Monday, August 25, 2008

Monday 08/25 A.M. Quickie:
USA Hoops, Giants, Phils, Olympics, More

Congrats to USA Hoops, but I don't think that USA Basketball has created anything especially sustainable. That's the lead of today's SN column. And here's today's DS.com director's cut:

Kobe likely won't be back in 2012. Neither will LeBron or D-Wade. Same with Coach K. They're all taking their success of "redemption" and leaving behind a legacy of... what, exactly?

The 3-year "commitment?" Anyone who watched the gold-medal game knows that the 3-year commitment isn't as important as finding the right on-court tactics and right personnel.

In 2008, USA Hoops got by with sheer talent -- particularly at the top (as predicted, Kobe was the ultimate difference between gold and failure). But that isn't replicable.

But Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade and Coach K can all walk away proclaiming they did their job and reclaimed basketball gold for the USA. I think the job has only just begun.

Meanwhile, who else thinks the Giants will call Michael Strahan about a comeback, now that the D-line is down one Pro Bowl player before the season even starts...

And in MLB, how about Rich Harden as co-Cy with CC Sabathia? Because Harden is just as impressive...

I'm starting my week-long college football preview in the SN column (continued here, of course). Today's topic: Top storylines for the season, and it won't surprise you that No. 1 is "BCS Mess...again?" But it also includes "This season's Hawaii," "This season's Kansas" and "This season's Tebow." (And, no, it's not Tebow.)

Complete SN column here, with more coming later.

-- D.S.

UPDATE: This post on Gawker about the Nike-China-Blogger-Liu situation is a fascinating breakdown of a pretty fascinating side story.

2 comments:

BobbyStompy said...

At no point do you ever say what, exactly, you don't like about Coach K's in-game tactics. Is it subbing? Adjustments on defense? Offensive sets? You're kind of just throwing out a vague opinion that can't really be argued against because it's not specific at all.

Chris Savory said...

Sabathia, Harden and Lincecum are all pitching for Cy-runner-up position behind Brandon Webb; might not be flashy, but 19 wins by the end of August plus stellar K, ERA and WHIP numbers tend to sway the voters...