team Spain coach will step down from the position after the Olympics. From the official announcement at FIBA.com:

Hernandez, who led Spain to the gold medal at the 2006 FIBA World Championship and silver at the EuroBasket last year in Madrid, has decided that his “cycle will have come to an end” with the national team.

“I want to thank the FEB for giving the opportunity to have enjoyed an incredible experience,” [Hernandez said]. … “Our mind is on the [Olympic] gold medal, that is why I want to ask for the suppport of everyone, players, coaches, FEB and of course, the fans.”

Though Hernandez served as national team coach for only two years, the coach has surely raised the bar for Team Spain forever in taking the FIBA Worlds gold in 2006 and the Eurobasket silver in 2007.

¡Buena suerte en las Olimpiadas, Señor Hernandez!

Maybe he should have just said he never inhaled. Josh Howard took a particularly egregious PR U-turn this week after admitting on Michael Irvin’s Dallas radio show that he “smok[ed] weed in the offseason sometimes,” a “personal choice and personal opinion.” In fact, said Howard in restating a line put forth by others before him, “I think that everybody in the media world and in the sports world knows that NBA players do smoke marijuana.”

A personal choice and personal opinion, indeed, involving a substance which is hardly a steroid-class performance-enhancer nor an alcohol-level destroyer of lives.

America’s close-mindedness on the issue ultimately forced Howard to backtrack from becoming the first contemporary American athlete to really take a stand on an alternate to alcohol vis-à-vis party drugs. Stephen A. Smith had a particularly frothing-rabid well thought-out take on the issue.

Unfortunately, efforts to balance out such a representative take, such as Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley’s consistent cool kidding about Howard’s habits, went mostly ignored by stroppy Smith types worried about the children. Guess Sir Charles is still not worried about being a role model.

Howard, on the other hand, clearly is. His second take on the matter went like this: “I recently talked about a controversial topic with members of the media. I used poor judgment and I want to apologize to my fans, the Mavericks and the NBA. I am fortunate to be playing basketball in the League. I realize I have a responsibility as a role model for young fans, and I take that responsibility seriously.”

As for Mr. Smith … dude, chill out. You’re killing the buzz, man.

Next week: The final fate of the Cape Verde national team. Maybe.

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