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Thursday, August 30, 2007 -
Tournament of the Americas (Canada/Puerto Rico and other stuff...) Okay, lets dissect the Canadian performance and their results. Wednesday, August 29, 2007
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BLOG EXTRA EXTRA Wednesday, August
29, 2007 -
BLOG EXTRA Many of the games JKidd mentioned took place at the Diablo Valley Club. He added "a lot of the Santa Clara guys would come play but Steve always stood out because of his work and his smarts. When Steve became a pro (with the Phoenix Suns) you could see his work ethic, his perseverance and his potential." Jason finished off our conversation by saying he had all the time in the world for Steve as a player and more importantly as a person. "He's one of my all-time favourite guys." Wednesday, August 29, 2007
- Tournament of the Americas (Canada/Mexico and other stuff...) I guess it wasn't all that easy. Canada really looked confused for a few stretches as Mexico played a little match-up 1-2-2, trapping from the foul line extended down to the baseline. The defense was very effective through most of the first 6 minutes until Leo Rautins made a 4 man, over the boards line change; Dave Thomas, Denham Brown, Juan Mendez and Levon Kendall. Point guard Jermaine Anderson got to stay and play with the others, mainly because back up Ryan Bell might be the worst player on the team. Mendez and Kendall proceeded to actually flash to the soft spots in the zone (hello high post, short corner and dive down the middle) and shred the Mexican zone from inside out. Levon Kendall continued his extremely consistent play and finally got more run from Coach "Raptors Analyst." The Kits grad finished with a very impressive 14 point and 10 rebounds. Things got so out of hand that the Dana Murzyn of the tournament, Vlad Kuljanin, got some quality cocktail hour minutes. Vlad the Bad even finished the Canadian offensive effort with a hoop pulling slam dunk. It was almost Cord Clemens-like as he raised his hefty frame to the top of his limited vertical (you can never go wrong with a former national team big man reference). The victory almost assures Canada of 5th place, which means a trip to next summer's last chance Olympic qualifying tournament. The Canadians even have a chance at the semis with a win over Puerto Rico tomorrow. Wow. In other action, Argentina remained undefeated with an overtime victory over Brazil. The Samba Boys might be in trouble and will need Canada to lose by at least 11 points. I'm not quite sure of that "points" number as the FIBA tie breaking system is pretty Byzantine. On the plus side, that same tie breaking system often leads to some fine tanking and political intrigue amongst the various soccer nations. Got a chance to catch-up with new Houston Rockets big man, Luis Scola, after the game. He has been better than advertised throughout the tournament and I would imagine that the Houston Rockets are pretty darn happy about his acquisition. Scola mentioned that he "would have loved to play in the NBA last year with the San Antonio Spurs but things just didn't work out. Besides, they are the champs and don't really need me." He also mentioned that "the US team is the best in the last number of years - the only thing that might make them better is Shaq or Tim Duncan." The US squad is beating the snot out of Uruguay right now. LBJ finished the first half with 26 points (11/11, 4/4 on 3's) including some ginormous throw downs over the South American bigs. I'm pretty sure the majority of the Uruguayan players are wishing their grandparents had never snuck out of Nazi Germany at the end of the WW2. I'll see what the rest of the evening holds for "entertainment" and maybe return to the blog later tonight. Ola (I'm using it like aloha). Tuesday, August 28, 2007 -
Tournament of the Americas (Canada/Argentina and other stuff...) Now my Ed Willes tribute (he is the franchise of the Province, honest). Here are my musings;
In the evening's action, the US "avenged" their humiliating Athens loss to Puerto Rico by shooting 59% from the field en route to a 117 - 78 victory. The Americans showed off their full compliment of skills, out gunning the short benched US Commonwealth. It was like Elaine Benes' Puerto Rican Day parade nightmare for the guard talented but small up front islanders. One question that pops into my mind - why can't Carlos Arroyo duplicate his strong play internationally in the NBA? He seems to always bring it for PR but is often absent for the Orlando Magic. Speaking of the Magic, have I mentioned that Dwight Howard is an absolute physical specimen? Quick, strong and fast plus he is still growing. Yikes. A couple of post moves and he will become even scarier. One of the perks of being so close to the action is the ability to hear (and observe) the players and coaches. What are the players saying to each other and their opponents? Who's talking trash? Who's encouraging their own guys? What are the coaches yakking about? Tonight I spent some time both observing and listening to American head coach, Mike Krzyzewski. Know what I discovered, or reaffirmed, as it were. Coach K is a whiner supreme. Even with the US performing their usual dance, he was whining and groveling all night to the officials. Very unbecoming for a hall of famer, don't you think? Maybe my favourite moment of the day was earlier this evening at dinner. I actually ate something healthy, hitting Hamada Japanese for a little sushi. While at the sushi bar I'm positive that I saw Brett Harrelson, Woody's brother. You might remember his defining role playing Woody's movie brother in the "People vs. Larry Flynt." That's right, Woody's brother playing Larry's brother, Jimmy. Anyway, if it was Brett Harrelson, he and two buddies rolled up to the bar and proceed to entertain me for a solid half hour with their shear dufousness. These guys couldn't have been any goofier. I have to say, that's some solid D list entertainment.
Monday, August 27, 2007 -
Tournament of the Americas (Canada/Uruguay and other stuff...) Canada was lead by the much maligned (at least by me, my family, many of the coaches I talk with... okay, you get the picture) Jesse Young, who ended with 22 points and 4 rebounds. Young hit some big buckets and was a physical presence inside in a game that required a little banging. Coach Rautins (saying that still makes me a little queasy) ladled out big love for Jesse, pointing out how he has overcome injuries and played through pain for the red and white. Leo also made sure to pimp the George Mason grad for all of those European teams that might be watching. Because there aren't enough big, white stiffs in Europe? Kisilano stalwart, Levon Kendall, had another nice outing with 9 point and 9 boards (16:09 minutes). He does so many of the intangibles that make coaches giddy like little girls. Sets good screens, gets a lot of tip outs, reads the defense properly and usually exhibits a high basketball IQ. Let's hope Coach Leo gives Levon a little more burn as the week rolls on? Canada also appeared to have made good use of their day off, as they seemed much better prepared for Uruguay. Hammer through that video, assistant coaches. It was also helpful that the Uruguay coach kept his two best three point shooters on the bench for a very long time. Head scratching, except that the dry weather is really bothering my scalp, so, how about a poor decision by Alberto Espasandin. In US action, the unholy beat downs continued with the Americans stomping Mexico, 127 - 100. It was a Lou Dobbs-like defense of the border, as the US went Minuteman group on the Mexicans. The first quarter might have been the best offensive performance by a US squad since Dream Team or maybe the 1996 team in Atlanta. The Americans dropped 45 points on the stunned Mexicans before the awe factor wore off. The game evened out, relatively speaking, after the first quarter. The Mexican team played hard and ended up scoring 100 points on the US, which shouldn't please Coach "D" Krzyzewski very much. The buzz worthy play of the game was turned in by Mexico's Romel Beck, who shook Kobe Bryant, crossed him over and buried the jumper. For all you "AND 1" fans, that would be broken ankles for Mr. Bryant. The local organizing committee pulled out all the stops tonight and brought in the NBA cheerleaders (I recognized at least one girl from the Phoenix Suns), disguised as the Tournament of the Americas dance squad. Funnily enough, in Vegas dancing babes don't seem that unique or special. On the "entertainment" front, blackjack at Mandalay Bay was not a productive use of afternoon time. I headed over there looking for a sweet, old school straight blade shave at the "Art of Shaving." Unfortunately, they were full up and it ended up costing me (more than a shave, that's for sure). I'll have to get it all back at the lovely Mirage, my genial hosts for the tournament. Sunday, August 26, 2007 -
Tournament of the Americas (USA/Brazil and other stuff...) The US started Kobe Bryant on Leandro Barbosa and it was a Lojack clinic. Not even the GPS transponder could find the Brazilian Blur this evening, as the Mambo got physical and dug down for another top flight defensive effort. I got a chance to talk with Leandro after the game and he was disappointed but still upbeat about Brazil's play through the first four games of the tournament. "There was a lot of holding, really physical stuff off the ball that the referees weren't calling but there wasn't really anything I could do about it." Vancouver's favourite Brazilian added "Kobe told me to just keep playing and not to worry about the refereeing." Barbosa continued "the rough stuff is good for me, I'll learn from it and do better." Much like the UN's world wide livability index or whatever it's called, Leandro had nothing but good things to say about his recent trip to Vancouver for Steve Nash's charity game. He enjoyed the weekend and mentioned that he can't wait to get back to Vancouver. October 26th, baby, Sonics vs. Suns. Did I mention that I broke that little gem on "Sportstalk." Don't think there will be much celebrity action this evening. There has been a strong Denver Nuggets contingent at all the games. Tonight Marcus Camby (and entourage) was cheering on the boys, Nene and Carmelo. It looked like Carmelo was going to be collecting on a friendly wager from the big man. Or at least a lot of bragging rights. I think it will be off to the ground zero of strong blackjack play, the Palms, again tonight. Maybe I can win big and head up to the oh so hip rooftop club, Ghostbar, or even the Playboy Club in the new tower. I just need some strong double down opportunities. Saturday, August 25, 2007 -
Tournament of the Americas (USA/Canada and other stuff...) Game of the day, Uruguay vs. Puerto Rico. The fans (and media) for each team are, to put it mildly, emotional. Combine that passion for hoops with lead changes, big shots, shaky calls and it made for the most entertaining game of the day. Oh 'ya, Uruguay won by 3. The key to any blog entry - celebrity sightings. Hung out, ate wings, drove to the airport with UBC T-Birds coach, Kevin Hanson. Had a nice conversation with one of my favourite players of all time, Kiki Vandeweghe. In fact, best pick-up game I ever played in was with Mr. Vandeweghe (and quite a few other NBA'ers) at the John Wooden Pavilion at UCLA. My role was simple. Push the ball up the court, penetrate a little and then find Kiki for the silky smooth jumper from anywhere. That equation added up to quite a few games for the winners. Great teammate and great comp for the Canadian kid back in the day. Time to go and look for a blackjack table. Thinking the Palms this evening. Doug E.
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