Official 2008 Beijing Olympics Thread

[BigThreePeat]

The more the effort the bigger the celebrations. This has got to be the most hardworking victory for USA basketball since 96.

True.  They almost choked that one away.  Would Pau Gasol even start for Team USA if he was American?  I don't think so.   They won by 11 points against an inferior bunch of players.   That ends the "Dream Team Vs Redeem Team" debate.  If Gasol almost beat those guys how badly would David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley abuse that bunch?

Congrats to Team USA.  I mean... they did what they were supposed to do.  The 10th best player on Team USA would easily have been a top 2 player on Spain.  It's great that they got the job done, but come on... yay for not choking. 

I still hate Kobe Bryant, though.   I can still sense his inner torment about getting owned by the Celtics.  He'll try to tell himself this was more important, hop around an exaggerate his emotions, but... deep down he's still crying.  Come on Kobe... quit fronting.  Look at that dork squirting his water bottle on an annoyed coach K.  I kind of expected him to scream "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLLLEEEEEEE!!!" in the middle of his interview.  Sure, it's not rational for me to be hating on Kobe Bryant after he just helped land us a gold medal, but I can't help it.  That punk just seems so fake in everything he ever does.  Teenager analogy:  It's like a dude who gets dumped by his girlfriend, meets a new girl and immediately puts a picture of the two of them as his main Myspace profile pic.  "Hey look at me now... I'm so happy.  He he he."     

Dwayne Wade seemed to be the best player on that team.  Major props to him.  It's silly that people counted him out.  He's a superstar.

I'm pretty impressed with Rudy Fernandez.  Portland fans must be excited.

Rubio was also pretty impressive for a 17 year old kid.  I see why they are saying he'll be a top 3 pick.  It'll be interesting to see how he progresses over the years.     

[Scribbles]

The more the effort the bigger the celebrations. This has got to be the most hardworking victory for USA basketball since 96.

True.  They almost choked that one away.  Would Pau Gasol even start for Team USA if he was American?  I don't think so.   They won by 11 points against an inferior bunch of players.   That ends the "Dream Team Vs Redeem Team" debate.  If Gasol almost beat those guys how badly would David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley abuse that bunch?

Congrats to Team USA.  I mean... they did what they were supposed to do.  The 10th best player on Team USA would easily have been a top 2 player on Spain.  It's great that they got the job done, but come on... yay for not choking. 

I still hate Kobe Bryant, though.   I can still sense his inner torment about getting owned by the Celtics.  He'll try to tell himself this was more important, hop around an exaggerate his emotions, but... deep down he's still crying.  Come on Kobe... quit fronting.  Look at that dork squirting his water bottle on an annoyed coach K.  I kind of expected him to scream "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLLLEEEEEEE!!!" in the middle of his interview.  Sure, it's not rational for me to be hating on Kobe Bryant after he just helped land us a gold medal, but I can't help it.  That punk just seems so fake in everything he ever does.  Teenager analogy:  It's like a dude who gets dumped by his girlfriend, meets a new girl and immediately puts a picture of the two of them as his main Myspace profile pic.  "Hey look at me now... I'm so happy.  He he he."     

Dwayne Wade seemed to be the best player on that team.  Major props to him.  It's silly that people counted him out.  He's a superstar.

I'm pretty impressed with Rudy Fernandez.  Portland fans must be excited.

Rubio was also pretty impressive for a 17 year old kid.  I see why they are saying he'll be a top 3 pick.  It'll be interesting to see how he progresses over the years.     

Good post, couldn't agree more with the thoughts on Kobe.  Not a fan of Melo either come to think of it.  My question is what happens next?  Does the USA in the next Olympics slip again because I'm guessing most if not all of these guys won't be coming back. 

[BigThreePeat]

The more the effort the bigger the celebrations. This has got to be the most hardworking victory for USA basketball since 96.

True.  They almost choked that one away.  Would Pau Gasol even start for Team USA if he was American?  I don't think so.   They won by 11 points against an inferior bunch of players.   That ends the "Dream Team Vs Redeem Team" debate.  If Gasol almost beat those guys how badly would David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley abuse that bunch?

Congrats to Team USA.  I mean... they did what they were supposed to do.  The 10th best player on Team USA would easily have been a top 2 player on Spain.  It's great that they got the job done, but come on... yay for not choking. 

I still hate Kobe Bryant, though.   I can still sense his inner torment about getting owned by the Celtics.  He'll try to tell himself this was more important, hop around an exaggerate his emotions, but... deep down he's still crying.  Come on Kobe... quit fronting.  Look at that dork squirting his water bottle on an annoyed coach K.  I kind of expected him to scream "ANYTHING IS POSSIBLLLEEEEEEE!!!" in the middle of his interview.  Sure, it's not rational for me to be hating on Kobe Bryant after he just helped land us a gold medal, but I can't help it.  That punk just seems so fake in everything he ever does.  Teenager analogy:  It's like a dude who gets dumped by his girlfriend, meets a new girl and immediately puts a picture of the two of them as his main Myspace profile pic.  "Hey look at me now... I'm so happy.  He he he."     

Dwayne Wade seemed to be the best player on that team.  Major props to him.  It's silly that people counted him out.  He's a superstar.

I'm pretty impressed with Rudy Fernandez.  Portland fans must be excited.

Rubio was also pretty impressive for a 17 year old kid.  I see why they are saying he'll be a top 3 pick.  It'll be interesting to see how he progresses over the years.     

Good post, couldn't agree more with the thoughts on Kobe.  Not a fan of Melo either come to think of it.  My question is what happens next?  Does the USA in the next Olympics slip again because I'm guessing most if not all of these guys won't be coming back. 

Yeah regardless of what they say, I can't really imagine guys like Bron and Kobe coming back in 4 years.  Kobe won his gold medal...  all part of his image makeover.  He can pretend like this was more important to him than winning an NBA title, but it's hogwash.   As an American I love that team USA won here, but you really can't pretend like winning against a bunch of inferior talent matches the thrill and accomplishment of beating your peers in the NBA finals.   What's more exciting for a guy like Kobe?  Beating his equals like LeBron, Chris Paul, Pierce, etc...  or having 10 of the 11 best players on the floor in a 11 point victory?

[BigThreePeat]

Put it this way...

Kobe + Gasol =  40 point buttwhopping at the hands of the 2008 World Champion Boston Celtics

Kobe + 4 megastars and 5 allstars =  11 point victory over Gasol and some average players.

Horry for Team USA, but big whoop.

lol

[ederson]

True.  They almost choked that one away.  Would Pau Gasol even start for Team USA if he was American?  I don't think so.   They won by 11 points against an inferior bunch of players.   That ends the "Dream Team Vs Redeem Team" debate. 

Maybe Gasol wouldn`t even be called to the USA team. But that`s completely irrelevant. It`s about the best team and not the team with the best players.
The player by player comparison is 12-0 for USA, no doubt about that. But Spain (even Argentina) is better team. The offense is still heavily based on one-one and there is no team defense. What covers these "flaws" is their far superior physical abilities. They are much stronger, much faster and taller. But it this won`t always be enough.

[ACF]

Put it this way...

Kobe + Gasol =  40 point buttwhopping at the hands of the 2008 World Champion Boston Celtics

Kobe + 4 megastars and 5 allstars =  11 point victory over Gasol and some average players.

Horry for Team USA, but big whoop.

lol

Spain is not an "average" team, period.

I agree with what you said about
the Dream Team vs. the Redeem Team,
though: Larry, Magic, Michael and Co.
would probably crush the Redeem Team.
And they would have me cheering for them
when they did 

[BigThreePeat]

Put it this way...

Kobe + Gasol =  40 point buttwhopping at the hands of the 2008 World Champion Boston Celtics

Kobe + 4 megastars and 5 allstars =  11 point victory over Gasol and some average players.

Horry for Team USA, but big whoop.

lol

Spain is not an "average" team, period.

I agree with what you said about
the Dream Team vs. the Redeem Team,
though: Larry, Magic, Michael and Co.
would probably crush the Redeem Team.
And they would have me cheering for them
when they did 

Yeah I mean.  Kobe, LeBron, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade.   That's arguably 5 of the top 8 players in the world right there.  And they had 5 allstars on the bench backing them up.  Obviously you'd have to expect for them to win regardless of how much different the FIBA rules were or how long Spain has been together (vs the couple summers Team USA has practiced together).  They went out and won... but anything less would have made it the biggest upset in the history of the Olympics.  Seriously, if Spain won that game it would have been cherished as the greatest moment in the history of sports in Spain.

People lose track about the past and why the previous USA teams failed.   The 2002 FIBA World Championships team was the low point (finishing 6th), but it was a slapdash group of players who showed up last minute without any practice.   That group?

Reggie Miller, Paul Pierce, Ben Wallace, Jermaine O'Neal, Shawn Marion, Baron Davis, Antonio Davis, Michael Finley, Andre Miller, Jay Williams, Elton Brand, Raef LaFrentz (Coach: George Karl).   

Certainly some allstars, but not as stacked as this years team and poorly constructed to play that style of basketball.

[ACF]

Excellent post.
WDTP (Well Deserved Tommy Point).


You said "5 of the top 8 players in the world"

The rest of that group of eight:
PP, KG and Ray?
Or am I being too Green?
Again, there are so many great players
to choose from. Just take your picks.
I'm glad our C's got some rest, though.

To sum up Team USA '08:
Athleticism + Team concept = Victory
You buy into the team concept, you win.
                 

[celticmaestro]

I'll miss the Olympics. In my opinion, the combination of Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt have made this the greatest Olympics in recent memory. Special praise also to China and Beijing because they've hosted a truly outstanding Olympics. From the state-of-the-art Stadia to the stunning opening ceremony.

Beijing 2008 was a truly memorable event. Such a shame it's over. Let's see how London 2012 fares.

[Amonkey]

That was truly a great Olympic.  Many great moments.  I am glad Brazil did relatively well in medal total count, although they should've gotten more gold for a country of that size.  Anyone see Jackie Chan on the closing ceremony?

Anyone care to share 10 best moments?  I did earlier and maybe I'll do it  again.  Now go back to sleeping at regular hours.

[CelticPride]

For me?

10) Huge Belgian upset in women's high jump.
9) Belgium-Italy Soccer quarterfinal (my Belgian heritage shows through
Horton wins the silver in the high bar.
7) Australian Matthew Mitcham near perfect dive to prevent Chinese gold diving sweep
6) Sonya Richards tracking down Russian to win women's 4x400
5) Phelps wins number 8
4) US Volleyball team wins the gold
3) Phelps wins 100m butterfly by a finger tip
2) Johnson gets her gold in balance beam.
1) 4x100 Freestyle swimming last 100 meter comeback against fastest swimmer in the world.

low points:

5) Sacramone falls off the balance beam to start her routine
4) Sacramone loses bronze to Chinese girl who fell to her knees on her 2nd vault!
3) Bolt showboats _before_ the end of the 100m dash
2) Women drop 4x100 baton
1) Men drop 4x100 baton

[Redz]

Thoughts on closing ceremonies.

The extinguishing of the flame is always a cool moment. 

The mayor of London seemed a little out of place. 

The one wheel bicycle thingies were cool. 

Jimmy Page?

Top 10 moments that I saw

Gold medal performance on balance beam

Phelps .01 second win

Bolt's 100

Chinese gymnast doing ridiculous things on the rings

Finishes to the marathons - entering a stadium for the last leg of a marathon has got to be extra cool

Nastia's floor routine

The 41 year old swimmer coming up big (name escaping me at the moment)

Watching badminton on line (ok, that sucked)

That's all I can think of, but I didn;t see everything