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| A Big Boy Did It | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 8 2007, 09:45 AM (813 Views) | |
| Bada Bing | Jul 8 2007, 09:45 AM Post #1 |
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El Crack
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05 june oor sterl the pearl! WALTZING round Braehead - home of the Rocks -exploring the adjacent shopping mall, several unsuspecting members of the public received the shock of their lives. Yours truly was using up some holiday time to do a bit of shopping and have a squizz at last week's Daily Record when the Woolworth's staff were not looking. Checking to see if my beloved Heart of Midlothian FC had signed anyone for next season I stumbled across the following brief item....."The Scottish Rocks are set to announce their new coach today..." What happened next can only be described as an "Oor Wullie moment..... "JINGS, CRIVVENS, HELP MA BOAB I roar to several tuts from on-lookers wondering where PC Murdoch is when you need him. Checks watch - 2pm: they are probably announcing this right now....TO THE ARENA!!! Showing the velocity of Wullie's pal Fat Boab, and the graceful poise and swagger of Eric Cartman I raced up to Camp Rocks. Just in time.........HOW! RADIO CLYDE BOY WHOSE NAME I CANNAE MIND! GAUNAE GIES YER PEN AN A SHEET O PAPER!!? Whatiscoupon duly obliges....I look around and can only see the Reids and Sterling Davis. Who's the new boss I ask General Manager (and all round nice guy even though I pester the hell out of him at times) Bruce Cook. It's Big Sterl he replies. Whoah....player/coach territory! The new Fab or (gulp) the new Singleton (rumours that Burger King took an immediate interest in procedings have yet to be confirmed). The great meeting of minds commence.... I'll get my turn when Ian Reid stops talking to Sterling. "I prefer to look at the positives at the dual role," says Davis, "and when you look at what Fab has done at Newcastle, being a player as well doesn't necessarily hamper your ability as a coach. "Hopefully my staying on as player/coach will encourage the nucleus of last season's squad to come back on board and complete some unfinished business." The last sentiment has a whiff of the Hoff about it.....Herr Leibenath confirms my suspicions when I ask him about Sterl succeeding him later on. The appointment is Thorsten's idea. He might be gone but he still wants to see the Rocks push onwards and upwards.. besides, his team which had a fine blend of Youth and experience showed bags of promise once they clicked. Shame they ran out of steam on the final day. Davis says there won't be too much of a departure from the Hoff's coaching style. He confesses to having doubts at the European-method at first but is now a faithful disciple. One slight difference though......no more puppet-on-a-string-while-wearing-underwear-glazed-with-deep-heat Antics on the touchline ala Hoff. Just a staring contest instead.....a glare from SterL the Pearl will have you signing your life away. Entertaining though the Hoff was, those technicals were costly ... that 77-76 defeat at home to the Sharks especially. Take away the two points scored by Sheffield after Thorsten's tactical technical (which he fessed up to days later over a coffee with far too much froth claiming he did it to show his team he was looking out for them) and it cost the Rocks the game. "Because the referees know me as I've played in the BBL for a long time, I'll get an opportunity to put my point of view across. Hopefully they won't result in technicals," adds Davis. As for getting back the core of last season's squad, Davis is optimistic. He said: "Rob Yanders is halfway through a two-year deal so he'll be back. We hope to announce something on Julius Joseph soon and we are looking to get Maurice Hampton and Moritz Wohlers back on board." Interesting in more ways than one. The names not mentioned especially. Maybe Hugo Sterk's Rap CD was not Sterl's cup of tea? We shall see...... |
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| Bada Bing | Sep 21 2007, 11:10 PM Post #2 |
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El Crack
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08 july home comforts REJOICE, REJOICE! Rocks are staying at Braehead and contary to what the lunchtime queue at greggs have been claiming, Glasgow's finest will not be moving to the bus shelter that is the Kelvin Hall. Truth be told, those at Camp Rocks were rather bemused at all the specualtion. "I don't understand what all the fuss was about" said General manager and all-round good egg Bruce Cook. "We did briefly look at an alternative venue - like the Kelvin Hall - and quickly decided that it wasn't suitable for our purposes. "Our five-year lease at Braehead expired recently –hence we considered our options – but have decided to remain. As the Arena has been successful in attracting other events such as hosting the Paisley Pirates ice-hockey team and last year, Davis Cup tennis." "But you get what you pay for and we have what many consider to be the best venue in the league." As I've only ever been to one other BBL arena I couldn't possibly comment on that last point as a whole but compared with the home of the Eagles, it doesn't have the feel that the back entrance is going to open up to allow a spitfire to be steered onto its blocks until the next deadly mission. Plus as my football allegiances belong to the maroon half of Edinburgh, I just don't like those green seats. (Before any Eagles and Eaglettes demand satisfaction,bI spent my teen years in Whitley Bay and thus, am entitled to have a wee swipe or 30.) Kelvin Hall was never going to be viable full stop. Let's look at the pros and cons of the two venues. Braehead - PROS: good road links, ample parking, purpose-built arena plus you can do your shopping at Sainsbury's afterwards (OK the last one is a personal favourite). CONS - Having to fight through the rest of the Braehead shopping mall punters en route to the Arena itself and poor bus links (and no rail links) if travelling from central Glasgow . Kelvin Hall: PROS - located near to centre of Glasgow with bus links and an underground station nearby. CONS - No part of Hall can accomodate a basketball fixture - yes the athletics bit could be used but punters will need a pair of binoculars to see if Hugo Sterk has battered the crap out of the board with one of his slam -dunks, Rocks play on Sundays with games ending between 6.30 and 7pm (start at five so that those watching Rangers or Celtic play their SPL fixture which ends at 4pm, ample time to get along to the Rocks as well) - Glasgow's underground shuts at 6pm on a Sunday. Finally, sod all parking. Anyone who's been to the annual international athletics event at the Kelvin Hall will know this is impossible. Plus, given that the exotic area of Yorkhill is a stone's throw away (and that is meant literally), should you find a space you'll soon encounter some white-tracksuited (with fake Burberry accessory) Ned (in english a chav) asking through that annoying nasal tone "Mind yer car mister?" Whether you cough up or not, the result is the same - one trashed motor! Still, thankfully the Kelvin Hall rumour was just that. Mind when I popped into Greggs yesterday lunch-time, Scottie Pippin was alleged to have been seen buying some tupperware from the Argos at Braehead........... |
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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 | Nov 12 2007, 10:25 PM Post #3 |
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El Crack
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22 SEP NO MORE GERMAN JOE PESCI The season is upon us and for next Sunday's home opener for the Rocks against the Jets, a hollow feel may strike one or two in attendence. Punters will hand over their loot, find their seats, be treated to the Braveheart Rockette experience (still no feedback on the subtle alterations that I proposed whilst in the dock of the High Court in Glasgow), start cheering once the Rocks go about their business of bagging a home win, and then................ realise how bloody quiet it is. I'm not referring to the library taunts of the Eagle bretheren (though if you want atmosphere boys, nip along to Ibrox or Parkhead only you may find the content of the selected repetoire have you reaching for the sick bucket), but to what will - or will not - be going on courtside. Once where a clean-shaven, loafer-wearing German once threw off his mild-mannered persona and put on his best Joe Pesci impression, all we will see is new Rocks chief Sterling davis having a quiet word in Chris Dodds' ear. No doubt Chris will be thankful - but slightly miffed at Boots' reluctance to refund him on a year's supply of ear-plugs - but for many, Thorsten Leibenath's touchline rants were a bonus add-on to the match-day package. Certainly the Glaswegian newspaper's snapper found him to be a photgrapher's dream - one wild-eyed German coach in full gun-slinging pose waiting for the call of "draw" will live in the memory - the man himself admitted it was quite a good shot, even though it had no chance of making the family photo album. Speaking of Leibenath, no doubt Guildford fans were pleased he failed to land Brian Dux for Giessen. No doubt that Brian is too - while practising twice a day made the Rocks a very fit and adept outfit, it is not some people's cup of tea. On the subject of cups, it appears one or two may have been thrown by Rocks forward Julius Joseph after his controversial exit from the Great Britain squad. Speaking last week after the club's impressive win over a USA Select side, he admitted that the Brits simply didn't need him. Mind, with the likes of Deng, Archibald and Sullivan to call on, one can understand why Chris Finch left some - including JJ - on the periphery. When asked if in hindsight he regretted his walk-out, a resigned "No comment" suggested a tinge of regret. He can still resolve this situation - a pretty useful guy to have if injuries and bad form hit the main guys - but he knows what to do. He seemed pretty upbeat on life under Sterling and reckons the Rocks boys have been inspired by the move to promote their team-mate to head honcho. As he told the Glaswegian last week: "If I see my coach running them lines and making those plays, I'm going to go all out to match - if not top - him." If the rest of the squad feel this way, don't count them out of another trip to the Play-Offs. |
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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 | Jan 21 2008, 10:55 PM Post #4 |
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El Crack
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13 NOV THAT ALL TIME CLASSIC LAST MONTH ONE OF the all-time classic matches or kamikaze basketball – either way, anyone leaving the Braehead Arena last month complaining of not being entertained should get back to their flower-arranging and Star Trek conventions. Newcastle saw off the Rocks 117-110 but only after the game had gone into double-overtime. Their Great Britain international Richard Midgley was the star of the show with a haul of 34 points but Jeremy Hyatt was the thorn in the Rocks’ side as his three-pointer on the buzzer in the first period of overtime denied them a glorious victory. Rocks player-boss Sterling Davis was clearly gutted to be on the wrong end of a classic but was defiantly proud of his men. He said: “I’m encouraged by the character of my team in that we took what Newcastle threw at us and kept coming back. “We lost but it doesn’t feel that way because if we keep up our attacking play, we will win more than we will lose. “I’m sure our defence could have been tighter and we will look at that over the next few days but Newcastle are a great attacking team and they put us under a lot of pressure.” The Scottish Rocks against the Newcastle Eagles is rapidly turning out to be the BBL’s equivalent of the Old Firm with blood, guts and skill pouring out in abundance. Put simply, these two do not like each other – and given the underhand skull-duggery that was going on, referees Chris Dodds, Dave Pollard and Graham Shaw deserve the Victoria Cross for keeping the peace. M ake no mistake, had a trio of weaker refs been in charge, this would have kicked off – past battles are still etched in both clubs’ memories. The Eagles have seen the Rocks off in the last two Play-Offs finals while the Braehead side ruined the Geordies’ BBL Cup chances and halted their title charge last year with two stunning victories. Add into the mix the appearance of Eagles star Charles Smith who left Newcastle two years ago to join the Glasgow team only to head back down over the border leaving a text message of his intentions for a furious then-Rocks coach Steve Swanson. Newcastle’s player-boss Fab Flournoy anticipated a classic in the build-up – and he was not far wrong. The first two quarters showed both sides not giving an inch with the Eagles taking a slender 50-48 lead. It was all thrills and spills from then on as the northern superpowers locked horns and really let the other have it. Baskets were flying in from all angles while little personal battles were beginning to take shape. Hyatt v Mo Hampton evolved into the Eagles man facing down Rocks new boy Bilal Clarance. What the Dane thought of his first ‘Derby of the North’ God only knows – although we got a fair indication that he wasn’t happy with the experience after Newcastle’s Olu Babalola had attempted to pull off a smash and grab raid on his family jewels. A real ding-dong saw Flournoy doing his bit to take on everybody – including the refs who must have thought their eardrums were safe for this season following ex-coach Thorsten Leibenath’s departure from the Rocks. During the fourth quarter, it seemed as if the Eagles were odds on for the win as they led 88-83 with two minutes left – only nobody told Scottish Rocks magician Hampton. With the Rocks 95-92 down with two seconds left, Hampton – famous for his fancy tricks – went back to basics and nailed a three-pointer to take an already dramatic game into overtime. Cue roars of relief but also a tinge of regret – much earlier, Rocks co-captain Julius Joseph broke clear for an easy basket. JJ does these in his sleep but forgot the golden rule – do your celebration after the basket has gone in. End result being a howler which turns out to be B-ball’s version of the Van Vossen. Had it gone in, Hampton’s heroics would have won the game. Overtime wasn’t one for the purists as two knackered teams struggled to find their range – Rocks centre Moritz Wohlers looked as if he’s crossed the Sahara and decided to do the Kalahari as well. Rob Yanders’ two-pointer and JJ’s successful free-throws with a second left looked to have clinched it......only Hyatt said “Hail Mary” and we were on for another bout of overtime. A shell-shocked Rocks could not recover as Newcastle summoned up a final reserve of energy to stumble over the line. Defeat for the Rocks but by no means disgraced which will give boss Davis encouragement for the rest of the season. As for the Newcastle Eagles, one has to ask the question, does anyone know where Sterling can get a peregrine falcon in time for the next derby? |
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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 | Jan 21 2008, 10:57 PM Post #5 |
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El Crack
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16 NOV IT'S COLD UP NORTH - ASK PINGU DRAMATIC scenes hit Braehead last week as crowd trouble flared at the Arena. The row started when the Antarctica branch of the Rocks supporters club kicked up a stink over the heating breaking down. The club's head casual, Pingu McNails said: "This is a bloody disgrace - its brass monkeys in there. It's so cold that I'm off to Sainsburys to get an ice-cream to warm me up." The Polar bear branch also stormed out but only because the bar had run out of Buckfast. Seriously though, the conditions at last week's fixture between the Rocks and Worcester were an absolute disgrace – another crass example of the Arena management living up to their negligent landlord reputation. Freezing cold temperatures will not do for a basketball match – the players were diplomatic about it but many off the record were not best pleased. The Arena this season has been resembling the dodgy landlord who will take your money but do nothing about that broken window, will not fix that leaking tap and may never get round to installing a carbon minoxide alarm. In this instance, read heating system, full co-operation from staff and security which resembles Fred Karno's troop. Lest we forget the scoreboard fiasco which has been going on since Johnny Beattie was a wee laddie. The Rocks are constantly trying to entice new fans through the door. But if you were a new fan - or even a potential club sponsor - if you saw people unable to work a scoreboard, forced to sit in a freezing cold arena and were humiliated by ego-tripping security guards drunk on power because you brought in a flask of tea (an offence deemed more worthy of their attention than some nutcase verbally abusing visiting fans) would you want to come again. The Arena seem rather smug in that they are currently the only viable venue for the Rocks to rent. However, they had better get their act together pronto because with Glasgow winning the right to stage the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the city has the green light to proceed with the building of new sporting venues. Some are scheduled to open in the next couple of years and if they are willing to listen to a proposed lease to a basketball team, all income that the Braehead Arena grabs from the Rocks will go. Sources within the club are far from happy with the way their landlords are treating them. If and when a new alternative comes along and offer their services, Braehead Arena could well rue the day they took their tennents for granted. |
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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 | Jan 21 2008, 10:58 PM Post #6 |
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El Crack
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07 DEC FETCH THE COCKER SPANIEL However, they had better get their act together pronto because with Glasgow winning the right to stage the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the city has the green light to proceed with the building of new sporting venues. Some are scheduled to open in the next couple of years and if they are willing to listen to a proposed lease to a basketball team, all income that the Braehead Arena grabs from the Rocks will go. Sources within the club are far from happy with the way their landlords are treating them. If and when a new alternative comes along and offer their services, Braehead Arena could well rue the day they took their tennents for granted. A narrow defeat could so easily have turned into a thumping win had they turned up for the first 20 minutes - a superb turnaround almost clawed back a 19-point deficit but had many cursing that opening half. The 20-minuters became an unwanted tag for the Rocks – the same moniker given to Flash's flying aces in Blackadder Goes Forth. "OK let's dooooooooooooooo-it! Get inside your woman and take her to heaven and back five times a day." Only thing is Flash, we want to be in ecstacy for 40 minutes not 20. Some good old fashioned British spunk was required to remedy this – step forward wing commander JJ who seems to have rediscovered his shooting touch of late. Rob Yanders rightly took his praise after the Newcastle victory but special mentioned must go to Julius Joseph who never gave the Eagles defence a moment's peace and could possibly have had a points tally into its 30s had he not bought a long 'un on a sticky wicket (ie. Red Baron Fabulous of Flournoy trod on his foot). But with a zing-zang and a zippitty-do it looks good for coffee and cakes in Berlin...sorry....Crawley for the semi. Although, Eagles do tend to give out a sound thrashing - six of the best, trousers down, hurrah! - on big occasions such as cup-ties and PLay-Off finals. Something the Rocks know only too well. So with that in mind, maybe Flash should be confined to barracks - the last thing the Rocks need for the semi-final is to shoot their bolt after 20 minutes. Maybe something with a bit more stamina is required........"Baldrick, fetch the cocker spaniel please.............." |
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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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8:51 AM Jul 11