Hooped Up

If the Olympics started all over again today, LeBron James would be a happy man! 

 ”I still haven’t (come down). It’s an unbelievable experience to go out there and represent your country the way we were able to do it, showcasing our talent to the world, playing the game that we love to play,” James said Wednesday. “It was really fun that we were able to bring home our game, that’s the game of basketball. “I guaranteed the gold medal would be back in the United States of America. You hate the fact that it’s over. You’re never going to have that team again, as powerful as we were, we’re never going to have that team again.”

AP/Seattle Times

I am a huge NBA basketball fan but,  running a close second is definitely NFL football.  I can hear John Madden already with the “BOOM!”, “NFC, NFC” and Horse Trailer talk already. So with a new NFL season kicking off today, let’s get a look at who in the NBA could play in the NFL today and I mean for real…”BOOM!”

LeBron James
In high school LeBron James was a First-Team All-State wide receiver and was highly recruited by college scouts. With his mix of great hands, size and leaping ability James would be a defensive coordinators nightmare.  Just as big as the Linebackers in short yardage situations and bigger that your DB’s when you need to send it long.  

King James would still be King James!

Scouting Report
Player: LeBron James
Height: 6′8″
Weight: 250 lbs
Projected Position: Tight End
NFL Comparision: Antonio Gates

Read the rest of this entry »

The LeBron James world tour continues, with the Toronto Film Festival the next stop.

“The Cavaliers’ megastar, fresh off helping the U.S. basketball team win gold at the Beijing Olympics, will be at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend for the debut of “More Than A Game,” a documentary chronicling his rise to stardom and how he and four childhood friends overcame long odds to win a national championship in high school.”

Press Release

It was mission accomplished for the Redeem Team yesterday, with a 118-107 victory over Spain for the gold medal on the final day of the Beijing Games.  Carmelo Anthony who was one of four members of the current US squad who was also a member of the 2004 Athens squad. Called the Beijing victory a “blessing” .  

Carmelo also said “We were at the lowest point. Today, we’ve done a hell of a job and put U.S. basketball back on top of the world.”  

Dwayne Wade led the US with 27, followed by Kobe Bryant with 20. LeBron James added 14, and Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony each had 13 points.

Rudy Fernandez led Spain with 21, Pau Gasol had 21, and Juan Carlos Navarro added 18. Carlos Jiminez scored 12, Marc Gasol 11, and Felipe Reyes 10.

With the bar set high for the 2012 London games, will other countries catch up to the US?

Does team US even count as news now?  It looks like they will run the table in the Beijing Olympics, and today they rolled over Germany by 49 points in a 106-57 blow out.  

Dwight Howard had 22 points and 9 rebounds for Team USA LeBron James added 18 points and Kobe Bryant scored 13 for the United States, sparked by a 31-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Dirk Nowitzki led Germany with 14 points and 8 rebounds sending Germanys record to 1-4 and pushing the USA to a perfect 5- 0 record.

Next up for the US is Australia who in exhibition play two weeks ago, faired well in an 87-76 exhibition loss in Shanghai without Australian center Andrew Bogut.

Have you seen all the NBA jerseys in the stands at the Beijing Olympics?  Chances are you have and here are the top 10 jerseys you are likely to see continuously throughout the Olympic games. Please don’t say that you can’t believe Yao Ming is 10th on the list in his own country.  

Players are players and jerseys are jerseys.  

2007-08 Top Selling Jerseys in China:

1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
2. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
3. Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets
4. Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
5. Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets
6. Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
7. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
8. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
9. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
10. Yao Ming, Houston Rockets

LeBron Raymone James, the 6-8 “small” forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers, has endorsed Barack Obama for president. If by endorsing, you mean donating $20G’s to a committee devoted to electing the freshman Illinois Democratic senator as president on Nov. 4. Presumably James can afford the political donation. Maybe he’ll also throw in a pair of running shoes for Obama to finish the race.

Los Angeles Times

Although there have been appeals to U.S. athletes to address the involvement of the Chinese government in the crisis in Darfur, several players say they won’t respond. The Darfur region, located in western Sudan, has been engulfed in a devastating conflict for the last four years. Government troops and militia units called janjaweed have been battling rebels opposed to a government they say persecutes the non-Arab population. The government-backed janjaweed have targeted civilians. China is the major trading partner and supplier of weapons to the Sudanese government. Some players have filmed public-service announcements appealing for an end to the slaughter. “We are coming to play basketball,” LeBron James said. “We want to try and keep basketball and politics separate.” Teammate Dwyane Wade agrees. “It’s not about us making a stand or taking a position. It’s about us playing our position,” he said. “We are going into uncharted waters. It’s not our home. We are going to go over there and respect China. This is a business trip for us. We’ll let the politics take care of itself. That’s not for us to worry about. There might be some people that get into it, but that’s not my focus. I’m focusing on basketball.” That decision will be solely theirs to make, Coach Mike Krzyzewski said. There will be no muzzle ordered from above.

Los Angeles Times

The US looks like a shoe in for a gold at the Beijing Olympics but would you guarantee that?

LeBron James guaranteed an Olympic gold medal in basketball for the United States at the Beijing games, making the boast in a Time magazine story that hits newsstands Friday.

The NBA All-Star from the Cleveland Cavaliers is featured on one of the covers of the Olympic preview issue.

After comparing the feeling of receiving a gold medal on the podium to opening a prized gift on Christmas morning, James was asked if that meant he would lead the Americans to the title.

“Absolutely,” James responded.

Asked if he guaranteed it, he repeated, “Absolutely.”

New York Times