Section 14: SPORT AND LEISURE
THE VOICE OF INTERNATIONAL LITHUANIA
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The Lithuanian Cinderella
Wed, 1st August, 2012 - Posted by - (4) Comment
Rūta Meilutytė (born 19 March 1997). This week, at the Summer Olympics in London, she won the gold medal in the women's 100 meter breaststroke with a time of 1:05.47, becoming the first Lithuanian swimmer since Lithuania's Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 to earn an Olympic medal in swimming.
Photo: Wikipedia
Fifteen-year-old Rūta Meilutytė is a refreshingly outstanding representative of the original spirit of sports at a time when seriousness and the business aspects of sports often takes over for joy and the more fundamental aspects of the competitions.
Rūta has managed to grow strong, athletic and competitive-focused in spite of a difficult childhood in a country where training opportunities in swimming and many other sports are bad, because here in Lithuania it’s mostly just basketball that counts.
Her gold medal in the Olympics shows that even a young girl who is not raised and trained as a professional athlete since birth, can manage to reach even the highest goals in the sports world.
She is a true Cinderella of our days!
Category : Featured black / Sport & leisure
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LT sportsmen in USA
Thu, 19th April, 2012 - Posted by - (2) Comment
Šarūnas Jasikevičius, during EuroBasket 2011.
Text: Vin Karnila
Mention the words Sport and LITHUANIA and the next word you hear is always BASKETBALL. While a number of Lithuanian players have gone on to careers in the NBA it may surprise you to find out that quite a few Lithuanian athletes have had successful professional careers in the U.S.A. in other sports as well. What may be even a little more surprising is that these athletes excelled in what are considered “American” sports. As an example, did you know that the two players that most people say were the greatest players in the National Football League were Lithuanians?
BASKETBALL
Basketball is the sport that has tied Lithuania and USA closest together, so let’s first introduce you to the Lithuanian basketball stars “over there”.
Sarunas Jasikevičius
In July 2005 Sarunas Jasikevičius signed a three year contact with the Indian Pacers of the NBA. The point guard, who won three consecutive Euroleague championships, agreed to a three-year deal with the Pacers. Back in 1998, he was a solid wing player with Maryland, known for his shooting and intelligent play. He went back to his native Lithuania and plied his skills in club ball in Europe, becoming one of the best at his position. Arunas said “European ball is getting closer to the level of the NBA. I don't feel I have to play there to prove myself as a player,“
Category : Featured black / Lithuania in the world / Sport & leisure
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Thu, 19th April, 2012 - Posted by - (3) Comment
Lithuanian-American Johnny Podres (1932-2008):
US baseball’s ‘most
valuable player’ in 1955
Johny Podres, Lithuanian American, son of immigrant parents, born and raised Upstate New York, pitched two historic World Series wins against the New York Yankees in 1955. The World Series championship was the one and only victory in the history of the "Brooklyn" Dodgers. Subsequently, the Dodgers (and Podres) moved to Los Angeles in 1958.
People always said the cigarettes and the gambling and the whiskey and the late hours would surely get Johnny Podres. In 2008, those experts were proved right. Now they’re going to have to explain how The Pod made it to 75.
Category : Lithuania in the world / Sport & leisure
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Tue, 6th December, 2011 - Posted by - (2) Comment
The other dream team
New film about Lithuania’s 1992 basketball team
The Other Dream Team is a documentary film directed by Marius A. Markevičius (picture). The inspirational story of the 1992 Lithuania national basketball team and their incredible journey from the clutches of Communism to the Summer Olympics in Barcelona. It stars many famous basketball persons like Yao Ming, Arvydas Sabonis, David Stern, Jim Lampley, Bill Walton, Šarūnas Marčiulionis, Paul Gasol and others. The film should be released in 2012.
When you hear the words "dream team" the names such as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen come to your mind. That's the squad of USA national team in Barcelona Olympic Games 1992. But that wasn't the only team in Barcelona which deserves the title "dream team". The other dream team was Lithuania.
The moment of Lithuania returning to the world's basketball family and instantly winning bronze in the Olympic Games was a unique moment in the history of basketball, memories of which brings NBC Sports Broadcaster Jim Lampley to tears. The full movie features many basketball legends such as Bill Walton, Šarūnas Marčiulionis and more.
TalkBasket.net presents you the trailer of the new documentary by Marius A. Markevičius called "The other dream team". Enjoy the video.
Category : Front page / Sport & leisure
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Arvydas Sabonis to the NBA Hall of Fame
Mon, 15th August, 2011 - Posted by - (4) Comment
Arvydas Sabonis with ex Portland Trailblazers team
mate Bill Walton during the induction ceremonies
Photo: Reuters.
For a country that proclaims their second Religion to be Basketball, you can imagine the excitement that is growing as EuroBasket 2011 draws near. The tournament that crowns the Basketball Champions of Europe always creates great emotion in the hearts of Lithuanians but this year there is even more fuel to add to the passionate fire because the championship tournament is being held in Lithuania.
Everyone is counting the days, hours and minutes to 31 August at 9 PM EET when Lithuania plays their first game. Everywhere you look people are wearing Lithuanian Basketball T-shirts, cars are decorated in the National colors and banners and posters are everywhere.
Now what could take place that would add even more to the basketball fever that has infected everyone?
You induct into the NBA’s Hall of Fame the greatest basketball ever to come from Lithuania. Yes folks, Friday 12 August Arvydas Sabonis was inducted into the National Basketball Association’s Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Said by most to be the greatest “big man” to ever play the game, he is also considered to be one of the greatest centers to play the game and some even say that he was the greatest center in the world.
Watch his induction speech here:
Category : Featured black / Sport & leisure
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Fri, 28th January, 2011 - Posted by - (1) Comment
Mark your calendars
to be in Lithuania
31 August to 18 September
for
EuroBasket 2011
For 2011, LITHUANIA has been chosen as the host country for one of the most prestigious Sport’s Tournaments in Europe and the World. This is the second time in the Tournament’s rich history that Lithuania has been chosen to host the Basketball Championship of Europe.
EuroBasket 2011 will crown the Basketball Champion of Europe. While this is an important event for all European countries, it is especially important for a country like LITHUANIA that proclaims Basketball as its “Second Religion”.
The EuroBasket Championship saw its first tournament held in Geneva, Switzerland in 1935. Since then, every two years the greatest teams and talent have met for the “bragging rights” of Europe.
Throughout the history of the tournament our Lithuanian Team has done very well.
Clip about European mens basketball championship which will be held in
Lithuania 31 August – 18 September 2011.
Category : Featured black / Sport & leisure
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Arvydas Sabonis – EuroBasket 2011 ambassador and basketball legend
Tue, 25th January, 2011 - Posted by - (0) Comment
 Sabonis at the “Berlin ITB”, held 9 – 13 March |
 AP photo |
In Lithuania, basketball has an almost religion-like status and a big part of the population considers hosting a EuroBasket an once-in-a-lifetime experience.
In this context, it's easy to understand why the EuroBasket 2011 official ambassador needed to be a "larger than life" figure. Luckily, figures -Lithuanian or otherwise- don't come any bigger than that of Arvydas Sabonis.
The basketball legend who revolutionized the game in the 80's, when he showed the world that a big (2.22m big to be precise) player could pass the ball like a point guard and shoot from long range even better than one, was the automatic choice when the LOC and FIBA Europe asked themselves who better personifies Lithuania and EuroBasket 2011.
Sabonis, in his capacity as the official ambassador has been promoting the event all over Europe since late October. "This is a big day for our country, after 72 years basketball is coming back to Lithuania",
"We built five new arenas, EuroBasket is very important for our young players and for all Lithuanians, for us basketball is like a second religion."
Category : Sport & leisure
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Lithuanian sport A – W
Tue, 18th January, 2011 - Posted by - (35) Comment
Ramūnas Vyšniauskas, the weightlifter whose medal collection contains European silver and bronze medals.
There are over a hundred different kinds of sports in Lithuania, with the top three most popular sports being basketball, football, track-and-field. Check this web page to read more: http://lietuva.lt/en/sport…
Category : Sport & leisure
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OPINIONS
Have your say. Send to:
editor@VilNews.com
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Toronto Raptors select Jonas Valančiūnas
Jonas Valančiūnas
By Mike Ulmer
This week the Toronto Raptors drafted Jonas Valanciunas out of Lithuania and while it matters little where he is from, it matters quite a bit where he will stand.
At centre.
When, of course is anybody's guess. Still, the Raptors decision to draft him at number five at Thursday's NBA draft was great fun to dissect.
First, the whole deal was a surprise. It had widely been assumed that given the chance, the Raptors would opt for either Kemba Walker or Brandon Knight. Both were point guards and explosive athletes who could supercharge the Raptors in the open count and supplement Jerryd Bayless and Jose Calderon.
It turns out no one was more shocked than the 19-year-old Lithuanian.
"I was so surprised, so happy," he said from New Jersey moments after being selected. "I didn't think I was going to be drafted so high."
Valanciunas, a kid whose 231 pounds is spread on a surface about the size of PEI knows he must get bigger but he covets the chance to bang bodies in the low post. He sees himself as a centre, now and forever.
"I'm not ready yet but I will work hard and improve. I will get my body bigger and stronger."
At 19, it will take a while for Valanciunas to reach Toronto.
There are media reports of a necessary buyout with his European team and the fact that he is probably still growing means immediate immersion in the NBA is highly unlikely.
All this, in turn, means that while Andrea Bargnani pines for more time at power forward, his immediate future looks to be at centre where he will be subject to the defensive demands of new coach Dwane Casey. There will be help for Bargnani. It will be Valanciunas but it will not arrive soon.
The selection will prompt the usual eye-rolling that the Raptors are Euro-centric. By selecting a European big man instead of an American guard, the Raptors will invite still more people to buy into that notion.
Truth is, the Raptors got the best potential centre in the draft. Valanciunas pocketed 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in just 21 minutes a night in Lithuania. He is smooth for a big man with a great motor and a hunger for defence and rebounding.
Finally, there is the question of timing. When GM Bryan Colangelo signed a two-year contract extension with a club option for the third no one thought he would invest in something as slow to mature as a green banana. Yet he drafted a player whose journey to the roster could take years.
It speaks to an enviable confidence. Say what you want about Colangelo, his only term is long.
Read more about Jonas Valančiūnas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonas_
Valančiūnas... -
Please place Johnny Podres in your gallery of great players.
Keeping the conversation going about famous Lithuanian American sports giants: Johnny Podres, born in Upstate New York, helped the Brooklyn (now Los Angeles Dodgers) win their first series championship in 1955 against the formidable New Yankees. The links have invaluable information about Podres who as pitcher won 2 games (4-2 and 2-0) in October, 1955. Please place him in your gallery of great players.
http://www.usbaltic.org/celebrities/
johny_podres.php
Aciu ir linkeimais,
Tony Mazeika,
Mission Viejo, California, USA
P.S. You have put together an outstanding interactive website. Congratulations.
TM... -
Lithuanian sportsmen in the USMention the words Sport and LITHUANIA and the next word you hear is always BASKETBALL. While a number of Lithuanian players have gone on to careers in the NBA it may surprise you to find out that quite a few Lithuanian athletes have had succesfull professional careers in the U.S.A. in other sports as well. What may be even a little more surprising is that these athletes excelled in what are considered "American" sports. As an example, did you know that the two players that most people say were the greatest players in the National Football League were Lithuanians?
BASKETBALL
Basketball is the sport that has tied Lithuania and USA closest together, so let's first introduce you to the Lithuanian basketball stars "over there".
Sarunas Jasikevičius
July 2005 Sarunas Jasikevičius signed a three year contact with the Indian Pacers of the NBA. The point guard, who won three consecutive Euroleague championships, agreed to a three-year deal with the Pacers. Back in 1998, he was a solid wing player with Maryland, known for his shooting and intelligent play. He went back to his native Lithuania and plied his skills in club ball in Europe, becoming one of the best at his position. Arunas said "European ball is getting closer to the level of the NBA. I don't feel I have to play there to prove myself as a player,"...
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