Fortunately, we haven’t had too many doping controversies at the 2008 Olympics (so far). Of course, one doesn’t have to worry about drug use at the All-Drug Olympics!
Category: The Olympics (Page 18 of 26)
I know, everyone asks the dynamic duo this and they both say it’s a stupid question. But there’s a reason people want to know what they think. Maybe the press is trying to drive a wedge or create some conflict between the two. (The Kobe/Shaq relationship made for some very interesting drama, didn’t it?) Or maybe people are genuinely curious to know how each player views herself in the realm of beach volleyball.
After pondering this question for a few days now, I think I have come up with an answer. Misty May-Treanor is the better player, but Kerri Walsh would be more difficult to replace, and therefore is more valuable.
May-Treanor does it all. She’s arguably the best defensive player in beach volleyball, she’s an excellent passer and setter, and she’s a very good hitter. (She actually started as an outside hitter at Long Beach State before the coaching staff converted her to a setter. While in college, her team won the NCAA title and she was the NCAA Player of the Year twice.) There are no easily discernable weaknesses in her game.
In short, she’s beach volleyball’s best all-around player.
Kerri Walsh stands 6’3”, and for a woman of that height, she has superior quickness and speed. She’s a force at the net, and a semi-recent shoulder injury forced her to develop a finesse game, which makes her nearly unstoppable as a hitter. She’s a capable passer and setter, though since she spends so much time at the net, her partner does most of the digging.
In short, with her size and athleticism, she’s a truly unique player. She’s irreplaceable, really. Where else are you going to find a player her height that can run and jump like she can?
So that’s my answer. It all depends on your definition of the word “better.” Does it mean the game’s best all-around player? Then May-Treanor is better. Does it mean the game’s most valuable/irreplaceable player? Then Walsh is your girl.
Karch Kiraly said it best – with a win in the gold medal match tonight, May-Treanor and Walsh will go down as the best (men’s or women’s) beach volleyball team ever. Whomever you favor, it’s abundantly clear that in the case of this pairing, the sum is greater than its parts.
And that’s a scary, scary thought.
It wasn’t pretty during the first quarter, as the U.S. men’s basketball team struggled to make shots and to defend the three-point line. But a 14-0 run at the beginning of the second half broke the game open and the U.S. went on to win, 116-85.
Kobe Bryant led Team USA with 25 points on 10-16 shooting, including 4 of 7 from long range.
“Early in the game, they made a lot of tough shots,” U.S. point guard Chris Paul said. “We were doing what we were supposed to be doing and they made tough shots, but sooner or later we’ll impose our will. I don’t know if you can keep up with us for 40 minutes.”
LeBron James added 16 points for the Americans, who are guaranteed a chance to play for a medal. They need two more wins for their first gold medal in a major international competition since the 2000 Sydney Games.
The U.S. moves on to the semifinals where they’ll face Argentina, who nipped Greece, 80-78, in the first round of the elimination bracket.
The Argentineans figure to be Team USA’s toughest challenge in these Games. With Andres Nocioni, Luis Scola, Fabricio Oberto and Carlos Delfino, they have NBA-talent, and in Manu Ginobili, they have one of the best players in the world.
John Paulsen and I were recently interviewed for Hey! Nielsen’s “Ask A Blogger” feature. If you care to read our opinions (and really, why wouldn’t you care to read our opinions?) on this year’s Olympics, Manny Ramirez’s haircut fiasco and what we would do to add or change current sports network programming, then click on the link below.
Read Hey! Nielsen’s “Ask A Blogger” feature on The Scores Report.
Last night, NBC aired the finals of the pole vault competition and American Jenn Stuczynski, who has only been vaulting for four years, captured the silver medal. She lost to Russian pole vaulting phenom (and world record holder) Yelena Isinbayeva.
The fact that Stuczynski won the silver after only having pole vaulted for four years is amazing. But what is even more amazing is the post-competition speech delivered by her (ponderously) mic’ed up coach, Rick Suhr. Here’s the transcription (update: video link below):
It’s the same old same old, you’re losing takeoff at the big heights. (shrugs) Whaddaya gonna do? (shrugs, looks away) Gotta learn to keep takeoff. You got caught at that meat grinder. I did not – and I told 10 people – I didn’t wanna be caught in a meat grinder between 65 and 80. You had to, though. You weren’t on, your warmup didn’t go well. You were at 55. You got caught up in that meat grinder. Whaddaya gonna do? (shrugs, looks away) Whaddaya gonna do? (shrugs, looks away) Didn’t have the legs. Her legs are fresh. Hey, it’s a silver medal. Not bad for someone that’s been pole vaulting for four years. (looks down at his blackberry)
As you can see from the picture, it appears Stuczynski walked away from the interchange dejected that she only won a silver.
Regular readers know I played basketball for current Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, so I’ve been on the wrong end of my fair share of tongue-lashings. But one thing Ryan always did – once the season/milestone was over, he was always positive.
Coach Suhr, your athlete just won the silver medal. That means that, after just four years of training, she is the second best pole vaulter in the world. Sure, Isinbayeva is kind of annoying and I’m sure you really wanted to beat her, but she’s probably the best pole vaulter ever and in the grand scheme of things, Stuczynski’s accomplishment is amazing. She doesn’t need to be lectured about what she did wrong on national television. Let her enjoy her Olympic moment for a minute. She deserves your support and a pat on the back. Don’t be such a dick.
Thanks to Steve Rudniki who provided this link to the video. You have to watch a commercial first, but it’s worth it.
8/22 Update: I think we’re dealing with two sets of extremes here. One side wants to hang the coach (or at least wants her to fire him) while the other says that clip was taken totally out of context and that Suhr is not at fault for any of this.
The truth is somewhere in between. You can’t take his body language out of context and you can’t take the fact that he was not encouraging or congratulatory (at all) out of context either.
The right thing to do there – even if she asked (or says she asked) him what she did wrong – is to give a brief overview (if that) tell her that she did a good job and to enjoy her silver medal moment. Then, when the dust settles and you get back to the States, you break the competition tape out and go through everything that kept her from winning the gold.
That’s my $0.02 and I’m sticking to it.
9/7 Update: Here is an interview that ESPN did with Jenn Stuczynski where responds to the controversy. In short, she says that she asked Suhr what she did wrong, that he was texting someone to tell them that she got the silver, and that she wasn’t looking down in dejection when she walked away. (She was trying not to trip.)
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