Listen in as Michael Phelps talks to ESPN about his achievement at the Bejing Games, what’s in store for London in 2012 and, most importantly, what it feels like to have Chad Johnson challenge him to a race.
Author: John Paulsen (Page 678 of 937)
Maybe the most memorable part of Michael Phelps’ wonderful Olympic run was the finish of the 100m butterfly. He won the race by 0.01 seconds, so the finish was too close to call even in slow motion. SI.com has a cool frame-by-frame breakdown of the last moments of the race.
Be sure to check out the whole thing, because it’s interesting to see how Phelps’ final half-stroke actually won him the race (when, at the time, he thought it was going to lose him the race). Here’s the final shot for those that still wonder if he was the first to touch the wall. Phelps is on the left.
Real German Dirk Nowitzki and fake German Chris Kaman were no match for the U.S. men’s basketball team, who trounced Deutschland, 106-57.
The U.S. is three wins away from its first gold medal since 2000. First up is Australia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday night.
The U.S. didn’t wait to dispose of the Germans. The U.S. jumped out to a 20-3 lead, with LeBron James capping the run with a dunk, a bucket and a 3-pointer.
The U.S. led 53-29 at halftime, and the rest of the night was garbage time.
Asked afterward what it will take to beat the U.S., the American-born German center Chris Kaman replied, “No one’s gonna beat ’em.”
Once again, defense was the story for the U.S. The Americans limited Germany to 30 percent shooting from the floor and forced 18 turnovers.
Team USA shot 42% from long range, which is encouraging, but they need to take that accuracy with them into the medal round. They still make careless passes at times, and their 13 turnovers against a team like Germany are too many.
On a side note, Chris Kaman has been criticized for deciding to play with the Germans in these Olympics. Even his dad isn’t happy about it. I’m not happy about it either. I think, in a way, he’s betraying his country. It’s a positive for Chris Kaman the basketball player to have the opportunity to play against good competition in the summer, but he’s working against U.S. interests. If you’re born and raised in the U.S., you’re not good enough to make the U.S. team, and even your dad says you shouldn’t play for another country, then you should probably just stay home.
U.S. begins the round of eight against Australia at 8 AM ET Wednesday morning (on the USA Network). The Aussies gave the U.S. men a tough game in a warm-up match, and they didn’t even have a healthy Andrew Bogut in that game. Argentina and Greece square off in the other quarterfinal on the Americans’ side of the bracket.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t on in primetime in the States (and unfortunately I missed it), but Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh dispatched Brazil in two sets, 21-18 and 21-15.
It figured to be the toughest opponent yet for the Americans, but an unheralded team from Belgium actually gave them a stiffer test in the round of 16.
Then again, this isn’t your typical Brazilian team. The No. 3 seed overall entering the tournament, yes. But it wasn’t these two women together who earned that ranking. Ana Paula is a replacement for Larissa’s regular partner Juliana Silva, who landed awkwardly in a match and injured her knee earlier this season. She declined immediate surgery in hopes of seeing her first Olympics, but two days before competition in Beijing was set to begin, Juliana withdrew. Thus, Brazilian rivals were asked to keep their country’s tradition strong.
You can’t fault a 25-year-old for desperately desiring her Olympic debut, but Juliana’s late decision appears to have ended up hurting her partner. Ana Paula arrived in China a day before the Opening Ceremony to begin training with a woman whom she had never played a prior match.
Confusion plagued the two throughout. At times it looked like Ana Paula wanted to lead, being the being the more-experienced of the two, but this was Larissa’s team. Ana Paula would have been at home watching if it weren’t for Larissa. Late in the second set, Larissa sat on a wall next to their bench to turn her whole body toward Ana Paula and lecture. No matter the reluctance a two-Olympian might have in getting instruction from someone 10 years younger, it was too little too late.
NBC will have coverage of the Americans’ next match in primetime on Monday night. In other action, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh fell to Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China in straight sets, eliminating the possibility of an All-American final.
Even with six current or former NBA players, Spain was no match for Team USA in the fourth of five games of pool play. The combination of the Americans’ defense (16 steals) and three-point shooting (12-25, 48%) led to a 119-82 rout of the 2006 World Champions.
LeBron James led the U.S. in scoring with 18 points, while also posting eight assists, five rebounds and four steals. Dwyane Wade continued his fine play off the bench with 16 points, six rebounds and two steals. In total, the Americans had eight players in double figures.
Both teams have secured spots in the medal round and if the current standings hold, they wouldn’t meet again until the finals. The U.S. team plays Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Kaman and the rest of the German team at 8 am on Monday (on the USA Network) in the final game of pool play. The medal round starts on Wednesday.
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