http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/21744 Recent articles about Joba Chamberlain en-us A little bit of history happened tonight at the NBA Draft when you weren't lookinmg...Idaho Stampede guard Mike Taylor was selected with the 55th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers becoming the first player from the NBA Development League to be drafted by an NBA team. A member of the 2008 NBA D-League Champion Stampede, Taylor was then traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for a future second round draft pick. "Everyone at the NBA D-League joins me in congratulating Mike on his history-making achievement," said Dan Reed, NBA D-League President. "Mike is a shining example of the NBA D-League's core mission – to develop top prospects into NBA players." In 39 games for the Stampede this past season, Taylor averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists primarily as the team's sixth man, scoring 20 or more points on 11 occasions, including during the deciding Game 3 of the NBA D-League Finals presented by Delta. During that game, Taylor connected on four three-pointers in a three-minute span in the fourth quarter to solidify the Stampede's first NBA D-League Championship. "Mike brings a tremendous amount of ability and quickness to the NBA," said Idaho Stampede head coach Bryan Gates. "He really is a spark of energy and a breath of fresh air whenever he enters a game."Source: NBA D-LeagueOTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Astros GM Ed Wade Attacked by Pitcher Shawn Chacon - The Biz of Baseball Dodgers Surpass 3 Million Tickets Sold for 2008 - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football Big Ten Network Nearing First Major Cable Deal with Comcast - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:11:19 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287774 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287774 In anticipation of the 20th season of Minnesota Timberwolves basketball, the Timberwolves primary logo, featuring the wolf's head amidst the tree line, has undergone a facelift. Additionally, the Timberwolves have unveiled a new, re-designed secondary logo. The new-look logos, designed by adidas, usher in a new era of Timberwolves basketball as the franchise celebrates its 20th season in the Twin Cities with the upcoming 2008-09 NBA campaign. The modification to the Timberwolves primary logo includes the incorporation of white on the wolf's head as well as a cleaner and sleeker design of the tree line and the script "Minnesota Timberwolves." The intent of the adidas design group was not to replace the well-known logo, but rather let it "evolve" into something that would mark the next era of Timberwolves basketball. The wolf's head and tree line were introduced as the team's primary logo prior to the 1996-97 season, and had remained unchanged for the past 12 seasons.  The Timberwolves secondary logo has been completely re-designed. The new logo features a Timberwolf in front of a treeline howling at the moon, which is depicted as a basketball. The new secondary logo pays homage to the original Timberwolves logo with the return of a basketball in the logo's background. Prior to a basketball being incorporated in the new secondary logo, the Wolves were one of only five teams in the NBA which did not have a basketball depicted in either their primary or secondary logo. The newly-designed secondary logo will make its public debut tonight at the 2008 NBA Draft as it will adorn the hat of the Timberwolves' first-round draft pick. The Wolves NBA Draft cap, with the team's new secondary logo, and t-shirts are available for purchase at The NBA Store online at www.nbastore.com or by calling 612-673-1303. "With our 20th season upcoming, we believe it is the perfect time to re-brand the look of Timberwolves basketball," said Timberwolves President Chris Wright. "The new-look logos and soon-to-be-introduced uniforms are part of a year-long re-branding process around our franchise. In the last year, our on-court product has changed as we have re-built the team, and these off-court changes sync up with this new era of Wolves basketball." Wolves New Logos June 26, 2008 Page 2 of 2     Yesterday's introduction of the new logos is the latest step in the re-branding campaign of the Timberwolves as the team approaches its 20th season. The Wolves will also introduce newly-designed uniforms in August. Attached are jpeg copies of the Timberwolves new-look primary logos and secondary logos.Source: Minnesota Timberwolves OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Astros GM Ed Wade Attacked by Pitcher Shawn Chacon - The Biz of Baseball Dodgers Surpass 3 Million Tickets Sold for 2008 - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football Big Ten Network Nearing First Major Cable Deal with Comcast - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:11:18 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287772 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287772 The Boston Celtics' victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 of The Finals was the culmination of the most successful sales season in NBA history, including the best post-clinch day in history at the NBA Store and NBAStore.com.  During The Finals, multiple merchandise sales records were set: Sales records set at the NBA Store in New York City and on NBAStore.com include: Largest post-clinch sales day in the history of both stores on June 18, with sales from NBAStore.com up 82 percent, and at the NBA Store up over 30 percent versus the previous best post-clinch day (2006 Miami Heat and 2002 Lakers, respectively).June 18 was the largest sales day in the history of NBAStore.com.The NBA Store and NBAStore.com each had its best sales year during the 2007-08 season. Arena Sales records for the Celtics and Lakers during The Finals include: Highest Finals average game-night sales up 10 percent from previous best (2004).Lakers set a new league single-night merchandise sales record for a non-clinching game at Staples Center's Team LA shop during Game 3 (June 10).Celtics had their highest single-night sales in history at the TD Banknorth Garden during Game 6 (June 17). Most Popular Merchandise from The Finals includes: Boston Celtics 2008 NBA Champions Locker Room tee shirt and hat from adidas sold out within minutes at the TD Banknorth Garden and have been top sellers at Modell's, Sports Authority, Dick's Sporting Goods, Champs and JCPenney.The "Beat LA" T-Shirt was the most successful team tagline tee shirt ever.Spalding Limited Edition NBA Finals Matchup basketballs sold out at the Celtics and Lakers team stores. For the first time ever, game-worn jerseys were auctioned off on NBA.com during Game 1 and Game 3.Limited Edition Kevin Garnett NBA Finals shoes from adidas sold for $1,107 a pair with all proceeds going to NBA Cares. Source: National Basketball Association OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Astros GM Ed Wade Attacked by Pitcher Shawn Chacon - The Biz of Baseball Dodgers Surpass 3 Million Tickets Sold for 2008 - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football Big Ten Network Nearing First Major Cable Deal with Comcast - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:11:18 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287773 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287773 Last Monday, USA Basketball announced the 12 man roster that will comprise the 2008 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Five of the 12 have participated in the Olympics previously (Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, LeBron James, Jason Kidd and Dwyane Wade); the only U.S. team that had more Olympic veterans was the 1996 squad--the so-called "Dream Team II" that welcomed back six players from the first Dream Team, the 1992 U.S. Olympic team that is the only group that truly deserved the "Dream Team" designation. Eight members of the 2008 team played in the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament, which Team USA won with a 10-0 record; here is a list of those eight players, along with some of their statistics from the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament. Carmelo Anthony (21.2 ppg, .613 FG%, .578 3Pt FG%, 5.2 rpg, 1.4 apg in nine games) LeBron James (18.1 ppg, .760 FG%, .622 3Pt FG%, 3.6 rpg, 4.7 apg in 10 games) Kobe Bryant (15.3 ppg, .548 FG%, .459 3Pt FG%, 2.0 rpg, 2.9 apg in 10 games) Michael Redd (14.4 ppg, .530 FG%, .453 3Pt FG%, 1.4 rpg, 1.5 apg in 10 games) Dwight Howard (10.0 ppg, .814 FG%, 5.3 rpg, 18 blocked shots in 10 games) Tayshaun Prince (7.3 ppg, .481 FG%, .357 3Pt FG%, 5.0 rpg, 2.1 apg in nine games) Deron Williams (4.7 ppg, .613 FG%, 5-10 3Pt FG, 1.0 rpg, 4.6 apg in 10 games) Jason Kidd (1.8 ppg, 6-10 FG, 5-8 3Pt FG, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg in 10 games) Amare Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups played in 2007 but withdrew their names from the selection process this time around. Tyson Chandler played the fewest minutes on the 2007 team and Mike Miller had the second lowest field goal percentage on the 2007 team. Those four players have been replaced by Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. In addition to the Olympic and international experience listed above, the current roster has the 2008 NBA MVP (Bryant), four of the five members of the 2008 All-NBA First Team (Bryant, James, Howard and Paul) plus a 2008 All-NBA Second Team selection (Williams) and a 2008 All-NBA Third Team selection (Boozer). Since the debacles for Team USA in 2002, 2004 and 2006, USA Basketball has emphasized that it wants a three year commitment from players so that the team can develop cohesion and chemistry. That is why the fifth member of the 2008 All-NBA First Team, Kevin Garnett, is not on the roster. USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said of Garnett, "We never got any positive feedback of his interest. It was more about 'I've been there, I've done that and it's time for someone else to do it.' I had a number of conversations with his agent just to check the temperature of the water, and there was never any positive response. We would have loved to have had him...but obviously, it wasn't in the cards." The key additions to the 2007 team were Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd; they quickly emerged as team leaders because of their professionalism, work ethic and defensive intensity, three qualities that had been noticeably missing on recent editions of Team USA. U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "Kobe is unbelievably committed to representing his country. Last summer playing for our team, the first time he saw his uniform, he got emotional...The first thing he did for us last summer, he was our best perimeter defender--and that's a role he wanted...I think we'll start out with the same thing because he knows he can play that way and expend the energy on defense because of the offensive talent of his teammates...We usually put him on the best perimeter player on the opposing team whether it be a point guard or a wing, and that's how we started the game. And that's how I want to start our practice sessions with that in mind." Bryant sacrificed some of his offensive game to concentrate on defense but still managed to finish third on the team in scoring and fourth in assists.In a December 5, 2007 post, I mentioned some things that Suns General Manager Steve Kerr told me that then-Suns Coach Mike D'Antoni--a Team USA assistant coach--had said about Bryant's role on Team USA:Prior to each game in last summer's FIBA Americas tournament, Bryant asked the coaching staff, "Who do you want me to take out?" In other words, Bryant wanted to know who was the toughest perimeter threat on each team so that he could study his tendencies on film and then completely neutralize him on the court. I said to Kerr, "That sounds like a sniper zeroing in on a target" and Kerr replied, "Yeah--and he was serious." Kerr went on to say that Bryant's "focus" and "bravado" added an essential missing element to the squad and elevated everyone else's play. Kerr noted that the previous Team USA squad had performed reasonably well other than the infamous loss to Greece but that it lacked a certain "swagger," as he termed it, and that Team USA did not have a "player who everyone feared." Kerr literally shook his head in wonderment as he described Bryant's impact on Team USA. Kidd's leadership came in a much subtler form; there is virtually no statistical evidence of it, other than the fact that he ranked second on the team in assists--but make no mistake that he played a very key role on the team. He has never lost a game while wearing a Team USA jersey and he made it clear that he does not intend on ending that streak now. The usual starting lineup of Bryant, Kidd, James, Anthony and Howard generally led the team to such big early leads that players like Redd, Stoudemire and Williams put up a lot of their numbers in de facto garbage time. Though casual fans probably assume that Chris Paul will be the starting point guard, I expect Coach Krzyzewski to use the same starting lineup during the Olympics that he employed during the FIBA Americas tournament; Kidd only ended up playing 15.9 mpg because Team USA won so many blowouts but I think that it is important to start the game with a group that has played together before in FIBA competition. This is not some All-Star exhibition in which Team USA can rotate who starts. Paul may end up playing more minutes than Kidd, particularly if Team USA builds big leads, but I would be surprised if Coach Krzyzewski changes his starting lineup. The main early criticism of the 2008 roster is the supposed lack of big men but I disagree with that assessment. Chandler hardly played at all in the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament and although Stoudemire rebounded well he was not much of a defensive presence (six blocked shots in 10 games). Boozer and Bosh should be more than able to replace them, so this team is deeper and more versatile up front than the 2007 squad. Furthermore, the most effective style of play for Team USA in FIBA events is to go small, play pressure defense, force turnovers and score in the open court. Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James can easily play power forward in such a lineup, so on this team they are essentially "bigs" also. As for the perimeter players, Billups and Miller were two of the least productive members of the 2007 team, so it is difficult to believe that there will be any drop off by replacing them with Paul and Wade. Thus, the 2008 team should be even better than the 2007 squad, though it is also true that the competition at the Olympics will be much tougher than the competition at the FIBA Americas tournament. Anthony will almost certainly be Team USA's leading scorer. He feeds off of the open court scoring opportunities provided by the pressure defense of Bryant, Kidd and James and he is also a tough cover in the half court for most FIBA forwards. If anything, Anthony plays even worse defense in FIBA competition than he does in the NBA but he is such an efficient scorer--and the other four starters defend so well--that his offensive output outweighs his defensive liabilities (which was not the case in the 2004 Olympics, when Bryant and Kidd were not on the team and James did not defend nearly as well as he does now). Some quotes from Anthony and Wade give an indication of why they failed to lead the 2004 and 2006 teams to gold medals. Anthony said that he joined the 2004 team expecting to have "some of the best workouts in the summertime with the best players in the world" and he assumed "the USA is supposed to win everything." Wade candidly admitted that being an Olympian had never been a dream of his, adding, "I didn't have a clue what I was getting into...Now, we respect the game so much. We respect the team basketball that they play internationally so much." You don't have to read too far between the lines to understand that in 2004 Anthony and Wade underestimated the competition that they faced and did not realize how much hard work and intensity would be necessary to win the gold medal. Now, they know better and the team has a much better leadership structure--with Bryant and Kidd on board no one will be taking any shortcuts in practice or at the defensive end of the court (well, Anthony probably will still take some shortcuts there but the team can survive that as long as he keeps shooting over .600 from the field). The prevailing myth about Team USA's failure to win gold medals in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championship is that a lack of outside shooters proved to be fatal. However, as I demonstrated in a September 4, 2007 post titled The Real Story Behind Team USA's Losses in Previous FIBA Events, what really killed those teams was poor defense, particularly regarding the short three point shot (20'6" as opposed to 23'9" in the NBA) that FIBA teams love to launch. It is absolutely vital that Team USA shut down the three point shooters on opposing teams and that they do so without leaving the lane open to cutters; shooting well from the three point line would certainly be a nice bonus but perimeter defense will be the linchpin of Team USA's success. Good perimeter defense will fuel transition offense that will result in open three pointers and fast break dunks; the gaudy field goal percentage posted by Team USA in 2007 was largely the result of great defense leading to high percentage scoring opportunities in transition. OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK FInal AL All-Star Game Voting Update has Tight Races - The Biz of Baseball DC and Virginia Lotteries Team with Nationals For Scratch-It - The Biz of Baseball Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey 15,000 General Admission Tickets for London NFL Game Sell Out in 30 min. - The Biz of Football Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports David Friedman is a weekly contributor to the Business of Sports Network. To read more of his basketball articles, just take a 20 Second Timeout. His general sports commentary can be found at Best Ever Sports Talk, where "Smokin' Joe Frazier Fires Off One Liners in Guest Appearance on Friday Night Fights," "Old School Video: Hagler Versus Hearns, The War," "Why Steroid Users Should be Banned for Life" and "Tiger's High Stakes Gamble Pays Off—For Now" are among the subjects that have been recently discussed. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:11:17 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287771 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287771 Don Imus is at it again.The controversial shock jock was fired last year for referring to the Rutgers women's basketball players as "nappy-headed hos." Last week, Imus effectively immersed himself in hot water again as a result of what some are calling a racist interchange. In a discussion of the legal misfortunes of Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, Imus asked on air, "What color is he?" When sports announcer Warner Wolf responded that Jones was "African-American," Imus replied, "Well, there you go. Now we know." Imus later denied that his question was intended to be disparaging. He insisted that he was referring to the fact that blacks in this country are arrested for no reason. But given his previous comments, many observers, the Rev. Al Sharpton among them, were reluctant to cut him any slack. Fortunately for Imus, WABC, his new employer, stood by the embattled talk guru. And no wonder. Imus' ratings on WABC are higher than they were on WFAN, his former employer. For now, Imus' job seems safe, even as criticism of his comments continues. Imus isn't the only media personality who has managed to cram both feet in his mouth, nor is he likely to be the last. The same week that Imus tripped over his tongue, NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller was forced to issue an apology for comments he made about Rocco Mediate, the golfer who lost to Tiger Woods in a playoff for the U.S. Open title. Miller said that Mediate "looks like the guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool." Miller later said he was trying to convey his "affection and admiration for Rocco's everyman qualities and (my comments) had absolutely nothing to do with (Rocco's) ethnicity." Mediate is of Italian heritage. Miller, like Imus, got off with neither a reprimand nor a suspension. But not every talking head who talks before using their head is as fortunate. Earlier this year, another golf analyst, Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel, was reprimanded and suspended for two weeks after suggesting that the only way Tiger's competitors could beat him was to "lynch (Woods) in a back alley." Woods, class act that he is, dismissed Tilghman's remarks as a "non-issue," knowing full well that, while her comments were insensitive and inappropriate, they were made in jest and weren't intended to be malicious or mean-spirited. The recent spat of on-air "political incorrectness" brings to mind Rush Limbaugh's brief tenure as an NFL commentator on ESPN's football show in 2003. Limbaugh suggested that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was "coddled" by the media because he was black. Fearing a media and fan backlash, ESPN quickly severed ties with Limbaugh. But the "World Wide Leader" could hardly plead innocent in the affair. Limbaugh was hired specifically to stir controversy and to increase ratings, both of which he did. Even though ESPN got what it bargained for, it couldn't take the heat and turned on the delivery person. Perhaps the most politically incorrect commentator working today is Charles Barkley, the former NBA star and long time basketball analyst for TNT. Barkley has uttered comments that could be interpreted as racist and insensitive by virtually every sex, color and ethnic group in the universe. Examples include, "People have a right to be gay, but after seeing Beyonce, why would you want to be?" Barkley, who is black, also referred to the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson as "race-baiters," conservatives as "fake Christians," and once responded to a reporter's question by commenting, "This is why I hate white people." Yet Barkley not only remains employed, but almost universally loved and respected. Why? Perhaps it's because Barkley is an equal-opportunity offender. Maybe it's because he doesn't take himself too seriously. Or maybe it's because he refuses to blame others for his own faults and accepts the blame for his short-comings, as he did recently in admitting that an unpaid gambling debt at a Las Vegas casino was solely his responsibility. Whatever the reason, Barkley appears to be insulated from the political correctness standards to which other media personalities are held. Whether that's good or bad is an open question.OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Black and Latin Red Sox Players Threatened - The Biz of Baseball FInal AL All-Star Game Voting Update has Tight Races - The Biz of Baseball DC and Virginia Lotteries Team with Nationals For Scratch-It - The Biz of Baseball Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey 15,000 General Admission Tickets for London NFL Game Sell Out in 30 min. - The Biz of Football Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of SportsCommentary and Interviews from NASCAR on TNT Live: Lenox Industrial Tools 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Maury Brown's Biz of SportsJordan Kobritz is a regular contributor to the Business of Sports Network. He is a former attorney, CPA, and Minor League Baseball team owner. He is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Eastern New Mexico University, teaches the Business of Sports at the University of Wyoming, and is a contributing author to the Business of Sports Network. Jordan can be reached at jkobritz@mindspring.com. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:30:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287728 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287728 The 15,000 tickets made available in the second general admission sale for the NFL's overseas regular-season game on October 26 at Wembley Stadium in London, England sold Friday in 30 minutes.  Last month, the first 40,000 tickets for the game between the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints sold out in 90 minutes. "Once again this demonstrates the huge interest in the sport in the UK," said Alistair Kirkwood, managing director of the NFL's UK office.  "Fans here are excited to be able to see two teams of this caliber playing in the UK, and with a full Wembley Stadium, we expect the atmosphere to be electric when the Saints and Chargers take the field."  The NFL has committed to playing at least one game in the UK for each of the next three seasons, beginning with this year's matchup of teams who have each come within one game of reaching the Super Bowl in the past two seasons. The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins played the NFL's first regular-season game outside North America last year, when a sellout crowd of 81,176 packed Wembley Stadium on Sunday, October 28.  The Giants earned a 13-10 win en route to capturing a Super Bowl title.Source: National Football LeagueOTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK FInal AL All-Star Game Voting Update has Tight Races - The Biz of Baseball DC and Virginia Lotteries Team with Nationals For Scratch-It - The Biz of Baseball Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey Minnesota Timberwolves Unveil New Updated Logos - The Biz of Basketball Record Sales of Merchandise Set for 2008 NBA FInals - The Biz of Basketball History Made: First D-League Player Drafted by the NBA: Mike Taylor, Idaho Stampede - The Biz of Basketball The 2008 Playoffs: Where the Revival of the NBA's Two Flagship Franchises Happened - The Biz of Basketball Olympic Free Agents? - The Biz of Basketball TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:30:11 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287729 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287729 Are you satisfied with the job Joba Chamberlain has done so far as a starter, Yankees' fans? In a column Monday, Newsday's Wallace Matthews says that the Yankees need more from the fireballing young right-hander. For all his potential and occasional flashes of brilliance, Chamberlain alone cannot save the Yankees. In fact, as often as not, it [...] Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:50:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287161 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287161 Are you satisfied with the job Joba Chamberlain has done so far as a starter, Yankees' fans? In a column Monday, Newsday's Wallace Matthews says that the Yankees need more from the fireballing young right-hander. For all his potential and occasional flashes of brilliance, Chamberlain alone cannot save the Yankees. In fact, as often as not, it [...] Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:50:50 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287161 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/287161 I was at Yankee Stadium tonight, making my Yankee-fan daughter happy by taking her to a game, watching Joba the Great look pretty ordinary and (this was my main focus) watching the out-of-town scoreboard to see what was going on in ChiTown. Am I nuts or what? As I watched the updates being posted, I could tell without any details available at all that the game between the Tribe and the Sox was taking a familiar path. Lee and Danks matching each other inning after inning and the toothless Tribe offense being offensive, as it has been all year. When the Yanks loss to Texas ended, the auxiliary scoreboard at Yankee Stadium showed the Tribe and the Sox tied at 1 in the 9th. It seemed pretty clear to me at that point that after I battled with 50 thousand other New Yorkers to get out of the place, risked 18 fender benders trying to push my way out of the parking lot and drove home to the suburbs, that I would likely turn on my computer to find that one reliever or another had blown the game. I was not disappointed. Tonight it was Joe Borowski, who blew his fourth save in 10 chances this season. The Tribe took the lead in the tenth only to have JoBo give it up (again) in the bottom of the inning. Can the trade deadline get here fast enough? The sooner it does the sooner Borowski will be gone (if someone will take him). Whether gone through trade or simply banished, Borowski must go. There's no obvious choice to replace him, so maybe Wedge spends the last two months of the season holding open auditions. Maybe the closer of the future is on someone else's Triple-A team right now, about to change uniforms without knowing it just yet. Someone - at least one guy - has to be given the shot in the last two months of this year to try to fill the job for next season. If that guy proves not to be on the roster, even after the trading deadline, then some money has to be shelled out to get a real closer. Everyone laughed at the White Sox when they overspent for Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel this winter. But why is overpaying for a solid, shut-em-down bullpen considered to be foolish while paying huge bucks for a bat or a starter is seen as a great move by the front office. We've seen it time and time again. You don't win division titles without a solid bullpen and the Tribe's pen is a mess. The first thing to do to fix it so spend the last two months trying to find out if they have someone to close out games next year already on their roster. I don't see anybody, but you've got to try. Back to Joba the Great for a minute. This was my first chance to see him pitch in person, except possibly for one inning of relief late last season. He was anything but great tonight. He couldn't find home plate with a Garmin GPS - having to leave after four innings with his pitch count in the 90s. Joba walked four and gave up five hits and two runs in his four innings. Of his 91 pitches, 49 were strikes and 42 were balls. Not too good. Derek Jeter, my daughter's favorite, got the night off and the Yanks lost of course, so it wasn't the greatest of nights for my daughter. For me, it was a good - if painfully slow - game in which I had no rooting interest. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:40:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284912 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284912 The ending of tonight's Yanks/Rangers game was difficult to swallow. I'm very frustrated. For starters, why wasn't Melky bunting? Melky, mired in an 0-18 slump, and let's be honest, isn't all that good to begin with, gets the swing away sign with the tying run on 1st with no outs in the 9th? And what's Melky do? He watches strike one. Watches strike two. And predictably grounds into a 6-4-3 double play. Why Joe? Why? That move made absolutely no sense. The last thing you want you worst hitter to do in that situation is to swing away. Move the runner over, flip the lineup to the top of the order and get 2 cracks at bringing home the tying run. Horrible call by Girardi. I hope he wises up and at least starts to sit Melky. He's not doing anyone any good and that's taking into account how good his arm is. The Yankees put way too much stock in Melky. Give Gardner a shot. He can't really do any worse. The second most frustrating thing about tonight's game is watching......... You'll have to click on the URL to check out the rest of the post. I'm currently in the YBN but am new to psoting articles. Hope you check it out and hope you enjoy! J-Boogie Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:03:52 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284860 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284860 With Chien-Ming Wang out until September, do you think the Yankees will go out and trade some players for a big-time starter like C.C Sabathia, or will they possibly bring someone up from the Minors, not including Kei Igawa? Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:21:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284372 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284372 Don Imus is at it again.The controversial shock jock was fired last year for referring to the Rutgers women's basketball players as "nappy-headed hos." Last week, Imus effectively immersed himself in hot water again as a result of what some are calling a racist interchange. In a discussion of the legal misfortunes of Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones, Imus asked on air, "What color is he?" When sports announcer Warner Wolf responded that Jones was "African-American," Imus replied, "Well, there you go. Now we know." Imus later denied that his question was intended to be disparaging. He insisted that he was referring to the fact that blacks in this country are arrested for no reason. But given his previous comments, many observers, the Rev. Al Sharpton among them, were reluctant to cut him any slack. Fortunately for Imus, WABC, his new employer, stood by the embattled talk guru. And no wonder. Imus' ratings on WABC are higher than they were on WFAN, his former employer. For now, Imus' job seems safe, even as criticism of his comments continues. Imus isn't the only media personality who has managed to cram both feet in his mouth, nor is he likely to be the last. The same week that Imus tripped over his tongue, NBC golf analyst Johnny Miller was forced to issue an apology for comments he made about Rocco Mediate, the golfer who lost to Tiger Woods in a playoff for the U.S. Open title. Miller said that Mediate "looks like the guy who cleans Tiger's swimming pool." Miller later said he was trying to convey his "affection and admiration for Rocco's everyman qualities and (my comments) had absolutely nothing to do with (Rocco's) ethnicity." Mediate is of Italian heritage. Miller, like Imus, got off with neither a reprimand nor a suspension. But not every talking head who talks before using their head is as fortunate. Earlier this year, another golf analyst, Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel, was reprimanded and suspended for two weeks after suggesting that the only way Tiger's competitors could beat him was to "lynch (Woods) in a back alley." Woods, class act that he is, dismissed Tilghman's remarks as a "non-issue," knowing full well that, while her comments were insensitive and inappropriate, they were made in jest and weren't intended to be malicious or mean-spirited. The recent spat of on-air "political incorrectness" brings to mind Rush Limbaugh's brief tenure as an NFL commentator on ESPN's football show in 2003. Limbaugh suggested that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was "coddled" by the media because he was black. Fearing a media and fan backlash, ESPN quickly severed ties with Limbaugh. But the "World Wide Leader" could hardly plead innocent in the affair. Limbaugh was hired specifically to stir controversy and to increase ratings, both of which he did. Even though ESPN got what it bargained for, it couldn't take the heat and turned on the delivery person. Perhaps the most politically incorrect commentator working today is Charles Barkley, the former NBA star and long time basketball analyst for TNT. Barkley has uttered comments that could be interpreted as racist and insensitive by virtually every sex, color and ethnic group in the universe. Examples include, "People have a right to be gay, but after seeing Beyonce, why would you want to be?" Barkley, who is black, also referred to the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jessie Jackson as "race-baiters," conservatives as "fake Christians," and once responded to a reporter's question by commenting, "This is why I hate white people." Yet Barkley not only remains employed, but almost universally loved and respected. Why? Perhaps it's because Barkley is an equal-opportunity offender. Maybe it's because he doesn't take himself too seriously. Or maybe it's because he refuses to blame others for his own faults and accepts the blame for his short-comings, as he did recently in admitting that an unpaid gambling debt at a Las Vegas casino was solely his responsibility. Whatever the reason, Barkley appears to be insulated from the political correctness standards to which other media personalities are held. Whether that's good or bad is an open question.OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Black and Latin Red Sox Players Threatened - The Biz of Baseball FInal AL All-Star Game Voting Update has Tight Races - The Biz of Baseball DC and Virginia Lotteries Team with Nationals For Scratch-It - The Biz of Baseball Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey 15,000 General Admission Tickets for London NFL Game Sell Out in 30 min. - The Biz of Football Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of SportsCommentary and Interviews from NASCAR on TNT Live: Lenox Industrial Tools 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Maury Brown's Biz of SportsJordan Kobritz is a regular contributor to the Business of Sports Network. He is a former attorney, CPA, and Minor League Baseball team owner. He is an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Eastern New Mexico University, teaches the Business of Sports at the University of Wyoming, and is a contributing author to the Business of Sports Network. Jordan can be reached at jkobritz@mindspring.com. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:29:08 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284214 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284214 Last Monday, USA Basketball announced the 12 man roster that will comprise the 2008 U.S. Olympic basketball team. Five of the 12 have participated in the Olympics previously (Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, LeBron James, Jason Kidd and Dwyane Wade); the only U.S. team that had more Olympic veterans was the 1996 squad--the so-called "Dream Team II" that welcomed back six players from the first Dream Team, the 1992 U.S. Olympic team that is the only group that truly deserved the "Dream Team" designation. Eight members of the 2008 team played in the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament, which Team USA won with a 10-0 record; here is a list of those eight players, along with some of their statistics from the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament. Carmelo Anthony (21.2 ppg, .613 FG%, .578 3Pt FG%, 5.2 rpg, 1.4 apg in nine games) LeBron James (18.1 ppg, .760 FG%, .622 3Pt FG%, 3.6 rpg, 4.7 apg in 10 games) Kobe Bryant (15.3 ppg, .548 FG%, .459 3Pt FG%, 2.0 rpg, 2.9 apg in 10 games) Michael Redd (14.4 ppg, .530 FG%, .453 3Pt FG%, 1.4 rpg, 1.5 apg in 10 games) Dwight Howard (10.0 ppg, .814 FG%, 5.3 rpg, 18 blocked shots in 10 games) Tayshaun Prince (7.3 ppg, .481 FG%, .357 3Pt FG%, 5.0 rpg, 2.1 apg in nine games) Deron Williams (4.7 ppg, .613 FG%, 5-10 3Pt FG, 1.0 rpg, 4.6 apg in 10 games) Jason Kidd (1.8 ppg, 6-10 FG, 5-8 3Pt FG, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg in 10 games) Amare Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups played in 2007 but withdrew their names from the selection process this time around. Tyson Chandler played the fewest minutes on the 2007 team and Mike Miller had the second lowest field goal percentage on the 2007 team. Those four players have been replaced by Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. In addition to the Olympic and international experience listed above, the current roster has the 2008 NBA MVP (Bryant), four of the five members of the 2008 All-NBA First Team (Bryant, James, Howard and Paul) plus a 2008 All-NBA Second Team selection (Williams) and a 2008 All-NBA Third Team selection (Boozer). Since the debacles for Team USA in 2002, 2004 and 2006, USA Basketball has emphasized that it wants a three year commitment from players so that the team can develop cohesion and chemistry. That is why the fifth member of the 2008 All-NBA First Team, Kevin Garnett, is not on the roster. USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo said of Garnett, "We never got any positive feedback of his interest. It was more about 'I've been there, I've done that and it's time for someone else to do it.' I had a number of conversations with his agent just to check the temperature of the water, and there was never any positive response. We would have loved to have had him...but obviously, it wasn't in the cards." The key additions to the 2007 team were Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd; they quickly emerged as team leaders because of their professionalism, work ethic and defensive intensity, three qualities that had been noticeably missing on recent editions of Team USA. U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "Kobe is unbelievably committed to representing his country. Last summer playing for our team, the first time he saw his uniform, he got emotional...The first thing he did for us last summer, he was our best perimeter defender--and that's a role he wanted...I think we'll start out with the same thing because he knows he can play that way and expend the energy on defense because of the offensive talent of his teammates...We usually put him on the best perimeter player on the opposing team whether it be a point guard or a wing, and that's how we started the game. And that's how I want to start our practice sessions with that in mind." Bryant sacrificed some of his offensive game to concentrate on defense but still managed to finish third on the team in scoring and fourth in assists.In a December 5, 2007 post, I mentioned some things that Suns General Manager Steve Kerr told me that then-Suns Coach Mike D'Antoni--a Team USA assistant coach--had said about Bryant's role on Team USA:Prior to each game in last summer's FIBA Americas tournament, Bryant asked the coaching staff, "Who do you want me to take out?" In other words, Bryant wanted to know who was the toughest perimeter threat on each team so that he could study his tendencies on film and then completely neutralize him on the court. I said to Kerr, "That sounds like a sniper zeroing in on a target" and Kerr replied, "Yeah--and he was serious." Kerr went on to say that Bryant's "focus" and "bravado" added an essential missing element to the squad and elevated everyone else's play. Kerr noted that the previous Team USA squad had performed reasonably well other than the infamous loss to Greece but that it lacked a certain "swagger," as he termed it, and that Team USA did not have a "player who everyone feared." Kerr literally shook his head in wonderment as he described Bryant's impact on Team USA. Kidd's leadership came in a much subtler form; there is virtually no statistical evidence of it, other than the fact that he ranked second on the team in assists--but make no mistake that he played a very key role on the team. He has never lost a game while wearing a Team USA jersey and he made it clear that he does not intend on ending that streak now. The usual starting lineup of Bryant, Kidd, James, Anthony and Howard generally led the team to such big early leads that players like Redd, Stoudemire and Williams put up a lot of their numbers in de facto garbage time. Though casual fans probably assume that Chris Paul will be the starting point guard, I expect Coach Krzyzewski to use the same starting lineup during the Olympics that he employed during the FIBA Americas tournament; Kidd only ended up playing 15.9 mpg because Team USA won so many blowouts but I think that it is important to start the game with a group that has played together before in FIBA competition. This is not some All-Star exhibition in which Team USA can rotate who starts. Paul may end up playing more minutes than Kidd, particularly if Team USA builds big leads, but I would be surprised if Coach Krzyzewski changes his starting lineup. The main early criticism of the 2008 roster is the supposed lack of big men but I disagree with that assessment. Chandler hardly played at all in the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament and although Stoudemire rebounded well he was not much of a defensive presence (six blocked shots in 10 games). Boozer and Bosh should be more than able to replace them, so this team is deeper and more versatile up front than the 2007 squad. Furthermore, the most effective style of play for Team USA in FIBA events is to go small, play pressure defense, force turnovers and score in the open court. Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James can easily play power forward in such a lineup, so on this team they are essentially "bigs" also. As for the perimeter players, Billups and Miller were two of the least productive members of the 2007 team, so it is difficult to believe that there will be any drop off by replacing them with Paul and Wade. Thus, the 2008 team should be even better than the 2007 squad, though it is also true that the competition at the Olympics will be much tougher than the competition at the FIBA Americas tournament. Anthony will almost certainly be Team USA's leading scorer. He feeds off of the open court scoring opportunities provided by the pressure defense of Bryant, Kidd and James and he is also a tough cover in the half court for most FIBA forwards. If anything, Anthony plays even worse defense in FIBA competition than he does in the NBA but he is such an efficient scorer--and the other four starters defend so well--that his offensive output outweighs his defensive liabilities (which was not the case in the 2004 Olympics, when Bryant and Kidd were not on the team and James did not defend nearly as well as he does now). Some quotes from Anthony and Wade give an indication of why they failed to lead the 2004 and 2006 teams to gold medals. Anthony said that he joined the 2004 team expecting to have "some of the best workouts in the summertime with the best players in the world" and he assumed "the USA is supposed to win everything." Wade candidly admitted that being an Olympian had never been a dream of his, adding, "I didn't have a clue what I was getting into...Now, we respect the game so much. We respect the team basketball that they play internationally so much." You don't have to read too far between the lines to understand that in 2004 Anthony and Wade underestimated the competition that they faced and did not realize how much hard work and intensity would be necessary to win the gold medal. Now, they know better and the team has a much better leadership structure--with Bryant and Kidd on board no one will be taking any shortcuts in practice or at the defensive end of the court (well, Anthony probably will still take some shortcuts there but the team can survive that as long as he keeps shooting over .600 from the field). The prevailing myth about Team USA's failure to win gold medals in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, the 2004 Olympics and the 2006 FIBA World Championship is that a lack of outside shooters proved to be fatal. However, as I demonstrated in a September 4, 2007 post titled The Real Story Behind Team USA's Losses in Previous FIBA Events, what really killed those teams was poor defense, particularly regarding the short three point shot (20'6" as opposed to 23'9" in the NBA) that FIBA teams love to launch. It is absolutely vital that Team USA shut down the three point shooters on opposing teams and that they do so without leaving the lane open to cutters; shooting well from the three point line would certainly be a nice bonus but perimeter defense will be the linchpin of Team USA's success. Good perimeter defense will fuel transition offense that will result in open three pointers and fast break dunks; the gaudy field goal percentage posted by Team USA in 2007 was largely the result of great defense leading to high percentage scoring opportunities in transition. OTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK FInal AL All-Star Game Voting Update has Tight Races - The Biz of Baseball DC and Virginia Lotteries Team with Nationals For Scratch-It - The Biz of Baseball Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey 15,000 General Admission Tickets for London NFL Game Sell Out in 30 min. - The Biz of Football Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports David Friedman is a weekly contributor to the Business of Sports Network. To read more of his basketball articles, just take a 20 Second Timeout. His general sports commentary can be found at Best Ever Sports Talk, where "Smokin' Joe Frazier Fires Off One Liners in Guest Appearance on Friday Night Fights," "Old School Video: Hagler Versus Hearns, The War," "Why Steroid Users Should be Banned for Life" and "Tiger's High Stakes Gamble Pays Off—For Now" are among the subjects that have been recently discussed. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:55:17 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284084 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284084 The 15,000 tickets made available in the second general admission sale for the NFL's overseas regular-season game on October 26 at Wembley Stadium in London, England sold Friday in 30 minutes.  Last month, the first 40,000 tickets for the game between the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints sold out in 90 minutes. "Once again this demonstrates the huge interest in the sport in the UK," said Alistair Kirkwood, managing director of the NFL's UK office.  "Fans here are excited to be able to see two teams of this caliber playing in the UK, and with a full Wembley Stadium, we expect the atmosphere to be electric when the Saints and Chargers take the field."  The NFL has committed to playing at least one game in the UK for each of the next three seasons, beginning with this year's matchup of teams who have each come within one game of reaching the Super Bowl in the past two seasons. The New York Giants and Miami Dolphins played the NFL's first regular-season game outside North America last year, when a sellout crowd of 81,176 packed Wembley Stadium on Sunday, October 28.  The Giants earned a 13-10 win en route to capturing a Super Bowl title.Source: National Football LeagueOTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK FInal AL All-Star Game Voting Update has Tight Races - The Biz of Baseball DC and Virginia Lotteries Team with Nationals For Scratch-It - The Biz of Baseball Aw, Tapioca! Kozy Shack the Official Pudding of the Mets - The Biz of Baseball MLB.com Releases 3-D Enhancements to Gameday - The Biz of Baseball Take in an Orioles Game, Win $50,000 or $100,000 - The Biz of Baseball SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey Minnesota Timberwolves Unveil New Updated Logos - The Biz of Basketball Record Sales of Merchandise Set for 2008 NBA FInals - The Biz of Basketball History Made: First D-League Player Drafted by the NBA: Mike Taylor, Idaho Stampede - The Biz of Basketball The 2008 Playoffs: Where the Revival of the NBA's Two Flagship Franchises Happened - The Biz of Basketball Olympic Free Agents? - The Biz of Basketball TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:48:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284007 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/284007 A little bit of history happened tonight at the NBA Draft when you weren't lookinmg...Idaho Stampede guard Mike Taylor was selected with the 55th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers becoming the first player from the NBA Development League to be drafted by an NBA team. A member of the 2008 NBA D-League Champion Stampede, Taylor was then traded to the Los Angeles Clippers for a future second round draft pick. "Everyone at the NBA D-League joins me in congratulating Mike on his history-making achievement," said Dan Reed, NBA D-League President. "Mike is a shining example of the NBA D-League's core mission – to develop top prospects into NBA players." In 39 games for the Stampede this past season, Taylor averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists primarily as the team's sixth man, scoring 20 or more points on 11 occasions, including during the deciding Game 3 of the NBA D-League Finals presented by Delta. During that game, Taylor connected on four three-pointers in a three-minute span in the fourth quarter to solidify the Stampede's first NBA D-League Championship. "Mike brings a tremendous amount of ability and quickness to the NBA," said Idaho Stampede head coach Bryan Gates. "He really is a spark of energy and a breath of fresh air whenever he enters a game."Source: NBA D-LeagueOTHER NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK SEE IT: Red Sox/AAA Ford Fusions to Run Sat. and Sun. at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - The Biz of Baseball Deadline Pushed Back to July 31st for Cubs/Wrigley Field Sale - The Biz of Baseball Dunkin?' Donuts Promo Features Joba Chamberlain and Jonathan Papelbon - The Biz of Baseball Astros GM Ed Wade Attacked by Pitcher Shawn Chacon - The Biz of Baseball Dodgers Surpass 3 Million Tickets Sold for 2008 - The Biz of Baseball Ducks owner Henry Samueli Suspended by NHL - The Biz of Hockey NHL 2K9, First Officially Licensed Game by NHL and NHLPA for Wii, Coming this Fall - The Biz of Hockey Dion Phaneuf Selected for Cover of EA Sports "NHL 09" - The Biz of Hockey NBC Reports 6.8 Million Viewers for Game 6. Up 111% from 2006 - The Biz of Hockey Papa Replaces Gumbel as NFL Network's Play-by-Play Announcer - The Biz of Football NFL Network May Partner Up With ESPN - The Biz of Football NFL Players Help Hometown Tornado Victims - The Biz of Football Recently Retired Strahan Joins Fox NFL Pregame Show - The Biz of Football Anheuser-Busch to Sponsor New Meadowlands Stadium - The Biz of Football Big Ten Network Nearing First Major Cable Deal with Comcast - The Biz of Football TNT Lands Full Slate of Sponsors For "Wide Open Coverage" Telecasts - Maury Brown's Biz of Sports Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network. Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:31:07 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283307 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/283307