During the London 2012 Olympic Games, USA forward Kevin Love famously shared a photo of his team-mates and head coach Mike Krzyzewski sleeping on a team flight.
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“We’re a group of guys that range from age of 24 to, I don’t know how old Carmelo is, 40?” center DeAndre Jordan said.
Losses have been rare on Olympic hardwood for the United States who boast an all-time record of 130-5 in Games competition and will be expected to add to that win column as they chase a third straight gold. They also stayed on a cruise ship for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, which was the year the men’s team humiliated itself with a third-place finish. There is no secret that Team USA is the big draw this summer, as they are every four years.
The men play their first game Saturday against China and the women begin Olympic play Sunday versus Senegal.
They went 5-0, averaged 102.8 points and overwhelmed their opponents by 43 per game.
“You get a feel of the vibe of the culture that you’re going to”, he says. “I’m very honored and blessed to represent Team USA”, runner Chrishuna Williams said. “We have to be ready to play”. Opponents have to worry about Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Paul George and practically every other National Basketball Association player on court, so that usually leaves Carmelo Anthony open for shots that he can hit all day.
“They played their tails off against us and made us better”, offered Durant in the sincerest tone he could muster.
10,500: The total number of athletes who will compete in the 2016 Games. “We wanted to come out and really work on us”. The U.S. has won 41 consecutive Olympic contests, with the last loss coming in the 1992 semifinals. She is already the first Kiwi woman to win three medals at a single world championship (in 2013) and in 2014 she broke the 1,500 freestyle short course world record.
Two years prior, at the other big global basketball competition, the 2002 FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis, Indiana, the host nation failed to pick up any medals at all, finishing in a somewhat humiliating sixth position.
Moore added what she does on the hard court is filled with intensity and heart.
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Instead of laws banning gay “propaganda”, Rio’s Olympic Village will have a Pride house where LGBT athletes and their families can “interact freely in a welcoming environment”.
