Sleet woes continue at Whistler for Vancouver Olympics
The Olympic men\’s downhill was scrubbed Saturday due to rain, snow and warm weather deteriorating course conditions, and the headache seems getting stronger as the sleet continues on.
What makes things worse is the forthcoming 10-day forecast for Whistler won\’t be anything close to be very cold.
The men\’s downhill of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games would begin Monday at 10:30 local time. The women\’s combined event, originally scheduled for Sunday, has been tentatively kicked to Thursday.
The men\’s combined is still scheduled for Tuesday, but an instant call is advisable for the update weather hotline before making plans, with the women\’s downhill still on tap for Wednesday.
Highs in the mid-40s Fahrenheit degrees almost every day, and at or below freezing only three nights, never getting colder than 29 for the next 10-day spin.
There\’s a good chance of sleet, rain, and perhaps snow showers, on Sunday and Tuesday, then turning partly cloudy and finally sunny by next weekend.
Weather postponements are nothing unusual at the Winter Games. And this is nothing compared to 1998 Nagano Olympics, on a mountain in Hakuba, when the world waited five days for the downhill and watched the entire Alpine schedule get scrambled like eggs.
It wasn\’t easy for Nagano, but the organizers squeezed the 10 Alpine skiing races, doubling up events some days.
Not everyone has been dismayed with the prolong. U.S. media applaused a lot for the climate which earned time for their medals favorite Lindsey Vonn, who entered the Games not knowing whether she could compete after bruising her shin on Feb. 2 from a training run in Austria.
The postponement for U.S. team was credited as a heaven-sent opportunity, which enable the World Cup No. 1 to recover in time to be competitive.
The mist, fog, slush and mud on pants are seen everywhere. Washington Post defined Whistler\’s weather as a summer seaside resort style.
"How balmy and wet has it been in this ski resort? Sweatshirts are as common as anoraks. Sheepskin coats are passe. Umbrellas are more popular than those sought-after red Maple Leaf mittens." That\’s what\’s Whistler feel like from the Post.
The Games opened, and competitions are under way. A compact schedule surely hinders athletes\’ performance, especially for those qualified for multiple events. What the organizers needed most the moment at Whistler is the bright side in the soaking rains, blinding fog, piles of dirty snow and mountainside patches of grass and mud.
Starry NBA All-Star Weekend
Utah Jazz\’s Deron Williams competes in the skills challenge contest during NBA All-Star weekend in Dallas Feb. 13, 2010. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)
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Phoenix Suns\’ Steve Nash competes in the skills challenge contest during NBA All-Star weekend in Dallas Feb. 13, 2010. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)
Rockets hand Wolves 11th straight loss, 97-84
Al Jefferson crumpled to the court in pain, the victim of an inadvertent kick to the head by Houston\’s Carl Landry in the fourth quarter.
It was a literal rendition of what has been happening on a proverbial level to the Minnesota Timberwolves nearly all season long.
Luis Scola had 20 points and a season-high 16 rebounds in Houston\’s 97-84 victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night, Minnesota\’s 11th loss in a row.
Trevor Ariza scored 18 points, Chuck Hayes had 11 points and 10 rebounds and the Rockets hit 12 3-pointers to hand the Wolves their seventh straight double-digit loss.
After tight games against the Suns, Clippers and Celtics at the beginning of the month, the Wolves have had too many nights like this where they showed little energy and effort as things unraveled.
"We\’re going to have to fight, frustrated or not," Jefferson said. "We\’re getting paid a lot of money to do our job. We can\’t do it half the time. We have to do it for 48 minutes."
Jefferson returned to the lineup for Minnesota after missing the past two games to be with his grandmother, who died last week. Playing with a heavy heart, Jefferson made his first eight shots and finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
He remained in the game after being kicked in the fourth quarter but was quiet for the final eight minutes as the Wolves faded.
Their only victory of the season came on opening night against the Nets, who have yet to win a game this season.
"We haven\’t come close in any of the games since the fourth or fifth game," forward Ryan Gomes said. "After that, every other game has been double-digit losses. We want to get off this losing streak but it\’s going to have to come from within."
Houston were playing the second game of a back-to-back and the Timberwolves had three days off in a row. But the Rockets were the team which played with more energy throughout. Houston outrebounded Minnesota 46-36 and scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to pull away.
"This was such a dangerous game. They had lost 10 in a row, they had a couple of days off to work out some things," Rockets forward Shane Battier said. "They want to win. They\’re not trying to lose 11 in a row and they know they have to play harder and more together so when you\’re facing those odds you have to play a good game. You can\’t assume you\’re going to win."
The Rockets, playing without All-Stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, have been pushing the tempo at Suns-like speed to try and compensate. They entered the night sixth in the NBA in scoring at 103.5 points per game and had topped 100 in 10 straight, their longest streak since 1995-96.
But they looked a little sluggish early on after losing to those Suns on Tuesday night. They had no trouble getting out on the break in their usual style, it was the finishing that was proving difficult.
They commited 14 turnovers in the first half to allow the Timberwolves to hang around.
Ramon Sessions had 16 points and five assists for Minnesota, who led 67-66 late in the third quarter. But, as usual, the Timberwolves defense failed down the stretch. The Rockets had little problem getting to the basket or finding open jump shots in the fourth, quickly rebuilding a 12-point lead.
Mavs\’ Nowitzki hits winner in OT
Dirk Nowitzki thought his shot was perfect when it left his hand.
Dallas Mavericks\’ Dirk Nowitzki, of Germany, reacts with Jose Juan Barea (11) after Nowitzki made the game-winning shot during overtime of their NBA game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday in Milwaukee. The Mavericks won 115-113. [AP]
He\’ll definitely take the lucky overtime bounce.
Nowitzki hit a fallaway 18-footer with a hand in his face as time expired to give the Dallas Mavericks a 115-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night.
"I thought it was going straight in. The bounce was obviously lucky," said Nowitzki, who scored seven of his 32 points in overtime. "When it bounced up, it seemed like it was up there forever. We got a lucky bounce and we definitely needed it."
With 3.1 seconds left, Nowitzki caught a pass from Jason Kidd, who finished a point short of a triple-double, and threw it up over Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. The ball rattled off the rim and kissed the backboard, dropping softly through the hoop as the backboard lights came on.
"Great catch because they were both fighting," said Kidd, who had nine points, 10 rebounds and 17 assists. "(Dirk) made a heck of a catch and then from there he does what he does, that\’s making baskets. He\’s been doing it for us all season and his whole career."
The play was upheld after a brief review.
"It was a tough shot. It went in and out and went back in," Mbah a Moute said. "It\’s tough, it\’s very tough. He\’s a good player. I probably should\’ve tried harder to deny him the ball but they just throw it up and he\’s 7-foot."
Nowitzki, who also had 11 rebounds, untucked his jersey and celebrated with his teammates near the Mavericks\’ bench after the shot went in. He jumped into Jose Barea and was immediately tackled by Kidd as Dallas finished a 3-1 road trip with a pileup.
"He got up a shot and we got a fortunate bounce," coach Rick Carlisle said. "We feel fortunate. We played hard enough to deserve the game and they did too. It\’s a great win for us and a tough loss for them."
Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings had 25 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in his first game since scoring 55 against the Warriors on Saturday night. But it wasn\’t enough to extend Milwaukee\’s winning streak to five.
The short-handed Mavericks lost forward Shawn Marion to a sprained left ankle in the second quarter. Owner Mark Cuban said Marion is day to day, but should be fine.
Drew Gooden had 22 points and 14 rebounds again playing in place of center Erick Dampier.
Trailing by 18 midway through the third, the Bucks cut it to 85-82 on Jennings\’ 3 just before time expired in the period.
Jennings\’ underhand runner gave the Bucks a 104-102 lead but Jason Terry tied it with a jumper with 32 seconds left. Luke Ridnour and Jennings missed shots for Milwaukee which would\’ve won it in regulation.
Jennings said he didn\’t see Ersan Ilyasova open in the corner.
"I wanted the ball at the last second," Jennings said. "I didn\’t know Ersan\’s man had doubled me. When I looked back at the tape I saw he was wide open for the jump shot. It\’s something I\’m going to learn from. It\’s a long season."
Ilyasova finished with 19 points, Ridnour added 17 and Andrew Bogut and Mbah a Moute each had 13 for the Bucks.
Dampier was hospitalized after warmups ahead of Sunday night\’s 95-90 victory in Detroit but the Mavericks have said little about it beyond he wasn\’t feeling well. Carlisle didn\’t elaborate before the game but said Dampier was flying to Milwaukee and rejoining the team in time to fly home on the Mavericks\’ charter flight.
That flight back to Dallas is certain to be celebratory now.
"It\’ll be great," Kidd said. "This is a big win. … We\’ve given some away and tonight, it was kind of looking like that, but we stayed involved and made some plays down the stretch."
Joinville defeats Flamengo 72-69 in Brazilian basketball league
Dropping their first game in the 2009-2010 season of the New Brazilian Basketball league (NBB), Flamengo lost on the road to Joinville 72-69 on Sunday.
Joinville\’s Tiagao scored a game high 27 points and hauled in 13 rebounds. Andre contributed to the team\’s victory with 17 points. For Flamengo, Marcelinho Machado led his team with 25 points, followed by his brother, Duda Machado, scored 16 points.
"We won an important game today. We had many hurt players and entered the game as an underdog. The win was an important moral victory that will help to motivate us throughout the season," said Joinville\’s point guard, Manteiguinha.
Flamengo, with a 2-1 record, returns to the court on November 20 to play Parana in Londrina. On November 22, Joinville, now 2-0,will host Sao Jose.
Washington Wizards wind up Sichuan visit
A delegation of the Washington Wizards, the first NBA team to visit China, left Chengdu, capital of Southwest China\’s Sichuan province, on Sunday morning for Guangzhou, capital of South China\’s Guangdong province, winding up its short visit of Sichuan.
The team arrived in Chengdu on Friday afternoon and had a group interview with the media.
To commemorate the Bullets\’ landmark visit, Peter Biche, president of the Wizards (R), presents a black-and-white photo of the teammates taken in front of the Palace Museum (Imperial City) in Beijing 30 years ago to David Brown, the new Consul General of the American Consulate General in Chengdu, in a reception held at the Consul General\’s Residence on Saturday evening.(Photo: chinadaily.com.cn/Huang Zhiling)
On Saturday, they visited the You\’ai Primary School in Dujiangyan, a city under the administration of Chengdu, and stayed at the Chengdu-based University of Electronic and Science and Technology of China (UESTC) where they taught basketball players from the UESTC and Aba Teachers College in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan to improve their skills.
Both Dujiangyan and Aba were hard hit in the 8-magnitude earthquake in Wenchuan county in Aba, the epicenter of the devastating quake.
"The quake hurt the people of Sichuan and we were eager to visit children in the quake zone," said Peter Biche, president of the Wizards, in a group interview with the media.
Hosted by the Chinese People\’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the team\’s Sichuan visit was the third stop of its 10-day visit in China to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Bullets\’ (now the Wizards) groundbreaking journey to China.
Before its visit to Chengdu, they had visited Shanghai and Beijing.
The visit is aimed at promoting friendship between the two countries, bringing China not only the advanced basketball management methods and professional skills but also the sincere care from American people, Biche said.
The Bullets were the first NBA team to travel to China in 1979, when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping invited owner Abe Pollin shortly after the normalization of relations between China and the United States.
To commemorate the Bullets\’ landmark visit, Biche presented a black-and-white photo of the teammates taken in front of the Palace Museum (Imperial City) in Beijing 30 years ago to David Brown, the new Consul General of the American Consulate General in Chengdu, in a reception held at the Consul General\’s Residence on Saturday evening.
Brown, who took his present position six weeks ago, said he liked the photo very much and joked that he was considering whether to keep it for himself at his residence or put it up in his office so that his successor would share it.
"It\’s significant that the Wizards pay a return visit to China, commemorating the special 30th anniversary between China and the United States," said Zhou Wenzhong, Chinese ambassador to the United States, in an interview with Xinhua. "We are supporting their trip because they want to review the history they made in 1979 and continue paying their contributions both to Sino-American relations and sports."
Rubio dubs NBA move risky
Ricky Rubio preferred to keep playing basketball in Spain because joining the Minnesota Timberwolves was a risky move that would complicate his life.
The 19-year-old point guard was sent from DKV Joventut to FC Barcelona on Tuesday after the Catalan club paid Rubio\’s 3.5-million euro (US$5 million) buyout clause.
Rubio, the Timberwolves\’ fifth overall pick in this year\’s draft, agreed to a six-year deal that included a buyout clause that allows him to leave for the National Basketball Association after two years.
"Going to Minnesota would have just complicated my life a lot. It was a risk and I didn\’t see it so clearly," Rubio said. "My priority was the NBA and it was impossible for the Minnesota Timberwolves to pay my buyout clause, so I wanted to stay home."
Timberwolves President David Kahn traveled to Spain three times to try to work out a deal and appeared to have secured Rubio\’s passage to Minnesota less than 48 hours before the player changed his mind, preferring to stay on home soil rather than prepare for life in the NBA.
NBA guidelines limit the amount of money Minnesota could have contributed to Rubio\’s buyout at US$500,000, although Kahn said a package of endorsement deals and sponsorships had helped make the NBA deal attractive enough for Rubio and Joventut to enter into an agreement last Saturday.
"They could only put half a million into it and I think that the deal with Minnesota had too many obstacles," Rubio said.
The Spaniard said he was still committed to going to the NBA, even though there is no guarantee the starting point guard spot that was his to lose this season will still be around.
"I won\’t lie," Rubio said. "My objective has always been the NBA."
Fears ease as Yao could be back this season
Chinese star center Yao Ming might be able to recover from surgery on his broken left foot and play for the Houston Rockets in the 2009-2010 NBA season.
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming walks off the court with his broken left foot in a cast after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of their NBA Western Conference semi-final basketball playoff game in Los Angeles in this May 17, 2009 file photo. [Agencies]?
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey told ESPN that Yao is improving and that his career, once thought to be in jeopardy from the injury, is no longer at risk, the sport\’s network\’s website reported on Monday.
"Yao Ming is progressing well," Morey said. "I don\’t think that (Yao never playing again) is something that will happen, based on what I\’m hearing from the doctors.
"They do know that the bone will heal and he\’ll get back on it and they have not ruled out (a return) this season. I think that\’s less likely than likely but they haven\’t ruled it out."
Yao underwent surgery in July after suffering a fracture in a playoff game against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers, having bone grafts to his tarsal navicular bone and a foot realignment to reduce stress on the area.
That should enhance Yao\’s chances of being back and fit in the 2010-2011 campaign.
"Next season, the outlook is very good," Morey said. "He just took off the cast for a short period (two weeks ago) so the doctors could examine it and everything is going well. Everything is on track.
"Once the cast is removed, he\’ll be able to start rehab on his foot and the cast has a little ways, multiple weeks, to go."
Yao, who has NBA career averages of 19.1 points and 9.3 rebounds a game, was set to make more than $16 million next season and he has an option for the following season that would bring him more than $17 million.
Morey has encouraged Yao to look to a future that includes an NBA Finals challenge.
"He comes to the gym pretty much every day," Morey said. "He has become pretty good at making shots from a seated position.
"I\’ve been joking with him that when we\’re in the NBA Finals and he gets knocked down and he hits the shot falling backwards to win the game, all this hard work will have paid off."
Iran win Asian basketball title
Iran successfully reigned Sunday the Asian title as they beat host China 70-52 in the final of the Asian Men\’s Basketball Championship in Tianjin, north China.
Jordan won the bronze medal by beating Lebanon 80-66, and qualified along with China and Iran for the 2010 Turkey World Championships on August 28-September 12.
Yi Jianlian (2nd R) of China looses the ball during the final against Iran at the 2009 FIBA Asia Championships for Men at Tianjin Gym in Tianjin, north China, Aug. 16, 2009. (Xinhua/Wang Yebiao)
Center Hamed Ehadadi collected 19 points and 17 rebounds for Iran, which silenced critics as they won the championship in 2007 where China sent a second-string team.
Playing without NBA center Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi and Yi Jianlian were combined for 35 points, but were beaten by 48-31 on the board.
China\’s outside shooters scored only 12 points together as they shot 2-out-of-18 on 3-pointers.
Wang Zhizhi (L) of China defends during the final against Iran at the 2009 FIBA Asia Championships for Men at Tianjin Gym in Tianjin, north China, Aug. 16, 2009. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
Iran dominated the board as they nailed 28 rebounds, including 13 offensive ones, to ensure a 21-10 first-quarter lead. China grabbed only 13 rebounds during that period.
Ehadadi had eight points and 12 rebounds to extend it 38-20 in the second period, and Iran carried on to a 42-25 lead before the break.
Iran opened the second half with a 7-0 run and led as many as 53-28 before Wang Zhizhi scored six points to put China back into the game on 56-39.
Aggressive defence kept China down on the ground when Iran outscored again at the start of the decisive fourth quarter for a 66-43 lead with 4:49 minutes left. The game was out of control for China and local fans left the arena from then on.
Guard Rasheim Wright led Jordan with 28 points, with teammates Zaid Abbas and Osama Daghles adding 11 points apiece.
This was the first time Lebanon finished the continental championships without a medal as they were the runners-up at the 2005 and 2007 versions.
They lost twice to Jordan and twice to China to surrender the chance of qualification as there are only three seats for Asian teams in next year\’s finals.
Jordan started the game with a 10-0 run but let Lebanon score the next 19 consecutive points to close the first quarter.
A series of 3-pointers and fast-breaks of Wright put Jordan into the driving seat and a 13-0 run put Jordan up for good on 36-27 in the second period.
Lebanon, led by Fadi El Khatib and Rony Fahed\’s 13 points each, failed to give more challenge in the following game.
In the other game of the afternoon actions, South Korea defeated the Philippines 82-80 to finish seventh, the worst results for the South Koreans in the tournament.
Chinese Taipei completed their brilliant run in the tournament with another win as they beat Qatar 87-79 to finish fifth.
Yi-led China aims to win back Asian title
New Jersey Nets forward Yi Jianlian will lead China\’s charge for a 15th Asian basketball title in Tianjin today in the absence of injured NBA All-Star Yao Ming.
China has won 14 of the 17 Asia Championships it has participated in but, with an eye on the preparations for the Olympics, fielded a second string team and only finished 10th at the last edition in Japan in 2007.
Iran was crowned continental champion then but the host, with three players with NBA experience in its squad, will be strong favorites to emerge as winners of the final of the 16-team tournament on August 16.
"We have to win the championship. The goal has to be realized," said newly appointed national coach Guo Shiqiang.
In-form Yi has dominated China\’s three warm-up friendlies with an average of 21.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game since he returned from the US.
Another 2.13m former NBA forward Wang Zhizhi and guard Sun Yue, who has just been released by the champion LA Lakers, should at least see China safely out of opening Group C, which also includes Kazakhstan, Qatar and India.
China opens its title bid for the title against India today with the added incentive of a place at next year\’s world championships in Turkey for the top three finishers in Tianjin.
