Well, Domanick Davis is officially out for the season. This certainly isn’t shocking news at this point, but it’s a shame that such a good player (and an especially good fantasy player) has been knocked out for the season. Here’s hoping that Davis can make a comeback next season. Meanwhile, it looks like Wali Lundy will start for the Texans, but Vernand Morency is right there on his tail. This is shaping up to be a RBBC, which is not surprising considered HC Gary Kubiak served under Mike Shanahan all those years. (Supposedly they met in the ’80s during Skeletor’s ongoing battles with He-Man)…The Pats traded for Doug Gabriel. I certainly didn’t think that Gabriel would be the first WR out of Oakland. Jerry Porter seemed to have that honor all but locked up. Gabriel is a good talent, so this is a bit of a downgrade for Aaron Brooks and a bit of an upgrade for Tom Brady. The move muddles the situation in New England, especially considering the extended holdout of Deion Branch. Gabriel’s arrival will hurt the stock of Reche Caldwell, which really wasn’t all that high in the first place…The Lions have parted ways with Charles Rogers. Does this mean that the team is confident in Corey Bradford? He’s always been more of a fly-pattern guy, but maybe Bradford will have a better season now that he’s in a Mike Martz offense. He did catch seven passes in the preseason…For a while there, it looked like Najeh Davenport was the heir apparent to Ahman Green, but a couple of injuries later, and he’s released by the Packers. Sam Gado will be the primary backup to Green. There is trouble on the Packers’ line, but they have an easy schedule so Green should be a decent #3 RB, especially in PPR leagues, now that Tony Fisher is gone.
Author: John Paulsen (Page 835 of 937)
One thing I noticed during last season’s NBA playoffs and this summer’s World Championship is how often LeBron James makes a “pickle face.” A guy I played hoops with in college always made a similar face and our coach called it a pickle face because it looked like he just ate a sour pickle. The player was usually upset about something, either a bad call or a missed shot and he would scrunch up his face. This picture is the best shot I could find of LeBron’s pickle face, though it’s much worse when his mouth is closed.
Someone needs to tell him that if he keeps making that face, it will eventually freeze and stay like that forever.
Taking the court a day after its heartbreaking semifinal loss to Greece, Team USA desperately needed to bounce back. After all of the retooling that went on in the months leading up to the FIBA World Championship, it was vitally important that the program show some improvement. The U.S. struggled at times in the bronze medal game against Olympic champ Argentina, but eventually prevailed, 96-81.
After trailing by as many as nine in the first half, Team USA rode the hot shooting of Carmelo Anthony en route to a 50-49 advantage at intermission.
In the second half, Team USA made sure it would come home with its 10th medal in FIBA competition by increasing its defensive pressure. Tri-captains Anthony, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James led the charge as Team USA outscored Argentina 19-13 in the third quarter.
Wade was in the zone in the final period, erupting for 19 of his 32 points as Team USA increased its lead.
Wade went 10-for-14 from the field, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range. James was outstanding, posting 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Anthony scored 13.
The loss against Greece is a disappointment, but the team can feel good about the resiliency it showed today against a very good team. This group learned a valuable lesson at the World Championship that will no doubt provide plenty of motivation leading up to 2008 Olympics.
As hard as it is to put today’s loss behind them, but Team USA must do exactly that – tomorrow they play Argentina, the 2004 Olympic gold medal winner. As big of a disappointment it is to come away from the FIBA World Championship with something other than a gold, a fourth place finish would be even more demoralizing.
Dispatching the Argentinean team will be a difficult task. In addition to team leader and whirling dervish Manu Ginobili, the team has three other NBA players: the Bulls’ Andres Nocioni, the Pistons’ Carlos Delfino and the Spurs’ Fabrico Oberto. But keep an eye out for power forward Luis Scola, who leads the team in rebounds and is its second leading scorer.
The Argentina is coming off its own tough loss, having dropped a 75-74 heartbreaker to Spain. But they have a big incentive in the bronze medal game – they play the Americans. This is another opportunity for the Olympic champs to prove that they are better than Team USA.
This is why it’s crucial that Team USA win the bronze tomorrow. The program desperately needs to show some progress, and a fourth place finish just won’t cut it. A third place victory over the defending Olympic champs would be a nice consolation prize. It would prove to the world that Team USA recognizes those shortcomings exposed during the 2004 Olympics and is putting in the work to fix them.
Hell, bronze sort of looks like gold, doesn’t it?
Some of the press in Boston is speculating that Laurence Maroney may have a knee injury that is more serious than the team is letting on, but the Globe reported, “Whatever is holding (Laurence) Maroney back isn’t expected to be a long-term situation.” The Pats are notoriously tight-lipped about injuries (anyone remember Deion Branch being questionable for an entire season a couple years ago?), so don’t expect Bill Belichick to shed light on this any time soon…Speaking of Branch, based on a statement released by the team – “No trade has been consummated. Deion Branch remains under contract to the New England Patriots.” – it looks like he’s going to stay with the Pats, at least for the time being…Seattle’s involvement in the Branch situation makes you wonder how confident they are in the knee of Darrell Jackson. He is supposed to practice next week in preparation for Week 1. The team already signed Nate Burleson to a pretty big contract, so throwing Reggie Wayne-type money at Branch (supposedly that’s what he wanted) seems superfluous…If Branch continues his holdout, expect TE Ben Watson to be the big beneficiary. His ADP has moved upward the past few weeks, and now he’s a pretty solid pick in the 8th round…Steve Smith had an operation to remove an in-grown toenail, and has already had the stitches removed. Apparently, this was the bigger problem than the strained hamstring he had during camp…Derrick Blaylock has been named the starter for the Jets, but expect Kevan Barlow to get some carries as well. They didn’t bring him to ride the pine…Jay Cutler has looked great as a backup in Denver, so don’t be surprised if he’s the starter in ’07…Miami RB Sammy Morris will be suspended for the first four games for testing positive for ephedrine. Supposedly, Morris ingested the substance after taking Sudafed (which does contain the chemical). Is the league really going to suspend a player for four games for having the amount of ephedrine present in an over-the-counter cold medicine? Something else is going on here.
5:35 PM ET update: The Rams signed Stephen Davis. It’s quite possible that Davis will be used some around the goal line, so be prepared if you are already a Steven Jackson owner or are planning to draft him.
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