Features 668
Could the Final Four take a leaf out of All Star weekend’s book?
The Euroleague Final Four is the culmination of the season but by the off day is just that for, a full off day. Emmet Ryan argues that taking a couple of ideas from the NBA All Star weekend could benefit Euroleague and fans. Last Monday I was in London, home to the 2013 Final Four, […]
The Romanian formula for a basketball derby
Pic via Virgil Stanescu BallinEurope’s Andrei Britz hit the road for the biggest rivalry in Romania as he caught the clash of Asesoft Ploeisti and Steaua Bucharest. Here’s a taste of what rivalry is like, Romanian style. On 31 January basketball lovers in Romania were treated to a clash between Asesoft Ploiesti, the perennial Romanian […]
The curious case of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Mycroft Holmes
One is the NBA’s all time leading scorer, the other is the brother of one of the best known fictional characters in history. Emmet Ryan examines the literary challenge facing Kareem Abdul—Jabbar’s plan to write a novel based on Mycroft Holmes. Forget, if you can, the 6 NBA titles as a player along with 2 […]
Can this god bleed?
With the Irish Cup final taking place on Saturday night, Emmet Ryan looks ahead to a classic David and Goliath clash. We want romance, we want grit, and we want a real battle. Blowouts are rarely fun, except when they prove era defining. We long for a team to come along and not just punch […]
A Euro perspective on David Blatt and the Cavs
The melodrama of the Cleveland Cavaliers season has seen David Blatt come under increasing pressure. BiE’s Emmet Ryan looks at how the pressure for the first-year NBA coach is nothing he can’t handle based on his previous posts. In 1977, at the height of the Cold War, Maccabi Tel Aviv beat CSKA Moscow 91-79 in […]
Splash Splash Bang Golden State is on the rise
After a quiet December on the site, we return to normal business with Andre Britz taking a look at the hottest team in the NBA at present. The Golden State Warriors are rolling right now, they have the best record (26-5) in the NBA. The shooting machine of Curry and Thompson is keeping opponents at […]
It’s on us – The death of Marko Ivkovic
Last night European basketball and sport as whole suffered a senseless loss with the murder of Marko Ivkovic, a Crvena Zvezda fan, in Istanbul. BallinEurope’s editor Emmet Ryan offers his thoughts. It doesn’t matter that Galatasaray won in double overtime. It doesn’t matter that Marcus Williams set a new assists record. It definitely doesn’t matter […]
Bayern continue to learn the hard way
The second part of BiE’s two-legged German adventure was in the Audi Dome as FC Bayern hosted FC Barcelona in Round 6 of Euroleague’s regular season. Even I have limits. Sure there’s beer in the fridge of the press room but I’m not touching that until someone else does. Besides, I’d already had a couple […]
Return to Freak City
BiE’s editor returned to Bamberg for the first time since 2010 to take in the gang from Freak City hosting Reggio Emilia in Eurocup action. He got as much hops as hoops in on this trip. It was always the quietest ones. A young fan would go “Brose Baskets” and then the 999 at their […]
Cup campaigns are the hottest flings
Cup basketball brings the rawest emotions to the fore, Emmet Ryan witnessed that first hand on Saturday night. A league season, particularly in one of those rare leagues where the post-season is a secondary concern, is all about emotional balance. Sure there are some particularly high and low points but by and large it’s a […]
VIDEO: Interview with Bill Amis of Steaua Bucharest
BiE’s Andrei Britz caught up with Bill Amis of Steaua Bucharest for an extensive sit-down interview. Bill Amis, a former Hawaii Warrior, spoke to BiE about the direction Steaua are going in Liga Națională in Romania. With Steaua recently enjoying a big win over Asesoft Ploeisti, Amis talked about how Steaua ground out the win […]
Diagnosis Panic: Maccabi’s struggle continues
In the second of BiE’s two-part Israeli adventure, it was derby night as Emmet Ryan caught Maccabi Tel Aviv’s effort to rebound from recent troubles against Hapoel Tel Aviv. Note to taxi drivers or indeed anyone: Unless you actually are Phil Bailey, don’t try to sing his part of Easy Lover. It’s not going to […]