Sports Commentary
Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry refused to allow injury-prone center Zydrunas Ilgauskas to play for his native Lithuania in the Beijing Olympics.
QINHUANGDAO, CHINA - AUGUST 06: Natasha Kai of the USA controls the ball during a Women's Group G preliminary match between Norway and the USA at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 6, 2008 in Quinhuangdao, China. Norway defeated the USA 2-0. (Photo by Noriko Hayakusa/Getty Images)
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QINHUANGDAO, CHINA - AUGUST 06: Shannon Boxx of the USA controls the ball during a Women's Group G preliminary match between Norway and the USA at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 6, 2008 in Tianjin, China. Norway defeated the USA 2-0. (Photo by Noriko Hayakusa/Getty Images)
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QINHUANGDAO, CHINA - AUGUST 06: Amy Rodriguez of the USA controls the ball during a Women's Group G preliminary match between Norway and the USA at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 6, 2008 in Tianjin, China. Norway defeated USA 2-0. (Photo by Noriko Hayakusa/Getty Images)
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QINHUANGDAO, CHINA - AUGUST 06: USA players react after the defeat of Women's Group G match between Norway and USA during the football event on Day -2 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 6, 2008 in Qinhuangdao, China. Norway defeated USA 2-0. (Photo by Noriko Hayakusa/Getty Images)
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Uighurs play cards near a billboard displaying the Beijing Olympic Games mascots in Kashgar, China, Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008. Kashgar is 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) west of Beijing, in the far western region of Xinjiang _ a vast, rugged territory home to a Muslim minority called the Uighurs. They have a long history of pushing for independence, and Chinese authorities have blamed a series of sporadic bombings, shootings and riots in recent years on Uighur extremist groups.(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
AP
TIANJIN, CHINA - AUGUST 06: Canadian Women's team coach Even Pellerud looks on during Women's Group E match between Canada and Argentina during the football event on Day -1 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 7, 2008 in Tianjin, China. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
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TIANJIN, CHINA - AUGUST 06: Canadian Players pose for photographs before Women's Group E match between Canada and Argentina during the football event on Day -1 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 7, 2008 in Tianjin, China. Canada beat Argentina 2-1. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
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TIANJIN, CHINA - AUGUST 06: Mariela Coronel of Argentina (R) and Clare Rustad of Canada compete for the ball during Women's Group E match between Canada and Argentina during the football event on Day -1 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 7, 2008 in Tianjin, China. Canada defeated Argentina 2-1. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
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TIANJIN, CHINA - AUGUST 06: Christine Sinclair of Canada and Vanina Correa (L) and Eva Gonzalez of Argentina compete for the ball during Women's Group E match between Canada and Argentina during the football event on Day -1 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 7, 2008 in Tianjin, China. Canada beat Argentina 2-1. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
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Canada's Tyler Christopher attends a training session for the Canadian Olympic athletics squad in Singapore August 6, 2008. The Canadian athletics squad is training in Singapore in preparation for the Beijing Olympics 2008. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash (SINGAPORE)
Reuters
I only mention it because Ferry did allow LeBron James to play for Team USA.
From one ugly American to another, Danny, I’m proud of you. Talk about a true patriot. The way international competition has treated us lately, Phi Slama Uncle Sama needs every break it can get.
Not that those feisty Lithuanians still aren’t a threat. At this point, I wouldn’t put anything past Team USA. Those guys could win the gold medal in China or lose to a goat herder and four cave dwellers from Afghanistan.
Much has happened to the U.S. Olympic hoops team in recent years, none of it good. It all began in 2002, when Team USA finished sixth in the FIBA World Championships, just ahead of the Jamaican bobsled team. And no, it wasn’t because the Americans were ripped off by crooked officials in some faraway third-world country. The tournament was held in Indianapolis.
Two years later, the U.S. brought home a bronze medal from the Athens Games, losing to Puerto Rico, Lithuania and Argentina. Legend has it that Carmelo Anthony was so excited about it, he tossed his medal in a lake behind his house.
As things turned out, we hadn’t seen anything yet. The U.S. talked the talk before the 2006 World Championships, only to lose to Greece in the semifinals. To put that particular debacle in perspective, the Greeks lost 70-47 to Spain in the championship game.
So it’s official then. Elvis has left the building and he took the U.S.’s dominance in hoops with him. These days, we’re just another face in the crowd at the Olympics. Our players are quicker, taller and considerably richer than players from other countries, but, according to the scoreboard, they’re not any better. They’ve got more tats, but less medals. Less mettle, too.
Memo to the 12 members of Team USA: Enough already. If my informal poll at the corner watering hole is any indication, Americans are sick and tired of the Dream Team losing. Go ahead, let them kick our backsides in synchronized swimming and badminton, but not hoops, for crying out loud.
In this photo provided by the USGA, a black bear runs across the 13th fairway during the second round of the 2008 U.S. Senior Open Championship at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Friday, August 1, 2008. (John Mummert, USGA/AP)
John Mummert, USGA/AP
Australia's Sophie Edington balances a water bottle on her forehead during a training session in the Olympic Aquatic Center at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Tuesday, August 4, 2008. (David J. Phillip,AP)
David J. Phillip, AP
Flames rise around Chrissy Wallace's car after a crash in turn one the ARCA RE/MAX Series Pennsylvania 200 auto race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008. After the fire burned out, Wallace restarted her car and drove to the garage. (Russ Hamilton, AP)
Russ Hamilton, AP
Mike Mason competes in the Moto X Freestyle Final during X Games 14 on August 2, 2008 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. (Jonathan Moore, Getty Images)
Jonathan Moore, Getty Images
Houston Astros' Hunter Pence (9) and Mark Loretta, center, score to tie up the game as New York Mets catcher Ramon Castro (11) loses the ball in the ninth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008, in Houston. The Astros went on to win 5-4 in 10 innings. (Pat Sullivan, AP)
Pat Sullivan, AP
Ideye Brown (R) of FC Neuchatel Xamax fights for the ball with FC Aarau's Frederic Page (C) and goalkeeper Ivan Benito during their Super League soccer match in Neuchatel August 2, 2008. (Stefan Wermuth, Reuters)
Stefan Wermuth, Reuters
A diver practices at the National Aquatics Center ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 3, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Jamie Squire, Getty Images)
Jamie Squire, Getty Images
Carl Edwards, driver of the #99 Office Depot Ford, celebrates with a back flip after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at the Pocono Raceway on August 3, 2008 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Jim McIsaac, Getty Images)
Jim McIsaac, Getty Images
U.S. Olympic basketball team center Dwight Howard makes a slam dunk during a match against Lithuania in Macau, Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. (Kin Cheung, AP)
Kin Cheung, AP
Green Bay Packers safety Atari Bigby rides a small borrowed bicycle a block from Lambeau Field to Clark Hinkle Field for training camp in Green Bay, Wisconsin August 1, 2008. (Allen Fredrickson, Reuters)
Allen Fredrickson, Reuters
It’s bad enough that we rely on other countries for our cars and the gas to run them. It’s bad enough that a buck isn’t worth a nickel overseas. Do we have to let the world slap us around in basketball, too? I mean, let’s get real here. Team USA losing to Greece? Like that’s supposed to happen. What’s next, losing a war to France?
I’m out of answers as to why our NBA stars bomb in the international game. OK, so the lane is shaped a little funny. So other countries roll out a swarming zone defense whenever they play Team USA. Back in the day, when we sent college kids to represent the Stars & Stripes, that meant the U.S. would win by 20, not 30.
I’m out of answers, all right. Well, except for the obvious one: NBA players can’t stand the international game. And they don’t particularly like the Olympic experience, either. In a lot of cases, they have played because it would have been bad P.R. not to. Stiffing Uncle Sam, it seems, is no way to sell $150 sneakers to teenagers.
Not so anymore. Things will be different in Beijing. The culture, the atmosphere, and many of the players. At least that was the word out of Chicago on Monday, when the latest edition of Team USA was announced.
‘‘It’s not an all-star team — it’s a team,’’ said U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The team does have a decidedly different look than previous ones. Case in point: Unlike Dream Teams past, this team isn’t filled with wall-to-wall scorers. There’s a defensive specialist, Tayshaun Prince, and a handful of distributors, including Deron Williams and Chris Paul.
Who knows? Maybe things really will be different in China. Maybe order will be restored and the U.S. will regain its rightful spot atop the international hoops food chain, high above Greece and Puerto Rico and Argentina.
But frankly, a lot of people have to see it to believe it.
Jim Armstrong is a sports columnist for The Denver Post. Feel free to e-mail him at dontmissjim@aol.com.
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