Pau Gasol 180
2012 Olympics: Is Spanish dominance over? (Plus Official Fearless Predictions™)
BallinEurope may be pulling the trigger a bit early on this one, but has to ask: Was the loss to Russia on Saturday a harbinger of things to come from Team Spain? Not to put too fine a point on it, but is the marathon (by today’s standards) golden age of Spanish basketball in international […]
Imagery of the 2012 Olympics, as tweeted by basketball stars
Between the amazingly-named US women’s soccer goalie Hope Solo calling out Olympic TV commentator/former Team USA star Brandi Chastain in the 141-character format and the nasty little bugger who shall not be named here (not to mention the censorship of a British reporter critical of NBC coverage of the ‘Games), Twitter is having a bad […]
BallinEurope’s Official Fearless Predictions™: 2012 Olympic Basketball Group B
And now, round two. Or maybe that should be “round B.” With BallinEurope having (sort of) Fearlessly Predicted the entries for the 2012 Olympic basketball knockout stage from Group A, it’s onto the Official Fearless Predictions™ for Group B – and we’ll do this one from the bottom up. 6. China (0-5) 5. Australia (1-4) […]
USA 100, Spain* 78: Notes, highlights, miscellany
Well, then. If not quite as emphatic as in the days of Dream Teams I through III, Team USA dispatched the world’s second-best/Europe’s best side for a 100-78 win over Spain in Barcelona. Though the notebook on the Red, White and Blues mostly accentuates the positive, one doesn’t quite need to squint to see chinks […]
Twenty Years Ago Today: A European Dream Team for 1992
When basketball fans look back on the 1992 Olympic Games, the top three topics are the awesomeness of the Dream Team, the success of Lithuania playing its first Olympic hoops as an independent nation, and the success of Croatia playing its first Olympic hoops as an independent nation. Fair enough, BiE supposes, but what about […]
In Spain game, Gelabale gets monster block, ejection, possible suspension
Quel dommage! Eurobasket 2011 runners-up France are finding the road to London bumpy indeed recently. Already losing Joakim Noah throughout the 2012 Olympic Games due to injury, Les Bleus must temporarily sit Boris Diaw and Nando de Colo due to NBA-related insurance issues. And now Mickael Gelabale faces penalties from FIBA, including possible suspension for […]
Roundup: Recent friendlies of France, Spain, Britain
With “Le Gros Match” about to start and Team USA ready to invade the Continent in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games, BallinEurope takes a brief look at some recent results from European national teams in friendlies. And we’ll do this is true TrueHoop fashion, a la bullet-style…
Who can stop Team USA?
This one goes out by request to BallinEurope’s Lithuanian agent Y. … with Team USA coming together to play the Dominican Republic today – with or without Chris Paul – BiE tries to answer the question “Who [if anyone] can beat Team USA?” Good one. A few gauntlets have been thrown by the Americans already, […]
2012 Olympic Qualifying Tournament Preview: Team Russia
With the lengthily-named 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men tipping off in Venezuela on Monday, BallinEurope takes some time this week to catch up on the four European squads in the running for a trip to London and reckon on a brief assessment of each’s chances in the competition. First up is Russia, […]
Ettore Messina one and done with Los Angeles Lakers?
Javier Gómez of Spain-based “contemporary culture mag” Jot Down recently sat down with Ettore Messina to discuss a wide range of topics from Italian politics to Euroleague basketball to Jeremy Lin over some aubergine busiati and swordfish (nice) in quite an extensive interview with the coach of legend. Messina is of course known for his […]
Readying for El Clásico: A look at nine series’ worth of FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
With just hours to go before the Liga Endesa championship series pitting FC Barcelona against Real Madrid in what they just had to call “El Clásico,” Spain-based Blog de Basket today takes a look at some of the great matchups for all the Spanish marbles these two have had over the years; the 2012 confrontation […]
Danilo Gallinari: Steve Kerr “hasn’t played basketball for too long”
Did Danilo Gallinari really flop in the final minute of his Denver Nuggets’ recent loss to the Lakers while Ramon Sessions hit a key three? Or did Pau Gasol foul Gallinari on the pick? If the latter is true, why was there no call? After words to the American media to the effect of “It […]