More 3007
A dunking ninja in America: Clips, comments on Jan Vesely’s draft night
On NBA Draft night, surely no European player – not even the mysterious (to the American market) Enes Kanter – drew as much notice as no. 6 overall Jan Vesely. In a serious case of instant fame injection, the Czech big man leapt into the collective consciousness thanks to a post-draft smooch and the resulting […]
Pop Quiz: The Euro-/NBA-centric year in basketball
Just because the NBA Draft is over, the big league is heading toward a lockout, and the top European teams are thick into the wheeling/dealing of off-season acquisitions with an eye to 2011-12, that’s no reason to forget your history. Were you paying attention this season? Test your knowledge with the official BallinEurope 2010-11 season-ending […]
From Kanter to Bogdanovic: Brief looks at seven Europeans drafted into NBA
The 2011 NBA Draft is still going on as of this writing, but with the amazing amount of Continental players going early and often – a direct contrast to last year’s greatly Europe-bereft selections – BallinEurope gets in a quick two Eurocents with a brief look at (and YouTube clips of) the first seven players […]
Best for last? Highlight dunk by Bryce Taylor in championship game
BallinEurope doesn’t know if Bryce Taylor can lay claim to Germany’s dunk of the year for the 2010-11 season but, given the ferocity displayed and the stakes for which the former University of Oregon guard was playing, his jam in the deciding game five of the Bundesliga championship series is certainly on the list of […]
List of 2010-11 European champions: 99% complete edition
Perhaps just 12 hours or so remain in European domestic league action for 2010-11, so it’s time for another rundown of the Continent’s champions. Below runs BallinEurope’s updated roundup on the current situation in regular seasons and/or playoffs in the Continent’s domestic leagues. This list will be updated whenever possible.
Basketball weekend: Tournaments in Germany, (probably) Italy ending; Eurobasket Women starting
The 2010-11 professional basketball season may effectively be over this weekend, with a final championship series game scheduled in Germany tonight plus a possible elimination game in Italy happening on Sunday. But no worries: the end of club play means the beginning of summertime national-team tournaments, starting with the 2011 FIBA Eurobasket Women competition. In […]
Celebrating good times: The official 2011 Eurobasket anthem
Okay, so BallinEurope finally got the chance to sit down with the official anthem (no, really) for Eurobasket 2011. Entitled “Celebrate Basketball,” the seriously poppy three-minute ditty features music by Marijus Mikutavicius and Andrius Borisevicius; lyrics were written by Mikutavicius and Aidas Puklevicius. Everything in the song is copyright Promostar. The official video is full […]
Fenerbahçe Ülker outlasts Galatasaray Café Crown, 91-88, for TBL title
BallinEurope this morning congratulates newly-recrowned 2010-11 TBL champions Fenerbahçe Ülker, who topped Eurocup side Galatasaray Café Crown, 91-88, in game six of the championship series. This marks the fourth championship for Fenerbahçe in the last five years and a defense of their 2009-10 title. Fenerbahçe’s big guns were all firing in the game, with five […]
CSKA Moscow takes Russian championship; J.R. Holden announces retirement
The 2010-11 champion has been named in Russia and for the ninth consecutive season, it is CSKA Moscow. Along with the exultation of the Red Army’s 74-63 victory over BC Khimki, however, came the sad (if inevitable) news that longtime Muscovite J.R. Holden would be retiring from professional basketball. Playing nearly the entire game, Holden’s […]
Hey, who wouldn’t want to be like Dirk?
“I wanna be like Mike?” That’s sooooooo 1990s. In light of the recent Dallas Mavericks championship bid, the folks at Dirkenbrau Beer (actually, the parodists at FunnyOrDie.com) have released their new ad campaign entitled “I wanna be like Dirk.” Get out a cold one, then, and check out the wave of popularity washing over courts […]
Dallas Mavericks on Letterman: Barea ♥ Weiner, Nowitzki ♥ Kardashians
You know you’ve made it big in America when you get to read a “Top 10 List” on Late Night with David Letterman. So it was for the 2010-11 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks last night, who were represented by eight players plus head coach Rick Carlisle and Mark Cuban in contributing the regular gag for […]
Hold the tweets: Rubio already has deal in place with Timberwolves?
Is “The Decision II” forthcoming? The “flashy styled,” “baby-faced” Ricky Rubio, of whom ESPN yesterday reported was to be rethinking his incipient deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves, may already be committed to playing in the NBA for 2011-12. The Worldwide Leader this morning (CET time) posted something of a backtrack from yesterday’s story, which fueled […]