Ever since the German Fussball Bundesliga opened the door in 1963, one would always see the powerhouse FC Bayern Munich each season in Frankfurt in the Wald stadium and later the Commerzbank arena. There have been many unforgettable games and scenes between FC Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt over the years like the Klaus Augenthaler goal from mid field or the hard fought 1-0 Munich win in the 2006 cup final in Berlin and Eintracht Frankfurt is trailing in the 86 game history at 44-22-20. FC Bayern Munich wasn´t in town for soccer but for basketball and seeing the red and white FC Bayern Munich jerseys for the first time in the Fraport arena was something to get used to, but a new basketball FC Bayern Munich era had began as Stefan Hamann was back with his piercing blue ocean eyes, head coach Dirk Bauermann wearing his typical men in back outfit with sunglasses only missing to go as a Jack Nicholson, Demond Greene sporting his standard tough all around play and basketball joker Darius Hall were all back in the arena where they had been in before, but for other teams. Being able to say the magical words FC Bayern Munich and not be referring to a soccer pitch, but to a basketball court was soothing and a premier as the Fraport Skyliners were able to take revenge for their 58-57 loss in Munich earlier in the season with a strong team performance 68-49. Just playing against the mighty FC Bayern Brand was something that players reflected upon without even talking about the outcome of the game. “It is great that FC Bayern Munich is in the Beko BBL. Everyone knows Bayern Munich and its great for the competition. It is cool having a soccer and basketball team. I remember it to well from my playing days in Leverkusen”, stated American Jared Newson. “It was a great feeling playing against this great name where there is so much tradition with the soccer team. It was a great atmosphere and we felt the fans energy”, added Skyliner guard Michael Thompson. “They are FC Bayern Munich rich in tradition like the New York Yankees. Los Angeles Lakers or Boston Celtics or Boston Red Sox. It is always great to win against great competition”, stated Skyliner guard Jimmy Mckinney.
Frankfurt Skyliners
Will The Fraport Skyliners Have A Solution This Time Against Je Kel Foster And FC Bayern Munich In Crunch Time?
In the world FC Bayern Munich has a reputation and is a household name in Germany, the way Heinz Ketchup is in the United 
States, Iberia airlines is in Spain, Ferrari is in Italy or IKEA is in Sweden. However in Germany when uttering the word FC Bayern Munich, it is Soccer and one usually affiliates the 22 German meisterschaften, 15 cup wins, the world class players that have graced the red and white jersey like Franz Beckenbauer, Karl Heinz Rummenigge, Gerd Mueller, Oliver Kahn, Lothar Matthäus, the sometime minor scandals that has given the club FC Hollywood status or the famous Uli Hoeness Wutrede at the 2007-2008 stock holders meeting where his head was as red as a bolied lobster. FC Bayern Munich and basketball in the same breath in the past was about as distant as Heidi Klum and Seal are now. However since this season, Basketball is back in the first division since their last visit in 1986-1987 and with the expertise coaching from Dirk Bauermann and ultimate Bayern fan Uli Hoeness giving the needed financial support, the organization is looking to become an FC Barcelona in the Beko BBL sometime down the road. However the route in the direction of a FC Barcelona seems to have taken a severe wrong turn and landed in 
Sitges(Beach resort near Barcelona) and at the moment the basketball team led by ex German national head coach Dirk Bauermann is about as far away from FC Barcelona as British tennis ace Andy Murray is from winning a Grand Slam event. The FC Bayern Munich bosses never predicted a title in their first season, but were expecting to belong to the top teams and be a force in the Beko BBL playoffs. FC Bayern Munich has been up and down in the last months and if they keep it up, may get gobbled up by the competiton and be in the Munich beer gardens in May instead of the Beko BBL arenas. “One can´t say that FC Bayern Munich is only playing bad. They had good efforts against Oldenburg and BG Goettingen. A team like Munich just can´t become a title team from today to tomorrow. This takes a lot of development, something that Bamberg has behind them. I am sure that we will see a totally different team when the playoffs start. They just have to continue to find themselves something which has taken longer due to injuries. Every player has the ability to score 20 points or more. The team just can´t mislead themselves. I still see FC Bayern Munich as a serious title candidate”, stressed Walter Tiger Tuebingen forward Ruben Spoden.
Jason Cain Muscle And Anthony Smith Precision Pace The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven Past The Fraport Skyliners 76-70
For Quantez Robertson coming to play in the northern most Beko BBL city of Bremerhaven to display his mind boggling 
athletic arsenal has been a joy since he arrived on the scene in Germany in 2009. In his first two encounters in the Eisbaeren cage, he suffered negative experiences losing a nail biter in the regular season 76-74 and game one 78-75 of the 2010 semi final playoff series. However since then the energetic flying Cincinnati kid had left the floor in Bremerhaven as a successful Eisbaeren hunter having won game three 79-53 and the exciting game five 56-52 in 2010 where you could of told a devoted eight year old Eisbaeren fan that Lebron James was outside the Stadthalle with Rihanna and the kid would probably still have followed the ending of the thriller playoff game. Super Tez Robertson also helped contribute to the win last season as Frankfurt rolled by Bremerhaven 71-56 with a typical Dashaun Wood Derrick Rose stat line of 25, 8 and 7. Robertson seldom smiles except for his energy outbursts as he was going for his fourth win in a row in Bremerhaven, but was denied as the Eisbaeren withstood a fourth quarter Skyliner comeback and closed out the game with a 7-0 run winning 76-70 giving Frankfurt sort of a taste of their own medicine as they had let Braunschweig come back last weekend, but saw them lose it in overtime through a clutch Jimmy Mckinney performance. Eisbaeren fan favorite American Torrell Martin is close to making his comeback, but sat out one last time and remembered the Robertson athletic flair two years ago. “I remember how dynamic Tez was in that playoff series two years ago. We both always had great battles. We were always both very aggressive and he elevated my game to new heights. Frankfurt made a comeback at the end tonight2, but we were able to pull it out”, stressed Torrell Martin.
Can The Icy Weather Continue To Keep The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven Content At Home?
The last time the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven had a two game winning streak this season before their current two game wining streak against Braunschweig and Giessen, the St Louis Cardinals were just crowned MLB World Series champion, any kind of Kevin Durant rumor in Bayreuth would have been met with a startled look as they were still a month away and the New York Giants were a 6-2 team and still far away from being in the 2012 Superbowl. Since the big 86-83 win in Artland October 29th, the Eisbaeren have been an up and down team at 7-7 spanning three months where they were unable to win two games in a row. Even if they continue to give up way too many points to the liking of ex Paderborn skipper Doug Spradley, the team seems to have used the huge 92-87 OT win at home against the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig as a spark plug where Philadelphia native Jason Cain made a jaw breaking buzzer beating three pointer to bring the game to extra minutes and then winning it in fine style in the extra time and the 102 point explosion in Giessen. It seems like the club is using the unbearable, nasty, Siberian ,freezing like temperatures to their liking as they are playing as focused as Madonna was in the Superbowl halftime show showing no signs of an old 53 year old woman with her moves, Kim Kardashian telling the world that she will never date another football player again and CEE LO throwing out his hard earned cash at a strip club at a pre super bowl party in Indianapolis recently. The Eisbaeren aren´t thawing out at the moment, but instead seeming to be using their natural habitat in the cold to their advantage. “It seems that Bremerhaven is getting more aggressive on the court while everyone else is hibernating. But if Bremerhaven would visit my team Wels in Austria, we would make sure to turn up the temperature in the gym, so they wouldn´t be able to play so well”, joked ex Phoenix Hagen American Quentin Pryor. “If the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven played us in the Paul Horn arena now during this cold weather, they would have the home court advantage, because it is so cold here, that we have to practice more with snow balls than with basketballs”, joked Walter Tiger Tuebingen forward Ruben Spoden. The good news for the Fraport Skyliners is that Bremerhaven has gotten back to plus Celsius temperatures which might just make the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven in the mood for a short 40 minute hibernation.
Jimmy Mckinney Uses His Mizzou Tiger Claws Tipping The Fraport Skyliners To Victory Over Braunschweig 81-80
Winning against the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig in the last decade has come as easy for the Frankfurt Skyliners as it is for Hollywood actor George Clooney to decline marriage proposals, Blake Griffin dunking over Kendrick Perkins of the Oklahoma Thunder or New England Patriot Tequan Underwood carving the team logo into his head for the Super Bowl as the last time Frankfurt lost to Braunschweig was 71 months ago and 13 wins ago. The last time, Frankfurt had to creep back into their locker room defeated in their own living room, their opponent was called TXU Braunschweig, Phantoms shooting star point guard Dennis Schroeder was nine years old, the German version of American idol was still a few months from going on air, Jan Lipke was on the Braunschweig roster at age 19, Immanuel Mcelroy was playing for the Grand Rapids Hoops and the Boston Red Sox were still living in the curse of the Bambino as Braunschweig won 80-62, 112 months ago. In that win, the point guard was a little known American named Demond Mallet who had 20 points and the Skyliners were led by Andy Kwiatkowsky with 16 points. Braunschweig will have to wait another season to get that most desired win as they lost again failing 81-80 in OT losing 
their second consecutive game in the extra time. “It was an ugly win, but a win is a win. The Skyliners have had their number in this series for a while. They came back, but we got the win and can knock on wood for keeping the long winning streak intact”, stated Skyliner forward Jacob Burtschi. Before the game, Phantom sport director Oliver Braun was very composed and seemed almost a bit too confident in the chances of his club. “A series always has to end sometime. I remember I was playing in Greece the last time they won”, stressed Oliver Braun. “I don´t think much about history and what once was. This was a good win, even though it almost back fired for us”, expressed Skyliner captain Marius Nolte.
The Fraport Skyliners entered the Fraport arena riding on a two game losing streak and were looking for their third win in their own stomping ground. The team that had averaged 63 points in the 11 games prior to the last two loses, had given up an average 80 points in the last loss. After three quarters, it looked like they would reach their solid defensive average before their two game losing streak, but gave up 31 points in the fourth quarter and almost lost the game in OT to young germna talent Dennis Schroeder.
Can Dennis Schroeder Bring The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig To New Heights Against The Fraport Skyliners?
Injuries are always a sore spot for teams, but when they do erupt like an unwanted tattoo on your baby smooth butt, it gives other players the chance to step up and use their ability to showcase their talent. One of the best examples in sports history where an injury helped pave the road for a player to ultimate star status was in 2001 when drew Bledsoe of the New England Patriots went out with an injury and little known third string quarterback California native and Michigan(NCAA) standout Tom Brady took over the reigns in game two of the season and led the team to the Super Bowl with three more to follow and the rest is sweet history. With the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig, they have had injury woes in the last weeks and especially at the point guard position where starter Stephen Dennis is out with an injury and the team has had to shuffle a bit at the playmaking position. This will give the chance for young 18 year old German Dennis Schroeder to step up at the point guard position and increase his minutes even more to his already extra minutes that he has been getting this season. One may not be able to compare this situation as much to the Tom Brady arrival into the season 11 years ago, but despite his youth, Schroeder has a pretty focused head on his shoulders and knows exactly in what direction he is going this season. Schroeder has gotten a lot of help from Stephen Dennis this season and can develop his strength further which is the same as of Dennis. “Playing against him each day gives me a lot of valuable experience. I feel I have gotten better each day when we play against each other. My defense has gotten better playing with him each day. My biggest strength is my drive. I can shoot too, but I still need to work on that phase of my game”, stressed Dennis Schroeder. Even the Phantoms brought in guard insurance last week with 25 year old 193 guard Igor Milosevic(Greek/Serbian) who has played with top teams KK Crvena Zvezda Beograd, Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus, and Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius, the young German should not fret about getting less minutes with this new arrival as he had played 19 minutes against the Tigers, 15 minutes against Wurzburg and 10 and 12 minutes against Bamberg in this season. In last weekends OT loss in Bremerhaven, he scored 14 points. The pressure to perform is only going to heighten next season. “Yes I believe that next season the expectations will rise. I am working more on my defense this season than on my offense”, added Schroder. He knows also exactly where his journey on the basketball court wants to end. “I want to play in Europe next and then someday in the States”, warned Schroeder.
Jacob Burtschi (Fraport Skyliners): My Teammates Have Confidence In My Shot, But I Need To Find That Confidence Again
Jacob Burtschi is a 27 year old 198cm forward from Chickasha, Oklahoma who is playing his first season with the Fraport Skyliners. He completed his rookie season for Phoenix Hagen averaging 14.2ppg, 6.9rpg, 2.5apg, Steals-3(1.5spg), FGP: 56.0%, 3PT: 44.2%, FT: 82.2%. He played at the Air Force from 2003-2007. In his senior year, he played 35 games averaging 13.5ppg, 6.0rpg, 2.3apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 49.7%, 3Pts: 39.0%, FT: 77.3%. He had offers to play in the NBA, but served in the Air Force the last three years and could only play club ball. Some achievements that he got in the NCAA were All-MWC Honorable Mention -05, MWC Regular Season Runner-Up -06, All-MWC 2nd Team -06, 07, NABC All-NCAA District 13 2nd Team -07, and NIT Final Four -07. He spoke to German Hoops after the 81-57 loss in Ludwigsburg.
A tough 81-57 loss in Ludwigsburg. Why was this game so tough after a long break and good week of practice?
We watched video today and you could see that our defense wasn´t there. We had no effort or communication. They simply outplayed us.
Frankfurt has given up an average of 80 points in the last two games. Does one have to worry about the Frankfurt defense?
No I don´t think so. There will always be bad phases on defense and mental lapses. Important is that they get corrected and we improve.
Alex Harris Shows Some California Hyphy As EnBW Ludwigsburg Freezes The Fraport Skyliners 82-57
Two Weeks ago, the Ludwigsburg arena was transformed into a glitzy, boisterous, loud, spectacular and unforgettable basketball world as the 2012 Beko BBL Allstar game took place there. Fans saw as many well known basketball faces in the arena then as RTL camp members saw nasty scorpions in a short time. In a short span of a few hours basketball aficionados saw many cheerful colorful mascots dancing and performing mischevious acts, crowd favorite Darius Hall having his gregarious smile on redial mode, Heiko Schaffartzik and Tony Gaffney possibly planning a vacation to plot their next Dunk escapades, Donatas Zavackas learning to love his home court rims or German national player Per Guenther displaying a knack to be able to shoot over guys twice his size. With the Beko BBL Allstar game long over and just a sweet memory in the heads of many kids with the festivities dancing in their heads weeks later, EnBW Ludwigsburg and the Fraport Skyliners returned back to normal conditions as the glitz was gone, but not the uncomfortable noise or love for the game of basketball as EnBW Ludwigsburg snapped their four game losing streak and the Fraport Skyliners five game unbeaten streak on the road was broken as they lost 82-57. The Ludwigsburg arena may not have been as full as at the Allstar game, but the atmosphere was still breathtaking despite how the season has gone for the Schwaben team so far. “The players and fans never thought we would have a season like this after last season. It has been a tough season and with injuries to guys like John Bowler, Jerry Green and Alex Harris. However the fans have always stood behind our team and I can only compliment them for their support tonight”, stressed EnBW Ludwigsburg sport director Mario Probst. “It was a great atmosphere as the fans kept us going and you could really feel that the crowd was behind us. The team is very close”, commented ex Skyliner Anthony Fisher.
Can The Fraport Skyliners Extend Their Winning Streak On the Road In Ludwigsburg To 6 Games?
At the moment in the NBA, some teams have as many games a week as Beko BBL teams have games in a month. Ex Skyliner 
Jon Leuer has played 20 games in about a five week span and will surely never trade anything for the chance to lace them up in the NBA, but he possibly may day dream every so often and look back to the more tranquil life in the Beko BBL where 1-2 games a week seemed like a blessing in disguise for the recuperation of his basketball body. For the Fraport Sklyiners, they will have been idle for 15 days days when they next meet EnBW Ludwigsburg on February 4th as their last game was the dreadful and unnecessary loss to their Hessen derby neighbor January 20th. “When you are away so long, it is always difficult getting the rhythm back which you had before the break. The players have to take good care of their bodies. Two weeks is a long time and that can always hurt the conditioning of a player. Tactical things won´t be much of a challenge, because they never really change. The European schedule is good for the body and working on your game between games as too many games take atoll on the body which one sees with all the injuries in the NBA. The problem with the schedule in Europe is that you have too much time to dwell on a loss while in the NBA, you need to have a short memory”, stressed Quentin Pryor who is playing in Wels, Austria. In between, the team had a fun, but meaningless game against the Pascal Roller allstars in his farewell game January 28th. With the long competitive delay and a place in the middle of the Beko BBL rankings, the team was as focused to get back to their day job as Tom Brady was after the AFC championship win with that special sparkle in his eyes giving an indirect look that he wont lose a second Super Bowl to Eli Manning and the New York Giants, Super model Heidi Klum decision in making her chapter in love with Mr kiss from a rose Seal final with a divorce and Mr Aerosmith Steven Tyler recently reciting an interesting and so Tylerisch redemption of the national anthem. “I think the break and having the Pascal Roller farewell game in between was a good thing for the players. I think for the new Skyliner Americans, they can´t really realize what Pascal Roller meant to basketball in Germany and to the organization Skyliners. For the German players playing in this game meant a lot. Even if the Roller game was for fun, I think that it could have a positive effect on the chemistry of the Skyliners”, warned Walter tiger Tuebingen forward Ruben Spoden.
Pascal Roller Dunks One Last Time as The Fraport Skyliners Overcome The Pascal Roller Allstars 85-80
In the BCM training facility, it is never rare to see a bunch of Fraport Skyliner players practicing each day working on how they will beat their next opponent and seeing people of all ages going after a basketball. However once in a while, there are special occasions where the ultimate best enter the gym like in the last years with the German national team, NBA superstar Dirk Nowitzki or ex NBA players like Alex Acker, Marcus Brown, Marcus Fizer, Charles Smith, Mario Kasun or current NBA players like Carlos Arroyo, Jon Leuer, Lavoy Allen or Justin Harper. With the Pascal Roller farewell game that was held on January 28th, the Skyliner legend invited back some of his ex teammates like Stefano Garris, Jukka Matinen, Dennis Wucherer, Robert Maris or Gerrit Terdenge to battle on the court. The BCM court may not be as big as the Fraport arena, but there is a special aura in the building that gives the impression that extra ordinary players have stepped on the court for years. “The BCM brings back special memories. I have left a lot of sweat and tears on this court. I always enjoyed practicing here and have only positive memories”, expressed current KTP Basket Kotka forward Jukka Matinen. Nino Garris who will always cherish the ad he did on top of the Deutsche Bank tower in 2005 with Pascal Roller also will never forget the BCM. “This is one of the best gym´s in Europe. Every team wants a facility like this. I was lucky to be able to work in this building for three years”, added Nino Garris. For rookie Michael Thompson, the BCM is like a candy shop, becuas eits always open. “This place is always open, and there are so many rims that one can always shoot. I like to be here in my free time working on my shooting and ball handling. I have the luxury to be able to walk here”, stressed Michael Thompson.
German Hoops 