NBL Round 9 is all in
HERE we go, here we go, here we go! At long last it's time for NBL Round 9! Let's face it, for a while there it looked as if Round 8 would never end. Someone at headquarters deserves an unsportsmanlike foul! Meantime, here we go with a big challenge for Brian Goorjian's Hawks at home again to Perth.
B&B: Just a coupla fogies talking NBL/WNBL
WE scoured the countryside this week in search of a guest for our weekly Brad&Boti podcast and came up shamelessly empty. It forced Brad Rosen and I to actually have a more in-depth look at the latest goings on in our WNBL and NBL comps and in the end, we quite enjoyed it! Hopefully, you do too!
Eight is enough: NBL round done
NBL Round 8 closed on a potentially sour note when referee Jacqui Dover called United's Matthew Dellavedova for an off-the-ball unsportsmanlike foul after he pushed past Brisbane's Lamar Patterson with 3:18 left in a tense final period. Even the fact it was downgraded to an offensive foul was ridiculous.
TOTW Rd8: The long and winding road
THIS was a long round with a whole lot happening and some teams going in to bat two and even three times, making selection of our NBL Team of the Week particularly challenging. Three teams stood out though, Melbourne, South East Melbourne and Perth all confirming they are hard nuts.
Finally, it's Goodnight Round 8: NBL
ROUND 8 of the NBL's COVID-interrupted season mercifully will close after tonight's Cairns-South East Melbourne rumble and tomorrow's Australia Day battle between Brisbane and Melbourne. The good news for the Taipans is they are back on the floor and Tahjere McCall will be among them.
Tough round for Flames, Lightning: WNBL 9
COMING off a narrow loss to Perth, Sydney Flames will like their chances tonight in Bendigo against a Spirit team which now has lost Leilani Mitchell for the rest of the season. But it's the first of three matches for the Flames in a difficult round which also sees WNBL leader Adelaide in Townsville then playing at home 36 hours later.
Cooking Cooks was kooky: Rd.8a Wrap
INTERPRETATIONS of the "Unsportsmanlike Foul" have ended any semblance of commons sense officiating in the NBL. A referee seeing something he/she deems as in any way untoward flicks that USF switch so fast, the mind boggles. Never mind if it's just incidental or accidental, that shrill whistle is blowing.
Bob's Corner: Mills back on a roll
BOB'S CORNER: Our Patty not only is back but back in the black with his shooting for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, according to our USA correspondent Bob Craven. There's all that and much more, with a host of anniversaries in this week's US round-up by our Seattle-based former American import.
Here's the thing. What do we know? NBL Rd.8
NOW here's the thing. NBL clubs aren't leaking much info pre-game about just who among their roster currently are most recently coming out of COVID health and safety protocols so any predictions here for Round 8 are based on the pretext EVERYONE is equally healthy. Which they're not.
Opals squad about 'form'. Really?
THE latest Australian Opals squad announced this week by Basketball Australia for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Serbia allegedly has been selected "on form" and so yes, it is great to see Anneli Maley there as we suggested here. But where is Lauren Scherf? And Kristy Wallace?