Kobe Bryant 115
Kobe Bryant and ESPN reporters talk Gallinari’s D, throw around the A-word
A quickie: Here’s some commentary by/story-telling about Kobe Bryant, a few ESPN-affiliated reporters, and
The EuroChallenge Championship Curse: What of Beşiktaş’ future?
In this second piece of a two-part series, sportswriter/commentator Uygar Karaca again considers the EuroChallenge Championship Curse, with special reference to this year’s champions, Beşiktaş; unfortunately for the Eagles, Karaca feels a distressing amount of déjà vu… In this article, I will try to answer the question as to whether Beşiktaş Milangaz fits into the […]
Revealed: The EuroChallenge championship curse
Winning the EuroChallenge title is a good thing, right? After all, it’s typically the first Continental trophy to display on the mantelpiece and the champions label wins the club to right to play in the more prestigious (and more big-bucks) Eurocup competition the following season. Well, Uygar Karaca may convince believers otherwise. In the first […]
Marco Bellinelli: “Chris Paul is the best PG”, “I want to stay in the NBA”
The Italian-language version of MSN news is today running an exclusive interview with Marco Belinelli, the New Orleans Hornet whom the outlet calls “the most American-style” of all three of Italy’s NBAers. Belinelli weighs in on all things NBA; some choice quotes include the following. “Obviously, [Chris Paul] is the best [point guard] in the […]
Rubio out ‘til 2012-13; options and outlook for Team Spain, Minnesota Timberwolves [Updated]
A moment of silence, please, in memory of Ricky Rubio’s 2011-12 season. After Rubio suffered an injury in Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves fans held their collective breath, and the Human YouTube Highlight Clip got another video added to his virtual collection – one that La Pistola certainly never wanted […]
Ganon Baker Basketball holding two youth coach clinics in Italy
Attention, European youth basketball coaches: Skill development trainers Ganon Baker Basketball are announcing two weekend programs in Italy in April. Those seeking to glean some knowledge and insight from top names in coaching and training (see just below for a few more details) would do well to mark their calendars for international youth level coaches […]
Kobe Bryant: Virtus Bologna contract negotiation “was not a hoax”
Italy-based Corriere de Bologna, via Sky News, is today looking back nostalgically at those crazy days of the NBA player lockout – seems like forever ago, doesn’t it? – in quoting from an interview given by Kobe Bryant in Italian vis-à-vis the long flirtation Virtus Bologna and president Claudio Sabbatini carried on with the Los […]
Kobe Bryant vs. Michael Jordan: The visual comparison
Courtesy Baltic Basketball League’s and Facebook user Chamillionaire’s pages, below runs a nice graphic visually comparing the achievements of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, who is often touted vehemently by rabid Los Angeles Lakers fans sometimes bandied about the blogosphere as being on a level with His Airness. And after one glance … well, the […]
Ricky Rubio to Kobe Bryant: “You know you’re getting the silver medal, right?”
Perhaps the most unfairly overlooked aspect in discussions of the difficulties European players face when attempting to adapt to NBA ball is the question of language. Sure, English is the international language of basketball. Sure, there are nearly three times as many English-language students than native speakers. Sure, a great fraction of Europeans grow up […]
Magic-Lakers-Nets three-way blockbuster trade: Why wouldn’t this work?
Ever since the Los Angeles Lakers’ dreary loss to the Orlando Magic last Friday and straight through to yesterday’s brickfest in a loss to the Indiana Pacers, this fan’s thoughts are turning to – OK, now nearly obsessed with – making a trade to shake things up. First and foremost, BallinEurope feels for Pau Gasol. […]
Anonymous party sends pig’s head to Scavolini Pesaro HQ; Team responds on court
BallinEurope’s man in Italy, Enrico Cellini, contributes quite a bizarre story out of league basketball there. (To think that Cibona Zagreb fans merely created an interesting image in protest of their team’s poor play.) The headline gives away the punchline so BiE won’t forestall this tale’s telling further … um, enjoy. On January 2, Scavolini […]
11-for-11: BallinEurope’s Most 11 popular stories from 2011
So 2011 may have been few people’s favorite year personally, European basketball fans have certainly got to be taking solace in the fact that the past 12 months featured a seriously great run of Continental-flavored hoops. To wit, in 2011, we enjoyed: • an exciting round of Euroleague playoffs which included FC Barcelona’s surprising tournament-round […]