Lithuania 200
Dirk, Dydek and beyond: Weekend video clips
European basketball leagues and the NBA may be coming to a close for 2010-11, but there’s still plenty of hoops to keep up with – and even more online video clips for the watching! BallinEurope starts your Sunday with a dozen clips shot in the U.S., Greece, Spain, Israel and other locales. Enjoy today’s action […]
Believe the hype: Playoff action in Spain, Lithuania, Romania, Germany
Sorry, the N-B-what? While Euroball fans can certainly take pride in the outstanding number of Continental players still competing in the big league overseas – a list that includes Team Turkey’s Omer Asik, Team France’s Joakim Noah, Team Britain’s Luol Deng, Zydrunas Ilgauskas of Lithuania, Team Switzerland’s Thabo Sefolosha, French sophomore Rodrigue Beaubois (sort of; […]
Martynas Pocius injury: Vladimir Romanov to blame?
Stepping outside the realm of the Euroleague playoffs for just a moment, BallinEurope was saddened to hear quite the insidious story of BiE fave Martynas “Air” Pocius’ season-ending injury. As though not bad enough that Pocius is gone for the traditional LKL championship series between Žalgiris Kaunas and Lietuvos Rytas, BiE buddy Simonas Baranauskas yesterday […]
Donatas Motiejunas declares for draft; BallinEurope revisits prospect
One of last year’s projected top five selections in the NBA Draft has declared instead for the 2011 edition of the world’s biggest hoops talent lottery: Big man Donatas Motiejunas deferred in 2010 because “really felt like he needed another year of international ball before he was ready for the NBA” … so how has […]
Playing with money: Are some European NBA players worth it?
Finally blessed with a bit of time to peruse ESPN’s compelling financial stats as presented in its magazine’s “All About the Money” issue (check them out if you haven’t already; big numbers are fun!), BallinEurope just couldn’t help, well … noodling around with the numbers some more! Over at the big network’s Chicago Blackhawks blog, […]
Rumor du jour: Pocius to move to Moscow next season?
Could Martynas “Air” Pocius soon be flying to Russia? Talk Basket today supposes that not only will CSKA Moscow rebuild after a relatively poor season for the Red Army (not surprising), but that new Lithuanian head coach Jonas Kazlauskas is actively pursuing acquiring Pocius’ services for CSKA in the 2011-12 season. Pocius’ obligation to current […]
Arvydas Sabonis: A career retrospective, via YouTube
BallinEurope sends out huge, 7’3” congratulations this morning to all-time great Arvydas Sabonis, finally inducted into the Professional Basketball Hall of Fame alongside luminaries such as Chris Mullin, Dennis Rodman (whoa, that’s still weird), Artis Gilmore, Tex Winter, “Goose” Tatum, Tom “Satch” Sanders, Tara Van Derveer, Herb Magee, and Teresa Edwards. A tribute in the […]
Sabonis on expansion into Europe: “It depends on the NBA”
Lithuanian legend Arvydas Sabonis recently gave a brief interview to Erildis Budraitis of Balsas.lt – later picked up by the official website of Žalgiris Kaunas – in which the big man reminisces about life in the NBA and speculates on the presently American league’s future a bit. A few interpreted excerpts follow. Balsas: Do you […]
“Too old” Ilgauskas to retire after 2010-11; will not play for Team Lithuania in Eurobasket
Lithuania-based news outlet/high-profile club sponsor Lietuvos Rytas yesterday published quite an extensive piece on Zydrunas Ilgauskas and his recent lack of playing time with the NBA’s most woeful Miami Heat. Big Z took his talents to South Beach for the veterans’ minimum salary of $1.4 million this year reportedly at the behest/encouragement of LeBron James, […]
Lietuvos Rytas Dance Team displays sweet routine
For those of you with Facebook accounts, drop everything you’re doing immediately (or perhaps after you get to the end of this post) and check out the Baltic Basketball League page for what could well be the coolest-ever number performed by a basketball dance team. Therein, the Lietuvos Rytas ladies are not only wearing some […]
February Madness: Rounding up the cups, serving up some highlights
Can it all be over so quickly? February Madness peaked this weekend in Europe, with several domestic cup tournaments being played out and celebrations aplenty. BallinEurope this morning provides a rundown of the action – and, naturally, video clips. Without further ado, then, let’s look in on the insanity. • To no one’s surprise, Spanish […]
Serious devotion: Lithuanian chains self to tree for more Euroleague TV coverage
While waves of protest action in Egypt continue to dominate headlines worldwide, a single man’s own stand against tyranny in the Baltics went mostly unnoticed; however, for his bravery and determined single-mindedness, Šarūnas Šimaitis is surely a shoo-in for this week’s prestigious and always hard-fought Lithuanian Basketball Freak of the Week award. (Yes, BallinEurope knows […]