Monday, August 30, 2004

Basketball - final thoughts

I didn't see any of the semi-final games thanks to Cian O'Connor's gold medal. {I think I've seen the clear round that won him the gold 10 times already. I'm sure it'll be on again today.} I don't know how the US lost to Argentina, but it's not a shock that they did.

But, what did surprise me somewhat was the enthusiasm that the American team showed in the bronze medal game. I thought the team displayed great character.

Acres of newsprint will be exhausted in the examination of what went wrong. That the US team wasn't good enough goes without saying. They didn't just lose one game in an upset, which can happen to any favorite in a single elimination tournament. They were beaten three times.

One thing I haven't read in any paper is whether some of the top NBA players opted out of Athens because they feared the IOC's stricter drug testing. I'm surprised no one (at least as far as I've found) has mentioned it.