BallinEurope wishes congratulations to skill development trainer Ganon Baker Basketball, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary this week. Among partners and clientele of the company are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Vince Carter, Amar’e Stoudemire, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Jerryd Bayless and Kevin Durant. (Not a bad lineup there.)
Nov
0
Skills specialists Ganon Baker Basketball celebrate 10th anniversary
Nov
5
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 by former Beşiktaş signee Allen Iverson.
While the game apparently won’t be broadcast on television, an outfit called iLinkSports.com is offering folks worldwide a chance to see the games involving names like Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, Amare Stoudemire and Andre Iguodala online. See below for the press release detailing the deal; in short, $4.99 (just over €3.50 by today’s exchange rate) before Friday will get you a pass to see the Vegas games.
Jul
3
Dirk Swish: Entrepreneurs turn iconic basketballer Nowitzki into icon
File this one under “What’s Next”: It’s called the “Legendary Icon” (but you’ll surely be forgiven if you think of it as the “Dirk Swish”) and if a two-man team of Dallas entrepreneurs has its way, their icon will have you forgetting all about the Jumpman.
The icon – and concomitant T-shirt – based on the form of Nowitzki’s characteristic fallaway jumper is the brainchild of Ryan Mendez and Mark Fenn, frequent attendees of Dallas Mavericks games and, naturally, big Mavs fans. Inspiration hit Mendez during the NBA playoffs while the pair was focusing on the relaunch of their Streetball.com website/brand.
Feb
0
OK, Blake, try these dunks imported from Poland
In an exciting if somewhat obvious promotion, the mighty powers of Blake Griffin, YouTube and ESPN have combined forces to allow basketball fans the opportunity to design a Griffin jam in the All-Star Weekend dunk contest throwdown.
Nov
1
“Jeremy Tyler: The Movie” in year three of production, seeks funding
Amidst a recent run of great basketball documentary productions, the story of a hoops maverick continues on to its third country in as many years: A production of Andrew Gallery and Cavelight Films, “My Life: Chasing the Dream” seeks to tell the story of former San Diego High baller Jeremy Tyler.
Indeed, now that Tyler has escaped the glare of American and international media, things even seem to be looking up for the lad a bit. Followers may recall that Tyler made sports history in 2008 when he decided to eschew his senior year of high school in San Diego – publicly stating he was bored and sought new challenges – to play professional basketball abroad while waiting two seasons to enter the NBA draft.
Nov
0
BallinEurope gets “Top 20” recognition
From BallinEurope’s ever-busy Shameless Self-Promotion Department: To tell you the truth, BiE had never heard of university student resource site CollegeCrunch.org, but was nevertheless pleased to receive some nice recognition.
BallinEurope.com managed to crack the website’s list of “20 Best Basketball Blogs for the NBA Fanatic” (albeit barely), even getting special mention for its Iverson obsession. Sure, we’re just hanging in the list by the fingertips, but BiE is nevertheless beyond proud to be mentioned in the same league as high-quality blogs such as TrueHoop, Hardwood Paroxysm, Free Darko, Ball Don’t Lie and Both Teams Played Hard.
You like BiE! You really like BiE!
Oct
0
Absolutely random trick shots from Ohio
Just because BallinEurope loves the audacity from a few dudes in the Columbus ‘burbs and because everybody digs a trick shot (Right? Right?!?!!?), the request from a fellow YouTube aficionado shall be granted.
The email BiE received ran thusly:
Hello,
Oct
0
Napoleon Dynamite’s fantasy team is better than yours
Jake Stephens, he of “Napoleon Dynamite” fame stars in certainly the best and funniest fantasy basketball ad campaign ever. ESPN’s fantasy basketball ads feature Stephens (who apparently has some serious access to much-wanted mobile phone numbers) exhorting his charges to, you know, win one for the fantasy team.
Oct
0
Gasol, Odom take timeout from threepeat prep to pump ESPN 3-D
Straight from the man’s Facebook page itself (hell, yes, BiE “likes”), Pau Gasol brings us this candid shot of Lamar Odom, himself and possibly Mike Penberthy shooting a promo ad. The Lakers took a bit of time off from their quest for an NBA championship threepeat to push some 3-D, specifically ESPN’s new 3-D TV offering.
Oct
21
BallinEurope fantasy basketball league now open
All right, Euroleague fantasy basketball fans: The BallinEurope Invitational League is now accepting teams. Simply send an email to ballineurope@yahoo.com or reply in the comments section of this post. I’ll send out invites right through to Sunday, with the first deadline for roster changes coming on Monday.
The rules are as follows:
– No multiple teams. Okay, if you must have two teams, i’ll allow it but please do not fill the table with 16 of your own teams.
That’s it. We will be awarding the top finisher with … something. Probably Euroleague Final Four paraphernalia, but BiE’ll let you know when something is officially arranged.
The bad news is that Javier Gancedo’s ever-popular fantasy column will not be running here this season, as his employers at Euroleague.net requested that they publish it instead – what nerve, eh? (Just kidding, league folks; you know BiE loves ya…)
You can follow Javier’s tips ‘n’ tricks at Euroleague.net; here’s a link to his page on the website and you’ll also find a permalink under the “What We’re Reading” column. Javi has promised he’ll be joining the BiE league, so look out, everyone!
Good luck to all contenders and, um, show a little mercy to the worst fantasy sports player ever, namely me, okay? Ah, didn’t think so…
