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Spike-Kobe and basketball is show time
Spike Lee has just made a miracle. He has produced a movie, which title is “Kobe Bryant 04/13 /08”, where Los Angeles Lakers’ star put his talent into evidence . He used 30 cameras to highlight best actions of Kobe during the game Los Angeles Lakers-San Antonio Spurs. What’s more, Spike Lee filmed Kobe and Los Angeles Lakers roster in the dressing room before playing game.
The performance is marvellous. Spike Lee has just made a miracle. He has produced a movie, which title is “Kobe Bryant 04/13 /08”, where Los Angeles Lakers’ star pu... more -
Former NBA player loses leg
Wayman Tisdale formerly of the Pacers, has had part of his right leg amputated because of bone cancer.
Tisdale spent 12 seasons in the NBA. He learned that he had a cancerous cyst after he broke his leg in a fall in early 2007.
Tisdale had knee-replacement surgery but he said that removing part of the leg would be the best way to make sure that the cancer would not return.
Tisdale is currently a touring jazz musician. Wayman Tisdale formerly of the Pacers, has had part of his right leg amputated because of bone cancer. ... more -
Kevin Duckworth, former Trail Blazer, dies at 44
One of the greats is no longer with us, as ESPN reports:
"Former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died while on a trip to the Oregon Coast to host a free basketball clinic. He was 44.
The Lincoln County sheriff's office confirmed the death. He died Monday.
The 7-foot Duckworth averaged 11.8 points and 5.8 rebounds over 11 seasons in the NBA, helping Portland reach the NBA Finals in 1990 and 1992. The two-time All-Star also played for San Antonio, Washington, Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Clippers." One of the greats is no longer with us, as ESPN reports: ... more -
Jason Kidd leaves Nike and signs deal with Chinese sneaker company "Peak"...
Never saw that one coming! Jason Kidd has been with Nike for a long time, and for him to leave suddenly, after getting a Gold medal, for a shoe company even *I* never heard of?!?! WOW! Never saw that one coming! Jason Kidd has been with Nike for a long time, and for him to leave suddenly, after getting a Gold medal, ... more
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Us “dream team”, a lesson to the world
Game over. Basketball games came to an end, and Us dream team has just won without many efforts. Why ? Easy to understand. The attitude has improved, compared to Athens Olympics one. All the players was involved and sure to win, without arrogance, also if it wasn’t garbage time. The other teams was competitive, challenging, and eager of beating US stars. American team, anyway, was too motivated to miss the gold medal. They wanted to give a lesson ( of sport) to the world. To chinese players, very tall but little aggressive. To Spanish players, good at shooting but not too athletically strong. Finally, The most important lesson was given to soccer world, which teams had prevented their best players from being present at olympic games, fearing for their health. Game over. Basketball games came to an end, and Us dream team has just won without many efforts. Why ? Easy to understand. The attitud... more
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U.S. outgun Spain to win basketball gold, Spain to win basketball gold, US beat Sp...
Hot favourites the United States won Olympic men's basketball gold by outgunning Spain 118-107 in a final of hard fouls and flying elbows on Sunday. Hot favourites the United States won Olympic men's basketball gold by outgunning Spain 118-107 in a final of hard fouls and flyin... more
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USA basketball "redeems" with win over Spain
Order is restored in international basketball. Culminating a three-year mission to end years of embarrassment, the U.S. Olympic team survived a huge challenge from Spain, winning 118-107 Sunday in the gold-medal game. Order is restored in international basketball. Culminating a three-year mission to end years of embarrassment, the U.S. Olympic team s... more
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Best of Beijing Olympics - Day 16 (photos)
A photo gallery featuring the best of competition from August 24, 2008.
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US beat Spain to regain basketball gold
The United States won the gold medal in Olympic men's basketball with a 118-107 victory over Spain in the championship game on Sunday. Dwyane Wade scored 27 points and Kobe Bryant added 20 as the Americans grabbed their first gold medal in the event since the 2000 Olympics. But they were made to fight all the way by world champions Spain who had been humiliated by 37 points by the U.S. in pool play.
"It is more important and more special than any championship that any of us will ever win," Bryant said.
In a game so void of defense that it felt more like an NBA All-Star game than one with a title at stake, the Americans had too much offense down the stretch. The United States won the gold medal in Olympic men's basketball with a 118-107 victory over Spain in the championship game on Su... more -
US basketball team too strong for Europeans
Some problems for US team, but Spain can’t stop Kobe, Lebron and Carmelo, playing together. And then, there are also Paul and Bosh. Impossible to beat them, expecially if Dwayne Wade makes the difference. Spanish players are in high spirits. Navarro, Fernandez, Ricky( 18 years) and Pau Gasol show good movements.They are good at shooting and jump a lot. Kobe is the best one in the most difficult moments. The final is 118-107 for USA. Some problems for US team, but Spain can’t stop Kobe, Lebron and Carmelo, playing together. And then, there are also Paul and Bosh. Im... more
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Kobe is everywhere
Not in the basketball games, yet. Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony play better than he does. However, outside, he changes attitude and becomes the real star of olympics games. He is everwhere: at the swimming pool to see the italian championess, Federica Pellegrini, at the stadio, to see the brazilian star Ronaldinho, and so on. He speaks all the languages existing in the world: Spanish, Italian and sometimes English. He’s an idol for people, coming to see him. To sum up, He is the best manager of himself. Not in the basketball games, yet. Lebron James and Carmelo Anthony play better than he does. However, outside, he changes attitude and... more
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Suzanne "Sue" Bird - PHOTOS
the WNBA player Sue Bird is one of the most famous female basketball players.
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Basketballsoccer?
I have no idea what this is - seriously.
"Handball" is supposed to be like racquetball played with your hands.
I find it disturbing this pseudo-sport is part of the olympic games but football is not... of course I mean real football...not that game where pansies kick a ball around.
Why can't everyone just be more American? ugh I have no idea what this is - seriously. "Handball" is supposed to be like racquetball played with your hands. ... more -
American Chooses To Play for Team Germany in Beijing
BEIJING -- Half a world away, Kamanhaus is divided.
Actually, LeRoy Kaman would probably take issue with calling his home Kamanhaus. He'd prefer "the Kamans' house."
And if LeRoy Kaman turns on the television in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Monday morning to watch his son Chris play basketball, he'll be cheering against him.
"My dad is not so thrilled," Kaman said. "My mom has always supported me, she's great. My dad is kind of negative about it. He's like: 'You're not German, you're an American citizen.'"
But the Los Angeles Clippers center is not only an American citizen, he's a German citizen now, too, in possession of a freshly minted Deutschland passport that was processed earlier this summer, allowing him to join the German national team for the Beijing Olympics.
So when Germany takes the court against Team USA on Monday at 8 a.m. ET for its final game of this tournament, the man in the middle playing opposite Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh will be Chris Kaman. A red-blooded, born-and-bred American, three generations removed from the great-grandparents who decades ago first set foot on U.S. soil at Ellis Island in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. BEIJING -- Half a world away, Kamanhaus is divided. ... more -
Shawne Kemp in Italy
Shawn Kemp, the basketball player famous in 90's for being a great jumper, will join montegranaro team for italian championship 2008-2009. Shawn Kemp, the basketball player famous in 90's for being a great jumper, will join montegranaro team for italian championship 2... more
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U.S. basketball team really is a dream
They are everywhere. Kobe is at beach volleyball. Chris Bosh is on the Great Wall. Look there in the stands - isn't that the U.S. men's basketball team taking in a U.S. women's game?
They're signing autographs. By now every athlete in the Olympic Village must have a photo with one of them, many with Kobe. Chinese fans have drained the available supply of Bryant jerseys, and have nicknamed him, in Chinese of course, "Little Flying Warrior."
They are everywhere on the court, too. Defending the perimeter. Defending the paint, slapping away passes, hitting the floor for loose balls like high-schoolers trying to make their team. Greece, the last team to beat this version of American Olympic basketball in 2006, turned over the ball 25 times in a 92-69 U.S. victory Thursday - the first game between the teams since Greece upset the Americans in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championships.
Well, that's certainly a good thing. Better is how they are going about it. Gone is the smugness that defined this team in Olympics past, smugness that turned host countries against it and made it hard to root for it at home. The Americans are adored here, probably more than they are in their home country.
No one here talks about that disappointing bronze medal in Athens. No one here hates on Kobe, or debates the team makeup, or even wonders why Jason Kidd was chosen to be on this team.
OK, I do. But I'm not Chinese.
The Chinese love this team. Even when the United States played China on Sunday, they loved this team. "I had a lady cry when she came up to me," Carlos Boozer said. "She came up to me, asked me for an autograph, and as I started to sign it, she started crying, literally crying. I couldn't believe that. I felt like the pope for a minute. I just play basketball."
These days, the most smug member of the team might be its coach. Twice after the last two games, Mike Krzyzewski has belittled reporters for their questions, once misunderstanding the Freudian term "super-ego" and Thursday night giving a not-so-good-natured ribbing to a reporter from Puerto Rico who dared to ask if lessons were learned from a loss to them in Athens.
"You must be from Puerto Rico," Krzyzewski said. "How did I know?"
Lucky for us, the world and particularly China, the U.S. players have embraced the directive of USA men's basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo that they win hearts along with the gold medal this time around. No talk of Angolans with spears, no nasty elbows. When the Americans pounded Angola the other night, Dwyane Wade praised his opponents for "making us play our 'A' game."
"This team is friendly," one Angolan player said afterward. "They play very nice."
But that's a backdrop to the bigger story here, the one in which the Chinese have embraced the U.S. team as if their own, and much to our delighted surprise, the U.S. team has embraced right back. The Redeem Teamers seem to get this whole Olympic experience thing. The other day, swimmer Michael Phelps mentioned that it was Kobe who asked for his picture, not the other way around.
Bryant is an icon here, bigger than LeBron or Wade, rivaled only by native Yao Ming in popularity. And he's clearly enjoying it. "The other day it was pouring down raining, and there was still a group outside of about 100 kids, just waiting, chasing the bus in the rain," he said.
Thursday night, for example, as the two anthems were playing, it was the Greek players who could have been accused of shallow nationalism. The U.S. team, to a man, stood, hand on heart, head bowed, one of the many little messages they have used to separate themselves from Dream Teams of the past.
They've already done that here. Back home? That's a little tougher nut to crack, especially since, unlike the Chinese, we've seen these guys on their worst behavior, too.
Still, isn't it great to be able to cheer for the best basketball team in the world again - without shaking your head and covering your eyes? They are everywhere. Kobe is at beach volleyball. Chris Bosh is on the Great Wall. Look there in the stands - isn't that the U.S.... more -
NBA teams seek clearance to sign Iranian
BEIJING – As interest has grown in the NBA over signing 7-foot-2 Iranian Olympian Hamed Ehadadi, the league office has sent a letter to its 30 teams instructing that they are forbidden to even discuss a contract with Ehadadi, Yahoo! Sports has learned.
In the letter, which was sent Friday, NBA legal counsel wrote: “It has come to our attention that representatives of Hamed Ehadadi, an Iranian basketball player, may be contacting NBA teams to discuss the possibility of signing Mr. Ehadadi to an NBA player contract.
“We have been advised that a federal statue prohibits a person or organization in the United States from engaging in business dealings with Iranian nationals.”
The NBA is applying to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control for a license that, “if granted,” the league said, would allow teams to negotiate with the 23-year-old Ehadadi. Until then, no franchise is allowed to do so.
Commissioner David Stern invited the Iranian national team to compete in July’s NBA summer league in Utah, allowing the team a pre-Olympics tune-up. When NBA teams started to show an interest in signing Ehadadi, Stern had league counsel begin the process of clearing a path through this complicated circumstance with the U.S. State Department. BEIJING – As interest has grown in the NBA over signing 7-foot-2 Iranian Olympian Hamed Ehadadi, the league office has sent a letter t... more -
That's Messed Up #1 " The News " - David Spates
David Spates and Alonza Maxwell Talk about things that they think are messed up, like how news reporters interview the most ignorant people they can find. Check out David's other videos like "2 girls 1 cup", "Talking with Dave#7", "St. Patricks Day Leprechaun"..and many others with more to come! Don't forget to add me as a friend and subscribe. :-)
Also if you have a youtube, Myspace, Facebook, or tagged account, please add me there too. Just search for my name. David Spates :-) David Spates and Alonza Maxwell Talk about things that they think are messed up, like how news reporters interview the most ignorant p... more -
Beijing Olympics - Day 6
The best of Thursday, August 14, 2008.
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Spanish Basketball Team Denies Racism
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish basketball player Jose Calderon rejected international media accusations on Wednesday that slit-eyed gestures by his team at the Beijing Olympics were racist and said he had great respect for Asian people.
Published pictures show the world champions dressed in Olympic kit standing on a basketball court marked with a Chinese dragon. All the players are pulling the skin back at the side of their eyes.
"I want to say that we have a great respect for the Orient and their peoples. Some of my best friends in Toronto are of Chinese origin," Calderon, who plays for Canada's Toronto Raptors team, said in a message posted on his website.
"Whoever interprets something else from the photos has taken it completely the wrong way," said Calderon.
Spanish newspapers also hit back at suggestions the pictures were racist, saying the team had donated money to charities helping the poor in Africa.
"To try and convert an affectionate gesture of a model group of sportsmen and women into racism is repugnant," said Jose Luis Martinez, columnist for the Marca sports newspaper in which the pictures first appeared.
Racism has blighted Spanish sport in the past.
Some spectators targeted Britain's black Formula One motor racing driver Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona in February and racist chants directed at black soccer players have been a persistent problem. MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish basketball player Jose Calderon rejected international media accusations on Wednesday that slit-eyed gestur... more
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