Wild World

There are just so many possible titles for this entry. I thought about Consolation Prize, or The Pride of Tel Aviv, or Parallel Universe. After watching Sarunas Jasikevicius hit more threes than the average Team USA member has tattoos, I thought I would do some research. After all, Jazz Vicious (an Americanized nickname waiting to happen) has never set a foot on NBA pine. Just who the hell is this guy anyway?

Well. if you're a basketball fan in any other part of the world, you've heard of him. So you're probably thinking what I was, that he was a star of some European league in Spain, or Greece, or Turkey, or Germany, or Russia. In fact, he did conquer these places, but not from an expected locale. For Jazz Vicious was a star for the European Champions, Maccabi Tel Aviv.

That's right. As one of probably millions of Jewish South Florida basketball fans rooting for Team USA, I had no idea that I probably have distant relatives who were simultaneously rooting for him to kick some American tuchus (I don't know how to spell it in English, but for those Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist, Pagan, and Atheist fans of CapandShaq, I'll tell you it means the same thing as butt). I don't know just how popular Maccabi Tel Aviv is in Israel, but I would imagine that a team with that kind of success must have a fairly rabid following.
And this was no ordinary Championship run either, as Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Skipper Bologna (Mmmm, bologna) by a score of 118-74 back in May, the most points and largest point-differential in the almost 50-year history of European basketball Championships. Other Maccabi Tel Aviv members included David Bluthenthal, who recently signed with the Sacramento Kings, Anthony Parker, a first-round pick of New Jersey in the 97 NBA Draft, and Bruno Sundov and Maceo Boston, who both appeared in the NBA. In the Championship game, Jazz Vicious scored 18 points in 17 minutes.

So here's some more background on the man who would look great in a Heat uniform, Sarunas Jasikevicius. Included is the story about the championship win, and also an interview.

MACCABI IS CHAMPION, 118-74!!!

Interview: Sarunas Jasikevicius