|
We've moved! www.whatsbev.com for the new board |

| Welcome to What's Bev Got To Do With It?. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Bada's Blog | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 4 2007, 02:12 PM (230 Views) | |
| Bada Bing | Nov 4 2007, 02:12 PM Post #1 |
|
El Crack
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
12 OCTOBER INVOLUNTARY PROJECTILE VOMIT So Didier Drogba was in the 02 house last Wednesday night? Well I couldn't have cared if Girls Aloud were wrestling nude in maple syrup courtside. Call me old fashioned and cynical but the fact that the NBA game attracted celebrities and hangers-on whose combined wealth is akin to a gulf state makes me want to puke. The fact that none of those with the most money even paid for a ticket and are doing nothing to promote the sport in this country makes me feel even more nauseous. The fact that they will never be seen again until another circus of bull#### rolls into town just about sums it up. Okay I will stop dead in my tracks. David Stern is a decent bloke with a genuine interest. The BBL is a poor standard and the game between the Celtics and the Timberwolves gave people miffed at domestic basketball a game of real quality to watch in our capital. Well yes, it probably did and the above is probably true. But does anyone seriously think over a space of a whole season and several years, the O2 would sell out every week? Would it balls. It was a show pony of a scenario. Don't get me wrong, if it gets Abi Titmuss into Heat magazine without having to show her threpenny bits then good on her. Because to be frank, as a British Basketball fanatic I couldn't have cared less about this opportunity for dare I say, a good chunk of those involved in British Basketball (and in particular those in the media I might add) to kiss ass until their tongues changed colour. Me? Well I am no saint. I am however able to see through a certain level of transparency (because I actually choose to and am not one for buffets) and also the fact that Chris Finch and GB basketball have done more to promote our game than the self interested profiteers in attendance on Wednesday night. You see, I was getting numerous people texting me the score from the Celtics game. Not that I am ungrateful for the thought, but you see, when it comes to the NBA, wait until play-off time when it morphs from sports entertainment into something meaningful. Something that European basketball is throughout the entire season. Maybe I am wrong and the NBA players were playing at full tilt and throwing themselves on the floor. I was in Glasgow. I was at a BBL game between the Rocks and the Eagles. Not withstanding the fact that I can strengthen my case and feelings because it was a sensational game, even on my way to the Braehead Arena, I was excited at seeing a game when something actually mattered. I was going to a gladiatorial Arena where spectators might have been few and far between but where blood, sweat and tears would be shed - and that was just the crowd..... A place where even if Cheryl Tweedy and Nadine Coyle had been entangled and grappling in treacle covered bikini's I would still be more interested in what was happening on the court. Yes, actually interested in the sport and the game. Not panning around seeing if any celebrities were present and meeting the instructions of their agents to get some column inches and handshakes with NBA players or let's face it, treating the game we love as nothing more than a pre-party event before the real reason they turned up - the actual party itself. I was joyfully sat watching a cracking BBL game, a standard far removed from what was happening at the O2 Arena I freely and of course admit. But I was in my element. There was passion and this game meant everything to both teams believe me. It also meant everything to both sets of fans, low in numbers on a Wednesday night but high on passion. I will leave others to maybe describe the double-overtime win, the refs telling Forrester to shut-up, the table telling the Eagles fans to shut up after a balls-up, the shooting performances of both teams, the performance of GB guard Richard Midgley up against Rob Yanders, the thrills and spills and those three-point shots by Hampton and Hyatt. Next up I will be at the John Sandford Sports Centre. Not that this is anything to particularly celebrate, but even in that place, my eyes will be pinned to the action and I bet you something. It will actually matter. Tickets for the NBA Circus? Not for me thank-you, I will stick with hard nosed European basketball and the BBL. But each to their own. Although maybe I did really miss the glamour-puss element of O2. But hang on a minute, there were a pair of tits parading courtside at Braehead............. Or at least that is what I think Messrs Dodds and Pollard were thinking when they looked up towards me and Forrester berating them for another missed travel call................... 17 OCTOBER FRUIT N NUT I think you have to be a little bit mental to travel 900 miles in a weekend and spend a total of 13 hours driving with a chronic bad back to watch your favourite sport. To do this when you are going to the John Sandford Sports Centre maybe catapults the little bit mental scenario into the grounds of clinically insane. Still, there are worse habits and while the rest of the country spent their time shopping and watching Ant n Dec and the X Factor, we were in a venue that is so hideously embarrassing in a professional sport that you realise the BBL will never get anywhere while such facilities exist. But didn't I just love it? Leicester are awaiting a new facility being proposed by DMU and it is certainly not their fault that a City of Leicester's size has no venue. So hang your head in shame local council chiefs. Compare this to Spain where every large village, let alone town or city has a municipal venue with seating. This is not about Riders bashing because I think that there is a lot to be positive about. While the venue is something to be ashamed of, their hospitality made up for it and they have implemented some nice little touches such as fruit for the opposition team. I won't go into detail but a member of the Eagles backroom staff certainly appreciates it. However when he was told that he was about to get his hands on a nice pear, he clearly had other ideas. It was also great to see Riders Vision in action and this is a nice development that most people are now supporting and following closely so keep up the good work. They say imitation is the best form of flattery (or something like that) so expect me in a blonde wig and heels doing my badaball pieces from now on... Then again I like to keep professional duties such as reporting on basketball and my hobbies separate so maybe not. Although it was only half full, I also thought that the crowd was decent considering the city is a Rugby town and the nearby pubs were packed with fans watching England. The only downside to the evening was an altercation at the end between a Leicester player and a young fan which hopefully got resolved. Oh yes, and it was good to be welcomed by the Land of Plenty who must have had a word and dispersed the hate mob that was waiting for me after my comments about the lack of action during early September (comments I still stand by of course...) With that little bit of history I thought that it was probably inappropriate to sing "Shall we light a spliff for you" to Chad McKnight although I was intrigued to see if the Riders fans would have sung "Can we drive a car for you" back at J-Hi to get their own back. Probably a bit near the knuckle for our lovey-dovey little family sport but it was discussed. I was in a good mood after a good win and did enjoy the ball hitting the ceiling numerous times. I even handed Mrs Bing the opportunity to perve over Johnny Wilkinson after the game as we caught the end of the France game. I am only jealous but I swear that he is now going to the same hairdresser as Birmingham manager Steve Bruce with that crazy blonde bouffant of his. Maybe he could break his nose badly and they would be dead ringers but I am just off on a tangent now. So, the next day it was for a four hour drive down to Plymouth. I like Plymouth. I like everything about the place, and although childish, how can you not like a place with a B&B called the Hoe House? I love the fans, the venue and the people at the club. Okay so they get a bit childish on the mic when the Eagles refuse to run out as requested and it can be seen as a bit partizan at times down there with certain elements but I tell you something, they are the noisiest fans around. High Vision and their routines are fantastic and when the Raiders fans can be bothered (and that is the problem) I have never heard louder support for a team. Fantastic. We chanted "Sing In The Library" which was a bit tongue in cheek and when Raiders were rocking on court then the fans responded off it! The usual chants of "Shall We Shoot The Fox For You" came out and I do think Foxy was quite well behaved although that tail is looking a little bit rude and I hope Foxy never puts his shorts on the wrong way round and runs out. In terms of the game, it was high class defence from the Eagles and this won them the game. The fact that the refs (Three of the usual four man rotation, Majid was missing) gave just three fouls against the Raiders in the first half didn't prevent the Eagles from taking a stranglehold on the game. I mean 3 fouls against a physical and aggressive team like the Raiders in 20 minutes of a high tempo game. Come on. As we let a perplexed Midgley know that he couldn't expect any respect down in the South West as he continually got hammered the issue looked to have been resolved at half-time when Fab spoke to the refs and Wil Jones was also in attendance. The two quick calls we got early in the second perhaps a by-product of the half-time conflab. But who knows? To be fair to the refs they all had better games in the second half although I will be intrigued to watch developments in Plymouth this season on this front. (Subject to not be issued with a fatwah from Wil or another public ear-bashing like Forrester received last year) As we left with a super-duper win I contemplated being 450 miles from home on a Sunday night and having to get up at 6.30am the next morning. I thought about the defensive performance and to be fair, the Eagles had put everything into it on the court and it was now time for me to do the same off it. I locked the sat-nav on and we were on for a stunning five hours (maybe less) back home until it stiffed us good and proper. If only I could have stopped at the Little Chef halfway on our journey, had a word and had it resolved for the second half of our travels. However unlike at Plymouth, the sat-nav chief was nowhere to be seen. |
|
EuroLeague Women because women's basketball is the most important thing in life after family and good health! | |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Best of the rest · Next Topic » |





![]](http://z2.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)




8:51 AM Jul 11