USA Dream Team: 2008 Beijing Olympics

These guys may form the best basketball team the world has known, but they still have to beat the world’s other bests and claim retribution for the sham that happened in previous international basketball tournaments. Ladies and Gentlemen, Damas y Caballeros, the USA Dream Team for the 2008 Beijing Olympics:

Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks – point guard and the court general. Watch out for those passes.

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers – small forward and scorching scorer. Just don’t feed him the ball too much.

Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz – power forward, post-up expert, and muscle in the paint. Very effective inside scorer.

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers – shooting guard and go-to-guy. Like LeBron, loves to hog the ball.

Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors – center, rebound and defense minister. A Dikembe Mutombo in the making – minus the finger.

Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic – center/power forward, and man in the middle. Also and effective post presence for scoring, rebounds, and defense.

Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets – point guard and nippy winger. Likes to score instead of setting up his teammates like all point guards should do.

Tayshaun Prince, Detroit Pistons – small forward and the team’s Mr. Nice Guy. Very unpredictable when it comes to scoring. He’s on fire this game; he’s out cold in the next.

Michael Redd, Milwaukee Bucks – shooting guard and 3-point wizard. Better not leave him open beyond the arc.

Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat – small forward and random scorer. Not a ball hog unlike Kobe and LeBron.

Deron Williams, Utah Jazz – point guard, scorer and passer. Not as good as Nash but he will get there.

Will they win the 2008 Beijing Olympics? The answer will soon be revealed.

2008 Olympics Badminton Updates

While the badminton sport originated from Europe, it is the Asians that lord the game. Badminton powerhouses China, Indonesia, and Malaysia have been trampling their European counterparts most of the time, and it seems the trampling will not end just yet.

Come 2008 Olympics, I expect China to rule the taraflex once more, but I really wish that those guys from Europe go home with the crown. It has been too long since we saw a certain Peter Gade standing on the top podium. Europe needs to regain dominance of the sport that came from its bosom.

As usual, Europe’ badminton hopes rest on Kenneth Jonassen (Denmark), Peter Gade (Denmark), Gail Emms (Great Britain), Yao Jie (The Netherlands) and Pi Hongyan (France).

Asia’s badminton squad will be led Lin Dan (China), Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia), and Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia).

On a lighter note, New Zealand will send 3 badminton players to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. John Moody (Men’s singles) and the mixed double team-up of Craig Cooper and Renne Flavell will compete in their first Olympic outing. I haven’t seen these guys play or even heard of them, and they will definitely lose. But what is good is that New Zealand is now taking the sport seriously. They are still a long shot from becoming a powerhouse, but who knows? Maybe 10, 15 years from now, I’ll be cheering for New Zealand.

Good luck to all badminton players competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

Pacquiao Versus Valero

While it seems still a little early to make some predictions for the November 8 bout between WBC Lightweight champion Manny ‘The Pac-Man’ Pacquiao and WBO Super Featherweight champion Edwin ‘Mr. KO’ Valero, I opt to jump on the bandwagon and create some plausible scenarios should the fight pushes through. But my verdict is a Pacquiao victory by knockout in the 8^th round.

Valero has power, but it seems he had never tested that power on any formidable foes. He may have a perfect record of 24-0 and a 100% knockout percentage, but the question people are likely to ask, “Who has he beaten?” He may have 24 boxers punched out cold by his hands, most of them before the end of the first round. But then he is going against Pacquiao, who as we all know can take a punch and possesses a strong chin. Valero, if he wants to earn more than just bragging rights, must start training as early as today.

Pacquiao, as we all witnessed in Lethal Combination, has metamorphosed into the proverbial ‘complete’ fighter. No more a brawler, Pacquiao has evolved into a technical fighter packed with blinding speed and booming power. From all angles, the clash with Valero is one case of an ultimate mismatch. Should he want to give fight fans their money’s worth, he will likely carry Valero until the 8^th, strafing him punches powerful enough to stagger poor Valero but soft enough to egg the guyto continue. Pacquiao will then ice Valero before the end of the 8^th.

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