First evidence as to why to follow Josh Childress in Europe

We finally got some basketball action from Athens, where Olympiakos played an exhibition game. The first time somebody posted the video, I wasn’t expecting too much - well, watch for yourself to see some Dwight Howard blocks and LeBron James dunks … made by Josh Childress.

Might be a great season to start following the Euroleague!

The stats from the game: Olympiakos 88, Kolossos 82. Josh Childress, 14 points.

Shawn Kemp, by the way, went back to the States to take care of the victims of hurricane Ike. His Italian team is now somewhat worried that Kemp might not come back. Now this is only a rumor picked up at the IBN forum, but those people are always pretty well informed. We will see.

Portland excited about Rudy Fernandez

The Blazers Blog at Oregon Live posted this video of Rudy Fernandez arriving at the airport in Portland. In some way to me it looks like Rudy is a perfect James Bond character, doesn’t he?

Portland welcomes Rudy Fernandez

Comparing European and NBA travel calls

For some reason, many Europeans - especially Spanish players - complained a lot about the referees not calling the U.S. traveling.

In some way, I really do understand both sides. Traveling in the NBA and the United States is not called the same way as it is called in the Euroleague and Europe. It looks like both sides just do not know better and do not understand why the other is so upset. To defend the US continent, NCAA and FIBA rules are almost the same, while the NBA just has a few minor changes.

During my trip to the U.S. this past summer (yes, summer is almost over!), I followed the US team’s pre-Olympic games as well as the Olympics. Before every game, the commentators talked about the differences between FIBA and NBA rules, such as the size of the court and even the size of the ball, but they never explained the important thing: TRAVELING.

Time to bring some light into the darkness of those made/missing travel calls! (Watch out where you click to start the video - the middle button is advertising. To start the video, click the left corner)

Here are the essentials of FIBA and NBA rules for traveling:

The NBA/WNBA rule is a little more liberal than the current NCAA and FIBA rules when a player is coming to a stop. The NBA/WNBA rule is identical to the pre-1994 FIBA rule; in essence, once you have come to a legal stop, you always have a foot to pivot with. NCAA and current FIBA rules can leave a player without a pivot foot. As well, if you land with a staggered stop (i.e. one foot, then the other, with one foot clearly in front of the other), the back foot is the pivot foot in NBA/WNBA. In NCAA/FIBA, the first foot to touch is the pivot.

Sounds easy right?

Here comes the problem: Why did the referees not make these calls in Beijing? It is obvious that at the Olympics, the teams have to play with FIBA rules, and that TEAM USA HAD to travel just because they are used to different rules. When you play basketball every day, you are not thinking about your steps - you just know them - so Team USA really had to travel, just because they do it - according to FIBA rules, of course - every single day in NBA games.

In case you don’t believe me - just watch this video where we have proof of travel:

We know now, that Team USA did travel at least 5-10 times a game, but the referees did not call it, but would that have changed the outcome of the Olympics? I don’t think so.

Still, why did the referees not make those calls? Any referee in a 5th division team in Europe would have made the calls that you saw in the video. I just hope there wasn’t any “higher” influence.

Olympics: Germany vs. Spain

UPDATED: 10:38am local time Beijing

Just got home from dinner and am lucky to follow my fellow Germans against Spain. NBC has a nice LIVE picture on their website which looks great.

1. Quarter notes:

Spain was missing nearly every shot, while Germany made most of their shots. This explains why Spain has over 8 offensive rebounds right now, with Germany - zero.

2. Quarter notes:

This is when I actually tuned in. Germany is up 19:14 with 7:40 to play. Spain keeps missing their shots - especially Calderon misses every shot badly - like three point airballs. On the other side, Jan Hendrik Jagla makes his threes and adds nice drives to his game. Even Steffen Hamann, Germany’s point guard adds some nice plays. It is so quiet in the arena that you even can here Chris Kaman complain to the referee, while Marc Gasol misses another free throw.

Two quick turnovers by Germany and a nice lay up by Ricky Rubio bring back Spain to 31-29. They even had the chance to tie the game with free throws, but miss both. Finally Pau Gasol ties the game with a dunk.

Halftime: Despite a horrible shooting percentage from Spain, Pau Gasol and his team hold a close 36-29 lead against Dirk and Germany. Spain outscored Germany 21-27 in the second, while only scoring 12 points in the first quarter.

3.Quarter notes:

New Spanish team - one minute played and they are up 11! Four quick points by Ricky Rubio put Spain ahead. 36-50 Spain with 8 minutes to play in the third. Germany’s first point thanks to a Drik three makes it 39-50. Spain actually takes Germany serious now and plays defense + makes their big shots - 15 point lead for Spain with 4:30 to go in the third.

End of the third: Spain still up by as much as 11 points. Let’s just hope - as Spanish fans - that they will not start against Team USA like they did start against Germany today. Spain wins the third quarter 12-20.

4. Quarter notes:

Spain is shooting 10/20 from the free throw line - at least in this category they are already close to Team USA. Dirk cuts it down to a ten point lead for Spain and Mumbru answers with another three: 50-63. 

Let’s do sme scouting for Team USA: Spain loves these two high screens on top of the zone and finishes with a pick and roll pass or alley hoop. I am sure no American player will want one of the Gasols dunking within the US paint!

Sven Schultze just fouled out with with almost five minutes to go and a 9 point lead for Spain. The refs start to fall for the “flop team Number one - Spain”. It should be interesting to see the US reacting to these obvious flops/acting class on Saturday.

Dirk misses the three to cut it down to six while Calderon makes the three to extend the lead to 12 - game over.. 50 seconds to play - 56-70.

End of game: Germany now is 1:2 after this 59-72 defeat by Spain - Spain stays clean and faces the US on Saturday.

Michael “Air” Jordan gets his own documentary

.. and of course it will be directed by Spike Lee. Why are we writing about this? Because Spike Lee hopes to show the documentary about the best basketball player ever in Cannes, France next year at the annual movie festivals.

Spike Lee announced at Cannes on Monday (May 20) that he is directing a feature-length documentary about basketball superstar Michael Jordan, which he hopes to bring to next year’s Cannes Festival. The project will feature previously-unseen footage shot by NBA cameras during the final two years in Jordan’s career, the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons.

If you like Michael Jordan, and I bet 100% of the people that read this blog LOVE MJ, this is a must-see; you might even consider flying to the South of France to see the premiere of this movie about Michael Jordan. At least I am.

[VIA EW.com]

Basketball headbutt loses Austrian game

Ivanhoe from Austria emails:

…as I live in Austria, I follow the Austrian League very closely. Last week, game 5 took place between Basket Swans Gmunden (the ULEB Cup Team who lost against Juventut, as you know) and Fürstenfeld.

In a crucial game 5, something strange happened. Fürstenfeld had posession up 1 and about 3-1/2 minutes to play in the fourth quarter. They lost the ball. Peter Hütter of Gmunden came up with the ball and headed for a fastbreak, no one near him for an uncontested dunk, but as he dunked the ball hard, the ball went through the hoop, bounced off his head and went out again. The ball never went through the net completly. Fürstenfeld gained control and hit a 3 pointer. Ball game. That’s not something that happens everyday.

Here is the video:

Let’s look up the FIBA definition for a made basket: A player scores when he manages to put the ball into the basket from above. To me, it looks like the player did exactly that. Now Ivanhoe says that the ball has to go through the net? All we know is that Furstenfeld went to the next round of the playoffs and Gmunden is out.

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.

YouTubing: Petrovic vs. Schmidt; ESPN’s homage

All-time great Team USA killer Oscar Schmidt was recently honored with Brazil’s “Ordem de Rio Branco” award, a medal bestowed upon those citizens of Brazil who “distinguish themselves as national heroes.”

In writing up a story on Schmidt for – shameless plug alert – SummerOlympian.com, I came across this neat highlight clip of the 1989 European Cup final in which Real Madrid’s Drazen Petrovic and Schmidt with Snaidero Caserta accounted for a ridiculous 106 points in an overtime thriller. (Incidentally, if you think “writing up a story” is a weak euphemism for “spending too much time watching YouTube videos,” i’d, uh, deny it profusely.)

Meanwhile, ESPN.com, on the occasion of Euroleague’s 50th anniversary, devoted a whopping three minutes’ worth of video clip to the Euroleague’s 50 Greatest Contributors set to David Bowie’s “We Could Be Heroes.”

Gee, thanks. The monogrammed ones couldn’t have put together a video clip of, say, eight or nine minutes set to a remix by, say, Public Enemy? There’s only about one million such videos decently done so on the ‘Tube.

Guess that’s why to this writer it will forever be known as “The Worldwide Leader in [American] Sports…”

Cheers.

Euroleague Final Four Final LIVE

Starting at 5.30pm, BallinEurope will bring you the atmosphere and everything else around the game for 3rd place between Siena and Tau as well as the grande finale pitting CSKA Moscow against Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Until then we’ll be running around in Madrid, Christophe will follow the Nike international Junior tournament, and we’ll try to meet with some people.

Another crazy Euroleague day is about to start - Stay tuned since we will post a lot of cool things today!

If you want to follow the live blog starting at 5.30, just click here.

Euroleague Final Four: Maccabi vs. Siena (interviews)

Here are the first interviews with Maccabi Tel Aviv players after their semi-final win against Montepaschi Siena. The Italians were, of course, not that happy to stay in the mixed zone.

Alex Garcia

Derrick Sharp

Will Bynum

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