We like sports. You like sports. We watch, read, and discuss sports almost as much as the people who get paid to do it. So, why should they get all the glory? Read on sports fans, read on.
Proof that the 2008 Team USA doesn't really know what its like to win, at least not on the same level as the 1992 Dream Team. Amongst the whole lot, the 2008 Team USA has 5 NBA Championship Rings (three are Kobe's), 10 NBA Finals appearances (half of those are Kobe), and two NCAA Basketball Championship Rings. Contrast that to the 1992 Dream Team (as of the 1992 Barcelona Games) which had 14 NBA Championship Rings, 2 NBA Finals appearances, and five NCAA Basketball Championship Rings. By the end of their collective careers, the original Dream Team would amass 23 rings and 40 finals appearances in total. I know these kids are young...but gosh look at those numbers. The '92 team KNEW how to win...and they kept on winning long after taking home the Gold!
Will Team USA ever be on the winning side of a such a lopsided victory again? In the Olympics, probably not. 1992. The early days of pro ballers in international competition. The original Dream Team, that flat-out spanked the world and took home the gold medal in Barcelona. In celebration of the 2008 "Dream Team" (ever wonder why that moniker just faded away?) being selected, let's take a little You Tube look back on the wonder that was Team USA in 1992. This clip, while a bit grainy, is still an extremely entertaining Dream Team "Top Ten Plays" collection. All ten are pretty fantastic, but at the two-minute mark, when Magic high-fives Jordan after a ridiculous no-look, over-the-head pass for a slam, I get all teary-eyed. They played with such ferocious intensity, on both sides of the floor. Practically all 10 of these plays start with some sort of steal or terrific defensive stop. Just watch it:
This final clip is slightly better quality, and chronicles a number of games Team USA played during the tournament. Again, I am astounded at the quality of play here: Check it out, at the 2-minute mark, when Charles Barkley finishes a nice dunk off a Pippen feed, and then immediately starts pressing the Angolan team member trying to in-bound the ball. USA won that game by SIXTY-EIGHT points. You think Vince Carter would ever do something like that? Just look for yourself:
Now, basketball fans...cry. We all like to think that today's crop of stars are amazing to watch, and uber-talented...but it was better before. Those romanticized hazy memories of Jordan, Bird, and Magic? Well, don't worry about some youngster calling you an old-timer. Just show them the evidence. Because back then, they really were that much better.
If the pain hits, the pain hits. So what? It's just pain.
-Tiger Woods, after his amazing Saturday performance @ the US Open in San Diego.
Any lingering questions about Tiger's masculinity have been answered. The man is a beast. Playing through intense knee pain (a condition he had undergone medical treatment and surgery for in previous months) Tiger put together an unforgettable back 9 to take the lead at the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines. No stranger to the course, (it is the site of the yearly Buick Open) Tiger astonished the crowd, and earned a number of standing ovations. You've never seen/heard such a raucous crowd at a golf tournament. Truly awesome. And I don't even like golf. Well, I like PGA golf. Even LPGA golf. I hate nobody golf, played by overweight, over-the-hill CEOs and lame-os. Go the gym, lose some of that beer belly. Don't "play" a game that allows you to use an electric buggy. Unless you are good. Good like Tiger. He is unbelievable. He is the MJ of golf. It's the only other major sport that has a true "MJ" equivalent.
