tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5021833364511301475.post1129824855815622536..comments2024-01-14T13:54:27.819-05:00Comments on THE SPORTZ ASSASSIN: Historic Basketball LossUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5021833364511301475.post-39634187782110211982004-08-17T00:56:00.000-04:002004-08-17T00:56:00.000-04:00Let me suggest an alternative conclusion: We shoul...Let me suggest an alternative conclusion: We should just accept the fact that the Olympics are irrelevant to American basketball. We have the NBA and the NCAA tournament. That's where we crown our champions. The Olympics are a nuisance that come up every four years.<br><br>The last couple decades have done a good job of proving that big-time team sports and the Olympics do not mix. If someone is being paid tens of millions of dollars to play for a team, is it surprising that the player does not place a high premium on the Olympics? For someone like Iverson, the Olympics are a lose-lose proposition. If the team wins, everyone yawns. If the team loses, the players are lazy, unskilled bums.<br><br>This problem is not unique to American basketball. The biggest sport in the world is soccer. Take a look at the Olympic soccer tournament, and you will find the same issues, the same debate, and the same result. Here are some of the countries that did not even QUALIFY for the Olympics in soccer: Brazil, England, France, and Spain. Instead, the field includes Mali and Ghana.<br><br>In the global context, this ought to be a bigger shock than the United States having a poor basketball tournament. But it isn't. Why not? Because the international soccer community has the wisdom to view the Olympics as an unimportant sideshow.<br><br>American basketball should develop that wisdom.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5021833364511301475.post-44548780403079008912004-08-17T03:13:00.000-04:002004-08-17T03:13:00.000-04:00I agree with your comments to a certain extent. Y...I agree with your comments to a certain extent. <br><br>Yeah, in the realm of sports, it is painfully obvious that sports like basketball, soccer and baseball are meaningless to the top athletes in those sports. Olympic soccer is a joke. Heck, even Olympic tennis doesn't draw that well. And this isn't just the Olympics. The Davis Cup in tennis has a hard time getting guys to compete. The World Basketball Championships were very lightly attended. <br><br>The lone exception seems to be the Ryder Cup...which is an event that happens every TWO years. This is an event that the millionaires actually care about competing in....and that is what makes it one of the elite non-Olympic battles between the US and the world. <br><br>But, the Olympics are still relevent to the hoops community. I just think that the attitude behind USA Basketball needs to change. Don't just invite the best 12 guys....then the next 10 guys because 10 of the top 12 don't want to do it. Build a team. Get a few guys that can shoot out there. I know Anthony Peeler isn't a household name....but he led the NBA in 3-point shooting last year. Put more teammates on the team. I think the only ones there are Marion and Stoudamire. This isn't an American-All Star team.....it is an Olympic team. So pick the team a little more carefully.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5021833364511301475.post-69956466320468472502004-08-17T22:44:00.000-04:002004-08-17T22:44:00.000-04:00Ah, but golf isn't a team sport, except for th...Ah, but golf isn't a team sport, except for the Ryder cup (and a few minor competitions that no one cares about). That's what makes the Ryder cup a special event.<br><br>If we want to build a serious national basketball team, we can look to soccer to see how it is done. National soccer teams play a number of "friendly" matches over the course of the year. FIFA sets aside certain weeks during the season to allow players to join their national teams for those matches.<br><br>We would need to do something like that, but it wouldn't work well with the packed NBA season. And even then you'd run into the fundamental problem that playing for the national team is a lose-lose option for superstars.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com