Fred Barnes is one of the most astute commentators on Washington policy and politics there is. He is also knowledgeable about sports. But like anyone else, he can sometimes get things wrong—and, sadly, he did with his post “LeBron Leads the U.S. Basketball to Gold.”
The biggest mistake was suggesting this year’s Olympic men’s basketball team was better than the Dream Team. No way; heck, the Spaniards almost beat this year’s U.S. team with good-to-serviceable big men. The 1992 team would have been beaten this team like a drum with the likes of Malone, Ewing, and Robinson dominating the paint. Plus, this team, other than LeBron, has no defensive stoppers like Pippen and Jordan. This year’s Olympic team had trouble time and again stopping other team’s pick and rolls, whereas the Dream Team had John Stockton and Karl Malone on it, the greatest pick and roll duo in the history of the game. And do we really think that 6’9” Magic Johnson would not have dominated the likes of 5’11” Chris Paul?
Fred compounds his mistake by suggesting that LeBron James is superior to Michael Jordan: he can “do more things, do them well, and is as good than Jordan in clutch situations.” At some point, James may be considered better than Michael, but not yet. Jordan was an unstoppable offensive force and, when necessary, the best defensive player in the league. As for the superior clutch player, one Olympics or even one NBA championship doesn’t overcome his choking play in Cleveland and his first year with the Miami Heat.
Fred is of course right that James can do “more” things than Jordan, since he’s three inches taller and can play a number of positions well. But, by comparing James with Jordan, now thought to be the greatest, he’s implicitly saying James should be wearing that crown now. And, in fact, I would concede that James is now arguably one of the top 5 players of all time. But whether he is a better all-around player than, say, Magic Johnson is, to me, an open question. While Magic was not a great shooter, he was a clutch shooter, certainly a better passer—even though LeBron is indeed a very good passer—a better team leader, and lest we forget, just as good a rebounder. Indeed, remember Magic played center for the Lakers in game 6 of the 1980 finals, as well as guard, and scored 42 points, had 7 assists, and 15 rebounds.
Finally, as Fred notes, it was nice to hear James say the Olympic Gold and his own effort “is all about USA.” But call me the cynic and suggest that he knows very well that the only way for him to climb out of the hole he has been in from “the decision”—announcing his decision to leave Cleveland for Miami—and all the nonsense that followed was to burnish his reputation by taking the high road he has in this Olympics. Good for him but let’s not make him into Patrick Henry just yet.
Mitt Romney closed his Sunday rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin, with a stirring account of patriotism from American speed skater Derek Parra at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Watch the whole speech below, but the story begins around 9:00:
Next to Mitt Romney picking Paul Ryan as his running mate, the best thing that happened over the weekend was the USA basketball team capturing the gold medal at the London Olympics.
President Obama devotes today's weekly address to the Summer Olympics. "I’ve got to admit I was a little jealous [Michelle Obama] got to go," President Obama tells the nation.
Almost two weeks ago, I speculated on Fox News Sunday that Mitt Romney would announce his vice presidential pick early next week, on August 6 or 7. It was, if I may say, a reasonably well-informed forecast at the time. But I didn't take into account the existence and importance of the redoubtable Rafalca, the Romneys' equestrian Olympian, who's apparently made it to the final dressage round on August 7 in London.
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games,Saudi women are being allowed by their ultra-conservative government to compete. As the Saudi athletes marched in the opening ceremonies in London, the women’s faces and open arms showed a joyful sense of emancipation from the yoke of political, religious, and traditional marginalization. By the standards of free and advanced societies, the advance is small, but by Saudi standards, it is a gigantic step forward, with far-reaching implications for Saudi Arabia and the international community.
Because conservatives are scrooges, the good folks at Americans for Tax Reform have gone through the fine print to find out what our Olympians will have to cough up to the IRS should they be lucky enough to win any medals in London.
Warsaw, Poland Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney finishes his 8-day trip to the UK, Israel, and Poland with a speech in Warsaw today. It’s been an up-and-down trip as Romney seeks to demonstrate his ability to function effectively as an American leader overseas.
CNN host Piers Morgan defended Mitt Romney this morning, after the Republican presidential candidate wondered whether London is prepared for the Olympics:
The latest ad from Priorities USA, the main pro-Obama super PAC, uses footage from the 2002 Olympics to hit Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Watch here:
President Obama is catching hoops in Washington tonight, watching the U.S. men's basketball team prepare for the Olympics with an exhibition game against Brazil. "President Obama arrived at the Verizon Center at 7:46 p.m., wearing jeans, sneakers, white shirt, dark blue Under Armor zip up," according to the pool report.
Senate majority leader Harry Reid has taken time away from the rigors of not passing a budget and calling Mitt Romney a tax cheat to comment on the uniforms of the United States Olympic team.
If the senator had his druthers, “they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them and start all over again.”
While the debate continues over how to deal with an Iran that has nuclear ambitions, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has other things on his mind.
Members of British intelligence are concerned about the possibility of Iran and al Qaeda teaming up in a plot against the West, perhaps in a joint attack against the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Their concerns were first voiced in a piece by Sky News on Wednesday and then in other follow-up reports in the British press.
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