Seems to be the "in" thing after these Olympics, to downplay what Michael Phelps has done. Some people have mentioned that a track athelete would have to win like, the long jump as well as every possible racing thing to equal eight medals. That the eight medals is as much about opportunity as anything, that Phelps has done something very similar each time. I have some time for these stories, but much of it seems to be unnecessarily contrarian and just raining on the world's parade.
Some have taken the form of comparison, especally with uber-sprinter Usain Bolt, who was pretty amazing, I never ever thought I'd see Michael Johnson's record beaten, truly. I'm more or less fine with this, albeit riddled with the absurdities of comparing sprinting to swimming. After all, both are amazing, both beat world records, both are, statistically speaking, undoubtedly the best at what they do. We're lucky.
I don't have an easy segueway to this, by Mike Freeman. It's just the definition of wrong.
Redeemers Better Story than Phelps
The basketball gold medal game was stunning, the officials absolutely awful but in the end the Redeem Team lived up to its name.
It wasn't their best night. The Americans at times played defense with the intensity of a Sunday afternoon jogger.
fine, although for all their lauded expertise, it's amazing how lazy and boring sports writers metaphors are. You'd think for all the practice they get they'd be as proficient at them as a bug is in winter.
That's why I am humble blogger.
Maybe not so humble.
...overall in these Olympics the Americans were spectacular, particularly Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
fuck you Dwayne Wade (27 points, 4 steals in the gold medal game). Seriously, Wade led the team in scoring throughout, I think he ended up in the low twenties despite coming off the bench, including many spectacular plays. If you are going to single anyone out (and I kind of think the whole point of this has been not to do that Mike), he would without question be the story - Wade is back!
They enabled you to root for USA basketball again, they rebuilt our image, and they mostly handled themselves with class and dignity. If you can't be proud of what they did -- and the women as well -- then you're more cynical than I am. Which is impossible.
how dare you even hypothetically suggest it! Fuckers.
While these Olympics will be remembered for Michael Phelps what the basketball team did was far more impressive. Yes. Far more.
it's just not at all. The American basketball team clearly has the greatest pool of players to draw on, the best coaching, facilities, largest population of the major contenders, so on and so forth. Phelps enjoyed some of these advantages too, but he was competing against other Americans, and he was in an individual sport. Ugh, first Tiger Woods not retiring because of Brett Favre and now US basketballers eclipsing US swimmers. At the end of the day, Phelps swam in seventeen races in like eight days, broke six world records, I don't really think if I flew to the moon in a box with "SPACESHIP" written on the side and touched back down safely, with evidece of extra-terrestrial life, it would be more impressive. Let alone far more. No, that emphasis wasn't arbitary, he meant it.
The reason why is pressure. If Phelps had earned five gold medals instead of eight he wouldn't have been called a failure.
that's opportunity not pressure. I admit he's in more events, so it's harder for him to fail as abjectly as the basketball team could have, but to suggest Phelps was under less pressure is totally unfair. As much as I trust your "pressure meter", I think Phelps being the great hope for the US medal charge (he one one in every eight gold the states won) comes along with a ton of pressure. *sigh* Can't we just say being an Olympic athelete is very impressive? Do we have to downplay the achievements of these men and women? Do we have to be douches about it? According to Mike Freeman, yes we do.
If the United States won a silver or bronze the players would've been treated like total losers. They'd be called embarrassing. Media and fans would be screaming for massive changes.
their lives would be totally over you guys! OMG they'd be so devastated, they'd never be able to show their faces around the cafeteria again. They'd be pelted with tomatoes. Put in the stocks. Be despised, outlaws, chased from county to county with pitchforks.
Give me a fucking break. It'd be a dissapointment, just like Phelps losing, and he had eight opportunities to fail, don't forget.
The world and many people in this country waited for the Redeemers to fail so everyone could wag their fingers and portray the Americans as street ballers incapable of playing the precision International game.
no one was saying that that I heard. Some, maybe even many, were hoping the US would fail because it's way more interesting if they look human, and it's generally more fun and a better story (that's right, this was supposed to be the best story) if the underdog wins. Redemption, yes, but they were still massive favourites.
You don't think the Americans knew this? You don't think they felt this pressure and it didn't weight on their chests like Shaquille O'Neal's backside?
ZING!
Phelps had only Mark Spitz to worry about.
...b-but what about the athetes that were trying to beat him? There were like a hundred. And seven others each time. Are we going to disrespect them too? Why not huh? It's not like winning swimming medals is hard or anything right?
The basketball team was fighting the failures of the recent past as well as our cynicism.It's late on the East Coast and the game just ended. My eyes are barely open but I'm nevertheless giddy. Actually, I'll say it, as corny as it sounds, I'm proud as hell.
it's not corny, it's fine, it's one of the things the Olympics are for. I have no problem with your being corny, I have a problem with you disrespecting one of the greatest athletes of our time.
Showing posts with label FIBA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FIBA. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
3 comments LeBron James Learns Rules of Basketball
I know when pretty much your entire job is reporting on international basketball, it is easy to develop an inflated sense of self importance. Yes, it's easy to rag on the NBA, the kids with the hip hop music, baggy pants, and I see you, proponents of international basketball, shaking your fists with contempt. But the fact is the NBA is better, regardless of the recent international results of the U.S.A. And it has been that fall from grace that has puzzled so many basketball enthusiasts.
And much of the explanation has fallen at the feet of the rules. FIBA rules. Trapezodial lanes, legal goaltending and everywhere shooters! Honestly, look here. It's essentially goaltending and the lane thing, everything else is incidental, this FIBA/NBA thing is blown way out of proportion, it's still fucking basketball. And all of this overthinking and trying to be clever about why the U.S. lost is missing the point; they were beaten by more committed teams who had played together longer. Anyway, it's with this rant in mind that I reference this delusional piece of reporting from Chris Sheridan.
LeBron shines against Turkey, morphs into FIBA player
morphs. Totally. Two major rule differences and an easier three point shot. Morphs, give me a break.
MACAU -- Five seconds into the game, LeBron James pulled off a defensive move that was four years in the making.
the Finals appearance, the 28 of the last 29 points against Detroit that time (the single greatest basketball thing I've ever seen), the first team all-NBA, the big wins, the tough losses, the interviews, the money, his child, the highlights, all pale in comparison to this opus that LeBron James finally revealed to us five seconds into this game in Macau. What was it you ask?
Turkey controlled the opening tip of Thursday's exhibition game -- Team USA's first match on foreign soil since the summer of 2006 -- and Ersan Ilyasova went straight to the basket and put up a soft shot that bounced off the rim and was headed straight through the hoop.
It appeared it was about to be 2-0 deficit for the United States, but that wasn't to be.
The reason?
James timed his leap perfectly and snatched the ball right as it was entering the cylinder -- a goaltending violation in the NBA, but not under FIBA rules, in which the ball is fair game once it hits the rim.
there's nowhere for James to go but down now, he has peaked too early, he is truly the Dakota Fanning of our age.
"Even some of the guys on Turkey were calling for a goaltend, but it was legal," James said. "I've been playing FIBA ball for four years now, so I kind of know the rules."
that's a bit disingenuous now LeBron isn't it? You have played sparodically over those four years and 90% of your activity has been in the NBA, let's not pretend you have forsaken your NBA career to go play in Italy or something.
American players have historically had trouble adjusting to the FIBA rule that allows defensive players to swat the ball off the rim once it has touched the cylinder because their muscle memories are so conditioned to leave the ball alone. James, however, made it look as though he'd been making that play all his life.
the sixth in 2002 World Championships, the bronzes in Athens and Japan, all due to goaltending - little known fact. Had they adjusted to this rule, the U.S. would have won every game it's played by at least 30 points.
"I was getting back to get in rebound position, but once I saw it hit the rim and saw I had a chance to go get it, I just used my reaction time," said James, who was held out of the Americans' pre-Olympic opener against Canada last week in Las Vegas with a sprained ankle.
LeBron James - now capable of "using time" to meet his needs. Soon the wind and rain will bend to his whim.
On Turkey's next possession, James ripped the ball out of Engin Atsur's hands and was immediately hacked, a clear path foul (in FIBA, they call it an "unsportsmanlike foul") that gave James two free throws and allowed the Americans to retain possession.
what is this "unsportsmanlike foul"? Is that even English? Did this take place on the moon? Thank God you're here, Chris, to navigate the way through this forest of confusion known as "FIBA basketball", what would we do without you?
"They had great technique, great effort, and defensively they were much better than the World Championship team of two years ago, and they are definitely in better shape than they were two years ago, and they use a team system -- not a star system," said Turkish coach Bogdan Tanjevic...
not mentioned - anything regarding rules or LeBron's "four years in the making, revolutionary,making the world's axis invert" goaltend.
Again, give me a fucking break. Lithuania wants to win. White athletes are talented. Black athletes work really hard. Being talented in a sport is an advantage, not a disadvantage. Adam Dunn is better than David Eckstein. The world is round. 2+2=4.Honestly, it's like talking to planks of wood sometimes.
"Speed and quickness are our best assets, and it'll be a question of can we do our best things better than they can do theirs? That'll be the story of all our games," said coach Mike Krzyzewski, who sat alongside James at the post-game news conference.
not mentioned - rules.
(We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that James wore a red-brimmed New York Yankees hat to the press conference, placing it on the table in front of him before the questions began. "I got it in New York City," he told ESPN.com.)
remiss? It'd be downright unethical Chris, you should be ashamed you even thought of not exposing this in full. I have half a mind to take you to court, because I need to know what shirt he wore, shoes, what he had for lunch, all of this I demand now you lying bastard. I don't want the trivial details of "the game" or "strategy" or "analysis", I want to know what hat Dwayne Wade wore and I want to know right this instant.
For now, the Americans are feeling super positive as they near the end of their second week together, with one of the more surprising aspects being how James has assumed a leadership role on a team in which he is still one of the youngest players.
they're super positive you guys. OMG they are so freakin' hyped. This is like, totally the biggest thing ever. It roxorz.
James mentioned afterward how the Americans are beginning to come to grips with the fact that they aren't going to be able to put anybody away in the first quarter but should be able to use the second and third quarters to steadily pull ahead.
That's what got the job done for them against Turkey, but it all started when James practically reached into the net to snatch away the first shot attempt of the game -- a FIBA play by a guy who is showing how much he has turned into a FIBA player over the course of the past four years.
it will forever live on in the memory of all privelidged enough to see it. Much like the moon landing, we will all remember where we were when LeBron James made a rather athletic defensive play in a meaningless blow out against Turkey. Emotional stuff.
And much of the explanation has fallen at the feet of the rules. FIBA rules. Trapezodial lanes, legal goaltending and everywhere shooters! Honestly, look here. It's essentially goaltending and the lane thing, everything else is incidental, this FIBA/NBA thing is blown way out of proportion, it's still fucking basketball. And all of this overthinking and trying to be clever about why the U.S. lost is missing the point; they were beaten by more committed teams who had played together longer. Anyway, it's with this rant in mind that I reference this delusional piece of reporting from Chris Sheridan.
LeBron shines against Turkey, morphs into FIBA player
morphs. Totally. Two major rule differences and an easier three point shot. Morphs, give me a break.
MACAU -- Five seconds into the game, LeBron James pulled off a defensive move that was four years in the making.
the Finals appearance, the 28 of the last 29 points against Detroit that time (the single greatest basketball thing I've ever seen), the first team all-NBA, the big wins, the tough losses, the interviews, the money, his child, the highlights, all pale in comparison to this opus that LeBron James finally revealed to us five seconds into this game in Macau. What was it you ask?
Turkey controlled the opening tip of Thursday's exhibition game -- Team USA's first match on foreign soil since the summer of 2006 -- and Ersan Ilyasova went straight to the basket and put up a soft shot that bounced off the rim and was headed straight through the hoop.
It appeared it was about to be 2-0 deficit for the United States, but that wasn't to be.
The reason?
James timed his leap perfectly and snatched the ball right as it was entering the cylinder -- a goaltending violation in the NBA, but not under FIBA rules, in which the ball is fair game once it hits the rim.
there's nowhere for James to go but down now, he has peaked too early, he is truly the Dakota Fanning of our age.
"Even some of the guys on Turkey were calling for a goaltend, but it was legal," James said. "I've been playing FIBA ball for four years now, so I kind of know the rules."
that's a bit disingenuous now LeBron isn't it? You have played sparodically over those four years and 90% of your activity has been in the NBA, let's not pretend you have forsaken your NBA career to go play in Italy or something.
American players have historically had trouble adjusting to the FIBA rule that allows defensive players to swat the ball off the rim once it has touched the cylinder because their muscle memories are so conditioned to leave the ball alone. James, however, made it look as though he'd been making that play all his life.
the sixth in 2002 World Championships, the bronzes in Athens and Japan, all due to goaltending - little known fact. Had they adjusted to this rule, the U.S. would have won every game it's played by at least 30 points.
"I was getting back to get in rebound position, but once I saw it hit the rim and saw I had a chance to go get it, I just used my reaction time," said James, who was held out of the Americans' pre-Olympic opener against Canada last week in Las Vegas with a sprained ankle.
LeBron James - now capable of "using time" to meet his needs. Soon the wind and rain will bend to his whim.
On Turkey's next possession, James ripped the ball out of Engin Atsur's hands and was immediately hacked, a clear path foul (in FIBA, they call it an "unsportsmanlike foul") that gave James two free throws and allowed the Americans to retain possession.
what is this "unsportsmanlike foul"? Is that even English? Did this take place on the moon? Thank God you're here, Chris, to navigate the way through this forest of confusion known as "FIBA basketball", what would we do without you?
"They had great technique, great effort, and defensively they were much better than the World Championship team of two years ago, and they are definitely in better shape than they were two years ago, and they use a team system -- not a star system," said Turkish coach Bogdan Tanjevic...
not mentioned - anything regarding rules or LeBron's "four years in the making, revolutionary,making the world's axis invert" goaltend.
Lithuania is also the next opponent for the Americans, on Friday (8 a.m. ET, ESPN2, ESPN360.com), providing Team USA with a much tougher test of whether it can impose its will and style of play against an opponent much more seasoned than Turkey. Turkey had a disastrous EuroBasket last summer and failed to qualify for the Olympics.
It'll be the only time this summer that the Americans play on back-to-back nights, and they may finally get to see someone throw a zone defense at them for more than a few possessions after Canada and Turkey both played them straight up for all but a few brief moments.
Then again, Lithuania may not want to show its cards in a game that's more or less meaningless, and it'd happily walk away with a 32-point loss of its own if it felt it might give the Americans an inflated sense of self-confidence heading into Beijing.
there are so many ways to make fun of this I don't know where to start. Yes Chris, Lithuania will intentionally play poorly to trick the Americans. Oh it's so fiendish! Can you imagine the huddle? "Gentleman, the plan is to play poorly tonight, lose by 32 points, and then the Americans will be so full of self confidence that we will be able to beat them easily in the Olympics. It's the famous "lose to win" strategy, employed by the Memphis Grizzlies this year. And then the doomsday device will be ours! HAHAHAHA!"Again, give me a fucking break. Lithuania wants to win. White athletes are talented. Black athletes work really hard. Being talented in a sport is an advantage, not a disadvantage. Adam Dunn is better than David Eckstein. The world is round. 2+2=4.Honestly, it's like talking to planks of wood sometimes.
"Speed and quickness are our best assets, and it'll be a question of can we do our best things better than they can do theirs? That'll be the story of all our games," said coach Mike Krzyzewski, who sat alongside James at the post-game news conference.
not mentioned - rules.
(We'd be remiss if we didn't mention that James wore a red-brimmed New York Yankees hat to the press conference, placing it on the table in front of him before the questions began. "I got it in New York City," he told ESPN.com.)
remiss? It'd be downright unethical Chris, you should be ashamed you even thought of not exposing this in full. I have half a mind to take you to court, because I need to know what shirt he wore, shoes, what he had for lunch, all of this I demand now you lying bastard. I don't want the trivial details of "the game" or "strategy" or "analysis", I want to know what hat Dwayne Wade wore and I want to know right this instant.
For now, the Americans are feeling super positive as they near the end of their second week together, with one of the more surprising aspects being how James has assumed a leadership role on a team in which he is still one of the youngest players.
they're super positive you guys. OMG they are so freakin' hyped. This is like, totally the biggest thing ever. It roxorz.
James mentioned afterward how the Americans are beginning to come to grips with the fact that they aren't going to be able to put anybody away in the first quarter but should be able to use the second and third quarters to steadily pull ahead.
That's what got the job done for them against Turkey, but it all started when James practically reached into the net to snatch away the first shot attempt of the game -- a FIBA play by a guy who is showing how much he has turned into a FIBA player over the course of the past four years.
it will forever live on in the memory of all privelidged enough to see it. Much like the moon landing, we will all remember where we were when LeBron James made a rather athletic defensive play in a meaningless blow out against Turkey. Emotional stuff.
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