I'm a little surprised that there isn't any chatter out there whatsoever about the way Chauncey was injured last night. If you look not at Chauncey doing the splits, but at Jameer Nelson's right foot, you can see that their feet got "tangled up." But they wouldn't have been "tangled up" if Nelson's foot had been upright rather than nearly parallel to the ground, with toes pointing toward the baseline bleachers. Do this yourself: Sit on the ground, and try to put your foot at that angle. Unless I'm just particularly inflexible, achieving that angle seems very unnatural to me.

Now, I'm not suggesting that Nelson intentionally injured Billups. But it looks to me like he intentionally hooked his leg to prevent Chauncey from getting an easy, wide-open layup after being outmuscled toward the hoop yet again. It just so happens that he might have seriously injured Chauncey while doing so.

I don't expect you to post this, or even pay much attention to it, because I probably come off as a wacko, paranoid Piston fan. And that's true, I am. But still, a little bit of media controversy cast in the Magic direction would be a welcome change.

On this little computer screen, it's hard for me to get a good read on Nelson's foot, but just watch Billups' legs. They just get pulled apart. I don't think you could do that all on your own even if you tried.

This is no great scandal. It's hardly the most evil basketball play ever. It's just a little garden variety playoff feistiness. But there's a real chance that Billups could miss Game 4 on Saturday, and if that happens, let's all agree to stop complaining about the clock deal in Game 2, OK?

In the meantime, Krista Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press points out that Billups and Pistons really do have an unfair advantage: legendary trainer Arnie Kander.

You hear about hamstring injuries and thoughts immediately turn to a long recovery process. That's not always the case, Kander said, and it shouldn't be with Billups.

That's because he didn't strain the muscle in with a high-velocity movement such as a sprinter would.

"You have to look at the mechanism of the injury," Kander said. "That's probably the key more than anything. Most hamstring injuries that you're really fearful of are speed-related, fast movements. This is the slowest hamstring (injury). It's like a dancer who tried to do the splits and wasn't ready for it. They get sore and all of that but they don't have any lasting affects."

Kander estimated that he'd give Billups "90 treatments" between this afternoon and Saturday night. That includes all sorts of things, from massage, to electronic stimulation to "stuff he won't even be able to spell," Kander said.

"We're going to hit him with a barrage of stuff," Kander said, "...pretty much around the clock. The goal is Saturday. That's what we'll do, we'll get him ready for Saturday." ...

He won't let Billups play until he can do everything he'd have to do on the court.

"When he can run, sprint, cut, jump, play basketball," Kander said. "Basically we really base in on him being able to do everything. We don't give numbers like 85 or 90 percent because there really is no way to classify that. When he can do what Chauncey Billups does... then we'll give him the go."

I wanted to meet a college player who I really enjoyed watching this year.

So I asked a friend of mine, who is a very powerful man in the game, to introduce me to him. And he said, "I'd like to help but I can't."

And when I asked why. He said, "You are three years and $500,000 short."

I didn't really waste any time wondering who that story might be about. How could you ever know? I printed it as Falk intended it: as a general comment on the sad state of recruiting in basketball.

But, let's not forget, TrueHoop is home to the big ol' William Wesley investigation. TrueHoop readers are tuned into Wesley. And when a lot of people read this, they started to email me, comment on TrueHoop, and blog about the idea that the "very powerful man" had been William Wesley.

What's more, people took that even a step further, and implied that Wesley had been not just Falk's friend, but even more than that the actual person who had done the paying.

I heard that, and called some agents and the like -- NBA insider types -- to ask them what they thought about these comments, emails, and blog posts. Turns out this quote has become something of a parlour game among that set. Everyone has their theories about who is involved here.

But all were surprised at some of the reactions in the blogosphere, and the comments. Some took it as possible, or even likely, that Wesley had in fact been the friend Falk had been referring to. But no one thought he would have been the been the guy to do the paying. It just didn't make sense to them, for a number of reasons. One said it wasn't Wesley's style. Another pointed out that it would have been unlikely for Falk -- who knows the world of basketball and Wesley well -- to seek recruiting help from a man who was competing for that same player.

Everyone pointed out that the players in this draft who have a shot at being worth that kind of money signed with agents not known to have any connections to Wesley.

I thought David Falk might be willing to clarify a little bit. We spoke yesterday, and this is what he told me:

William Wesley has been a friend of mine for 22 years, and I wish him nothing but the best. He has a great talent to make connections to people, and I consider him a friend.

In no way did I want to imply that William Wesley was the person who paid the player I was referring to. It doesn't matter who the player involved was, and it doesn't matter who the agent was. But I have had some phone calls from people saying they thought I was talking about William Wesley paying somebody, and I want to make clear that I wasn't.

I'm not a guy to comment on the identity of a certain player. It was intended as a state-of-the-union comment about this industry.

We live in an environment where if you're a top player, everyone in the food chain expects to be paid. I'm not angry about it. But I was asked about young people studying to become agents, and I can tell you this is why I'm not as enthusiastic for them.

I suggested to Falk that, right or not, the phrase "powerful man in the game" nowadays seems to carry the implication that it's one of a very small group, including William Wesley or Sonny Vaccaro.

There are a lot of powerful people in basketball. Some of them I know, and they help me. The person that I talked to in this instance wanted to help me, I believe, because he likes me.

In all my years of doing this, I never met a player through Sonny Vaccaro. Sonny was dealing with Arn Tellem, and then Bill Duffy, and now apparently back to Arn again.

I want to make it crystal clear. The person I turned to for help -- he said to me that he would like to help me, but he couldn't, because the situation was that someone else had paid that player a large amount of money over three years.

I wanted to meet the player, and he said I can't do it -- it's done.

If a friend of mine had paid that person, I never would have put this idea out there.

I was talking about the young people at Syracuse University's David B. Falk Center for Sport Management. I was asked if I would help them become agents, and I think that if you have talent and integrity, this is probably not the kind of business you'd want to get into.

It's not competition based on merit. It's competition based on improper inducements. I think it's an abomination as it is. There are a number of ways to fix it, if people really wanted to.

My days as an activist are probably behind me.

Have you seen Crocodile Dundee 2? There's a part where an African-American guy comes up to Paul Hogan and pulls a switchblade on him. Hogan is from the outback, and asks, what's that? And the guy says that's a knife. Hogan says that's not a knife. THIS is a knife, and then he pulls out this huge machete.

Sometimes I think that I'd like to be like Crocodile Dundee. You want to cheat? Let's really cheat. You want to pay someone $500,000? Let's pay them $5 million and see what happens. You want to do that?

But ... can you get that money back? Of course not. You lose before you even start. If you pay people $500,000 to get to represent them at the draft -- the minute you have to pay them is the minute you can no longer advise them as an impartial agent.

I've never met a player so valuable that I'd pay him, and I hope that I never will.

After he left [the University of Portland], Spoelstra spent two years as a player/assistant coach on a pro team in Germany. Then he used his father's connections to help him bag a job in Miami the summer of 1995.

The Heat had just let go interim head coach Alvin Gentry, who had taken over for fired Kevin Loughery midway through the 1994-95 season. No head coach was in place, but Dave Wohl, the vice president of basketball operations, was looking for a video coordinator. Chris Wallace, then Miami's director of player personnel, had worked as a scout with the Blazers when Jon Spoelstra was there.

"The team was in flux, and it wasn't clear whether (video coordinator) would be a full-time job or just a summer gig," Erik says. "It was an entry-level job, really, getting (Wohl) lunches, preparing video and helping with the draft."

When Riley was hired in late August, he didn't bring a video coordinator with him from the New York Knicks.

"With training camp maybe three or four weeks away, he walked into my office and asked, 'Can you do this job?' " Spoelstra says. "I had no idea what the job was, so I said, 'Absolutely. You got your man.' "

• Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: "One thing you have to know: If Chauncey Billups' strained right hamstring isn't right by Saturday, Rodney Stuckey will be. 'I'm good,' Stuckey said, when asked about the possibility of starting a critical Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. 'I ain't feeling nothing. I'm ready to play. I am just going to go out and do what I did today.'"
• A. Sherrod Blakely of Booth Newspapers: "When dealing with an inside force like Dwight Howard, foul trouble is a given for your big men. But when they rack up fouls on one end, and few points on the other, it's a recipe for defeat. The Detroit Pistons know this all too well following their 111-86 Game 3 loss on Wednesday. Detroit used four different players to defend Howard, who had 20 points, 12 rebounds and a game-high six blocked shots. Those four Pistons -- Rasheed Wallace, Antonio McDyess, Jason Maxiell and Theo Ratliff -- scored a combined 11 points, with Wallace scoring all 11."
  
• Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: "No matter what happens in the remainder of these playoffs, at least the Orlando Magic can say they contributed to the betterment of the NBA. They can say they sacrificed themselves for the sake of those who came after them. One small controversy for Magic fans, one giant leap for fankind. Even heading into Game 3 Wednesday night, all the talk across the nation was about how the Magic got clocked by the NBA's asinine and archaic replay rule -- or lack thereof."
• David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel: "Maybe that blinking oil light was just what the Magic needed. It started flashing on the flight home Monday night. The plane began to shake, smoke was spewing out of an engine and Stan Van Gundy jumped into Jameer Nelson's lap and just wanted to be held. OK, that's not quite how it happened. But if Hollywood was producing this series, the story line would be the Magic faced death. After that, what's so big about facing Detroit?"
• John Denton of Florida Today: "The Orlando Magic players, coaches and staff were never in imminent danger late Monday night when the team airplane was diverted to Cincinnati for an unscheduled stop because of mechanical problems. But that doesn't mean there weren't a few racing hearts and sweaty palms among the traveling party of 42 people. 'I wasn't worrying about the (100-93 loss to the Pistons); I was worrying about the plane,' Magic point guard Jameer Nelson said. 'Basketball has nothing to do with me when I'm on that plane.'"

• Rhiannon Potkey of The Salt Lake Tribune: "Carlos Boozer entered Game 2 averaging 15.9 points and 42.9 percent shooting in the playoffs compared with 21.1 points and 54.7 percent shooting in the regular season. He finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds in Game 1 against the Lakers, but had seven turnovers and was saddled with the foul trouble. 'I have to maybe back off being physical a bit so I can stay in the game,' Boozer said. 'I am being too physical, I suppose. I don't know. I play the same way I have played all season, but getting fouls in these first two games. So I have to figure out a way to play my game without getting fouls.'"
• Jay Drew of The Salt Lake Tribune: "Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller said he will not be in his customary courtside seat on Sunday when the Jazz play host to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the teams' Western Conference semifinals series at EnergySolutions Arena. Citing religious reasons, Miller said he won't even be in the building at all, regardless of the importance of the game, which also falls on Mother's Day. 'About 15 years ago, I decided [going to Sunday games] just didn't fit with what I wanted to be,' Miller told The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday. 'It's just a personal thing.' Miller is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which admonishes its members to avoid non-religious activities on Sundays if at all possible."
• Tim Buckley of the Deseret News: "With Kobe Bryant being awarded the NBA MVP trophy (for a second straight day) Wednesday, Jazz point guard Deron Williams was asked if that is something he thinks he might some day win. 'It's something attainable. It's possible,' said Williams, who after three NBA seasons still is looking to make his first All-Star Game appearance. '(But) I don't think about it. I just try to help my team win, and everything else will take care of itself.' When it came to the question of comparisons, however, Williams wasn't about to bite. 'I mean, he's got a different swagger,' the Jazz point guard. 'He's the best player on the planet, you know, so, I mean, I'm not gonna compare myself to Kobe. The guy's got three championships and an MVP under his belt.'"
• T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times: "NBA Commissioner David Stern stopped by the press room before the game and said he had just met with the referees, I presume to remind them how excited he is about the upcoming Boston-L.A. Finals. For some reason when this game started, the refs called four fouls on Utah, none on the Lakers, and then tagged Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan with a technical foul. No need to make it so obvious, guys. If Stern is worried about a Lakers-Celtics matchup, he ought to be spending most of his time with Boston."
• Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: "When do the playoffs start? Oh, this is them? Utah's bus hasn't caught on fire yet and none of the Jazz players has said the players and coaches have quit. Aside from that, their first two games against the Lakers haven't gone much better than those of the Denver Nuggets."
• Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News: "It turns out that breaking bread brought NBA Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant closer to his teammates this season, and his teammates closer to Bryant. The Lakers forged a tighter bond with Bryant over breakfast, lunch and dinner during training camp last October in Honolulu, according to Lamar Odom. 'I won't take the credit,' Odom said, 'but in training camp we became tighter. I made sure we had a chef. We ate dinner, lunch and breakfast together every day at training camp. I think that was special. I think that's when the bond started.'"
• Broderick Turner of The Press-Enterprise: "When the NBA officially announced that Bryant had been named MVP on Tuesday, NBAStore.com started selling commemorative T-shirts for $19.99. Bryant already has the best-selling jersey on the Web site and at the NBA store in New York since the beginning of the playoffs. Since January, the Lakers have been the best-selling team at both sites, and since the playoffs began their merchandise has had a combined triple-digit sales increase compared to last year at the same time."

Spurs vs. Hornets

• Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News: "Given the chance to play for any NBA team and any coach this spring, Brent Barry chose to stick with Gregg Popovich. Had he gone somewhere else, he might have had to worry about suiting up for someone whose personality changed under the pressures of the postseason. But not with Popovich. 'He's an ass year-round,' Barry said, dishing out the kind of admiring, heartfelt compliment only his coach could appreciate. 'You don't get much change out of coach Pop.' And that's why, if the Spurs are showing any signs about how they're handling their first two-games-to-none playoff deficit in six years -- if there is anything to glean from their demeanor about attitude or their mind-set or their confidence -- those signs aren't coming from the top."
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "Like an NFL signal caller in the face of an all-out blitz, Tim Duncan has seen a steady stream of double-teams headed his way the first two games of the series. The objective has been to make Duncan give up the ball, and force any Spurs player not wearing No. 21 to beat them. So far, this approach has worked wonders for the Hornets. They own a 2-0 series lead, in part because their 'anybody but Duncan' plan has yielded fewer than 85 points in both games."
• John DeShazier of The Times-Picayune: "It ain't braggin' if you can back it up, and the Hornets back it up because they have their guard up. They've allowed an average of 90.9 points in seven playoff games. The defending champion Spurs, whose clockwork offense and savvy in the first round against Phoenix shredded a team allegedly built to beat them, have been held to 82 and 84 points in 19- and 18-point losses."
• Katy Reckdahl of The Times-Picayune: "In his final weeks, Brian told his family that he knew he was going to heaven and that he wanted to meet Jesus wearing his Chris Paul jersey. Someone within the Hornets organization sent around an e-mail telling Brian's story. It caught the eye of Paul and Hornets owner George Shinn. Both cried. 'It was very touching to me. Tears welled up in my eyes,' said Shinn, who sent flowers and a letter to the family and offered to help with funeral costs. The family, overwhelmed with grief, was touched by his kindness but declined. The location and time of the funeral also are private."
• Jeff Duncan of The Times-Picayune: "A sinewy 6-foot-8 rookie, Julian Wright makes an impact -- sometimes good, sometimes bad, but rarely is he irrelevant. As the main substitute for power forward David West, Wright has emerged as the Hornets' 'X factor' in the playoffs, a player with a rare combination of size, skill and athletic ability who creates havoc on both ends of the court with his non-stop hustle and unbridled enthusiasm. 'He's been terrific,' Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower said."
• Mike Jones of The Washington Times: "Everyone knew Chris Paul was pretty darn good. Some even would have said borderline great. But with the way he has flat out embarrassed the San Antonio Spurs in the first two games of this series, there's no borderline about it. He's flippin' spectacular."
• Jim Armstrong of The Denver Post "All right, so it's too little too late, but here goes anyway: CP3 for MVP! Chris Paul didn't win the NBA's MVP award, but, as these playoffs have proven, he should have. Nothing against Kobe Bryant, your basic player for the ages, but he hasn't had the kind of season Paul has."

Celtics vs. Cavaliers

• Christopher L. Gasper of The Boston Globe: "Sam Cassell, who broke into the league during the rough-and-tumble mid-1990s, said the NBA is protecting Cavaliers star LeBron James in a way it never did with Michael Jordan. ... 'Wow. It's just different right now,' said Cassell yesterday following practice 'They gave me a flagrant-1 foul, and no way in the world was it a flagrant-1 foul. I'm going to call [NBA vice president] Stu [ Jackson] and see what he thinks about that. That's not a flagrant-1 foul at all. Back in the day, a flagrant-1 was bloodshed. Now, you can just grab somebody ... It's the new NBA.' Cassell added, 'I know Michael Jordan is sitting at home right now pouting because they didn't protect him. There wasn't no bigger star than him, and he took some banging. But he got through it. That's why he got considered the best player to pick up a basketball.'"
• Patrick McManamon of The Akron Beacon-Journal: "LeBron James peeled back his upper lip. 'Want me to show you?' he said to a Cavs PR representative who had asked (at my request) where he was hit on Boston Celtics guard Sam Cassell's flagrant foul Tuesday night. James then revealed the cut that he received inside his mouth as he drove to the basket. 'People think I'm diving,' he scoffed. 'Maybe I need to get my eye poked out for people to know I'm getting hit.' Clearly, James hears the crowd and the comments, comments that state he overreacts and draws foul calls with Shakespearean antics. The cut was proof otherwise."
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: "Attempting to determine how Cleveland will change its use of LeBron James in the wake of a 2-for-18, 12-point performance is like trying to figure out where the next bomb will land. But the Celtics had to at least try heading into tonight's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. 'You can assume changes based on what they've done in the past, but I think we just have to focus on what we do defensively,' said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. Only one change appears to be guaranteed: The Game 1 LeBron is assuredly gone, just as the Paul Pierce and Ray Allen of that same night have probably checked out."
• Bob Ryan of The Boston Globe: "Doc Rivers is especially pleased to have Cassell for the road games. Rondo was not horrible in Atlanta (a 12-assist Game 4, for example). But he was clearly better at home. Sam's pretty much oblivious to locale. The man is 38. He's not the complete package he once was, but he retains 100 percent of his moxie. Sam is here. That means Rondo will continue to watch during most big moments, and so will House. They brought Cassell in here to play the Games That Really Matter, didn't they?"
• Branson Wright of The Plain Dealer: "LeBron James had the worst shooting night of his career in Game 1 of the best-of-seven semifinal playoff series against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, but neither James nor coach Mike Brown is concerned. History is on James' side. 'He is who he is and it's as simple as that,' Brown said. 'He's human and he had a tough night. He hasn't had many tough nights in a row. Usually when he has a tough night, he bounces back the next game and has a pretty good game.'"

Leaguewide

• Terence Moore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Michael Gearon Jr., among the team's eight owners with Atlanta Spirit, kept suggesting Wednesday from his Vinings office that the coach who nearly had his talented but flawed team do the impossible against mighty Boston in the playoffs isn't going anywhere. This ranks as the best non-firing in Atlanta sports history."
• Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer: "They are interesting again for the right reasons, because they play hard, have some talent, and are easy to root for. It is a likable bunch. Everyone appears to get along. They listen to what coach Maurice Cheeks has to say -- another departure from the past -- and there is promise for the future. You can put all that together, however, stir lightly, bake at 350 degrees, frost it elegantly, and the team was still 40-42 this season. Interesting, yes. Contending, no. On its own, interesting doesn't last very long, at least not in this town. Interesting better give way to good pretty quickly or it reaches an expiration date. No one realizes this better than general manager Ed Stefanski, who says, 'It's a big summer for us,' and is intent on making it a successful one as well."
• John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News: "The Sixers will have about $11 million in cap space with which they can sign free agents or acquire help via trade. They have the 16th pick in what is considered a deep draft. The Sixers discovered who they were. The playoff series with Detroit gave them a taste of where things can take them."
• Jim Baumbach of Newsday: "Yes, they've talked recently, the coach said. And, yes, Lou Carnesecca thinks Mark Jackson would make one helluva coach. 'He has the credentials,' he said. 'I think he does.' The number one thing, though, he needs to have good players. That's what has to happen first, before anything. If you don't have good players, you're not going to be a good coach. Good players, they make you a smart coach.'"

I want to be back in Washington, but weird things happen in free agency. If Antawn is not back, then there's no point in me coming back because he's part of my success, too. When you're doing pick and roll with a player like him, they can't double you, they can't trap you because you have a pick and pop guy who can shoot the three at your four position. My success is because of him too. If he doesn't come back, I'm not coming back.

I know everybody is focusing on whether I'm coming back, but I'm focusing on what he's doing. If he doesn't come back, then I'm not coming back.

We talked about it before, but I'm going to let him be his own man. At the end of the season, people don't like the way the season ends and everyone is a little heated, so you know you have to give time for everybody and let everybody breathe first before you start talking about two months from now.

• The Hornets are the most exciting team in the NBA right now.
• The Hornets are the least exposed team in the NBA right now.

Perfect recipe!

Most NBA fans just have not had a chance to get to know this team much so far. They were hardly on TV at all, and back in the early part of the season when they did get some airplay, it was not yet clear that they were elite.

So, to me, this is fertile territory. Us fans know a fair amount about Tim Duncan. We have had a chance to form impressions about Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, and the like.

But these Hornets -- this is new and exciting. I'm hungry to hear more from the coaching staff, see more of the youngsters, learn more about Tyson Chandler's childhood, and watch more Chris Paul highlights.

Even if the Hornets don't win a title -- even if they lose to the Spurs right here in the second round (the Hornets lead 2-0) -- we're going to look back on these playoffs as the emergence of Chris Paul and the Hornets.

So, it is in that spirit that I direct your attention to this giddy little video tale of Jannero Pargo, and Tyson Chandler's wife Kim, competing to see who knows Tyson better.

At the end, somebody says off-camera: You guys look so happy together. And Chandler says: "Who: Me and Jannero? Or me and Kim?" Then Kim slaps Tyson. I'm telling you, you need more Hornets in your life.

Unlike the twins Daryl and Cheryl Ford (she plays for the WNBA's Detroit Shock), Malone has had no reconciliation, as of yet, with Bell. The football player does not express bitterness.

"I grew up around good people," Bell said. "I never turned to a father figure. I was lucky. I didn't need one. I'm happy. I don't need anything else."

If Al Sharpton is itching to picket something, he should organize a protest outside Malone's house, since the National Fatherhood Initiative says two out of three African-American children grow up without their father in the home.

Roger Clemens' alleged seedy indiscretions -- including a possible sexual relationship with a 15-year-old -- are nothing compared to what Malone has done. Malone reportedly impregnated Bell's mother when she was 13 and he was a sophomore at Louisiana Tech. Malone is lucky Chris Hansen wasn't around and he didn't have to answer to the authorities.

It would be one thing if Malone was unable to financially provide for his son, but he made more than $100 million during his NBA career. The Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune reported that when Bell's grandparents initially took Malone to court for paternity in 1986, his second year with the Jazz, they requested Malone pay $200 a week. Malone didn't respond to the suit, but a Louisiana judge ruled he was Bell's father -- after a paternity test showed that was indeed accurate -- and ordered Malone to pay $125 a week, plus past and future medical expenses. Malone claimed that was too much and later reached a confidential out-of-court settlement with Bell's family between 1988 and 1989.

I don't even know what to say about Malone's role in all this. Obviously, assuming everything is as reported, it's absolutely terrible.

There is, I suppose, some redemption in the reality that Bell, at least, seems to have not let his lack of a father make him a victim. Read Hill's whole story for some remarkable tales of Bell's lightning fast development as a football player. And hats off and a heartfelt happy Mother's Day to Bell's mother, for apparently raising a successful and well-adjusted child without a father around.

How about that Rudy Fernandez? (Speaking of Rudy Fernandez.) What about Ricky Rubio?

We're supposed to know about these alleged future NBA stars, but how are you even supposed to see them play?

Today, ESPN is announcing that starting with the upcoming season ESPN360.com will show more than 40 EuroLeague games per year online, and other games will be available by pay-per-view.

I love the internet.

Full press release after the jump.

Euroleague Basketball Comes to ESPN360.com

Deal With InFront AMS Brings Top European Basketball League to U.S. Broadband Sports Net

ESPN360.com, ESPN's signature broadband sports network, and InFront AMS, the Digital Media Company of the InFront Group, announced a new agreement today that will make ESPN360.com the exclusive U.S. home for Euroleague Basketball over the next two seasons. Beginning next October, the broadband network will deliver more than 40 games in each of the next two seasons (2008-2009, 2009-2010). Additionally, ESPN.com will feature video highlights of the Euroleague. Games not carried by ESPN360.com will be available on a pay-per-view basis on Euroleague.tv. For U.S. fans, Euroleague games are available only via ESPN360.com and on a pay-per-view basis on www.euroleague.tv.

"The Euroleague represents some of the highest-level basketball played anywhere in the world, and this deal highlights the programming value and breadth that ESPN360.com can deliver via broadband," said Damon Phillips, vice president, ESPN360.com. "Together with the NBA and more than 900 men's and women's college basketball games, the addition of the Euroleague makes ESPN360.com a must-have for basketball fans."

Added Maurizio Barbieri, Director, InFront AMS, "We are excited to team up with ESPN360.com to expand the reach of Euroleague Basketball to more than 23 millions new households in the United States. Along with the success that InFront AMS has already had around the world with EuroleagueTV since its launch in 2007, reaching this brand new audience will help us attract more fans to the global game of basketball."

The Euroleague is the leading professional basketball league in Europe, with teams from thirteen countries. Its season is contested in four phases, the Regular Season, Top 16, Quarterfinal round and Final Four. The Regular Season features 24 teams, divided into three groups of eight, with each playing two games (home-and-away) against every other team in its group. The Top 16 is contested in a double round-robin format. The Quarterfinal round matches the first-place team from each Top 16 group against a second-place team from another group in a best-of-three series, with home court advantage to the higher-ranked team. The Final Four, held at a predetermined site, features the winners of the four quarterfinal series' in single-elimination. The semifinal losers play for third place; the winners play for the championship. Led by former Duke University star and Eurloeague Finals MVP, Trajan Langdon, CSKA Moscow defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 77-91 in this season's Euroleague Final on Sunday, May 4.

Among the many current and former NBA players that have played in the Euroleague are: Langdon, Victor Alexander, Andrea Bargnani, Bill Bradley, Marcus Brown, Vlade Divac, Tyus Edney, Pau Gasol, Emanuel Ginobli, 'arknas Jasikevicius, Andrei Kirilenko, Toni Kukoc, Bob McAdoo, Juan Carlos Navarro, Andres Nocioni, Anthony Parker, Drazen Petrovic, Dino Radja, Zeljko Rebraca, David Rivers, Arvydas Sabonis, Luis Scola, Predrag Stojakovic, Anderson Varejao, Jiri Welsch, Dominique Wilkins and Michael Young.

ESPN360.com is ESPN's signature 24/7 broadband sports network, and the online home for live sports - delivering more than 2,500 live global sports events a year. The service is available at no additional charge to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection from an affiliated service provider, and is currently available in approximately 20 million homes nationwide. It has more than doubled its distribution since November 2006, and is available via more than 20 Internet service providers around the country including AT&T, Verizon, RCN, Insight, Frontier, Cavalier, Charter, Mediacom, Conway, Grande Communications and many more. It is also now available at no cost to approximately 18 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via on-campus educational networks (with a ".edu" domain) and military networks (with a ".mil" domain).

Consumers in the U.S. wanting more information about ESPN360.com, which Internet services currently provide it, and how they can get it should go to www.espn360.com.