I join the baby arms race

I think my blog receives fewer hits than just about any other blog on the cyberweb. But, I don't let this bother me, and I vow continue to write posts about basketball even though no one is interested. If my blog does have a "rival" it would have to be wrayblog.blogspot.com. The great thing about this blog is the number of photos of babies of all kinds that are included on it. So today, I add my own. Herewith:



Now that that is out of the way. I want to talk about the USA basketball team. I've watched their first two exhibitions and I like what I see on the court. However, I loathe the work by the ESPN2 announcing team of Jim Durham and Bill Walton. Walton is always about as fun as slamming your hand in a door, but apparently for Jim Durham it is still the offseason. In three months he seems to have forgotten the difference between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. And worse yet, beyond those two players, he has no idea who anyone else is. He was doing a better job announcing the Chinese guys. At one point, he said the US was up by 34 when they were up by 44. He had no idea who fouls were called on and pretty much sounded like Suntory time had started about 12 hours before the game. His performance in the Puerto Rico game wasn't any better. I can't comment on Walton because it makes me too angry.
But I love the team. Everybody talked about needing to add role players to the US squad, but the way Coach K has the team playing, the stars are acting like role players, making role players somewhat irrelevant. Bruce Bowen is going to get cut because everybody is playing tight defense, at least through two games. As for the other player who should be left off the World Championships roster, I'm not so sure. It's going to be a player who is playing well because everybody on the team is doing a good job. I think it may be Antawn Jamison, who is a great player to have because he's big and can shoot threes. It could also be Kirk Hinrich or Brad Miller.
Jerry Colangelo's idea of adding role players was not a bad one, though, which you can tell instantly after watching Shane Battier play. He's doing exactly what he always does: pass, set picks, take lots of charges, rebound, get loose balls and make threes when he's open. In the PR game, he was the only player who already was jumping right away in free throws, so he could knock shots out of the cylinder if it rolled around.
Everyone is talking about James, Wade, and Anthony, who do seem to be the core of the team. But a squad of Chris Paul, Joe Johnson or Gilbert Arenas at the two, Jamison, Elton Brand and Dwight Howard can be just as effective. I hope they don't cut Miller who was excellent against China. He can defend big guys and stretch the defense, which you need in international play.
Anthony has been incredibly impressive. He seems to thrive because the defense isn't focused solely on him. From 20 feet in, he hardly ever misses a jump shot. He just seems to be in complete control, playing smart, having a good time and being a leader.
I think the entire team is not happy with the reputation the USA basketball team has gotten as a result of 2004 and 2006. It seems they just want to dominate at all times, but all I want is for them to win. They don't have to destroy everybody, just win. And they clearly have the talent, the depth and the will to do so. I hope they don't get derailed by anything, and I don't think they will. They go in as the best team, I'll be interested to see if they can leave with the proof.