Has coach Krzyzewski assembled the right mix to bring home the gold?

I’ll admit, although I am not the biggest Krzyzewski supporter out there, Team USA made the right decision in choosing Mike Krzyzewski as the head coach for the 2006 FIBA championships.

You gotta believe that the players that were selected to be on this team, will buy into the team concept that coach K has taught for years, especially in this type of format. By weeding out the “me first” guys like Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady, Team USA has assembled a great mix of talented players that do more than just score at will.

Theres no doubt that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony are gifted scoring machines. The good thing about these three guys is that it won’t matter which one is doing the scoring, as long as the team wins the game.  You throw in the leadership of Elton Brand and Gilbert Arenas along with Bruce Bowen’s defensive abilities, and let’s not overlook the talented Chris Bosh who doesn’t get the much deserved attention due to playing in Toronto, and young Chris Paul, you have a coaches dream team.

With two exhibition blowout wins versus Puerto Rico and China, USA edged Brazil by 4 points despite Melo going down with a hyperextended right knee. The injury isn’t expected to keep him out that long, but with the depth this squad has, they can afford to have him ease back into the lineup when he’s 100% ready.

Even though the number of nations in the tournament has increased from 16 to 24, Team USA should breeze through their pool that includes China, Italy, Senegal, Slovenia and Puerto Rico on their way to regaining the status as champions of the world.

No we are not here to rip Barry Bonds any further about his steroid allegations or anything, we have heard enough of that haven’t we? 

Anyways, Bonds pictured on the left, from Riverside California, and Lamond ”The Vacuum” Murray, from Pasadena California, pictured on the right are the latest separated at birth look a likes.  

Why is Lamond Murray nicknamed the vacuum you ask?  Well because he’s good at suckin’ up the garbage minutes that why.   

• The week that was saw Kyle Busch finally taking a checkered flag. Winning his first race of the season at the New Hampshire speedway on Sunday by 0.406 seconds over Carl Edwards. Busch has started to come on of late, with top 3 finishes in the last 3 races. Fortunately for Busch, Jeff Gordon was nowhere in site for the cheap shot take out.
• Aussie John Sendon won his first PGA event by 1 stroke over J.P. Hayes by saving par on the 18th hole after a birdie on 17 to take the John Deere Classic. Seddon finished first on the leaderboard that listed a bunch of no names with a 4 day total of 265 and qualified for the British Open.
• The Tigers and Mets continue to stay atop there respective leagues after the All-star break as Detroit takes 3 of 4 from the power house Royals, and the Mets take 2 of 3 from the Cubs including an embarrassing 13-7 win Sunday that saw the Mets hit 2 grand slams in the same inning. Oh those Cubs are terrible.
• Mariano Rivera became only the 4th closer in history to register 400 saves. Has there been anyone better than this guy?
• The guy who put Ghana soccer on the map has resigned for health reasons. Ratomir Dujkovic who is 60, stepped down this week with 6 months remaining on his contract. You done good Ratomir, you done good.
• Dallas Cowboy’s safety Keith Davis is in stable condition after being shot twice while on the highway in Dallas. He had successful surgery that removed the bullet fragments. In case your scratching your head and wondering who this guy is, he’s among the top special team players on the Dallas Cowboys.
• Fernando Vargas fell, and fell hard to the canvas as Shane Mosley knocked him out in the 6th round with the left hand shot. This one-sided affair was the rematch from 5 months previous that saw Mosley take out Vargas in 10 rounds. Please, we don’t need to see a third.
• My favourite NBA player has announced his return for a 14th season next year. Yes that’s right, that whiner Alonzo Mourning will be back in uniform for the Heat next season.
• The Dallas Stars apparently have money to waste next season. They are willing to take a chance on Eric Lindros as they signed the Centerman to a one year contract which could end up paying Eric 2 million if he stays healthy. Good luck on this one Dallas. Eric only managed to play in 33 games last year in Toronto.
• A 17 year old High School football player tragically died in a paintball accident in Oklahoma. Leaving a paintball competition, Garrett Bennett and 3 others were driving in a SUV, when a following vehicle shot paintball’s at the SUV causing the driver to loose control of the vehicle. The SUV crossed the median, struck a speed limit sign, and overturned several times. An unfortunate incident for sure, and one that has left a cloud over Jenks High School.

Rappers and NBA ballers can be linked together in so many ways.  On our left is none other than Hip-Hop artist and host of TV’s Pimp my Ride, Xzibit.

On the right is Los Angeles Clippers 7 year veteran swingman Corey Maggette.  Together they make the seperated at birth list. 

• My main man Zinedine Zidane scored on a penalty kick to lead France to a 1-0 win over Portugal.  The World Cup final is set, with the French going up against Italy.  VIVE LE FRANCE!
• Barry Bonds’ trainer was jailed for a WHOLE WEEK, for not agreeing to testify to the grand jury in the perjury case.  Wow, that is some serious punishment, was sending him to his room without dinner deemed to be too rough?
• The Bulls continue to wheel and deal, sending Tyson Chandler to the Hornets for PJ Brown and JR Smith.  PJ Brown is old, Tyson Chandler is a bust and JR Smith is a headcase, sounds like your basic NBA trade to me.
• Hefty Bartolo Colon pitched a complete gain shutout for the Angels, all round nice guy Kenny Rogers helped the Tigers avoid being swept by the A’s and the Yanks rebounded from losing by 18 runs to beat the Indians by 8.  Mike Mussina become the 1st pitcher in AL history to win 10 games in 15 consecutive seasons.  MOOOOOOOOSE!
• Man-Ram is skipping the all-star game again.  This angers Buster Olney who suggests he should be taken off the ballet next year.  Easy there Buster, its just an exhibition game.
• Roger Federer wins again and advances to the semi-finals at Wimbledon along with Jonas Bjorkman and Marcos Baghdatis, otherwise known as whathisname and thatdudefromcyprus.
• Jose Canseco demanded a trade after one game in his comeback.  That’s awesome.

• Shame on you New York Yankees!  Getting hammered around the park on the bosses birthday.  The Cleveland Indians provided all the 4th of July fireworks for George and the fans smashing out 21 hits in a 19-1 route.
• Halladay wins for a league high 11th time in Texas, as Jays clip Rangers 3-2.  This guy is nails.
• Pistons snag (C) Nazr Mohammed from the Spurs for 5 years, at around 5 million a season.  Make no mistake, Detroit basketball is still gonna dominate the east.
• Bonzi Wells rumoured to be going home to Indiana.  Makes perfect sense for the Pacers because they really haven’t filled the void since that bad boy Ron Artest was traded.
• Grosso ignites the Italians to a 2-0 win, brings the country of Germany to tears.
• Sharapova set to take on Mauresmo in the semi-finals after cruising through Elena Dementieva.  Not too often the top 4 seeds make it to the semifinals.  Fantastic job ladies. 
• Federer takes on Ancic, while Stepanek and Bjorkman battle it out Wednesday morning.

So its the 4th of July, here’s some random thoughts popping through my sweet little melon:

• I’ll be honest, I’m sick of the World Cup, its been on too damn long.  But since I’ve made picks up until now, here’s your picks for the semis: France and Germany.  Dun dun dun!
• You best believe MLB is going to rig the ‘last chance’ vote in the AL.  Francisco Liriano is the kid who everyone wants to see.  Some of those other guys are having nice years, but Liriano is the draw right now.
• The Tour de France should just be cancelled this year.  All the top riders are suspended, its like having March Madness without any teams from the ACC.
• Steve Yzerman retired today.  The guy was a great leader and an even better player.  The NHL lost one of its best today.
• Ben Wallace signed in Chicago today.  Prepare for every publication to name the Bulls the Eastern Conference favourite next year.
• There are no Americans left at Wimbledon.  Why is this a story?  None of the men had a chance, and all the women are either old or injured.  Besides Agassi, the current American tennis scene is boring and not worth reporting on.
• Is there anything stupider than deciding World Cup games on penalty kicks.  I know the games would probably end up last 5 hours, but honestly play until someone scores.  Or else go with paper, rock, scissors, has about as much to do with soccer as the penalty kicks do.  PS I could freaking do a better job than those England guys at this.
• That Women’s US Open golf playoff sure was a nailbiter.  Lets see, will it be the best women’s golfer in the world or some chubby girl I’ve never heard of.  Tough to call.
• Chris Pronger was dealt from Edmonton.  Lets just say I’m glad he’s gone and don’t blame him for getting out of there.
• Read Frangos’ stuff from the past few days…. its a hell of lot better than this nonsense.
• Enjoy the 4th Americans.

The owner has spoken, and did you have your ears on there Isiah?

First you built this roster of a bunch of me me guys who just adore the spotlight, then go out and bring in a coach that craves the attention even more than his players.  And what did this all amount too, but only the 2nd worst season in New York Knick franchise history.

Isiah, you have made a mockery of this franchise and I’m shocked you’ve been given another year to clean this mess up from the owner James Dolan.

I’d like to have scene the look on James face when you shocked the NBA world by drafting Renaldo Bachman with the 20th pick in last weeks entry draft. We’ll see about this Dennis Rodman comparison.

Hears a little advise Isiah, the Timberwolves would like to re-unite Starbury with the Big Ticket Kevin Garnett. Pull the trigger on this like yesterday. Get that cancer out of town and then worry about running Steve Francis’s ass out of town as well before yours get run.

This will help your cause immensely, and oh yeah Isiah, don’t forget that when you make these trades, to get value back.

Who are we kidding though. Whether its this year or next, your ass is getting fired.

• Tony Stewart put to rest, hopefully, all the questions about his injured shoulder as he defended his Pepsi 400 title at Daytona Beach Florida Saturday night. He is back folks!
• Peja Stojakovic says yes to 64 million big ones and joins the Hornets.  This should all but clinch that 9th spot for the Hornets next year.
• Henry, Zidane and the France squad were playing like it was 1998 as they eliminated Brazil 1-0. Portugal, who defeated England in penalty kicks, 3-1, and will face France Wednesday.
• The NHL signing gongshow began with the Maple Leafs signing 2 defenseman, Hal Gill from the Bruins, and Pavel Kubina from Tampa. Kubina is reunited with his olympic defense partner Tomas Kaberle. Other signings include, Jovo cop landing in Phoenix for 5 years. Chara signs with Boston for 37.5 million US over 5 years. Rob Blake is a King again as he returns to Hollywood for 2 years at 12 million.
• Norway’s Thor gets to wear the all mighty yellow as he is the leading at the Tour De France after edging out 2 Americans to take the Day 1 prologue. This thing goes for 23 days, so prepare for 23 different leaders by then.
• Finally, theres only 2 days left to prepare for the July 4th hot dog eating contest. Does this guy have it in him to defeat Kobayashi?

Happy Birthday Canada! Now what happened while we were all out pregaming it for today?

• The Raptors dealt Charlie Villanueva to the Bucks for TJ Ford and cash. I like this deal for the Raps, although the janitors in the ACC are losing their favorite player. They never have to worry about hair clogging up the drain when Villanueva’s in the shower.
• Andre Agassi’s final Wimbeldon came to and end early Saturday, when he lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. Agassi blamed the loss on Nadal’s capri pants.
• The Tour de France started yesterday. Some guy named Thor leads it. I’m not sure if he’s the only guy left in the race or not.
• Boris Said has the pole for the Pepsi 400 in Daytona this weekend. That is most un-NASCAR name I’ve ever heard.
• The Boston Red Sox finally lost, ending their winning streak at 12. Waiver wire scrub Jason Johnson is to blame for the loss.
• Speaking of Jason Johnson, his old team, the Indians continue to flounder. They blew a 7-0 lead by giving up 9 runs in the eighth and ninth innings. The game ended on a walk-off grand slam by Adam Dunn.
• I can’t understand half the words these English soccer announcers say, but man are they awesome. Bollocks.