Topic: Congrats to Greece

[|BUG| Shamu]

Greece defeated the US Basketball team, 101-95, eliminating the US from the Gold Medal game.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14617395/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14615120/

Whoda thunk it? The US no longer masters of the court. Not that they have been for some time now.

How long before the Super Bowl winner hails from Canada, Mexico or Europe?

My congratulations go out to many of the foreign teams whose players are better schooled in the team concept as opposed to the individual star system we have desended to here in the States.

[|BUG|SoulCollector]

All well the yanks are not the best at everything anymore.

[|BUG| Shamu]

All well the yanks are not the best at everything anymore.

How well we know......too many stars with gold trinkets and fancy cars instead team play.

[|BUG| K-Man]

Sad but true. Most of the US's sports stars do not play for the team. I remember the '92 Olympics, which I think was the first Olympics where the US played NBA players. Some very classy players were on that team; Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippin, Chris Mullin, and David Robinson to name a few.

These players were good in their own right, but they were great because they raised the level of play for the whole team by playing as a team. One game they dished out to Mullin who was sitting at the three pointer base line wide open, and he drilled three shots in a couple minutes time.

The last two Olympics (and the intervening international play) has proven that although the US may have some great individual players, they don't know how to play as a team. I wish athletes would hold themselves to a higher standard than what they do.

[|BUG| Cobra_9]

Soul Collector posted:

All well the yanks are not the best at everything anymore.

But remember, we yanks are a mix of immigrants from all countries. So we
have other countries to thank for what we have accomplished.

[|BUG| Seven]

in an individual level Us NBA players skills and athletism is great.

Unfortunately the NBA basketball rules have changed so much so the new stars can dunk and dribble more that I am not sure its real basketball anymore. 5 and a half steps holding the ball without this being travelling? Then what's the difference between NBA and Football? they both carry the ball in their handsĀ 

All NBA is doing nowdays is one on one game. Only a few teams are real teams. I used to watch NBA a lot but not the last years. There is nothing interesting to watch anymore.
What's good to watch? "star players" to bend the rules so they can dunk or bailed out by the refs so they can score?

Do you know that the best and most valuable players in NBA are the recent years NON-AMericans? ppl who have learned basketball outside US? Like players from Argentina, Canada, Germany (!!) and Easter Europe? That says a lot!

Plus us arrogance..the US coach didnt know a single name of the greek players. Yes we do have tough names..but our players have won the European championship last year, our star player had won the Europe's club championship this year and they are all well known to the world of international basket. How can you play and win teams you don't even bother to know how their players are called and play?

S.

p.s. and someone please answer me..why the NBA champion is called "WORLD champion"??

[|BUG| K-Man]

in an individual level Us NBA players skills and athletism is great.

Unfortunately the NBA basketball rules have changed so much so the new stars can dunk and dribble more that I am not sure its real basketball anymore. 5 and a half steps holding the ball without this being travelling? Then what's the difference between NBA and Football? they both carry the ball in their handsĀ 

All NBA is doing nowdays is one on one game. Only a few teams are real teams. I used to watch NBA a lot but not the last years. There is nothing interesting to watch anymore.
What's good to watch? "star players" to bend the rules so they can dunk or bailed out by the refs so they can score?

Do you know that the best and most valuable players in NBA are the recent years NON-AMericans? ppl who have learned basketball outside US? Like players from Argentina, Canada, Germany (!!) and Easter Europe? That says a lot!

Plus us arrogance..the US coach didnt know a single name of the greek players. Yes we do have tough names..but our players have won the European championship last year, our star player had won the Europe's club championship this year and they are all well known to the world of international basket. How can you play and win teams you don't even bother to know how their players are called and play?

S.

p.s. and someone please answer me..why the NBA champion is called "WORLD champion"??

Couldn't agree more.

And after recent world basketball competition, apparently the winner of NBA Championship is no longer the "World" Champion. Of course the same holds true for baseball.... 

[|BUG| Rooster]

Well at one time BB was only played in the states as it is our invention so "World" was probably true.

As for these tournaments meaning much to the fans is debateble.

I lost interest in the Olympics when the US started sending our professionals to the games.

I found it much more interesting when our kids took on the Russian and German steriod fueled "pro's" and won.

There will be no more Impossible Dream moments for the US but there will be for other counrties now that the US is the big bully not the USSR or Germany.

You can argue for sending the best of the best but the charm of "The Games" was lost during the 80's and the money at all costs mentality.

[|BUG| Shamu]

p.s. and someone please answer me..why the NBA champion is called "WORLD champion"??

Undoubtably an outdated title which should no longer apply.

We can't beat the foreign countries with a team of All-Statrs let alone a regular NBA team.

I guess it's World Champs because at one time Basketball was only played here in the U.S. where the game was invented.

Time for the NBA to look in the mirror and rename their league winner.

Would be interesting to see how a NBA team would fare against teams from other countries.....not All Star teams, but individual teams. I would like to think that team-wise the US will still have greater depth and prevail but who knows.