Word: spain
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...international competition for the previous six years - the sixth place debacle at the 2002 World Championships, bronzes in the '04 Olympics and '06 worlds - was James insane for offering bulletin board material? Not quite. Now that LeBron has fulfilled his promise, with America's 118-107 win over Spain on Sunday giving Team USA its first Olympic gold in eight years, we should applaud him for speaking his mind, and backing up his words...
Even though he almost had to eat them. During the first seven games of this Olympic tournament, the U.S. walloped every opponent by an average of 30.3 points per game. Spain, the defending world champion, had already suffered its humiliation, a 37-point loss to the Americans in the preliminaries. James, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade: the Americans just had too much. Most fans expected another yawner...
...Team U.S.A. Both countries made a series of head-scratching shots, clutch three pointers, and pretty passes. "It will probably go down in history as one of the greatest Olympic games ever," James says. No argument here. After the game, he recounted the twists of the fourth quarter. Spain rallies, the U.S. gives itself some breathing room, another Spain comeback, more huge plays from the Americans. "I'm kind of crazy cause I'm watching the game all over again in my head," he told reporters. "The intensity of the game was unbelievable. I think you guys felt the intensity...
...what can Spain, which knocked off Lithuania in the other semi, possibly do to at least make the gold medal game interesting? Scola thinks they should ape Argentina and wrestle. "You gotta play ugly," Scola says, referring to his team's rugby tactics. "If you try to play 'Showtime,' the way [the U.S.] plays, you try to throw the ball up, they're going to be better. They jump higher, they run faster, they're stronger . . .You've got make them feel uncomfortable. That's the only...
...Here's why the world should be scared: Argentina tried to beat up the U.S., and lost by 20, albeit with one of their best players unable to play most of the game. And Spain has never matched Argentina's intensity. Plus, Spain likes to push the ball up the court, so going all tough guy means scrapping your strength. And oh yeah, the U.S. crushed Spain by 37 points in the preliminaries. "It's really hard to play two bad games in one week, you know," says Spanish guard Raul Lopez. For those of us desperate for one compelling...