>>>>>>>One word, Hugo: baloncesto! LOL
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Ouch! You like to pour salt on fresh wounds, do you?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I re-watched Argentina - USA first half yesterday. It was a pity that Manu re-injured his ankle in the match, at the moment of his injury the score was 12-4 for USA and less than four minutes remaining in the quarter (he injured at around 3:43-3:39), and the quarter ended 30-11. The match would have been much much closed with Manu in it (of course Argentina having two other starters injured did not help us either :()
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Anyways, congratulations to the redeem team for the Gold they deserved it and I was most impressed with Kobe, not for his play but for his behaviour, He was really very classy thru the Olympics
>>>>>
>>>>>Agreed. I have never been a Kobe fan but no one could have asked for him to conduct himself better than he did in Beijing. The whole team did. Apparently someone got through to them that they were damaging their reputations in international competitions, not only losing but acting boorishly.
>>>>
>>>>They had Chris Bosh, and after playing in Canada, he's taught them all to be more polite. ;)
>>>>
>>>
>>>One thing I really don't get is the eligibility rules that allow athletes to compete for countries they don't live in, as long as they have family ties. The guy who almost beat Michael Phelps in the 100 fly is a Californian. He's lived there his whole life. His parents were born in Serbia before moving to California so he was able to swim for Serbia. A female American basketball player caught a lot of flak for playing for Russia under similar circumstances. And the NBA player Blair Kamin, who is American but has German ancestors, was publicly blasted by his own grandfather (the one who immigrated) for playing for Germany. I have no idea why this is allowed.
>>
>>I know I already replied to this, but I was thinking about it some more, and I just wanted to remind you that Becky Hammon only went to play for Russia because it was her dream to play in the Olympics and the American team snubbed her. She was the runner up for the MVP in the WNBA, but for whatever oddball reason, the people who choose the American players did not choose her. After she announced she would play for Russia to fulfill her dream, the American team suddenly came up with an invite to try out. But the underlying understanding was that she wasn't going to be allowed to make the team. So she ignored them, after which they started calling her a traitor. Stupid nonsense. As she said, her patriotism isn't defined by 94 feet of hardwood.
>>
>
>I am among those who took it as unpatriotic. She is an American. If she didn't make the U.S. team, tough muffins. She should play for Russia (of all countries) instead? Thumbs down from me.

I agree. Especially since each country is only allowed so many contestants and they compete as a representative of their country.