Random Ramblings: USA vs. China Men's Basketball

I woke up at seven this morning, waiting for the USA Basketball Teams first game. So excited for one of my favorite times of the year, I turned on the television only to see the equestrian competition going on. Hoping that the basketball game would ensue, I continued to watch the prancing horses for another twenty minutes. It then came to my attention that there was no possible way that NBC would postpone men's basketball for the equestrian competition, so I looked up the time table online and in the newspaper for the Olympic scheduling, and the rage that emanated was uncontrollable. Unable to do anything whatsoever, however, I angrily went back to sleep, then went to church afterwards. I returned home in time to see the second half of the second quarter. So this live blog will start from there. But before it does, I must have my say. WHY CAN'T NBC PLAY THE GAME DURING LIVE TIME, THEN JUST PLAY IT AGAIN DURING PEAK HOURS? WHO DOES THAT HURT? THE EQUESTRIANS? REALLY? WHO CARES? IF I HAVE TO SEE ONE MORE HORSE FREAKING TROTTING INSTEAD OF WATCHING KOBE AND LEBRON SMASH YAO'S FACE IN, I WILL THRASH THE NBC EXECUTIVE CABINET.

• The first sound I heard actually made me calm down and somewhat dissipated my anger. THEY PLAYED THE NBA ON NBC THEME SONG SHORTLY FOLLOWED BY THE OLYMPIC THEME SONG. I must admit, those are my two favorite television songs ever. There is no competition.

• I just watched Lebron miss two of the worst free throws I have ever seen. Lebron, please PLEASE work on that.

• Kobe looks healthier and the team overall looks livelier. I guess the happy endings aren't being added to the end of those massages anymore.

• After watching the past couple of weeks, I can safely say that Dwayne Wade is NOT the second coming of Penny. He is flying by defenders, bodying up and banging down low, hitting fadeaways, and just being the DWade of old.

• It's halftime now, and the US is up by 12. Not bad, but not up to my expectations. They should be up by 30.

• TEAM USA PRACTICE YOUR FREE THROWS.

• There was a pretty good halftime piece about the NBA in China, and Kobe is the most popular player there. Geez, with Kobe's following here, then considering his following worldwide, he could really create a Kobe army that rivals most any other.

• So according to a report, people paid thirty times the face value for a ticket to watch this game. This is most likely the most viewed Olympic game ever. The USA better win big, so the world respects us again.

• Ok, I have seen George Bush at every big event of this Olympics. It's nice to see how much the President really cares about his country. The lazy bum.

• So Sun Yue is playing against Kobe Bryant. Welcome to the Lakers, rookie.

• TEAM USA PRACTICE YOUR FREE THROWS.

• I like the pace of this game. Everyone is playing their hardest, no one looks lazy or is playing lazy.

• It is almost the end of the 3rd, and DWade hasn't missed a shot yet. He's 6-6 from the field and 5-5 from the line. Wow.

• TEAM USA PRACTICE YOUR FREE THROWS.

• The Coke commercial with Lebron and Yao battling with aspects from each country is a really cool commercial. But a cowboy vs. a dragon? Are you kidding me? That's like comparing Shaq to Frodo. Why not an eagle? If you're talking about animals representing countries, doesn't that make a lot more sense?

• Michael Redd has a damn pretty shot.

• TEAM USA PRACTICE YOUR FREE THROWS.

• While we're talking about shooting, if there was a Olympic Shooting Contest, Team USA would be killed. But they'd make up for it in the Olympic Dunk Contest.

• The Redeem Team is up by 33 now with 5 minutes left. Should have been 50.
  

• I don't think I've ever thought this before. but Dwight Howard looks small in comparison to Yao. He is a big, big man.

• It's nearing the end of the game, but Yi is looking good. Hopefully he'll like New Jersey more than he liked Milwaukee. He has some skill. And I hope Sun Yue is better than what I've just seen.
  

• In light the the recent Lakers signing of Sun Yue, I came to realize how ethnically diverse the Lakers are. Nothing close to the Spurs, but a far cry from the team with a token white man that they were before.
  

• With a final score of 101-70, the Redeem Team dominated. I still think it should have been 50.
  

• Dwayne Wade made every single shot he took, the ENTIRE GAME. I used to semi-loathe him, but I must admit, I've become a believer.

• So to sum things up, TEAM USA PRACTICE YOUR FREE THROWS.

Read/Discuss >>

I Support Kobe's Move to Europe, Anyone Else??

Please Kobe fans around America, do not hate me when I say that I would fully support Kobe's move to a European League. Let me explain first--at least.

Recently, Kobe Bryant made public that he would definitely consider a European team's offer for him.

“As players, the business of the game (is) evolving,” Bryant said before a Team USA practice at Beijing Normal University. “I think free agency now is becoming a global thing …. When players become free agents, the team they’re currently with – their competition is no longer the rest of the teams in the NBA. But it’s global. So, the market’s opened up. So we’ll just have to see how the league responds to it.”

It doesn't make sense for me to support Kobe's move. Most critics concur that he is the greatest basketball player on the planet right now. Shouldn't he play with the best of the best and stay with the NBA? It almost feels like it is his responsibility to do that. How else can all of his supporters truly say he is the greatest, when he isn't competing against them day in and day out?

What I see in Kobe if he does decide to leave the NBA is that he is finally becoming his own person. He is finally developing and understanding who he wants to be, as opposed to what the press tells him he needs to be, or what Michael Jordan was.

I truly believe that for a good portion of his basketball career, Kobe was constrained by the aura of Jordan. It wasn't even Michael Jordan himself, but the aura, and the legend that Nike created. If MJ was Kobe's father, it would be a classic psychological syndrome of trying to be that "spitting image" of your pa.

Early on in his career you could see that every detail of his game was a mimicry of Jordan. The hanging fadeaway, the tongue-wagging and the defensive intensity. No one reminded us of "the great one" like Kobe did, simply because no one really tried to be Michael as much as Kobe did.

The Shaq-Kobe feud? Part of it can defintely be blamed on this compulsiveness to be Michael's equal or greater. Kobe realized that his career would never be comparable unless he was the undisputed leader of a championship team (x6). He needed to demonstrate that he could do it. Or at least, he needed the chance.

But, in recent years we have seen progression by digression. Kobe has inched his way away from MJ, developing a better long distance jump shot (indisputable) and ball handling skills (arguably).

If Kobe were to leave for Europe, he would finally be on the path to creating his own basketball legend. Kobe is definitely a macro thinker. Kobe isn't just playing basketball, he's creating a story. If there was one thing that you could say Kobe is better at then MJ, it'd be speaking Italian--and English for that matter. Kobe should be using his international personality to his advantage.

I never believed Jordan had an international personality. Jordan had an international brand, and an international image. But he lacked the eloquence to blur borders. Ronaldinho is a magnificently gifted futbol player, but he will never be David Beckham. Kobe is lucky because he was raised in Italy. He already has international roots and influences. Jordan and Lebron will always be thought of as American. Kobe almost feels above that silly distinction.

I support Kobe leaving because I don't want another MJ, I don't even just want someone better than MJ. Just like Jordan made Kareem Abdul Jabbar an after thought, in 10 years I want to forget about MJ altogether. There is so much more about basketball that can evolve.

There is so much more about Kobe that can evolve. But really, he doesn't need to move to Europe at all. The mere fact that he's open to the possibility signifies to me, that Kobe has finally started writing his own life.

I like how he talks about gold medals being bigger than NBA Titles. I like how he brushed aside the failure in the NBA Finals as if it wasn't a big deal. I think basketball is going to get to that point sometime, a la soccer, and have global championships show who really is the best. But most of all, I like how since Kobe added an MVP to his titles and first team All-NBA and all defense awards, he has set his eyes on something bigger.

I'm excited because we are finally seeing the birth of Kobe Bryant. Now we can finally stop with the Jordan comparisons, because both Kobe and I are sick of them.

Read/Discuss >>

American Media Has Been Ever So Gentle

During the first official day of the Olympics the almost-worst happened for China. It's not that they faltered on an event and missed a chance for gold. It was the tragic attack of American tourist, Todd Bachman, that resulted in his death and the critical injury of his wife.

As you've gotten your fill of on NBC, these Olympics signify so much more than just competition for China. China has been preparing for this moment for years, to show the world (meaning the Western world) what a great nation China has become and is capable of. A killing like this, could have been easily exploited to take extra shots at China and the Chinese people.

Instead, it doesn't seem like anyone at all is angry. NBC has handled the situation ever so graciously. Each time the topic is brought up they are quick to point out that the attack was "random" and not necessarily pointed at Americans or the US Olympic Team. There have been numerous comments about how one event should not be used to define a country or its people. Even President Bush was quick to praise the Chinese in their handling of the situation.

Not even friends and family of the man killed in the incident are upset. They already held a gathering for him, and instead of seeking vengeance for his killer, they merely praised his life. Either that, or the media simply didn't show me any of their distress.

Is this a sign of the times? Have we, as a world society, finally come to understand that nationalities are nothing more than spurious categories that reveal regionality and not personality. Do we now realize that just because you were born amongst a group of people doesn't mean you act and think exactly like them and that our selves are not pre-destined by the geography of our birth?

Have we evolved from the days when we painted ourselves an image of a terrorist, and any person that could be molded into this poorly resolved rendering should be shunned and ostracized? Has 7 years of relative peace and a tiresome war, taught us that perhaps the brash generalizations of yesteryear have gotten us no where?

I think not.

So what is it? Why do we see such delicate tongues, and empathetic eyes when discussing this attack? Has China's grandeur and artistry from the opening ceremonies pre-convinced us of its good intentions. Or do we respect China as an equal because soon, it will dominate the economic landscape (in GDP)?

Either way, I am quite pleased at how the media has handled this debacle. Flabbergasted, but pleased.

BTW, that image is the Chinese word for "cautious."

Read/Discuss >>

Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg doesn't like these 2 Olympians.

Have you heard of Olympians, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss? Probably not. Well they didn't do too well in their preliminary rowing heat.

The rowing duet, placed last in their heat in the 2000m rowing competition. They participate in the men's M2 which has two rowers on each team, each with one oar. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg must be cheering somewhere secretly, since the Winklevoss brothers have filed a lawsuit against him claiming he stole the idea for Facebook from them.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are the founders of ConnectU which is a social network similar to Facebook (or Facebook is a social network similar to ConnectU, whatever). They both attended Harvard University with Zuckerberg.

They claim that in while in college, the brothers hired Zuckerberg as a programmer for their site ConnectU. And instead of completing his programming assignments Zuckerberg stalled, and launched Facebook instead.

The suit has since been settled. The terms of the settlement were there Facebook gets to acquire ConnectU for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock. However, the Winklevoss Twins won't stop tormenting Zuckerberg and has contested that settlement.

Maybe they were too distracted by the millions they stand to gain from the lawsuit. But, regardless, the Winklevosses will have anohter chance to get into the semifinals on Sunday. Here's betting that they don't make it and party up in China instead.

Read/Discuss >>

Medal Count - Day 1 - August 9

The opening ceremonies finished not too long ago on the west coast, but a full day of Olympic action has been completed in China. After Day 1, here's the medal leaderboard:

China: 2 --------------------(2 gold)
South Korea: 2 ------------(1 gold, 1 silver)
Czech Republic: 1 --------(1 gold)
Romania: 1 ---------------(1 gold)
Spain: 1 -------------------(1 gold)

Read/Discuss >>

Watch this for now

The Olympics are still 6 hours away for American East coasters, and 9 hours away for the west coast. But, in China, the whole shabang started 7 hours ago. Through the magic of the internet you can get your fill instantly. Watch it before the hands of Google takes it down. It`s rather awesome.

Read/Discuss >>

A Deadline Dandy

Just hours before the trade deadline last week, the Dodgers gave up a handful of prospects in exchange for future hall-of-fame outfielder Manny Ramirez. The Pirates inherited these prospects, while sending arguably their most talented player, Jason Bay, to the Red Sox.

At first glance, one can't help but salivate at the addition of Manny's numbers to the Dodger offense. Upon Manny's arrival, the Dodgers boasted a mediocre offense, a mediocre pitching staff, and had a record (54-54) that displayed exactly that: mediocrity. When he left Boston, Manny had a .299 average (ranks #1 among active Dodger starters), 20 home runs (ranks #1 with the Dodgers), 68 RBIs (ranks #1 with the Dodgers), an OBP of .389 (ranks #1 with the Dodgers), and slugged .529 (ranks #1 with the Dodgers). Adding these types of numbers to any offense would help immensely, right? Right, but in more ways than you think.

With Manny Ramirez now the focal point of the Dodger lineup, a great deal of pressure is now lifted off the shoulders of Dodgers, both young and old, currently struggling to the carry the offense. In other words, expect to see gradual increases Matt Kemp's, Andre Ethier's, James Loney's, and Jeff Kent's numbers. More importantly, as desperate Dodger fans now divert their expectations to Manny to be their offensive savior, don't be surprised to see a sudden revival in Andruw Jones.

Now, if you're anything like my boss, Brian P, you might be desperately trying to understand my logic here. You might be asking, "But Brian Chen, if reducing expectations and pressure to perform results in improved production, then what about Manny? With all eyes on Manny now, won't all this pressure be too much for Manny to handle? Won't we see a decline in his numbers, as we saw with poor Andruw?" Relax, my loyal reader. Manny is different from most other players. He seeks out the spotlight. He craves the pressure, the expectations. And he's enjoyed these expectations his entire career. That is, until the last few years.

Hence, I believe this to be the explanation for the sudden drop in his production the last few years in Boston. The experts will tell you that he's had health issues. Give me a break, Manny has always had health issues. He's never once notched 600 at-bats in a season. Here's the real reason: Manny's feelings were hurt. With the emergence of David Ortiz in 2004, the Red Sox nation embraced Big Papi as their new leader, and discarded Manny to being only 'second best.' As good as Manny is, he is a baby (a big, buff-ass baby, but a baby nonetheless). And, in simple terms, this baby got pissed, and stopped producing.

Now, Manny's in LA. Now, the person who comes closest to displaying the same dominance at the plate as Manny is Jeff Kent (in other words, nobody even comes close). Now, there's not even a question of who the best hitter on the team is. Manny, if you're reading this, you got what you wanted. For at least half a season, this is your team. Dazzle us with your greatness.

By the way, Manny Ramirez, if you're actually reading this, you're invited to After the Anthem's undie launch party. Please come.

Read/Discuss >>

The NBA's Financial Crisis

While it is still only in its incubation stages, the threat of a mass defection of NBA talent into Europe is extremely real. Already, significant players (Josh Childress, Carlos Arroyo) have gone to Europe for bigger pay days. To understand the appeal, it's absolutely imperative to understand the financial game that is being played by the GMs, owners, players, and agents.

The first question we have to ask ourselves is this: Will the USD remain weak compared to foreign currencies (specifically the Euro) for an extended period of time (at least until 2010's heralded FA class)? If you know the answer to this question, you ought to be trading on Wall Street, but the general feeling is that we are in a bear market and that the US economy will be taking a beating for quite some time (at least until the housing market corrects). The general prediction is that the housing market will take ~2 years to recover, which takes us right into the free agency of 2010. Will the dollar remain where it is compared to the Euro?

Likely - since the dollar is so cheap, US companies are actually benefitting from the increased exports, giving the US economy a slight boost, plus, the Fed doesn't want to raise interest rates and hurt the availability of capital in a time when the financial system of the country is at risk of failing. So yes, it looks like the 2010 Free Agents can look forward to a persistently weak dollar.

The second question is: Will the NBA re-examine its CBA? The salary cap, luxury tax, and max contract figures are the key elements. In Europe, there is no such thing as a salary cap, which is why people say that Lebron would be willing to go to Europe for $50mm a year (who wouldn't?). This figure is not possible in the NBA. Do NBA folks truly believe that their brand is worth so much to Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, and the rest of the 2009/2010 FA crew that they would pass up 25 million dollars a year just to play in the NBA (the max salary in the NBA is around 25mil, so 50-25=25)? And that's just the gross figure. If we count taxes, playing in the NBA would require the player to forfeit more than half of that salary in taxes, so they're really only getting around 12mil. In Europe, they can get this money tax free. 50-12 = 38 million reasons to go overseas.

Also, considering that Childress has written into his contract that he can return to the NBA after each season, we can assume that any future NBA player who goes to Europe will have a similar clause, and there's really no opportunity cost to the player. We might consider publicity and sponsorships an opportunity cost, but really, in the NBA outside of the top tier of superstars, there really aren't many sponsorships out there.

David Stern and company must act quickly. The NBA is the best brand in basketball, and being the best buys them some leeway in getting players to play for less money - but at the rate its going, we might need to start getting familiar with CSKA Moscow, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Olympiakos.

• 2009 Unrestricted Free Agents: Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, Allen Iverson, Ron Artest, Richard Hamilton, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, Andre Miller, Lamar Odom and Rasheed Wallace

• 2010 Unrestricted Free Agents: Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Ray Allen, Tyson Chandler, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Redd

We already had one solid NBA player go. If any of the names from the 2009/2010 FA class bolt for Europe, the reverberations will be far more shocking than the reaction to Childress' move.

Read/Discuss >>

Oh no, J.Ho!!

Josh Howard, the 6'7" small forward has become a star for Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks. This All-American out of Wake Forest possesses excellent athleticism, scoring prowess, and great defense; providing Dallas fans with someone to get excited about for years to come.

In his first year in the league, J.Ho averaged 8.6 points a game off the bench. In his 3rd year, he was a critical player who helped the Mavericks reach the NBA Finals by averaging 15.6 ppg. In his 4th season, J.Ho gained even more national recognition due to Mark Cuban's campaign to get him voted into the All-Star game. And oh yeah, he just had his best year this past season, averaging 20 points and 7 rebounds per contest.

With a player such as Howard, an athlete who continues to improve every season, a legitimate defender on a soft Dallas team, and a player loved by it's city, there's no wonder why Mark Cuban rejected a potential Artest-Howard trade, right?

Well, J.Ho probably should have kept his mouth shut about his off-season marijuana usage during the first round of the play-offs against the 2nd seeded New Orleans Hornets. He also shouldn't have tried to publicize his nightclub birthday party after a game 4 loss in that series, but he did anyway. But all that's in the past and Mark Cuban forgives him because he's a young talented player and he's made huge strides to make amends for his misdoings.

So much for that ounce of faith. On August 1, Josh Howard was arrested for drag racing on a 55mph street. Sigh... And of all cars to race, a VW.

True, being arrested for drag racing is nothing like being convicted of rape or murder; but to state it plainly: He fu*ked up. Three significant offenses in 5 months is a terrible stat to have and it really makes you wonder when the bad news will stop. Is Josh Howard a closeted gang banger who's just starting to come out, or does the bad news stop here?

Personally, I hope it stops there. I've already lost a significant amount of respect for J.Ho for his lack of intelligence, but the NBA needs its stars. I truly can't stand the idea of Josh Howard's bright career spiraling down due to a series of issues not linked to basketball. I really don't want to lose any more athletes to personal and legal issues (Shawn Kemp-drugs, Tractor Traylor-tax fraud, Michael Vick-dog fighting), nor do I want them shipped off to Europe.

J.Ho, stop your foolishness. Play ball.
(The money's only going to get better for you.)

Read/Discuss >>

Headlining: Manny and JBay, Thriving For New Teams

• The Dodgers mustered four runs in the ninth, led off by a home run by Andruw Jones (that was not a typo, Andruw Jones really did homer), but still fell 4-6 to the Cardinals in 11 innings. Manny went 2-3 with 2 walks, and is hitting .625 with the Dodgers. He hasn't had less than 2 hits as a Dodger.
• In an 8-2 Red Sox victory over the Royals, Manny-replacement Jason Bay went 4-5 and drove in another 2 runs. He is batting .429 with the Red Sox, and has hit safely in all five games he's played.
• Cy Young hopeful Brandon Webb became the first pitcher in the major leagues to 16 wins this season with a complete game gem against the Pirates. He gave up 1 run on 9 hits, struck out 4 and walked none.
• Fernando Tatis must still think it's 1999. The now-converted outfielder smacked two homers today in helping his Mets defeat the Padres 6-5. In 177 at-bats this year, Tatis is batting .316 and slugging .531.
• The Red Sox got rid of the Manny Ramirez for the welfare of the rest of the team. Unfortunately, they may have not have realized that Manny's tremendous individual contributions at the plate were team contributions as well. With Jason Bay offering far less protection for David Ortiz in the Red Sox lineup, Big Papi finds himself in a 2-20 slump since Manny's departure.
  

Read/Discuss >>