Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I’ll relax on my couch in Brooklyn today and watch the Olympics in China, the PGA Championship in Michigan, and the Phillies game in Philadelphia.\u00a0 It’s certainly an interesting Sports Sunday and it starts early with the broadcast of USA vs. China in Olympic basketball.\u00a0 Predictably, NBC is airing a story on Yao Ming right now.\u00a0 Also predictably, I know nothing about China’s team other than Yao.\u00a0 It should be interesting to see how the US decides to defend him, because Dwight Howard is really the only center on the roster.\u00a0 I wouldn’t be\u00a0surprised to see them throw a zone defense and see if these Chinese guards can hit some shots.<\/p>\n
\u00a010:16 AM: <\/strong>Howard wins the tip from Yao.\u00a0 USA starting lineup: Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Howard.\u00a0 Yao hits a 3 to start!\u00a0 Maybe a zone won’t work (and yes, the US has come out in a zone).<\/p>\n 10:20 AM: <\/strong>Oh, China has Yi Zianlian, of course.\u00a0 They also have a guard that was apparently drafted in the second round by the Lakers in 2007.\u00a0 He hit a 3 already.\u00a0 Early 11-9 lead for China, and the crowd is really into it, of course.\u00a0 Chris Paul checks in.\u00a0 Many people have pointed out that Paul has surpassed Kidd, and it should be interesting to see who gets the bulk of playing time at the point, with Deron Williams also in the mix.<\/p>\n 10:36 AM: <\/strong>The first quarter ends with the US leading 20-16.\u00a0 Kidd has not come back on the court, and Paul and Williams have on the court together, which I think is a great idea.\u00a0 China’s been knocking down some 3’s.\u00a0 I see Jim Boeheim is an assistant coach.\u00a0 No word on whether or not he tried to get this game played in the Carrier Dome.<\/p>\n 10:47 AM: <\/strong>China just keeps sinking the 3’s, they’re 7-11, and have the game tied at 29.\u00a0 It definitely hasn’t been an encouraging game for the US so far.\u00a0 Obviously they have a ridiculous advantage in athleticism but they’ve been a bit sloppy and haven’t shot the ball well, which has been the Achilles heel of a lot of these international teams.\u00a0 If they were playing like this against Argentina, they’d be down double-digits right now.<\/p>\n 11:00 AM: <\/strong>It was a disastrous close to the half for the Chinese, as the US delivered what should be a finishing blow and taking a 49-37 lead.\u00a0 The US started bringing some pressure defense, which you would love to see more of considering their 12th man is an NBA All-Star.\u00a0 Fatigue will never be an issue for the ‘Redeem Team’.<\/p>\n 11:32 AM: <\/strong>The US has really just enforced their will here in the third quarter, carrying over the momentum from the end of the first half.\u00a0 They still haven’t got the offense clicking on all cylinders but the defense has been pretty stifling and China looks worn down.\u00a0 It certainly won’t help that Yao just landed awkwardly and looks like he rolled his ankle.\u00a0 69-48 US with just over a minute in the quarter.<\/p>\n 11:57 AM:\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, it turned into a blowout win for the Americans, but there are still question marks for this team.\u00a0 They’ll get Angola in their next game, so there probably won’t be much figured out in that one either.\u00a0 One of my favorite sports quotes ever came from Charles Barkley during the 1992 Olympics.\u00a0 He was asked what he knew about Angola and responded, “I know they’re gonna lose!”.\u00a0 Final score: USA 101, China 70.\u00a0 Craig Sager looks disappointed that he had to wear the NBC golf shirt and not one of his purple and gold suits.<\/p>\n 1:17 PM: <\/strong>After catching some rowing events that were probably about as exciting as rowing gets (i.e. not even a little bit), I’m ready for a switch over to baseball, as the Phillies get ready to finish up their series with the Pirates.\u00a0 The Phillies offense has been shockingly bad lately, but they did manage to break a 23-inning scoreless streak last night and beat the Pirates, 4-2.\u00a0 They cling to a one-game lead in the division over the Mets, and they’ll send Jamie Moyer to the mound today.\u00a0 The Pirates starter is some guy I’ve never heard of, Jason Davis, who has appeared in 4 games out of the bullpen for Pittsburgh this year.<\/p>\n 1:35 PM:\u00a0 <\/strong>Rain delay in Philly.\u00a0 On the bright side, water polo is on the Olympics now, USA vs. China again.\u00a0 I guess these guys make a bit less money than the basketball players.\u00a0 This is probably the hardest sport in the world to play.\u00a0 US leads 3-0.<\/p>\n \u00a02:09 PM:\u00a0 <\/strong>Ah, the PGA Championship, everyone’s least favorite major.\u00a0 The CBS coverage is just getting underway.\u00a0 By the end of the day\u00a0we’ll know who gets to join such golf luminaries as Shaun Micheel and Rich Beem as champions of this tournament.\u00a0 It’s quite an underwhelming leaderboard, with Ben Curtis and JB Holmes at the top.\u00a0 Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia lurk 3 shots off the lead.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see if either of those two can make a move.\u00a0 This is one of the 6 days each year that I make an effort to watch golf, so hopefully we get more than a Curtis-Holmes duel.<\/p>\n 2:13 PM:\u00a0 <\/strong>I don’t understand Ben Curtis’s hats.\u00a0 I remember in the past seeing him wear a Chicago Bears hat while playing and I thought he was just a big fan and\/or didn’t have any sponsorships.\u00a0 But today he’s sporting a Detroit Lions hat, with Titleist written on the side of it.\u00a0 Does he have some sponsorship deal with the NFL?\u00a0 Is he just a big football fan?\u00a0 I need an explanation here.\u00a0 Maybe Jim Nance will touch on this in a witty aside at some point.<\/p>\n 2:20 PM:\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, Holmes might be exiting stage left, right at the start of his round here.\u00a0 He put his drive into the trees and then took a hack to get it out and the ball went about four feet.\u00a0 Now he’s taking a drop.\u00a0 It’s always fun to watch a professional athlete look completely incompetent.<\/p>\n 2:48 PM:\u00a0 <\/strong>Well, apparently it’s raining everywhere in the whole world.\u00a0 The Phillies are still in a rain delay, the golf tournament in Michigan has had terrible weather, the beach volleyball match in the Olympics is being played in a torrential downpour, and there’s a severe thunderstorm warning scrolling across the bottom of my screen.\u00a0 Anyway, the final round in Michigan has gotten off to a crazy start, with Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson making strong moves.\u00a0 Sergio is still looking for his first major, and that always makes for an intriguing storyline.\u00a0 Long-time players in search of their first major tend to feel a ton of pressure over those last few holes.<\/p>\n 12:15 AM: <\/strong>Well, thanks to Verizon wireless, my internet connection went out just as the Phillies game was getting underway.\u00a0 The Phillies won an (apparently) exciting game on a 3-run homer by Chase Utley in the 7th inning.\u00a0 At the PGA Championship, Sergio Garcia and Padraig Harrington DID make a move and it WAS very interesting and entertaining, with Harrington taking his third major in the last two years and establishing himself as clearly one of the top players in the game right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I’ll relax on my couch in Brooklyn today and watch the Olympics in China, the PGA Championship in Michigan, and the Phillies game in Philadelphia.\u00a0 It’s certainly an interesting Sports Sunday and it … Continue 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