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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 11 2007, 05:07 PM (813 Views) | |
| Bada Bing | Jun 11 2007, 05:07 PM Post #1 |
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El Crack
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03 june I decided to write this account of my thoughts and experiences as a relatively new fan of basketball because I have enjoyed visiting Badaball.com and the site has contributed to my knowledge and enjoyment of the game. If I’m really honest, I feel guilty having not made any contribution (financially or by submitting articles) to a site that I visit almost every week – and you should feel guilty too if you’ve not contributed – if the site is not supported it won’t survive. Okay so here’s my basketball story, or rather the story of me and my son’s journey into basketball...... I had never really been interested in any team sports at school, okay, never been interested in ANY sports at school until I reached high school, when in PE you were allowed to play badminton with your mates instead of going out into the freezing cold to stand on a wet playing field, in your half as a defender (which is what you did if you were no good at football/rugby). We (me and my other hopeless defender mates) would stand and chat while the real sporty people were up at the other end of the pitch scoring goals. All of a sudden someone would shout “#### the baal’s comin this way what w ganna dee nuw?” We would quickly run and try to look like we knew what we were doing – if we got a kick of the ball we were lucky and an own goal wouldn’t be that unusual! Okay, that was my experience of football and sport in general at school. I did however, miss out a one-off experience of being in the Dobson House basketball team! This was back in Blyth Tynedale Middle School at age 10. I didn’t have a clue how to play and was picked most likely, since I was totally unathletic, to make up the numbers. I sat on the bench for the whole game, petrified that by some strange trick of fate, broken ankle or bloody nose, I would be picked to actually play. Fortunately I was not, thanks to Mr Noble our teacher and I guess coach. How strange then that I should become so engrossed with basketball in later life after what was such a traumatic start. Thirty-three years later in 2006 I still had no interest in sport whatsoever. Okay, a Geordie who doesn’t like football – I’ve had that comment all through my working life whenever I’ve been to any conference or meeting down South after a few minutes conversation - we do exist! One day in January 2006 my son came home from school, upset that he was not as good as the others at football, having failed to be selected several days in a row by any team for the usual lunchtime kick about. Knowing what that was like I tried to think of some way of making him feel better. One day in January 2006 my son came home from school, upset that he was not as good as the others at football, having failed to be selected several days in a row by any team for the usual lunchtime kick about. Knowing what that was like I tried to think of some way of making him feel better. The very next day I happened by chance to see some discount vouchers for Newcastle Eagles games on the reception desk at my work (Northumbrian Water if you’re interested – thought not!) and was sure that taking my son there on a dull Friday in January would cheer him up and maybe get him some kudos at school, since I was sure that no one else would ever go to watch such an obscure sport as basketball! Perhaps he could chat to his mates in the playground about having been to a basketball match – you know what I mean I’m sure. Anyway we went along – we’d got vouchers so what was to lose? Boy oh boy what a life changing experience! I may have been in the midst of a mid-life crisis at the time but I was hooked after that one night. If I’m honest, it wasn’t just the game, since I didn’t understand many of the rules at the time, although Greg did help with his commentary and I can’t even remember who we played (possibly the Rocks according to my son?) – but it was the whole experience – the music, the Egals, the whole atmosphere that got me hooked. I couldn’t wait to get home to tell my wife, nor could my son because he’d had a great time too. As an aside, I had, some considerable number of years earlier, been taken to watch Newcastle United play at St James’s Park by a friend of my fathers – I can vividly remember standing there totally disinterested in the game for 2 hours or so – the only thing that stays with me now, since I can’t even remember, who they were playing at the time, is how bandy Supermac’s legs were! (That will tell you how long ago it was). The contrast could hardly be greater – stand in the freezing cold for two hours, maybe see one, or if you’re lucky two, or even three goals, or come to the arena inside, out of the wind and rain and see fast paced end to end exciting action all night! To this day I am on the edge of my seat ALL night – even a 9 point lead can be lost in the last 60 seconds or less of a game (Sorry - if you’re reading this site I suppose you all know that anyway!) I know the paraphernalia associated with game night is regarded with some distain by a lot of hard core basketball fans, but I think if you want to attract new people to the game then it is all important stuff – everything to do with game night – including music, commentary, dancers, local schools games, foyer shoot outs etc. For the same reason let’s not forget those discounted vouchers. People attend initially for many different reasons, and if you can get someone through the door and hooked, for whatever reason, then you may just have another future season ticket holder. They will probably tell their work colleagues and friends about the whole experience and hey presto the sport grows. Anyway, after the first night of the Eagles experience, it just so happened that the next week was my son’s birthday. We had previously discussed options for his party but he promptly dismissed them all. He was adamant that he wanted to take friends to watch the Eagles play. So, off we went the following Friday. Me, my daughter, five of my son’s friends and my wife (a less sporty person I guarantee that you will never meet, even if you live to be 100 and advertise in the Evening Chronicle for unsporty persons every day of your life – get the picture!) The children were bought the usual hotdogs, drinks, etc and bam bams. I will remember aspects of that game for a long time to come. Everyone had a great night. It was only my second game, (it was against the Towers my son assures me, his birthday being 26th Jan – maybe you experts out there can verify that! I was concentrating at that time on getting to know the Eagles, can’t really say that I paid much attention to the other team!) and it went down to the line. It ended in an Eagles victory and even my unsporty wife couldn’t contain herself towards the last few moments of the game –what excitement – you just don’t get that with any other sport! My wife has never been to another game since, despite how excited she was at her first (and only) game. She says she doesn’t like basketball - I think its all down to wanting to have something to complain about since I’m perfect in every other way! She probably really always secretly wanted to be a sports widow, but never had the opportunity in the past. My daughter, on the other hand, has been with us a few times since, but alas is not really interested in the game. So, from that birthday on, me and the boy have never missed a home game. A side effect is a renewed interest in music – we have CDs in the car now that we play, (when its boys only) made up of everything associated with Eagles games and the Egals music from 2005/6 season – and a lot of rap (definitely mid life crisis!) Sad I know, but hey it’s great and we love it. To cap our first season as Eagles fans, of course, we did manage the Holy Grail of the BBL, the Quadruple! |
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| Bada Bing | Jun 18 2007, 12:15 PM Post #2 |
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El Crack
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11/06 how an eagles fan got hooked part 2 After my first blog and part 1 - (see this on whatsbev.com in the badabll section)... now on to the 2006/7 season – okay we’re now season ticket holders and I now recognise at lot of the BBL players on other teams – a sign of progress? We always get there early. We like nothing better than watching the players warm up and watching the crowd coming in. (Okay maybe that last sentence applies to me only, I’m a people watcher - my son, well he would love to get there just in time for the game but hey I’m driving!) Eagles didn’t get off to the best start, slow to get going this season, but we kept the faith. When you’re at the top there’s only one way to go and everyone is willing you to fail. Well, we showed them all. Third in the league, one semi and two finals one of which ended with the retention of the playoff trophy, that has to be a good season by most people’s standards. All Eagles fans have to be looking forward to next season especially if we have the same team from the word go. Heat/Raiders won’t have a look in. Look what we did in our last few home games – beat everyone above us, and in the playoffs beat the Sharks again when it mattered. I can’t wait for next season. I can’t forget the first time we saw Shawan – man he was on fire! What a debut. I like him and hope we can keep him – work on his defence and I’m sure Fab can mould him into a great all rounder. Tom has been great too, although my memories of him in the final against Plymouth were of someone looking really nervous who wanted to get rid of the ball ASAP to someone else. That is not typical I must say and I would love to see him back next season as well. Olu, well when he’s good he’s great! He really did step up in the playoff final and several games prior to that as well. I would like to see him back next season. Like all of the Eagles he’s a great character and even when accosted by my son in Northumberland Street one Saturday he was pleasant and had time for him. I read in the press a letter from someone, saying the Eagles players ignored their fans. Nothing could be further from the truth in my opinion. I immediately wrote a letter in response saying how they had all signed autographs for my son – don’t remember which game exactly, but it was early on in the season. I think you need to use a bit of common sense. The players are professionals – I guess the last thing they want is people pestering them for autographs, photos etc immediately after they’ve lost a game – they want to get back in the locker room to review performance. If they’ve won then that’s a different matter. I think most reasonable people would understand that. The players are professionals and basketball is their life, and any loss can be devastating. Anyone who has seen the interview with Fab after the Plymouth final cannot have any doubts about that. Best Eagles member in my eyes has to be Fab. He can do anything. How difficult must it be to play, coach and deal with the injuries and off court dramas that have unfolded this and to some extent last season? To have the rugged determination to succeed in spite of all of the setbacks is admirable. The fact he’s stayed with us for so long is excellent. I think (in my limited basketball experience and in my experience as someone who runs a laboratory for a living) that continuity of players (or in my case analysts) has to be the most important criteria for success, building on experience gained, and by and large from what I’ve read in the past couple of years Eagles have had continuity compared with other teams in the league. Okay I could go on and mention Tony, TJ, Jeremy, Darius, Bridgey and McCotter but I think I have already said that I would love the same team back next season from the off. We have depth in the bench and great potential for the future in our new signings Robinson, McCotter and Sherlock, couple that with Fab’s experience in playing/coaching and I think we can be unstoppable again. t some stage I must mention Dave Forrester’s match reports – they’re excellent, with great detail and usually shed light on the calls that, I as a newbie, have found confusing. Ed - Excellent? Surely Not! The good thing I guess is the longer I’ve been watching the game the more I think my view of the game gets closer to his match report, which must mean I’m learning something. (Okay, still a long way off but getting closer!) Tuesday nights are basketball nights in our house (since wife is at college on Tuesdays!) My best ever performance at “armchair officiating” TV games was (after a few cans of cider!) on a Tuesday night while watching a ULEB cup game when I was able to correctly call 80% of the refs calls – a personal best. That was an achievement for me – it has since, without the aid of alcohol, deteriorated to about 60% at best and usually less than that from my seat at the arena! I have enjoyed watching the progress of all of the teams in the ULEB cup on UKTVG2 but I’ve concentrated on Real Madrid – what depth they have on the bench. Okay, next season if Eagles need a 3 point shooter we will all have to chip in a few thousand quid each to get either Charles Smith, (not that one, although I did enjoy watching him play last season and did see him courtside one Friday this season) or maybe Louis Bullock – they’re ace. I have read Badaball’s site most weeks but haven’t yet really got into the ACB, but will look out for it next season, after all you can’t get too much basketball, can you? I was dead chuffed that the finals were at the arena this year since if they had been any where else (involving an overnight stay) we wouldn’t have been able to make it. We were there for all of the games. I did wonder about the attendance especially early on for the division 2 EBL on the Saturday and the Women’s EBL final on the Sunday. I’d have thought that they’re basketball games and why wouldn’t basketball fans come to see them? Anyway I enjoyed them all and so did my son (although it was freezing in the arena especially first thing on the Sunday for the Women’s final). I think we enjoyed the 2nd division EBL Men’s game even more on the Finals Saturday, not only because Team Northumbria won, but also because we had been to see them for the first time two weeks earlier at the Westgate Centre for Sport when they were playing Derby Trailblazers. We recognised the players in the final (my son more so than me, I must admit), not just Greg, but most of the others as well. Considering that the Westgate game had been advertised in the Eagle’s program for the Sharks game two weeks before, I was surprised at the low turnout. The expression on my son’s face, however, when at first Fab and a friend walked in and sat three yards away from us only to be followed ten minutes later by Darius, Tom, Jeremy and Tony was amazing! We will definitely be following Team Northumbria Home games in future. We don’t have the opportunity, for various reasons, to get to away games, so Team Northumbria home games will give us an additional fix in the 2007/8 season. Okay this may seem a bit disjointed and incoherent but what the hell I’ve tried to put down in words my experiences of the game as a novice of two years standing and its my contribution to keeping Badaball.com going – should this ever appear on Bada’s site then it shows that if I can get away with writing this stuff you can too! Off now to renew my Eagles season ticket. |
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| Saintpat | Jul 4 2007, 06:30 PM Post #3 |
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Basketball Legend
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18/6 blog Okay guys, I’d written a piece thinking that it would maybe amuse some of you on Badaball.com. I’d put everything I thought I had to say into that one piece. A potted history if you like. Emailed it off to Bada and I get the reply ‘..great, now maybe you could do a regular thing…’ Do what? How on earth could I think of anything else to write? I mean it’s the close season you know and even postings on Whatsbev have all but halted to a trickle. Well the impetus for this particular blog is all down to the weather. Whenever it rains heavily as it has done here tonight we get a power cut! No joking , in the last year we have had at least 5 interruptions to supply, and in the last 5 years , well I can’t count how many. We even had a power cut on Christmas day in 2003, luckily we’d had lunch by then and enjoyed an afternoon and candlelight evening of family games – no crappy TV to spoil the day! You should all try it one year. Anyway, tonight, a work night and school night, it’s anything but enjoyable! No TV, no lights, no music, no internet, no hot food (hardly barbecue weather either!) – plunged into the dark ages courtesy of National Grid or whoever it is that looks after the system nowadays. The only thing working in the house is my wife’s work laptop - so what else to do but commandeer it and try to write something. So what’s happened since my last blog? Well I’ve been to look at plans for a proposed new age 3 to 11 Academy school to be built on the site of an existing smaller school in the middle of our estate. Curiously the school seems to take up nearly all of the available land. When I asked about playing fields for the children, the reply came back that there wouldn’t be any on this site and that if it was deemed necessary then pupils would be bussed across town to use the playing fields of another school. What about break time and lunch times – ‘oh well the children won’t be allowed out at these times anyway’ was the reply. I was gob smacked. Whatever happened to young kids running around in the fresh air at break times? In this day and age how can any plans for a new school be proposed that omit playing fields. With the growing problem of childhood obesity it should be paramount that exercise areas are available at every school. How can we as a nation be in any position to develop a fit and healthy population, not to mention developing potential athletes for the future when basic facilities are not even being considered by the powers that be? I do have other issues with this school, not least as a scientist the fact that the sponsor who will ultimately control the school is an evangelical christian organisation that fails to recognise the concept of evolution and Darwinism, in favour of creationist views but that’s a whole different story. Rant over. I was sad to hear that it’s now official, Shawan is not coming back to the Eagles next season. Good luck to him. I don’t really suppose you can blame a young guy for following the money – guess I would do the same at his age. Leibenath has obviously seen something in him – probably what we’ve all seen - his great offence. The posters on the Whatsbev boards who appear to know anything about basketball often complain about Shawan’s defensive capabilities. I have to admit that as a newbie it’s easy to appreciate offensive abilities – the points rack up! When it comes to defense, other than the obvious blocks, steals, rebounds etc I find it a bit more difficult to assess. So how do you tell a good defensive player? Is it the one that does the highest star jumps in front of the offensive player? And what’s all this stuff about Dorsey being poached by the Panthers. Come on Eagles let’s get him secured for next season now. Announcements are frustratingly slow to appear. As an Eagles fan I don’t even know if Fab is going to be back next season! The Eagles website hasn’t been updated in ages – so come on guys take a leaf out of Badaball.com’s book and let’s have regular news updates posted. So what else is new? Well I got my Eagles Playoff final DVD through the post the other day so I can have a giggle at Olu’s streetballing reverse dunk attempt. He was obviously on a high, feeling good with his game, but even Eagles fans had to have a chuckle when it went wrong. Perhaps he needs to have a bit of practice here. Oh and of course I get to watch the Rocks getting thrashed time and time again – cool! Can’t wait till the father in law is over again – I will have to have the final on in the background, set to repeat play. He is a born and bred Glaswegian and always reckons the Rocks will win any game vs. the Eagles. He doesn’t follow basketball particularly but thinks that anything Scottish has to be superior! The other thing that springs to mind is Big Brother. Every year I vow that I’ll not watch such inane rubbish. Every year I get draw in – (being a people watcher!) There’s always been a really outrageous mix of characters and you’ve been able to see the daggers drawn and potential conflict brewing very early on. I’ve always ended up watching. This year I saw the first day where the housemates went into the house, but I found myself totally disinterested with the current intake. The contestants this year are so bland compared with previous years it’s unbelievable. I have seen one or two bits of programs since and this has only compounded my initial views. So what could Channel 4 do to get me interested? What if they had a hoop in the garden, or even a couple of hoops and provided the housemates with some basketballs? What about a 3 point shoot out contest along these lines? What about a free throw shootout contest a bit like this. What if they monitored their 3 point and free-throw shooting percentages over the duration of the program to see if they improve? What if they had a competition for best long distance basket? What if they had a task based on ball handling skills á la Tommy Baker? What about a kit dash task? What about a task where they come up with some original chants. What about a dribbling marathon where they all take it in shifts around the clock to keep the basketball bouncing for 48hrs non stop. What about………… Boy am I getting the post season withdrawal symptoms bad. I’d better go blow the candles out now! |
| "the celebrated and canonised scrivener, the formidable St Pat." | |
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| Bada Bing | Aug 31 2007, 11:49 AM Post #4 |
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El Crack
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04 july basketball and bunnies As I’m sure you green-fingered basketballers out there know, now it’s time to get the summer bedding in. I’m sure you’ve all been doing that over the past few weeks. Good news you might think? Longer days, warmer weather, but, as well as being the off-season basketball wise, it now means that me and The Boy can’t even have our regular shoot out competitions. Let me explain further. At the end of the 2005/6 season we invested in a hoop for the back garden (much to the wife’s dismay for various reasons – subject of another blog maybe!) We used it most nights for several months. It took such a battering (from poor shots) that one of the welds broke. I took it back to the shop and got a replacement. This one lasted another couple of months before giving up the ghost. So I splashed out on a heavy duty one - even the right colour – orange - just like the Eagles! Okay so I said ‘splashed out’, infact it was reduced in a local sports shop because it was the last one and had a bashed box. I had a good look at it one lunchtime and realised that the fixings were missing. Now, I have a garage full of fixings, nuts, bolts, and screws in every conceivable length, diameter, thickness etc, and wall plugs galore, all courtesy of a mate who is a builder. So I went to haggle with the shop assistant (nothing gives mean greater pleasure – I’m a bit of a miser at heart - must be the father in law’s influence!). The shop assistant called for the manager who didn’t put up much of a fight – caved in straight away really – a bit disappointing. Anyway I got this great heavy duty hoop for the princely sum of £10! Get that that 1/3 of the regular price – that does it for me! This, fingers crossed, has lasted well and is still going strong. It gets used most nights for 3 point shooting contests between me and The Boy. These contests are normally uneventful, with The Boy winning most times. The satisfaction of getting an all string 3 pointer for me however, is something else, not quite the same as hitting the jackpot on the lottery but probably akin to 5 and the bonus on a Saturday night! Well maybe not but it tells you how good I am anyway! The only complicating factor in our home shootout competitions is our pet rabbit. Our pet rabbit has the run of the garden, with a ramp up to his hutch so he can come and go as he wishes. However for some strange reason he loves to lie directly under the hoop. Now this wasn’t a problem at first – we obviously have a very intelligent rabbit that realised as we couldn’t sink anything he was probably in the safest place, rebounds landing everywhere. He is learning as we get better. Nowadays when he hears us bouncing the basketball in preparation for a shot he’s off like a ballistic missile for the far end of the garden or the security of his hutch. Smart rabbit. Now that its bedding plant time we will have to have a self imposed ban, at least until the plants get established. The only thing guaranteed to stop a plant dead in its tracks is being bashed by a rebounded basketball! Hmm maybe look in yellow pages for tarmac contractors for next year (probably could get green tarmac) – only got to convince the wife to do without the lawn and borders! Easy job NOT! Anyway I was dead impressed with The Boy tonight - he came downstairs with his bin, emptied it into the wheelie bin and then promptly put it in the middle of the lawn and came to fetch me holding a can of tennis balls. “Dad, let’s see how many of these we can get in the bin from here?” Great idea and what fun we had, maybe that game will keep us going for a week or two, until the bedding gets established. At the end of the day it’s all about having fun with your kids while you can isn’t it? There’s nothing more important in life. |
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EuroLeague Women because women's basketball is the most important thing in life after family and good health! | |
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| Bada Bing | Sep 14 2007, 10:00 PM Post #5 |
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El Crack
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31 august bring it on TJ gone, Dorsey gone. I should be gutted and I was for a while. But, having had time to think about it, (loads of time since Eagles seemed to be the last to announce signings), I realise that this is the way for most teams in the BBL. There are no guarantees that the same team will be back year after year. If they are then that would give them an undoubted advantage over others. Consistency has to be a big factor in continued success. Just waiting to hear about McCotter and Sherlock as I write. Looking back to the first season I followed the Eagles I remember Olu being announced as a new signing, running out through the flashing lights to the tune of Barber’s Adagio. This was in February 2006 I think, but I can’t remember the team we were playing (nothing new there!). Why wait so long, February is way past the half season mark. Still it didn’t seem to hamper the Eagles that year! Last season however we did take a while to warm up and that is why I think most of our signings coming in the latter half of August (or at least news of signings released to the public domain) has had me feeling a little anxious. With heat looking very strong, the Eagles need to get it together very soon to be in a position to come out of the blocks at top speed, unlike last season. Having said that, I think this coming season is going to be great. I can’t describe how excited I am about the forthcoming season. It’s like the start of a new term - our whole house is excited in one way or another. My daughter is starting high school (age 13 here in Northumberland), my son is moving up a year to be taught by one of his favourite teachers, and my wife has given up work to start a teaching degree at Northumbria Uni (bit of belt tightening required!) and I can’t wait to see TJ and Dorsey at the arena. In the past I suppose I’ve always looked on the players of the opposing team as the ‘enemy’ if you like, – the bad guys that the Eagles must overcome. I think this season will be different. Since how can TJ be the enemy even if he plays for another side? I am realising what most of you take for granted I guess, and am coming to see why most of you can appreciate other players in the league. I have too, albeit in a limited way in the past, but I haven’t really been able to get past the partisan feeling of Eagles good everyone else bad. This season will be different. This feeling of conflict of interest is an interesting concept. I am going to Edinburgh to support the GB team, cheering on players, some of whom I would normally be wishing to miss their shots when they’re at the arena playing against the Eagles! The Eagles have had a renaissance, take a look at the website – extremely professional looking and so far updated much more frequently than in the past. That menacing photo of Fab on the homepage must have the rest of the BBL quaking in their boots. We could still, however, take a leaf out of others websites, for example by including desktop photos and screensavers to download. I have read criticism of the new logo, but I think its simplicity is attractive. I did like the old logo, with its multicoloured eagle, but the more stylised new logo will prove successful and fits well with the new sharper website image. Can’t wait for 21st September. 02 SEP DAMN THOSE DUNKS *photo by sumo Wow – we’ve just got back from the GB Albanian game. Not going to forget those Deng dunks in a while! Originally it was just me and the Boy going to go to Edinburgh and maybe camp out somewhere near on the Saturday, but in the end we all decided to go and make a weekend of it since we’ve not been anywhere on holiday this summer. We set off from home first thing Saturday morning, managed to check in at the hotel early and off load bags, then spent the whole day doing Edinburgh stuff before going back to the hotel for quick scrub up and out for an early dinner. We had our main courses and I had a few beers, then left wife and daughter to have desserts at the restaurant while me and the Boy headed off for Meadowbank. Tickets said tip off 7:30 so when we arrived at 6:50ish we were surprised to hear the crowd cheering and players being announced (at least that’s what it sounded like) from outside the sports hall. We got in and got a program only to be told we couldn’t go into the gym just then because the national anthems were being played. Once they’d finished we were allowed in – pretty full house I’d say - so we ended up sitting way up at the back behind the Albanian bench – still not a bad view! One of the reasons for going along was to see Midgely play so I was somewhat disappointed to see him firmly rooted to the bench all game. Hopefully I will get to see him play next week against Team USA select if he’s fit. The notable aspects of the game for me were Deng (obviously, both dunks and assists), Sullivan (and his crowd pleasing block) and Reinking, who I though had a great game – seemed very fast and was all over the court. Hopefully someone will post a match report somewhere in the not too distant future so I can compare my view of the game with ‘the experts’ Not wishing to be overly negative about the whole experience but it does seem that we couldn’t organise the proverbial outing in a brewery. Wrong tip off times on the tickets, a venue where the catering consists of a burger van outside and a match program that isn’t! No info about or mention of the Albanian players – a generic program might save money but howay man – lets have some relevant game night info. Now if this was a BBL game then maybe the location would be par for the course, I don’t know, but for the Great Britain team to play an international game I would have thought a more appropriate venue could have been found. GB team is the best of all players in the GB, so why not showcase the best of the venues. Surely the Europeans must think we’re having a laugh! Is this just me having unrealistic expectations - have I been spoilt since all of my basketball watching has been at the Eagles Arena? Anyway back to those dunks – that guy Deng obviously has the ability to fly – wonder if he auditioned for Heros? |
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EuroLeague Women because women's basketball is the most important thing in life after family and good health! | |
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| Bada Bing | Oct 11 2007, 07:41 AM Post #6 |
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El Crack
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15 SEP PLAYTIME OS OVER I’m well knackered now as I write this. I’ve been on a training course all week in Leeds. For some strange reason (seemed like a good idea at the time!) I decided to commute daily rather than stay over so I have had rather long days with 5am alarms all week. It wasn’t a particularly interesting training course either – to do with radioactivity in the workplace - with lots of emphasis on the legislative aspects – only copious amounts of strong coffee kept me going! To make things worse there was an exam at the end of it! So what has this seemingly irrelevant rambling got to do with basketball I hear you ask? Well I was travelling by train from Newcastle Central Station. What a surprise when I arrived at the station on day one of the course to be greeted by Fab Flournoy himself. Okay, not Fab in person, but a huge (I’m guessing about 8m by 3m) banner with that same menacing image of him that can be found on the Eagles website, but with a streetball-type chain hoop in the background and the text ‘playtime is over’ In fact, as I walked through the station it quickly became apparent that, there was not one banner of Fab but, on the main concourse, I counted 12 hanging from the roof. That didn’t include all of the other smaller banners on the other platforms across the footbridge. I was so impressed that on day two, I set off even earlier and took my camera with me (sad individual I know!) just to show you non-Newcastle dwellers the extent of this campaign. Not only are the images in the Central Station, but are all over hoardings in Newcastle and the surrounding areas and they’ve been in some national newspapers and magazines. To be truthful the larger posters/banners I’ve seen are combined Eagles/Falcons ones. The good news however from our point of view is that Fab has one whole half of the poster while there are four rugby players (including some guy called Johnny Wilkinson – who?) jostling for position in the other half. My take on this is that our new sponsors Northern Rock are serious in their commitment to the Eagles and I can’t wait to see what else is in store this season. There have also been several TV pieces on local news in the past three weeks or so on both Tyne Tees and BBC including interviews with Fab and Stewart etc, seems like more coverage than we normally get during the season! I mentioned last week that the Eagles have had a renaissance and this is yet more proof of an exciting season ahead. We have already been told that game night entertainment will different. Whether or not this reignites the egals/showgirls wars I’m sure it’ll be all good. I must declare a personal liking for the lights and Barbers Adagio while players run out and House of Pain’s Jump Around in the seconds leading up to the tip off, but I will go along to the first game with an open mind, as I said before I’m sure it’ll all be good. Stroll on the 21st, not only is it the first game of the season but it’s my birthday as well – looking forward to my presents from the Eagles – a nice new T-shirt and hopefully a comprehensive thrashing of the Heat! I just hope they’ve got those freebie T-shirts in extra huge to fit my less than svelte frame! Be afraid Heat, be very afraid – the Eagles mean business – Playtime is over! 25 SEP THATS ENTERTAINMENT Well we’ve had the first game of the season. ‘Wow, wow and wow again, – that was what I was thinking part way through the third when Eagles were 10 up. At that stage we’d played decent defence - typified within seconds of the tip with the double teaming of Dux forcing him to get called for a travel. I think I understand what makes good defence a little better now. When me and The Boy went to see the Eagles play Team USA Select I saw Fab less than 4 yards away fitting like a glove over a Team USA player, not a millimetre of room to move at all. How on earth can anyone do anything with that sort of pressure on them? That’s good defence. Anyway we arrived early as usual on Friday for the game and were faced with large queues for the main entry. We got in and went to collect our free t’s. Not bad quality, pure cotton, a bit thin maybe but hey what do you want for nowt! Great logo and the distribution was quite well organised for season ticket holders. A bit more of a scrabble for non-season ticket holders with large queues to collect. Foyer entertainment same as ever with shooting contest for a small Molten basketball. The Boy had a couple of goes but wasn’t on form. Not like him, although why he wants even more mini balls I don’t know since they’re neither use nor ornament in my view (about as much use as a back pocket in a vest as my father would say!), still I suppose the funds do go to support local basketball. I bought a nice new all colour shiny programme and a ticket for the signed ball draw. After that we walked through to our seats only to be apprehended by an official to say we couldn’t go in just yet and had to go back into the corridor. I didn’t quite catch the reason why due to the deafening music, but wasn’t too bothered since I then realised everyone else wasn’t just standing in the corridor chatting just for the sake of it! So we went back and watched others trying their luck at free throw shooting. We then wandered around the foyer. At this stage apart from the t shirts I hadn’t seen much different to a normal match night. When we eventually were allowed into our seats the new style was immediately apparent. The advertising boards around the perimeter of the court were all new and all in the same style The logos (Eagles and Northern Rock) were repeated around the arena all night via a projection system which one Whatsbever described quite accurately as ‘Batman style’. The floor was all new with the new Eagles logo in the centre and the inside zones coloured pink to reflect the Northern rock link As for Northern Rock, maybe not out of the woods yet , but having read the local newspaper today I’m off next Saturday to open an account in support. have, after all, poured money into the North East, creating something around 4500 jobs at their headquarters in the area, together with sponsorship of the Toon, the Falcons, latterly the Eagles and they have also supported various local charities. Whether I would be doing this had I not been an Eagles fan is questionable, but that’s life. Your attitude and outlook often change throughout life don’t they? Talking of supporting things, now that we’ve lost UKTVSlam, Badaball.com is THE premier basketball site in the UK, so if you’ve not contributed either financially or with articles, one-off or otherwise, then please think about it now. Look at what Bada’s achieved – on a minimal budget at that so let’s keep it going. (Ed - or buy a t-shirt, just got them delivered and they are fab!) Back to the game night, the new score board – projected system I think, well it wasn’t quite big enough or bright enough when under the game lighting, but when the Eagles ran out to Kanye West’s ‘Stronger’ it displayed a picture and info about each player – that was excellent and I found myself forgetting all about Barbers Adagio. I mentioned in my very first blog that attending Eagles games had been responsible for a renewed interest in music for me and Kanye’s Diamonds song was one of the first I downloaded. That in turn led me to look at more of his music. As is the case, today, that led to internet searches and downloading loads of similar music. That track, (Diamonds) and the Fugees (Ready or Not) always conjures up a picture in my mind of the Eagles warming up whenever I hear them. I didn’t realise for a long while that the music played while the team warmed up and practiced was just chart stuff. How out of touch I was! I had spent ages looking for tracks on the net only to find my son and daughter already had most of it on those Now That’s What I Call Music X (where X is a large number! Sorry that’s the scientist coming out in me). Get this though; there is so much stuff out there that sounds so good – even to my 45 year old ears. Don’t get stuck in a rut with the stuff you know and love, try something new, you never know you just might like it! The music played on Friday while the teams warmed up was however, just way too loud. I was thinking that my ears would be buzzing like they do when you’ve been to a gig. The people playing it must have had it maxed out since at times early on it was even distorted. When I went out for a ‘toilet break’ it was a relief in more ways than one! Choice of music was however, to my taste and The Boy commented “Dad did you tell them what to play” – we really did think that someone had a copy of our compilation that we play in the car on the way to games. It’s a bit of a ritual now. The CD gets set to track one which is Barbers Adagio (will have to change that now!) and we rack up the volume (a bit ironic I guess since I’m complaining about the volume in the arena!). After tip off the music continued at max volume. This was accompanied by someone on a pair of bongos, which were broadcast through the PA system. This was way poor – the guy didn’t known the beats and despite Greg’s (the commentator) attempts to get the crowd chanting defence etc it didn’t really get going because there was not any audible feedback for the crowd. We couldn’t hear ourselves, only the music and amplified drums. I’m sure most of you know of Dougsbarmyarmy and crew and such was the volume of music that I could not even hear them clearly despite not sitting a million miles away from them. The supporters really need to be heard by the players. Half time entertainment was really good with a basketball match played by juniors from a local basketball club – stars of the future no doubt – sorry guys couldn’t remember where you were from - an Eagles development program maybe? We were also entertained by Tommy Baker and a team of break dancers during time outs and halftimes/quarters. So we lost in the end after the game slipped away in the 4th, but from what I saw for the first three quarters we are undoubtedly in with a good chance of silverware this season. Stewart was impressive and Midgley was like lightning from one end of the court to the other. If he’s that fast with a knee problem what’s he going to be like when 100% fit? Looking forward to next Friday when we play London Capitals when hopefully the music/drums issues will have been addressed. I was thinking at the start of the season that if we had to lose a game then maybe the Heat game would be the one. It’s just that to lose after being so far up it was a bit hard to take. Definitely a roller coaster ride this basketball lark! But ho hum, let’s keep the faith - that may well be the only game we lose this season! . |
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| Bada Bing | Oct 31 2007, 09:47 AM Post #7 |
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El Crack
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11 oct........ and I am sat watching NBA live Watching the NBA live event on FiveUS as I write this. The O2 looks impressive and they’re playing ‘Jump Around’ just as they tip off. Pull away shot by cameraman during a time out and the O2 looked to be at capacity! The NBA is not really something I normally watch since, not having any Sky sports channels the only place it was available last season was on channel 5 in the early hours. Our TV recording set up is hopeless – too many wires and never works! So, that was it as far as NBA is concerned – a non-starter. Anyway don’t need it with all of the free stuff on Sky 411 Eurosport2 – ULEB and some of the ACB which I try will follow this year after Badaball ranting on about it. (Speaking of ULEB – I followed Real Madrid last season and went surfing last night to find out info about this season only to find no mention whatsoever of them. Can anyone explain why? Are previous winners not allowed to compete again or have RM decided to let someone else have a go this year? Or have I missed something obvious?) Anyway all this publicity and TV coverage for NBA while the Eagles and Rocks, two of the BBL’s best are playing, unheralded by any national media at Braehead – what a contrast – maybe make a line or two in the local rags but that’s it. I didn’t see it myself but the good wife said tonights coverage had been mentioned on BBC breakfast program this morning as well I know its NBA and not BBL but any coverage of basketball in the UK has got to be good news, might be better if BBL were acknowledged – after all they must be loads of first timers watching who may just be interested in following a local team as a result of tonight. (London Leopards did get a mention). Good to hear same commentator as we had on ULEB cup coverage last season – think he’s really knowledgeable and sheds light on all the refs calls for me. At times he was as a bit uncertain of player’s names tonight, but I guess that’s understandable since he seems to deal with European teams most of the time. Interesting to hear the Teams announcer referring to the ‘reserves’ when talking about anyone other than the starting 5s. Just doesn’t sound right! I suppose that’s conditioning to think of reserves as a different and second rate team. I’m reading Whatbev for updates on the Eagles game throughout this and surprised at the comments – on the NBA forum got people complaining about the commentator – well I enjoy him on ULEB, and on the other got BBL fans complaining about FiveUS’s coverage of the game. Guess you can’t win really. Can’t please any of the people any of the time it seems where basketball is concerned. Having watched the game I really can’t say that I see any great difference in the skills of NBA vs BBL. Free-throw shooting wasn’t particularly good – and you might expect it to be better when the three point arc is further away than it is in the BBL wouldn’t you, I mean they must practise from greater distances etc? Eagles Rocks into OT at 95 95 end of 4th 9 to go in the NBA and I’ve lost interest – WOW 2nd OT for Eagles – can’t watch TV while Whatsbeving for news of Eagles – that’s much more important! Double WOW - 117- 110 EAGLES WIN. What a game that must have been to see. No doubt I’d have been in no fit state to drive home had I been there – been way ‘up-a-height’. Rocks games even in my limited experience have always been great to watch. I remember one of the first games last season when again it went to OT at the arena – edge of seat stuff, alas on that occasion we didn’t win. Great road win for the guys, just hope it hasn’t taken too much out of them for what has to be one of the hardest road trips of the season with Leicester on Saturday and Plymouth on Sunday and then only home for a day before Everton on Tuesday. Can’t wait for that one. Got to raise the roof when the guys run out! |
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| Bada Bing | Dec 11 2007, 08:04 AM Post #8 |
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El Crack
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31 oct t-shirt on and blogging away What a great start to the Eagles season. Even as an Eagles fan it’s been better than expected. I guess October’s schedule must have even had Fab worried about the stamina of the team. To go to the Eagles perennial foes the Rocks and get a win was superb. Watching for updates on Whatsbev as the game went to overtime and then double overtime had me on the edge of my seat. I can only begin to imagine what it must have been like to be there. To follow that with a gruelling road trip to Leicester and Plymouth AND to come away with two more wins – well that would have been wishful thinking as well I think – not because of any lack of faith in the Eagles ability but purely because of what that double O/T game must have taken out of them. A couple of home games followed – the first against Everton where Fab ran the bench – the result never in doubt, and the second, last Fridays game against the Jets, where once more I was sat on the edge of my seat. It was a great game to watch, and as expected TJ received a great reception. I’ve read Dave Forrester’s report on Whatsbev and found it comprehensive and as usual excellent. Having read it I can understand what went on, however I was surprised at the apparent ease with which the Jets were able to just run up the key and layup at times. I’ve obviously still got a lot to learn! Bridge has been quite superb this season. I didn’t really see that last season – he wasn’t one of my favourite players then. At this stage I can’t see anyone getting the better of us all season. Bring on the Heat again was what I was thinking after that epic weekend. The debate about TV coverage on Whatsbev has been resurrected again – why is the discussion about Sky Sports all the time? It appears that there will never be any coverage unless public interest grows, in order to justify the expense quoted (£20000/game). It’s probably never going to happen. But what about amateurs filming the games and making them available on the web with the BBLs consent – £2 - 5/ game would not be unreasonable (could even be free) and would be great for fans who can’t get to away games? Doesn’t have to be live – god I would love to watch that last Rocks v Eagles game. Not a great deal of revenue maybe. I know that the Eagles games are recorded because the cameraman is at the back of our section. It looks like quite a professional set up as well, to me as a layman anyway. I guess they’re recorded for Fab, Billy and the team to review performance. But as they’ve been recorded anyway how much would it cost to make them publicly available for the fans on the Eagles website? What about those Badaball T-shirts – picked mine up from Bada on Friday – great deal – you get to support/promote badaball.com AND (second and in capitals this blog!) get a good quality T into the bargain. So come on guys forget those ads on TV saying you can get your suite /bathroom/bedroom/anything else in time for Christmas and get your Badaball T-shirt now. Honestly it’s the best you can get, in support of the best Basketball site in the UK. If you don’t want a T-shirt but are thinking of writing a piece but don’t know where to start then let me give you a quick 10 point guide! May or may not work for you – but this is how I do it!! 1. Put your Badaball T-shirt on – this will get you in the right frame of mind – gets you in the zone so to speak. What do you mean you’ve not got one? GET ONE NOW! 2. Have a good drink. Personally I’d recommend a bottle of vintage type cider or if you’ve had a lottery win some of that ‘taste the difference’ stuff. If you’re on the hard card then my friendly local 8 till late vintner has some walloping high strength white cider that will do the trick for £1/litre! (in emergency situations only of course, since its quite similar in composition to the rocket fuel used for early Apollo missions) 3. Start writing – doesn’t matter what - put it all down, lest you forget any idea that you might have had, you can sort it all out tomorrow – then have another drink. 4. Keep writing – anything and everything – stuff that’s happened today, yesterday, last week, last year – anything with a vaguely related basketball/sports theme, or any other theme for that matter! Then have another drink. 5. Check the clock – if its midnight or earlier then keep writing (have another drink) – if necessary put one of the Sky music channels on if the terrestrial channels have let you down – might help bring back some relevant memories. 6. Check the clock again - if its 3am or later then stop and go to bed, VERY, VERY quietly so as not to disturb the partner. If he/she is woken up tell them that you stumbled across a very interesting documentary about prairie dogs while TV surfing and must have fallen asleep while watching! This is very important. If they find out you’ve spent all of your waking hours watching/thinking and writing about basketball, you will have to spend some time pandering to their needs the next day, and you do want to get your Badaball article finished don’t you? 7. Next day when you get up, and this is important, have a couple of pints of water, two paracetamol and go back to bed. When the pestering by your other half gets past the ‘get out of your pit you lazy pig’ to more descriptive and explicit expletives then get up with a spring in your step (Oscar nominee acting required here). I know this may sound a little extreme but, make a cup of tea for the other half, wash some dishes maybe, even do some hoovering! This should placate your partner and get the scent off the basketball trail, thus allowing you to get back to it even earlier. Then, when the dust has settled, and, without the aid of alcohol this time, – re-read and correct all that you’d written the night before. Don’t forget throughout the day to take some time to acknowledge the existence of any offspring and spouse, even though there may be live ACB on the web. Get right back to it as soon as you can and sort the paragraphs into some sort of order/theme and delete everything else to a scrap file to be used for some future blog. 8. Repeat from step 1 until you feel confident enough to send it off to Bada. Again this may vary depending on blood alcohol levels. 9. Congratulate yourself on a job well done and have a celebration drink! 10. Contact AA! Footnote. The Alchemist supports responsible drinking, and in no way condones the excessive use of alcohol for blogging purposes. (Although, of course, it does help!) |
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8:51 AM Jul 11