yes sirrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!! we just won the gold

[CeltsfaninDC]

I'm glad we won the gold as an American, but am I the only one who just doesn't really give a crap otherwise? Maybe it's cos I don't like most of the players on the team, I dunno, but I certainly didn't get all worked up like a lot of people did...

I rather enjoyed the games themselves and came away with a deeper appreciation for players like LeBron and Bosh. The attention that those players made to playing defense was admirable and if we saw this level of effort placed on the defensive end every night we might a team or two that could give the Cs a run for their money this year. I'll attribute it to superior coaching and hope D'Antoni didn't learn too much.

[wayupnorth]

Sorry to have offended your delicate Finnish sensibilities.
That doesn't make him a good ref or provide him with a necessary level of experience of having players at this level. He probably got all those gigs because he is from a neutral country which does not have an interest in high level basketball. My point is exactly what you outlined: you have people reffing these games who do this on a very irregular basis and not with players at this level.

He stood there and watched a ESP player hipcheck DWADE and then leg sweep the guy and he swallowed his friggin whistle. I don't care what his resume says, he sucked and the officiating in general sucked during this tournament. You want to tell me now what a nice guy he is and how many referee classes he took to get his degree in refology?

Don't worry, you didn't offend me in any way. I'm not saying he didn't miss calls or make bad ones. The finals reffing gigs are given to those referees that have done the best job in the tournament and are unbiased towards the teams playing. You do know there are actually observers watching how the refs do? It's a different matter if the reffing sucked in general. In that case, it's understandable that the pickings are slim.

[tombattor]

I'm glad we won the gold as an American, but am I the only one who just doesn't really give a crap otherwise? Maybe it's cos I don't like most of the players on the team, I dunno, but I certainly didn't get all worked up like a lot of people did...

I agree. I don't like Olympics basketball. The US men's team don't really care as much as the athletes of other events in the Olympics. I don't think I watched more than 5 total minutes of the Redeem team. I love swimming, gymnastics, volleyball, track & field, etc. Those were pretty exciting. I'd even rather watch archery or weight lifting over basketball.

[MyInsatiableOne]

I'm glad we won the gold as an American, but
am I the only one who just doesn't really give a crap otherwise? Maybe
it's cos I don't like most of the players on the team, I dunno, but I
certainly didn't get all worked up like a lot of people did...

I
agree. I don't like Olympics basketball. The US men's team don't really
care as much as the athletes of other events in the Olympics. I don't
think I watched more than 5 total minutes of the Redeem team. I love
swimming, gymnastics, volleyball, track & field, etc. Those were
pretty exciting. I'd even rather watch archery or weight lifting over
basketball.

Same here, I prefer swimming, gymnastics, and diving. I planned on boycotting the OLympics this year cos they were in China, but stupid Charter made the decision for me by screwing up and disconnecting my cable 3 weeks BEFORE I moved and then refused to turn it on...jerks!

[Prophet_C]

Ping Pong>all

besides womens beach volleyball

[tombattor]

Same here, I prefer swimming, gymnastics, and diving. I planned on boycotting the OLympics this year cos they were in China, but stupid Charter made the decision for me by screwing up and disconnecting my cable 3 weeks BEFORE I moved and then refused to turn it on...jerks!

Why were you going to boycott the Olympics? Because of all the human-rights stuff? Maybe I'm being selfish and ignorant and I certainly don't condone the human-rights violations being committed by the Chinese, but I think you missed out. The Opening ceremony was better than anything I've ever seen and the Olympics in general was very enjoyable. I don't think London one will even come close to matching this one. I'm sure they are scrapping whatever they had planned for the opening ceremony and re-planning it, after seeing the amazing show the Chinese put on.

[sam_I_am]

I think the Olympics do show how the NBA rules inflate the value of athleticism at the expense of skill. Watching Luis Scola destroy Team USA in the paint as if he was the second coming of vintage Bill Walton just proves how some players like Howard can really take advantage of traveling to finish with the dunks in the NBA. In the Olympics, when skilled footwork is required certain players like Iverson, Howard etc. just don't look that good.

Guys like Paul Pierce, Dirk Nowitski, Kobe and Ginobilli who have great skill and footwork and perhaps not so much hops and flash can dominate both NBA and Olympic basketball. Dwayne Wade also is one of those guys. Lebron James - who is well on his way to being the world's best player - still looks far less explosive in the Olympics than he did against the Celtics. I recall a breakaway against Greece (I think) where a US college PG defended him. In the NBA he would have just hopped a little and made a ridiculous dunk but against this 6 foot player and held to only 2 steps he almost blew the layup.

I can honestly say that watching Argentina and Spain play against Team USA was a joy. Team basketball - like we see in NCAA hoops - but played by exceptional professionals is just so nice to watch. It is so much a superior product to the NBA - at least to those of us who love the game rather than the entertainment aspects of basketball. Spain has Gasol and a bunch of solid players but the 10th guy on Team USA is the equal or better of Gasol in NBA. How could they compete? It has to be that when the rules are relaxed to allow traveling, palming and carrying and restricts hand checks that the athleticism of US athletes is magnified. In the Olympics, as it should be, skill and teamwork are rewarded. Could Team USA win if it had to play against an all star team of foreign players that was actually its equal or nearly its equal in talent level?

[MyInsatiableOne]

Same here, I prefer swimming, gymnastics, and diving. I planned on boycotting the OLympics this year cos they were in China, but stupid Charter made the decision for me by screwing up and disconnecting my cable 3 weeks BEFORE I moved and then refused to turn it on...jerks!

Why were you going to boycott the Olympics? Because of all the human-rights stuff? Maybe I'm being selfish and ignorant and I certainly don't condone the human-rights violations being committed by the Chinese, but I think you missed out. The Opening ceremony was better than anything I've ever seen and the Olympics in general was very enjoyable. I don't think London one will even come close to matching this one. I'm sure they are scrapping whatever they had planned for the opening ceremony and re-planning it, after seeing the amazing show the Chinese put on.

Yes, because of all the political crap that goes on over there. I'm not a huge Olympics fan anyway so I wasn't going to miss out. But like I said, Charter made that decision for me anyway!

[BrokenLeftyJumper]

I don't root hard for the U.S. in any other sports besides basketball. As an American and a basketball player, I felt a strong connection to Team USA and wanted them to win the gold more than any Olympic event I've ever witnessed. I thought in 2004 that Team USA got far too much criticism and I think much of that was a reflection of many Americans inability to tolerate rich black men. I remember Americans outright rooting against Team USA in Athens, claiming the team displayed bad sportsmanship and what not, but I don't remember them doing a single thing that was classless or unsportsmanlike. It was just that the cornrow quotient was too high for many white Americans, so when the team lost they reveled in it. So I'm happy Team USA was able to come back and win Gold and stick it to the haters.

What I don't like is this simplistic, media-driven storyline of the Redeem Team playing like a team and the 2004 Team being a collection of selfish, egotistical jerks. The 2004 team did not lose because everyone was looking for their own shot and not playing team ball, they lost because they had about three weeks to throw together a collection of players who had never played together before and make them play as a team. No matter how unselfish the players are, a team cannot be built over the course of a few weeks. Players need to play together before a team can be produced. That team was poorly organized, poorly prepared, lacking top-notch talent, and the results were not surprising. That was as much a failure of USA basketball the organization, as it was Team USA the players. If the same amount of preparation was afforded Team USA in 2004, I'm pretty confident they would have won Gold as well.

[bruno sundov]

Ping Pong>all

besides womens beach volleyball

The women should need at least a D cup to be on the team!!!!