GOLD!!!

Yup that's right, the gold medal is comin' back home where it belongs. And what a game. Spain gave us all we could handle. Fernandez is a true stud. If you don't believe me, look up the "and one" dunk he put on Howard. But in the end my prediction rang true, as Kobe was unwilling to let the US lose. In the fourth, he hit a three, followed by a three and one, and then a clutch runner in the lane. I know many of you out there, Kate, aren't big fans of the guy, but he can ball, and I'm sure glad he was on our team. And you should have seen these guys in the waning seconds and after the game. This wasn't just a game, it meant everything to them. Kudos to Jerry Colangelo and Coach K for putting this team together, but the biggest kudos go to the players, who played with a class, dignity and passion that HAD been lacking in USA hoops for far too long. Thanks fellas.

the Dude

Gold?

Dude here watchin' the gold medal hoops game live (no I'm serious, had to stream it). It's halftime and the US (read us) is up 8 on Spain. Story of the game so far, the frickin' zebras. The game has been plagued with bad officiating, both ways, and has slowed the game down to a crawl. This is definitely advantageous to the Spaniards, as no one can run with us. The other story is that both teams are shooting a ridiculous 65% from the field. Thank god for D Wade or we might be down in this one. Rudy Fernandez, who's coming this way to the Blazers next year, was on fire in the first half. Fans here (of which I am one 80 games of the year) can start getting excited about this kid. He's athletic, has moves, and is drain-o from deep. Well, the second half is about to start, so I'll be back after the game, hopefully with good news. Just a small prediction real quick, I think Kobe might go off. He got in foul trouble early and looked pissed about it. As someone far more smarter than I once said, "It is not wise to upset a Wookie".

Beijing Magic

Like I said in my previous post, I have Olympic fever. My fever is now running hotter than ever. Right now I'm watching badminton, a great game, but in my opinion, not an Olympic sport. More of a backyard barbecue drinking game, or fun interlude in high school gym class. But that's neither here nor there. What an exciting week so far. I'll start with Superman, Michael Phelps. This guy is unbelievable. He's seven for seven so far, with his most difficult event behind him and one relay to go. Last nights 100m butterfly was an amazing race with Phelps coming from behind to win by 1/100 of a second. He has now tied Mark Spitz's (from IU) record of 7 golds in one Olympic games. Unfortunately, I think the relay is this evening and I'll be at the Timbers game, and will most likely miss history. Thank Krishna for the Internet.

I'll finish with the Redeem Team. Our boys are playing some great basketball. They just got finished dismantling the much ballyhooed Spanish team. Kobe and Lebron are playing great ball, but the two guys that have put this team over the top so far are D Wade and Chris Bosh. Wade is freaking everywhere on both ends of the floor. O boards, steals, and if you haven't seen "the Play" go immediately to www.nbcolympics.com and watch his steal, save and then oop to Kobe. That play alone is what separates the "us" from "them". And the really scary thing, we may have found our touch from deep. We had to have shot close to 50% from behind the line against the Spaniards. We are officially through to the medal round with one more game in group play against Dirk Nowitzki and Germany. Let's hope we stay healthy in the final game, so that we can do what we came here to do: dominate each game and bring home the gold and never again let it go.

the Dude

U-S-A

For the first time in a while, I'm actually interested in the Summer Olympics. You may even say I have Olympic fever. The opening ceremonies were amazing (to be honest I only saw highlights). And they should have been. I've heard they were budgeted at $100 million. Yesterday I got to see the cycling road race which was an outstanding race and some swimming prelims along with some beach volleyball before I had to get on to the Timbers match (which they tied 1-1, by the way). But what I've been waiting for was the "Redeem Team", USA hoops. After embarrassing ourselves in Athens, the men's basketball team looks hungry. In their first game they put the hurt on China. To be fair China is not very good, outside of Yao Ming and Yi, who both play in the NBA, but it's the way we are playing that's impressive. Our defense is stifling. We've got Kobe and LeBron creating havoc with whoever has the ball. Then off a miss or turnover we're off and running, and no one can hang with us in the open court. I have to give a lot of credit to Brian Colangelo, who assembled this team. He didn't just throw an all star team out there and hope that our athleticism would win us the gold. Instead he got Coach K to lead these guys, and convinced Kobe to play. And with selecting Chris Paul and Derron Williams we have two great young point guards, who are fast and hard nosed. Add Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, and Carlos Boozer on the inside, and we've got a lean, if not small, fast and determined team. And maybe the most overlooked and underrated member of the team is Michael Redd. In the past other countries would zone us up to keep us out of the paint, and we had no answer. Now we have a certified zone buster in Redd. Oh and did I mention 'Melo. He looked mean out there today, and we need that. We have to want to win. It won't be easy, though. The rest of the world has caught up with us. Spain and Argentina are legitimate threats, but as long as we play tough D and move the ball, no other country should come close. And at the risk of sounding conceited, that's the way it should be. Go USA!!!

the Dude