Basketball On The Internet.

IT'S Day One of the 2014 Preseason Blitz for the Loggins-Bruton Cup today at Brisbane's Auchenflower Stadium, and I, for one, can't wait for the action to be back on court.

If you've been keeping abreast, there could be action coming IN court soon so thank Naismith we can get to the good stuff.

Tip-off tonight is 6pm (local) when we get a first look at Melbourne United and also the revamped Townsville Crocodiles.

Game Two is New Zealand Breakers taking on Adelaide 36ers.

Three-day passes are sold out but there are session tickets still available.

For more ticketing details, head to www.nbl.com.au but if you live in south-east Queensland, don't delay.

Interstate (and overseas) you can watch the matches on live streaming with the excellent calling of Matt McQuade, Bruce Bolden and Brad Rosen.

That's the Sydney team and trust me, you'll be jealous of how good Kings fans have it with that coverage.

 

Can't Wait (1) ...

To see Daniel Kickert in action for United;

Jordan McRae doing his thing;

David Barlow and Daryl Corletto back in the fold;

The club's whole new look and feel;

Mickell Gladness strut his stuff for the Crocodiles;

Clint Steindl and Leon Henry cutting loose in their new environment;

Todd Blanchfield and Lucas Walker having an athletic face-off;

Steve "The Marksman" Markovic lighting it up'.

Cant's Wait (2) ...

To hear how Ekene Ibekwe's name is butchered (and to see his wingspan);

Cedric "Action" Jackson marshalling the Breakers;

Reuben Te Rangi and Corey Webster's emergence;

Rhys Carter's passport;

Peter Crawford as a 36er;

Jamar Wilson as a 36er;

Brendan Teys' family cheering him playing at home;

DQ (Daequon Montreal) taking the step up in class.

 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

USA won the FIBA World Cup, belting Serbia 426 to 12 in the Gold Medal game, or something like that.

Upon receipt of his tournament MVP award, Kyrie Irving, hand on heart, revealed his love for the American eagle and mom's apple pie.

So there goes our Fightin' Kangaroo and meat pie pitch, once and for all.

(At least until some wayward journo again trots out how Australian missed an opportunity which, we all know, never actually existed.)

 

Last night...

Sydney Kings rolled Perth Wildcats 76-70 in a practice match at Ipswich and a flopping foul was awarded!

If you didn't see the game, guess who?

Clue. It wasn't anyone from Perth!!!

Here's the News Corp match link, though, as often is the case, my laptop gets testy with me on the road so you might have to cut-and-paste it into your browser. Or not.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/ben-madgen-leads-sydney-kings-as-they-break-16game-perth-hoodoo-in-nbl-preseason-clash/story-fnii09gt-1227063332638

 

They're not all playing...

It's a Blitz so you know not everyone will be suiting.

Personally, the guy I will probably most miss is United's US guard Steve Dennis, who missed the 2013-14 NBL season after rupturing an Achilles on the eve of the season.

In his place, Ayinde Ubaka and Mustapha Farrakhan - good players both - didn't quite cut it as the man Melbourne needed.

Dennis had looked terrific at last year's Blitz and I had him pencilled as among the two or three favorites to win the MVP.

So it is fabulous to get him back this season.

Though he won't be in Brisbane, back in the US for the birth of his new baby.

 

MEMORY TESTER

EACH day of the Blitz, I will be throwing you a challenge from the NBL's past. See if you can answer it without resorting to Google or hitting your iPhone's 3 zillion apps and functions.

Come on now. Just try the old memory banks and see if you can pull the answer out from those dusty old filing cabinets in the deep recesses of your brain.

Here goes:

Day 1: Two-part question. Name the only player to play for two SIDES in Melbourne and the two teams in Sydney? A participation point for the player's name, another point if you can name the four clubs.

Answers tomorrow, same Bot-time, same Bot-channel. (That's another one for those with longer memories of old TV shows...)