There's a difference one medal to the next

Hey, sorry I’m late.

Was at a women’s soccer news conference that droned on over here this morning.

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Was having a discussion with someone yesterday in the aftermath of The Glorious Soccer Victory about the value of medals.

Not monetary but the value in perception and I think we made the case that not all bronzes are created equally and that team medals seem to capture the imagination of people more than individual ones.

The thing with teams is that they are an ongoing thing at Games; they play a lot, interest in them builds, there are more compelling stories to tell as the days unfold and there is a “win or go home” playoff round that can be anticipated.

It’s not to say a weightlifting bronze or a wrestling bronze or a judo bronze is in any way diminished but building to a crescendo as teams do just seems more interesting. Maybe that’s the North American in me, or maybe it’s the fact I like to follow things and tell stories over a few days rather than just do a one-off thing, but teams create a better buzz, don’t they?

Even if they ultimately lose, I think they just get into the collective consciousness a little bit more and become “ours” more than an individual does who pops up out of nowhere to become a one-day story.

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I am quite glad to report there are no stories out there of young fellas driving cars into houses on their first day behind the wheel.

Well done, Super Son.

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Who doesn’t like a little Vera Lynn to calmly get into the day?

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As was pointed out to me after I mentioned it in The Biggest IGBT Ever by a handful of helpful people in varying degrees of disgust, it’s not …

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie; Oy, Oy, Oy

It’s

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie; Oi, Oi, Oi.

Sorry for the mistake but I still hate that chant with, as a friend used to say, the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns.

Sorry, Australia.

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Yes, am off again to the basketball to catch the men’s semifinals tonight.

No, another diary is not coming unless they tell me to do it; it was fun but we need to debrief and see if we can make it better.

Got any suggestions?

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Conductor bloke on train to Coventry yesterday:

“First-class service is available at the back of the train and there are four cars. You need a first-class ticket to use the first-class accommodation.”

And here we were thinking we’d just trundle back there.

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We get to The Swan at the end of yesterday, guy behind the bar who knows us asks what’s been up for the day.

Been to Coventry to see the football, I tell him.

“Oh, nice. Football, good. Coventry, not so good.”

Bang on assessment. It’s a drab little city with, seemingly, very little to offer. It did, however, have a nice little store at the train station that’d had a sale on Stellas (two tall cans for four pounds) to make the hour-long train ride home a tad more amenable.

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Hang on a sec!

Dwight Howard got traded?

Wow, who saw that coming?

But he got traded for Al Harrington, Arron Afflalo, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless and a bunch of draft picks from teams that are better than Orlando?

Wow.

Anyway, it does take time to see how trades of this nature really pan out – like two or three years – but the initial reaction is that the Lakers are waaaaaaay better and the Masai Ujuri could end up being the executive of the year.

You put Howard with Nash, Kobe and Pau Gasol and I don’t think it matters who the other guy on the floor is; that’s as good a team as there is in the league.

And Denver gets another very good player in Andre Iguodala from Philly but still has a trade exception worth about $13 million and, really, didn’t give up anything of consequence. If they use that money and add another stud they might not be as good as the Lakers but in an ever-changing West, they’re still pretty damn good.

Philly gets Andrew Bynum and loses Iguodala and maybe that’s an upgrade and maybe it’s not. If Bynum’s healthy – far from a sure thing – he’s as good a centre as there is in the league but for right now, I’d just say the Sixers are different. Not necessarily better, just different.

Orlando?

I don’t get it. I really don’t.

The four guys they’re reportedly getting are, well, frankly underwhelming and we have no clue what the draft picks will be but whatever they are, they are years away from being major contributors.

I don’t know – and no one really does – what other legitimate offers were out there and since Howard had handcuffed them from the beginning, perhaps this is the very best they could do.

I just don’t think it’s very good.

It’s not Williams-Williams-Mourning-pick bad, but it could be close.

Best thing, if the deal does go through? We don’t have to read one more sentence on what sources say about a Dwight Howard trade.

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Comments

[brad]

Rich get richer, although watching Nash throw lobs to Dwight, Kobe getting passes from Nash on the break, Pau high post passes to Dwight, and Kobe allowed to be shot happy considering Dwight, Pau and Nash will all pass/rebound rather than shoot....they are going to be fun to watch. Wow. Will fill up a stat sheet for sure.

Wonder how Lebron/Wade/Bosh stack up to Kobe/Nash/Dwight/Pau - I definitely like the lakers better because the players seem to 'fit' a whole lot more.

At least Jonas gets to play Dwight a couple times less a year!

[Wilber]

Orlando got rid of that ball stopper in the middle. Hedo's time to shine! Ball.

[JW]

Assuming a starting 5 of Nash, Kobe, Artest, Gasol, and Howard...how do you think that lineup ranks all time in the NBA? Could this be the most talented starting 5 ever assembled?

Blogger's note: Hate to compare eras; look at 80s Lakers and the Russell-era Celtics. They were pretty darn good

[Lorie]

Hi Doug!
Now, a kid who's a newly licensed driver can be a wonderful thing for a parent. They are so unbelievably eager to drive that they'll happily volunteer to run any sort of mundane errands for you just so they can get behind the wheel - trips to the variety store, the drycleaners, the gas station - they'll pick up anything that needs picking up. Heck, even you! :) (Enjoy these little local trips though while they last. I remember when one of the daughters proudly announced she and a group of her friends had rented a car to drive to Montreal for the weekend and she was going to drive the whole way there and back since she was the only one of the group with a license. "So, Quebec's the one closer to the Atlantic? Umm, and that's east onto on the 401, right Mom?" Yeah, I slept well that weekend.) So belated birthday greetings to your Super Son, but really - 16's a big one and I think it deserves more than a day, or even week. A month seems about right. Just one more thing, it's been scientifically proven that certain music encourages drivers to exceed the speed limit. So maybe hide your AC/DC, Guns N' Roses and anything by these guys and instead leave only the Frank Sinatra and Mel Torme 8-tracks in the glove compartment.
http://youtu.be/vVXIK1xCRpY
Cheers! Loving the Olympic blogging and stories, and your Basketball Diaries could only have been improved with even more Garbo content. :)
Go Canada! And, of course, Vamos Espana in the big basketball game!