Kobe Bryant has skipped the Los Angeles
Lakers' practice to rest his aching right foot.
The Lakers announced Monday that Bryant's
foot is sore and bruised.
Bryant was injured during the third
quarter of the Lakers' 99-92 preseason loss to Sacramento on Sunday night. He
stayed in the game and scored 21 points.
Bryant has fought a handful of nagging
injuries in training camp this month. A sore right foot kept him out of an early
practice, and he missed a preseason game in Ontario, Calif., to rest a strained
right shoulder.
Forward Metta World Peace practiced on
Monday with a splint on his right middle finger. World Peace dislocated his
finger Sunday night, but popped it back in and kept playing.
When Dwyane Wade ended his association
with Jordan Brand only a few weeks ago, the assumption and reports of everyone
indicated that he would sign a new deal with emerging Chinese brand Li-Ning. It
was a big change for Wade, but also an opportunity for him to help establish a
new market force rather than help a preexisting power player. The only question
was if his new products would entice basketball fans to buy them.
On Tuesday, Wade revealed his Li-Ning
deal and "Way of Wade" shoes at an event in Beijing (the Heat are in town for a
few preseason games). While it may seem that Li-Ning got these shoes together
awfully quickly following the end of Wade's deal with Jordan Brand, Jonathan
Sawyer of Complex reports that Li-Ning had done prep work for a superstar's
sneaker and brought those preexisting designs to Wade. They also claim that Wade
is and will continue to be heavily involved in the design process, so we should
see some changes and new colorways for the "Way of Wade" shoes soon.
Wade's Li-Ning look is quite different
from the more familiar designs he wore for Jordan Brand, but that's not
necessarily a bad thing. The key will be for the designs to reflect his
sensibilities, and for the nation's consumers to care.
That last bit is where things get tricky.
Li-Ning has worked with a superstar before — Shaquille O'Neal represented the
brand from 2006 to 2010. However, as most basketball fans know, Shaq was nowhere
near his peak during that period, which helped ensure that Li-Ning didn't get
quite the sort of brand awareness they likely hoped for when they signed him.
While Wade is not especially old at 30 years old, there have been signs that
he's entering a new period in his career, one where he might not be quite the
league-altering player he once was. He's an All-Star, certainly, but also
clearly a level below his teammate LeBron James. It's an open question as to
whether he can still command the attention (and dollars) of the sneaker-buying
public.
However, those questions haven't been
answered yet, and Li-Ning has many reasons to be positive. In a few years, we
could identify Wade's launch as the moment when a new power emerged in the world
of basketball shoes and apparel.
Three-and-a-half years ago, Dwight Howard
slumped his shoulders inside Staples Center and responded sheepishly on the
issue of Shaquille O'Neal trashing him over and over.
"I can't tell you why he's said a lot of
discouraging things," Howard said to me. "I wish he wouldn't say it because he's
one of the few guys that we all look up to."
As a 23-year-old reaching the NBA Finals
against the Los Angeles Lakers, Howard was still an earnest young star searching
out the blessing that never came from Shaq.
For all the preaching Shaq had done about
paying respect to your elders, Howard never understood why his relentless praise
of Shaq was reciprocated with ridicule and scorn. Howard never understood why
Shaq didn't see it as flattering that an engaging, dynamic young center had
grown up idolizing, even emulating, him.
"Shaq played the game and he is done,"
Howard told reporters on Thursday. "It's time to move on. He hated the fact when
he played that older guys were talking about him and how he played. Now he's
doing the exact same thing. Just let it go. There's no sense for him to be
talking trash to me. He did his thing in the league. Sit back and
relax.
"Your time is up."
Howard doesn't need to respond to Shaq to
win over Kobe Bryant, because Bryant's already a believer in him. Bryant knows
that Howard will come to work every day, that he'll keep himself physically fit.
Those are things that Bryant could never count upon with O'Neal. Howard doesn't
need to stand up to Shaq for Kobe's sake, but his own.
Howard has come to the Lakers to win
championships, the way that Shaq did all those years ago. He's an iconic talent,
and Shaq's kidding himself to try to minimize Howard's dominance. The greatest
Lakers center before Shaq believed that, too – long before Howard made his way
to Los Angeles.
Outside the interview room that day
during the June '09 NBA Finals, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shook his head, and told me
of Shaq, "Sometimes I wonder about his maturity. He doesn't need to do that.
He's achieved so much. I don't know why he stoops to that."
Shaq is a forever star in the NBA, and
gets paid to deliver his opinions on television now. Howard has earned
criticism, absorbed it, and yet his talent is too immense for Shaq to believe
for a moment that Lakers fans will be longing for him over Howard this
season.
Dwight Howard might not make his Los
Angeles Lakers debut in the team's Oct. 30 season-opener against the Dallas
Mavericks after all. Howard is now hopeful he can return from back surgery
earlier than expected and possibly play in the preseason.
"Hopefully, I will be back for some
preseason games," Howard said following the Lakers' first practice on Monday. "I
think we are going to need it for chemistry and all that stuff."
When asked if his optimism was reason to
think he would definitely play on opening night, Howard was more cautious with
his words.
"All I know is we had a great practice
today," he said. "I don't know the date when I will return. But I'm looking
forward to tomorrow's practice to see how my body feels when I wake up. We can
only go by time right now and how I feel after practice. We are not in a rush.
These guys need me for the whole season."
Howard had been playing one-on-one games
against assistant coaches Darvin Ham and Chuck Person prior to the start of
training camp. Lakers coach Mike Brown said Howard took part in the majority of
Tuesday's lengthy practice that lasted about four hours, but Howard was given a
break during a drill to give his feet a rest. The Lakers engaged in light work
on the Princeton offense with Howard taking part in each first-team exercise.
Howard said he had no setbacks.
The Lakers play their first preseason
game Sunday against the Golden State Warriors in Fresno, Calif. Howard isn't
expected to be in uniform. But even if Howard doesn't play in the preseason, the
Lakers still have 23 practices scheduled before the start of the season, giving
him and Steve Nash time to build chemistry with their new teammates.
"As long as he's in practice and able to
go through things offensively, go through our system and stuff like that, I
don't think it will be an issue," Bryant said.
Lakers assistant coach Eddie Jordan spent
time at the end of practice working with the players on implementing the
Princeton offense. The Lakers averaged 97.3 points per game last season, a drop
of more than four points per game from what they averaged in the 2010-11 season
while running Phil Jackson's triangle offense.
Bryant, who has met with Brown and Jordan
about the offense, is excited about the change.
"The more talent you have, the more
imperative it is to have an equal opportunity system where you let the flow of
the game determine which shots come for me," Bryant said. "You just work to get
the best shot possible and really just read the defense."
Terrence Williams has agreed to an NBA
minimum, non-guaranteed contract with the Detroit Pistons.
Williams will report to Oct. 1 to
Detroit's training camp.
He was drafted No. 11 overall in the 2009
NBA draft by New Jersey, but hasn't played up to his potential.
The 6-foot-6 Williams averaged 8.4 points
in 78 games, including nine starts, as a rookie for the Nets. They traded him to
Houston during his second season in the league after he repeatedly broke team
rules and played just 11 games. He averaged 8.8 points in 18 games last season
in Sacramento and 4.5 points over 12 games with Houston. The 25-year-old
Williams is from Seattle and was a standout for Louisville.
One of the things that earned Bruce Bowen
a reputation as one of the NBA's chippiest (and some, even former teammates,
might say flat-out dirtiest) defenders over the course of his 13-year NBA career
was his penchant for sticking his foot underneath an opposing jump shooter after
contesting a shot so that, when the shooter came back down to the floor, he ran
a serious risk of stepping awkwardly on Bowen's foot and turning his ankle (or
worse). The practice was at the heart of a November 2006 Sports Illustrated
feature on Bowen, in which most executives interviewed said they didn't think
the eight-time All-Defensive Team selection was intentionally trying to hurt
opponents with dirty pool.
And with that, we come to "The Jalen Rose
Show," a podcast on ESPN.com's Grantland Network in which the Fab Five member
talks shop and spins yarns from his playing days with producer Dave Jacoby. In a
clip from the show released Tuesday through Grantland's new YouTube channel (the
same outlet that gave us the stellar documentary on Houston Rockets rookie Royce
White's draft-day experience), Rose reiterates that not sticking your foot under
a shooter is basketball's "No. 1 unwritten rule" ... and then relates a story of
when, as a member of the Indiana Pacers, he himself did it on the sport's
biggest stage.
"NBA Finals, 2000," Rose says. "Kobe.
Bean. Bryant. Goes up for a jump shot on the right wing, I contest the jump
shot, Kobe lands on my foot. He hobbles off, and he actually misses the next
game."
Rose is talking about Game 2 of the 2000
Finals. After getting drubbed by the Los Angeles Lakers by 17 points in Game 1
thanks to a monster Shaquille O'Neal performance (43 points on 21-for-31
shooting, 19 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 44 minutes), the Pacers
were hanging with L.A., playing to a 28-all tie after the first quarter. Then,
in the second quarter:
Bryant played just nine minutes in Game
2, which the Lakers went on to win by seven, but as Rose says, he missed Game 3,
which Indiana won 100-91 to get back into the series at 2-1.
"Now, if it was up to me? If it was up to
me? He should've just missed the whole series," Rose says. "I would've had a
championship ring, and it'd be no harm, no foul."
Dwight Howard won't finish his
rehabilitation from back surgery in time for the start of the Los Angeles
Lakers' training camp or their first preseason game next month.
The Lakers provided an update on the
newly acquired center's condition on their website Thursday night, confirming
their long-anticipated decision to take it easy in Howard's return from spinal
surgery.
The team doesn't intend to announce a
timetable for Howard's recovery, but says he won't participate in the start of
training camp on Oct. 2, or the preseason opener in Fresno five days
later.
The six-time All-Star has said he hopes
to be ready for the start of the regular season Oct. 30, but the team isn't
speculating.
Howard recently began working with the
Lakers' training staff on his recovery from surgery last April repairing a
herniated disc and doing additional cleanup. Howard's personal trainer is
working alongside the Lakers' staff, and the center has experienced no
setbacks.
Howard is doing core stabilization
training while also getting in a little light running and shooting.
The Lakers can afford to be cautious with
their new big man, acquired from Orlando in a four-team trade on Aug. 10 that
sent All-Star center Andrew Bynum to Philadelphia.
Pau Gasol will be ready to play in the
middle when training camp opens in two weeks, and the Lakers have years of
experience in dealing with injured centers during Bynum's injury
struggles.
Way back in late June, when the Miami
Heat's championship was but a few days old, Dwyane Wade indicated that he would
hire a shooting coach this summer. It was a smart move for a player who
occasionally looked a little limited in the playoffs, both because of injury and
the diminished athleticism that comes with it. At 30 years old, Wade is reaching
a point where he has to adjust his game to a changing set of skills and
abilities.
However, Wade's work has not focused
solely on his shot. In fact, he's particularly focused on another aspect of his
mechanics: the catch.
By "catch," Wade is referring to more
than just catch-and-shoot situations — the issue is really more about how he
brings the ball up into his motion in all shooting situations. It's similar to
how a hitter in baseball must work on both his step as well as the swing
itself.
When we talk about shooting, we typically
look at the most obvious elements of the play: squaring up, elevating,
releasing, following through, etc. What Wade recognizes, though, is that
athletic motions are interrelated. In other words, a player can't shoot properly
if he doesn't first get himself in a good position to shoot, just as a point
guard can't make a good pass if he doesn't first get himself a usable passing
lane. It's a holistic view of the sport, not one where skills can be isolated as
if one didn't affect the other.
As Wade ages, then, changing his game
won't just be a matter of adding and discarding various aspects of his game.
He'll have to consider how those individual parts relate to each other and the
kind of player he wants to be. He can't flip a switch and become a different
kind of player — the transition never ends.
After cleaning up a record number of
medals at the Olympics, Michael Phelps has extended his winning streak at the
poker table.
According to TMZ, the retired gold
medalist raked in $100k from a single poker game at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas
this week.
A source reports that the 27-year-old
athlete spent a chunk of it afterwards at Tryst nightclub in the
Wynn.
Recently, Phelps came under fire for
possible International Olympic Committee violations when photos for his Louis
Vuitton ad campaign were leaked during the London Games. The IOC prohibits
athletes from promoting non-official sponsors during a time period around the
Games. Sanctions include stripping medals won by the offenders.
However, Phelps' agent Peter Carlisle
insists the leaks were not the fault of the
swimmer. "He didn't violate Rule 40;
it's as simple as that. All that matters is whether the athlete permitted that
use. That's all he can control. In this case, Michael did not authorize that
use. The images hadn't even been reviewed, much less approved. It's as simple as
that. An athlete can't control unauthorized uses any more than you can guarantee
someone isn't going to break into your house."
Andy Roddick 's spent nearly a decade
trying to claim that ever-elusive second Grand Slam singles title, and now Andy
Roddick seems to be down to his very last opportunity.
The American ace made a surprise
announcement during his press conference at the U.S. Open in Flushing, NYC on
Thursday (August 30), as he revealed his plans to retire from tennis after
tournament's end.
Talking with media on-hand at the USTA
Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Roddick said, “I have decided that this
is going to be my last tournament. I wanted an opportunity to say good-bye. I
hope I’m sticking around.”
And while he'll certainly be missed,
there's no need to feel sorry for Andy - who turned 30-years-old today - as he
gets to look forward to open days with his stunning Sports Illustrated Swimsuit
Issue wife, Brooklyn Decker.
In a revealing interview on "Oprah's Next
Chapter," U.S. Olympic gymnastics team member Gabby Douglas spoke about the
obstacles she had to overcome to make it to the Olympics.
The 16-year-old gold medalist admitted to
Oprah Winfrey she was a victim of racism at the gym she trained at in Virginia
Beach. She confessed, "I was just, you know, kind of getting racist jokes, kind
of being isolated from the group. So it was definitely hard. I would come home
at night and just cry my eyes out.”
More specifically, "One of my teammates
was like, ‘Could you scrape the bar? And they were like, ‘Why doesn’t Gabby do
it, she’s our slave?’"
Later, the young gymnast found relief
when she moved to Iowa to train with a new coach. The "Fierce Five" member also
talked with Oprah about the gossip involving her hair style.
Oprah responded disgustedly, "You know
why it sickens me?” She told Gabby, referring to African-Americans in general.
“We’re the only ones who would care to notice, because the whole world is
looking at your athletic prowess, and there are a few naysayers — haters — who
are on talking about your hair.”
President Barack Obama sees the
presidential contest as a clutch moment in his favorite sport - the fourth
quarter of a taut basketball game.
Fundraising with the help of current and
former National Basketball Association stars, Obama told a small group of donors
gathered Wednesday night at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center that the current
campaign is like the final minutes of a basketball contest with his team up by a
few points.
''But the other side is coming strong,''
Obama said. ''And they play a little dirty. We've got a few folks on our team in
foul trouble. We have a couple of injuries. And I believe they have one last run
in them.''
Obama raised $3 million with the help of
the players, who included former Chicago Bulls player Michael Jordan and former
New York Knicks Walt Frazier and Bill Bradley. NBA Commissioner David Stern also
was there.
Invoking Jordan's competitive nature,
Obama concluded, ''If you have seven minutes to go and you have a little bit of
a lead, that's when you put them away.''
The players were part a daylong
fundraiser. Earlier, former and current players participated in a
$250-per-person autograph session and in a skills camp priced at $5,000 for two
people.
''It is very rare that I come to an event
where I'm like the fifth or sixth most interesting person,'' Obama joked at the
Lincoln Center dinner.
Later, Obama changed out of his dark suit
to shoot baskets with some of the players out of sight of the press. Obama, an
avid basketball fan and a player, made a splash during his 2008 campaign by
sinking a 3-point shot while visiting troops in Kuwait. His most recent
star-studded game, also played in private, featured actors George Clooney and
Tobey Maguire.
The idea of an estate sale is creepy
enough as it is. Usually they're put together in an attempt to sell off the last
remaining vestiges and assets of someone who has recently passed on, or a person
run afoul of either the law or their own checking account. Phoenix Suns forward Michael Beasley appears to be in no such trouble, and even though he didn't
exactly break the bank with his second pro contract, its average-sized makeup
falls right in line with the rookie deal he started working under in 2008 that
paid him just over $20 million over four years.
This doesn't explain why the former
Minnesota Timberwolves forward, as he moves on to his third NBA city in five
seasons, needs to set up an estate sale for his abandoned Minnesota home, rather
than just hiring a crew to toss everything into a truck and move his clutter
down to Phoenix. This also doesn't explain why Beasley, even while we're aware
of his goofball reputation, has so much goofball stuff in his house. Though it
is well-penned, to read her recap is to be left confused; all because Beasley is
such a confusing dude.
Tchotchkes and oddities seemed to dot the
house; and it wasn't just that hoops-related memorabilia wasn't available for
sale, apparently there wasn't any in the house to begin with. What was available
were the sort of dusty book-filled shelves and animal-themed salt and pepper
shakers that you'd tend to pick up at an estate sale set up for someone four
times Beasl
ey's age that had shuffled off this Minneapolis coil.
Look at Niesen's photo gallery (or Jake
Nyberg's Twitter-based run). It's not so much that Beasley took his
modern-as-tomorrow entertainment systems and "Scarface" posters down to Phoenix
and left the estate sale to deal with his flotsam and jetsam, it's that he had
all this Your Aunt-styled clutter to begin with. And, again, instead of dumping
it all in a truck or piling it in the back of a U-Haul dragged by his PT Cruiser
(we're guessing, after looking at the remnants of this sale), Beasley decided to
add to his bank account 15 bucks at a time by selling off every last throw
pillow.
It's all so wonderfully Super Cool Beas,
even if it's the furthest thing from "Super Cool" that we could imagine.
Toasters and stuffed animals and more coffee table books and all sorts of stuff
that even you or I would leave behind, regardless of whether or not we were just
given a three-year, $18 million contract to go play in a state with lax income
tax laws.
Heads-up, Phoenix. You're getting a
goofball for the ages. Hopefully one that, after three-straight seasons of
declining production, is using his "Everything Must Go"-sale as a way to
completely leave his past behind, and start over from scratch.
Or maybe Michael just wanted an excuse to
shop for some new pillows with tassels hanging from them.
After a pre-trade deadline telephone call
when Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant hung up believing they could never co-exist
as teammates, months and months passed and, still, the two superstars never
spoke again. Howard wanted Bryant to tell him what the Lakers could do to
elevate his offensive stature, and Bryant wanted Howard to tell him he was
determined to come with a defensive and rebounding mindset to make the Lakers
champions again.
The call ended poorly, and it wouldn't be
long until Howard had turned toward a path of far less resistance with the
Brooklyn Nets.
As much as anything, Howard was
determined to stop marching down the path of Shaquille O'Neal: From No. 1
overall pick to ring-less Orlando Magic center to self-proclaimed Superman,
comedian and goofball musician, there was a part of Howard that resisted the
inevitable power play to also make him a Laker.
Nevertheless, Howard made a mess of an
easy exit out of Orlando, obliterating his march into a max-contract salary slot
with Deron Williams and the Nets with an impulsive choice to reject his contract
opt-out. Freedom of choice was gone, and the Magic wouldn't do a deal with
Brooklyn.
In the end, Howard needed the Lakers and
Bryant. And yes – for now and the future – Bryant and the Lakers needed Howard.
The trade was completed on Friday and Howard gets the bright lights, big city
and a championship chase with the Lakers. Howard gets his Showtime, but make no
mistake: Howard comes without leverage in the locker room and doesn't have the
latitude to revert back to his old class-clown self.
"I think that changes just by the
pressure that he's under now," Bryant told Yahoo! Sports late Friday night "That
pressure is on us all. We have to win championships. The focus will be higher,
the intensity will be higher."
[Yes, the Lakers need a serious-minded
star for a serious-minded basketball franchise. Stan Van Gundy tried so, so hard
to instill that within Howard, but the culture of Orlando always made the Magic
beholden to Howard. No more. Howard is bigger than life, but he isn't bigger
than the Lakers.
So, yes, Bryant searched out Howard's
cell phone on Friday morning and made the call to Howard that the two superstars
had resisted for months now. When the time comes rest assured Bryant will make
something clear: The carnival act ends now. The clowning and goofing are done.
During games, players used to hear Kevin Garnett screaming at Howard: "Paint
your face, clown!" up and down the floor.
In a tight race, the U.S. defeated Spain
today (August 12) to win the gold medal for Men's Basketball.
Kevin Durant scored 30 points for the
team, topping LeBron James' 19 and Kobe Bryant's 17. The game echoed the 2008
Beijing gold medal game in which the U.S. pulled away in the fourth quarter from
Spain to win 118-107.
After bragging that their team was better
than the 1992 Dream Team, the U.S. just squeaked by Spain to win 107-100. The
win does help to detract from the 2004 bronze medal disaster in
Athens.
Unfortunately, U.S. team coach Mike
Krzyzewski has announced that he'll be retiring as the national team coach
following this Olympics, after taking the team to gold in 2008 and now
2012.
Extending their Olympic winning streak to
21 consecutive games, Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings bested fellow
Americans Jen Kessy and April Ross at the beach volleyball finals in London on
Wednesday (August 8).
The faceoff between the pair of American
squads marked the first time since the sport debuted at the Olympics in 1996
that two teams from the same country battled in the gold medal match.
In the end, 33-year-old Walsh Jennings
and 35-year-old May-Treanor put forth their third consecutive event winning
performance - as the duo won top honors in Athens, Beijing, and now
London.
Of the feat, Kerri told NBC, "Misty and I
have something really special. The world knows it, we know it, and we embrace
it."
Having trouble finding words, Misty May -
who plans to retire from the sport following London's 2012 Olympic Summer Games
- overwhelmingly uttered, "I'm a little speechless right now. I can't believe
this is my last match."
With Prince Harry watching from the
stands, the 11-year teammates pulled ahead in the first set and came out strong
in the second, never losing their lead.
After the match, the exuberant partners
made a victory lap in the stands, high-fiving fans and hugging friends and
family.
Following the medal ceremony, Walshj
Jennings summed up her feelings, saying, "It's insane. It doesn't feel like it's
real. I told Misty when we were getting our medals, 'If I wake up tomorrow and
we have to replay this match, I'm going to be furious.' Because it feels like
I'm in a dream. It truly feels surreal and it didn't feel like that the first
two times for whatever reason. But this, it's almost too good to be
true."
Kessy and Ross earned a silver for the
U.S. while Juliana and Larissa of Brazil beat Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China to
take the bronze.
Kate Middleton ventured to Weymouth,
England, today to watch Olympic sailing. She was on a boat, armed with
binoculars, to see the women's Laser Radial competition. China's Xu Lijia won,
while Kate's own Team GB's Alison Young came in fourth and the USA's Paige
Railey was number six.
Kate was joined by her husband's aunt,
Princess Anne, as well as Anne's husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, who has some
familiarity with the water as a retired British naval officer. Kate's likewise
demonstrated her own interest in aquatic sports. She practiced helming a dragon
boat for a 2007 competition across the English Channel, though she had to drop
out due to security concerns. During a stop on Prince Edward Island during her
Canadian tour in 2011, Kate raced William in a dragon boat. William was the
victor in that matchup.
At 17-years-old many people would be
happy to graduate high school, but for swimmer Missy Franklin the
accomplishments go much further.
The Team USA member beat out her fellow
competitors in the 100-meter backstroke on Monday (July 30), which meant she was
bringing home the gold medal in her first individual win.
Overjoyed about her achievement, the
young Olympian tweeted, “I am so grateful for everything that has happened. God
has blessed me with so much. Thank you so much for all the love and
support!”
Although Missy, who resides in Aurora,
CO, is celebrating her win, the soon-to-be high school graduate says that right
now all of her races are dedicated to her grief-stricken hometown.
In a recent interview with the Los
Angeles Times Franklin explained, "Right now, all of my races are dedicated back
home to Colorado," adding, "No matter how well I do, I'm going to give my best
in every single race, and every single race, I'm going to have that Colorado
incident on my mind."
As previously reported by GossipCenter,
Aurora was the setting for a horrific tragedy where James Holmes, who was
charged with 24 counts of murder, entered a midnight screening of "The Dark
Knight Rises” killing 12 people and injuring 28.
Aside from bringing home top honors
today, Missy and her relay team were already proud holders of a bronze
medal.
Making for quite the sight to be seen,
the 2012 Olympic Summer Games Opening Ceremony was held in London, England on
Friday night (July 27).
Taking place at Olympic Stadium, the
kickoff to the event that sees 26 sports contested by 10,500 athletes over 17
days of competition drew out royals including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince
William, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry, as well as U.S. First Lady Michelle
Obama, actress Nicole Kidman and footballer David Beckham - who helmed a
speedboat carrying the Olympic flame during the UK festivities.
As for the theme of London's Opening
Ceremony, spectators were treated to a colorful display charting Britain's
history from the start of the modern Games back in 1896 to the
present.
With 80,000 people in attendance for the
production, director Danny Boyle took on choreographer duties while including
segments such as 1,000 drummers marching through a pastoral setting complete
with cows, goats and sheep roaming about with farm children.
The complete Opening Ceremony was put
together with Boyle trying to remain under his $15 million budget, which falls
far below Beijing's 2008 production that ended up being the most expensive
Opening Ceremony ever at a hefty $40 million total cost.
Of his low-cost efforts, Boyle told the
AP, "There has to be a modesty. You can't get grandiose with this job because
you are following Beijing."
In a sport dominated by giants, Kobe Bryant fears a lack of height could be the downfall of the United States as they
bid to retain their Olympic basketball title at the London Games.
The U.S. won their third straight warm-up
match on Thursday, beating Britain 118-78 in Manchester, and will now jet off to
Barcelona to face Spain and Argentina.
They are clear favorites to win gold in
London, but they are not unbeatable, according to Bryant.
"We definitely have weaknesses that teams
can take advantage of," he told reporters. "So, we'll get a good look at
that.
"It's size. It's size and teams being
able to slow the game down and work the ball inside on us, and we have to do a
good job of taking care of our defensive pressure."
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski said they are
taking nothing for granted, but are confident they can turn their current form
into gold medal success.
"We're not going to look great all the
time because the rest of the world is that good," he said.
"We're not going to assume anything.
Hopefully the way we're playing will translate into a gold medal."
The U.S. begin their Olympic competition
against France on July 29.
MSG is the company that owns the New York
Knicks. It also owns the Madison Square Garden, the historic Beacon Theatre in
New York and the gorgeous Chicago Theatre in that city's downtown loop, along
with the New York Rangers and several television stations. It's a publicly
traded company that would seem, considering its considerable holdings, to be
impervious to the play of a pretty good point guard. Apparently that's not the
case, as we look at the effect that former Knick guard Jeremy Lin has had on MSG
stock.
When Lin busted out of relative obscurity
last February to lead New York on a 10-3 midseason run, MSG's stock shot way up,
as documented by the New York Observer's Foster Kamer. That boon continued even
throughout Lin's trip to the bench in late March, following an MCL tear, and New
York's first-round ouster from the playoffs. The stock didn't dip until the
Houston Rockets made Lin an offer as a restricted free agent that made even the
spend-heavy Knicks uneasy, but because the assumption at the time was that New
York would match any offer no matter how ridiculous, MSG's shares stayed
somewhat steady.
Then word leaked out that New York might
not match, and Knicks guard (and hopeful Lin mentor) Jason Kidd was arrested on
a DWI charge. And the stock fell, by 8.5 percent. All this after a 31 percent
upshot in the wake of what we'll all fondly recall as "Linsanity."
Seriously? A point guard can do this? An
unproven one that, despite his brilliant February turn, still has quite a few of
us wondering if he can even man the handle as a NBA starter?
Apparently these things count. They count
more than, say, the Rangers making the Stanley Cup Finals or eight nights worth
of tasty licks from the Allman Brothers at the Beacon, man.
And now that we've realized that the
NBA's "stretch provision" could have mitigated New York's risk with Lin, should
he fail to pan out before his 2014-15 balloon payment hits, and that personal
and typically petty politics played a role in Lin's jump to Houston, it's
becoming clearer and clearer that MSG head honcho James Dolan truly is a
dunderhead for the ages. With stock falling, Lin's contract was one that the
Knicks could not afford to pass on, and yet they let him slip away in spite of
several strong and significant reasons to keep the third-year guard.
Give Kobe Bryant credit. The guy doesn’t
lack confidence — and he and the rest of the U.S. men’s basketball team will
carry plety of it to London for the Olympics.
Asked how the 2012 Olympic roster would
match up with the original 1992 “Dream Team,” Bryant made a bold
statement.
“Well, just from a basketball standpoint,
they obviously have a lot more size than we do — you know, with (David) Robinson
and (Patrick) Ewing and (Karl) Malone and those guys,” Bryant told Yahoo Sports
at Team USA’s training camp in Las Vegas earlier this week. “But they were also
— some of those wing players — were also a lot older, at kind of the end of
their careers. We have just a bunch of young racehorses, guys that are eager to
compete.
“So I don’t know. It’d be a tough one,
but I think we’d pull it out.”
“I absolutely laughed,” Michael Jordan told the
Associated Press when asked how he responded to Bryant’s assertion.
“For him to compare those two teams is
not one of the smarter things he ever could have done.”
Of course, Jordan has never had a hubris
deficiency either. And his response before a celebrity golf tournament in
Charlotte shows he hasn’t lost anything in that department.
“Most of us were in the prime of our
careers, at a point where athleticisim doesn’t really matter. You have to know
how to play the game, ” said Jordan, who was quick to note he was 29 at the 1992
Olympics. At 33, Bryant is the oldest player on the 2012 team.
The tentacles of the proposed deal
stretched across more than 10 players and three teams on Monday, with the Nets
recruiting a fourth team to take on guard MarShon Brooks in exchange for an
additional draft pick to send to Orlando. Nevertheless, multiple complexities
need to be resolved to complete the deal, including the negotiation of contracts
for four of the players in the proposed trade: Brook Lopez, Kris Humphries,
Damion James and Shelden Williams.
In the proposed deal, Howard, Jason
Richardson and Earl Clark would be sent to Brooklyn, and the Magic would receive
the Nets' Lopez, James, Williams and Armon Johnson, Cleveland's Luke Walton and
three future first-round picks, sources said. Cleveland would receive Orlando's
Quentin Richardson, Brooklyn's Sundiata Gaines, Humphries (on a one-year
guaranteed deal), a first-round pick and $3 million from the Nets. Brooklyn also
is in talks with the Los Angeles Clippers to exchange Brooks for an additional
first-round pick to send to the Magic. If the Clippers decline to participate,
other teams are in position to take on Brooks, sources said.
Talks between the Magic and Nets remain
fluid with some of the deal's parts moving in and out based on different
scenarios. One proposed hangup to a trade: Humphries would be against taking a
one-year contract with the Cavs, instead seeking a four-year deal, a league
source told Y! Sports' Marc Spears. Like Humphries, Lopez, James and Williams
are all free agents and would have to agree to new contracts to be included in
the deal as sign-and-trades.
Despite Orlando’s desire to make Lakers
center Andrew Bynum the centerpiece of a trade package, a significant stumbling
block remains in Bynum’s reluctance to commit to a long-term contract if he's
traded to the Magic, sources said. Orlando doesn’t want to face the possibility
of trading for Bynum only to lose him to free agency after the upcoming
season.
The appeal of the Lakers' potential
package for Bynum has also been diminished with Los Angeles sending its 2013 and
2015 first-round draft picks to the Phoenix Suns in the Steve Nash
sign-and-trade deal. The NBA doesn’t allow teams to trade first-round picks in
consecutive years, so the Lakers can’t offer Orlando their 2014 and 2016
first-round picks.
The Magic are portraying patience in
making a deal for Howard, but have a strong distaste for engaging in a prolonged
process that drags into the summer. From new general manager Rob Hennigan
through Orlando ownership, the Magic want to find the best possible deal for
Howard soon and cut ties with him, sources said.
Steve Nash could have earned more money
while enjoying the twilight of his remarkable NBA career in Manhattan, his
offseason home. Or he could have returned to Canada, finishing up his playing
days in Toronto with an eye toward national history and another career in the
front office.Instead, the two-time MVP point guard is going
Hollywood.
Nash is teaming up with Kobe Bryant and
whatever 7-foot stars end up with the Los Angeles Lakers for at least a few more
seasons of title contention on the best team within a short flight of Phoenix,
where his three children live.
So what if the Lakers have been among his
biggest rivals throughout his entire NBA career with Dallas and Phoenix? So what
if he'll be in a backcourt with a ball-dominating superstar who has never shared
possession with a point guard of Nash's abilities? So what if he can't wear No.
13, which is hanging in the Staples Center rafters with Wilt Chamberlain's name
forever attached to it?
''The idea to be close to my son, my
daughters, who will be in Phoenix, was the No. 1 priority,'' Nash told ESPN's
Los Angeles station Thursday.
''Don't get me wrong, it's fantastic,''
he added. ''I think I'm a good fit for the team, and we have a great team, we're
a contender, that's all incredible, too. But as far as getting over the hump and
being able to be a Laker after being a Sun and trying to beat the Lakers in the
playoffs all those years, the reality is it was too great of an opportunity to
pass up as far as my children were concerned. And fortunately for me, it's a
great basketball situation.''
The 38-year-old Canadian says he spoke to
Bryant by phone Monday to see whether he wanted to work together. Bryant took a
break from his basketball camp in Santa Barbara to confirm he thinks Nash would
be a perfect fit in the Lakers' backcourt, providing a dimension they never
possessed even in Derek Fisher's best years - a playmaking talent Los Angeles
hasn't seen since Magic Johnson was running the show.
Nash said Bryant thinks he can be
''somebody to handle the ball and lead. He also felt that we were complementary
leaders. I'm more on the positive side, he's more ... I think as he said it,
cracks the whip. I think pick-and-roll, adding that to the offense and being
able to space the floor for the big guys inside, I think it's a good fit. He was
excited, and I think that was important for me. It's going to be fun to work it
all out and try to create some cohesion and chemistry on the floor and make all
these pieces work.''
The Los Angeles Lakers are rumored to be
working on a Dwight Howard deal…again. Unfortunately for the Lakers, Howard has
indicated that he wants to go to Brooklyn, and only to Brooklyn. He can't veto a
trade, but his demands will certainly cause teams to think twice about giving
away a lot of assets to get the big man. If he won't sign a long-term deal, you
don't want to trade away their stars. Could the Lakers make a deal? Possibly.
Should they? No.
A possible deal
If Orlando is going to trade away Dwight,
they clearly want to get the best deal possible. The player being discussed is
obviously Andrew Bynum, and you have to assume that the Magic would be
interested in the young center. Bynum may have some attitude issues, but he is
younger and may be the type of player that can be a cornerstone athlete. As
mentioned, Howard doesn't have the right to kill a deal, but stars in the NBA
can certainly make things difficult by making demands to the media. Granted, Jim
Buss may not want to give away his favorite player.
Sharing the spotlight
Is this about Kobe Bryant? Why wouldn't
Dwight want to come to Los Angeles and play alongside Kobe and Pau Gasol? That
seems like a pretty solid trio of players. There have been some rumblings that
perhaps Howard wants to be "the man" in whatever city he plays. As a fan, I get
really tired of this prima donna behavior. Just play the game and stop thinking
about whether you are the most popular player on the team. If the rumors are
true about why Howard does not want to come to Los Angeles, that is just
sad.
A major risk
The problem with this deal is that the
Lakers could end up with nothing. There is no guarantee that Bynum will sign a
long-term deal, but he is at least saying the right things right now. Howard has
stated that he will only sign an extension with one team. If that is the case,
you can understand why teams would be hesitant to make a deal. The only scenario
might be if Orlando moves him at the trade deadline next year and accepts what
they can get rather lose him to free agency without any compensation.
The irony
I do wonder if Dwight realizes that his
demand might make it harder for him to end up in Brooklyn. Maybe he is willing
to wait, but can Brooklyn make a trade right now? What do they have to give
Orlando? The roster is not exactly stocked with young talent. In addition, since
everyone knows that Howard wants to go to Brooklyn, the Nets are in the best
position to dictate the offer. Still, they may spend a lot of money this
offseason on Deron Williams, which could limit their ability to sign Howard next
season.
As if John Calipari needed any more
recruiting ammunition after back-to-back Final Four appearances and a national
title this spring, the Kentucky coach got some Thursday night.
The Wildcats became the first program
ever to produce the first two picks in an NBA draft when the New Orleans Hornets
selected Anthony Davis at No. 1 and the Charlotte Bobcats nabbed Michael
Kidd-Gilchrist at No. 2.
The closest another program has come to
pulling off that feat is UCLA's 1969 national title team, which produced the No.
1 and No. 3 picks in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Lucius Allen. Only 11 other teams
have even had two top-five picks in the same draft including Calipari's 2010
Kentucky team that had John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins go at No. 1 and No.
5.
New Orleans' selection of Davis was about
as surprising as a star quarterback being named his high school's prom king. The
6-foot-10 All-American will immediately provide shot blocking and rebounding for
the Hornets and should develop into an offensive threat too as he becomes more
comfortable in the NBA.
As the Houston Rockets prepare for a run
at Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, they've secured another top 20 pick in
the NBA draft. The Rockets traded forward Chase Budinger to the Minnesota
Timberwolves for the 18th overall pick in the draft, giving Houston the 14th,
16th and 18th picks in Thursday's draft. The Rockets included the rights to
Israeli Lior Eliyahu in the deal with Minnesota.
Budinger, a second-round pick in 2009,
developed into a solid performer at small forward for the Rockets. At 6-foot-7,
he averaged 9.6 points and 3.7 rebounds for Houston last season. He'll have a
chance to play significant minutes for the Timberwolves.
Houston has been undaunted by Howard's
private insistence that he wants a trade to only the Brooklyn Nets or Dallas
Mavericks, sources said. Houston is willing to make a deal for Howard, believing
it can convince him to re-sign before he becomes a free agent in the summer of
2013. Rockets GM Daryl Morey has been determined to use the assets on his roster
to secure a high-level league star.
Houston will work to flip those three
picks (14, 16 and 18) into higher picks that could be used for an impact player
out of Thursday's draft, or to further sweeten a deal for Howard or another
league star, sources said.
Howard had back surgery in May and will
be sidelined throughout the summer. He bypassed a chance to become a free agent
this summer but has shown the Magic no indication he wants to re-sign with them
long-term after another falling out with the organization near season's
end.
Kobe Bryant is locked in for two more
seasons and would be nearly impossible to trade because of his salary, and his
skills are clearly in decline, so expecting him to be the team's catalyst is
wishful thinking.
Kobe Bryant is not going anywhere, and he
is not about to become a role-playing Tim Duncan or a pass-first LeBron
James.
James finished with 26 points, 13 assists
and 11 rebounds in Game 5 of the title series Thursday night, leading the Miami
Heat to a 121-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.Miami won the second
title in franchise history, and James won for the first time in three finals
appearances.
James and the Cleveland Cavaliers were
swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007, then he and the Heat fell in six games
to the Dallas Mavericks last season.Asked Thursday what the title meant, James
said, ''It means everything.''
These used to be the moments that
suffocated LeBron James. End of a game, the world watching, everyone expecting
greatness. A TV camera would catch James sitting on the bench, gnawing on his
fingernails during a timeout. He'd take the court, and the ball – and the game –
would find their way into his large hands. Too often, he'd give them both to a
teammate. The pressure, the responsibility to live up to his enormous talent,
was too much for him to shoulder.
No longer is James haunted by his demons.
He embraces these moments now, and as the final seconds ticked off the clock
late Thursday, James was finally free of the burden he had carried for so long.
Finally, the world could call him a champion.
James had walked off the court a few
minutes earlier, the Miami Heat's 121-106 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder
long since secure. He dominated these NBA Finals, and he saved his best for last
with a 26-point, 13-assist, 11-rebound triple-double performance. James hugged
his teammates and coaches, screamed and waved his arms. No more doubts. He owned
his elusive title.
"It's about damn time," James said after
accepting the Finals MVP trophy from Bill Russell. "It's about damn
time."
He had come into this with people
questioning whether Kevin Durant had surpassed him as the game's greatest
player, with the Heat cast in the unfamiliar role of underdogs. Oklahoma City's
victory in Game 1 fanned those sentiments. It turned out to be the only jolt the
Heat needed.
James took hold of this series in Game 2
and he never let go. He was the league's best player this season, and he was the
greatest player on the floor in these Finals. The Thunder never had an answer
for him. Not Durant, not anyone. From the moment James threw down a thunderous
dunk to open Thursday night, the message was clear:
No more waiting. This night, this season,
belonged to him.
"My dream has become a reality now,"
James said, "and it's the best feeling I ever had."
Phil Jackson didn't directly compare Kobe Bryant, unfavorably, to LeBron James. In an interview with HBO's "Real Sports,"
Phil Jackson even compared Kobe to Michael Jordan, in a way. A good way. This is
so confusing — does Phil hate Kobe or love LeBron or hate Michael or love Kobe?
This is the Internet, doesn't he know he's only supposed to discuss basketball
in black and white terms?
Jackson's instincts are not incorrect,
and they're in line with what a whole lot of us have been begging Kobe to do for
years. On a team with a few great scorers and a whole crew of guys that struggle
to find their own shot, perhaps it was best for Bryant to use his formidable
passing and dishing skills in a way that made the Lakers a more dangerous team
overall, rather than a top-heavy squad with Bryant leading the way in shots and
points per game.
Of course, our criticism of LeBron
extends in the other direction. He's taken over the 2012 Finals because of an
increased attention paid to putting the ball in the hole, being less of a Pippen
and more of a Jordan (or, as we duck lightning bolts, "a Kobe"). Because, on a
team with two other scoring superstars that are fighting to score efficiently as
they work through injuries (Chris Bosh is shooting 40 percent from the floor
since returning to action following a debilitating abdominal injury), James is
being counted on more than ever to play less as an all-around demon, and more as
a pointed scorer.
That's never been an issue for Kobe, and
while he remains a fabulous player, his gunner-happy ways have had a part in
ensuring that his Laker teams have gone out in the second round in consecutive
seasons. Sure, the Lakers are a top-heavy team featuring three superstars and a
cast of struggling role players; but so is the team that is currently up 2-1 in
the Finals right now.
Sports admirers authority able opinions
about which pro basketball players deserve their massive salaries, and which
ones don't. One fan, however, has gone added than the boilerplate barstool
analyst –- Southern Utah University economics assistant David Berri.
Berri is co-author of the 2006 book "The
Wages of Wins," which determines which players are overpaid with a statistical
adjustment alleged "Wins Produced" that he and his co-authors
developed.
According to Berri, NBA players are paid
for top scoring, so the added credibility an amateur racks up, the added money
he earns. Berri believes that this overlooks added factors that accord to a
victory, such as shots taken, turnovers, rebounds and fouls.
These and added elements are included in
the "Wins Produced" algorithm.
"Wins in basketball are primarily about a
team's adeptness to get and accumulate control of the brawl and again axis those
backing into points," Berri told CNBC.com in an e-mail. "In 2011-12, NBA teams
paid $1.9 billion for 990 approved division wins. This agency that the amount
per win was $1.946 million. Given the amount of anniversary win and alive both
how abounding victories anniversary amateur produced and his bacon allows us to
see which players were overpaid."
All bacon advice was provided by Berri,
who acclimated abstracts from the NBA abstract bump website DraftExpress.com and
from basketball analyst Patricia Bender. All abstracts was aggregate by Berri's
aide Arturo Galletti.
After Game 1 of the NBA Finals ended on a
triumphant note for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Russell Westbrook was back at it
on the fashion scene. He confidently put on red glassless eyeglasses. He sported
a busy white Prada shirt that featured people dancing and playing musical
instruments, and random cars. He completed the look with a pair of Khaki pants,
and red and yellow Balenciaga high top sneakers that sell for about
$600.
"You can't get it too many places," a
proud Westbrook said about his clothes. "I can't tell you the places where I get
my stuff. I shop at a lot of places. I shop all the time."
"Russ" has become one of the NBA's most
fun-loving personalities thanks to his ensembles during these playoffs. But an
angry Westbrook played an important role in helping lift the initially listless
Thunder to a 105-94 victory on Tuesday night over the Miami Heat. Westbrook
scored 18 of his 27 points in the second half and nearly had a triple-double
with 11 assists and eight rebounds.And all this came after Heat forward Shane
Battier got Westbrook mad.
"That's all I need every once in a while.
I don't know what he was thinking," Westbrook said. "He was trying to punk
me."
A frustrated Westbrook had nine points on
3-of-10 shooting from the field and missed both 3-point attempts while dishing
six assists in the first half. Perhaps he spent precious energy in a dance
routine, moving furiously during the pregame introductions. The Thunder followed
Westbrook's lackluster lead despite Kevin Durant's solid start (13 first-half
points). Miami was certainly in control as it owned a lead as large as 13 points
before walking into the locker room at halftime up 54-47.
"I needed something. We needed
something," Westbrook said.
Westbrook finally got that something when
he drove hard for a shifty lay-in with 31.4 seconds left before the half.
Westbrook and Battier then got testy after getting tangled. Westbrook swung his
arm in retaliation and received a technical and personal foul; Battier was also
given a technical.
Suddenly, the nice guy was gone in an
Incredible Hulk second as he walked toward the crowd and screamed with a wild
look in his eye. Westbrook also fired up the Thunder faithful, who roared back
in appreciation.
"Just frustrated in myself," Westbrook
said. "I know I could have played harder. And our coaching staff and other guys
on the team just emphasized once I started playing harder everybody else would
follow. And that's my job."
Neither was playing at the level they are
now when James invited Durant to work out with him during the NBA lockout in his
hometown of Akron, Ohio. Now as James tries to win his first ring, fittingly,
it's Durant in his way.
''It's only right. It's only right,''
James said. ''We look forward to the challenge. It's going to be a big test for
us.''
James played at a rarely seen level in
the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. According to STATS
LLC, James became the first player since Shaquille O'Neal in the 2000 finals to
have six 30-point games in a playoff series. In the one contest where James
didn't score 30, he finished with 29 in Game 4, fouling out in
overtime.
His series averages against the Celtics:
33.6 points and 11 rebounds per game on 53 percent shooting. He had five games
with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the entire regular season - then did
it five times in the series against Boston alone.
''He was absolutely brilliant this
series, and we all know it,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ''He's playing at
an historic level during the playoffs, driving us with his will. We do not take
his talent or his will or his competitiveness for granted. And we need every
single bit of it. He is pushing himself beyond his limits, and he's pushing the
rest of the team as well.''
Said Heat guard Dwyane Wade: ''He's
amazing.''
There were many moments for the Heat to
celebrate on Saturday night, when they punched their ticket back to the NBA
finals by ousting Boston 101-88 in Game 7.
Heat owner Micky Arison couldn't have
gotten his hands off the East trophy fast enough, since that isn't the one he
wants anyway. James felt the same way. The Heat star left the floor in a cap and
T-shirt, one arm raised in joy.
Everybody wanted a picture with the NBA's
greatest young star. Friends, family members, the NBA's omnipresent and
eternally leather-clad fan, Jimmy Goldstein – even Kevin Durant's own mother.
Thursday morning was closing hard on Wednesday night, and Durant had wandered
onto the court to find his mom for one more kiss. As they hugged, the arena's
overhead video scoreboard, lowered for some maintenance work, continued to flash
the Oklahoma City Thunder's newest title: Western Conference
champions.
The parade of well-wishers met Durant the
moment he emerged from the arena's tunnel and stepped onto the floor. For nearly
20 minutes, Durant obliged them all, taking pictures, signing autographs, no one
wanting the night to end. Neatly dressed in sea-foam slacks, plaid belt and blue
sportsjacket with a flower on the lapel, Durant looked like he was headed to the
prom instead of the NBA Finals. Finally, he pulled his mother close one last
time and asked:
"Y'all ready?"
Yes, they're ready. Every last one of
them. These young Thunder. The proud city they've carried on this magical ride.
Durant's led them all. From the rubble of a 23-win season, from a 2-0 hole
against the San Antonio Spurs in the West finals, from an 18-point deficit on
Wednesday night, he's lifted them on his slender shoulders.
The West now runs by Durant's clock. He's
just 23, and, still, he was tired of waiting. From the Thunder's ferocious point
guard, Russell Westbrook, to their cool-headed and crafty reserve, James Harden,
they all believed the same: They didn't need to respect their elders anymore;
they needed to beat them. No longer is age an excuse for the Thunder. It's an
asset.
"I think the youth is kind of something
that wills us," Westbrook said.
The Thunder speak often of their
"family," and it's true. So many of them are so young, they've all grown up
together. All these team-is-one mantras can get a little nauseating to
outsiders, but the Thunder believe them. You won't find Durant alone on
billboards in Oklahoma City. It's all team shots or pictures of the Thunder
flag. The photos lining the walls of the Thunder's arena and practice facility
are the same: players' hands clasped in a huddle; a snapshot of the team's logo
on a player's shorts. No one individual is greater than the whole, conventional
marketing plans be damned.
