Dwyane Wade is blogging, sort of

June 30th, 2008 | Posted by PostmanE

Busy day, and so my own blogging has taken a bit of a hit (until later tonight when I finally get caught up, that is), but this is too interesting to pass up: Dwyane Wade has filed his first blog post for the Chicago Sun-Times. Of course, it is the Sun-Times, which means it’s called a “diary” and not a blog — just like Jay Mariotti’s midday missives are “mini-columns” — but it is what it is. There’s nothing particularly interesting, though I do wish I could be a fly on the wall during press-related stuff like this:

We have a lot of fun together on the court, but we also have fun together off the court. Friday night we all got together off the court. Myself, LeBron, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer all had a chance to get away from basketball at a club and really chill. We’re going to have fun together and we’re going to keep doing it with the rest of our teammates as well. While I might be one of the funniest guys on this team, LeBron is by far the craziest guy on this team. With him, it doesn’t matter, he will say anything. Carmelo is very silly. We keep J-Kidd (Jason Kidd) and Kobe (Bryant) young because we keep them laughing a lot.

Is LeBron really that funny? I’ve always had the impression that he felt the need to be funny as a means to a very wealthy end, not because he actually was funny. Maybe he actually is funny. Or maybe Team USA is just a very willing audience.

Either way, D-Wade is writing for the Sun-Times, which is kind of strange, I guess, but he is a Chicago guy, and probably sees the Sun-Times gig as the first step in the door. No doubt he longs to one day return to Chicago to play basketball here during our brutally soul-crushing winters. Right.

Team USA bulldozes yet another squad in international competition, encouragement abound

August 7th, 2006 | Posted by PostmanR

The stars and stripes of the basketball variety stomped all over a Yao Ming-less China today, 119-73. (You can watch the game on ESPN2 tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET.)

Now, I obviously haven’t seen the game yet and I only caught the first quarter and part of the second quarter (I turned it off when Team USA was losing early on in the second) of the team’s whompfest on the Puerto Rican squad last week. So, I’m not quite at liberty to say I’ve seen the team putting it together on the both end of the floor.

But someone who knows the game of roundball much better than me, the Mighty MJD, seems to think this team is headed in the right direction after the PR matchup.

And Free Darko talked to Brad Miller, who indicated it was the team’s goal to beat PR by 50. These dudes certainly seem serious about reclaiming the domination we once held in international basketball competition.

Now, we still haven’t played any of the tough European clubs such as Italy, (and won’t in exhibition play) but the US will face a Brazilian squad with some NBA links tomorrow.

Everything so far is pretty encouraging, nonetheless.

(UPDATE: Team USA barely beats Brazil today (Tuesday) 90-86. Less enthusiasm abound.)

Gee, this sure sounds good

July 26th, 2006 | Posted by PostmanR

So yeah, we know that at one point, USA Basketball was king. I’m talking about 1992 and the Dream Team, specifically. Jordan, Bird and Magic clowning other countries, flat out dominating them in every aspect of the game.

Those days are over. Recent World Championship and Olympic performances by the USA have proven that much.

But as the World Championships are quickly approaching next month in Japan, we’re being led to believe that this squad is going to be different from their recent predecessors.

They’re figuring out how to adjust to the international game, with its pressure defense, team-first-make-the-extra-pass mentality and somewhat quirky rules. This isn’t the NBA. D. Wade’s isolation isn’t going to work here.

And when you read a quote such as this, you begin to think these guys are getting the picture.

“It’s been great to see some of the leading scorers like LeBron James, Gilbert Arenas and Dwyane Wade making the extra pass,” (Elton) Brand said.

From all written accounts, it appears as if these guys are recognizing how to succeed internationally. Having Mike Krzyzewski as coach helps. Having great, tough point guards like Kirk Hinrich and Chris Paul who don’t operate around a score first mentality (like their predecessor A.I.) helps as well.

But until I see this supposed style of play with my own eyes, I can’t help but be skeptical.

(And if you needed proof the LeBron James is indeed 21, ESPN has obtained his birth certificate. Happy reading!)