No one is happy with the owners, least of all the players after the old guys basically told them recently “Here, we’ll give you two slices from this large buffalo chicken pizza, but if you don’t wash the dishes afterwards, next time you might only get the leftover crust.” Tomorrow is the most important day yet in the lockout, a chance for the players to (hopefully) vote and (hopefully… for our own selfish reasons) agree to a deal. If they don’t give the offer any consideration – which seems the most likely case – the sides will split further apart and the cancellations could eat up the majority of this season. Michael Jordan is in the middle of it all – finally – but as we called for him to get more involved, I don’t think the players expected him to do what he did.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.
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