We’ve been on to Nike Pro Combat for a minute, playing in the stuff whenever we get a chance. That’s why when I saw this commercial of LBJ preparing for battle, I knew I could hang with the MVP. (At least for a minute.)

I know three things about the National Hockey League:

1. There are four Black people involved in the whole operation. 2. Sidney Crosby is the face of the League. 3. Alexander Ovechkin is actually the best player in the League.

Ovechkin made headlines last week when he bashed the NHL for not yet committing to modify its schedule to accommodate the 2014 Winter Olympics. (The League is putting its schedule on hold while players compete in 2010, but hasn’t decided if they’ll do the same for 2014.) Russia is hosting the Olympics that year; Ovechkin is Russia’s top player. Read More »

“You will see a team of professionals in the Olympics again, but I don’t think you’ll see another team quite like this. This was a majestic team.” – USA coach Chuck Daly

There will never be a basketball team like the 1992 U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball Team. In the first Olympics to allow NBA players, the Dream Team dismantled the rest of the world, averaging an Olympic record 117.3 points per game and outscoring opponents by an average of 43.8 points on its way to gold. Today, they’ll be formally introduced and honored at the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Chicago. Read More »

One of my favorite sites, The700Level.com, points out that on this day back in 1992, in the midst of a demoralizing 38-7 (the Dream Team had reeled off 31 unanswered points at the time) destruction of the Angolan National Team, Charles Barkley decided to crack one of their players with an elbow after rampaging to an easy transition bucket. The incident happens at 3:17 of the video, but it’s worth wathing the whole thing to watch young(er) MJ, Magic, Larry Legend and Co. doing their thing…

Sir Charles’ reasoning for the ‘bow from The700Level:
Read More »

The USA men’s basketball team’s well-documented shortcomings in 2002, 2004 and 2006 created a stone-cold sober climate before the Beijing Games in 2008. Players and coaches approached their commitment to winning gold with a sense of gravity largely absent from the years marred by defeat. However, amid all of the seriousness of Team USA’s run through Beijing, there were moments away from the media spotlight in which these 14 guys loosened up and became a team.

We sat down with the Redeem Team’s gold-medal winning coach, Duke living legend Mike Krzyzewski, for DIME 50 to talk about those lighter times when laughter and smiles became the backbone for gold. Read More »

As we said this morning in Smack, now that the NBA Summer League is over in Vegas, the next basketball we have to look forward to is the USA Basketball National Team Mini-Camp which opens Thursday, July 23. While none of the big names from last summer’s Olympic run are going to make the trip, some of the top young NBA talents will do their best to make it to London in 2012. Read More »

If we believed that “Real_Ron_Artest” was the Tru Warier himself, then we’d be posting that he’s leaving Houston for Harlem to play for the Globetrotters.

“Yo, big announcement coming soon,” he tweeted late last night. “I’m signing with the…Globetrotters. I can’t wait to throw a bucket of confetti in ya grandma’s face.” Read More »

Other than perhaps winning an NBA title, there is nothing better than USA Basketball (as evidenced by Team USA’s gold medal run last summer). While there’s the NBA All Star game, there really are no other events that allow the best players in the world to grace the court at the same time. That’s why I was so excited to see that USA Basketball announced the 21 top young prep talents that have been named to the 2009-10 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team yesterday. Read More »

Majority opinion seems to be that the 2009 NBA Draft will be a weak one. Whereas the ‘08 class produced what could be a handful of future franchise players (Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, Brook Lopez, Eric Gordon), there are really only two players at the top of the ‘09 mock drafts who most experts think have that potential. One is Blake Griffin, and the other is Ricky Rubio. Read More »

We stopped by the NBA Store yesterday (52nd & 5th), where Coach Mike Krzyzewski told stories from his book, “The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team” (in stores now) about USA Basketball’s three-year commitment leading up to winning the gold in Beijing. After reading some excerpts to a group of students through the NBA Cares program, Coach K told some great stories about Team USA’s preparation - what he calls “team-building” - to win gold. Read More »