On January 2, Scavolini Siviglia Pesaro (then 6-6 in Italy) was supposed to be fully focused on preparing for the toughest match of the season, i.e. the Serie A game against almighty juggernaut and five-time repeat champions Montepaschi Siena. Nobody could have ever expected that the greatest challenge for the team would come from outside the court.

On the morning of the game, Pesaro officials informed media that head of a pig had been left in front of Scavolini Pesaro basketball operations offices by an indignant anonymous fan or group of fans (or rather, more appropriately, “fanatic” or “fanatics”).

Pesaro head coach Luca Dalmonte must have wished his only problems were about dismantling Siena’s pick-and-roll or Bo McCalebb’s ferocious athleticism. Instead, Dalmonte also found himself dealing with an intimidating message accompanying the disembodied head: “The next one will be for Dalmonte.”

(Nevertheless, as Gazzetta dello Sport speculated, the most likely designated recipient of the macabre delivery was Pesaro general manager Mauro Montini, who had previously criticized his team’s fans after the victory against Varese.)

Pesaro is one of the historical venues of Italian basketball, with a long history of passion and prestige. Nowadays, the club can count on a young and dynamic team including former USC/current Team Italy point guard Daniel Hackett, former Philadelphia 76er Jumaine Jones, and high-flying forward James White, but big-time ambitions are not realistic. After the act of intimidation, players and coach stuck together and responded in they only way that could possibly fix the situation.

Remember the game at Siena? Despite running with a seven-man rotation, Pesaro played solidly, had all five starters scoring in double figures and took the upset win by three points on one of the most hostile courts in all of Europe.

Five days later, Pesaro hosted top team Virtus Bologna (you know, the guys who tried to hire Kobe Bryant). Led by Richard Hickman, Pesaro provided a great display for its home fans in shooting 55% from inside, 52% on threes, and bringing home a second consecutive win.

In the meantime, directly after the Siena game, the anonymous fan(s) sent an email to the website Pesaro Sport to clarify the nature of the gesture, calling it nothing but a joke born from an “innocent crack made among friends.”

According to the email, the clear proof of this “would be the signature of the message sent to Dalmonte.”

The fan(s) inform that the accompanying letter was signed by the name of former Pesaro coach Stefano Pillastrini and was not entirely publicized after the incident. In an undisclosed part, right after “the next one will be for Dalmonte,” the fan(s) claim they made the fake Pillastrini say, “I have eaten the rest of the pig” in a jab at the coach’s chubby build.

In the email, there is no sign of apology: Notwithstanding feeling “extremely surprised” and “terribly sorry for the spin that this thing has taken” in the media, the prank was explained to be a “goliardic joke” that became greatly exaggerated.

While striving to minimize the scale of the issue in the media, the Scavolini Siviglia Pesaro organization has taken the threat very seriously and has informed the authorities.

Enrico Cellini is lifelong basketball fanatic and a long-time sportswriter with a focus on Italy and Spain. He was born among European hoops, was raised watching the NBA, and thinks choosing between American and European basketball is like choosing between one’s mother and father. You can follow him on Twitter or check out his Italian-language blog Hoop Addicted.

Yesterday, FIBA was forced to do a bizarre bit of damage control after Lithuanian media – specifically, who else but powerhouse club sponsor Lietuvos Rytas? – reported that two players competing in EuroBasket had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs; the piece quoted representatives from the Lithuanian Anti-Doping Agency stated abnormalities had been found and that further testing would have to be done by FIBA on the samples of the two players.

FIBA Europe was quick to deny any such claims, however, soon releasing the following tersely-worded statement on the subject:

“FIBA Europe has dismissed media speculations which claim that two of the players participating in the recent EuroBasket in Lithuania returned a positive drug test.

“FIBA Europe has emphasized that any such news reports are without substance.

“FIBA Europe would have been the first to be informed about positive tests for banned substances during EuroBasket 2011, a tournament that has already been trademarked as one of the best and cleanest basketball events ever.

“On Tuesday, news reports sourcing in Lithuania and reproduced around Europe, were referring to two players who have been tested positive for banned performance enhancing substances during the EuroBasket.”

The lifespan of this rumor through the 21st-century hype cycle – from half-baked rumor to re-reportage online as fact to official denial to tapering off of tweets – with the speed of a fruitfly, and in the squall of commentary at least one Macedonian media outlet took quite the aggressive stance toward their Lithuanian counterparts.

In an English-language piece entitled “Lithuanian Media Still Upset over loss to Macedonia,” an unidentified Macedonian International News Agency (MINA) writer reinterpreted the gossip proliferation of yesterday somewhat freely.

The MINA piece, together with snarky comments provided by BallinEurope, follows.

“Lithuanian media, the same media who predicted their nation reaching the final, even printed tickets for the Spain match before their team even played Macedonia, is now claiming there were two basketball players using Steroids during the European championship in Basketball.”

(Wait a minute, Lithuanian media printed tickets?)

“Some people it seems, just can’t take a loss…”

(Oooh, zing.)

“The Lithuanian basketball federation had said nothing, but the media today claimed ‘for sure’ there were two basketball players using steroids. First it was two Macedonians, then [they] corrected themselves and now [it’s] one Macedonian and one Spaniard. Though frankly, Macedonians did request a doping test for Navarro (who couldn’t miss) as well as for the Greek referee who had 92% of his calls go against Macedonia.”

(BiE thinks that last part is meant to be ironic; either that or some people just can’t take a win.)

“FIBA issued a quick press release slamming the Lithuanian media for their speculative reporting because the international body had conducted numerous tests and all came back negative. FIBA went even as far as to say that was the ‘cleanest’ tournament ever.”

(Read the FIBA Europe statement, “…any such news reports are without substance.” Wait a minute … is that a play on words?)

“FIBA on its website refused to speculate which national teams or players the Lithuanian media referred to!”

(Perhaps because they’ve put the matter of Navarro and Bo McCalebb’s seemingly supernatural powers in the tournament into an X-file … incidentally, who ends a news story with an exclamation point?)

BiE believes the best solution in order to prevent a war of words between Macedonian and Lithuanian media/blogophiles would be to get them on the court. In such a venue, certain trash-talking might be more appropriate.

And gee, does BiE hope that the Luol Deng-to-Bizkaia Bilbao Basket story published on Krepsinis.net isn’t “without substance” as well!

“These days, our country is passing through difficult times, but basketball could be an exception. We can all offer a nice show and decent product to our fans,” stated Stavropoulos, adding the proviso that such can only be accomplished “if the rules are applied to all.”

Without actually naming the target of his allegations, Stavropoulos publicly mused, “I wonder how an entire year passes [for a team] without a league drug test. I wonder how they spent an entire season without the decisions of sports bodies announced. And I hope this year is different.”

Wow, if only he’d gotten a tad more agitated, Greece might’ve had a good old-fashioned American-style sports figure meltdown.

The league’s official website naturally glommed over the comments and it appears no official word on Stavropoulos’ vitriol will be forthcoming from Panathinaikos, leaving observers to draw their own conclusions. Here’s what’s sure to become a common one from BallinEurope reader Nikos: “I guess it would explain why [Dimitris] Diamantidis suddenly started refusing to play for the Greek national team anymore. He has to face no doping control with Panathinaikos, but with the Greek national team he would…”

Olympiacos will host Panathinaikos meet for their annual derby game in week five of the season at Olympiacos. Per league penalty, the game will be played in front of empty stands.

Turkey-based NTV Spor, the sports news outlet which first broke the story of Besiktas’ contract offer to Williams, is today reporting that the signing of Bryant by the Eurocup club will be put on hold thanks to a scandal in the country’s football league. ESPN Los Angeles reports today that the match-fixing scandal will force Besiktas to look elsewhere for funding any new big-deal contracts due to penalties to be assessed to the club, one of a few cited in the case.

In speaking to reporters, after a meeting with UEFA officials, Turkey Football Federation deputy chairman Arıboğan Lutfi said that the possible punishment for the Besiktas sports club would be decided upon soon.

Bryant was reportedly offered a whopping $500,000 per month to play for Allen Iverson’s former team, and the Mamba in turn was asking for an even more whopping $1 million for his services.

To kick off the week, the Greek players’ union PSAK formally announced what has been rumored through this season and in seasons past: Namely, that most EΣAKE clubs are delinquent in payment.

In a stark post on the union’s official website Monday, PSAK representatives showed the results of “an investigation conducted by members of our association.” The numbers are indeed staggering.

Exactly half of last season’s top-division clubs owe 50% or more in back salaries to players. The chief offenders are, not surprisingly, the just-relegated AEK and, a bit shockingly, 2011-12 Euroleague qualifying-round squad PAOK. The only clubs managing to balance their payroll for 2010-11 are Greek league/Euroleague champion Panathinaikos and SA Icarus Kallithea.

Best of the worst in the first division were Ilysiakos, with seven of 10 months’ worth of back salaries paid; Panionios Athens and Maroussi BC at 6½; Aris and Olympiacos, six. One can only imagine what will become of the latter’s players’ pay with the big-money management having just cleared off…

PSAK noted, however, that all foreign players on top-division clubs have been paid in full for 2010-11.

In Greece’s A2, no team has paid its domestic players in full and nine of 14 clubs owe at least 50% of wages for the past season. And in the lowest-tier B division … well, you get the idea.

BiE will now ponder the long-term ramifications of this for Greek professional basketball, another problem this country’s league and federation really don’t need.

Looking at the larger picture, however, a third win (and subsequent 3-0 series win for the 8th consecutive title) by PAO on Wednesday could be quite the Pyrrhic victory for PAO and the league.

While Mike Batiste (19 points, four rebounds), Dimitris Diamantidis (15 points) and Antonis Fotsis (eight rebounds) all had fine games for Panathinaikos, many observers – including key Olympiacos/Team Greece members – all chalk up the loss to those extra men on the court, i.e. the referees. Amid the boxscore statistics, most damning is that 31-9 line, as in Panathinaikos got 22 more trips to the free-throw line than Olympiacos.

Diamantidis, Batiste and Kostas Tsartsaris combined for 17-of-21 shooting from the line and no basketball expertise was needed to see that the aggressive inside game played by the Reds in the first half (leading them to a 43-37 lead) was barely in evidence over the second 20 minutes as whistle after whistle blew.

As a result, the requisite highlight clips were overtaken on YouTube and sports news by Ioanissis Bourousis, who stated in the post-game that he had resigned from further play with the Greek national team, thanks to widespread corruption in the league. Bourousis’ frustrations mirrored those of BallinEurope reader Christopher, who, in the wee hours this morning commented that, “Greek basketball league is an incredible disgrace. Game 2 was reffed 90-10 in favor of Panathinaikos. That is the most disgraceful and shameful league in the world.

“Even the rigged NBA has nothing on in in terms of corruption.

“It’s all backfiring on them now. Bourousis quit the national team saying he would no longer play for Greece since the league is rigged every year.

“And from what I hear other Greek Olympiacos players (Mavrokefalidis, Spanoulis, Papaloukas, Papanikolaou, Printezis, Pelekanos, Katsivelis, Sloukas, Vasilopoulos, Glyniadakis) are also going to refuse to play for the Greek national team if the refs don’t stop rigging the games in the rest of the series.

“Guess it was good for Panathinaikos while it lasted with all those years of rigging the league. They have now destroyed the Greek national team. Congrats.”

Jokes and schadenfreude aside, this is indeed a fitting end to one hell of a season (literally) in Greek basketball. What can be done…?

The Associated Press is today running a story in which law enforcement officials describe Iverson as “angry” to “irate” when pulled over by police on March 30, repeatedly asking “Do you know who I am?” in the midst of an estimated 20-minute rant (imagine that).

Reportedly, Iverson later apologized to the police officers for his disrepect and stated that he was just upset about the state of his club Beşiktaş Cola Turka, currently fighting for a TBL playoff spot.

Nah, BiE’s just kidding about that last bit. A.I. actually “stated he was just upset about his car.”

TMZ has reported (and when does good news ever follow the phrase “TMZ has reported”?) that Beşiktaş Cola Turka’s high-profile signing was in actuality partying pretty hard in Atlanta on Wednesday night. Police pulled over Iverson’s Lamborghini – though reportedly he wasn’t driving the car – and impounded the vehicle for having expired dealer tags.

No word on whether The Continent will ever see A.I.’s return, naturally. (Sigh.)

Dixon came to European basketball in 2009 after stints with the Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons. Dixon was with Aris for Eurocup play in 2009-10, where he went for a line of 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 27.1 minutes per game in the European competition; he signed with Unicaja Malaga in January 2010 and was expected to finish out the season with the ACB club.

The former University of Maryland Terp wouldn’t last long with Unicaja, however, as Dixon tested positive for a banned steroid in early February and was thereafter suspended from professional basketball indefinitely.

In June, FIBA officials essentially retroactively set the ban for one year, with February 12, 2011, made the date for Dixon’s eligibility to return to European basketball. Whereas such a ban typically automatically gets the player a two-year suspension, FIBA rules regarding nandrolone, the steroid for which Dixon tested positive, are a bit shaky.

Though Dixon continued training during the one-year suspension and he returned to The Continent once the FIBA ban was lifted with seeming interest from Unicaja beckoning, no contract was signed until recently; Banvit officials announced the deal with Dixon on Thursday and the former Terp is expected to play in today’s game against Eurochallenge side Pinar Karşiyaka.

The injury to Graves could not have come at a worse time, with Banvit holding on to third place somewhat precariously; at 16-3, they currently trail Fenerbahçe Ülker (18-3) and Galatasaray Café Crown (17-4). In 16 games, Graves was good for 6.8 points and 2.2 assists per.

Dixon averaged 14.3 points, 4.3 boards and 2.8 assists in over 27 minutes per game in Eurocup play for Aris in 2009, and contributed 18.75 points per in four ACB appearances with Unicaja before the suspension.

PAOK (8-7, tied for fourth place in EƩAKE play) manhandled the homers (3-12, tied for 14th) in the match, 87-68, resulting in a bizarre move of protest demanded by Iraklis coach Georgios Kalafatakis. Gathering the team together at halfcourt, he had his players remove their jerseys and leave them on the floor. The team president stunningly later apologized for his team’s (lack of effort), reportedly referring to their game as “queer” – and not in the sense of “strange.”

(The key word in Greek is “αδερφίστικο,” which defies Google translation, but judging from the backlash, BiE will take the media’s word for it.)

While Iraklis captain Vladimir Petrovic was later reported as stating that he and his teammates “don’t deserve to wear this team’s jerseys,” an outraged players’ union statement declared Iraklis officials to have made “homophobic sentiments.”

Firstly protesting the rules violation of untucking the jersey from the shorts, the PSAK statement goes on to condemn “the attitude of the team administration and those who foster and tolerate [homophobic statements],” going on to say that call for more public responsibility, for “such practices do not promote the sport, but convert [it] into a Roman arena.”

Highlights from the game – okay, so it’s mostly a PAOK free-for-all – follow, topped with the bizarre denouement. Iraklis plays at Ilysiakos on Sunday in a game between the two teams at the bottom of the EƩAKE table.