The Program Still Needs Improvement. Here's How:
The Mens' Senior National Team won its gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, but the team struggled entirely too much with Spain in the final. Spain's squad, led by brothers Pau and Marc Gasol, cut Team USA's fourth quarter margin to two points with just over two minutes left, this against a team led by such players as Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
How does something like that happen?
Well, the main explanation is a lack of big men. The result of the gold medal game looked exactly like a traditional Phoenix Suns game with the Suns fielding a quick and undersized team that runs up a lot of points at the expense of sound half court defense. Even with Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim on the sideline, the game managed to resemble the wild, wide-open style of the NBA's Western Conference.
Why? Because Jerry Colangelo is in charge of USA Basketball. For whatever reason, Colangelo broke character and traded for Shaquille O'Neal, making his Phoenix squad instantly bigger around the rim. When building a gold medal prototype however, Colangelo went small, installing Dwight Howard as Team USA's only true center. Aside from Carlos Boozer, the team featured virtually no power forwards, bruising 6'8" to 6'10" types that can rebound the ball and score with their backs to the basket.
Since Howard, James, Bryant and Chris Bosh are such excellent rebounders, there's not much to complain about in that department. Team USA out-rebounded opponents handily. And who needs to score with one's back to the basket when you can face up and score the way these guys can? But when the games became physical, there was no enforcer to line out America's opponents. Bryant set a few hard screens. He practically leveled his regular-season teammate Pau Gasol during the final. But there wasn't enough of that because Colangelo's selected personnel were mostly slim, quick flyers best suited to run and dunk as opposed to stuffing another team's front line.
Tayshawn Prince is an awesome player. He certainly belongs on the team. But how many people will he shake up on a pick and roll? He can't deliver a shoulder like good-old-day enforcer types like Charles Oakley. The United States Senior Mens National Team needs enforcers. It needs bigger players around the rim.
Spain shot 51 percent against the United States, which is completely unacceptable. The Gasols obliterated the American's interior, operating unchecked for easy scores near the goal. Pau Gasol scored 21 points. Marc, a burly seven-footer, scored 11. They faced little if any double teams because Krzyzewski didn't have big enough players to double team them.
Team USA's defense also suffered because Colangelo, Krxyxewski and others in charge of roster selection decided to leave Bruce Bowen off of the squad. This move pressured Bryant to focus on defense instead of scoring. Granted, the U.S. could afford it, but Bowen's defensive prowess would have made an immense improvement to the team. If I were selecting, I would have left Deron Williams off of the roster and made do with Jason Kidd and Chris Paul. There's no need for three point guards when Bryant, Wade, James and Michael Redd are available to tackle ball handling duties if, for some reason, Kidd and Paul needed help. (Like they would need such anyway.)
Bosh, Prince and Redd delivered wonderfully, but maybe they could have been replaced with bigger players.
Allowing 51 percent shooting is less than ideal. The rationale for quicker players was to shore up 3-point defense, yet Spain shot 47 percent from behind the arc. Where was the defense?
Basically, Team USA outscored Spain. This resulted in a fun game to watch, one which I felt was never in doubt, but the 11-point final margin is a disappointment. Our guys can beat Spain better than that. The Spanish players played the games of their lives. Team USA played solid, but it didn't dig very deep. The result was a fun but lowbrow form of basketball that might cost us in later international competitions. Future Team USAs should focus more on defense, a more-traditional half-court offense and double-teaming an opponent's front line. Those elements will keep Team USA from having to settle for an 11-point victory in a gold medal game that should have been won by 25 or 30.
Monday, August 25, 2008
The Bejing Olympics is History
China's Summer Games and What the Country Needs to do Next
The Olympics concluded Sunday. The entire event seemed like a huge success, in spite of China's smog problem, human rights record and penchant for cheating in womens' gymnastics.
Critics of China have complained about world leaders and the International Olympic Committee, claiming that China's human rights violations are going ignored. It's as if President Bush et al have the leverage to do something about it. They don't. The next best option is to allow China to host an Olympics. If China wants to play a more integral role in the world, it will have to Westernize. Hosting an Olympics is a big step in indoctrinating China to the ways of capitalism. Major corporations like Wal-Mart and Nike have done their part to lure China toward a supply-and-demand culture.
Ultimately, Chinese leaders will have to scrap the human rights atrocities, the aversion to free speech and the cloak of secrecy to make any meaningful progress. They will have to scrap Communism, a rigid, inefficient Cold War relic that offers little hope for China's future. Like Cuba, China has squeezed every ounce possible from Communism, and there's no where to go with it.
If the current Chinese leadership hasn't learned anything from the Olympics, perhaps their successors did. It's just a matter of time before Communism falls for good and the holdouts adapt.
The Olympics concluded Sunday. The entire event seemed like a huge success, in spite of China's smog problem, human rights record and penchant for cheating in womens' gymnastics.
Critics of China have complained about world leaders and the International Olympic Committee, claiming that China's human rights violations are going ignored. It's as if President Bush et al have the leverage to do something about it. They don't. The next best option is to allow China to host an Olympics. If China wants to play a more integral role in the world, it will have to Westernize. Hosting an Olympics is a big step in indoctrinating China to the ways of capitalism. Major corporations like Wal-Mart and Nike have done their part to lure China toward a supply-and-demand culture.
Ultimately, Chinese leaders will have to scrap the human rights atrocities, the aversion to free speech and the cloak of secrecy to make any meaningful progress. They will have to scrap Communism, a rigid, inefficient Cold War relic that offers little hope for China's future. Like Cuba, China has squeezed every ounce possible from Communism, and there's no where to go with it.
If the current Chinese leadership hasn't learned anything from the Olympics, perhaps their successors did. It's just a matter of time before Communism falls for good and the holdouts adapt.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
USA Mens' Basketball x 2008 Olympics
I really hope USA Basketball takes gold on the men's side. We all know the women will do it. I just wish the men continue their dominance and intensity.
Having routed "World Champion" Spain today 119-82, the Americans look primed to take gold in Beijing. If our guys had only passed the ball against Greece way back when, we'd of won Worlds instead of Spain. Unfortunately, the five players we had on the floor at any given moment got tight and decided they should try to beat Greece as individuals. I mean, James, Anthony and company played like they were in a pickup game, treating each other like a bunch of strangers they had never played with before. So they lost to Greece in a moronic performance that defies logic.
And USA Basketball didn't lose to Greece because it couldn't defense the pick and roll. It lost because it didn't pass on offense. By the way, they could have defended the pick and roll, they just didn't. And they shouldn't've had to. All they needed to do to beat Greece was to simply outscore them - outrun them, force a quicker tempo and outscore them. They didn't do any of that, nor pass, and they lost. Simple as that. By dumb fluke Team USA lost at the World Championships.
Now the US team marches forward with the unneccesary addition of Kobe Bryant and the very neccessary addition of Tayshawn Prince on a quest for redemption and the United States' rightful place atop the podium holding gold. I can't wait for the gold medal game and our 30-point-plus margin of victory.
Having routed "World Champion" Spain today 119-82, the Americans look primed to take gold in Beijing. If our guys had only passed the ball against Greece way back when, we'd of won Worlds instead of Spain. Unfortunately, the five players we had on the floor at any given moment got tight and decided they should try to beat Greece as individuals. I mean, James, Anthony and company played like they were in a pickup game, treating each other like a bunch of strangers they had never played with before. So they lost to Greece in a moronic performance that defies logic.
And USA Basketball didn't lose to Greece because it couldn't defense the pick and roll. It lost because it didn't pass on offense. By the way, they could have defended the pick and roll, they just didn't. And they shouldn't've had to. All they needed to do to beat Greece was to simply outscore them - outrun them, force a quicker tempo and outscore them. They didn't do any of that, nor pass, and they lost. Simple as that. By dumb fluke Team USA lost at the World Championships.
Now the US team marches forward with the unneccesary addition of Kobe Bryant and the very neccessary addition of Tayshawn Prince on a quest for redemption and the United States' rightful place atop the podium holding gold. I can't wait for the gold medal game and our 30-point-plus margin of victory.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
The Gold Medal That Matters Most
The one event I want my country to win most is Men's Basketball.
Silver is simply unacceptable.
The only way USA Basketball can lose is if they slack off on defense, hog the ball and take difficult shots. If they work together and find easy shots, they will be fine. We'll see if Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, et al can play smart enough to win what should be an easy event.
With all of the scorers on the team, they should be able to simply outscore their opponents. So far, that hasn't been the case. They need defense this time. The scorers need to step it up. It's like only one guy can manage 20 points throughout the course of a game. There should be two guys with 20 and another with 12 or 15.
And someone should've had a 40-point game by now. No one has gotten hot yet? Come on.
Silver is simply unacceptable.
The only way USA Basketball can lose is if they slack off on defense, hog the ball and take difficult shots. If they work together and find easy shots, they will be fine. We'll see if Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, et al can play smart enough to win what should be an easy event.
With all of the scorers on the team, they should be able to simply outscore their opponents. So far, that hasn't been the case. They need defense this time. The scorers need to step it up. It's like only one guy can manage 20 points throughout the course of a game. There should be two guys with 20 and another with 12 or 15.
And someone should've had a 40-point game by now. No one has gotten hot yet? Come on.
China's Olympics Opening Ceremony
Bob Costas said China's Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony "surpassed all superlatives." He pretty much thought it was the greatest opener in Olympic history.
I don't know about that, but the Chinese did a pretty good job. I could have done without the awkward press conference smack in the middle of the thing. Like we all want to hear some windbags talk too much. Reserve that for CSPAN.
I still think seasoned runners should carry the Olympic flame around the stadium. Some of those poor people they selected couldn't run. One man, Chinese of course, earned a gold medal in marksmanship or shooting or whatever they call it. He might be useful in a drive-by shooting in South Central Los Angeles, but he couldn't run very well. Then the torch got handed to another former Olympian, also Chinese. She couldn't run either.
Let runners handle the torch, particularly relay runners. It doesn't matter if they medaled or not. What matters is that they look graceful when they run on television while in possession of the Olympic flame. That's all I care about.
If I want to see people who can't run, I'll go to my gym and work out.
Then at the end, they suspended another former Chinese Olympian from wires and paraded him around the whole stadium. He was positioned against video animation. He acted as if he was running while the animation scrolled forward with him. It was cool for a moment. Then Costas announced that this element wouldn't end until the man made it around the whole building.
That seemed tedious. So I was asking "How long will this take?" As this played out, NBC felt compelled to cut away to Yao Ming, a second-tier NBA All Star (even as a starter). Ming stood throughout and held a small child who had saved some folks from danger. Nothing wrong with that. I just wouldn't want my starting center standing all night and holding anything remotely heavy. He might be tired when he faces USA Basketball tomorrow. So, I don't get that.
Ole Ming the Merciful isn't nearly the greatest athlete at the Games either, yet the network felt compelled to showcase him. NBC did this a lot, and it got obnoxious. Focus on the event, not the crowd. That part of the production reminded me of a Laker game where the television production crew doesn't have enough sense to keep the focus on the game. They think we want to see the guy who played Spiderman and whatever actor and actress has a new romantic comedy to promote.
Anyway, the running man got around the stadium. He lit the flame, triggering to a truly awesome fireworks routine worthy of Las Vegas on the Fourth of July. The fireworks rocked. The mid-ceremony presser did not rock.
I don't know about that, but the Chinese did a pretty good job. I could have done without the awkward press conference smack in the middle of the thing. Like we all want to hear some windbags talk too much. Reserve that for CSPAN.
I still think seasoned runners should carry the Olympic flame around the stadium. Some of those poor people they selected couldn't run. One man, Chinese of course, earned a gold medal in marksmanship or shooting or whatever they call it. He might be useful in a drive-by shooting in South Central Los Angeles, but he couldn't run very well. Then the torch got handed to another former Olympian, also Chinese. She couldn't run either.
Let runners handle the torch, particularly relay runners. It doesn't matter if they medaled or not. What matters is that they look graceful when they run on television while in possession of the Olympic flame. That's all I care about.
If I want to see people who can't run, I'll go to my gym and work out.
Then at the end, they suspended another former Chinese Olympian from wires and paraded him around the whole stadium. He was positioned against video animation. He acted as if he was running while the animation scrolled forward with him. It was cool for a moment. Then Costas announced that this element wouldn't end until the man made it around the whole building.
That seemed tedious. So I was asking "How long will this take?" As this played out, NBC felt compelled to cut away to Yao Ming, a second-tier NBA All Star (even as a starter). Ming stood throughout and held a small child who had saved some folks from danger. Nothing wrong with that. I just wouldn't want my starting center standing all night and holding anything remotely heavy. He might be tired when he faces USA Basketball tomorrow. So, I don't get that.
Ole Ming the Merciful isn't nearly the greatest athlete at the Games either, yet the network felt compelled to showcase him. NBC did this a lot, and it got obnoxious. Focus on the event, not the crowd. That part of the production reminded me of a Laker game where the television production crew doesn't have enough sense to keep the focus on the game. They think we want to see the guy who played Spiderman and whatever actor and actress has a new romantic comedy to promote.
Anyway, the running man got around the stadium. He lit the flame, triggering to a truly awesome fireworks routine worthy of Las Vegas on the Fourth of July. The fireworks rocked. The mid-ceremony presser did not rock.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Favre Leaves Titletown
The Green Bay Packers traded Brett Favre to the New York Jets. (Favre must really want to play!)
The Jets suffered through a 4-12 record last season.
Who would've thought going into this NFL season that the Jets would look like geniuses and the Packers would look like the exact opposite?
And when Packers coach Mike McCarthy states that Favre doesn't have the right mindset to play for the Packers, it makes me wonder if McCarthy has the right mindset to coach them.
The Jets suffered through a 4-12 record last season.
Who would've thought going into this NFL season that the Jets would look like geniuses and the Packers would look like the exact opposite?
And when Packers coach Mike McCarthy states that Favre doesn't have the right mindset to play for the Packers, it makes me wonder if McCarthy has the right mindset to coach them.
More on Favre
Right now, it looks like Brett Favre might be traded, possibly to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Let me say this: I realize the Green Bay Packers made a commitment to Aaron Rodgers as starting quarterback, but the team also made a commitment to Favre well before Rodgers was playing high school football. Green Bay should ride out that commitment. If Favre wants to return to football and play quarterback for Green Bay, Green Bay should let him. They committed to him long term, and now they are reneging on that commitment so they can play a younger player.
Basically, Green Bay management is treating Favre the way it is due to Favre's age.
Finishing the commitment with Favre is the wise thing to do, because this guy isn't going anywhere soon. He'll be retired for good in a year or so, and the Packer organization is going to have this mad, bitter Hall of Famer lurking around. Green Bay needs to maintain a good relationship with the man, and it's doing everything to sabotage it. This is not sound long-term strategy for the organization. It's a public relations nightmare now, and it will continue for years on down the road when all Green Bay had to do was allow their icon quarterback to play.
It's stupid. It's plain stupid.
When we're all reading about this and watching it in the media in the coming decades, we should all remember to point our fingers at the team. The blame falls squarely on the Packer organization. This whole fiasco is bad personnel management at its finest.
Let me say this: I realize the Green Bay Packers made a commitment to Aaron Rodgers as starting quarterback, but the team also made a commitment to Favre well before Rodgers was playing high school football. Green Bay should ride out that commitment. If Favre wants to return to football and play quarterback for Green Bay, Green Bay should let him. They committed to him long term, and now they are reneging on that commitment so they can play a younger player.
Basically, Green Bay management is treating Favre the way it is due to Favre's age.
Finishing the commitment with Favre is the wise thing to do, because this guy isn't going anywhere soon. He'll be retired for good in a year or so, and the Packer organization is going to have this mad, bitter Hall of Famer lurking around. Green Bay needs to maintain a good relationship with the man, and it's doing everything to sabotage it. This is not sound long-term strategy for the organization. It's a public relations nightmare now, and it will continue for years on down the road when all Green Bay had to do was allow their icon quarterback to play.
It's stupid. It's plain stupid.
When we're all reading about this and watching it in the media in the coming decades, we should all remember to point our fingers at the team. The blame falls squarely on the Packer organization. This whole fiasco is bad personnel management at its finest.
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Batman's Box Office Record Not So Amazing
The Dark Knight passed the $400 million mark in just 18 days. The second-fastest movie to $400 million was Shrek 2. Poor old Shrek needed 43 days to do it. Never us mind the fact that ticket prices now are more expensive than in Shrek 2's era.
The latest Batman adventure is expected to overtake Star Wars soon in terms of dollars earned.
But ... but ... and this is so important ... if you adjust the sales to inflation, Gone With the Wind will still be No. 1 and Star Wars will still be No. 2. Those movies are still way ahead of Titanic and The Dark Knight in terms of actual box office success.
It's a good thing this blog exists because the public apparently needs to be reminded of this very important fact.
These modern box office gross stories reported in the press are so bothersome. They are never subjective, and people eat them up like they're candy.
Let's start running stories about the number of tickets sold because that's really the best way to measure things. The Dark Knight will not sell as many tickets as Jaws or E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. It certainly won't beat Star Wars or Gone With the Wind.
This whole Batman box office thing is such a farce.
The latest Batman adventure is expected to overtake Star Wars soon in terms of dollars earned.
But ... but ... and this is so important ... if you adjust the sales to inflation, Gone With the Wind will still be No. 1 and Star Wars will still be No. 2. Those movies are still way ahead of Titanic and The Dark Knight in terms of actual box office success.
It's a good thing this blog exists because the public apparently needs to be reminded of this very important fact.
These modern box office gross stories reported in the press are so bothersome. They are never subjective, and people eat them up like they're candy.
Let's start running stories about the number of tickets sold because that's really the best way to measure things. The Dark Knight will not sell as many tickets as Jaws or E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. It certainly won't beat Star Wars or Gone With the Wind.
This whole Batman box office thing is such a farce.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Nike Plus Sensor Dying, Arrgh!
I've logged 132 miles on my Nike Plus account since late May. That works out to anywhere from six to 12 miles weekly. I run six to 12 miles a week. Not bad for a casual runner.
Anyway, I locked up my iPod Nano while navigating my Nike+iPod screens. I had to resort to the Internet to solve that problem. (You press the middle button and the Menu button simultaneously. It works. It really works.)
Learn something new every day. Like, for one, I didn't know iPods could lock up. Two, I didn't know about the workaround. Now I know of both!
How awesome!
Anyway, my Nano also showed me a message regarding my Nike Plus sensor battery.
It has a battery? Oh geez!
Yes, the sensors have batteries, and mine is running low. It's on life support for two weeks before it conks out for good.
Nice.
I wasn't aware that these things had batteries. Perhaps Apple and Nike can design a sensor that never runs down. They could power this new and improved sensor with magic or the Force.
The message boards say you can take the sensor to your local Apple Store and get a replacement for free. That's providing that you've had the sensor for under a year. I live in Arkansas. There're no Apple Stores in Arkansas. You'd think Little Rock would have one, but it doesn't.
Again, nice.
So, I have to go on some long quest like Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings to acquire a new Nike Plus sensor for free, or I can pay $30 for a whole new kit (much easier), which I don't mind doing considering the convenience. But why not save $30?
Fix my sensor, Apple. Hook me up. Dang.
Anyway, I locked up my iPod Nano while navigating my Nike+iPod screens. I had to resort to the Internet to solve that problem. (You press the middle button and the Menu button simultaneously. It works. It really works.)
Learn something new every day. Like, for one, I didn't know iPods could lock up. Two, I didn't know about the workaround. Now I know of both!
How awesome!
Anyway, my Nano also showed me a message regarding my Nike Plus sensor battery.
It has a battery? Oh geez!
Yes, the sensors have batteries, and mine is running low. It's on life support for two weeks before it conks out for good.
Nice.
I wasn't aware that these things had batteries. Perhaps Apple and Nike can design a sensor that never runs down. They could power this new and improved sensor with magic or the Force.
The message boards say you can take the sensor to your local Apple Store and get a replacement for free. That's providing that you've had the sensor for under a year. I live in Arkansas. There're no Apple Stores in Arkansas. You'd think Little Rock would have one, but it doesn't.
Again, nice.
So, I have to go on some long quest like Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings to acquire a new Nike Plus sensor for free, or I can pay $30 for a whole new kit (much easier), which I don't mind doing considering the convenience. But why not save $30?
Fix my sensor, Apple. Hook me up. Dang.
To Play or Not to Play
With regards to Brett Favre, that is the question.
Should the Green Bay Packers start Favre at quarterback over Aaron Rodger's, a man the Packers committed to as the future of the franchise?
It's a really good thing this blog exists, because it has the answer. It is a simple one. Yes, you start Favre over Rodgers. Despite what Packers management told Rodgers, he is an unproven commodity with youth on his side. He can wait a season. Besides, the public would rather watch Favre.
The Packer's refusal to play Favre is the reason this situation is so crazy. Play him already! The standoff is hurting the Packers organization from the top to the locker room. An unhealthy media frenzy has ignited. Everyone is talking about it. Wendi Nix, an ESPN reporter, called the situation between Favre and the Packers a "circus" during one of her pieces. Retired NFL legends are suddenly in front of television cameras offering their opinions about the controversy. Regardless of whether the commentary is favorable, unfavorable or neutral, such attention is not good for the Packers or the NFL.
Favre has too much clout for the Packers to be telling him "no." When a presumed first-ballot Hall-of-Famer like Favre decides he wants to return for a season, you make the accommodation. You don't meddle. The Packers are meddling, and they're doing it in spite of public opinion, which is squarely on Favre's side. Why go against that? Doesn't the Packer management know that that is not wise?
Guess not.
Should the Green Bay Packers start Favre at quarterback over Aaron Rodger's, a man the Packers committed to as the future of the franchise?
It's a really good thing this blog exists, because it has the answer. It is a simple one. Yes, you start Favre over Rodgers. Despite what Packers management told Rodgers, he is an unproven commodity with youth on his side. He can wait a season. Besides, the public would rather watch Favre.
The Packer's refusal to play Favre is the reason this situation is so crazy. Play him already! The standoff is hurting the Packers organization from the top to the locker room. An unhealthy media frenzy has ignited. Everyone is talking about it. Wendi Nix, an ESPN reporter, called the situation between Favre and the Packers a "circus" during one of her pieces. Retired NFL legends are suddenly in front of television cameras offering their opinions about the controversy. Regardless of whether the commentary is favorable, unfavorable or neutral, such attention is not good for the Packers or the NFL.
Favre has too much clout for the Packers to be telling him "no." When a presumed first-ballot Hall-of-Famer like Favre decides he wants to return for a season, you make the accommodation. You don't meddle. The Packers are meddling, and they're doing it in spite of public opinion, which is squarely on Favre's side. Why go against that? Doesn't the Packer management know that that is not wise?
Guess not.
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