NBA Live Europe Road Trip - Day 5

After a much needed lie in, the crew and I headed to the Rhine River at around 3pm, to film some stuff for the upcoming NBA season which begins in a couple of weeks. The timing was perfect, as we wanted to catch NBA Commissioner Stern’s press conference. He (Stern) has as much pub’ as the players he is in charge of, so getting there early meant we could get a seat.

As expected the European interest with David Stern was massive and we were able to get a good seat to check out what the visionary had to say about the global game. After he delivered his opening speech, the floor was opened to the media to ask questions. There was a slight pause; no one raised their hand, so it was left to me to break the ice. I asked him, “is there any truth to the rumours that the NBA event will be held in London next year?”

He glanced at me for a spilt second as he thought about his response, then Stern went off on a serious tangent, giving me the kind of response that George Bush or Tony Blair would when they are not able to answer a question until they have confirmation. Stern finally came back to my question some minutes later and said, “To answer your question, there are opportunities in other major cities, including London, but as yet nothing has been confirmed”. However, the talk of this year’s NBA Live Tour is that it may take place in London next year.

The Kolnarena was not buzzing as much as the previous days Sixers Suns encounter. I suppose the fact that the German National football team had a European qualifying game accounted for this. As I pondered why the joint had many free seats, I glanced in the VIP boxes and noticed they all had the football game on their TV screens. While on the court the Suns struggled against Maccabi early on, but blew them out in the second half. The crowd did pick up slightly for the 76ers CSKA game. The team from Russia tried to upset their second NBA team in a week, after they had destroyed the Clippers in Russia.

Philadelphia had other ideas as they had also fallen to Spanish champions Barcelona last week. Allan Iverson, though evasive, had a monster game and showed why he is still one of the most feared guards in the world. He may be only 5’10” but has skills and plays much bigger than his size. Philly ran out to an easy win.

As this was my last day, I tried one last time to see AI for an interview. He came out, but I was interviewing Kyle Colver at the time and he skipped right by me…again. Later that evening I passed him (AI), he was on his own, no bodyguards. We spoke! There was not a camera or microphone in sight. It would seem he is a very private guy who just wants a simple life. Hard to believe, but true.

NBA Live Europe Road Trip - Day 4

AI. This cat managed to put the slide on me twice today – I thought hiscbeef was with the US media, not the brothers from South London. Fact is, this is one baller that just does not relish rapping with the likes of me unless he has to.

The Koln Arena is quite a huge spot compared to the Paris Bercy. It’s located in the centre of town and it’s arch can be seen clearly from our hotel which is to the south west corner of Cologne. There was not much action at the arena this morning, however the Suns and Sixers had practice so we thought we’d catch a few players. This was a little difficult though as the official media day was yesterday, but who could resist not talking to a cat like me?

AI. That’s who.

Philly finished their practice, Andre Iguadola (the new AI) and Shavlik Randolph (former Dukie and Deng teammate); both stopped to kick it with me. But our boy crept out the back way to avoid us. We made our way to the team bus, there he was, laid at the back cheesing because he had successfully given us the slip!

At the conclusion of the Suns practice, Nash made sure he stopped by to show me a lil’ love. Steve is another class act - this interview was a lot easier to get as we have a good relationship stemming back from the days when he would join the Manchester Giants practice sessions.

The game action started at 6pm - CSKA Euro champions v Maccabi Tel Aviv. Trajon Langdon’s boys (CSKA), controlled that contest and advanced to tomorrow’s final. Obviously the main interest was on the 9pm match-up between the Sixers and Suns. It started out as lesson on how to run the fastbreak. Phoenix broke away for dunk after dunk. Countless alley-oop’s
and deep 3’s were the daggers that Philly just couldn’t handle.

Unlike Paris, the crowd were big into this game...these were true basketball fans. They were incredibly loud and on their feet from the beginning. In fact, they gave the players a reception usually reserved for rock stars. Press row was located in the mid section of the arena, quite a few rows up from the court but a good spot to view the game. I sat with my Five crew next to Christine Holzig, a German reporter from a talk radio station called Deutsche Welle Radio. She was a true Suns fan getting very excited as Shawn Marion and the boys built a commanding 18-point lead in the third quarter.

Christine’s smile soon died as the taxi squad from Philly chipped away atthe Suns lead in the fourth quarter. The majority of the crowd were behindthe 76ers, their benchwarmers began to cause Phoenix problems. AI, C-Webb and company watched from the comfort of their bench as Philly launched what seemed like an impossible comeback. With 20 seconds on the clock and trailing by a point, the crowd exploded when Rodney Carney jacked in a 3 to put
Sixers ahead. With 10 ticks remaining Steve Nash’s men were unable toreclaim the lead. Now they must play for the wooden spoon against Maccabi Tel Aviv, whilst Philly will try and avoid back to back losses to Euroleague clubs.

The game finished around midnight, I had no time to hang around as I was once again on the prowl for a couple of sound bites. I had my man Shawn Marion messing with me, again so I asked him if he has enjoyed his time out here. His reply, “It’s all good, but I’m ready to get back to the crib on the first thing smoking. I got to get back quick!!”

We made a quick dash to Philadelphia’s locker room, yes, you guessed it. We waited him (the elusive AI) out until 1am. He gave us the slip for the second time in a day. Iverson’s obviously got the art of disappearing down to a science.

I’ll try again tomorrow.

NBA Live Europe Road Trip - Day 2

While in Paris I thought I’d take advantage of the good weather and had breakfast outside a café. For October it felt like a spring morning, pretty cool. After taking in the early morning sights and some much needed fresh air, I met the others to head down to Paris Bercy for the game.

It was quite incredible, the interest in basketball. If this event were held in England you would not even come close to selling out your tickets. However a four hour drive from London it is a different story; as the match was sold out!

An hour before tip Bercy was buzzing, there were a number of French celebrities in the house, I recognized none of them, I figured the amount of flashes that went off meant that these folks standing next to me were quite well known. There was a big cheer at one point, as I turned my head, I did this time, know who the cheer was for – former French basketball legend Richard Dacoury, a bad boy from Limoges’ glory days.

I think the biggest cheer of all was saved for Eva Longoria (Mrs Solice). She did look quite stunning. She is a class act, not because she looked flawless, but she blanked me for an interview by giving me a smile and a wink and being very apologetic!!! As for her partner, all I can say is “He’s a chain!!” (If you don’t know what I mean, ask someone).

The game turned out to be a bit of a bust, as the starting five from San An’ drilled Maccabi Tel Aviv early. Popovich ran his bench which allowed the game to appear on the scoreboard, as a competitive encounter. Which it was not! Former standout guard from Georgia Tech, Will Bynum, was made to look very average. He was determined to drive the lane against the trees, but found that the new Spalding didn’t agree with his skills – consistently getting his shot batted into the cheap seats.

At the conclusion of the game it was the usual mad scrum for interviews, Ahmad Rashad, Iceman Gervin and anyone else that was willing to talk. I had noticed Thierry Henry on courtside, flanked by security and the NBA bigwigs who were trying to usher the football ace away. I was surprised to see him there after the drubbing they took from Scotland the night before. He must have been in a very good mood, he came up to me, Yes, I said it!! He came up to me and said “I’m a fan of your show, I watch it all the time”. In my mind I’m like, “Are you kiddin’ me?” Now I’m very chuffed as one of the worlds greatest sportsman is a fan of mine. As my boy Simon Ho would say, “Ya havin’ a larf!”

Night time in Paris was off the chain – after dinner we decided to crash TP9’s private party! Both teams were in da club getting their groove on. Even Tim Duncan let his hair down and was spotted jamming to ‘Ridin’ Dirty’. At this point I text my boy Rog Ho and asked the question “What jam can’t we get into?”

3am…… “TAXI!”

Tomorrow begins our five hour trek to Cologne, Germany. I’ll be catching up on some Z’s in the back with I-pod and noise excluders. I’ll hit you on Tuesday.

NBA Live Europe Road Trip - Day 1

Day one turned out to be a slow yet productive day. Upon arrival at the Paris Bercy Arena, we (the media), had to wait a while for the Spurs to finish their practice session. When we were finally allowed to hit the hard court, boy was it a mad scrum! Literally all man and TV network for himself. As I’m a man who can’t deal with crowds, I sat back and waited for the dust to settle before making my move for the intended targets.

Bear in mind these guys have been answering questions, the same questions for over a week; so you can understand if they sometimes feel unenthused. The majority of the interviews went well, however the likes of Matt Bonner, Eric Williams, and Co of the San An’ Spurs decided to try and mess with the kid (me), from London. It was humorous fun, but I don’t think they’ll be trying to yank my chain anytime soon! We can hold our own in the South of London!

As well as a practice and media session, the Spurs were also on hand to treat over 100 Parisian kids to a mini basketball clinic – part of the 'NBA Cares' program. Whilst this was going on I kicked it with my former boss, Kevin Cadle. No longer a coach hollering from the sidelines in his Stacey Adams shoes, he is now, and has been for a number of years, the presenter of NFL and NBA on Sky Sports. Yes, we were talking about the good old days at Towers. Then he unleashed on me that we nearly recruited NBA man, Damon Jones. So why did we not sign the sharp shooter? Answer. We had too many US players! What could have been? Ah well, I guess we’ll never know.

At the conclusion of the afternoon, we bundled out of the building like something out of 24, CTU got the Spurs out of the building fast, they did not want us (the media), firing anymore awkward questions in their direction.

The game against Maccabi Tel Aviv is tomorrow afternoon at 4pm. How will San Antonio do? One thing is for sure, they won’t be taking this club lightly - knowing that CSKA Moscow shellacked the Clippers, and that the Sixers became the first NBA victim since 1987 to lose to a European ball club. Two losses in one week, the gap is definitely closed!