Sports
Team USA’s Olympic dominance and depth evident in the sports that matter to them
PARIS — After narrowly defeating Serbia in a surprising semifinal on Thursday, U.S. men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr was asked how the United States pulled a rabbit out of a hat and overcame a 17-point deficit to win 95-91.
“I think for 40 minutes or so our talent wore them down,” Kerr said. “They were brilliant, but we always feel we have the deepest team, we have the best players. Other countries, they all have great players now, but we have the best players.”
That’s the U.S. Olympic team in a nutshell: excellent resources.
That was the theme of those games. In the sports they care about — in the pool, on the court, on the track — the United States still has a deep bench of talent.
The Americans defeated France in the gold-medal game Saturday, 98-87, to win their fifth straight Olympic gold medal. The American women, much more dominant than the men, are favorites to win an eighth Olympic gold medal.
The women’s gymnastics team, led by sensational Simone Biles, showed its dominance, winning gold in the team final and then winning a combined seven medals in the individual events. But greater than per week after the competition ended, Team USA suffered an apparent significant setback when the Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed the appeal that had catapulted Jordan Chiles from fifth place to bronze. In a unprecedented decision, the CAS restored the starting order, with Romanian Ana Barbosu taking bronze, her teammate Sabrina Maneca-Voinea in fourth and Chiles fifth.
In the pool, the United States won eight gold medals, its lowest total since the 1988 Seoul Games. Of the seven relays, the United States won three, while its men won only one individual medal. The women won 4 individual events, the same as Australia.
The remainder of the world remains to be trying to catch up.
The biggest display of muscle got here on the track, where the United States put in its best effort since the 1984 Olympics, winning 34 track and field medals, 14 of which were gold. The women’s 4 × 400 relay team finished with eight consecutive gold medals in the event. Relay runners Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Gabby Thomas won their second and third gold medals, respectively. Thomas became the second U.S. runner since Allyson Felix to win three gold medals at the Olympics.
The biggest muscular spectacle took place on the track, where the United States had won 19 medals through Friday, including six gold.
McLaughlin-Levrone, the most dominant athlete on the track, broke her own world record in the 400-meter hurdles. She said an enormous a part of her inspiration was the presence of friends and family in the stadium. For a lot of the Olympians, who competed in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where fans weren’t allowed, the Games were fueled by the energy provided by the fans.
McLaughlin-Levrone said her 2021 Olympic performance was greatly impacted by the absence of an audience due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s special to know that your people are here,” she said. “Just having those moments to look back on when you’re done running, having those pictures with your family and friends, no matter the outcome, that’s one of the things I’ve missed. Rio (2016), I didn’t win a medal, and in Tokyo there was no one. Those were my first real Olympics.”
But she also warned that despite her dominance, the world is gaining.
“The event is getting faster and faster,” she said. “That depth always keeps me on my toes, makes me want to find ways to improve and get better at the race. I love being able to improve.”
On Wednesday, Thomas won gold in the 200 meters, beating 100-meter champion Julien Alfred of St. Lucia. Thomas’ teammate Brittany Brown finished third, winning bronze. On Friday, the women’s 4×100 relay team, led by lightning-fast Sha’Carri Richardson, won its twelfth gold medal and third in 4 Olympics.
As heavy rain fell, Team USA endured a failed rally between Twanisha Terry and Thomas, but Richardson made up for it by chasing down two runners and ending together with her signature kick. The kick had come up short two days earlier when Richardson lost the gold medal match to Alfred.
Richardson closed operations on Friday.
“I just trusted Gabby and knew she was going to give me a hard time no matter what,” Richardson said later.
The U.S. men weren’t so lucky. For the fifth straight Olympics, the men botched their transition and were disqualified. Canada took gold, South Africa silver, and Great Britain bronze.
The men’s performance was so woeful that it drew criticism from Olympic sprinter and long jumper Carl Lewis, who won nine gold medals in the Nineteen Eighties and Nineteen Nineties. Lewis slammed Team USA coaches on X, formerly generally known as Twitter.
Missing from the relay was sprinter Noah Lyles, who won gold in an electrifying 100-meter dash on Monday and bronze in the 200-meter dash on Thursday; he later revealed he had tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.
“It’s time to blow up this system” Lewis wrote“This continues to be completely unacceptable. It’s clear that EVERYONE at @usatf is more interested in relationships than winning. No athlete should get on the track and run another relay until this program is changed from top to bottom.”
However, there have been also positive results.
Rai Benjamin won his first Olympic gold medal Friday in the 400-meter hurdles. Grant Holloway won gold in the 110-meter hurdles. Cole Hocker pulled off a surprise in the 1,500 meters in an Olympic-record time and Quincy Hall made a spectacular comeback to win gold in the 400 meters. Hall became the first American to win gold in the 400 meters since 2008.
And on Friday, Quincy Wilson, the 16-year-old phenom, became the youngest athlete to run for Team USA when he ran the first leg of the men’s 4×400 relay in the first heat. Wilson didn’t run well, and the U.S. simply had to hustle to qualify for the final. But the experience was invaluable to the young sprinter, and perhaps an indication of the depth of the U.S. bench. With Wilson in the stands Saturday, Team USA won the gold medal in the 4×400 relay.
But the world remains to be playing catch-up, and the query is whether or not the depth we took without any consideration is being undermined. At the end of Saturday’s competition, the United States was one behind China in gold medals, with 37, but led the overall standings with 121 medals, while China had 89. Through Saturday, the Americans had won 24 gold medals, to China’s 17; the Chinese had 17 gold medals, to the United States’ 12.
We can all the time nitpick. The United States has never won a medal in badminton, table tennis, handball, trampoline, or rhythmic gymnastics. On the other hand, in cycling, the U.S. women’s pursuit team won its first gold medal in 12 years. Team USA won its first medal in artistic swimming in 20 years and won its first men’s Olympic weightlifting medal in 40 years.
The lesson learned from these Olympics is that in the sports that matter to the United States — swimming, basketball, gymnastics and track and field — dominance continues.
The query is, for a way long.
Sports
Kevin Durant reaches third milestone of NBA season in 6 games
Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns added one other milestone to his basketball legacy during Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. In the second quarter, Durant became just the sixteenth player in league history to make 10,000 field goals.
According to , the 17-year NBA veteran and LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leader in points, are the one energetic players to hit this number.
Certified bucket lifter.
KD becomes only the sixteenth player on the team @NBA history to achieve 10,000 field goals – join LeBron James because the only energetic player to achieve this milestone 👏 pic.twitter.com/SLQIqeOlJ4
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) November 3, 2024
“I have achieved several milestones since I got here… I have to thank the people who have helped me since I was a kid, taught me the game, my teammates… I think about them often… grateful to have such great people in my life who have helped push me and lift my spirits when I needed it,” Durant told reporters after the Suns’ 103-97 victory.
The season is barely six games into the season, but Durant has already reached three different milestones. In addition to the latter, he became the eighth player in NBA history to attain 29,000 profession points. Additionally, Durant is currently the oldest player in NBA history to begin a season with 4 straight 25-point games.
The former Golden State Warriors player took part in Sunday’s game averaging 26.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.2 rebounds per game, in addition to at least one assist and 1.8 blocks. He shot 53.4% from the sphere and 46.2% from three-point shots.
The Suns are 5-1 and have a four-game winning streak. Their next game is November 4 at home against the struggling Philadelphia 76ers.
Sports
Robert Griffin III couldn’t be happier for Jayden Daniels in Washington: ‘He brought the city to life’
Star Black quarterbacks aren’t any longer the exception – they’re the rule. Throughout the football season, the series will explore the importance and impact of Black quarterbacks, from the grassroots level to the NFL.
The buzz in Washington grew stronger each week as a talented young quarterback revitalized a team that had been stagnant. He led the team’s unlikely rise to the top of the NFC East standings and, in the process, inspired something that many Washington supporters had lost: hope.
Of course, the starting quarterback of the Washington Commanders Jayden Daniels is a rising star. But long before Daniels took the nation’s capital by storm along with his signature moves and late game heroismRobert Griffin III was the talk of the town.
Like Daniels, Griffin was a Heisman Trophy winner who was chosen second overall in the NFL draft by the Washington franchise. In some ways, Griffin’s rookie season was much more magical than Daniels’ current thrill ride. With Griffin at the helm, Washington won the NFC East title in 2012-13 – the franchise’s first title in 13 seasons. He had a strong passing arm, a sprinter’s speed and a megawatt smile that endeared him to fans. In Washington, the next big thing was RG3.
However, after suffering a severe knee injury in his debut season, Griffin never repeated the success he achieved in his first yr in Washington. Today, Griffin, 34, enjoys watching Daniels from afar while reveling in Washington’s exciting recent path.
During a lengthy phone interview with Andscape on Wednesday, Griffin looked back and forward, expressing his happiness for the club and its fans.
“As far as Washington heading into the season, there is just not an analyst in the world that thinks (the Commanders) will be 6-2 without delay. Not one, right? Not based on the schedule, not based on the lineup or anything. I’ve heard some people say that one guy modified the whole lot. And whenever you say that… you have got no idea what you are talking about. In DC it is often about multiple guy. In 2012, there have been 3-6 of us at the end of the week. Then we began a seven-game streak (winning streak). We finished 10-6, won the league and made the playoffs. Everyone else knows the remainder of this story.
“But it isn’t nearly Jayden Daniels in Washington without delay. He is the one who revived the city and took it over. I’ll say this and I even have said this before: “When you win in DC, there isn’t any higher city to be in. And whenever you win in DC, the quarterback is more essential than the president of the United States.’ That’s what Jayden Daniels achieved. … But it isn’t nearly Jayden Daniels. This is Josh Harris, the recent owner. This is Adam Peters, the recent CEO. This is the recent head coach, Dan Quinn. This is the recent offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury. It’s about bringing in a vet like (tight end) Zach Ertz. It’s about bringing in a vet like (running back) Austin Ekeler.
“It’s about (running back) Brian Robinson. It’s about (wide receiver) Terry McLaurin. They have done so many things to get the fresh smell of Febreze from the top of the organization down. Peters has done an incredible job of putting his team along with guys who understand how to win. … Daniels was the most explosive passer and most explosive runner in all of school football last yr. The statistics back it up and that is why he won the Heisman Trophy. He was absolutely amazing. But whenever you take a look at his stats (NFL), he ranks (tied) twenty second in the league in passing touchdowns with seven. He is in the top five in yards per attempt (fifth, 8.4 yards per attempt). In terms of meters, he ranks twelfth in the league.
“But the way you’re feeling when he’s on the field, you’d think he led the league in touchdown passes, he led the league in passing yards and all that. That’s because Washington wins and doesn’t ask the world about Jayden Daniels. So after they need the world from Him, like during the Hail Mary, He delivers. This is an attractive recipe for success. As he grows and develops, he doesn’t try to do an excessive amount of. He doesn’t try to put the team on his back. It’s just natural for him. And that is what makes it so exciting. I’m very joyful for him.
I have already got an old head, which is sort of crazy. I do not think it’s right for old heads to take a look at the younger generation and never want them to succeed. Today you hear analysts all the time taking the approach: “Well, I was this and that.” I used to be an expert bowler. I used to be an expert. I used to be a Hall of Famer. Let me inform you why these guys stink. I do not think that is the right approach. I believe the approach is that you just take a look at the younger generation and speak about what makes them great. You tell them a story about who they’re so people can really get to know them. And in the event that they screw up, you tell them why they made a mistake and the way they’ll improve. For me, that is how you progress things forward.
“With Jayden, I approached it this way. I am honored to have the opportunity to connect with him and his family and be a mentor when he needs it. Jayden Daniels is top notch in terms of how he thinks and how intellectual and smart he is. You can see it in his game. It doesn’t force many things. He has a natural ability to carry out important actions at the right moment. So yes, I’m really happy for him. And I’m even more happy for the city.”
Sports
The NBA is investigating Joel Embiid’s altercation with a journalist
The NBA is investigating whether Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid allegedly pushed Marcus Hayes, a columnist for ” “, into the locker room after a game on November 2. Embiid reportedly felt offended that his son and late brother were used against him within the column Hayes wrote.
According to , Keith Pompney with a report that Embiid attacked a reporter within the locker room. After initial confusion over whether Embiid punched the reporter, ESPN insider Shams Charania confirmed it was a shove, not a punch.
Kyle Neubeck, who later wrote his own column on Embiid’s humanity, evident in his response to the reporter Embiid shoved, said on the postgame show that the reporter was Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“The moment Joel realized he (Hayes) was there, a verbal exchange occurred. Of course, we cannot repeat lots of the words that were said on this program. The basic rule was: “You can say I suck, you can say whatever you want about me as a player.” Never put my dead brother’s name in your mouth. Don’t speak about my family. Leave them out of this. “You want to talk to me like a man and talk to me about basketball, that’s one thing, but if you ever talk about my family again, we’re going to have serious problems,” Neubeck said.
Hayes’ article was partly a response to the 76ers being fined $100,000 for making misleading public statements about Embiid’s health after he claimed he was struggling with a left knee injury.
The starting of Hayes’ column sounds quite harsh, and plenty of people expressed solidarity with Embiid on social media.
“Joel Embiid consistently points to the birth of his son Arthur as a major turning point in his basketball profession. He often says he desires to be great, leaving a legacy for a boy named after his younger brother, who tragically died in a automobile accident when Embiid was in the primary 12 months of his 76er profession,” Hayes began his column.
Hayes continued, “Well, to be good at your job, you first have to point out up for it. Embiid was great at the exact opposite. Now in its eleventh season, it commonly finds itself in poor condition. Apparently, this poor condition delayed his debut this season.
Hayes later had that first paragraph removed, admitting he understood why people objected to it in a post on his Twitter account.
Embiid clearly didn’t accept the apology from Hayes, who continued to publish columns critical of Embiid after he mentioned Embiid’s son, who was named after Embiid’s brother, Arthur, who died in a automobile accident in Cameroon in 2014.
In his comments to reporters on Nov. 1, Embiid mentioned that he had played through injury or injury several times, and was particularly vocal in attacking Hayes.
“If your body doesn’t respond well and if it tells you one thing – I did it. As far as I do know, I broke my face twice, I got here back earlier with the danger of losing my sight, my fingers were broken, but I got here back anyway. So I’m not going to take a seat here and think that folks are saying, “He doesn’t want to play.” I’ve done way an excessive amount of for this city at the danger of individuals saying so. I believe it’s bullshit,” Embiid said.
Embiid continued: “Like this guy, he is not here, Marcus, whatever his name is, I’ve done way an excessive amount of for this f***ing city to be treated like this. Far an excessive amount of has been done. I wish I might be as lucky as others, but that doesn’t suggest I’m not trying and doing every part in my power to be there soon.
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