11 August 2012
Game 8: France vs. USA
France put up a bit of a fight at the beginning of the game, but the result was never really in doubt. USA won the gold, 86-50.
I was much more anxious about the previous game: Russia vs. Australia. That was a much closer game,but Lauren Jackson had a fabulous second half and Australia won the bronze -- woo hoo!
US women win 5th straight gold, rout France 86-50: "The names change on the U.S. uniforms, but the results don't. Teresa Edwards, Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie got the amazing run started and now Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Tamika Catchings have continued it. With young stars Parker, Maya Moore and Tina Charles a big part of the success in London it doesn't look like the run will end anytime soon."
USA Basketball quotes: Geno Auriemma: "I mean, you can’t apologize for being really good. The reason [the media] don’t think there’s any competition is because they don’t have to be here playing. We know what the competition is, we know how good these other teams are, and we know how hard we have to work to make it look easy, because it’s not as easy as it looks. We do what we do in the United States and we take great pride in our basketball program. It doesn’t matter who the coach is, it doesn’t matter who the players are, there’s a certain level of expectation when you coach and play for USA Basketball. That expectation is to win, and we take it very seriously. Maybe in those other sports, there isn’t that same expectation in the United States that you’re going to win all the time, but we’re not going to start losing just to make them feel better back home."
Women's Basketball Bronze Medal: Lauren Jackson Leads Australia To Medal Over Russia: "After ending the three previous Olympics with a loss to the United States, Lauren Jackson earned her fourth consecutive Olympic medal and Australia's fifth with a win in the bronze medal game over Russia, 83-74."
No upsets as USA claim gold against France, Australia -- bronze: "Russians have previously complained about the aggressive defending by the Australians so they came out as the aggressors this time, crossing the line of dirty play more than they are used to. That didn’t stop the Russian coach Sokolovsky to complain about Australians getting away with too much."
London Finals: Bird, USA Golden Again: "Sue Bird and the USA women are golden again. The USA extended its domination of women's basketball competition at the Olympics to two decades, winning a fifth consecutive gold medal by crushing France in Saturday's final at London's North Greenwich Arena, 86-50. The win was the 41st in a row for the U.S. women in Olympic play, a streak that dates back to 1992. That was the last time the USA was unable to bring home gold."
What USA Women's Basketball's Defense Did To France In The Third Quarter Of The 2012 Olympic Final: "During the third quarter of the USA women's basketball team's 86-50 win in the 2012 Olympic final, BBC commentator John Amaechi said of France's offensive performance, 'Their scoring has gone from anemic to ... something worse than that.' "
U.S. women did not generate buzz, but did generate fifth straight gold: "While hordes of journalists attended every practice and game of the U.S. men's team, the women saw just a handful on a regular basis. They were well aware their journey lacked a certain kind of drama: They weren't doing something for the first time, as the U.S. women's water polo team did in winning a gold medal; they didn't leave outcomes in doubt, as the U.S. women's soccer team did in beating Canada in the final seconds of their semifinal. They weren't on a redemptive mission, and no tragic personal stories fueled them. They didn't stir up controversy on twitter, didn't show up in viral photos they'd live to regret; didn't wear ill-advised t-shirts that proclaimed, 'Greatness Has Been Found,' as the U.S. soccer players did after they won a gold medal."
I was much more anxious about the previous game: Russia vs. Australia. That was a much closer game,but Lauren Jackson had a fabulous second half and Australia won the bronze -- woo hoo!
US women win 5th straight gold, rout France 86-50: "The names change on the U.S. uniforms, but the results don't. Teresa Edwards, Dawn Staley, Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie got the amazing run started and now Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Tamika Catchings have continued it. With young stars Parker, Maya Moore and Tina Charles a big part of the success in London it doesn't look like the run will end anytime soon."
USA Basketball quotes: Geno Auriemma: "I mean, you can’t apologize for being really good. The reason [the media] don’t think there’s any competition is because they don’t have to be here playing. We know what the competition is, we know how good these other teams are, and we know how hard we have to work to make it look easy, because it’s not as easy as it looks. We do what we do in the United States and we take great pride in our basketball program. It doesn’t matter who the coach is, it doesn’t matter who the players are, there’s a certain level of expectation when you coach and play for USA Basketball. That expectation is to win, and we take it very seriously. Maybe in those other sports, there isn’t that same expectation in the United States that you’re going to win all the time, but we’re not going to start losing just to make them feel better back home."
Women's Basketball Bronze Medal: Lauren Jackson Leads Australia To Medal Over Russia: "After ending the three previous Olympics with a loss to the United States, Lauren Jackson earned her fourth consecutive Olympic medal and Australia's fifth with a win in the bronze medal game over Russia, 83-74."
No upsets as USA claim gold against France, Australia -- bronze: "Russians have previously complained about the aggressive defending by the Australians so they came out as the aggressors this time, crossing the line of dirty play more than they are used to. That didn’t stop the Russian coach Sokolovsky to complain about Australians getting away with too much."
London Finals: Bird, USA Golden Again: "Sue Bird and the USA women are golden again. The USA extended its domination of women's basketball competition at the Olympics to two decades, winning a fifth consecutive gold medal by crushing France in Saturday's final at London's North Greenwich Arena, 86-50. The win was the 41st in a row for the U.S. women in Olympic play, a streak that dates back to 1992. That was the last time the USA was unable to bring home gold."
What USA Women's Basketball's Defense Did To France In The Third Quarter Of The 2012 Olympic Final: "During the third quarter of the USA women's basketball team's 86-50 win in the 2012 Olympic final, BBC commentator John Amaechi said of France's offensive performance, 'Their scoring has gone from anemic to ... something worse than that.' "
U.S. women did not generate buzz, but did generate fifth straight gold: "While hordes of journalists attended every practice and game of the U.S. men's team, the women saw just a handful on a regular basis. They were well aware their journey lacked a certain kind of drama: They weren't doing something for the first time, as the U.S. women's water polo team did in winning a gold medal; they didn't leave outcomes in doubt, as the U.S. women's soccer team did in beating Canada in the final seconds of their semifinal. They weren't on a redemptive mission, and no tragic personal stories fueled them. They didn't stir up controversy on twitter, didn't show up in viral photos they'd live to regret; didn't wear ill-advised t-shirts that proclaimed, 'Greatness Has Been Found,' as the U.S. soccer players did after they won a gold medal."
Labels: Olympics, Seattle Storm
# posted by mamurd @ 10:45 PM 
