LiveBlogging - Women's Beach Volleyball Gold Medal Match

Kerri Walsh and Misty May compete against Wang Jie and Tian Jiain the gold medal match for Women's Beach Volleyball.

• no time for an intro, because it's starting RIGHT now
• This rainstorm is going to wreck havoc for both teams, but the sand never seems to get wet, wth??
• May and Walsh are struggling against Tian and Wang, USA should be a little worried
• the last time May and WAlsh lost internationally was to these guys
• by the first technical timeout it's dead even at 10-10
• Misty may struggled at the beginning but, is picking it up
• even in HD I can't see the rain drops. Is it even raining?!?!
• 2 aces in a row for China and the lead is theirs again
• pouring rain and White bikinis do not go together...
• I think the rain makes Misty May look like the meanest mama jamma ever, I'm scared as hell right now
• Even though there's game stoppage after every point, beach volleyball is a pretty damn fast sport
• 19-17 now in the first set and the Chinese are getting a little flustered. The defensive calls are off and they just RAN into each other on offense.
• Even with the early scare, Walsh and May get the first set 21-18. May is a beast, I think her mascara is dripping a bit too much.

Set 2

• Wait just ONE MINUTE. NBC reported that Misty May sprinkled her mom's ashes over the olympic sand after they won gold in Athens and plans to do the same if they win today. Does anyone else find that just a LITTLE bit weird? Misty is scaring me more and more
• China is still acting confused
• The rain really seemed to affect USA alot. When it was pouring at the beginning of the match they were struggling a lot.
• May's digging seems a bit subpar. She's digging the balls, but not placing them very well. Walsh is an amazing setter though, so it'll be okay
• Tian and Wang are moving a lot more slowly
• I wonder if Chinese fans talk smack. For most of the olympics they've been so polite. Americans must seem so damn obnoxious.
• Karch Kiraly seemed surprised that the Chinese weren't serving Walsh. They listened to him and served her twice. And twice they got owned. Lesson? NEVER LET WALSH HIT. In fact, the only way to win is to not let her touch the ball at all. Karch Kiraly is silly
• Now Tian served Misty May twice in a row and what do you get? 2 aces.
• USA was in control, but China took a brief lead at 9-8.
• I wish I could watch Karch Kiraly play again. Damn I loved that pink hat.
  
• Everytime I watch a May/Walsh match NBC talks about Misty May's super close relationship with Jason Kidd. I wonder if they're doing it... Scratch that. They must be.
• Rain is starting to pick up, and Tian/Wang are back up 12-11
• Do you guys prefer beach volleyball wet or dry? I think all the horndogs will say wet. It's okay, just be honest.
• If I were China, and I just got a lead, I would absolutely not serve Walsh. Never let Walsh hit.
• For sure, if there is one clear cut advantage for China, it's their serving. Usa doesn't get nearly as high on their jump serves.
• I apologize for the uneven updates in this "LiveBlog". We just got a LiveBlogging service up, but I haven't configured it yet. I promise for the next LiveBlog it will actually be Live. I promise!
• This match is turning out to be faster than anticipated.
• 2 sets and its done. This has got to be one of the closest 2 set sweeps I've seen.
• And even before I could finish that previous sentence, Walsh spikes it for game point. You know what that means. Misty May's mom is now going to be all over China.
• This was way too fast. Even the celebration came fast. I didn't really like this.
  
• Man Misty May is dancing with the beach volleyball cheerleaders. Isn't that random. Should I liveblog the celebration too. OKAY!
• Even the cheerleaders don't get to wear clothes in the RAIN.
• Okay I guess that's the end of the liveblogging because Bob Costas had to crash the freaking party. Thanks Bob. Thanks.
• Yay it's back. This is awesome, I wish Michael Phelps was as excited as May and Walsh are right now.
• Kerri Walsh sent shout out to Georgie Bush. All I can think about is this picture. Misty May getting her butt smacked will live forever as one of the greatest moments in Olympic History. As long as this blog is alive at least.
  

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US Gymnast Alicia Sacramone Knocks a Dude Out

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Surprise! Olympic Controversy

The spirit of competition in Beijing has awoken the beast of controversy throughout the various events. Whether it be about synchronized swimming costumes or a Swedish wrestler's protest to the refereeing, controversy has plagued the Olympic scene. But none has aroused more uproar than the suspect new scoring system in women's gymnastics. A system which changed the 10-point system into the sum of a difficulty and a 10-pt execution score.

In one such case, Alicia Sacramone was robbed of a bronze medal in the individual women's vault competition by China's Fei Cheng, who scored a 15.562(+.025). Sacramone's two vaults were of 6.3 and 5.8 difficulties, which she executed to get an average score of 15.537. Unfortunately, Cheng, the leader after the first vault, attempted only 6.5 difficulty jumps, giving her a .90 advantage from the get go.

And of course when a person has that kind of huge advantage from the start, one would expect that any gymnast that lands on her two feet would come out on top of Sacramone. Fei Cheng landed on her knees.

I do not know what they were thinking with this new system, but it has to go. A gymnast that completes two well-executed vaults should always outscore a gymnast who lands on her knees. The higher difficulty was a risk that Cheng took upon herself, which she proceeded to royally screw up, she should have payed a more significant price. To make it worse, she was hardly docked for her crooked entrance, low elevation, and poor aerial execution; good job judges.

In another example, all-around champion, Nastia Liukin, was subjugated to silver after tying for the highest score on the uneven bars. Liukin and China's Kexin He were tied at 16.725; but in a result of a tie, of the 4 indivudal scores, the lowest is dropped and the remaining three scores are averaged. Unfortunately for Liukin, her lowest execution score was 9.0 and He's was 8.9.

The way I see it, Liukin's scores were more consistent, proving that the judges were in agreement of a very solid performance. He's execution scores were slightly more sporadic, giving the notion that they were not too sure on how to correctly judge He's routine. One could account this to their contrasting styles, but there should have been a better way of dealing with a tie; removing the next highest execution scores would have given Liukin the gold.

What really bothers me about the uneven bars fiasco was seeing the disappointment in Nastia Liukin's eyes. She sat beside her father after her performance, eagarly awaiting her scores. There was a moment of excitement that quickly faded into a look of confusion. She looked to her father after seeing the scores light up, "Why am I in second?"

From that moment she sat arms crossed and stone faced. Her entire life she practiced to become the best and on that night, the scores said that she was. The rules said she was second. Second to a 13-year old girl who's age was IOC verified by the Chinese communist government. Hrmmm?

Amidst all this controversy, these two young women maintained their poise and integrity. I am not exactly sure how they were able to remain so calm, but then again, I'm not an Olympic athlete representing my country.

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Random Ramblings: USA vs. Spain Men's Basketball

Saturday morning's are best spent with friends (& fellow ATA writers) watching USA basketball. Nothing would make this moment better than some delicious Spanish food and a ciesta(Spanish lunch nap).

• Kobe just checked Pau to the ground, I thought they were buddies. It's even more hilarious that they had a pre-game special on the bond between Pau and Kobe on the Lakers.

• What is Dwight Howard doing? He doesn't play help defense, he picks up a silly foul, and he just goal-tended a ball that Lebron James already blocked... on the other hand, that was an amazing goal-tend. (7 rows deep is not bad)

• With 3:41 left in the first, 17-year old Ricky Rubio just entered the game, all hype or is he the modern day Pistol Pete. Well, he just turned the ball over on a bad pass and now he just fouled Chris Paul on the drive. Not looking good, Ricky. Nevermind. In the last 2 possessions he just picked up fouls against Paul and Deron, hit all 4 free throws. Not bad, Ricky.

• Ricky update: 1 defensive, 1 offensive rebound, stole the ball from Lebron, and then proceeded to trash talk Lebron. Ricky, you the man, but Lebron will end your life.

• If you get your ass grabbed and fondled by a big black man (Chris Bosh) and get called for an offensive foul, I would be pissed. It's okay Rudy Fernandez, referees suck wherever you play in the world.

• Spain should stop throwing alley-oops. They have converted zero out of three in the first half. Okay wow, let me proceed to take my foot out of my mouth. Ricky Rubio just threw a sick one handed alley-oop.

• Carlos Boozer is pure trash, everyone on team USA is going to foul out, but team USA is leading 61-45 at the half. Amazing.

• Carmelo's made four 3-pointers this game, this guy is on fire. I need to stop blogging this game, Carmelo just threw up a brick.

• CP3 is by far the best point guard on the US team. He uses his speed and strength so well to break down opposing defenses, not to mention his superior passing and defensive skills.

• Marc Gasol is a pretty solid player for Spain. But he looks like a 7 foot bear hunter who should be wearing a red flannel and Wrangler jeans.

• Dwyane Wade is a walking highlight reel for Team USA. He literally cooks up dunks that would put your mama's best dish to shame. And he's literally everywhere, loose ball? D.Wade is there. Who blocked that shot? D.Wade. D.Wade D.Wade D.Wade. Without a doubt the team MVP.

• If Chris Paul and Dwight Howard were ever on an NBA team together, I would be very very scared, and so should you. Their alley-oop together was slam-dunk contest worthy, and it would score a 50 too.

• This game has been over for a long time now and I can prove it. Not only is the score 113-78, Michael Redd threw down a slam dunk, Carlos Boozer and Prince are on the court at the same time, and Prince even scored a few times. Dear lord.

• America totally destroyed Spain this game. Let's just hope that if they meet again, America continues to play suffocating defense and actually make a few 3-pointers like they did this game. And maybe one day, Kobe will actually make some shots and not be in foul trouble all game long.
  

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USA Roundball Woes

The 1992 Olympic Dream Team was the most dominant team in USA's history. The team featured 10 hall of famers(to-be) and won the Olympic tournament by an average margin of 43.8 points per game. That is what you call pure domination.

The current 2008 Olympic team has been tabbed as America's Redeem Team, the collective group that will bring back the gold after three consecutive tournament failures ('02 FIBA: 6th; '04 Olympics: 4th; '06 FIBA: 3rd). This team features Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Chris Paul, and Dwyane Wade, the best players in the NBA, yet they can barely squeak by teams like a Bogut-less Australian team. This team is arguably the most athletically gifted team ever to be assembled, but why is winning still so hard?

Let's break it down.

The Dream Team featured 10 of the greatest players to ever play the game, and the other two were Chris Mullin (25ppg) and Duke-sensation Christain Laettner. The team had two 7 footers and no one shorter than 6'6" Jordan outside former all-time assist leader, Stockton, and former MVP Charles Barkley. Everyone but Clyde Drexler and Scottie Pippen averaged 50% field-goals for their career, and these guys only shot a marginal 47%, which actually would be amazing in today's league. Bird, Ewing, Jordan, Pippen, Malone, D.Robinson, and Stockton were featured on All-Defensive teams. And they were all capable of hitting their free throws.

The Redeem Team on the other hand has no 7 footers, 6 players 6'6" or shorter, and a serious shortage in the big-man position. Only Boozer and Howard average over 50% field goals, and outside of Michael Redd, the only two players who have ever shot over 40% 3-pointers in a season are Bosh and Prince, and in those years they shot 72 3-pointers combined. And of the 12 players on the roster, only 5 have ever graced the NBA All-Defensive team.

What does this all mean?

The United States will be pushed to the edge by strong international teams. Characteristic of all gold-medal and championship winning teams is defense. USA has excellent individual defenders in Kidd, Paul, Kobe, and Prince and an excellent defensive anchor in Dwight Howard, unfortunately, Prince offers little outside of defense (and should not get much PT) while Kidd and Paul play the same position. So at any one time, team USA will only have 3 of their top defenders on the court. Team USA is also terrible at defending the pick and roll, continues to get beat backdoor, gives up the 3-ball, and lacks the experience and communication to work together as one cohesive defensive unit. And to further the issue, defense does not end until the team seizes the defensive rebound, but the US team lacks the size and length to accomplish this.

Strangely enough, America gains a heap of its point from turnovers, resulting in fast-break highlight reels. However, when the US plays capable teams like Lithuania and Spain, those easy points will be greatly reduced and America will have to rely on its half-court offense (sh*t...).

We have the best players in the world and we're still not confident. Why? We could give Wade the ball and have him penetrate for an easy deuce, have Lebron power his way through for two, alley-oop dunk for Dwight, impossible fade-aways for Kobe, but the problem is, they're all twos. When your team scores two points, and the other team makes a three, you are losing (especially when your team can't defend the three). In the past two games, the US is 12-45, 27% from the shorter 3-point line, thanks much in part to Kobe (1-15). To make matters worse, the Redeem Team cannot make a free-throw. 34-50 at the charity stripe is an abysmal 68%, led by Lebron's team worst, 3-8.

When you add everything together, you still have the best team in the world; they just happen to be a small team that can't defend, rebound, or score enough. Thank goodness for double elimination.

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Debate 1 - Team USA: Will The Dream Be Redeemed?

As another new installment here at After The Anthem, we will be conducting weekly interviews and debates, discussing the most current and pressing sports news. The debates will be conducted with a mediator who regulates the discussion, and will be recorded here on ATA for your reading pleasure. Also, debaters will NOT be restricted to only staff members, and is open to anyone who has something substantial to say about a given week's topic of discussion. If you are interested in participating in a weekly debate or interview, please contact Brian Pham.

For our first debate, our very own Brian Pham (Olympics editor) and Adriel Carolino (miscellaneous sports editor) discuss various aspects of Team USA basketball. I served as the mediator. Here's what they had to say:


Brian Chen: Today's topic of discussion, Olympic Team USA. Pham, what do you think about our Redeem Team?

Brian Pham: I believe the Redeem Team is, hands down, one of the greatest teams ever assembled.

Brian Chen: Really, even better than the Dream Team that featured Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird?

Brian Pham: I don't think they're at that level yet, because they're all young. But Chris Paul is going to be one of the greatest point guards of all time, and people forget what Dwyane Wade is truly capable of because he hasn't been completely healthy since the '04 finals. And as hard as it is for me to admit, Lebron is already one of the greatest players of all time. Nobody can guard him now, nobody could've guarded him then.

Brian Chen: Adriel, what do you think about Pham's opinion?

Adriel Carolino: ...about what?

Brian Pham: YOU DOUCHEBAG, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A DEBATE, AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN F*ING LISTENING TO ME.

Adriel Carolino: Well if I actually respected your opinion, maybe I would have paid attention. I'm just kidding Pham. So what were we talking about again?

Brian Chen: Pham believes the '08 Redeem Team is one of the greatest teams ever assembled. What do you think?

Adriel Carolino: Based on talent alone, they are one of the strongest teams of all time, especially defensively.

Brian Pham: I think the Reddem Team's defense is pretty good, but we sputter on offense. Especially when it comes to shooting free throws. It's outrageous, when you consider that this is supposed to be the best assembled team from America. But if there's one person holding back the Redeem Team, it's Tayshaun Prince. They need to kick him off the team. He's useless.

Adriel Carolino: Honestly, I think the player holding the Redeem Team back is Kobe Bryant. At his best, he's the greatest player on the planet. But recently, he's been missing all his 3's, and has been trying to do way too much on offense. I feel like he's trying to win All-Star games instead of trying to win Olympic gold. And against Angola, our entire team was sloppy as hell.

Brian Pham: I really don't see Kobe trying to be too flashy so far in the Olympics. And that's not even to say that flashiness is a bad thing. Dwade is pretty damn flashy, but I think it actually helps our team. And the best teams in basketball usually adjust their play to the competition. You think that Team USA was sloppy against Angola, but that's because Angola was a weak team. If tehy were to play against Argentina, they would for sure step up their game.

Adriel Carolino: But if you think about it, Team USA isn't even a real team, but a collection of the best ballers in the league. So they pretty much run street ball. And if you look at where their offense comes from, most of it comes from breakaways. If you look at their offensive sets, most of it is from isolation through Kobe, Lebron, and Dwade.

Brian Pham: But that's what the Hornets do, that's what the Spurs do, and that's what the Lakers do. The triangle offense simply opens up space and that's where Kobe Bryant is able to flourish.

Adriel Carolino: What the hell are we even arguing about anymore?

Brian Chen: Ok, let's just discuss Team USA in general.

Brian Pham: I think their style of play resembles that of the Phoenix Suns. They like to play fast.

Adriel Carolino: They try to play fast, but they're not that successful because international games are so much slower. If you watch the games, Team USA plays hard and runs hard. At this rate, they will get tired. If they revolve their offense around fast breaks, fatigue will be inevitable.

Brian Chen: What do you guys think about Jason Kidd and his starting role?

Adriel Carolino: Chris Paul and Deron Williams are way better shooters, and they can facilitate the offense just as efficiently, if not more efficiently. It seems like Jason Kidd is only concerned with padding his assist numbers, regardless of whether or not it's helping or hurting his team. And he doesn't shoot anymore. In fact, he's scored just two points the entire Olympic games. He doesn't try to shoot, and that impedes the offense because if you have an open shot, you should take it. Otherwise, you're hurting your team.

Brian Pham: I agree. Team USA can easily bench Jason Kidd, and be better for it.

Brian Chen: So my question is, why does Coach K still start Jason Kidd when either Chris Paul or Deron Williams is clearly a better option?

Brian Pham: It's completely out of respect. Jason Kidd was the original point guard that was invited to join Team USA.

Brian Chen: Ok, so they faced a relatively strong team in China, and Coach K still opted to start Jason Kidd. Do you think he will still start Kidd against even stronger teams such as Lithuania and Argentina?

Brian Pham: Jason Kidd will start, but I still think Chris Paul is the best point guard on the team.

Adriel Carolino: I honestly think Jason Kidd is only here because of his experience and his leadership. He serves as a role model to the younger point guards.

Brian Chen: But do you honestly think Chris Paul and Deron Williams need a role model, especially one in Jason Kidd? Quite frankly, I think Chris Paul is already better than Jason Kidd ever was.

Brian Pham: I don't think Paul has surpassed what Jason Kidd was in his prime just yet, but he'll get there.

Brian Chen: Ok, next topic. Who should be here who isn't, and who shouldn't be here who is?

Brian Pham: I'd rather have Shane Battier than Tayshaun Prince.

Adriel Carolino: I'd rather have Prince. Shane Battier brings absolutely no offense.

Brian Pham: But when you put Prince in the game, you're not putting him in there for his offense.

Adriel Carolino: But he gives you the possibility of offensive production, and that's where he's better than Battier.

Brian Pham: But Battier gives you the same spot up shooting ability as Prince, and in my opinion is an even better shooter than Prince.

Adriel Carolino: Also, I think Tyson Chandler would have been a better choice than Carlos Boozer.

Brian Pham: Ok, NOW let's talk about offense. Boozer has infinitely more offensive skill than Chandler has. And putting aside his offensive ineptitude, I even think Chandler's defense is overrated.

Adriel Carolino: But one of Team USA's greatest weaknesses is our lack of size. I think we should have invited David West to join.

Brian Pham: Isn't David West even smaller than Boozer? I'd rather have Andrew Bynum than David West. I don't think David West knows how to play defense. I think West and Boozer are both weak on defense, but Boozer gives you a lot more variety on offense. In fact, I think Boozer is one of the most underrated passing big men in the league. He averages what, 3 or 4 assists as a power forward? That's pretty solid.

Adriel Carolino: That's because Boozer has more chances than David West to facilitate the ball because Chris Paul dominates ball facilitating more than Deron Williams does.

Brian Pham: You can blame whoever you want for not giving certain players the opportunity to facilitate the ball, but if a player has a skill, the coach will use them. Take Brad Miller for example. It's not a coincidence that he averages 3 to 5 assists WHEREVER he goes.

Adriel Carolino: I'm not listening to you anymore. I'm going to watch women's Olympic volleyball.

Brian Chen: Tune in next week as we include David Park and Robert Z. Lee in our debate.

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