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Greece vs. Russia: He who wins shall lose?
“Sometimes when you win, you really lose. And sometimes when you lose, you really win. And sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose. Winning or losing is all one organic globule, from which one extracts what one needs.” – Gloria Clemente, White Men […]
Fearless predictions: 2010 FIBA World Championship, day three
Who had Germany to win in a nail-biter over Serbia in the 2010 FIBA World Championship game last night? That’s right: BallinEurope, baby! As Sidney Deane once said, “I don’t mean to brag, but I’m the greatest.” (Of course, we’ll not be discussing the performance of Team France, who followed up the stunning win over […]
Fearless predictions: 2010 FIBA World Championship, day two
Whither Spain? In yet another example of “that’s why they play ‘em on paper,” the mighty Spaniards went down thanks to a French attack led by Nicolas Batum (14 points on 4-of-9 shooting, two rebounds, two blocks and one awesome jam), Andrew Albicy (!) and Mickael Gelabale (!!!) and brutal fourth-quarter shooting “highlighted” by three […]
Plotlines to look for in tonight’s Greece vs. USA game
Unbelievable though it seems, tonight’s 2010 FIBA World Championship warmup game in Athens represents one of the last such games before the big tournament goes down. And though coach Jonas Kazlauskas has played down the importance of the game, stating that what happens tonight will have “nothing to do with” the Turkey tournament. (“Είναι ένα […]
Rondo leaves Team USA; FIBA Worlds roster set
It’s a good news/bad news news item for Team USA backers: The good news is that the Red-White-and-Blues finally have their 12-man roster for the 2010 FIBA World Championship roster; the bad news is that the electrifyingly exciting Rajon Rondo won’t be on, having essentially decided to leave the team proactively before his dismissal. Figuring […]
Just enough Durant to give USA win after ferocious Spain comeback
Is Kevin Durant the next Kobe Bryant after all? Team USA fans are certainly swaggering today after their guys’ strong showing in upending the defending FIBA world champions, 86-85. Durant was the alpha dog for the US – a role many including BiE worried about going unfilled a la my least-favorite 2006 team – in […]
Spain vs. USA friendly: Five things to watch for
The biggest of all this year’s international basketball friendly matches goes down in Madrid tonight at 7pm GMT (9pm CET, 1pm EST) as prospective 2010 FIBA World Championship favorites Spain and USA meet in the first truly serious test for either team. It’s also a rematch of the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold match of sorts; […]
New York news: Kobe praises Spain; Team USA, Puerto Rico cruise
Kobe Bryant was hanging around in New York last week as part of the World Basketball Festival festivities and, upon praising Team Spain, was dutifully quoted by Spain-based sports media outlet Sport.es. “When it comes to really tough opponents,” said Bryant, “no doubt, Spain is the team.” Kobe has seemed somewhat positive about this year’s […]
BallinEurope’s 2010 FIBA World Championship power rankings 3.0
All right, now everything about the 2010 FIBA World Championship is coming into focus! For example, now we know how good the relatively unknown Lithuanian squad will be – because they beat Slovenia after having to come back and go overtime against the Czech Republic. Um, and Argentina showed they’re awesome by … blowing a […]
Where will NBA's European free agents go?
While everyone else in the basketball universe is watching the minute-by-minute maneuvers of Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the like, BallinEurope has an eye on those powers from The Continent who may be moving around within the NBA to help reshape rosters for the 2010-11 season. Our man in the U.K., Sam Chadwick, […]
Official 2010 BallinEurope mock draft, version 3.0: The first 15
Though not quite completely settled yet, most devotees have a pretty good idea of the pool for this year’s suddenly distinctly non-European flavored 2010 NBA Draft. BallinEurope’s man in the U.K., Sam Chadwick, revisits the official BallinEurope NBA Mock Draft once again with updated prognostications for the first 15 choices in round one. 1. Washington […]
Team USA to take on Greece in leadup to 2010 FIBA World Championship
Tickets went on sale yesterday for this summer’s friendly match between Team USA and Team Greece in the leadup to the 2010 FIBA World Championship tournament. The Americans will be taking on Hellas in Olympic Stadium on August 25. Ticket prices range from €20 to €100. Team USA’s national team training camp runs July 19 […]