BBL FINALS WEEKEND BLOG
05/02/2008

So it's like I said. Newcastle will win the Playoffs this weekend, Fab will become the first coach in BBL history to bag four end-of-season gongs on the bounce and the decision to name Vince as Coach of the Year will seem weirder by the minute.

But there may be a few twists and turns along the way, there will be some hot hoops action and of course there is Birmingham. Now I like the West Midlands for so many reasons. It is the home of heavy rock, pork scratchings and my mate Niall who wrote a nice book about Ricky Hatton. And over the years, thanks to my love affair with basketball, I have fostered an even greater soft spot for the second city.

Granted the Birmingham I know exists within a one-mile radius of the NIA and includes the odd canal, some cracking bars, the Bullring (with its Apple Store) and a Chinese restaurant boasting delicious dim sum. But what else could you possibly want?

And then there is the Sea Life Centre. As a coast dweller I understand how important it is for the landlocked folk of the Midlands to get a grasp of life by the sea. Just as I recognise that it is important for them to understand what it is like to watch real basketball.

Indeed, I suppose the only thing which could make Birmingham even better this weekend would be a hometown Panthers' team capable of contesting the Final Fours. But there is more likelihood of Andrew Bridge spending more than five quid on a haircut than Nigel Lloyd's boys challenging for honours anytime soon.

So for now it is all about Newcastle and the nearly men of Guildford, Plymouth and Milton Keynes. And that got me thinking. There was a time when British basketball's very best belonged in the north. The Eagles, the Rocks and the Sharks formed a trio of true hoops heavyweights and yet there has been a distinct geographical power shift in recent years. These days Fab and the boys don't just carry the hopes of the Geordie nation on their broad shoulders - the hopes of half a country rest upon Newcastle's ability to bring home some silverware this weekend.

That is pressure. But not the kind of pressure you feel as a basketball247 blogger. With the big bosses topping up their tans in Madrid at some two-bit hoops showcase I have rarely felt such a need to perform. Just not before a couple of beers, some crispy duck, a trip to the iPod shop and a sentimental stroll through the Sea Life Centre.