The 14-year NBA veteran was waived Wednesday by the Oklahoma City franchise, which still hasn't been renamed after its relocation last month.

Marshall was acquired by the franchise from Cleveland in a three-team trade in February that sent Wally Szczerbiak and Ben Wallace to the Cavaliers.

He averaged 3.8 points off the bench in 15 games with Seattle and was sidelined by a sore right knee late last season.

Adrian Griffin, who was the other player sent to Seattle in that trade, was shipped to Milwaukee last week as part of a deal that brought forwards Desmond Mason and Joe Smith to Oklahoma City.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

ESPN - Veteran forward Marshall waived by Oklahoma City - NBA.
^^^ Credit where credit is due!

Interesting move by the team.  Westbrook, a hard working defender: IN; Desmond Mason, a hard working defender: IN; Donyell Marshall, a statue: OUT.  I think that are seeing a definate trend with the type of team that GM Presti is putting together.

I was stunned when I heard this breaking news! Titular point guard of the San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker was supposed not to play with his national team this summer. Even though the player was eager to play with France, his team and above all his coach Greg Poppovich were known to be reluctant to that idea, so much so they banned him from doing so. They were said to be adamant on it. The main raison was because they deemed their player needed some rest, after several grueling seasons.

That's what everybody thought until last night, just before Parker surprisingly announced he'll eventually play with the French National team from today until the end of september. Talk about an about-face!

Given that he didn't play since early june, the Spurs changed their their mind, deeming Parker got enough rest. Plus, TP kind of coerced his team, asking them several times if he could join his National team. San Antonio finally agreed to release their player.

So far, Parker was training with Chip Engelland in L.A., and admitted that watching the Olympics on TV was a hardship he couldn't take any more. France didn't qualify for the Olympics last year, and now is faced with a difficult task : a qualifying tournament in September, and Parker will do his best to help his team qualify for the next European Championship which will be held in Poland next year. After missing the Olympics, France can't miss this event, otherwise they'll be dommed to an unknown future.

So I guess Parker felt the urge to help his team getting back in the limelight. He said : "I gotta be with my teammates right now." Somehow, I think it's a win-win situation for everybody. It's an understatement to say that France is gonna need Parker's skills to cope with the incoming tournament, and hopefully San Antonio will get a player in great shape when their training camp will kick off next fall.

                                          ----Johann Friedrich Von Schiller

I want everyone...I mean EVERYONE to listen up.

We have an arena...A beautiful arena...that seats eighteen thousand, one hundred and nineteen screaming fans for basketball. Now last season, it was packed to the rafters with blue shirts, white shirts...screaming fans clapping in adulation for...

THE TIGERS.

Now I am an advocate for supporting ALL sports teams...but an arena for our one professional sports franchise being as hollow as the brain on a blonde is pathetic. Yes, the team was terrible. Yes, it seemed as if they quit. Yes, we seemed to lack direction after trading our "star" player away for seemingly peanuts.

But is there anything else to do in this town? Really?

The Orpheum doesn't last all basketball season. There are some great restaurants here, but can you hit all of them up during the 3 hour span that is 41 home games sprinkled through October-April? Laurelwood is pricey, Wolfchase has been taken over by teenagers and the Collierville mall is too far out for some of us...If you were going to eat, watch a great show, spend money, and drive out of the way, why dont you head to the FedExForum to a Grizzlies game?

Does it not discourage you to see your team...play in your empty arena...in your city...while broadcasters either try to cover up the fact or come right out and say something about our lack of attendance? Does it not infuriate you to hear the rumors of the team leaving (due to the lack of interest and fan support?)

I say this to you as a season ticket holder...Fix it!

You don't even have to buy season tickets. Hell, you dont even have to buy a power pack.

Just go. Go to a game. Take your family. Take your extended family. Fill up a row. Fill up a section. What the hell, it'd bolster your chances of getting one of the giveaways that the Grizzlies do for certain sections of the forum if you have enough of a crew there in a section.

This is our team in our town. Let's support it...There are plenty of cities on par with Memphis and better than Memphis that don't have an NBA team...we are lucky to have one.

Nashville doesn't have one. Austin doesn't have one. Seattle doesn't have one. Kansas City, Las Vegas, San Diego, Tampa...Cities with comparable or larger populations that do not have a team, yet are always on the list for the Grizzlies relocation.

Let's make sure that doesnt happen.

The quote I began this blog with sums up this idea perfectly. What a home court advantage our young team, who will most likely bear the brunt of mismatches a lot this season, would have. 18,000 screaming fans (for OUR team) willing them to win....I am a big believer in it helping the psyche of teams to pull it together and win in crunch time...adding to the experience of the game and coming away with a win would just make the experience much sweeter, more addicting...which means that it would be more likely for people to come back and repeat the process.

Let's fill the arena and get loud...It'd be nice to feel the electricity in the air instead of stares from scattered people when I have the nerve to cheer for my team. Just because it isn't the Pyramid doesn't mean we can't still bring back the moniker "The Tomb of Doom"....instead of it just being a Tomb.

Alright, sermon over. A Hallelujah, 500 Hail Marys, Shalom and Amen.

Size: Check

Length: Check

Skill Set:Check

Overall Ability: Through The Roof

I love Darko more than most fans, but he has let me down seriously. I saw a FEW flashes of brilliance from the guy during the season, but nothing to make a formulatory guide by.

Darko is WHAT he is. We all want to believe that he will magically transform into a 20/10 big man this season, but the chances of that happening are beyond calculation.

My message to you, Grizz fans, is to enjoy the ride, as well as the competition.

There is nothing better for Darko than to face capable competition from Marc Gasol, Hakim Warrick, Darrell Arthur, and possibly that guy from Iran........Hamedi?

Some of the points to be gleaned from the podcast are:

• The game plays a lot like last years game, if you like last years game you will like 2k9

• Bought all strengths over from 2k8 and improved on them

• Added 5 on 5 online

• Touched up franchise mode AI

• More tutorial tools to induct new players to the franchise mode, along with more tutorials in general

• Trades involve more than 3 players

• Franchise looking good

• AI playing tougher this year

• A lot of animations added

• Had debug screen of showing everything - shows percentages of making shots etc cheese moves, defense rating considering position various metrics

• Post game is not as easy, takes weight more into account

• Physics are not as strong as in NBA Live 09 ??

• Defensive lockdown toned down, shaq could not stop chris paul...

• Signature Defensive Animations - premium perimeter defenders or shotblockers have access to animations that other players don't. Steals from different angles, contortion of body to block shots etc.

• Online team play - Great Off ball controls including holding, pushing off etc. Charges off ball are implemented.

Overall not that much new information but at this stage its better than nothing. You can find all of our NBA 2K9 features in the lead up to its release right here.

SMS? The symptom gripping more Grizzly fans than PMS, AIDS, ADD?

In my opinion, the Grizzlies suffering from SMS is another acronym...only two letters.

BS.

Memphis fans love to bemoan and bitch and piss and gripe and complain (did I mention bitch) about how ESPN (look, another acronym and I'm not even trying to revisit English classes) and other sports network outlets overlook our much maligned when it comes to winning franchise because we are a "small market." Bah. That is inconsequential. If it mattered less, it would be called Mario Lopez's career. Memphis fans need to take a look back at the markets in the National Basketball association and they will see they are not the smallest metropolitan market. Furthermore, I will show you why ESPN and analysts feel it necessary to ignore us.
I will begin by discussing the populations, city and metro, of teams in the Eastern Conference.

(Stats from Census 2007)

Boston Proper: 599, 351 Boston Metro: 4.5 Million

NYC Proper: 8, 274, 527 NYC Metro: 18 Million

Philadelphia Proper: 1,449,724 Philadelphia Metro: 6 Million

Toronto Proper: 2,503,801 Toronto Metro: 5.5 Million

Chicago Proper: 2,833,831 Chicago Metro: 10 Million

Cleveland Proper: 478,403 Cleveland Metro: 2.25 Million

Detroit Proper: 916,952 Detroit Metro: 4.5 Million

Indianapolis Proper: 795,458 Indianapolis Metro: 2 Million

Milwaukee Proper: 602, 782 Milwaukee Metro: 2 Million

Atlanta Proper: 519,145 Atlanta Metro: 5.6 Million

Charlotte Proper: 695, 995 Charlotte Metro: 2.5 Million

Miami Proper: 409, 719 Miami Metro: 5 Million

Orlando Proper: 227, 907 Orlando Metro: 2 Million

Washington DC Proper: 588,492 Washington DC Metro: 5.3 Million

Now, the Western Conference.

Denver Proper: 588, 349 Denver Metro: 2.5 Million

Minneapolis Proper: 369, 051 Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro: 3.2 Million

Oklahoma City Proper: 547, 274 Oklahoma City Metro: 1.2 Million

Portland Proper: 568, 380 Portland Metro: 2.1 Million

Salt Lake City Proper: 180, 651 Salt Lake City Metro: 1.1 Million

Oakland Proper: 420, 183 Oakland Metro: 7.2 Million

Los Angeles Proper: 3, 849, 378 Los Angeles Metro: 12.9 Million

Phoenix Proper: 1, 552, 259 Phoenix Metro: 4.2 Million

Sacramento Proper: 475, 743 Sacramento Metro: 2.1 Million

Dallas Proper: 1, 232, 940 Dallas Metro: 6.1 Million

Houston Proper: 2, 231,000 Houston Metro: 5.6 Million

MEMPHIS PROPER: 670,902 MEMPHIS METRO: 1.2 MILLION

New Orleans Proper: 275,000 (post-Katrina census estimate) New Orleans Metro: 1.0 Million (Estimate)

San Antonio Proper: 1, 296, 682 San Antonio Metro: 1.9 Million

Now, what does all of those numbers mean?

When we look at the other NBA franchise's home cities comparably...Memphis fares well in just city limit population.  Memphis ranks 13th out of 28 cities (NY has 2 teams, East Rutherford NJ my ass...Same goes for LA.) It is the metro areas that begat the problems for Memphis as a market. This isn't a debate about why people live in these cities or why they do not, that is a whole different topic that I usually tackle at work and class as an urban planning major. Memphis is not the smallest market. Post-Katrina New Orleans is the smallest market, and Salt Lake City follows suit.

Where have I heard those names before...Why, I believe it was on ESPN!

That's right! Because they were in the playoffs! They WIN.

Memphis, you want your answer on why ESPN and other sportscasters lambast us in the media if they talk about us at all? We simply do not win. What is there for them to talk about other than failure? Furthermore, why talk about failure when you can talk about the LeBron James, the Carmelo Anthonys, the Dirk Nowitskis, the Kobe Bryants...I sure wouldn't want to. It's wins...Last season, Miami (a large market with marketable stars) failed miserably...and if they got coverage it was because of Wade, and Shaq before he was traded and kickstarted his archaic rap career by singing about the delicasy of his own ass. I digress...they were mocked, ridiculed, and verbally bashed just as much as we were. It is all about wins. People don't want to see losers, thats why the stands are empty at the Special Olympics. Maybe the analysts at ESPN don't have enough happy pills to force a smile on their face to mention our last few seasons. I seem to remember getting coverage when Hubie was here and we were in the playoffs. Wins get you respect, plain and simple. San Antonio isn't exactly a large market...but they have marketability through wins and players people like and want to see. We are beginning to see that here with Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo and Mike Conley. However, it will still take wins to get us the respect and the coverage we want.

The apple high on the tree is the coverage that we want...Let's start climbing the ladder with a few wins, and I guarantee you they'll be in our hands before you know it.

This suddenly wasn't a fun conversation.  It was just 8 or 9 months ago, my wife & I were shleping around to what seemed like every sporting goods store in the East Bay, and searching feaverishly around the web for a little kids-sized "Baron Davis #5" Golden State Warriors road jersey.  The same jersey he got on Christmas and literally wore 15 days straight.  Finally, convincing him to take it off so it could be washed.  The same jersey that my 18-year old nephew laid his eyes on and said "dang, I want a Baron jersey".

Well, after 6 weeks since signing with the Los Angeles Clippers.  I guess it finally sunk in for a 5 year old.  When the Warriors take the floor in late October, Baron will not be there.  Sure, the rest of us have all but forgotten about Baron running the floor in the Big-O, the last second 3's, the 3's with 20 seconds left on the 24-second clock, the I'm 1-6 so far this evening on 3's but I'll chuck it up anyway cause we're down by 15 in the 4th quarter.  (Ah, the memories.)  For a 5-year old, this was the 6-week revelation.  

I was able to convince him to keep the jersey and hang it back in his closet.  I told him it was expensive.  It was.  I told him many, many people have Baron jerseys and will continue to wear them. They will.  But, the kicker was showing him my #23 Jason Richardson Warriors road jersey in my closet that I keep clean and perfectly pristine.  It is.

"Oh. Ok, dad.  I'll keep it."
"Good. Go to sleep."

I guess I could have also told him the Baron jerseys are still for sale in the Official Warriors store.  50% off of course.

"We are now no longer experiencing technical difficulties."

To our many readers who have spent the last month wondering just where in the hell The Nation of Grizzlam went, we were wondering the same damn thing.

We just want to let all of our followers, and new readers alike know:

We're getting the band back together.

Stay tuned, Grizzlamics. The best team coverage of the worst team in the league is back.

Bryan (Xenia, OH): Dave, Love the smark alec Q&A. Now that Kerr and Sarver have bet the farm on Goran Dragic and given him a huge contract for a 2nd round pick, what did your scouting contacts tell you that makes you think Sarver and Kerr are more like Harry and Lloyd?

David Thorpe: I've not had a single scout tell me that he can play. Not one.

The way that this entire situation has enfolded has truly been a very sad story.  The Sonics were not some Mickey Mouse peanut franchise.  This is a team that had a good fanbase and a rich history.  It is a franchise with a 41 year history including the 1979 NBA Championship.  There have been great players that have put on the Sonics uniform such as Lenny Wilkens, Gus Williams, Nate McMillan, Spencer Haywood, Fred Brown, Jack Sikma, Shawn Kemp, and Gary Payton.  The Sonics made the playoffs 21 times including 6 division titles and 3 conference titles.  And recently things have looked very optimistic as they had drafted the next young superstar in the game, Kevin Durant, the 2008 NBA Rookie of the Year.  This is a player that the city loved and was ready to watch the Sonics rebuild around him and back into a contender.  However, all of that has been wiped out. 

I found a video of the last minute from the last home game for the Sonics last year from a fan's perspective. 

Say what you want but these were great fans.  And this was a proud franchise.  But now this sad story has come to a close.  I remember watching their last home game and hearing the loud chants of "Save Our Sonics".  I know a lot of people heard that chant and felt sorry for the city.  It's just too bad that none of us could do anything to help them.

CHARLES BARKLEY: OPEN WIDE AND SAY AHHH! (no, the other end)

Brace yourself. This might be the worst mental image you'll ever picture in your life. I haven't seen this blurb receive as much publicity as I thought, but it was in the Philadelphia Daily News and on Foxsports.com today.

Former NBA star Charles Barkley is going to undergo a colonoscopy Friday and it's going to be TELEVISED.

Great! I mean, who doesn't want to see the inside of Charles Barkley's ass? At first, I thought this would just be another goofy little TNT segment with Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. Nope! Barkley's giant butt is going network. Make that THREE networks. Barkley is undergoing the test as part of the "Stand Up To Cancer" event being televised on September 5th. It will be aired on NBC, ABC, AND CBS making Barkley's colonoscopy one of the most widely televised events in broadcasting history.

No!!!!!!!!!!!

The televised event actually led to some creative writer at Foxsports.com penning this lead:

"We may not know what Shaq's tastes like (or really care to, for that matter), but we're about to find out what Sir Charles' looks like."

The article also contains another classic Barkley quote,

they were "probably just looking for the celebrity with the biggest ass."

NETWORK PREVIEW? AN ACTUAL COLONOSCOPY PHOTO

THE LEGEND: ANDREW GAZE

Foxsports.com ran a story earlier today in which they referred to "legendary" basketball player Andrew Gaze. I would happily link you to the artice but it has been removed from the Foxsports website. Gaze talked about what a huge Olympic moment it would be if the Aussies beat Team USA.  I don't know if the article was pulled because the U.S. kicked Australia's ass or if it was because somebody used "Andrew Gaze" and "legend" in the same sentence.

Gaze was an okay player at Seton Hall. He played parts of two seasons in the NBA with Washington and San Antonio averaging 1.7 points per game in 26 career NBA games. Even if he was one of the "greatest" players in the history of Australia, that puts him on par with Shane Heal and Chris Anstey.

Either way he's no Luc Longley. And how much of a "legend" was he?

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1494556&w=425&h=350&fv=]

España - Lituania (vie 22 - 14.00h)

Así queda la lucha por las medallas en el basket. Estados Unidos ganó a Australia con Bryant (25 puntos) como figura y tras un marcador apretado en el primer cuarto. En las semifinales se las verán con Argentina, que ganó el único cuarto de final que tuvo historia. Duelo de carácteres y victoria in extremis de los latinos con la mejor versión de Delfino (23 pts) y el Ginóbili (24 pts) de siempre. En Estados Unidos ya están más preocupados de comparar el Dream Team del 92 con el "Redeam team" del 2008 (leer en la FOX).

En España, Calderón es duda para jugar ante los lituanos (leer en acb.com) aunque el jugador se ha mostrado optimista. China dijo adiós a su aventura ante Lituania, mucho mejor equipo y todo un clásico en los Juegos Olímpicos. Jasikevicius fue el mejor con 23 puntos y 6 asistencias. Yao destacó en los chinos y ni el "amor" de Siskaukas pudo pararle:

The New Orleans Hornets are following the T'Wolves trend of mixing things up as they unveiled new uniforms today.  A franchise that is going in the right direction, with coach of the year Byron Scott and All-Stars Chris Paul and David West.  They'll contend for the west annually for some time, as CP3 continues to show he's one of the league's best players.  It looks like they're redoing pretty much everything around the organization, as they'll have a new floor as well as some other additions to the arena to spruce up the hive.  Glad to see they ditched the sea-foam blue, but would've like to see the Hornets hold onto a yellow uni.  Maybe in due time.  The Hornets also added 2 new logos trying to identify more with the crescent city, if they're trying to do that I don't know why they went with a uni style that is similar to their Charlotte days.  But I guess George Shinn figures he should do everything similar to his days in Charlotte, trying to get everything back to the way it was when his team was contending for championships and had plenty of fans.  Their opening intro on their website just seems a lil desperate to me, cuz Shinn had one foot out the door after Katrina hit.  He wanted to stay in OKC cuz he was finally making money again.  But the rest of the league didn't let him stay, cuz he has not done much to make friends with fellow owners.  So the Hornets are doing their best impression of the ex that comes back and wants to get back together cuz they got nothing else.  I'm sure as long as CP3 gives the fans a reason to stay, the Hive will be full, but what happens when the team hits tough times?  The team has been there for only a number of years, so they don't have the die-hard fans that will come when the team hits the skids.  Maybe all I'm saying is that the Hornets should've gone with a softer approach with the city instead of the charade they're coming to fans with.  Nice move with the uni change, although they look very similar to the nuggets.

In 2001, I was able to go on a missions trip to St. Croix, Virgin Islands.  That week we held a sort of "youth revival" during the day with the students at the Christian School.  Tim Duncan, star player for the San Antonio Spurs is not only from St. Croix, but he attended the school.  The people there are die hard fans for Tim Duncan.  My father was speaking on day on this very subject of excitement.  At the name of Tim Duncan, they would cheer.

When we look at the television and see Shawn Johnson, Michael Phelps, the "Redeem" Team, or others, as Americans we get excited when they win.  

Let's look at it differently...sometimes it amazes me in youth services how if the speaker mentions a famous person, the crowd will go crazy.  Some years ago, when I was young and immature (2004), I attended the Dare 2 Share conference in Gwinnett County, GA.  They used movie clips to drive home some of the points.  They especially used the clips from "Lord of the Rings."  Every time one of these clips would flash up on the screen, the crowd would roar.  I've never seen the trilogy, so I don't get that in the first place, nonetheless, that's not the point of the post.  

I just wonder how at the sounds of some names such as "USA" or "LOTR" crowds will roar.  People can talk for hours about their obsession with it.  When the women's marathon was run last Saturday night, I was glued to the tv.  When my pastor referenced it in his sermon on Sunday morning, I was hooked.  I was excited.  It was great.  

Where's my excitement over my relationship with Christ?

When someone mentions the name of Jesus, do I have the same excitement?  Is He not something to cheer about?  Is He not worth being excited about?  Maybe it's just me, but it seems too many Christians are doing this backwards...the question is, are we willing to get excited about Christ, even when we know that we should?

And people think the French are wimps. Try the Spanish Basketball team, especially one Juan Carlos Navarro, who refused to answer questions after the Americans butt-whipping, and when Boston Globe writer Marc Spears finally got a hold of Navarro he said "my English not very good". I really hope Paul Gasol and the rest of those racist Spaniards go down quicker than Clay Aiken at a gay bar:

But Spain guard Juan Carlos Navarro, formerly of the Memphis Grizzlies, did come out to talk to the Spanish media for about five minutes in the mixed zone interview area. After he was done with his home country folks, I asked him a question. He responded by saying, “My English not very good.”

I told him, “Well, it was really good when you were playing for the Grizzlies. I interviewed you once by your locker.”

Navarro was stunned when I called him out and I could see that he understood every word. If they beat the Americans, I’m sure his English would have been better than mine.

I think that's a good thing.

2. Rocky

3. The Pride of the Yankees

4. Hoosiers

5. Bull Durham

6. The Hustler

7. Caddyshack

8. Breaking Away

9. National Velvet

10. Jerry Maguire

I haven't seen much of these movies. I would put Hoops Dreams up there. Though more of a documentary.

The United States will play defending champion Argentina on Friday night for a spot in Sunday's gold medal game.  Argentina beat Greece 80-78 in the last semifinal. Argentina was led by San Antonio Spur Manu Ginobili who ended the game with 24 points.

Argentina is loaded with quality NBA talent with the likes of Manu, Carlos Delfino, Andres Nocioni, Fabricio Oberto and Luis Scola.  This team has size, quickness, shooting, and the experience of playing together for years.  This will be a good game and good prove to be a challenge for the Redeem Team.

PHA, yea right.  We aren't losing.  See you in the Gold Medal Game.

SG: I'll be honest ... this question sat in my "Potential Mailbag Questions" file for an entire summer. I was afraid to answer it. Wouldn't you be afraid? Pacino vs. De Niro? The two most famous, influential actors of the past 30 years? I feel like I'm about to walk on Mars ... I probably won't return safely, but I can't resist.

All right, let's break this down, Dr. Jack-style:

Robert De Niro became Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull."

Breakthrough performance -- Pacino with Michael Corleone in "The Godfather"; De Niro with Young Vito Corleone in "Godfather II." Yikes. Pacino's part was more important, only because Michael evolved as a character from "good-hearted, wide-eyed pup" to "evil mob boss" in the span of three hours, and the scene where he kills Solazzo and McCloskey at Louis' Ristorante has to rank among the most difficult scenes to pull off. If Pacino choked with that part, "Godfather I" would have failed miserably.

As for De Niro, his performance in "Godfather II" was incredible -- he actually made you believe that he was the young Marlon Brando playing the young Vito Corleone. Read that sentence again. But it was a supporting part ... the movie could have survived without a home run performance from him. And remember, Coppola auditioned both Pacino and De Niro for Michael's part when he was casting "The Godfather," with Pacino winning out. That's just enough to give him the nod. EDGE: PACINO.

Defining performance -- "Godfather II" for Pacino, "Raging Bull" for De Niro (the two most important performances by a male actor in the past 30 years). De Niro learned how to box, he gained 60 pounds ... I mean, he became Jake LaMotta.

But I'm still going with Pacino here, only because that's the one movie where I always think to myself, "Good God, he is absolutely amazing in this" every time I watch it. Just an electric performance from start to finish, like watching Pedro at his peak: Four pitches working, 98 mph fastball, everything for strikes. The scene where Diane Keaton tells him about her abortion, and Pacino's face starts to shake ... that's an absolute acting clinic. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. SLIGHT EDGE: PACINO.

Consistency -- Pacino's prime lasted from 1972 ("The Godfather") through 1983 ("Serpico," "Godfather II," "Dog Day Afternoon," "And Justice For All," "Cruising," "Scarface"), with a resurgence for most of the '90s ("Godfather III," "Scent of a Woman," "Carlito's Way," "Heat," "The Insider," "Any Given Sunday"). I always thought that "Scent of a Woman"'s success was the worst thing that could have happened to him -- after he won the Oscar, he basically played the "Scent of a Woman" guy in every movie after that. Hoo-hah!!!!!

De Niro's prime lasted much longer -- initially from 1974 ("Godfather II") through 1980 ("Taxi Driver," "The Deer Hunter," "Raging Bull"), with a resurgence in the late-'80s ("The Untouchables," "Midnight Run," "Awakenings," "Goodfellas," "Cape Fear," "This Boy's Life," "Bronx Tale," "Casino," "Heat"), and then another resurgence in the late-'90s when he started doing comedies ("Analyze This," "Meet the Parents"). Just a more interesting, consistent, complete body of work, capped off by his improbable comedy success over these last few years (much like Barry Bonds improbably finishing his 30s by belting 73 homers one season and hitting .375 the next).

Over-the-Top Pacino was past his prime in "Any Given Sunday."

Put it this way: If you were trapped on a desert island and could import all of De Niro's movies or all of Pacino's movies, you'd probably pick De Niro (unless you couldn't live without "Scarface" and "Godfather I"). Just more to choose from. EDGE: De NIRO.

Believability as a cop -- Pacino was more believable as a detective; De Niro was more believable as a cop. So why didn't somebody write a movie where Pacino (as a detective) and De Niro (as a cop) banded together to solve a crime? Frankly, I have no idea. EDGE: TIE.

Most admirable misfire -- De Niro as a stalker comedian in "King of Comedy" (he just couldn't pull it off); Pacino as a Cuban drug dealer in "Scarface" (you forget, that movie absolutely bombed when it came out). Which movie will you remember 20 years from now? BIG EDGE: PACINO.

Range -- De Niro in a walk, mainly because he could throw anything at you -- Funny De Niro, Deadpan De Niro, Scary Mobster De Niro, Quiet Cop De Niro, Intense De Niro, Crazy Cop De Niro, Just Plain Crazy De Niro, Athletic De Niro, Killer De Niro, Quirky De Niro, Kindhearted DeNiro and so on. Pacino could only offer Quiet Cop Pacino, Abrasive Cop Pacino, Brooding Pacino, Crazy Pacino, Intense Pacino, Scary Pacino and Over-the-Top Pacino. There was never really Funny Pacino, unless we're talking in the Unintentional Comedy sense. Ironically enough, neither of them could pull off Romantic Pacino or Romantic De Niro (it always felt uncomfortable).

Four performances from the latter part of De Niro's career really set him apart: 1) "Midnight Run" (genuinely funny, genuinely likable, carried the movie on sheer personality, his most underrated performance), 2) "This Boy's Life" (as the meanspirited stepfather), 3) "Bronx Tale" (as the likable bus driver), and 4) "Heat" (without having much to work with -- that bank robber was a blank slate). I'm not sure Pacino could have pulled off any of those roles. EDGE: De NIRO.

(And that reminds me ...)

The Switch -- If you switched their careers and had Pacino play all of De Niro's parts, and vice-versa, who would have done a better job? De Niro wouldn't have nailed any of Pacino's over-the-top parts ("Scent of a Woman," "Heat," "And Justice For All"), and I can't imagine him pulling off the quiet, conflicted-about-possibly-being-gay police officer infiltrating the Manhattan gay scene in "Cruising" (it would have played like an "SNL" skit). He definitely would have taken Tony Montana and Michael Corleone somewhere (maybe not the same heights, but somewhere). And I think he matches anything else.

But Pacino with De Niro's parts? None of the comedy roles would have worked. "Cape Fear" and "Raging Bull" wouldn't have worked. He couldn't have played the young Vito Corleone. He probably could have handled the mob parts and most of the cop parts, and the only movie he would have improved was "King of Comedy." It just wouldn't have worked as well as De Niro with Pacino's career. EDGE: De NIRO.

Ability to avoid unintentional comedy -- Pacino takes the cake here. Ellen Barkin groping him in "Sea of Love," the dancing scenes in "Cruising" and "Scarface," the "She's got a great ass!" scene in Heat ... the list is endless. De Niro never made you laugh unless it was intentional. EDGE: De NIRO.

Most improbable character that somehow worked -- "Cape Fear" was one of those movies that you only watched once (a little too disturbing, a little too disorienting), but De Niro transformed himself for the role of Max Cady -- ripped body, long hair, Southern accent, tattoos, the works. Ten minutes into the movie, you didn't even remember that it was him. I got you now!

As for Pacino, he was handed one of the most impossible parts ever -- play a swaggering drug dealer with no redeeming qualities, adopt a Cuban accent, say everything from the side of your mouth, drop F-bombs every few minutes, have your character slowly become a coked-up maniac as the movie drags along, carry every single scene you're in, do everything in the most over-the-top fashion possible, and somehow keep the audience rooting for you in the final 20 minutes -- and somehow pulled it off, singlehandedly making "Scarface" one of the signature pop culture movies of the past 20 years.

And if you don't like it ... well, (bleep) you, how's that? EDGE: PACINO.

Shamelessness about selling out -- Hey, it's not like Pacino hasn't taken a few roles just for cash ("The Devil's Advocate," "Godfather III," "Simone" and "Dick Tracy," to name four). But he always picked his spots, at least until recently, and every Pacino movie always managed to feel like an event, even if it sucked.

Not De Niro. The way he sold out over the past 15 years has almost been jarring: "15 Minutes," "Rocky and Bullwinkle," "Showtime," "The Fan," "Frankenstein," "Marvin's Room," "Great Expectations" and "Backdraft," as well as a number of below-average films that he inexplicably accepted ("Stanley and Iris," "Mad Dog and Glory," "Guilty By Suspicion," "Night and the City," "We're No Angels"). Bob, feel free to say no every once in a while. It's okay. BIG EDGE: PACINO.

Most influential line on pop culture -- De Niro has "You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me?"; Pacino has "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." Which one do you use more? I thought so. EDGE: PACINO.

Wild card -- My buddy Gus (who's legally changing his name to "My Buddy Gus" next month) pointed this one out: In Pacino's movies, there's always a definitive scene that you remember, one of those Pacino Scenes where he basically tells the director, "When I'm finished with this take, we'll just send it right to the Oscar committee" (like the "I woulda taken a FLAME THROWER to this place!" from "Scent of a Woman,' or the final locker room speech in "Any Given Sunday"). No matter how bad the movie, Pacino always has that one memorable scene (even in "Devil's Advocate," which may have been the worst two hours of my life).

De Niro just isn't that type of actor; he's always better in understated scenes (like the scene in "Midnight Run" when he goes to borrow money from his ex-wife). If they were pitchers, De Niro would be Greg Maddux (steady and brilliant) and Pacino would be Randy Johnson (you never know what he's capable of next). Whatever the case, I think Pacino gets a small edge here, only because a collage of his best scenes would be more fun to watch than a collage of De Niro's best scenes. EDGE: PACINO.

Head-to-head matchup -- As we all know, Pacino and DeNiro shared one major scene together, the diner scene in "Heat," one of the five or six most exciting moments of my life as a movie fan (I still remember seeing it for the first time, thinking to myself, "Good God, is this really happening?"). That's also one of those rare scenes in a movie where you're flicking channels, you know it's coming up soon, and you'll hang around for 15 minutes just until it comes on ... and after watching that scene roughly 73,456 times on cable over the last seven years, I'm giving De Niro a slight edge.

Here's why ...

It was dead-even right until the end. Pacino did his "Brotha, you are going down" routine. De Niro did his "There's a flip side to that coin ... what if I have to take you down?" routine. And it was a dead heat. Both of them hit it out of the park. Except right at the end, Pacino broke into a slight smile, almost like he couldn't handle the moment -- either it was too intense, or he couldn't believe the scene just happened. Either way, it's always bothered me. His character never would have smiled in that scene at that particular moment. It didn't add up. And it was just enough to give De Niro the win. SLIGHT EDGE: De NIRO.

My stepfather's take -- Three things you need to know about my stepdad: 1) He's 100 percent Italian, 2) his favorite movies of all-time are "Godfather 1," "Godfather 2," "Scarface," "Analyze This," "Goodfellas," "Bronx Tale," and "And Justice For All," and 3) his two favorite actors are Pacino and De Niro. Going to him for a Pacino-De Niro breakdown was like going to Bob Ryan for the definitive take on Bird vs. Magic.

Anyway, I couldn't decide between the two of them, so I turned the decision over to him. Here's what he said:

"DeNiro vs. Pacino? (silence) Oh, boy. I don't think you want to do this. (More silence) Oh. Jeez. (More silence) You have to pick one? (Dead silence) Why would you want to do this? You can't win either way."

(After some prodding ...)

"(Bleep) ... I'd go with De Niro. Most of Pacino's best stuff came out 20 and 30 years ago ... De Niro keeps coming out with quality stuff. But that's no knock on Pacino ..."

(And he defended Pacino for the next five minutes.)

Final verdict: De Niro. Barely.

This should be the closest contest of the four quarter finals and it could be a very good game. I’m an admirer of several of the players on Argentina and am definitely pulling for them today.

• Greece opened the scoring but Scola responded with two and ones, making of the two resulting FTs.
• Oberto with a nice block
• Tsartsaris with position down low, gets the pass off the penetration, stays poised, waits until he sure where his shot blocker is, then takes the jump hook and puts it home.
• Prigioni working the pick and pop with Scola, passes to Scola, pump fake, drives inside, finds Nocioni open in the corner, miss
• Fastbreak, Noce puts a Greek man on a poster and gets the foul. He’s pumped up now.
• Oberto with an excellent swat from the weakside
• Argentina’s defense has looked a bit dodgy, relying too much on last ditch attempts to bother Greece’s shots.
• Prigioni on the drive and dish, finds a wide open Manu Ginobili, he misses the three from the left wing
• Lovely cut by Fotsis, but he bundles the bounce pass out of bounds
• Pick and roll with Scola, he knifes his way inside, misses the layup, offensive rebound Oberto, another miss for Argentina, fastbreak the other way, Greece draws the foul. Vasilopoulos makes two of two at the line.
• Manu wide open on the left wing again, he stops, waits for the defense, not coming, takes the shot, nails the shot.
• Diamantidis replies right back with a three of his own
• Manu tops that with another three. The game is tied at 14.
• Off balance fallaway one hander high off the glass from Tsartsaris, it goes in
• Ginobili puts home another three pointer, three in a row on back-to-back-to-back possessions
• Spanoulis hits the floater off the glass from 14 on the left wing
• Scola with great position inside once again, but he misses the short one handed shot again
• Scola makes up for it with a bucket
• Drive and dish from #4 to Fotsis for three, good
• Scola takes the 20 footer top of the key, misses, not his shot.
• Ginobili slices his way into the paint, runner, misses, gets called for a ticky tack foul. That’s garbage.
• Greece have been very poised on the dribble and have executed their offense brilliantly
• Delfino dribbles up and knocks down a triple at the buzzer

Second Quarter

• Greece lead 23-22
• Rebound Prigioni, over to Delfino, back to Prigioni, travels as his pass wasn’t there after committing to it too early. That’s the fourth turnover for Argentina versus one for Greece. Greece aren’t just keeping good possession of the ball, they’re getting good shots each time down. Prigioni is pissed, off the dribble drive step back J sticks from the left elbow extended
• Oh oooh oh my … Delfino with the fallaway off the dribble from the top of the key, high arcing, perfect swish. That was nice.
• Papaloukos works his way inside, muscles up his shot off the drive, hits it
• Delfino hits the side of the backboard from the corner. Hey they can’t all be beautiful.
• Fastbreak Greece, layup Fotsis. Greece are doing an excellent job of maximizing their fastbreak opportunities. Fifth turnover for Argentina, Greece still have only one.
• Nocioni low post, wants to go over his left shoulder, defender giving him the drop step right for the layup, Noce goes over his left shoulder, tough fadeaway, hits it. He had his mind made up before he even touched the ball.
• Lovely ball movement by Argentina, wide open three for Delfino, misses, offensive rebound, they hold onto possession. Timeout
• Nocioni misses the three, offensive rebound Oberto, #11 passes on the three, drives, misses the pull up J. Quinteros is that player.
• Argentina have been missing Walter Hermann’s knock down three point stroke
• Ginobili comes back into the game. Scola hits a 13 foot bank shot.
• Bad pass by Diamanditis, too high, turnover
• Gutierrez comes in for Oberto
• Manu misses the corner three, fastbreak Greece, foul in the backcourt. Sideline out. Next possession, Manu steps behind the on-the-ball screen, takes the long three, hits it.
• #6 for Greece replies with a jumper of his own. Greece up four.
• Argentina bag another three, iso for Manu, he loses his dribble, gets it Prigioni, Prigioni passes it over the top, two Greeks go for the steal, Manu keeps it alive, tightropes the sideline, he has Scola on the left block moving to the front of the rim wide open, Manu tries to thread the needle down the baseline, hits of a Greek defender out of bounds. That was messy. Timeout. Argentina still have possession, they’re down one with 13 seconds to play, another timeout. Blah. Why another timeout? Greece are ahead 40-39.Ginobili gets it, drives, picks up his dribble, has to get rid of it, Prigioni drives, gets it back to Ginobili, three at the buzzer, misses.

Hafltime

Greece leading the boards 20-16. Argentina took good care of the ball in the second half of the second quarter onwards, they now have 5 turnovers to 3 for Greece. Argentina are hoisting up a lot of three pointers, almost 50% of their attempts are from three versus 20% for Greece. They’re making their three’s and it’s keeping them in the game. If they cool off they might be in trouble because they’re not getting enough scoring elsewhere. Scola, Ginobili and Nocioni have 29 of the team’s 39 points. There’s a trio at work for Greece too with Tsartsaris, Spanoulis, and Fotsis combing for 27 of the team’s 40 points.

Second Half

• Nocioni with the lovely block
• Nocioni misses the three
• Bad pass by Manu on the fastbreak, turnover, Greece come back the other way, layup. Four point swing there.
• Nocioni turns up the jets, drives from the left sideline inside, takes a soft shot in the paint falling backwards after a tough move, misses the shot
• Manu has had enough of this jump shooting thing, he knifes his way to the rim off the early high screen and roll and hits the layup
• Steal Prigioni, fastbreak, he takes and makes the layup. Lead Argentina
• Papaloukas enters back into the game to steady the Greeks
• Greece turn it over, Argentina immediately lose possession, Greece get an open three, miss.
• Prigioni takes a step back three with a man in his face, hits it anyway
• Fotsis lob pass from the left wing to Bourousis, dunk
• Lovely pass by Scola to find the cutting Nocioni for the layup
• Bourousis on the right block, backs his way into Noce, knocks Nocioni out of the way, spins to the middle, lay in.
• Schortsanitis checks into the game. He’s going to put serious pressure on Argentina’s interior D. This will be interesting.
• Manu step back three off the bounce, rims in and out, offensive rebound.
• Sofoklis sets up inside, seals his man, gets the pass, turns and finishes
• Sofoklis moves the left block, gets the pass, backs his man down, double comes, kickout, repost, Delfino knocks it loose, steal. On the other end Manu knocks down a cold blooded three …Vasilopoulos responds for Greece …. Delfino tops that with another three of his own.
• Fun back and forth between the two sides throughout the game today
• Sofoklis smacks Gonzales in the face, not called, bad entry pass, fumbled, turnover as Sofoklis runs over one of Argentina’s guards
• Nocioni has to take it at the shot clock, miss. That was all Delfino’s fault, that was his shot, he had with 7 seconds to go and had time to create anything he wanted. Instead he dawdled with the ball and left his teammates out to dry. He does that so often, it’s headwrecking.

Fourth Quarter

• Argentina lead 56-55. Very close game, anybody’s game.
• Pressure is on right now
• Sofoklis remains in the game. They immediately go inside to him, he has good position, gets fouled, goes to the line for two, he barely hits the rim on the first attempt, back irons the second. On that note he takes a seat. He lasted 13 seconds in the fourth.
• Scola dives on another runner instead of taking a strong shot, misses
• Nocioni came up hobbling on that rebound. Let’s watch. He looks to be moving okay now, slight skip in his step, not sprinting but mobile.
• Delfino nails back to back three pointers. Argentina up 7.
• Plenty of time to play
• Bourousis making a few very good plays here, he makes another, a hard drive to rim, initiates the contact and draws the foul. Nocioni takes a breather, wonder if that was due to his foot. Ioannis calmly bags both freebies.
• Manu takes and misses a three from the left wing, it’s kept alive, out of bounds of Greece. Timeout
• In to Delfino, he gets the switch on the screen and roll, calls for a clear out, takes his man off the dribble, fakes left, goes right, takes it up in the paint against two shot blockers and muscles his way up over both of them to put it home. Huge plays by Delfino.
• Fotsis scores a long three from the top of the key. Four point game with seven minutes to play.
• Argentina miss a three from the right wing
• Zisis hits another three for Argentina
• Delfino goes into the low post, fadeaway J over his right shoulder on the right block, hits it.
• Turnover Greece
• Manu fouled, not called, out of bounds, still Argentina ball, Manu gets the switch on the screen and roll, takes the three, misses
• Fotsis hits another three to tie the game
• Delfino has it now, he beats his man off the dribble and takes it right to the rim, misses the layup. Offensive rebound. Argentina swing the ball around, it works it’s way back to Carlos in the corner, he hits the three.
• 5 minutes to play
• Manu fouled twice, not called either time, turnover, Scola gets it back, turns it back over to Greece, fastbreak, layup. Manu is too involved with the referees right now.
• Prigioni three at the buzzer, misses
• Breakaway Argentina, Manu (?) from behind, blocks the shot. Great play.
• Ginobili down on the left block, turnaround J baseline, hits it.
• Oberto fouls Fotsis in the paint to make him earn it at the line. He hits the first, can’t imagine him missing the second he’s swishing each FT tonight, hits the second.
• Lovely pass to Scola, layup
• Three minutes to go
• Delfino fouls Papaloukas, before the shot, he takes two, makes two.
• This is a tense finish. Anybody’s game. Who has more poise?
• Manu runs off a screen on the elbow, pops out for the three, hits the three.
• Papaloukos misses the layup badly. He wanted a foul.
• Argentina get it to Ginobili, right wing, faces up Zisis, shoulder fake right, flies by left, draws the foul. Now they go to Scola, he pushes his way into the paint, nice move, good shot, misses another sitter in the paint
• Huge shot by Diamantidis, he hits a three pointer off the dribble from the top of the key
• Manu has it now, he drives inside, draws another foul
• Nocioni checks into the game
• Ginobili makes the first FT, makes the second FT
• Argentina up 78-75, Greece ball
• Spanoulis has it at the top of the key, swings it up top to Fotsis, bad pass, Delfino gets a piece of it, out of bounds. He was trying to give Diamantidis the rock. Timeout.
• Prigioni with the steal, Tsartsaris intercepts it, over and back though, turnover
• Argentina ball
• Manu has it up top, he’s taking his man right here, right to the rim, floater, hits it
• 47 seconds to play and Argentina are now up 5
• Timeout
• Greece run it up, can’t get a quick two, nobody leaves the shooters, Papaloukas is in trouble, he gets rid of it, Diamantidis swings it up top, Vasilopoulos drains the triple
• Timeout
• Argentina lead 80-78. 30 seconds to play
• Manu goes up top and gets it, isolation, he takes his man, step back three, misses, defensive rebound Greece, they bring it up, Spanoulis takes and misses the three, rebound Scola.

This is over. Argentina win. What a close tough game. Neither side separated themselves tonight. I’m pleased Argentina were the one to win. Good stuff.

Delfino and Ginobili combine for 47 of Argentina's 80 points to lead them to the win

Olympic Quarter-Finals

Scoreboard

Spain 72 Croatia 59 - Game Recap

Jose Calderon was injured in this game and is said to have a strained groin. His status for Spain in the semi-finals is in doubt. This is not good news for Raptor fans should Calderon play further in this tournament.

Globe and Mail Story on Calderon Injury

Lithuania 94 China 68 - Game Recap

U.S.A 116 Australia 85 - Game Recap

 Another injury note for NBA fans as Andrew Bogut of Milwuakee Bucks turned an ankle and did not return for Australia in this game.

Argentina 80 Greece 78 - Game Recap

Raptors @ Olympics

The news of the Calderon injury is the only story that Raptor fans will be concerned about. The Toronto Raptors have a lot to be concerned about. If Jose Calderon were to play on through this injury and make it worse it would be terrible for the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors after having this issue with Garbajosa last year have to be very concerned.  This will be a key story for the Raptors moving forward in these Olympics. These is no one that thinks the Raptors can be a top ranked team in the Eastern Conference without a healthy Jose Calderon. Bryan Colangelo will no doubt be on the phone with his recently re-signed point guard.

For those interested here is the stats for the Raptors today:

Bosh 10 points 6 Rebounds and 1 Block

Calderon 10 points 2 Assists and 1 Reb

Ukic 7 points 2 Assists 2 Steals

Georgios Printezis was a DNP for Greece in loss to Argentina.