The Red Scare and the Roads to Redemption

Red Scare

Last night marked the close of a spectacular Olympic Games. The competition saw the United States dominate in the pool, in large part thanks to Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin, the US showed guts in gymnastics against 14-year-old Chinese girls, and they crushed team sports in anything that required no more synchronization than volleyball. With China footing a bill totally more than $40 billion, the venues, opening and closing ceremonies, and Chinese athletic performances all met and exceeded expectations.

The world view seems to be that the gold medal count is all that matters, while the American view, in this case a self-serving one, is that overall medal count carries the day. My solution is to weight the medals to determine the most dominant Olympic nation. Gold would count three points, silver two, and bronze medals one. The Chinese won 51 gold medals, 21 silver, and 28 bronze for a total of 100 medals. The United States won 36 gold medals, 38 silver, and 36 bronze medals. Under my weighted point system China edged the United States in the medals by a count of 223 medal points for China to 220 medal points for the United States. While some might find weakness or fault adopting my point scheme, or the view of gold medal count carrying the day, the United States still made a proud showing in my opinion. The Chinese demonstrated they are willing to put virtually unlimited resources into Olympic athletics while having one fifth of the world's population to select athletes from. Whether the "Red Scare" of Chinese dominance arrived this year, or whether four years from now the Chinese will surge to the outright medal count, the United States has plenty of achievements to savor from Beijing.

Roads to Redemption

There were at least two fantastic American Tales of redemption that unfolded this August. First, there was Michael F. Phelps. There may never have been greater expectations for an athlete than to think that they could achieve 8 gold medals in a single Olympics. To perform under that kind of pressure is almost unthinkable and people may easily forget that Phelps has now had to endure it twice.

In 2004, it was speculated that Michael Phelps could possibly achieve 8 gold medals in Athens, but he came away with 6 gold and 2 bronze. That 6 gold medals could be a disappointment is truly a tribute to the awesomeness of Spitz's record, but it made Phelp's performance this year all the more miraculous. This year in the "Water Cube" Phelps was on a record breaking tear, but the two most incredible races had little to do with world record speeds and everything to do with out-touching opponents by hundredths of a second.

In just Phelp's second final of the Olympics, the men's 4x100 relay, Phelp's hopes for 8 golds were almost shattered as Alain Bernard held a substantial lead after the turn into the last 50-meters, but Jason Lezak anchored the fastest 100-meter split in history and edged the French by .08 of a second. At the time I thought the comeback was even more amazing than two Americans tying for the gold medal in the Sydney Olympic's 50-meter freestyle, but that was before I saw Phelps race the 100-meter butterfly.

Phelps may be the greatest swimmer ever, but he is not the greatest sprinter, which makes the 100-meter butterfly a risky race for him. In the Olympic final, Phelps trailed out of the flip turn with only 50-meters left to make up ground. While Serbia's Milorad Čavić tried to coast to gold off of his last stroke, Michael Phelps took an extra half stroke that stung the wall less than .01 of a second before Čavić and shocked the entire aquatic center. Phelps' mom was in disbelief as she held up two fingers anticipating a second place finish for her son, the Serbians were outraged even after video review to the 1/10,000 demonstrated that Phelps in fact touched first, and the United States rejoiced as the win matched Spitz's 7 gold medals and paved the road to 8.



Now a heated debated rages as to whether Phelps is the greatest Olympian ever, which is such a complicated mess that I recommend taking the easy way out and say that quantitatively, by medals in a single Olympics, Phelps is the greatest Olympian beyond any contestation. For everyone that was convinced that Spitz's record of 7 gold medals in a single Olympics would ever be matched, let alone surpassed, and for anyone that doubted Phelps had the heart to achieve 8 gold medals after the 2004 failure, may Michael Phelps forever be redeemed in your eyes.

Then there was the squad so in need of a gold medal to silence its critics that the US Men's National Basketball team was known as the "Redeem Team" this year. These high expectations were started when in the 1992 Olympics the United States decided it was time to send professional players from the NBA. This decision was spurred on by the hugely controversial loss to the Soviets in 1972 and another close loss to the same opponent in 1988. The US defended its basketball honor in Barcelona with the most talented group of players ever to play on a single team. Jordan, Bird, Magic, Sir Charles, Pippen, Clyde the Glide, The Admiral David Robinson, Ewing Senior, the Mailman Karl Malone, Stockton, Mullin, and Laettner. The team won by an average of nearly 44 points a game and coach Daly never once took a time out.

The US teams continued to be called the "Dream Team" in subsequent Olympics and World Championships, but the aura of invincibility faded until the United States suffered an embarrassing loss in the 2002 World Championships that resulted in players fearing embarrassment in Athens which led to an underpowered Olympic effort and a bronze medal in 2004. The bottom line is that after nations around the globe watched the 1992 Dream Team in awe, there youth decided to play basketball and just one generation later national teams that had been playing together for years were ready to compete with the US. Putting together a quadrennial all-star team was simply not good enough to compete anymore. Thus, the United States made players buy in for a three year commitment to playing summers together and staked their claim for a return to dominance in Beijing.

As the "Redeem Team" took the floor, the large margins of victory of the 1990's returned and the high flying acts of King James, Kobe, Dwayne Wade, and Mello awed crowds. Paul, Kidd, Bosh, and the rest of the team played solidly in support. Anyone who did not watch the final game against Spain may think this team almost folded when the lead was cut to two points late in the game, but the truth is that it was one of the ugliest basketball games I have ever seen and yet the United States never relinquished control as it willed its way to victory. Early in the game officials blew the whistles constantly, destroying defensive continuity, inflating the score, and wreaking havoc on lineups with only 5 fouls to give per player. Then in the second half the whistles stopped and the Spanish physicality set in. With the ridiculous moving screens, which are really just elbows to the back of the head, and with Marc Gasol just clearing the lane by shoving people from the paint and knocking Bosh to the floor, the Spanish got back in the game. When Kobe converted a four-point play and put his finger to his lips to taunt silence, I would have usually, under normal circumstances, been annoyed by his gall, but the way the Spaniards aggressively attacked the US in the second half of that game, Kobe was completely vindicated.

This team not only won, they did it with class and style. They stepped atop the podium together, they all lent their medals to Coach K for a photo op, and they had the twelve brightest smiles I have ever seen from grown men. They were not the "Dream Team" as these players were still doubted by critics everywhere, they overcame adversity and doubt and they showed that even today's finest NBA players can fit into a team concept. The were the "Redeem Team", and they represented this great nation proudly.

Whining Is Not An Olympic Sport

I have loved the Summer Olympic Games my entire life.  I can still remember watching Greg Louganis win gold twice in 1988 when I was just five years old. I remember the dominance of the Dream Team in Barcelona, as the US put forth as dominant a performance as the world has ever seen with the greatest collection of basketball players ever to grace a single team. In 1996, I was 13 and had a serious crush on the entire US women's gymnastic team, particularly the two Dominiques, as they gutted out victory. Four years later, I watched the the swimming competitions that were the trademark of the Sydney games. Australian Ian Thorpe dominated with his size 17 feet and American Amy Van Dyken showed longevity by following up four gold medals in Atlanta with two more in Sydney. However, the ultimate highlight came when Americans Gary Hall Jr. and Anthony Ervin tied for Gold in the Men's 50 freestyle, a race where the entire final field competes down to the tenths of a second. In 2004, while track and field bogged down in the midst of the ever present BALCO/performance enhancing drug freak out, my Olympic experience was saved by my discovery of the fairly new competition of women's beach volleyball. Not only were there beautiful athletes competing in bikinis, but the American teams of Kerri Walsh and Misty May and Holly McPeak and Elaine Youngs kicked ass bringing home gold and bronze medals respectively. With so much drama, courage, international intrigue, and even plenty of sex appeal who would not look forward to this quadrennial event?

The answer appears to be that plenty of people are ready to rant, rave, and bitch about the Olympics. China has spared no efforts in preparing for a fantastic summer spectacle. The venues are incredible. With the "Water Cube" hosting indoor aquatics, and the "Bird's Nest" hosting ceremonies and track and field, China has constructed the greatest competitive facilities since the Roman's built the Colosseum. But negative press has plagued these games for years now with concerns of security, food safety, and pollution. Food safety! Really people, we have even had the Olympics in London before and the competition was not ruined by food issues then.

Then there are the boycotts over human rights issues in China. Are there complex, compelling, and important issues at work with situations such as the Chinese occupation of Tibet? Absolutely. Is China's Olympic coming out party the proper forum for the world nations to speak out? Absolutely not. Attacking young women with fire extinguishers to show support for Tibet is as bogus as calling the Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake Super Bowl performance a wardrobe malfunction. The Olympics are an opportunity to embrace the joining of nations in peaceful competition and the boycotts of the past and present are pissing wars that deprive worthy athletes of the opportunity to compete. Chose other channels to conduct diplomatic efforts and let China have its moment in the sun.

Finally, I am sick of the sports writers who whine about the Olympics. I am a frequent viewer of ESPN programming including their talk show circuit, and I am appalled to hear several sport writers, who are heading to Olympics, bemoan their journey to China and the games themselves. These writers have an amazing cultural opportunity to spend time in the orient while simultaneously watching the most massive spectacle in all of sports. Stop all the bitching. Whining is not an Olympic sport and journalists should show some dignity and perform their jobs with at least as much professionalism as the 16-year-olds on the gymnastics team.

The Olympics have been a measuring stick for my life. I have snap shots in my mind of what I was doing every four years in late summer and who I was spending time with to watch the Olympic games. It is a time for nationalism without war and the highest level of athletic achievement. My excitement for this years games cannot be extinguished by the controversy and journalistic uproar. Let the games begin and let's R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.!

Malice in the Palace Part 2

It is less than 24 hours after the worst altercation in WNBA history, and I cannot help but be amazed that history has repeated itself at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit. Back in 2004 the NBA saw a brawl in Detroit that has since harmed the game, but optimistically I anticipate the WNBA will not fall victim to the same fate. Where the NBA suffered the consequences of being called a league of thugs and punks and instigated the David Stern revolution, the WNBA may actually attract publicity that will positively promote the league.

On November 19, 2004, I remember turning on Sports Center and finding to my great shock that there had been a massive melee between the Indiana Pacers, the Detroit Pistons, and the not so gracious fans in attendance at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Ron Artest, at that time a Pacer, fouled the Pistons' Ben Wallace on a layup attempt, which was really the smart basketball move, with Wallace making fewer than 43% of his free throw attempts during the '04-'05 season, but lacked class in a 15 point blowout. Wallace completely went nuts, which surprisingly was met with Artest mocking Wallace with a calm satisfaction as he lay along the scorers table while tempers flared on the court. Reggie Miller, the wily Pacers veteran, expected the worst from Artest and tried to keep him calm and away from trouble as he quickly grabbed the microphone headset off of Artest's head when he pretended to do a radio interview. You cannot fault Reggie for trying, after all Artest is the guy who got a job at Circuit City in Chicago after signing a multi-million dollar deal with the Bulls; he is clearly nuts. Artest's sanity could only last so long.

Pistons fan, John Green, threw the girly softball pitch of his life, drilling Artest in the chest with a cup. Then, as the enraged Artest climbed into the stands, Green played the innocent while the four-eyed dope next to him was going crazy shouting and pointing at Artest. Naturally, Artest decked four-eyes and then Artest got a face full of soda from the fan behind four-eyes. Out of nowhere, Pacer teammate Stephen Jackson was on the spot to deck soda thrower and the brawl was on. Green, the pansy cup tosser and former convicted felon, starts to sucker punch Artest in the back of the head. The stands behind the scorers table swam with flailing arms and sucker punches as peacemaking players and coaches attempted to extract the players from the stands with eventual success.

Upon Artest's return to the court two Pistons fans came onto the court to menace Artest, and as one would expect Artest got in three or four punches on one of them before his fat friend fell on Artest knocking him back. Moments later the fat friend took the most vicious punch of the night from Jermaine O'Neal as he ran in sliding across the court. Next, a police officer threatens Artest with pepper spray while Reggie Miller rushes in pleading to just get Artest off the court. It makes you wonder where this officer was when punk fans where coming on the court to attack players. Eventually the Pacers players made it off the court showered with all the trash Pistons fans could muster with the classiest fan throwing a chair.

That week the suspensions were handed down in a way that completely crippled the Pacers, which at that time was one of the true championship contenders in the league. I was upset at the injustice of rewarding the Pistons and their fans for instigating the deplorable occurrences of that night. The aftermath of the past three and a half years has been even worse. The event sparked a new era of image consciousness on the part of NBA commissioner David Stern. Players have an appearance code to follow that includes business casual dress and no headphones or medallions. Penalties for players, coaches, and owners have been ramped up. The physicality of the league has been greatly reduced as was seen most dramatically with the Heats 2006 Championship behind Dwayne Wades NBA Finals parade to the free throw line averaging over 16 attempts per game. In short the the "Basketbrawl" of 2004 gave the league a black eye that has made the NBA less entertaining to watch.

Jumping forward to July 22, 2008, the Los Angeles Sparks were playing the Detroit Shock in a WNBA regular season game. The Sparks rookie phenom and former Tennessee standout, Candace Parker, was the recipient of several hard fouls down the stretch and tempers rose amongst the players. Then off of an inbound play, the Shock's Plenette Pierson was tangled up with Parker and both players fell to the ground. Pierson then rushed Parker, bumped and straddled her to prevent Parker from getting up, and then was pulled to the ground by Parker.

Next, Pierson's teammate, Deanna Nolan, dove on top of Parker. The benches cleared. Cheryl Ford injured her knee trying to restrain Pierson and she had to be carted off in a wheelchair. Lisa Leslie, Sparks center and one of the all-time greats in women's basketball, confronted Rick Mahorn, former Pistons Bad Boy of the 1980's and also a figure in the 2004 NBA brawl. Mahorn appeared to shove Leslie to the ground, and in retaliation DeLisha Milton-Jones struck Mahorn in the back of the head. While lacking the fan involvement and long lasting drama of its NBA counterpart, this episode of "Malice in the Palace" has likely already drawn as much national media attention for the WNBA as any other event ever.

While the WNBA has long been the punch-line to many a male chauvinist joke, the truth is that these women play basketball at a very high level. The average WNBA player is more fundamentally sound, a better mechanical shooter, and a better team player than the average NBA player. The US Women's Basketball Team that won gold in Atlanta in 1996 was just as impressive as the true Dream Team of the US Men who were so dominant in Barcelona in 1992. The women of that 1996 team founded the WNBA which right off the bat was a league of exceptional talent.

With the emergence of stars like Diana Taurasi and Candace Parker the WNBA has the star power to wow arenas and TV audiences if they only get a chance. Where NBA players fighting gave the perception of thuglike behavior, this WNBA melee shows the world that the women to play with passion, fire, and physicality. I hope that ESPN broadcasts this story like crazy and with no regular season meetings left, if the Sparks and Shock meet in the WNBA finals every game better be broadcast with live national coverage on ABC.