Category Archives: Sports

A Case for Birdy

01 Monday Sep 2008

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Apparently the W is now allowing fans to vote for MVP. Those daily votes would account for 25% of the total tally. Since when had the MVP award been turned into a popularity contest? We have the frikkin’ ASG for that, people.

I shudder to think that the award this year would go to a SpOrk (CP3 or LLL — I don’t care, I don’t like ’em both). Our previous candidate (pre-Olympics) had been reigning MVP Lauren Jackson, who actually had awesome numbers before we all took a break and focused on Beijing. But LJ decided to have surgery on her ankle and that made her unable to complete the regular season.

Right now, the bulk of the Storm’s scoring is being shouldered by (IMHO) the best point guard in the league. Birdy’s been scoring huge in the last few games (especially the Post-Olympic ones a.k.a. the LJ-less games). Sue sure is stepping up and bringing it big time (22++ points in the last three games, I think) and her leadership is still improving each and every game. I just hope she sustains the hot shooting for the remaining contests.

I know, I know, the CT Sun’s Lindsay Whalen is pretty impressive (too bad she’s injured) and is a frontrunner in the MVP race given that LJ is nowhere on the floor, and SASS’s Becky Hammon is also deserving of the award, and oh a host of other players that I’m too lazy to mention now, but Sue Bird actually deserves to be considered too. And not just because she’s popular or whatever. Because she’s carrying her team just like how an MVP should be.

Yeah, You Got the Gold

25 Monday Aug 2008

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BEIJING – AUGUST 23: Sue Bird #6 of the U.S. Women’s Senior National Team poses for a portrait after winning the gold medal against Australia at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on Day 15 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 23, 2008 in Beijing, China. USA defeated Australia 92-65.

Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

BEIJING – AUGUST 23: Diana Taurasi #12 and Sue Bird #6 of the U.S. Women’s Senior National Team pose for a portrait after winning the gold medal against Australia at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Gymnasium on Day 15 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 23, 2008 in Beijing, China. USA defeated Australia 92-65.

Copyright 2008 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

US Women Get Gold

24 Sunday Aug 2008

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See the hardest thing (for me) about the recent OGs is picking who to root for. The Opals or the US? A host of current and former Storm players and a coach are involved. It’s really cool to see Birdy and AD rejoice over the US women’s 92-65 victory over the Australian Opals but it’s really really hard to see the disappointment painted on Lauren Jackson, Tully Bevilaqua, and Suzy Batkovic’s faces.

But in the end, one team has got to emerge on top. And it was the US, who got their fourth straight gold.

BTW, so LJ’s gonna have ankle surgery after the Games. What on earth is gonna happen to my Storm huh?

Hope Solo

22 Friday Aug 2008

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One of the monster storylines in Day 13 of the Beijing Olympics is Hope Solo with her fantastic saves during the Gold Medal game versus Brazil. This was eleven months after she was banished from the bronze medal game in the most recent World Cup. The whole thing could be summarized as Solo being critical of then-Coach Greg Ryan for not playing her and for choosing Athens starting goalkeeper Brianna Scurry instead. I read somewhere that it was because Solo was weak in her reflex saves against a powerful team like Brazil. During the gold medal match, she kept the US in the game for the first 85 minutes, making at least six key saves. In the 72nd, Solo threw up her right arm to stop a close-range bullet shot from Brazilian striker Marta that really looked like it was coming through. Hope also punched Marta’s corner shot away in the final minutes of extra time. Reflex saves, anyone?

Solo celebrates after winning gold in Beijing

USSoccer Bio | Hope Solo Wiki

Seattle Times Photographer Rod Mar has awesome shots of the game here.

OGs Yet Again

22 Friday Aug 2008

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Some updates about other sports that I (used to) follow:

⇁EBeach Volleyball. Misty May-Treanor and “Six Feet of Sunshine” Kerri Walsh (USA) won their second Olympic gold when they conquered the wretched Chinese weather and oh, of course, the Chinese beach volleyball duo in straight sets. May-Treanor and Walsh now have a 108-match-win-streak going. They beat out their opponents both in Athens and Beijing without ever losing a set.

⇁ESoftball: Team USA loses bid for fourth straight Gold Medal. To Japan. Cat Osterman and company got beaten by  Japan’s resilient right-hander Yukiko Ueno and lost for the first time since 2000. That means they broke their 22-game winning streak. Gosh.

⇁ESoccer: US women gold medal winners again. Lacking most (most? well, Mia Hamm wasn’t there anymore, I’m not sure who among the Fab Five are still in the team, and awesome striker Abby Wambach wasn’t there because of some injury) of the previous high-powered members and looking very disoriented most of the game, the US women made a shot when it mattered and still emerged victorious. Carli Lloyd scored the only goal of the game in the sixth minute of overtime, Hope Solo (who was banished from the bronze medal game in the recent World Cup for criticizing their then-coach for not playing her against Brazil) bailed out her teammates over and over, and the US beat Brazil 1-0 to snag the gold medal in women’s soccer for a third time in four Olympics. The bronze medal, OTOH, went to World Champions Germany after beating Japan 2-0.

⇁EVolleyball.

[Game 1] USA (woohoo Logan Tom woohoo!) beat Cuba 3 sets to none. Whoa. I haven’t been reading up and getting updated about the volleyball scene for years so it came to me as a surprise. The last time I was so into volleyball was the very early 2000’s (I know, eons, man, eons!). It was when Yumilka Ruiz and whoever was with her were making their opponents quake in their shoes. Oh, and Russia too, I used to be really amazed with Sokolova and Gamova but where the heck are they now? They’re not in the semis! Meeeh.

[Game 2] Brazil beat out home team China to advance to the gold medal round. I actually caught snippets of this game while waiting for the Opals-China basketball semis. Still frikkin’ awesome, those Brazilians are. I still like the look of the team even if the only players I now recognize are Fofao and Walewska Oliveira. Hmmn.

GOLD MEDAL GAME: US vs. BRAZIL.

MY TAKE: I’m picking Brazil, just because I was so fond of them during the Leila Barros — Virna Diaz era.

⇒　Basketball. GOLD MEDAL GAME US vs. OPALS. WOOHOO! Frikkin’ awesome, man.

⇒　Basketball: US vs. RUSSIA. The Americans won over the Russians 67-52 on the strength of Diana Taurasi’s 21 points. Initially, the US women had trouble containing Maria Stepanova and were actually trailing by the end of the first quarter. Despite playing very sloppy basketball, they pulled through though, all thanks for contributions from Taurasi, Tina Thompson, *ulk* Lisa Leslie (although she did account for most of the turnovers hah!), and Tamika Catchings’ 8 boards and customary awesome defense. Birdy didn’t have any points but she grabbed 4 boards (1 offensive), had 2 dishes, and 3 swipes. Woo Birdy! [Stats]

Top Players:

RUS: Stepanova (14pts), Korstin (8rbs), Stepanova (1ast)

USA: Taurasi (21pts), Fowles (10rbs), Smith (3ast)

⇁EBasketball: Australia vs. China. The Opals were just too good for the Chinese. Injured vice-captain Penny Taylor (sprained ankle) still played through the semi-final game even if there was really no need. The Opals scored 90 to China’s 56 despite the deafening home crowd. Belinda Snell led the Opals with 16, followed by Kristi Harrower with 14, while captain Lauren Jackson had 11, and Suzy Batkovic and Laura Summerton both chipped in 10. [Stats]

Top Players:

CHN: Bian (20pts), Sui (7rbs), Bian (2ast)

AUS: Snell (16pts), Batkovic (13rbs), Harrower (4ast)

FIBA Live Stats

The next game is on SUNDAY. I still haven’t decided which team to root for hahaha. But at least it’s US vs. OPALS in the finals.

Beijing 2008 : WBB Semifinals

20 Wednesday Aug 2008

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So the stage is set — for the semis, at least. Barring any surprises from the Russians and Chinese, this could be very well my dream US — Opals Gold Medal Match-up.

The following are the results of the quarter finals:

Quarterfinal game 1 Final
NATION SCORE
Belarus 62
China 77
Box Score
Quarterfinal game 2Final
NATION SCORE
Czech Republic 46
Australia 79
Box Score
Quarterfinal game 3 Final
NATION SCORE
Spain 65
Russia 84
Box Score
Quarterfinal game 4 Final
NATION SCORE
South Korea 60
United States 104
Box Score

According to the results, the semifinal pairings will be:

United States vs. Russia
Australia vs. China

⇁EThe U.S. team is very deep in talent and well, barring any phenomenon where EVERYONE on the team would have an off-night (*crosses fingers*), they would easily take this game. But let’s not count the Russians out just yet. They may have bowed down to the US women during the Diamond Ball Tournament but they could turn things around — remember the recent World Championship Semi-Final Game where they absolutely owned Sue Bird and Company? Uh-huh, that game. Please don’t let that happen again, please?

⇒　I haven’t watched any game (boohoohoohoo) but I’ve been reading and hearing nice stuff about Sylvia Fowles. Wow. Monster stats and monster games. She’s even more effective down there than Lisa Leslie.

⇒　I just read earlier today that Penny Taylor, the Opals’ three-point specialist, sprained her ankle and she has no chance in hell to play in the semis. I said before that the Opals are rocking but wait-a-minute-now I’m not so sure they can beat the US WITHOUT PENNY FRIKKIN’ TAYLOR.

⇒　Non-OG’s update but still somewhat related. Opals Captain (and Seattle Storm star) Lauren Jackson will have surgery on her right ankle after the Olympics and will not finish the season. OMFG, what’s gonna happen to the Storm?! Waaaaaah! LJ contributes a very big bulk of the scoring for Seattle. I’m not so sure who will be able to fill that gap. Sue? Can you? Ugh. Damn injuries. After the OG’s we’re gonna have 5 (is it 5?) road games and almost, if not all, of those are against teams with playoff dreams. So good luck Stormies.

⇒　I still haven’t decided who to root for in case the Opals and US actually make it to the finals.

Elena Delle Donne

20 Wednesday Aug 2008

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Elena Delle Donne is not going to UConn after all or will be playing college basketball this year. Last Saturday, EDD announced she would not take up the UConn scholarship due to personal reasons. In a statement released Monday afternoon, Delle Donne, the Naismith National Girls High School Basketball Player of the Year, said she decided not to attend UConn because she didn’t feel equal to the challenge.

Delle Donne was rated by Scout.com as the number 1 college recruit this year. She was supposed to be a great piece for UConn’s push for a 6th National Championship.

Last news I read, she is enrolling at Delaware and will play college volleyball as a walk-on.

The Rethinkbball Site has summarized various articles and comments about this topic.

Olympic WBB Update

18 Monday Aug 2008

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No, I haven’t watched any game coz I can’t find no frikkin’ coverage in my part of the planet. Booo! Tried CCTV yesterday but they only showed the China vs Germany Men’s Game. What was I thinking — of course they’re gonna show it, CCTV is a Chinese channel after all. Drat.

Anyone has an idea how I can watch a game? I’m pulling for a US-Australia Gold Medal Game (*crosses fingers*). Kinda excited coz the Opals rock and I totally wanna see the LJ-LL smackdown haha. And oh, of course, Sue at the helm and Taurasi too, and fine, (sige na nga) Candace Parker. I still haven’t decided which team to root for.

Anyhoo, the current standings are the following:

Group A Wins Losses Pts
Australia 5 0 10
Russia 4 1 9
South Korea 2 3 7
Belarus 2 3 7
Brazil 1 4 6
Latvia 1 4 6

The undefeated World Champion Opals (go Opals!) are leading Group A after they beat a strong contender in Russia (with Becky Hammon and Maria Stepanova and Svetlana Abrosimova) 75-55.

Australia, Russia, South Korea, and Belarus (I think … or is it Brazil — not sure) will enter the quarterfinals.

Group B Wins Losses Pts
United States of America 5 0 10
China 4 1 9
Spain 3 2 8
Czech Republic 2 3 7
New Zealand 1 4 6
Mali 0 5 5

The US Women top Group B and will enter the quarterfinals undefeated as well. In their last preliminary, they defeated New Zealand 96-60, causing the Tall Ferns to be eliminated from the next stage of the competition. Sue Bird and Company will face South Korea in the QuarterFinals.

Road to the Quarter-Finals

【Australian Defence Force Opals、E

Aug 08 : Australia 83 — 64 Belarus
Aug 11 : Australia 80 — 65 Brazil
Aug 13 : Australia 90 — 62 South Korea
Aug 14 : Australia 96 — 73 Latvia
Aug 16 : Australia 75 — 55 Russia

【US WNT、E

Aug 09 : USA 97 — 57 Czech Republic
Aug 11 : USA 108 — 63 China
Aug 13 : USA 97 — 41 Mali
Aug 14 : USA 93 — 55 Spain
Aug 17 : USA 96 — 60 New Zealand

Photo Source: Getty Images / Yahoo! Sports

FIBA Diamond Ball Conclusion

06 Wednesday Aug 2008

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The US women beat reigning FIBA World Champions Australia 71-67 Tuesday night to get the top spot in the FIBA Diamond Ball for Women. The hard-fought contest seemed like a good preview for the game that would really matter — the August 23 gold medal clash. That’s the date that most people expect these two teams to meet anyway, although Russia or China or maybe Brazil might have something to say to that.

Penny Taylor (Phoenix Mercury) led the way for the Australian Defence Force Opals with 19 points and Lauren Jackson (Seattle Storm) had 16 and 8 boards.

Lisa Leslie (LA SpOrks) had 14 and 10 for the US women and point guard Sue Bird (Seattle Storm) contributed 11 on five-of-six shooting (WTG Birdy!). Candace Parker (LA SpOrks) also had a great showing with 12 buckets.

Tournament MVP: Lauren Jackson (AUS)

All-Tournament Team:
Lauren Jackson (AUS)
Sue Bird (US)
Diana Taurasi (US)
Candace Parker (US)
Sui Feifei (CHN)

Diamond Ball Finals

05 Tuesday Aug 2008

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Sue BirdThe finals of the Diamond Ball Tournament (a friendly tune-up before heading into the Olympics) will feature the highly anticipated match-up between super-powers US and Australia after both squads went 2-0 in their respective groups. The tourney also featured 2006 WC silver medalist Russia (ya know, that squad that knocked Sue and company out of the WC gold medal match back then?) and emerging China.

The Australian Opals, led by captain Lauren Jackson (Seattle Storm) won over China (84-70) and Mali (112-43) to get to the finals. LJ posted some very nice numbers (which is not that much of a surpise, BTW). Suzy Batkovic and Penny Taylor, among others, added the necessary supporting firepower.

The US Women, on the other hand, had to face Latvia and emerged victorious through balanced scoring (84-74). And then they had to face Russia (ya know, that squad that knocked Sue and company out of the WC gold medal match back then? Yes, that Russia). It was the first match-up for point guard Becky Hammon (San Antonio Silver Stars) against her home country. The US won 93-58 in that suprisingly lopsided game.