Turns out I was right about only 1 thing... Spain would get a medal.
Team USA with a young team of All-Stars just wasn't prepared for the Greek team who had never beaten them in previous tournaments. I understand that this was a warm up to see how they fared against the rest of the world and did not matter as much as the Olympics but it was clear that the rest of the world has caught up. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade are very talented but the issue was not talent it was working within the way the international game flows. USA showed a lack of energy gettin down the floor many times and were terrible when it came to rotations and help defence. 3rd place is better than 6th but coach K has a lot of work ahead of him hopefully for the Olypics he will have the likes of Amare, Kobe and gang to work with.
Spain on the other hand dominated throughout the tournament and were clearly more comfortable in the environment and with the style of play. They managed to capture Gold with their star player cheering from the bench. As a Toronto Raptors fan this tournament was a thrill in terms of the Spanish team as 2 raptors represented and played a significant role. I hope they use this to motivate them for the NBA season. They won amongst the best now its time to show it on a nightly basis for 82 games.
Gone are the days of dominance. After a bronze medal performance at the 2004 Olympics and a 6th place finish at the last World Championships, USA Basketball took a new approach to putting together the dream team of the future. They targeted youth and athleticism and above all players who can make a long term commitment to the team and are hungry to win. With the youth on board they brought on Coach K, one of the best in the business and he brings with him a ton of experience dealing with young gifted athletes.This is a test
At first glance the roster is hardly overwhelming as its not a team full of superstars but more a balance of role players and defensive specialist to complement the superstars. One third of the roster is made up of players from the class of 2003 (probably one of the best draft classes in the history of the NBA) and the average age is closer to 20 than it is to 30 for this men's senior team but if they learnt anything in the past is that the game is played different and this team was put together with that in mind. The players representing the USA are the best suited to the international game in the opinion of the mastermind behind this program Jerry Colangelo. The team is on their way to China to begin this quest for gold and it will be about a month until they can prove that they are once again the best in the world.
Living in Canada isn't very conducive to getting basketball coverage on television but with the help of TVUplayer I was able to watch the exhibition game between USA and Puerto Rico.
Observations after a first look at team USA...
The Average age of the starting 5 of Melo, Wade, Bosh, Lebron and Chris Paul is about 22... Wow!
Carmelo Anthony looks like a man on a mission and from every interview he seems to be the guy most of the coaching staff was surprised by. He was on the last team that captured bronze and received a ton of negative press in the aftermath of the Olympics. He is lookin' for redemption and looked like the most game ready player on the court yesterday.
Dwayne Wade is going to be the most unstoppable player on this team as he looked to be in playoff mode still. Wade is matured a ton after this years playoffs and it showed in his game on this night
Chris Paul is a Star! He is going to be the man that gets everyone going and he is the right guy for the job as his speed will be an asset during the tournament.
The team seemed to have a logjam at the guard position so when the roster is trimmed to 12 I expect only one player from the group of Joe Johnson, Bruce Bowen and Hinrich to survive.
Lebron James shot was flat and he was outshone the whole time by Melo and wade.
Carlos Arroyo looks like the next coming of Allen Iverson when playing for his country... I wonder if this Arroyo will ever show up in the NBA
Shane Battier looks like a dad amongst this team but his veteran presence will be welcomed. He brings something different to the game and was effective off the bench
Dwight Howard may be just 20 years old but he is a beast and opponents are going to have a tough time keeping him out of the paint. Also, he can be effective with pulling rebounds off the rim and stuffing them down without worrying about basket interference.
Brad Miller hit some shots but he really didn't look like he fit in well to the style. He seemed to be moving at a slower pace down the court and in the future his roster spot will probably go to Amare.
The team started out looking a little mechanical and were trying to get the perfect shot but after the half they made the adjustments and came out flying
The players effectively implemented college style full court pressure and that created turnovers and steals and at the same time they made good adjustments to the constant zone defence they faced.
Joe Johnson had a good shooting night and him along with Elton Brand were effectively hitting the mid-range jumpers
Gilbert Arenas and Chris Bosh looked a bit over anxious to start but that can be said of a lot of the players as the team got off to a slow start with a lot of turnovers and fouls as they were forcing the issue
3 Pointers didn't fall as easily as I had expected but this needs to be a weapon that the team can use often during the tournament
Random Notes
After the first half I had to turn the game on mute as the sound of Bill Walton's voice was giving me a headache...
Pat Riley was in attendance and he looked burnt to a crisp! I think he might have fallen asleep in the tanning bed or sumthin...
10 minute quarters are going to take a little time adjusting to...
This concept of pulling rebounds right off the rim after a missed free throw is crazy...
Seeing Coach K. pacing the sidelines and talking to Battier and Brand during timeouts is surreal...
I went on record saying Italy and Portugal were my two favourites going into the World Cup. As the tournament went on I was told to chose 1 by my friends so I went with Portugal but silently cheered for Italy as well. When Italy won their game I began dreaming about having my two favourite teams in the finals but that's all it was a dream. Zizou broke my heart as he converted on a penalty kick against Portugal in the first half of the semi-final game. Setting up a Italy v/s France final and this would mark the end of a few international careers. Zidane, DelPiero have decided to make this their last appearance on the world stage and things were set up for an exciting final.
Exciting it was, as Zidane once again converted on a penalty kick early in the 1st half (questionable call... in my opinion) France was leading but it wasn't long before a brilliant free kick was converted into a goal as Materazzi's header found the back of the net halfway through the 1st half. The next hour was more of a defensive battle with both teams only getting a handful of chances but the two heroes of the day were not done. With just minutes left in extra time, Zidane was involved in some words with Italy's goal scorer and it is not yet known what was said but we do know that this caused the "header heard around the world". Out of nowhere he turned around to ram his head into the chest of the Italian player like a raging bull. This might be expected from an emotional Italian player but not from Zidane who has always displayed a level of poise on the field. On this afternoon Materazzi obviously got under his skin which led to an early exit from the game and a sad way to end his International career. The game went on to be decided by penalty kicks and the Italians emerged victorious (to my delight)
After all that went down Zidane was awarded the "Golden Ball" as the player of the tournament which I felt should have gone to the Italian goalkeeper Bouffon. Overall the World Cup was as exciting as always and it was noted by me that the competition was very balanced creating for some major upsets in the earlier rounds as the Czech's went home before making it to the elimination rounds. Germany did a good job hosting the event and on a personal note I was glad I didn't have to listen to the coverage and broadcasting work done by ESPN. I do love the sport but after a whole month of watching soccer everyday I still cannot say that I will turn my TV on to GOLTV during the next 4 years and start following a league or team. So Until 2010 when I will hopefully make it to South Africa this is the last of the soccer talk on here.
Another major tournament took place on the grass courts in England as Roger Federer defend his Wimbledon title for the 4th year running and Amelie Mauresmo emerged victorious on the women's side. Men's tennis hasn't been this exciting since the days of Boris Becker v/s Stefan Edberg and Sampras v/s Agassi. Federer v/s Nadal is becoming a staple as these two young'ns are on top of their game. Nadal won the French Open and has won most of his games against Federer but if the streak was going to be broken it was on grass where Federer remained king. Besides one or two hiccups along the way Federer controlled the game the entire time. Nadal is more exciting to watch as a sports fan as he wears his emotions on his sleeve but one cannot question Roger Federer's talent and determination. He was clearly the better player on this day and we can now look forward to the US Open.
I just had to put in that video 'cuz it features clips from one of the coolest soccer movies, "Shaolin Soccer"(If you haven't seen it add it to you must watch list NOW!). The song also happens to be on the official soundtrack for FIFA World Cup '06 which is the reason the world has come to a standstill and people everywhere are coming up with inventive ways to get out of going to work so they can cheer on their countries and consume an obscene amount of beer in the process. "Football" to the rest of the world but "Soccer" to us in North America, is by far the most watched sport in the world and to give you an idea 153 million people watched the Euro Cup final 2 years ago while Superbowl that year drew 95 million. I essentially divide soccer fans into two groups, where group 1 is all the fans of the game who follow the game through many soccer leagues (La Liga, English Premiership, Italian League, MLS) year round and group 2 are all those fans who jump aboard during the World Cup. Soccer brings out patriotism like no other sport will ever manage to do and living in Toronto, (one of the most diverse cities in the world) I have had the opportunity to observe this fanatical behaviour displayed by Soccer fans from all parts of the world. Before moving to North America, Soccer and Cricket were the only sports I was exposed to on television. My early memories of being a sports fan do not include Magic and Jordan in the NBA but rather Diego Maradona and Pele dancing down the soccer field. My entire family is obsessed with the game and even though I am not a soccer fan who falls into group 1 of my definition, come World Cup time my daily schedule is planned around the games and my living room now doubles as my bedroom.
Enough about the past... Lets fast forward to Germany 2006. First let me state that I am supporting two teams Italy and Portugal and I like any team that beats England. (Beckham may be super hot but he is waaaay overrated - sorry Arthur) The groups have been set up really well this time around and the level of competition up to now has been pretty even spare a few games. Its for certain no one could have predicted Ghana taking down the Czech's or that Poland would suck this bad. From my experience it is the nature of sports fans to root for the underdog and come Sunday I am sure the number of Ghana flags on cars will increase greatly. The "Soca Warriors" from Trinidad were a great story as well as they came in and managed to pull out a tie with Sweden but now that they have been eliminated I am sure those fans will jump on the Ghana bandwagon for now. Looking ahead to the next round even though nothing is settled for groups D through H, teams to look out for are Brazil, Argentina, France and Portugal. I expect these 4 to go deep and thus far Argentina has shown the most offensive power in the tournament but Portugal is still warming up and Brazil is always going to be a favourite. Speaking of... What on earth is going on with Ronaldo! He looks seriously out of shape and is close to being benched if he doesn't produce I think but as long as Brazil has Ronaldinho in green and gold they should see themselves in the semi-finals and anything less than that would be a complete upset. There was a time back in the day when Italy was always the team to beat but since the last world cup they haven't made the adjustments. Their defense is not the same powerhouse it used to be and until they realize that 1 goal in the game is not going to cut it they are going to have a tough time making it deep into the tournament. Their coach has them relying on protecting the goal and playing defense rather than being aggressive and I don't think that approach is going to work against the likes of the French, English and the other frontrunners. Ahh I was going to avoid mentioning the English team altogether but its hard to when talking Soccer. They were lucky last game getting a goal in the closing minutes and they have yet to show any dominance compared to teams like Argentina, Brazil, Italy and France who have a history of success in this game. I have always found this team to be overrated but I gotta give them credit for having some of the most intense fans ever.
Anyways the Japan v/s Croatia game is about to kickoff soon (Mike for the sake of your sanity I hope the Croats win it) so I shall end here. I will blog more on the subject when we are into the round of 16 until them leave me a comment on who you are rooting for...
Links: Some of my daily reads during the world cup and a little bit of homour... - A hilarious e-mail I was forwarded by Brucki (Get it here) - The Mighty MJD is a new fan of the game... (read more here) - The sun : World cup for women - Fox Sports brings to you pics of several soccer wives and girlfriends (link) - Strange advertising approach: Soccer Urinal by ESPN in Brazil - Live blogging for the world cup can be found at Deadspin - Jabs from the Toronto Star is over in Germany and he has the daily roundup
Bonus: Here are a couple of ringtones I put together for you soccer fans... Brazil (unknown) Forca (Nelly Furtado) Iran (thanx Ramin)
Its been a while but there is just so much going on with me in the last couple months that I haven't had time to really sit down and write complete posts... I began some and never completed them and now they don't seem as relevant . Thanks to all of you who wrote me asking if all was well... Life is good, I just haven't had the motivation to write as of late or it was more that I didn't want to put whatever was in my head out there but that all has passed so let today be the end of my bloging hiatus. To kick of the new year and a new start I decided to change up the lookaround here, but I am still toggling with the colours and whatnot so bare with me on that one.
2005 has come and gone and I have decided to kick of the new year by looking back at the top 20 sports stories from my point of view. So much happened in sports in 2005 that i could write a different entry for each pro sport but that might get boring so i decided to mix it up and give u the top 20 that came to my mind. Following this, I will be back later this week with the top 10 things to look forward to for the upcoming year. (No pictures this time around going to keep it short, just easing my way back) In no particular order here goes...
Reflections: 2005
The NHL made its way back onto the ice after missing a complete season due to a lockout. With this new NHL came a new face and a poster boy for the future of the league by the name of Sidney Crosby. He is no Wayne Gretzky just yet but hopes are high...
Kobe Bryant single handedly outscores the entire Dallas Mavericks team by the end of the third quarter in a game late in the year reaching the 62 point mark.
Danica Patrick goes against all odds and ranks 4th in the Indy 500 breaking down barriers for women in the world of auto racing.
The new CBA for the NBA is completed which included a new minor league system and a new age restriction. To boot the NBA has now introduced a dress code for the players which requires sport coats if you at the end of the bench and no exposed chains, no hats, throwback's n sorts pre and post game at the arena.
Larry Brown leaves a championship team to return home and coach his hometown team the New York Knicks. One of the greatest coach in the game has a huge task ahead of him as the underachieving and overpaid Knicks might make him question his decision to leave Detroit...
Baseball took a big hit as the abuse of performance enhancing drugs came to the forefront and made its way to the supreme courts. Big names like Rafael Palmeiro and Jason Giambi were put in the spotlight which has now led to more severe penalties set for offenders of the drug policy.
The Chicago White Sox were able to join the ranks of the Boston Red Sox as they brought to and end their drought of 80 + years with no championship as they came away victorious in this years World series
Hurricane Katrina swept though the Gulf coast and devastated thousands. The New Orleans Saints and New Orleans hornets were moved to play in Oklahoma City and the question still remains when will they be able to return? The sports in this story are secondary to what happened to the people of New Orleans and even today people are trying to pick up the pieces. In efforts for relief a large number of professional athletes stepped forward to help out in any way they can which was a great thing to see.
Pat Riley wiggled his way back to the court as he now strides along the sidelines as the head coach of the Miami Heat after the "voluntary departure" of Stan Van Gundy
Phil Jackson aka the Zen Master returns to the coaching ranks with the Lakers and the countdown begins towards when we will see a blowup between him and his star Kobe Bryant who he called out in his book.
Wayne Gretzky is back on the ice but this time barking out defensive assignments to his players as he gets behind the bench as the new head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.
The likes of Mark Messeir and Jerry Rice walk away from the game ending memorable and definite hall of fame careers.
"Monday Night Football" shuts its lights off after almost 4 decades. ABC says farewell to one of its highest ranking TV shows of all time.
Steven A Smith almost pops a blood vessel on draft day when the Toronto Raptors selected Charlie Villanueva from UCONN for their 7th pick. Sure a lot of people were surprised but that reaction to ruin a young mans dream day was totally uncalled for!!
The New England Patriots successfully created a dynasty by winning their 3rd NFL championship in 4 years and in this era of salary caps and non guaranteed contracts that is a commendable feat.
The Spurs can be help up there with the great dynasties ... It would help if their franchise player showed a little more emotion and the team didn't come across as utterly robotic. Congratulations either way for winning and becoming one of the most underappreciated dynasties in professional sports.
Ron Artest returns to the court in a pacers uniform... only to a month later ask to be traded! this man needs to understand he plays a team sport and get with the program. In the world of the "tru warrier" the drama never ends.
"Black Monday" it was a crazy Monday right after the last few regular season NFL games were played as we witnessed a flurry of firings around the league as 6 head coaches were fired and one retired.
Steve Nash was awarded the NBA's highest honor as a player receiving the MVP award at the end of last season as he put up Stockton like numbers and led the suns to the biggest turnaround season in the history of the league. Barring anything out of the ordinary he should once again be in the running for this year as he leads the league in assists playing without their franchise player and losing 2 key role players.
I saved the best for last ... The saga that became the Philadelphia Eagles. It began early last year with some screaming and pushing along the sidelines but Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens put it aside and along with the rest of the team strode into the Superbowl. It got ugly from there with off-season finger pointing, a one week suspension from training camp, locker room battles and it ended with the decision to sit the star wide receiver for the rest of the season. Following this drama the star quarterback and star running back go down to bring an end to one of the most drama filled seasons for a NFL in recent memory.
"Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them -- a desire, a dream, a vision" - Muhammad Ali.
A woman with tons of questions looking for answers... I despise ignorance...I hope to put a smile on a persons face each day. Words I like to live by "Desire is half of life, indifference is half of death." - Khalil Gibran
