Arrrggghhh!

I tried not to mention them. I don’t mean the people who stalk me on Whatsbev.com, although I’m still waiting to read that message because I was to see what I said.

I mean the bloody Olympic commentators. I’ve just watched the France versus Iran game. There will be no spoiler. The goon on the mic didn’t know it was a dead rubber. If France lost they’d still top the group as they have the head-to-head over the winner of the USA versus Czech Republic game .If Iran won they were still out as they lost the head-to-head against the loser of the other game,

And it’s really fucking annoying to hear the clown keep saying that Iran need to win this one to stand a chance of finishing third .They needed to win to avoid going home without a victory, and France needed to win because it would be a bit embarrassing to lose to Iran, even in a dead rubber. That was enough to ensure a decent game.

It’s really amateurish to keep giving the wrong information. It’s out there on the World Wide Web.

Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head points difference; 4) head-to-head number of points scored.

All tournament the commentators have claimed that points matter in garbage time. They do, but so do points conceded. The geniuses from Discovery+ don’t ever seem to have heard of points difference.

It’s time to watch Nigeria versus Italy. I think I’ll hit mute.

Olympic ramblings

In the days of two groups of six teams, it was a lot easier to work out what teams needed to do to qualify for the last eight. Finish in the top four and they were into the quarter-finals, finish fourth in the group that USA weren’t in, and you were going home after the first knockout stage.
Three groups of four is considerably messier. Finishing in the top two definitely sends you through, in reality finishing 2-1 gets you through even if you finish third because the odds of all three groups finishing with three-way ties are incredibly small.
But the two “best” third place teams qualifying is flawed. Comparing records between teams who’ve only played three games, against different opposition, doesn’t necessarily send the best side through. Being drawn in the same group as the States is a double whammy if you’re one of the lower ranked teams because the massive beating you’re likely to take will destroy your points difference. With two less group games per team there was definitely time to have a play-off between the two “worst” third placed teams, with the winner playing whoever finished top of the group not involved in that game.
I note hockey has managed to continue with 2×6 team groups. It looks like they went for four one-game sessions per day because it would mean more seats for sale than three two-game sessions (as they did in London). I’d be interested to know if that would have worked, certainly for the women’s competition. We’ll never know. We’re stuck with this horrible 3×4 group system, it’s enough basketball (even for me), but it won’t necessarily result in the eight teams who’ve played the best basketball getting to the quarter-finals.
What I do like is that they’re drawing the quarter-finals after the group stage. It stops teams throwing games to get into the half of the draw that USA aren’t in. The group winners are kept apart, with the “best” runner-up also getting seeded and I expect USA to go all out to hammer an unimpressive Czech Republic side and get that spot. Their 50 point win against Iran virtually guarantees them the best second place record – assuming they beats the Czechs – with the margin of victory probably deciding whether their opponents can get one of those two third place qualifying spots.
Saturday starts with France/Iran and if groups of four were designed to avoid dead rubbers, this one disproves the theory. France have won the group as they have the head-to-head against both USA and Czech Rep, and even if Iran pulled off a shock their losses against that pair means they still finish bottom. I might skip bits of that one.
In Group B, I can’t see Germany having enough to beat an impressive looking Australia side, but if they can keep it close they’ll go through as a third placed side. Nigeria have proved a disappointment despite fielding a side that Jack Charlton would have been proud of during his days of looking for blokes with Irish grannies. I can’t see them beating Italy but it would be time to get the calculator out if they pulled off a shock and Australia beat Germany.
We have to wait until Sunday for arguably the most intriguing looking game as my boys (Slovenia, obviously) face Spain in a winner-takes all shootout. They’re both through, but the chance to avoid France, Australia and – above all – USA in the quarter-finals definitely makes it worth going all-out for the win. Obviously I’m deeply and hopelessly in love with Luka, but Zoran Dragic has really impressed me. I did try to find out why his brother (Goran) isn’t there, but any web search  regarding Slovenia is all about Luka. Goran would add the kind of depth that Spain have, and would be a good preview if Mavs do decide that a Slovenian backcourt is the way forward next year. Regardless of all that, as soon as I get back from Colchester on Sunday afternoon that will go straight on the telly.
Before then, in the middle of the night, it’s Argentina versus Japan. I’ve been disappointed in Argentina, they look a bit old and a bit tired. It’s three years on from a great World Cup from them, maybe the extra year was just a push too far. They should win, they should win by enough to get a good enough points difference to get third place but it’s hard to see them going any further than that.
It should be a great weekend. In the meantime, I have a pile of women’s games to get through….

I don’t understand

Don’t switch off. It’s not another rant about Olympic commentary, though I was interested to hear that Siberia were playing in the women’s competition earlier today.

I do appreciate that it’s a tough job for a one “man” crew, and given the Discovery+/Eurosport spent close to a £billion to acquire the rights to two Olympics I reckon they could stretch to a second commentator.

I certainly couldn’t commentate a game on my own, it’s not the same as doing the mic at Leopards and I wouldn’t win any awards for my efforts doing that. While my attempts at colour commentary were met with positive comments, I reckon people were just being nice. I think I’ve retired from that as well.

But if I did do single man commentary, I’ve come up with a plan.

I’d pretend that there were two people on the crew and the “other” Dave would speak in a high-pitch voice. I can do a pretty good impression of Harry Enfield’s confused man, and when I said that I didn’t understand the unsportsmanlike foul rule, I’d fit right in.

I think it be quite entertaining.

I may be back with something sensible later.

Welcome to this brave new world

This isn’t a rant about the commentators. There’s time for that a bit later.

Despite Alex seemingly having a two-day birthday, I’ve watched a ridiculous amount of Olympic basketball over the last few days. I’m saving Spain versus Argentina until later, but I think I’ve done nine of the first 11 games in full and the second halves of the other two along with a decent amount of the women’s games. Since Sunday I’ve ignored that other format.

I do know that I’m a great position to do that, as I happen to have Sky TV, and they happen to be giving subscribers a free year of Discovery+  I’m no great fan of Sky, but if I didn’t have it, I’d certainly consider a year’s subscription to it as it has the NBA and BBL – that’s a lot of basketball. We actually have it so that Tracy and Dirk jnr can watch the Premier League. We get decent value for our subscription, as it stands if i needed to cut back it would be BT that got the push.

I also know not everyone can afford to pay extra for their sport, but the thing that gets forgotten when people rant about everything not being free is that everything hasn’t always been free.  All the BBC coverage has always been free, and still is but we’ve been a bit spoilt over the last couple of Olympics. 2012 saw the Beeb go into overdrive with eight additional channels, all packed with live coverage throughout the day. – none of these repeated games between the live stuff of Ch986 – and although it went backwards a bit in 2016, it was obviously an improvement on their current output. But what they are currently offering isn’t any worse than prior to 2012, and it could easily be argued that with the majority of the live stuff taking place in the middle of the night or during the working day, that’s enough. It doesn’t really excuse just how myopic/jingoistic the BBC coverage is, and nicely backs up my claim that we love sport that most of the world don’t care about. I don’t see many African nations participating in the horse dancing, but in reality they’re going to concentrate on the sports that Team GB get medals in. As we’re not even in the basketball, it’s not much of a shock that our sport isn’t get much of a look-in. The BBC website couldn’t even be arsed to report on Luka’s 48 point, 11 rebound double-double….

It was almost certain that the whole of the Olympics wouldn’t be free to watch forever. Done properly it could be beneficial, certainly for our sport because showing every game in 2012 was only ever going to be one-off. Time marches on, as a country we’ve been a bit spoilt with public TV.

But it would be remiss to mention the general shitness of the commentators. I watched back-to-back games called by someone who sounds like your slightly senile uncle Barry who still thinks it’s 1988 and is best avoided at family gatherings. He still thinks that a foul in the backcourt is an intentional because the first intentional he saw happened to be a foul in the backcourt, mentioning it in successive games. It’s not just him, the end of period analysis is often just telling us the quarter splits (which come up on a graphic, anyway), the obsession with how many points a team have scored rather than margin of victory and a general misunderstanding about garbage time. And by now I reckon we’re aware there’s different goaltending rules in FIBA and the NBA…..

It’s hard to see how they couldn’t get decent commentators who understand the rules and could do a proper job within the limitations of one-man crews. But, hey, it’s on and there’s always the mute button.

Dieterich moves to Derby

The second new face which will make up part of Derby Trailblazers 2021/22 roster hasn’t had to travel too far to join up with his new club.
Jonas Dieterich spent the last seven seasons with Loughborough Riders, where he picked up a first-class Honours master’s degree in mathematics. Dieterich joins the American duo of Malcolm Smith and Ryan Bruggeman who have already been announced.
On the court, Dieterich began playing for the University’s third team, but subsequently worked his way up to the Division One men’s side, where he was selected as club captain and he also went on to make ten appearances for Riders’ BBL team.
The 26-year-old is a versatile 6’4” forward, who can play multiple positions and is equally at home shooting from long range or driving inside to either score baskets or draw fouls, where he converts almost 90% of his shots.
Last season, he averaged 18.9 points in just under 33-minutes per game. He converted 47.7% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc, as well as capturing 7.1 rebounds per game.
Trailblazers coach Matt Shaw says Dieterich has an excellent basketball IQ and will be a useful asset to the club: “During his time at Loughborough, Jonas has continued to improve year after year and has a lot of division one experience we can call upon” he said. “He has been coached by Mark Jarram and I have a lot of respect for the Riders programme. We know he’s going to have been taught very well, he can play excellent defence and has a great work ethic.
“Personally, I love his versatility, which means he’s capable of playing in multiple positions and he also has a whatever it takes approach in terms of helping them team to win.
“Jonas can really shoot the ball well and can be a match up challenge for opponents with his ability to get inside to score too. I really think he’ll be a huge addition to our squad and I can’t wait to see him out on the floor wearing a Derby jersey,” he said.
For Dieterich, leaving Loughborough was a difficult decision after a long time with the Riders: “I had a great time there and Loughborough have always been incredible in terms of supporting me, but I’m ready for a new challenge moving forward” he said.
“We’ve had so many close and hard-fought games against Derby over the years and they always fight till the death. I think a big part of that is the great support they get from the fans, who always create an amazing atmosphere. I’m really excited about being able to play in front of them and hopefully bringing a championship to the club!
“Trailblazers has always struck me as a club with a great family vibe and I think it will be great to be able to contribute towards a club which is run like that. Historically Derby have always been challenging for a trophy and the conversations I’ve had with Matt [Shaw] make me optimistic we will be up there challenging again this year.
“I think the fans can expect me to be someone who will do whatever I can to get the win. I’m a player who will always work hard on both ends of the floor and tries to make the right play for the success of the team,” he said.

Nine years ago today

It was the best of the times. It was the worst of times.

That’s the title of Charles Dickens ’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities.

It’s absolutely inappropriate for the title of this retro piece. Because the London 2012 Olympics were simply the best of times. And it was only in one city. And – above all – I’m no Charles Dickens.

Maybe time makes it seems better than it was, but the same would apply to the other big basketball events I’ve been to (and I’ve been a lucky boy), It’s never been as good since. I think I knew that at the time.

I’m not going to rehash or re-post everything, I’ve given up on streaks. But it’s all on here under “GB/Olympics 2011/12 retro” and “London Calling”. if you haven’t read it before or you just wanna’ reminisce about the old days, give it a look.

London Calling – 1

 

Olympic retro: July 28 (1)

These Olympic commentators….

I might be obsessional, but they’re driving me nuts.

And it’s not just me. My reader (aka Connors) has got in on the act

Hersey – you are so right about the commentator. Shocking. He lost me when he said Doncic corner 3 was a score from
Low Post……

But twice they have claimed that an intentional foul call results in two foul shots because it’s in the back court. They don’t actually appear to know what’s happened and why the call has been made. It’s quite mental, really.

I don’t understand why they’ve employed these clowns. FIBA TV have a whole bank of commentators who are used to doing games on their own, watching on TV and they’re now all set up to call the game from home. Giants’ coach Lloyd Gardner is on that list as is Graham Hiscock who did Oaklands games for us (with occasional interference from me), and they’re far better than the clowns I’ve listened to over the last couple of days.

I think I’ll finish off the Spain/Japan game now. After I’ve pressed mute.

Hoods (accidentally) announce pair of signings

So Nottingham Hoods have announced the signing of Johde Campbell. And, apparently they’ve also added walking triple-double Kyle Jimenez judging by the coach’s quotes about him.

Campbell spent last season in the BBL with Sheffield Sharks, averaging 3.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.9 assists in just under 11 minutes per game.

Jimenez led Division One in assists with a stunning 10-1 per game during the 2020/21 campaign, adding 11.5 points and 7.8 rebounds.

Hoods will be announcing a couple  of  Americans in the next few weeks, as well.

You read it here first.

Luka: He’s okay

I suppose there are basketball fans who don’t pay much attention to the NBA. Or the EuroLeague. So they might not have heard much about Luka Dončić. I reckon after a 48 point, 11 rebound and five assist Olympic debut that handful of people who hadn’t paid attention (they were probably reading whatsbev.com) might.

I never thought that I’d end up supporting the Slovenian national team. I never thought I’d support St Albans Wolves, either, but we’ll save that one for another day. Cheering for another nation is a bit weird. I don’t even vaguely want the other Home Nations to win games, partly because they rabidly want England to lose.

But it’s Luka. The future of Mavs, and a man so good that he has a guinea pig named after him. There really are few superlatives left to describe how brilliant he is. He had 15 points in the first five minutes, all from a variety of three point plays. I’m sure Jason Kidd was hoping they’d take him out when Argentina took a timeout with 6:28 left in the fourth period, but Slovenia are a bit like Mavs at time – not just liking the three point shot a bit too much, but because they’re prone to panic moments when the wonder-kid isn’t on the floor. I guess it’s hard not to rely on someone that good.

The commentator was orgasmic about him. Which was for the best as his knowledge of basketball was ropey at best, missing key moments while getting excited because “Argentina are now in the 30s” and failing to understand garbage time. Cait made a brief visit from her pit and commented just how bad he was. I get the feeling that a lot of the commentators have very little experience of basketball, certainly of calling a game on their own. I’m immensely happy that basketball has its own channel, but having spent an eye-watering €1.3 billion to cover two Olympics, I’d be a bit embarrassed if I was Discovering

This isn’t the Argentina of the Ginobli and Nocioni days, even if Luis Scola is somehow still plugging away at the age of 41, but neither are they shabby as they showed in the last World Cup. It was a stunning start to the Olympics for Slovenia and should give them a massive boost. Spain are as stacked as ever, but they’ll beat Japan to get in the quarter-finals. And if Luka gets going in the knockout stage, anything could happen.

Was it really a shock?

I’ve claimed a few times that nothing shocks me any more. Even when a random hobo tried to play for us, I was completely gobsmacked.

But I really wasn’t that surprised to see France beat USA yesterday afternoon. This must be the most under-prepared team in the competition. Three players arriving the night before the first game is bordering on farcical. A lot of blame can be laid at the door of the NBA. They can’t be held accountable for Lillard going AWOL offensively or KD not realising that he’s not going to get the all-star treatment (and why was he on the floor for the defensive possession where he fouled out?), Bradley Beal getting the plague or the fact that if they’d started against Iran or Czech Republic they’d have been fine. But it’s absolutely their fault the Finals took so long and that time was wasted with an All-Star game that could easily have been skipped.

For all the excuses, they should still have done better. While all bar one of the other sides do have NBA players on their roster, none go 12 deep with them and none have been able to choose which NBA players to leave at home.

Sunday’s defeat was almost waiting to happen. If they work things out, it’s merely a blip. It might be good for USA.  I really think it could be good for the tournament as it shows it’s not a forgone confusion.

But they do need to sort their shit out quickly.