I didn't know it at the time, but seeing Spider-Man vs. Spider-Man in the late 1970s would stick with me for decades and eventually influence my thinking about a certain basketball team in Brooklyn
Zaza isn’t on Substack but he wanted me to let you know he appreciates the shout-out.
Just to wade deeper into the dilapidated state of Russian basketball, it’s been a downward spiral since David Blatt led them to bronze a decade ago in London. With the largest population in Europe by 62 million (according to the 2020 census) they’ve put exactly one player in the NBA over the last decade, 2013 first round bust Sergey Karasev. In comparison, neighbors Latvia and Lithuania have developed 11 NBA players between them over the same period, despite a combined population of only five million. Domestically, Russia currently has three Euroleague teams based in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan with budgets big enough to attract top shelf imported talent from around the world. Of those teams, former NBAer Alexy Shved is the only Russian in the top SEVEN of any of their rotations. Not one (nor EuroCup squad Lokomotiv Kuban) is led by a Russian head coach. There is not a single Russian on any EuroLeague or EuroCup roster outside of the country. They were 12th at the 2019 World Cup and didn't qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Would be fascinated to learn what accounts for the rotting of Russian hoops.
Haha. Perhaps we were borscht brothers in another life. Felt like I had to come armed with facts for this one, lest I be accused of spouting anti Yaroslav Korolev propaganda.
Hadn't seen any of that Spidey cartoon in ages. I wonder if and when Disney will bring it to streaming. And I wonder why they named the master of disguise Charles Cameo instead Chameleon, a long established Spidey foe (as he was in the the first issue of Spidey's series) and overdue a movie role.
The Knicks are doing exactly what ones wants in the Tankathon. Playing the younger guys, seeing what they can do, letting RJ find himself more and more, and letting the result happen. Outside of benching Alec Burks, there isn't really anything the Knicks could do to increase their chances of losing. But I think having him on the floor is helping the kids. (OK, having Randle play isn't helping now, but it's kind of a no lose situation now with him. If he sucks, we lose and move down the board. If he plays well, maybe he is finding his game again and can be traded. And if he sits, the young guys play.) The thing is, though, that tanking never helps the Knicks much. And that they seem to have found some really good rotation players later in the draft anyway.
Zaza isn’t on Substack but he wanted me to let you know he appreciates the shout-out.
Just to wade deeper into the dilapidated state of Russian basketball, it’s been a downward spiral since David Blatt led them to bronze a decade ago in London. With the largest population in Europe by 62 million (according to the 2020 census) they’ve put exactly one player in the NBA over the last decade, 2013 first round bust Sergey Karasev. In comparison, neighbors Latvia and Lithuania have developed 11 NBA players between them over the same period, despite a combined population of only five million. Domestically, Russia currently has three Euroleague teams based in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan with budgets big enough to attract top shelf imported talent from around the world. Of those teams, former NBAer Alexy Shved is the only Russian in the top SEVEN of any of their rotations. Not one (nor EuroCup squad Lokomotiv Kuban) is led by a Russian head coach. There is not a single Russian on any EuroLeague or EuroCup roster outside of the country. They were 12th at the 2019 World Cup and didn't qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Would be fascinated to learn what accounts for the rotting of Russian hoops.
Are we related?
Haha. Perhaps we were borscht brothers in another life. Felt like I had to come armed with facts for this one, lest I be accused of spouting anti Yaroslav Korolev propaganda.
Hadn't seen any of that Spidey cartoon in ages. I wonder if and when Disney will bring it to streaming. And I wonder why they named the master of disguise Charles Cameo instead Chameleon, a long established Spidey foe (as he was in the the first issue of Spidey's series) and overdue a movie role.
The Knicks are doing exactly what ones wants in the Tankathon. Playing the younger guys, seeing what they can do, letting RJ find himself more and more, and letting the result happen. Outside of benching Alec Burks, there isn't really anything the Knicks could do to increase their chances of losing. But I think having him on the floor is helping the kids. (OK, having Randle play isn't helping now, but it's kind of a no lose situation now with him. If he sucks, we lose and move down the board. If he plays well, maybe he is finding his game again and can be traded. And if he sits, the young guys play.) The thing is, though, that tanking never helps the Knicks much. And that they seem to have found some really good rotation players later in the draft anyway.
Thanks for the Spider Man clips, brought back fond memories