Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Dream Fulfilled



In two days, the 2012 Summer Olympics will begin, and most sports fans will turn their attention to London for two weeks.

But it is worth remembering that 20 years ago today, America's professional "Dream Team" basketball squad made its debut at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

The 1992 Summer Games are remembered for many reasons:
  • They were the last Summer Olympics to be held in the same year as the Winter Olympics.
  • For the first time in more than 30 years, South Africa was allowed to compete.
  • For the first time in nearly 30 years, Germany competed as a united country.
  • The countries that had formed the Soviet Union until the year before were allowed to compete as a Unified Team.

    Under that banner, they won more medals than any other country.
And it was the first time that pro basketball players were allowed to compete; the United States formed its team from the very best the NBA had — Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson.

The 1988 Olympic squad had been quite talented, too, but all the players were college players, and they finished third. Hopes were high in America in 1992, higher than they had been in, perhaps, 20 years — ever since the United States lost a controversial gold–medal game to the Soviet Union at the 1972 Games and refused to accept the silver medal.

For 20 years, that loss to the Soviets had gnawed at the American psyche. Prior to that day, the United States had not lost an Olympic basketball game since the sport was added to Olympic competition in 1936. The Americans had practically sailed through their first eight games, but they found themselves trailing the Russians at halftime and struggling in the final minutes.

With three seconds showing on the clock, the Americans were fouled and a player was awarded two free throws. He made the first and was in the process of shooting the second when the buzzer sounded; the Soviets had called a timeout. The player continued with his shot and made it, giving the Americans a one–point lead.

Under the rules that existed at the time, the ball was live, but play was stopped when the Soviets insisted they had called a timeout. There was some commotion at the scorers' table, play resumed and, eventually, the Soviets scored and won the game. The timeout and the ensuing sequence of events was a sore spot that never completely healed.

Even when the U.S. hockey team beat the mighty Soviet team in the 1980 Winter Games, the loss by the 1972 basketball team lingered and festered.

The Dream Team avenged the 1972 defeat and the disappointing 1988 finish in a big way — they went undefeated at Barcelona, winning every game by an average margin of 44 points. The Americans beat the Croatians twice, including in the gold–medal game, and Croatia did manage to hold the United States to its two lowest winning margins — 32 and 33 points.

The Americans' most lopsided victory came in the opener, a 116–48 win over Angola. The United States never scored fewer than 103 points, and its opposition never scored more than 85. And neither happened in the same game.

The Dream Team was kind of anticlimactic, though.

I mean, with all that talent, all that star power, it was practically regarded as a foregone conclusion that the U.S. basketball team would win the gold medal — and that none of the games would be close.

It all went as expected, too. There was no real suspense, no real drama. Only a diehard basketball fan could probably tell you who the Americans defeated in the gold–medal game.

But, for a true sports enthusiast, the absence of even a hint of uncertainty about the eventual outcomes, rendered the games mildly interesting. The only real issues to be settled were which player(s) would lead the team in scoring and rebounds.

Few championship games in any sport, amateur or professional, have been as lopsided as the U.S.'s game with Croatia. The U.S. did trail Croatia — briefly — in the first half, but that was about as much suspense as there was in any of the Dream Team's games.

When it was over, Sports Illustrated suggested that the Dream Team had been the most dominant team ever assembled in any sport.

I doubt that anyone argued the point.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

The Conspiracy of Silence



"The most saddening finding is the total disregard by the most senior leaders at Penn State for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims. ... Four of the most powerful people at ... Penn State ... failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade."

Freeh Report

I have a friend who has been a Penn State fan for — well — his whole life.

And I have thought of him every time the tragic story of Penn State and Jerry Sandusky has been in the news.

Each time, I hoped it would be the last time I would hear about Sandusky. But each time I have been wrong.

And now, I think, the shame that he brought to the university will live in infamy. It might have, anyway, but now I am certain of it.

See, my observation in my life has been that, once something has a commission or a committee assigned to investigate it — and that investigating body issues a report — that is what happens.

The Warren Commission, the Ervin Committee, the Tower Commission, the 9–11 Report. You can find 'em in any history book.

And now you'll be able to find one in the story of Penn State.

So, with the knowledge that Sandusky was convicted several months ago on nearly four dozen counts of sexual abuse and related crimes and with today's release of the Freeh Report that implicated Sandusky's former boss, late coach Joe Paterno, Penn State ex–President Graham Spanier, former athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz, I wonder if this is really the end for this story.

There will be a report on the library shelves of every college and university — including, I presume, Penn State — that will testify to Penn State's shame.

Sandusky will spend the rest of his life in prison. Of his high–ranking enablers, Paterno — the respected and beloved coach whose high standards were legendary — was an "integral part" of an active effort to avoid negative publicity, today's report said.

And that is a tragic blow to the legacy of a man who was held in such high regard even by his foes.

For, you see, that is a revelation that rips at the very fabric of America. In what may be a mindless (and dangerous) automatic reflex, Americans have always placed great faith — blind faith — in authority figures — teachers, pastors, coaches — and I think most people could tell you of at least one authority figure who influenced the course of their lives.

So deeply ingrained is this faith in authority figures that the mind recoils from the thought that someone in whom such trust has been placed could so callously toss it aside — and that others, the highest–ranking officials at a major university, could engage in a conspiracy to prevent his crimes from becoming known to the public.

They were more than simply enablers. They held positions of trust, and they violated that trust.

And now there is a report — under the name of none other than the former director of the FBI — that bears witness to the "total disregard" they showed for the children who looked to them for guidance.

People have been known to get over many things. They are resilient beyond anything that can be imagined.

But one thing people almost never seem to get over is betrayal.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Sibling Rivalry



She needed three sets to do it, but Serena Williams held off a determined Agnieszka Radwanska to claim her fifth Wimbledon singles title Saturday.

"I always wanted everything Venus had," she joked after being reminded (for what, I am sure, was not the first time) that her sister Venus also has five Wimbledon singles titles — including one she claimed against Serena in 2008 (although three of Serena's titles have been won against Venus, including a 2009 rematch).

Serena has now won 14 Grand Slam titles, and, at the age of 30, the window for her to match Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova (with 18 each) may be closing — and the odds that she can match the all–time leader, Steffi Graf (22), may be nonexistent.

But even at 30, people speak in awe of Serena's serve, even her second serve, which most players seem to treat timidly. It is the best in the business, they say — and when I say "they," I include in that group Chris Evert, who was a commentator during today&apos's match.

Serena had the proper appreciation for her serve, Simon Cambers wrote in The Guardian, but she seemed baffled by its power.

"My serve really helped me throughout this tournament," she told Cambers. "I can't describe why it was so good or how it was so good. It's not like I practise it that much. I just had the rhythm."

Radwanska, who was seeded third, was no easy mark.

Serena cruised to a 6–1 victory in the first set but then faltered in the rain–delayed second set and had to hold off the hard–charging Radwanska in the third set, 6–2.

Over and over again, Radwanska seemed to be on the brink of overcoming Serena in that final set, just as she had in the first, but, in the end, the result was the same.

ESPN's announcers spoke of Radwanska's competitive nature, how the fact that she made it to the women's singles championship would not be enough for her, and that certainly appeared to be the case. Clutching her runnerup plate, she almost seemed to be in mourning.

Before the match, she had spoken with confidence of her chances to upend Serena.

A three–set duel clearly did not satisfy her.

I expect we will see her in Centre Court again.