News from the Eagles Nest 15th March 2012

Another Big Weekend for the Eagles

In the BBL it doesn’t get much tougher than Leicester Riders and Plymouth Raiders in the same weekend. That’s the task for Newcastle Eagles as Riders visit Sport Central for a second consecutive Friday night matchup, followed by the long trip to Plymouth for a huge BBL Trophy Final first leg against Raiders.

Yes, as a result of the Eagles’ successful season and subsequent fixture rearrangements we host Leicester Riders again on Friday. No word yet on whether last week’s pantomime villain, Yorick Williams, will suit up for Riders but either way the atmosphere is bound to be white hot. Drew Sullivan and co. will be smarting at failing to beat Eagles in three attempts so far this season so they’ll be up for the battle, particularly as an Eagles win will surely rule Leicester out of the title race.

After three big wins over Raiders earlier in the season, a sub par Eagles were deservedly turned over at Sport Central two weeks ago. The lads showed some real character to come back and take both games last week and were hopeful that this form would spark another long unbeaten run. Fab doesn’t usually have any trouble in getting his troops prepared for a big game and with the prospect of another piece of silverware potentially in the Eagles’ trophy cabinet next Friday the boys will be buzzing on Sunday.

I think most fans would be happy with any close scoreline on Sunday to bring back to Sport Central for the second leg but it wouldn’t be too greedy to ask for a nice big lead would it?

March Madness for Joe Chapman

It’s that time of year again in US college hoops and our man, Joe Chapman, knows it all too well. His alma mater Marquette is going to the Big Dance once more and he’s predicting them to go deep in the tourney. Joe has his own special affinity with the NCAA tournament having played in the Final Four in 2003 with Marquette. Getting to the Final Four is a huge deal as very few college basketball players ever get near to that kind of success. One of Joe’s team mates in that historic season was none other than NBA superstar Dwyane Wade. Any chance of persuading D-Wade to have season in the BBL Joe? With the weather we’re having at the moment it’s nearly as sunny as Miami. Honest.

ESPN America is showing plenty of live games from the tournament. Try and catch a few if you get the chance as it’s one of the most exciting events on the US sporting calendar and pretty much unmissable for basketball fans.

BBL Team of the Week

Paul Gause’s stellar weekend has been rewarded with a place in both this week’s BBL Official team of the week and the UK American Sports Fans team too. In fact, Paul could have made the team twice over as he produced two of the top six BBL performances of the weekend. I’m running out of superlatives to do justice to his blistering displays this weekend but here was my take on if for our Team of the Week.

‘BBL fans have only had glimpses of the potential of Gause. The hugely talented point guard is now coming to terms with the BBL and its foibles and that can only mean good news for the Newcastle Eagles. Gause’s scintillating performances would have destroyed much more accomplished opponents than Riders or Wildcats. He racked up 50 points over the two games and chipped in with ten rebounds but that just scratches the surface of his electric displays, with the ebullient ex-Seton Hall man putting in his most productive weekend in a black and white vest.’

Well done Paul and Andy Thomson who made the bench!

Twitter Update

Darius has re-invented himself on Twitter. You’ll still get his usual succinct Tweets but they’re no longer from @borntoball13. You can now find him at @D_13Nice .

Still no sign of Fab, Bridgey or Andy!

Follow Darrin Smith on Twitter @OleDJ