Day 10 - Redux

Time for some Beijing takes. First off, let me just say I am not into the Olympics. Watching Michael Phelps was sweet, but those races are at the longes three minutes long in a night-time block of four hour programming. Do I want to watch Usain Bolt shatter the world records in the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes? Absolutely. But how long does that take? Ten seconds for one and twenty for the other? I am supposed to watch three and a half hours of boring, dull-ass diving, beach volleyball, women's softball (where nobody ever scored by the way), or men's parallel bars? No thank you.

That said, I am riveted by Team USA basketball. I just love the way Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker play the game...just kidding.... Seriously, one of the joys of working from home is that I have been able to see the last two Men's games live, which start at 8 AM here. This morning was the start of medal play and I had been reading articles and seeing interviews that the Australian team would pose a major threat to our chances at Gold. They feature former #1 overall pick Andrew Bogut at Center, International play veteran Chris Anstey, and future NBA point guard and current St. Mary's star Patrick Mills.

The first quarter was very close, despite Bogut's foul trouble. Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, and company were taking (and missing) way too man three pointers and showed a horrendous touch at the free throw line (10-20 in the first half). It was 25-24 USA at the end of one. The second quarter was close as well, before a late surge capped by a Deron Williams buzzer-beating three gave Team USA a 55-43 lead. The second half started with a 14-0 run by our boys and then it was a runaway from that point on. The final was 116-85. So much for a close game.

What does this all mean to me? I've now watched two and a half games played by "The Redeem Team," and I've come to two major conclusions:

1. Lebron James is the best team basketball player on the planet.

2. Kobe Bryant is not made for International, team play.

I don't care if Kobe scored 25 today. If you saw his first half, you would have been appalled by his wild shot taking and poor decisions offensively. The majority of his 25 were second half garbage buckets, taking guys one on one when the result was long-since decided. These games are all about team play, moving the ball, and swarming American full court defense. Take a look at the line-scores of Lebron in each game. It is usually about 16 points, six rebounds, five assists. Not to mention the fact that he is playing great defense and if you listen to NBC analysts Doug Collins, Lebron is clearly the leader of this team.

Lebron is bigger, stronger, and faster than Kobe. Kobe may be a better shooter, but does he take better shots? Nope. Is he a better teammate? Nope. People speak glowingly of Lebron. Kobe? He is on an island when he plays with the Lakers and is doing a nice job of snowing the press on the Olympic team. They are clearly the best two players in the world, but give me Lebron's all around game all day over Kobe's scoring ability.

Here are a take from the best sports blog in the business The Big Lead:

Lebron > Kobe

Watching the two of them on the same court, on the same team, there’s no question in my mind.

Keep in mind, I don’t want this to sound like Kobe-hate. I like Kobe. I have a #8 Kobe jersey. When he went on that scoring streak 2 seasons ago, I was as excited as Kobe around a female bellhop. I love watching the man play basketball.

But LeBron…

LeBron James is a whole other beast. He’s William Floyd with a basketball. He’s so big and strong and athletic and he makes it look so damn easy. No one his size should be able to move like that. No one that size should be able to do what he does.

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Back to the Olympics as a whole. The Big Lead another another interesting take on why NBC is butchering the coverage:

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt is the fastest man on the planet. He won the 100m race in record-time last week. This morning, the long-legged cyborg shattered Michael Johnson’s world record and captured the 200m in a blistering 19.30. (Only Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis have pulled off the double.) The race was at 10:20 am, and despite checking USA, MSNBC and NBC, we couldn’t find it anywhere. Why? Because the greedy suits at NBC wanted to ’save’ the race for tonight. What a fucking joke. This is an absolute abomination. (Watch the race here, thanks to a reader.) Ten minutes after the race, ESPN, Fox, SI, CBS Sports and Yahoo all blared the headline. So now everyone in America has to wait 11 hours and 50 minutes to watch it?

OK, most people are at work, but isn't this just a tad ridiculous? The Internet for the most part has ruined the Olympics for the most part unless you are in a 3-5 hour vicinity. If you want to watch Bolt for example and go in fresh, there is no way you won't hear about it all day long. That is society today. That is also why to me, the Olympics for the most part are irrelevant. Worst of all though is the Gold medal Basketball game is at 2:30 AM here on Sunday morning. Zero chance of me seeing it. I don't know where I'm going with all of this....