28 July 2012
Game 1: Croatia vs. USA
Unlike some people (i.e. Ped & Iris), I don't have fancy cable that lets me see other games. I only get the stuff on the regular channels. (WEEP FOR ME!!!)
So, while I have heard that Lauren Jackson went on a tear against Great Britain, I didn't see it. (SERIOUSLY, WEEP FOR ME!!!)
What I did see, though, was Croatia vs. USA. Team USA trounced Croatia in a practice game last week. This time it wasn't so easy. In the second and third quarters, the game was played pretty even. Team USA won because the won the first quarter and trounced them in the fourth.
Much to my annoyance, Angel McCoughtry had a great game. Final score: 81-56.
In more general news, Sue Bird is blogging for the Seattle Times, some dudes who play in some league called "the enn-bee-ay" think Lauren Jackson is awesome, and Diana Taurasi took a British English test.
Also, many people are pointing out that if the men's basketball team had accomplished what the women's has, there would be a lot more hullabaloo....
Yahoo Sports: "But amidst all the discussion about the men's team and how dominant they might be, there is a U.S. team that has already reached the dominating levels of the Dream Team: the female half of the basketball competition in the Olympic Games."
Complex Sports: [The pre-Olympic games televised by ESPN] personified a disturbing microcosm of how the women’s game is treated in the U.S. Why? Because from the opening tip, it was painfully obvious that the commentators for ESPN, most notably Mark Jones, had no idea who played for Team USA. Which, needless to say, is disappointing considering that’s their job. And I’ll go out on a limb and assume they get paid to know those things. Not only did they pronounce the names of players wrong, they confused Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun) with Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky) multiple times, Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx) with Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks), and even criticized Charles for not 'establishing' herself in the game after mistaking her for Fowles throughout the majority of the first half. These are the best women’s basketball players in the world, and in front of a national audience the commentators couldn’t even identify them correctly."
Chicago Tribune: "It might be the best-kept secret in England. The U.S. women's basketball team has won 33 consecutive games in the Olympics, not to mention the last four gold medals, and nobody will talk about it. While their highly popular peers on the U.S. men's team go for, ahem, only a second consecutive gold medal, the women go about their business without attracting attention to it."
ESPN:
If the U.S. women's basketball team really wants the attention it deserves for its Olympic success and world dominance, there is a simple solution. Just lose.
"What?" point guard Sue Bird said. "Bite your tongue right now!"
I understand Bird's reaction, but trust me. A loss or two, a missed gold medal (and perhaps the players trashing their rooms afterward), and the team will receive the media's full-court pressure. As coach Geno Auriemma said, "The only [women's basketball] story that will come out of these Olympics is if we lose. And that will be a big story.
So, while I have heard that Lauren Jackson went on a tear against Great Britain, I didn't see it. (SERIOUSLY, WEEP FOR ME!!!)
What I did see, though, was Croatia vs. USA. Team USA trounced Croatia in a practice game last week. This time it wasn't so easy. In the second and third quarters, the game was played pretty even. Team USA won because the won the first quarter and trounced them in the fourth.
Much to my annoyance, Angel McCoughtry had a great game. Final score: 81-56.
In more general news, Sue Bird is blogging for the Seattle Times, some dudes who play in some league called "the enn-bee-ay" think Lauren Jackson is awesome, and Diana Taurasi took a British English test.
Also, many people are pointing out that if the men's basketball team had accomplished what the women's has, there would be a lot more hullabaloo....
Yahoo Sports: "But amidst all the discussion about the men's team and how dominant they might be, there is a U.S. team that has already reached the dominating levels of the Dream Team: the female half of the basketball competition in the Olympic Games."
Complex Sports: [The pre-Olympic games televised by ESPN] personified a disturbing microcosm of how the women’s game is treated in the U.S. Why? Because from the opening tip, it was painfully obvious that the commentators for ESPN, most notably Mark Jones, had no idea who played for Team USA. Which, needless to say, is disappointing considering that’s their job. And I’ll go out on a limb and assume they get paid to know those things. Not only did they pronounce the names of players wrong, they confused Tina Charles (Connecticut Sun) with Sylvia Fowles (Chicago Sky) multiple times, Maya Moore (Minnesota Lynx) with Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks), and even criticized Charles for not 'establishing' herself in the game after mistaking her for Fowles throughout the majority of the first half. These are the best women’s basketball players in the world, and in front of a national audience the commentators couldn’t even identify them correctly."
Chicago Tribune: "It might be the best-kept secret in England. The U.S. women's basketball team has won 33 consecutive games in the Olympics, not to mention the last four gold medals, and nobody will talk about it. While their highly popular peers on the U.S. men's team go for, ahem, only a second consecutive gold medal, the women go about their business without attracting attention to it."
ESPN:
If the U.S. women's basketball team really wants the attention it deserves for its Olympic success and world dominance, there is a simple solution. Just lose.
"What?" point guard Sue Bird said. "Bite your tongue right now!"
I understand Bird's reaction, but trust me. A loss or two, a missed gold medal (and perhaps the players trashing their rooms afterward), and the team will receive the media's full-court pressure. As coach Geno Auriemma said, "The only [women's basketball] story that will come out of these Olympics is if we lose. And that will be a big story.
Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm
# posted by mamurd @ 10:49 PM 
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USA vs Croatia was much closer than it should have been.
Two reasons... excuses...
Each team only had an hour to practice at the arena. The bus taking our team to the arena got lost in traffic and the team had very little time on court to get the feel of it.
The Croatian team had one of their stars missing from the exhibition game... she was getting married. She made a big difference!
Two reasons... excuses...
Each team only had an hour to practice at the arena. The bus taking our team to the arena got lost in traffic and the team had very little time on court to get the feel of it.
The Croatian team had one of their stars missing from the exhibition game... she was getting married. She made a big difference!
My favorite part of the Croatian-player-getting-married story is that it never occurred to her that Croatia would be playing in the Olympics (this is their first time) so she didn't think to plan around the Olympics when she started planning her wedding a year a half ago!
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