Loading ...The Sport Count: “We all know that some guys change due to numbers being retired, or jersey numbers being occupied at teams they’re traded to. However, like everything that Ron does, every single number change has a weird and wonderful sense of logic to it, which in his mind is extremely significant and important. Ron kicked off with number 15 (which was apparently the number that his father wore… until Ron realised, upon consulting his father, that it was actually 51). He then moved to 23, as a tribute to Michael Jordan; I’m sure Jordan appreciated the tip of the hat, especially from a guy who, as a rookie with the Bulls, broke Jordan’s ribs in a friendly pick-up game.” (Via Ball Don’t Lie)
3 Shades of Blue: “So the US Government has put up road blocks. Iran is one of the ‘Axis of Evil’ countries and Americans aren’t allowed to enter into contracts with Iranian citizens without a background check. We can’t have any terrorists coming into the country after all. The NBA is acting to get an ‘OFAC license’ on behalf of all 30 NBA teams plus the NBDL teams. This would allow any team in the league including NBDL teams to enter into a contract with Hamed.”
Break.com: Beware of the Houston Rockets Mascot (Via SLAMOnlne)
Yahoo! Sports: Dwight Howard meets Olympian Dominique Dawes (Via TrueHoop)
USABasketball.com: Preview of USA Men vs. Australia, including a Q&A session with USA Director of International Player Personnel Tony Ronzone
Mike Moreau of HOOPSWORLD: Coach Moreau takes a look at what it might take to beat Team USA
Bob Wolfley of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Is it unfair to expect the kind of energy and urgency the U.S. squad shown on defense in Beijing to be present every night in the regular season in the National Basketball Association, when teams are traveling and playing three or four games per week? “Yes and no,” Hammond said. “Look at our schedule, 82 games, when you sometimes are playing three games in four nights. To a certain extent, it’s difficult to play at the highest level defensively and even offensively 82 nights a year.” Hammond said the U.S. team was playing in Beijing as if it’s a short, single-elimination tournament. “They probably are taking it up to another level,” Hammond said, referring to the defensive intensity of the U.S. team. “It’s like every game is a playoff game right now.” Hammond said the effort given by most professional teams in all sports game in and game out was higher than sometimes they are given credit for by fans and writers.”
Selena Roberts of CNNSI.com: “As the men’s Redeem Team barrels toward a gold medal, and as the women’s Dream Team continues to dominate the Beijing Games, it’s obvious that while the players of the NBA and WNBA are nobly playing for country, they are also auditioning for a world of cash. James, of LeBron Inc., is openly using the Olympic stage as a catwalk for his global brand, letting it be known to any European suitors that, yes, ‘Bron is for sale when he becomes a free agent in 2010. “I like that rumor,” he said. Bryant, who owns enough rings to satiate his NBA ambitions, speaks Italian as the second language of his childhood and enjoys the unconditional love of foreign fans undisturbed by his diva ways, is even more likely to jump.”
Chris Tomasson of The Rocky Mountain News: “Anthony’s ordeal in Athens has been well chronicled. Coach Larry Brown said he didn’t buy into the team concept, and he played little. The situation still irks Anthony. But he doesn’t like to talk about it. “I didn’t have any problems with Larry, man,” Anthony said. “He had problems with me. A lot of people never really got a chance to really hear what I have to say. But I don’t really have nothing to say. That’s over with for me. I’m in 2008 right now.” And 2008 has proved a lot sweeter for Anthony. After U.S. players were booed in Athens even while they walked down the street, Anthony said Chinese fans have cheered them so much its feels “like a home game” when Team USA isn’t facing the hosts.”
Mark Heisler of The Los Angeles Times: “Bryant watched the loss to Greece — which aired at 3 a.m. as point guard Vassilis Spanoulis bedeviled the U.S. on pick-and-rolls and decided then and there what this team needed. “I felt like that’s what we were kind of missing as far as European guards, big guards, tearing us up a little bit,” said Bryant. “And I was sick and tired of hearing about their guard play. “I wanted to come in and say, ‘You know what, I don’t have to score 30-some points and do dunks, all that stuff, I want to come in and lock some people some up.’ ” He’s still our Kobe. If any U.S. player forces a shot, it’s usually him. He’s just so used to taking difficult shots, he thinks they’re routine. For him, the difficult was always commonplace. As no one with as much going could have gotten in so much trouble, no one else could have gotten out of it.”
Tim Dahlberg of The Associated Press: “They’re not Dream Team II because that act already played out in Atlanta to rave reviews. Malone was on that team, winning a gold medal playing alongside the best trio of centers you’ll ever see in Hakeem Olajuwan, Shaquille O’Neal and David Robinson. Don’t call them the Redeem Team, either, because that’s a manufactured title that cheapens what they’re doing here. This isn’t about revenge for 2004 or 2006, simply dominance for 2008. Malone will just call them good, awfully good. He could even see this team giving the original Dream Team a close game. And who would win? “Did you interrupt my coffee just to ask me that question?” he said. “Are you kidding me?””
