Team Turkey 89
Talking Turkoglu: Considering Hedo’s career moves, position in Phoenix
After seeing the new starting lineup for the Phoenix Suns against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday – featuring Hakim Warrick on the floor for the opening tipoff and Hedo Turkoglu back to his familiar role coming in off the bench, BallinEurope got to thinking about the well-traveled Turk and his effect on various teams as […]
Serbian suspicion confirmed: Photo shows Tunceri stepped out
All Joey Crawford jokes and half-kidding aside, BallinEurope tries not to fault referees for blown calls too often. Nor does BiE want to get into the habit of blaming the zebras for losses; for a long time, the rant from yours truly has been something along the lines of “Well, your team shouldn’t have been […]
FIBA World Championship final: What to watch for in USA-Turkey match
And now, the conclusion of the 2010 FIBA World Championship. In hindsight, it looks like a meeting made inevitable by destiny: Hosts Turkey riding their home advantage and deploying its strongest roster since 2001 (if not ever) to meet the world’s basketball public enemy no. 1, Team USA. Since no one needs reasons to watch […]
Twelve takes on the FIBA World Championship final four
BallinEurope can hardly believe that the final four round of the 2010 FIBA World Championship is here … this fascinating and fun tournament wraps up this weekend, and BiE is happy to see The Continent well-represented and definitely well self-acquitted. Without further ado, here are twelve bits ‘n’ bites to enjoy going into the Lithuania-USA […]
Perovic: No Gasol is the difference for Spain
When Serbia and Spain meet tonight to determine which of the European powers will advance to the 2010 FIBA World Championship final four, it will mark the third time the squads meet in one year – in fact, it’s been 366 days since the relatively unheralded young Serbs surprised the sluggish Spaniards in their Eurobasket […]
Tuesday cigarettes: FIBA World Championship smokin’
For longtime readers of BallinEurope, here’s a brief trip down Memory Lane … we’ll call these “Tuesday cigarettes,” a collection of quotes, links and YouTubes (especially YouTubes) focused on the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Inhale and enjoy! • Team Russia head coach David Blatt, who “was one of those kids crying when the American team […]
"Twelve Giant Men": Origins and brief history
For those wondering about that lustily-belted, catchy fight song the Turkish fans serenaded at Team France pretty much throughout the second half in the “Eighth Finals” game of the 2010 FIBA World Championship, BallinEurope’s got some answers. The song is entitled “Oniki dev adam” (or “Twelve Giant Men”) and was originally written and performed by […]
Official BallinEurope Fearless Predictions™ … in haiku!
Fearless Predictions™? You bet BallinEurope’s got ’em for today’s matches! Just to present the prognostications a bit differently and not at all because BiE seeks to become the TMQ of basketball or anything, outcomes are predicted in haiku format! Slovenia vs. Australia For Slovenia-Oz, A big men’s match: These Euros Have slightly more skills. Slovenia […]
Official BallinEurope Power Rankings: Pre-knockouts edition
Now that noted astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has announced God’s non-existence in our universe through mathematics, maybe he can start working on explaining the FIBA tie-breaking procedure. No, no, don’t start on BiE; it’s as easy as dialing up Wikipedia to find the steps in determining seeding for tournament play: Placement is determined based on, in […]
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 […]
2010 FIBA World Championship scenarios (plus fearless predictions™) going into games four
With the 2010 FIBA World Championship picture now coming into focus, BallinEurope can take a look ahead, determining some who will, some who might and some who could reach the “Eight Finals” after tonight’s games. Though technically only Canada has been mathematically eliminated altogether, the fat lady is definitely warming up in the wings of […]
Fearless predictions: 2010 FIBA World Championship, day four
Sorry folks, a bit short on time today, but after a perfect 6-0 showing in the official BallinEurope 2010 FIBA World Championship Fearless Predictions™, how could BiE leave you hanging? With two excellent games going down yesterday (Sheesh, who knew a team that gave up 75 points to Jordan could defend?) in the Slovenia-Croatia sharpshooting […]