God's Own Crunk

Later in this good overview of the last 12 months of Lebron James’s life, there is the expected pontification that it’s all been an act. I don’t know and doubt anyone else does either, but it’s worked. I never particularly disliked James the way so many fans did (I’ll be a Kobe guy until Kobe’s done, even though by geography I’m a Thunder fan – damn NBA and its weird star system), but I’ve grown to like the man’s game and his personality a great deal during these Games. Maybe it started as an act, but when you fake something for long enough, it eventually starts evolving into reality. Anyway:

James was not the spokesman on the team, nor the emotional leader. That was Kobe Bryant. Similar to Magic Johnson’s role in ’92, Bryant was the player that spoke first and most authoritatively for Team USA. He spoke on the identity, on their goals, on who they were and why they were there. James, Durant, Melo they all deferred to the five-time champion playing in his final Olympics. But on the floor, just like it was with Jordan, it was apparent. James was the best. Kevin Durant’s scoring ability cannot be bested, and it was a collective effort by Team USA to form a cohesive identity. But James’ ability to defend, create the break, pass in transition or in the post, and to attack the rim separated him.

James is the best player in the NBA, in America, on the planet. And if alien life is discovered and they know how to play basketball, you have to like James’ chances there, too.

via LeBron James and a golden transformation | ProBasketballTalk.

Like the man said, boom goes the dynamite. It was a sporting freaking game, fouls everywhere, Kobe Bryant’s lockdown defense in the second half, Kevin Durant’s lethal scoring, and the highlight of it all, Lebron James’s incredible, Pattonian leadership.

It was ugly due the fouls putting both teams in foul trouble throughout the game, but it was worth it. The American players are on the floor, overjoyed, and Spain was a worthy opponent. I’m so happy I’m going to stop rambling now!

Walsh and Traynor won the gold, and it was a fun match to watch. Olympic: Womynz: Volleyball: Beach – it’s the best event of the Olympics, even breaching the hallowed ground of Basketball: Men and 100 Meter: Men.

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What, you were expecting analysis?

Astute readers will note that this is the moment where Alex Morgan (in blue, just to right of 14-Wambach) headed in the fourth goal of America’s 4-3 win over Canada, coming at 123′.

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Hard times…

Czech master race…

USA!

Is…

[Are you Ready???]

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McKayla fell on her ass on her second vault, and the Romanian gypsy that followed her landed both of her vaults, so the biggest upset in this Olympics happened, with the American taking the silver after coming to the Games with the rep of World’s Beset Vaulter, and a gypsy gets to hear her country’s oddly good national anthem. Of the vaulters, the Romanian was the only one to not make a major mistake. McKayla was one of five that fell on her butt/head, and one vaulter withdrew after her first run due to the severity of her painful landing.

Hard times, hard times.

Agreed – that title makes no sense, but it’s sort of like NBC’s coverage of the Olympics: nonsensical.

True story. I return to work after 9 days off, spent the entire weekend watching wall-to-wall Olympics coverage on … the BBC live stream … after wasting a morning trying to get NBC’s livestream to behave as though it was created, produced, etc in a First World Country, and since getting home from work, have watched all of the defending USA womynz beach volleyball duo win, watched an epic, five-set finish to the Great Britain-Algeria womynz indoor volleyball, watching the equestrian cross country competition, and that’s all on … the BBC stream.

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Kim Rhode won her 5th consecutive gold medal in skeet shooting, going 99/100 (I won’t even pretend to get more technical than that). Rhode won her first gold in the ’96 Atlanta Games and hasn’t stopped poppin’, bringing home her fifth round of GOAT bacon today.

Good for her, heady congrats. Follow her lit-up Twitter feed here.