"Sportsmanship for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can't tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way."
Jim Courier, 4 Grand Slam Singles Titles
Showing posts with label Team USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Team USA. Show all posts
Saturday, 28 November 2015
Friday, 20 September 2013
USA Keep Hopes Alive
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| Getty Images |
Oracle Team USA stayed alive in the America's Cup after beating Team New Zealand in race 12 - the only completed race on Thursday.
Later in the day, Race 13 was postponed until Friday after winds exceeded the 20 knots limit in San Francisco bay.
The Kiwis lead 8-2 in the 17-race finals series and need to win only one more race to take the trophy.
Team USA, the defending champions, took Thursday's only race by a comfortable 31-second margin.
They won the start with a shrewd manoeuvre that pushed New Zealand away from the line, and then showed impressive speed on the critical upwind leg before dashing home for the victory.
The Kiwis turned in the latest of several textbook performances in moving to the brink of victory on Wednesday, and seemed to have beaten back an Oracle revival that saw the United States boat win two thrilling races over the weekend.
But Thursday's first race suggested the momentum could be shifting once again as Oracle showed the speed, tactics and boat handling it needs to match the polished Kiwi team.
"We have to finish this thing," said Ben Gordon, a New Zealander who lives in San Francisco. "The boat's are dead even and it's getting a bit dodgy."
There will be two races - if required - on Friday.
Wednesday's second race was also postponed because of a strong breeze and outgoing tide.
The AC72 catamarans can attain speeds of up to 50 miles per hour, but are hard to control and potentially subject to capsize and equipment failure in high winds.
The Kiwis are seeking their third America's Cup, having won in 1995 and in 2000.
Sunday, 12 August 2012
USA Secure Basketball Gold
The USA won their 14th Olympic basketball gold medal as they beat Spain 107-100 to defend their title.
The favourites powered ahead in the first quarter before Spain recovered to within a point at the interval.
But Spain could not contain the Americans' powerful attack and LeBron James and Kevin Durant scored crucial baskets in the final period.
Durant led USA's offence with 30 points, while Spain's Pau Gasol scored 24 at London's North Greenwich Arena.
Spain applied pressure to the USA defence for long periods to keep in touch but with their wealth of experienced NBA players the Americans ultimately had too much strength in depth.
The United States had scored over 100 points in five of their seven matches leading to the final, including a record 158 against Nigeria, and they continued their imperious form as they strode to a 35-27 lead by the end of the first quarter.
However, Spain were determined to give everything in an attempt to dethrone them and as they clawed back the deficit tempers began to flare, with the game becoming more vocal and aggressive.
Juan-Carlos Navarro caught USA on the break to reduce the lead to four with two minutes left to half-time and with three seconds of the half remaining, Andre Iguodala gave away a pair of free throws for an unsportsmanlike foul to enable Spain to go in at the interval just 59-58 down.
As 13,000 supporters looked on, including American actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the USA began to relax and a much-needed three points from Durant put them six points up at 93-86 with 06:25 on the clock.
Another crucial three from James, on his way to 19 on the night, made it a nine-point game with under two minutes left to play and despite a Marc Gasol basket in the closing seconds the Americans ultimately won with a degree of comfort.
Kobe Bryant said: "It was a good journey for us. It was just tough. So to be standing here at the moment having played a tough opponent in Spain, with another gold medal, it's a huge accomplishment.
"We have a lot of talented players coming up. Hopefully we will continue to build our programme, continue to mentor the young fellas coming up, the college ranks and the young fellas in the pro ranks and continue to carry on the tradition."
Saturday, 11 August 2012
USA Women Storm 4 x 400m Gold
USA won their fifth successive Olympic gold medal as their quartet eased to victory at London 2012.
The team of Deedee Trotter, Allyson Felix, Francena McCorory and Sanya Richards-Ross finished more than three seconds ahead of nearest rivals Russia who took silver.
Jamaica beat off the challenge of Ukraine to take bronze.
Britain, who included Perri Shakes-Drayton and Christine Ohuruogu in their line-up, finished fifth.
USA were the fastest team in qualifying, finishing a second a head of nearest rivals Russia, and they continued their good form.
Victory never looked in doubt after the first changeover and the remaining trio edged further clear of the rest of the field.
Richards-Ross, who won gold in the individual 400m, then carried the baton home, as they finished just 1.8 seconds outside the world and Olympic record.
The top six teams all ran a season's best time on the night.
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