- "Really glamorous, I know." Puking during workouts as an essential part of being an Olympic athlete.
- Strongly in favor of a real basketball world cup: Bill Simmons.
- Talk that it's a "natural metamorphosis" for Kobe Bryant to accept a smaller role. Does that sound right to you? Read this. I see a guy who is willing to play a role on Team USA, but not a guy who is conceding anything.
- DeMarcus Cousins' offensive rebounding is a force to be reckoned with.
- Nets GM Billy King is in London and blogging live for the Nets' website. Emotional high of his first entry: "The rooms were finally ready around 2:30 pm, and it was nap time. We all needed a nap in order to make the 10:15 tip fully awake. After a nice long nap, I headed to Team USA's hotel headquarters to pick up the tickets."
- The investigation that led to Tim Donaghy's being busted as a referee connected to gamblers now has a new tentacle reaching to the family of Philadelphia's former mayor. Also, a tale of hiding cash in PVC pipes buried in the yard and some snide comments about the government only going after this kind of gambling to protect the casinos.
- A fake version of Steve Nash pops up in this food chat, looking for Vegan restaurant recommendations. Award-winning L.A. Times food writer Jonathan Gold swiftly directs Nash to Elf Cafe (where what little cheese is deployed is entirely rennet-free).
- The Spanish national team's key performances so far this summer have been losses, possibly intentional -- one in a warmup game against the U.S., and another at the end of pool play, when they tanked against Brazil to avoid the U.S. in the semi-finals. So, what are they like when they are really trying to win? This detailed match report of their win over France explains a lot, including their fantastic ability to get opposing big men in foul trouble.
- Raul of RaptorsRepublic on Russia beating Lithuania: "Based on group play, the result was predictable, but it still marked a game between two powerful nations that stood as one before the fall of the Soviet Union. This loss represents the first time in Lithuania’s history that the national team fell short of an Olympic semifinal berth. As for Russia, this is the first time they advanced to this late a stage since the fall of the Union."
- In the act of shooting, basketball players are directed to stay "locked in" on the target, the rim, no matter what is going on around them. Consider this tortured owl as a role model.
- Kim English, showing some real leadership vis a vis youngster fellow-rookie Andre Drummond.
- According to this chart, you can burn more calories sitting in a meeting than winning Olympic gold in long jump.
- Blazer GM Neil Olshey says something that I don't think a lot of NBA people believe: That people get better at their jobs. He's banking on it with coach Terry Stotts, who has coached mediocre teams, but since then has had tons of valuable experience. Also, he talked a ton about process, which is the opposite of obsessing about results.
Henry Abbott | email
TrueHoop, NBA- Senior writer for ESPN.com
- Founder of TrueHoop blog and network
- Began writing about NBA for magazines in 1999
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