unclevlad Posted June 28 Author Report Share Posted June 28 He's still got to make the roster, altho one of the scenarios discussed is that he plays with the Lakers for a few games at the start of the season...THEN maybe hits the G-League, if he's not NBA-ready. He's a *late* second-round pick; VERY few of those see notable NBA playing time without some pretty substantial seasoning. (And I believe many never make it long term.) The Lakers may have done him no favors insofar as the locker room goes...the obvious nepotism issue could make things rough for Bronny. Not that I feel too much sympathy...his NIL deals while at USC were valued at a touch under $6M...far more than even Shedeur Sanders' package, which is #2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted July 20 Report Share Posted July 20 The USA Men's Olympic basketball team won what soccer fans would call an international friendly against South Sudan. The final score was 101-100. LeBron James hit the game-winning shot with 8 seconds remaining. Yikes. 😳 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted July 20 Author Report Share Posted July 20 That's a risk when the players' collective egos are larger than a red giant.... Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 They crushed the good teams so far...clearly they didn't take them seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted July 21 Author Report Share Posted July 21 The WNBA All Star game, meanwhile, was Team WNBA (Clark, Reese, et al) vs Team USA. Team WNBA beat em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted July 22 Author Report Share Posted July 22 USA Basketball beat Germany by 4 in a rather close game throughout. Germany is ranked #3 in the world, so this was a good tune-up game. And LeBron will be the flag bearer at the opening ceremony on Friday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pariah Posted July 23 Report Share Posted July 23 3 hours ago, unclevlad said: And LeBron will be the flag bearer at the opening ceremony on Friday. When I first read this on another site, my initial reaction was "You spelled Simone Biles wrong." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grailknight Posted July 23 Report Share Posted July 23 While I may have an issue with some of LeBron's early business decisions, I cannot question anything about his qualifications for this position. This is his fourth Olympics, and he is definitely the most accomplished player in USA basketball history. That said, Simone Biles is also more than qualified for this honor. The determining factor may be that she has carried the flag before. Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted July 23 Author Report Share Posted July 23 That's what I was wondering...yeah, I don't think they repeat flag bearers. Otherwise it would be a snub. LeBron's near the pinnacle in basketball, but Biles is one of the slam-dunk, no-doubt GOATs. There is no other gymnast in history with her resume. The Athletic noted recently...she has *5* named skills. 5! And, IIRC...only 1 has been landed in competition by *anyone else in the sport.* That puts her among the teeny, tiny few that set impossible bars. Gretzky in hockey...8 time MVP...in a row. Nadal on clay. The French, of course, but the lead-ins? 10+ wins at Monte Carlo and Rome (ATP 1000) and 12 at Barcelona (ATP 500). You can argue overall GOAT, but not clay court GOAT. Maybe Phelps in swimming? But possibly not, cuz don't forget Spitz. There are very, very few that stand out from their peers to the incredible degree Biles, Gretzky, and Nadal did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted July 23 Report Share Posted July 23 Doubtful anyone had a better single Olympics than Spitz (not just 7 Golds but 7 world records!), but Phelps far surpasses him in medals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted July 24 Author Report Share Posted July 24 3 hours ago, Starlord said: Doubtful anyone had a better single Olympics than Spitz (not just 7 Golds but 7 world records!), but Phelps far surpasses him in medals. Spitz, 1972: 7 events, 7 gold, 7 WRs. 4 individual, 3 relay. All butterfly and freestyle. Phelps, 2008. 8 gold. 7 WRs, 1 OR. 5 individual, 3 relay. Butterfly, freestyle, AND medley. I'd forgotten just HOW good Phelps' 2008 was, myself. So...no doubt swimming GOAT? I'm convincing myself, yes. Spitz chose to retire after '72.....but...by the same token, Spitz is Jewish. And '72...Munich. He competes for GOAT single-Olympics performance, but longevity counts for a great deal with me. Phelps won 5 golds in '16...his 4th Olympics. After retiring for a while in '12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unclevlad Posted July 24 Author Report Share Posted July 24 NBA announces the new media deal, which takes effect for the 25-26 season. TBS/TNT is OUT. Disney (ABC/ESPN), NBCUniversal (NBC and Peacock, which is, I suspect, the driver from NBC's side), and Prime. The league rejected a bid by TBS, which reportedly was for the Amazon package. Some of this looks to be that all 3 will offer streaming in large regions outside the US, which makes sense; basketball is second only to soccer for international reach. These will be done through the streaming channels each offers...ESPN is apparently going to offer a direct-to-consumer streaming service. I'm thinking it's the international side, which TBS might not be able to match, or which might've been viewed as non-competitive with the others...that could've led to rejecting the deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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