Yardbarker: Sarunas Jasikevicius

LeBron James: "We Have to Be a No Excuse Team"

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:01:17 -0500

The first episode of "Road to Redemption" detailed Team USA's history in FIBA competition since NBA players began participating in 1992: Team USA won Olympic gold medals in 1992, 1996 and 2000 plus a FIBA World Championship in 1994 (Team USA won a bronze medal in the FIBA World Championship in 1998 when college and CBA players replaced NBA players due to the NBA lockout). Since 2000, though, Team USA has experienced a series of failures: a sixth place finish in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics and a bronze medal in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. The current squad--assembled by Managing Director Jerry Colangelo and coached by Mike Krzyzewski--consists of players who made a three year commitment to turn the program around. The initial result--a 10-0 sweep to the gold medal in the FIBA Americas tournament in 2007--was good but that was just a warmup to the main event: the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Two key additions to the team are Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd, the new starting backcourt. Kidd has an undefeated record in FIBA play, including winning a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics, while Bryant--who called himself the "Doberman" after shutting down Lithuanian guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, a longtime Team USA nemesis--has become the team's defensive stopper, something that no one on recent Team USA rosters was willing and/or able to do. Parts two and three of "Road to Redemption" look at Team USA's bonding process on and off the court during the month leading up to the Olympics. Kidd went on a golf outing with young point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams. As they rode in golf carts, Kidd told them, "Whatever I can do to pass on from who I've learned from--Stockton, Magic and Gary (Payton)--that is my duty, to share with you guys. You guys are too talented and I want you guys to be successful." The three point guards joked around as they staged an impromptu closest to the pin contest, with the losers having to do 25 pushups. "Or we can do your age--we can do 50," quipped Williams to Kidd. Kidd, playing in flip flops, put two balls on the green, but Williams landed the closest shot to the pin, so Kidd and Paul had to do the pushups. "J, we'll give you five off--you get a senior discount," Williams said. "I think golf is 10 times harder than basketball--50 times," Williams added afterwards. "I just showed that if you don't practice you will be trash," Paul added with a rueful laugh. Coach Krzyzewski gave each player a notebook that has a picture of the gold medal on the first page. During one practice he gathered all of the players around to watch a video of Marvin Gaye's classic rendition of the national anthem prior to the 1983 NBA All-Star Game, telling the team, "That is going to be our song." "I believe in visualization," Coach Krzyzewski explained later. "Let's put a vision in your mind about being on that gold medal stand and hearing our song." Also, the entire team took a cruise to see the Statue of Liberty. "What we're trying to do is develop a spirit where we're not just saying something, we're showing them something," said Krzyzewski. "And then allowing them to feel something." I agree with Coach Krzyzewski about the importance of visualization and the power of symbols to motivate and inspire people. "This is the first thing a lot of people saw when they came to this country," said Bryant of the Statue of Liberty. "This is where a lot of dreams started for a lot of different people and families. You have a dream in America where you can literally go from the bottom to the top. This is our dream here now, to bring a gold medal back to this country." During one of Team USA's meetings, LeBron James delivered perhaps the clearest and strongest message about what this team's mentality has to be. Echoing a theme that is very familiar to anyone who follows James' Cleveland Cavaliers, he said, "When we go across these waters and we go play, we got to be a 'no excuse' team. What I mean is, it's going to be us against the world and we got to look at it that way. We can't blame the refs, we can't blame the crowd, we can't blame anything else on anybody. We are in a position right now where we control our own destiny. I know I'm guilty of this sometimes: I sit at home and say, 'If I had Dwight Howard on my team or if I had Carlos Boozer on my team or if I had Chris Paul as my point guard I would win an NBA championship.' So what's my excuse now? I got all y'all on this team, so what's my excuse now? Do we all have an excuse? We don't. This is everything that we always dreamed of, of having that guy next to you and winning something. I'm excited and I know you guys are. This is what I've always wanted, playing alongside Carmelo Anthony, playing alongside Jason, playing with Kobe. I don't have no excuse now--none of us." Bryant added, "To me, defense and rebounding wins every time, no matter where you play--you play here, you play on Mars, you play anywhere you want: if you can shut somebody down and rebound the basketball then you're going to win no matter who you are playing against. That's the standard we have to set." MORE NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Biz of Baseball Organizational Report - Houston Astros - The Biz of Baseball Sunday MLB on TBS: Comments from Angels/Yankees Game - The Biz of Baseball Minor Leaguers Being Suspended for PEDs at Record Clip - The Biz of Baseball Mannymania: Dodgers Break Record for Most Tix in 24 Hrs - The Biz of Baseball Report: Harold Reynolds, Hazel Mae Headed to MLB Net - The Biz of Baseball Dodger Stadium to Host Semis and Finals of WBC - The Biz of Baseball Canucks Raise Prices, Retain Season Ticket Holders - The Biz of Hockey Chicago's Wrigley Field to Host Next Outdoor Classic on New Years Day - The Biz of Hockey Jaromir Jagr First Major NHL Player to Crossover to Continental Hockey League - The Biz of Hockey Daivd 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 â€?"Art Monk Highlights 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class," â€?"Number One Stunner: Federer's Record Reign May be Over," â€?"Gossage is Finally a HoFer but the Hall Still Refuses to Properly Honor Buck O'Neil" and â€?"WePlay.com: A Youth Sports Community for Coaches, Parents, Kids and Teams" Â are among the subjects that have been recently discussed.

LeBron James: "We Have to Be a No Excuse Team"

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 07:03:52 -0500

HOT VIDEO - Watch Spain edge Lithuana 91-86 in exciting Olympics basketball semifinal!

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 01:30:19 -0500

Spain needed every bit of the good karma that came from beating Croatia, as Lithuania just couldn't be put away until the final minute. Pau Gasol was again aggressive in finishing at the rim, scoring 19 points en route to a 91-86 Spanish victory.

Jasikevicius Lifts Lithuania Past China 94-68

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:53:13 -0500

Sarunas Jasikevicius was raining treys on Wednesday as the Lithuanian point guard went 5-6 from outside the arc, and led his team past China 94-68. The victory puts Lithuania in the Beijing Olympics semi-finals as they will match up against Spain. Jasikevicius to this observer will always be the one that got away from the [...]

NBA Punchlines: Shaq's marriage on the mend?

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:10:09 -0500

Linus Kleiza criticizes Nuggets' trade of Camby, but he would be glad to take a contract extension from the same organzation. (Rocky Mountain News)

Sarunas Jasikevicius on his time playing playing for the Pacers: "I was pretty much miserable." (Indy Star)

Two words that fans love to hear as they purchase tix or next season: Youth Movement. (Sac Bee)

The Lakers replace Ronnie Turiaf with former clipper, Josh Powell. (OC Register)

The Celtics signed 1st round pick J.R. Giddens to a 2-year contract. (Boston Globe)

Shaq's wife says her marriage with him is on the mend. She is also starting her own video sharing website. (Miami Herald)

Kobe morphs into 'Doberman' from 'Black Mamba'

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:26:34 -0500

Kobe Bryant, the modern day Manimal, recently revealed yet another animal he is able to morph into , The Doberman. Following Team USA's game against Lithuania, Kobe revealed that he was able to lock down the '04 America-killer Sarunas Jasikevicius...

LeBron James: "We Have to Be a No Excuse Team"

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:28:52 -0500

The first episode of "Road to Redemption" detailed Team USA's history in FIBA competition since NBA players began participating in 1992: Team USA won Olympic gold medals in 1992, 1996 and 2000 plus a FIBA World Championship in 1994 (Team USA won a bronze medal in the FIBA World Championship in 1998 when college and CBA players replaced NBA players due to the NBA lockout). Since 2000, though, Team USA has experienced a series of failures: a sixth place finish in the 2002 FIBA World Championship, a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympics and a bronze medal in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. The current squad--assembled by Managing Director Jerry Colangelo and coached by Mike Krzyzewski--consists of players who made a three year commitment to turn the program around. The initial result--a 10-0 sweep to the gold medal in the FIBA Americas tournament in 2007--was good but that was just a warmup to the main event: the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Two key additions to the team are Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd, the new starting backcourt. Kidd has an undefeated record in FIBA play, including winning a gold medal in the 2000 Olympics, while Bryant--who called himself the "Doberman" after shutting down Lithuanian guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, a longtime Team USA nemesis--has become the team's defensive stopper, something that no one on recent Team USA rosters was willing and/or able to do. Parts two and three of "Road to Redemption" look at Team USA's bonding process on and off the court during the month leading up to the Olympics. Kidd went on a golf outing with young point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams. As they rode in golf carts, Kidd told them, "Whatever I can do to pass on from who I've learned from--Stockton, Magic and Gary (Payton)--that is my duty, to share with you guys. You guys are too talented and I want you guys to be successful." The three point guards joked around as they staged an impromptu closest to the pin contest, with the losers having to do 25 pushups. "Or we can do your age--we can do 50," quipped Williams to Kidd. Kidd, playing in flip flops, put two balls on the green, but Williams landed the closest shot to the pin, so Kidd and Paul had to do the pushups. "J, we'll give you five off--you get a senior discount," Williams said. "I think golf is 10 times harder than basketball--50 times," Williams added afterwards. "I just showed that if you don't practice you will be trash," Paul added with a rueful laugh. Coach Krzyzewski gave each player a notebook that has a picture of the gold medal on the first page. During one practice he gathered all of the players around to watch a video of Marvin Gaye's classic rendition of the national anthem prior to the 1983 NBA All-Star Game, telling the team, "That is going to be our song." "I believe in visualization," Coach Krzyzewski explained later. "Let's put a vision in your mind about being on that gold medal stand and hearing our song." Also, the entire team took a cruise to see the Statue of Liberty. "What we're trying to do is develop a spirit where we're not just saying something, we're showing them something," said Krzyzewski. "And then allowing them to feel something." I agree with Coach Krzyzewski about the importance of visualization and the power of symbols to motivate and inspire people. "This is the first thing a lot of people saw when they came to this country," said Bryant of the Statue of Liberty. "This is where a lot of dreams started for a lot of different people and families. You have a dream in America where you can literally go from the bottom to the top. This is our dream here now, to bring a gold medal back to this country." During one of Team USA's meetings, LeBron James delivered perhaps the clearest and strongest message about what this team's mentality has to be. Echoing a theme that is very familiar to anyone who follows James' Cleveland Cavaliers, he said, "When we go across these waters and we go play, we got to be a 'no excuse' team. What I mean is, it's going to be us against the world and we got to look at it that way. We can't blame the refs, we can't blame the crowd, we can't blame anything else on anybody. We are in a position right now where we control our own destiny. I know I'm guilty of this sometimes: I sit at home and say, 'If I had Dwight Howard on my team or if I had Carlos Boozer on my team or if I had Chris Paul as my point guard I would win an NBA championship.' So what's my excuse now? I got all y'all on this team, so what's my excuse now? Do we all have an excuse? We don't. This is everything that we always dreamed of, of having that guy next to you and winning something. I'm excited and I know you guys are. This is what I've always wanted, playing alongside Carmelo Anthony, playing alongside Jason, playing with Kobe. I don't have no excuse now--none of us." Bryant added, "To me, defense and rebounding wins every time, no matter where you play--you play here, you play on Mars, you play anywhere you want: if you can shut somebody down and rebound the basketball then you're going to win no matter who you are playing against. That's the standard we have to set." MORE NEWS ACROSS THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS NETWORK Biz of Baseball Organizational Report - Houston Astros - The Biz of Baseball Sunday MLB on TBS: Comments from Angels/Yankees Game - The Biz of Baseball Minor Leaguers Being Suspended for PEDs at Record Clip - The Biz of Baseball Mannymania: Dodgers Break Record for Most Tix in 24 Hrs - The Biz of Baseball Report: Harold Reynolds, Hazel Mae Headed to MLB Net - The Biz of Baseball Dodger Stadium to Host Semis and Finals of WBC - The Biz of Baseball Canucks Raise Prices, Retain Season Ticket Holders - The Biz of Hockey Chicago's Wrigley Field to Host Next Outdoor Classic on New Years Day - The Biz of Hockey Jaromir Jagr First Major NHL Player to Crossover to Continental Hockey League - The Biz of Hockey Daivd 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 "Art Monk Highlights 2008 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class," "Number One Stunner: Federer's Record Reign May be Over," "Gossage is Finally a HoFer but the Hall Still Refuses to Properly Honor Buck O'Neil" and "WePlay.com: A Youth Sports Community for Coaches, Parents, Kids and Teams" are among the subjects that have been recently discussed.

Americans roll to basketball win over Lithuania

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:07:46 -0500

Kobe Bryant harassed longtime nemesis Sarunas Jasikevicius into a miserable night and helped the U.S. Olympic basketball team roll to a 120-84 exhibition victory over Lithuania on Friday night. Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, Dwight Howard had 17 and LeBron James 15 for the Americans, who raced to a big early lead, then pulled away again after Lithuania got within single digits early in the second half. Bryant finished with 13 points, nine during the big U.S. first quarter. The Americans, who shot 64 percent, swept two games here and leave Saturday for Shanghai, where they will play European champion Russia and Australia. Michael Redd finished with 16 points and Carmelo Anthony added 11 in a rematch of the bronze-medal game from four years ago. Jasikevicius was just 2-of-8 from the field for nine points, with three turnovers. Rimantas Kaukenas led Lithuania with 17 points. The United States needed a quarter to warm up in its first two games, but was sharp right from the start this time. Howard had three consecutive baskets, James dunked twice, and the Americans were already up by double digits barely 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Minutes later, Bryant had two jumpers and a 3-pointer in a quick flurry that made it 24-5. Howard had 10 points and Bryant nine in the first 10 minutes, with the Americans opening a 31-15 lead. Lithuania kept the deficit in the teens from there, then opened the second half with a flurry of 3-pointers to make it a game. Jasikevicius had a rare open look and hit the final one to cut the U.S. lead to 61-52 with 7:10 remaining in the third quarter, but the Americans immediately blew it open again. Anthony, Howard and James combined for the next 12 U.S. points, everything coming from inside, to make it 73-55, and Lithuania was never close again. Wade took over at the end of the period and early in the fourth, bringing the fans to their feet with a double-pump dunk on an alley-oop pass from Chris Paul. Wade was 7-of-9 from the floor and Paul had seven assists. Every U.S. player scored. The teams split two meetings in the 2004 Olympics, with the United States winning the second one to claim the bronze medal. Jasikevicius scored 28 points, hitting seven 3-pointers, in Lithuania's 94-90 victory in pool play. He nearly led Lithuania to a stunning victory four years earlier in Sydney, missing a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of a semifinal game as the Americans held on for an 85-83 win. Taking the challenge of defending the opponents' best player, as he frequently did last summer in the Olympic qualifier, Bryant never gave Jasikevicius a chance to get going. The former Indiana and Golden State point guard found little room to dribble or shoot when Bryant was near him. He missed both shots and had a turnover in the first quarter and was still frustrated long after Bryant had checked out for good, screaming at the referee after throwing up an air ball on a 3 with about 4 1/2 minutes left. Lithuania plays Turkey here Saturday and opens the Olympics against defending gold medalist Argentina on Aug. 10. More Articles in Sports » Get customized industry news. Automatically. Learn how.

TOP 12 REASONS WHY THE US MENS BASKETBALL TEAM WON'T WIN GOLD

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 23:02:46 -0500

by DMtShooter, Five Tool Tool

12. Critical error of selecting four point guards and just three big men causes complete collapse of morale

11. Kobe's teammates just aren't talented enough

10. Refs in the medal round are from Iraq, Iran and North Korea

9. There's no way that Jason Kidd can defend Angola's Milton Barros one on one

8. Presence of Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski means that most of America will actually be rooting against the team

7. American NBA players curl into the fetal position when confonted with the horrors of zone defense

6. LeBron James and Jay-Z will be distracted by a rap battle with Sarunas Jasikevicius and Mister Sinister

5. Three point and free throw shooting always goes to hell when players have to shoot in metric

4. Can't hope to compete with Spain and Argentine's incredible "Fall Down And Cry Like A Little Girl For A Call" technique

3. USA Select team (Aaron Brooks, Channing Frye, Jeff Green, Devin Harris, Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson, Jason Kapono, David Lee and JJ Redick) left their confidence shaken in warm-ups

2. Brutal every-other-day schedule will destroy NBA players who are used to their playoffs lasting six months

1. If things start going badly for the home team, they've got a very impressive bench

Heal The World: One Jasikveicius At A Time

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:06:59 -0500

Many international players are falling out of love with the NBA, it's time to help these talented players succeed, for the love of Michael!

So long Sarunas (yes-a-cabbage-is leaving).

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 04:56:47 -0500

Well, no more fumbling around with the name. The our Lithuanian brother is leaving the building in Oakland. I wanted it to work out, but it never materialize. Stews, slaw, stuffed. Blah. It all smells a bit off to me and it has been known to cause flatulence in some.

Fiddlin' and Diddlin' on 9/14

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:33:53 -0500

Links and commentary on all of the day's top stories involving the Celtics.

Analyzing the PG Situation

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:21:20 -0500

Here is a thorough analysis of the PG situation for the Celtics including the current players and possibilities for the addition of a back up.

Beard control. Enter Austin Croshere.

Sat, 04 Aug 2007 02:11:32 -0500

Well, the Warriors have added a solid bench piece that knows how to use his big frame to control other players. Particular those on his own squad that may be getting a little "feisty". He's very familiar with much of the current roster, including Harrington, Jackson and "The Cabbage" teammates while in Indiana. He even has ties to Mr.Dizzle, whom he played High School ball with in Santa Monica.

Monster Trade Between Warriors and Pacers

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 18:44:11 -0500

According to Marc Stein, The Warriors and Pacers are soon to announce an 8 player trade. Going to the Warriors will be Al Harrington, Steven Jackson, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Josh Powell. Going to Indiana, Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy, Ike Diogu and Keith McLeod. What an awful trade for the Pacers. They are getting two of the worst contracts in the league in Murphy and Dunleavy (the original poison pill, and widely regarded to be the worst contract in the NBA). Diogu is an excellent prospect, but is a bit undersized and didn't fit into the Warriors plans. The Warriors are getting the two best players in the trade, Harrington and Jackson, and the Pacers are getting back big dollars with little talent.