Post by Zach Arnold on Aug 26, 2004 8:59:19 GMT -5
Having watched most of the Olympic basketball games, I can say that Spain was the most fun team to watch. They had great fire with Pau Gasol and they played a really good style of basketball.
However, it is the Olympics and they came in with an 8-0 record... and lost once, and they're done in the medal round. 8th place.
Finally, USA Basketball (especially Stephon Marbury) really put it together today in their win. It was a fun game.
However, what a weasel Spain's coach Mario Pesquera has shown himself to be. Disgraceful. At the end of the game, the referees called a timeout on behalf of the US team. Now, in Int'l play, a team has to call a timeout ahead of schedule, it's not like watching the NBA for immediate timeouts. So the timeout was calley way before the end of the game.
What does Pesquera do? The guy acts like a person in the Japanese wrestling business and starts kayfabing the fact that he knows English. He starts finger-pointing in the chest of Larry Brown and gets into it with Gregg Poppovich (who I dislike with a passion, but he was clearly in the right here). Then, Pesquera gets even angrier and is looking for a fight.
If that wasn't enough, Pesquera goes to the press conference afterwards and basically calls Larry Brown everything but a coward. He said quote: "His (Brown's) idol, coach Dean Smith, would never call such a timeout or do such a thing."
What a f**king ridiculous statement to make given that in International play, there are such rules as "point differential," which is why you watch teams who are up by 30 pts trying to score with two seconds left in the game.
Pesquera is easily the Crybaby of the Week. Bring on the winner of Greece/Argentina. I'd love to see the Greeks again in a re-match because that crowd in Athens would be nuclear.
However, it is the Olympics and they came in with an 8-0 record... and lost once, and they're done in the medal round. 8th place.
Finally, USA Basketball (especially Stephon Marbury) really put it together today in their win. It was a fun game.
However, what a weasel Spain's coach Mario Pesquera has shown himself to be. Disgraceful. At the end of the game, the referees called a timeout on behalf of the US team. Now, in Int'l play, a team has to call a timeout ahead of schedule, it's not like watching the NBA for immediate timeouts. So the timeout was calley way before the end of the game.
What does Pesquera do? The guy acts like a person in the Japanese wrestling business and starts kayfabing the fact that he knows English. He starts finger-pointing in the chest of Larry Brown and gets into it with Gregg Poppovich (who I dislike with a passion, but he was clearly in the right here). Then, Pesquera gets even angrier and is looking for a fight.
If that wasn't enough, Pesquera goes to the press conference afterwards and basically calls Larry Brown everything but a coward. He said quote: "His (Brown's) idol, coach Dean Smith, would never call such a timeout or do such a thing."
What a f**king ridiculous statement to make given that in International play, there are such rules as "point differential," which is why you watch teams who are up by 30 pts trying to score with two seconds left in the game.
Pesquera is easily the Crybaby of the Week. Bring on the winner of Greece/Argentina. I'd love to see the Greeks again in a re-match because that crowd in Athens would be nuclear.
