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Post by phil on Jul 30, 2024 11:20:02 GMT -5
I just watched the end of the USA 3 x 3 loss to Germany. They definitely miss Brink.
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Post by swash on Jul 30, 2024 14:09:19 GMT -5
I just watched the end of the USA 3 x 3 loss to Germany. They definitely miss Brink. They were nearly 0-fer from beyond the arc. Seemed like it anyway ... I do think HVL rattled one home after about nine rim touches.
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Post by semper on Jul 30, 2024 14:50:48 GMT -5
It was a strange set of pics for the team. I remember back when it happened we were murmuring.
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Post by bulkey on Jul 31, 2024 10:40:38 GMT -5
Next game is tomorrow (Thursday) against Belgium at 3:00 EDST.
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Post by rockymtblue2 on Jul 31, 2024 12:44:02 GMT -5
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Post by phil on Jul 31, 2024 15:33:57 GMT -5
Azerbaijan wins against USA!!!!
I am I so excited? Because Tiffany Hayes was a monster for Azerbaijan. I haven't seen final stats but I think she had 11 points and seven or more rebounds. Her teammates contributed but it was largely Tiffany Hayes and friends against USA.
What a great game for Tiffany!!!
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Post by phil on Jul 31, 2024 15:41:07 GMT -5
Tiffany was 7 for 9 from the field. She had one beautiful late drive with the goal was tied but the ball left her hand just as the clock turn zero so they waved it off, but she had another drive to score the winning bucket. The final score doesn't look that close — 20 – 17, but that's because after her score to make it 18-17, USA failed to score and Azerbaijan had the ball with 0.3 seconds left. USA filed and Azerbaijan hit two free throws to ice the game. Box score(Link was wrong, I think I fixed it)
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Post by phil on Jul 31, 2024 16:00:27 GMT -5
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Post by linkster on Jul 31, 2024 16:35:43 GMT -5
That part of the world is well known for long lifespans.
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Post by bulkey on Jul 31, 2024 17:34:15 GMT -5
That part of the world is well known for long lifespans. cause they eat yogurt? . Actually most recent data is that average life expectancy is 69.3 yrs. Even the U.S. is >76. Maybe our yogurt is better?
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Post by pinotbear on Jul 31, 2024 18:23:13 GMT -5
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Post by bulkey on Jul 31, 2024 19:15:27 GMT -5
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Post by bulkey on Jul 31, 2024 19:50:47 GMT -5
I'm stretching a bit for the basketball connection (it's the 3-point shot, below), but this is really an interesting discussion of the libero in other sports and in literature! by Erza Fischer The libero is a recent addition to volleyball. It was added on April 20, 1998 by the president of FIVB, the organizing body of international volleyball. Soon after it was introduced, the libero rule was adopted by U.S. high schools and colleges who, in addition to the benefit of longer, more exciting rallies, found that another benefit of the rule was inclusion. Volleyball is a sport that rewards height. Smaller players cannot play nearly as well near the net as their taller counter-parts. The angles just don’t work well up there unless you’re tall enough to get your hands above the net. The libero gives an opportunity for at least the best of the shorter players to succeed. Said 5-foot-4 libero pioneer Kirstin Higareda to the Washington Post, “It’s a big deal. It’s really given shorter people the opportunity to play volleyball.”
It’s fun to think about it in the context of rule changes in other sports that are intended to offset an imbalance favoring either offensive or defensive play. In NHL hockey, the offensive zones were enlarged to create more scoring opportunities. In the NBA, the most obvious example is the introduction of the three-point shot to increase offense but other examples abound. Major League Baseball probably comes the closest to having a libero in the form of the designated hitter. The designated hitter or DH is a position who, like the libero, only plays one half of the game. Unlike the libero though, the DH only plays offense, batting regularly but having no responsibility in the field.
The libero has cultural parallels that reach far beyond sports. It seems like every group of people and every pastime has that one person who’s a little different; who plays by another set of rules. Shakespeare’s plays are full of these kind of characters, the most famous of which is probably Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In a deck of cards, there’s four of every card plus a couple of jokers. The unique character is called the fool in some traditional English dance forms like rapper and molly. Every group of friends needs a good oddball, just like every volleyball team needs a good libero.
dearsportsfan.com/2014/08/01/one-player-wear-different-colored-jersey-volleyball/
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Post by semper on Jul 31, 2024 19:59:27 GMT -5
I'm so proud of Tiff! I knew she would be a monster!
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Post by phil on Jul 31, 2024 20:10:20 GMT -5
It's a little bit of a stretch but not much — I will argue that the growth of three on three qualifies as an example.
While basketball accommodates a variety of sizes, it's relatively rare for a dominant team not to have one of the tallest players in the talent pool. Interestingly, several UConn teams are counterexamples, but having a dominant big is often a major plus possibly more on the men's side. That doesn't seem to be true in three on three. With the exception of Cameron Brink which we unfortunately aren't getting to watch play, the top three on three teams rarely draw on the top position five or center players. The reasons are obvious. A five on five team can manage with a very tall player who might be less mobile than most of the other players on the team, but that would be the kiss of death for a three on three team.
I wonder if someone has a statistical summary of the heights of three and three versus five on five. My guess is the top three on three teams are a couple inches shorter on average than the top five on five teams.
I'll also wonder if there's issues with very short players. Some very excellent 5on 5 teams have both survived and thrived with a speedy point guard who barely breaks 5 feet, but I don't recall someone that height being on a three on three. I confess I haven't watched enough three on three to say this definitively. Maybe we can get her hoops stats to crunch the numbers
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Post by semper on Jul 31, 2024 21:43:28 GMT -5
Stef was a great 3x3 player at 6 5. I thought her height was a great plus when they won the gold.
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Post by meyers7 on Aug 1, 2024 12:23:09 GMT -5
Geez, USA is dead last in the 3X3 standings. 0-3. Just lost to Australia.
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Post by semper on Aug 1, 2024 13:35:03 GMT -5
Bad picks for team membership.
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Post by bulkey on Aug 1, 2024 18:21:16 GMT -5
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Post by meyers7 on Aug 2, 2024 7:27:02 GMT -5
Well they won their last two games. 2-3 now. More importantly they are in the "play-in" group now. They will have to win at least 1 of their last 2 group games (Canada and China), to stay in that group. Then they can "play-in" to the Semi's. Then, who knows. Basically, still a chance a a medal.
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Post by bulkey on Aug 2, 2024 9:01:23 GMT -5
Off basketball, but not off women....
I didn't think anyone who is so thoroughly nice, kind, joyous, wonderful could possibly be so competitive, single-minded, focused, and utterly, utterly dominant. I have never seen a more amazing athlete than Katie Ledecky or Simone Biles.
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Post by bulkey on Aug 2, 2024 9:09:51 GMT -5
Back to basketball, although Stewie and A'ja dominated last night, Pheesa hit the 2 essential jumpers at a critical moment in the game. Belgium is a tall, highly talented and very physical team (even for international play). They remind me of South Carolina: very physical, but not dirty. US women still haven't fully adjusted to the international style by playing that way themselves, but with their talent they don't need to. They're just playing through without it getting to them mentally.
During halftime, they played an interview with Stewie, which was wonderful. For someone who suffered such abuse as a child, she has risen above that and has a terrific life: happily married and a supermom of two. The video of her at home with her wife and kids is a stitch: I well recognize the chaos of two children (as our middle son has). There's a saying about children. One plus one equals eleven. That second one changes everything....and Stewie is really enjoying it. She knows how to play through the chaos.
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Post by swash on Aug 2, 2024 10:21:22 GMT -5
Off basketball, but not off women.... I didn't think anyone who is so thoroughly nice, kind, joyous, wonderful could possibly be so competitive, single-minded, focused, and utterly, utterly dominant. I have never seen a more amazing athlete than Katie Ledecky or Simone Biles. Maybe someone can find and post it here, but my daughter texted me a grainy screenshot of the top 20 or 25 times of all time in the 1500 Freestyle and a certain Ms. Ledecky has nearly every one of them
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Post by rockymtblue2 on Aug 2, 2024 12:36:53 GMT -5
I see a great deal of similarity between Maya and Tiff. They both move like a work of art.
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Post by rockymtblue2 on Aug 2, 2024 14:58:51 GMT -5
Off basketball, but not off women.... I didn't think anyone who is so thoroughly nice, kind, joyous, wonderful could possibly be so competitive, single-minded, focused, and utterly, utterly dominant. I have never seen a more amazing athlete than Katie Ledecky or Simone Biles. Maybe someone can find and post it here, but my daughter texted me a grainy screenshot of the top 20 or 25 times of all time in the 1500 Freestyle and a certain Ms. Ledecky has nearly every one of them Ms. Ladecky's 1500 2 days ago established a new world record and 2d place was a very distance second (23rd I believe fastest time). Ladecky has the 15 or 16 fastest times. She is an amazing machine. Basketball: are we playing today?
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