"They did a good job of calling timeouts or substituting when there was a free throw.  Usually on a free throw, we get the ball and take off and run. They did a good job of offensive rebounding too."

-- Carlos Boozer

The US managed to stay ahead of the Russian national team in a pre-Olympic tune-up in Shaghai yesterday.  While the Russians controlled the pace of the game, limiting the amount the Americans could get out on the break, it would be Kobe Bryant's efforts in the third that seemed to spark the US.  Bryant ended with a game high of 19 points.

Final score: 89-68

"We kind of settled down and we understood what we had to do.  We got steals, we got stops and we scored on the other end."

-- Jason Kidd

The US played another "tune-up" game for Beijing today in Macau, and this time it was against Turkey.  After another competitive start in which the Turks scored 30 points in the first quarter, the US would adjust, clamp down on defense and end 114-82.

This was LeBron James' first game back after rolling an ankle in a practice on the foot of Kevin Durant.  He had a team high of 20 points.

"Here you're talking about Kobe and Jason, two elderly statesmen, if you will, leaders, competitors. They truly are the leaders of this team. The younger players -- I'm talking about Carmelo, LeBron, Wade, all of them -- they defer to Kobe and to Jason as leaders."

-- USA Basketball's managing director Jerry Colangelo

The LA Times' Mark Heisler has a piece on Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd and the roles they are filling on this year's Olympic team.  Have a read...

Nice.  Our Infinite sports sites have reached four thousand registered players today.  Not bad at all considering we're a home grown shop, self-funded, self-developed...  The last six months or so has been very good for us.  The player registrations and page views are at all time high.  We've even added a site for finding and scheduling pick-up hockey games -- InfiniteHockey.com.

We've also had some great press from a number of sites including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Toronto's GlobeAndMail.com, the technology blogosphere's ReadWriteWeb.com and more.  Check out our press page!

So who was player number four thousand?  A soccer baller from Santa Cruz, CA.  Invite your friends everybody.  Let's go 5000!

"I think the thing that is special about this team is that it has been a three-year commitment.  It's not just about this year, but it's about what we've done in the past to get to this point."

-- Chris Paul

Team USA played an exhibition game against Canada at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas this evening as a tune up for Beijing.  I have to say I thought it was a little rough in the first.  The US was up, but it wasn't an immediate blow out and I thought Canada held pretty tough, but then the game was on.  The talent we've come to know over the past two summers showed itself and the US ran out to a 120-65 win.

The next exhibition game is on the 31st against Turkey on ESPN2.

"We are happy to have Sasha back.  He made great progress this year. I attribute a lot of that to his work ethic. We hope he will continue to work hard to develop his game and become an even better and more consistent player."

-- Lakers' GM Mitch Kupchak

Yes.  "The Machine" is staying in L.A.  The Lakers' management has signed shooting guard Sasha Vujacic to a three year deal worth $15 million.  Vujacic is a fun player to watch as he has a way of getting under opponents skin and when his three is on, it's on.  Nice.

Quote: He's not demure off the court either. "Loud," says Wade when asked to describe James' personality. "Loud," says Bryant. "He talks sunup to sunset," says U.S. forward Carlos Boozer. Kidd is expressing the same sentiment when he stops and glances up. "Hear that?" Kidd says. "See what I mean?" James is marching down a hallway, belting out rap lyrics.

Time.com has an article on LeBron James and the "Redeem Team" today.  Redeem Team.  I like the sound of that too.

Have a read.

"I've learned a lot over the last three years, and one thing is: Let's play as many good teams as possible to get us ready for medal play."

-- Coach Krzyzewski of the US Men's Senior Basketball team

All right.  US hoops are just about ready to get the Olympic show going with televised exhibition games starting this Friday against Canada.  Below is a link to the television schedule:

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/news/story?page=2008teamusaschedule

Quote: Taking yet another step toward their first official NBA season, Oklahoma City has found a name for their basketball team.  The new team will be named the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Thunder?  Better than the Thundercats which was previously rumored.

The WNBA has played the first pro basketball game in an outdoor arena tonight, featuring the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever, at the Arthur Ashe Stadium the home of the U.S. Open.  Here is a link to some photos in case you want to see what hard-wood hoops under a blue sky looks like.  I'd love to play in an environment like that.

The Fever topped the Liberty 71-55.

Quote: Highly-touted rookie O.J. Mayo erupted for a game-high 26 points as the Memphis Grizzlies improved to 2-0 at the 2008 NBA Summer League presented by EA SPORTS with an 88-79 triumph over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday.

The T-wolves' third pick in the NBA draft who they traded away to Memphis continues his excellent summer league play, scoring 26 points against the Bucks on Saturday.  

"Brent is a proven winner who brings a wealth of championship experience.  His playmaking and long-range shooting abilities are an ideal fit for coach Adelman's system, while his versatility allows us to use him in a variety of roles. Brent has been a consistent scorer in the playoffs and played a vital part in winning two NBA Finals championships."

-- Rockets owner Leslie Alexander

The Spurs dealt Brent Barry to the Rockets today.  Brent will join the team his brother Jon and father Rick played for when they finished their careers.

"They can spin this thing any way they want to try and spin it. The bottom line is, anything Elton ever wanted I did it for him. They stopped having communication with us more than a week ago."

-- Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy

The big news today is that Elton Brand will not be staying on with the Clips and the newly acquired Baron Davis at point guard, but will instead be joining the Sixers.  Brand will paid an estimated $82 million for 5 years.

Quote: This is not a happy post. Why? Because it has a photo from the Orlando Summer League, where Oklahoma City's NBA team played against the Indiana Pacers with not a Sonics jersey in sight. That's why.
...
Word on the online street is that the OKC team might adopt the name "Thundercats." Someone has already parked oklahomacitythundercats.com and okcthundercats.com

Meh.

"The city of Seattle will be paid $45 million in exchange for letting the Seattle SuperSonics move to Oklahoma City this year as part of last-minute settlement announced this afternoon.

Sonics owner Clay Bennett would have to pay the city an additional $30 million in five years if the city is unable to secure another NBA team, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said."

Apparently, the city gets to keep the Sonics name and logo and all that as a consolation prize.  Of course, there will be no team in the foreseeable future until the arena situation changes.  Meh.