Basketball players have been referred to as the greatest athletes in the world. In the NBA, you see superbly conditioned athletes soar to the basket and throw down rim-rattling dunks or muscle past two or three defenders. Sometimes we marvel so much at these super beings that we, as fans, wonder how pro basketball players … [Read more…]
The voting process for NBA All-Star games is far from perfect, but usually fans get it right. This year, they struggled a bit. If we’re handing out grades on how the fans did on voting for the starters in the 2014 All-Star Game on Feb. 16 in New Orleans, they should get a D for … [Read more…]
The most impressive part about the United States’ 156-73 destruction of Nigeria in the preliminary round of the men’s basketball tournament at the 2012 London Olympics was Carmelo Anthony’s 37 points in 14 minutes. Think about it. Melo made13 of 16 shots from the field and was 10-for-12 from behind the 3-pointer arc (a couple … [Read more…]
LeBron James looks around the room at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas where USA Basketball is holding its Olympics press conference and he likes what he sees. It doesn’t matter that his Miami Heat buddies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh are not a part of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team because of injuries, and … [Read more…]
No Derrick Rose. No Dwight Howard. No Dwyane Wade. No Chris Bosh. Is USA Basketball in trouble? Hardly. The talent pool is still very deep and whomever the U.S. sends to London they will be heavily favored to win an Olympic gold medal. The team convenes in Las Vegas on July 5 to start training … [Read more…]
There is no clear cut front-runner in the race for the most valuable player award, which creates a real interesting finish this month. Five candidates have surged in the forefront (in no particular order): Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. With the exception of Love, each MVP contender is in … [Read more…]
USA Basketball recently announced the 20 finalists who will compete for the 12 spots on the senior men’s national team that will represent the U.S. in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Among the finalists are holdovers from the 2008 gold-medal winning team in Beijing: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, … [Read more…]
Prince is without a doubt Minnesota’s favorite son. But Ricky Rubio is fast becoming Minnesota’s favorite adopted son. Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love – now in his fourth year in the NBA – says there is an electric atmosphere around the Target Center this season. Minnesota, which had been in the dark ages the past … [Read more…]
Kevin Love is pulling out all the stops in his bid for a spot on the Western Conference All-Star roster. Love shot a commercial that shows him promoting his new fragrance, “Numb#rs” (insert joke here). Now, you’re probably saying “what a cheesy way to campaign for a spot in the All-Star Game.” I say, “what … [Read more…]
Not a single player from the 2008 U.S. national team will compete in the 2010 FIBA World Championship, so Team USA will have a brand new look. If the 2008 U.S. squad – a group that included Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade – was nicknamed the Redeem Team, then the 2010 U.S. team … [Read more…]