Olympics Basketball 2012: Kevin Durant, Kevin Love Move Away from Deferring

 


In these 2012 Olympics, Kevin Durant's teammates have been telling him to do one thing.
"Shoot the d--- ball."
Durant faced the same problem in the 2010 FIBA World Championship. He openly admitted that he "didn't want to step on anybody's toes" in those first couple weeks.
Eventually, KD snapped out of his deferential mindset to lead Team USA to the gold with an average of 22 points per game.
If the Americans plan on repeating their 2008 Olympic success, they'll need both Durant and Kevin Love to embrace their roles on this year's squad and crank up the aggression in the next two weeks.
For young guys like Durant and Love, who grew up watching Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, it's not a total surprise to see them defer to their elders on the team.
They're used to seeing Bryant and James taking 20 shots a game and scoring at will, more often than not.
Realistically, any player on Team USA can go 1-on-1 against an opponent and get off a half-decent shot any time they like. That's the beauty of the Americans' depth, even with the slew of injured superstars back stateside.
The ISO-USA offense won't be the best use of Team USA's talent, though.
For Team USA's offense to truly shine, all five players must embrace what specific talents brought them to the London Olympics.

The Americans need Durant to be a scoring dynamo this summer.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Durant and Love earned their spots on the team by emerging as two of the NBA's most promising young American-born talents. Love averaged 26 points and 13 rebounds per game this past season, while Durant is the league's reigning three-time scoring champion.
At this point, it's become clear that Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski will be riding Durant into the ground this summer. After playing the most minutes in Team USA's five exhibitions, Durant played 28 minutes (three more than any other teammate) in the opening game against France.
He also led the team with 22 points on 13 shots.
With his length, quick shot release and the closer international three-point line, there isn't a single greater scoring threat on Team USA than Durant.
That's why his teammates have been imploring him to shoot more, evidenced by Bryant's "shoot the d--- ball" plea.
"On a team like this you can kind of shy away because there are so many great players here," James said after the game against France, according to the Charlotte Observer (via DailyThunder). "But KD’s on this team for a reason. He’s one of the best players the world has and he’s a three-time scoring champ. So we don’t want the KD that defers. We want the KD that he is in Oklahoma City."
Just like two years ago, the Americans need Durant to make his impact felt on both ends of the court. He only trailed James in terms of scoring average in exhibition play, but he'll likely need to emerge as Team USA's leading scorer in the medal rounds.

Has Kevin Love finally turned the corner this summer for Team USA?
Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Love, on the other hand, had been making headlines for all the wrong reasons throughout exhibition play. He quickly fell to the 10th spot in Coach K's rotation, causing him to voice frustration to Chris  Sheridan of before the final scrimmage against Spain.
In that final scrimmage, Love finally had his breakout game, grabbing 10 rebounds against Spain's vaunted frontcourt. A spin move from Love against Pau Gasol in the fourth quarter caused Coach K to beam on the sideline, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
Coach K thought that move may have given Love the confidence he needed heading into Olympic pool play, according to Stein.
Lo and behold, Love broke out for 14 points in 14 minutes against the French, asserting his will in the second quarter to help Team USA open up a double-digit lead.
"I think he built on the second half with how he played against Spain in our last exhibition game," Coach K said after Sunday's game against France. "I thought he played really well in Barcelona against Spain. He played a lot stronger."
"I needed a game like this under my belt," Love said after the game. "I haven't been playing probably the way I should have."
It's going to be difficult enough for any opponent to topple the athleticism, depth, speed and talent of Team USA this summer.
If the young bucks like Durant and Love embrace their roles and fire away when necessary?

London 2012 Olympics: Aussie Hooper lands first blow against US team

Australia’s Damien Hooper made headlines inside and outside the ring at the Olympic boxing tournament on Monday.

The hugely talented 20-year-old light heavyweight landed the first blow to a previously unbeaten US team by beating the highly rated Marcus Browne 13-11 in an engrossing contest.
It justified the belief among his compatriots that he can end Australia’s 24-year wait for an Olympic boxing medal.
However, by entering the arena dressed in a T-shirt with the Aboriginal flag he fell foul of International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules, which state only flags of competing nations can be displayed at Games events.
An unrepentant Hooper, who shortly before the Games was disciplined and sent home for a London 2012 Olympics: Aussie Hooper lands first blow against US team disagreement with the coaching staff, insisted he had no regrets about his actions.
“I’m an Aborigine representing my culture and my people here at the Olympic Games,” said Hooper, sent home from the 2010 Commonwealth Games a week early for allegedly dropping his trousers in front of an official.
Hooper, who was the first indigenous Australian boxer to triumph at junior world-title level when he won Youth Olympics gold in 2010, had a thrilling battle with Browne.
The American took a one point lead into the final round, but that was erased when he then had to undergo a standing count midway through the last and although the 21-year-old American fought back strongly it was not enough.
Browne blamed himself for not following the advice of his corner, but also accused Hooper of attempting to rough him up.
“He was boxing dirty, trying to push, trying to throw me around,” said Browne, who had wanted to win gold in memory of his late mentor N’Watchi Hartley, killed in a car crash in 2008.
“However, I have only myself to blame for the defeat,” he said.
Hooper, who reached the quarter-finals of last year’s world championships, said Browne had been running scared in the final round.
“I could see it in his eyes and his body language that he didn’t want to be there,” he said.
Hooper will have an even tougher examination next time out as he is up against the highly rated fourth-seeded Russian Igor Mekhontcev.
However, his task is minor compared to that of fellow light heavyweight Ihab Almatbouli, who will now fight top-seeded Cuban Julio la Cruz Peraza.
The Jordanian was content to revel in the moment after making history for his country.
The 26-year-old from the Palestinian refugee camp of Al-Baqaa, on the outskirts of Amman, became the first Jordanian to contest an Olympic boxing bout on Monday and capped it by beating Nigerian Lukmon Lawal 19-7.
“I hope due to all my achievements I am going to be a role model, especially to the young back home,” said Almatbouli, coached by Cuban Jorge Socarras.
Victory was especially pleasing for Almatbouli, because five years ago he collapsed through lack of oxygen after a bruising world championship bout.
“After all the difficulties I have had in my life, I’ve never stopped sports and it has provided me with the greatest pleasure and an escape route,” he said.
There was no such fairytale for Ajmal Faisal as the 21-year-old Afghan was outclassed by the vastly more experienced Frenchman Nordine Oubaali.
He left happy, having overcome political opposition to his Olympic participation from Taliban insurgents and other Afghan groups.
“I am proud that I was able to persevere and represent my country at these Games where the eyes of the world are on you,” Faisal said.

London Olympics: Team USA basketball takes on Tunisia

- Team USA men's basketball plays Tunisia tonight at 5:15 EDT. Basketball games will take place all day.
- The U.S. women's soccer team plays their final game of the first round at 12:15 p.m. The U.S. has already qualified for the second round but is looking to finish atop their group.
- In diving, the women's synchronized platform final is today.
- Beach volleyball, gymnastics and many other sports are on tap. See a schedule of Tuesday Olympics events here.
In case you missed it
- Winners and losers from day 3 of the Olympics.
- On Monday, the future officially arrived when U.S. swimming phenom Missy Franklin earned her first individual Olympic gold medal by conquering the competition in the 100-meter backstroke in London. If Franklin's rapid ascent up the global swimming step ladder is any indication, it’s the first of many Olympic awards that will eventually hang from the bright-eyed superstar's neck.
- France's Yannick Agnel has been Ryan Lochte's demon at these Olympics. After catching the American to capture France's first Olympic gold medal in the 4x100 free relay, Agnel outswam the field in the 200 free, winning by nearly two seconds.
- Also in swimming, Matt Grevers of the U.S. won gold in the men's 100-meter back. Fellow American Nick Thoman won silver.

- Everything seemed perfect for the U.S. Olympic men's gymnastics team not long ago. But then all that anticipation turned into disappointment during Monday's team finals. China blew the U.S. gymnasts out of the water. Great Britain, Japan and Ukraine were left fighting for the final two podium spots, while Team USA finished fifth. What exactly went wrong for Team USA that left them off the podium? Here's a look at the 10 things that went wrong for the U.S. men's gymnastics team.

 

- Another day, another beach volleyball win for Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. In their second match of Olympic group play, the duo that is actually only ranked third in the world rolled to a straight-set win over Kristyna Kolocova and Marketa Slukova of the Czech Republic.

- In one of the strangest moments of the 2012 London Olympics, South Korean fencer Shin A Lam lost a highly controversial decision in the semifinals and then refused to leave the arena as her team scrambled to make an appeal. Shin was tied with German Britta Heidemann in the semifinal match of the women's individual épée when a clock error occurred. Details here.

LG Electronics Profit Misses Estimates Amid Phone Losses

LG Electronics Inc. (066570), the world’s fourth-largest mobile-phone maker, reported profit that missed analysts’ estimates after sales of its handsets lagged behind models from Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple (AAPL) Inc.
Net income rose 47 percent to 159 billion won ($138 million) in the quarter ended June 30, Seoul-based LG said in a statement today. The average of 23 analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg was a profit of 278.8 billion won. Second-quarter sales totaled 12.9 trillion won, also trailed estimates.



LG, overtaken by Apple as the world’s third-biggest handset maker last year according to researcher Strategy Analytics, widened its loss from mobile-phone sales during the quarter after giving up market share to Samsung, the world’s largest handset seller, and the iPhone maker. LG is fighting back with new smartphones running Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android software and with TVs featuring the latest 3-D technology.
“Sales figures for phones aren’t rising quickly enough,” Choi Nam Kon, a Seoul-based analyst at Tongyang Securities Inc. (003470), said by phone before today’s announcement. “That is forcing them to increase spending on marketing and such, so margins keep narrowing. They need to raise sales volume first.”
LG dropped 2.1 percent to 56,100 won at the close of trading in Seoul, the lowest since Aug. 25. The benchmark Kospi index fell 1.4 percent.
Operating profit more than doubled to 349 billion won, still missing the 364.7 billion won estimate. LG booked a 41.7 billion-won loss from its 38 percent stake in LG Display Co. The flat-panel maker will disclose second-quarter earnings tomorrow, with the average of 27 analysts’ estimates projecting a 32 billion-won loss.

Mobile Loss

LG’s mobile division had a second-quarter loss of 56.7 billion won, compared with the 53.9 billion-won loss a year earlier. The analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast a loss of 51.5 billion won. Sales fell 28.5 percent to 2.32 trillion won.
LG counts on smartphone models running on faster next- generation networks using the long-term evolution, or LTE, technology to boost sales.
Mobile-phone shipments may improve in the third quarter from the previous three-month period as the company steps up marketing activities to capture rising demand for LTE devices, Chief Financial Officer David Jung said at a briefing in Seoul.
“The second half will be an important turning point for our product competitiveness,” he said.

TV Business

The home-entertainment division, which makes TVs, had an operating profit of 216.3 billion won, rising from 97.8 billion won a year earlier. The median of four analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg News was 196.6 billion won. Sales fell 5.8 percent to 5.5 trillion won.
The company, which aims to be the largest seller of 3-D TVs this year, will tap demand in emerging markets to increase TV sales in the third quarter, Jung said.
Global LCD TV sales will probably grow 5 percent this year. That’s slowing from a 7 percent increase in 2011, according to DisplaySearch, part of NPD Group. Shipments of 3-D TVs will jump 74 percent this year, DisplaySearch said.
LG, which uses a technology that is different from Samsung’s, says its 3-D glasses are lighter and more comfortable to wear, and cause less eye strain.
The company’s home-appliance division had an operating profit of 165.3 billion won, a 2.6 percent increase from a year earlier, on 2.9 trillion won in sales. The air-conditioner business had a profit of 70.1 billion won, compared with a 43.7 billion-won profit a year earlier.

source : http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-25/lg-electronics-quarterly-profit-misses-estimates-on-phone-loss.html

London 2012 Olympics: Lizzie Armitstead's silver in the road race will ignite the Games

London 2012 Olympics: Lizzie Armitstead's silver in the road race will ignite the Games  mind that Lizzie Armitstead could not quite deliver the final perfect line on the Mall. Her silver medal ride in the women’s road race will not be forgotten by any of the hundreds of thousands who lined the streets all the way from the Mall into the country lanes of London suburbia and up into the Surrey hills. For this felt like the lighting of a second flame, the moment that will properly ignited these Games.

 

The opening ceremony was wonderful but this was what the whole festival is truly all about; magnificent, compelling sport from the moment the 66-strong field set off at high noon to the point three and-a half hours later when it took a great athlete like Holland’s Marianne Vos to outsprint both Yorkshire’s gritty Armitstead and Russian Olga Zabelinskaya in a stupendous finale.

Who said the rain could put a dampener on Britain’s Games? Never mind those empty seats in all the other venues; we know how to enjoy the greatest free show on earth, even when it is careering down.

Once again, the supporters lined up five or six deep along the roads and the drama was unrelenting. They witnessed crashes, punctures, riders negotiating floods and countless thrilling attacks; and they saw the scintillating British effort that they had hoped would have brought rewards the previous day in the equivalent men’s race.

They saw rather more unsung British heroines at work, women worth saluting. Nicole Cooke, the defending champion, may have had to surrender her crown but she still knuckled down behind in the peloton to help disrupt its rhythm and ensure Armitstead would remain in the shake up for the medals up ahead

The Olympic Journey: The Story of the Games

 

BP and the Royal  House have joined forces with theThe Olympic Journey: The Story of the Games  Museum to create this free and unique exhibition telling the Olympic story through the endeavours of ancient and modern Olympians. Behind the great spectacle of the Olympic Games lie powerful human stories. This exhibition will inspire visitors by highlighting some of the remarkable people and memorable moments from the rich history of the Games, reminding us of the extraordinary achievements of which human beings are capable.
The exhibition will take visitors on a journey starting in ancient Greece, the original home of the Olympic Games, through the vision of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the man behind the revival of the Games many centuries later. The experience will continue with the stories and inspirational achievements of iconic Olympic athletes of the last hundred years of Olympic history and will feature all of the Olympic medals and Torches of the modern Games.
The Olympic Journey: The Story of the Games will be staged at the Royal Opera House for the duration of the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Journey: Story of the Games

The unmissable Olympic experience with personal stories of great Olympians through the ages.
The Olympic Journey: The Story of the Games is a free and unique experience telling the story of the Olympic Games from its creation in 776BC through to the London 2012 Olympic Games.  Featuring personal stories of some of the iconic Olympic heroes down the ages this exhibition, bringing together sporting and cultural life, is coming to the Royal Opera House from Saturday 28 July until Sunday 12 August and is completely free.  This is a specially created exhibition, curated in collaboration with The Olympic Museum, based on its incredible collection of artefacts and images and is only in London for these two weeks.
Walk into the foyer of the Royal Opera House, experience the heat and dust of Athens and discover the origins of the Ancient Olympic Games which featured athletics, combat and chariot races.  Hear the cheers, get caught up in the thrill of the contest, and enjoy multimedia material and artefacts telling the story of the Olympics through the creation of the modern Olympic Games in 1896 by Pierre de Coubertin to the vast Olympic Movement we see today.
See all the Summer Olympic torches since 1936 and all the Summer Olympic medals from 1896, and imagine yourself in Pierre de Coubertin’s office with a backdrop of the lake in Lausanne as inspiration.
Personal stories of 16 Olympians including Steve Redgrave, Cathy Freeman, Kelly Holmes, Olga Korbut, Jesse Owens, Balbir Singh and Aleksandr Karelin will be featured together with some of their artefacts in the Paul Hamlyn Hall.  Projections will loom above on a vast ribbon showcasing some of the many iconic moments in Olympic history and showcasing the values of the Olympic Movement.
This unique exhibition, a collaboration between The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, the Royal Opera House and BP, celebrates human strength and endeavour, passion, determination, hard work and achievement.  It is the only time that this experience will be on display in the UK and promises to be a highlight of the London 2012 Festival.
The Royal Opera House Shop will be transformed throughout The Olympic Journey: The Story of the Games into an official London 2012 Olympic outlet, offering a range of official merchandise.
Find out more:
THE OLYMPIC JOURNEY: THE STORY OF THE GAMES
Saturday 28 July backstage section. Sunday 12 August 2012
10am until 7pm, last admission 6.15pm
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Free entry