Nba Players

BEIJING - The U.S. men's basketball team is about to face 2004 gold medalist Argentina in this morning's semifinals, and you know what that means. Not only is it an honor to play the Argentines, they're a great team. Actually, they're not merely a great team, they're like an NBA team! Actually, they're not merely like a generic NBA team but the Boston Celtics in Bill Russell's prime! Actually, what it probably means is bad news for Argentina, which, by its record (5-1) and the way it has looked, might be only marginally better than Spain (which the U.S. squad beat by 37)

Have you heard what Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut said about his fellow NBA players? If you regularly soak up every newspaper, magazine and major sports Web site you can get your hands on ... you probably have no idea what he said. Too bad for those news outlets, and too bad for us. What Bogut told a paper in his native Australia two weeks ago (yes, two weeks ago) about the American league in which he plays and the players, most of whom are black, populating it ought to open up another good avenue to discuss the issue most desperately in need of sane discussion: race in American culture.

The instinctive, from-the-gut reaction: The ball feels funny. Not funny ha-ha, funny strange. The reaction to the NBA's new ball - by the usual army of public cynics who test their cheap one-liners on NBA players every chance they get - now that was funny ha-ha. The ball itself, though, feels ... odd. Off. Definitely wrong. Not something the best in the business should be using. It feels funny. It bounces funny. The seams are funny. Shaquille O'Neal was right: It was too much like one of those "cheap balls that you buy at the toy store, indoor-outdoor balls."

SINGAPORE -- Singapore Airlines Ltd. introduced movies and music on demand and satellite-based telephones to make its flights more enticing. It was the first major carrier to offer free headsets and drinks to passengers flying coach. But after years of creating innovations to entertain its customers, the carrier aims to put them to sleep with its newest amenity: the ultimate flying bed. Singapore's "luxury suite" - really a seat that can unfold into a bed - is reserved for the privileged few who can afford the first-class $10,000 round-trip airfare.

Now, everybody is tired of the losing. There's no more point in gloating when the U.S. basketball team and its despised NBA players come home without the gold in yet another major international competition. No, this isn't funny anymore. This group did things the right way, and it got them nowhere, relatively speaking. No matter how much the world has caught up, no matter how much more other national teams play together than our hastily assembled all-star teams, the U.S. is supposed to be as good as gold in basketball every time.

WASHINGTON -- Muggsy Bogues stole a glance at the sheet of paper taped to the table adjacent to the bench to catch the names of the officials working the Charlotte Sting's recent game against the Washington Mystics. Good thing, too, because it's considered bad form for the head coach to harass referees without knowing their names. "Come on, Lisa," cried Bogues, yelling at WNBA referee Lisa Mattingly. "Come on, now. [Mystics guard Nikki] Teasley can't dribble the ball like that." Bogues got that call as Teasley was called for a double dribble midway through the first quarter of the game at Verizon Center, and he clapped his hands vigorously.

If you're like me, you often bemoan the fact that Baltimore doesn't have a state-of-the-art downtown arena ... until you read something like this: The Los Angeles Lakers have increased the price of a courtside seat from $2,100 to $2,200 for the 2006-07 season at Staples Center. Of course, we're talking about the infamous Jack Nicholson/Dyan Cannon seats that have helped enhance the Hollywood image of the Lakers all the way back to the "Showtime" days of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at the Fabulous Forum.

INDIANAPOLIS -- UCLA coach Ben Howland gestured with his left hand to the five starters who sat alongside him at Sunday's news conference and spoke with pride - not concern - about their possible NBA talent. "A good problem is having players that are leaving early for the NBA," Howland said the day before his team fell, 73-57, to Florida in the national championship game. "The more NBA players - we've got a number of them sitting right up here to my left - they're going to be future NBA players, without question, without a doubt.

TOP 8 SEEDS 1. Villanova Location -- Villanova, Pa. Record -- 25-4. RPI -- 2. Record vs. tournament field -- 9-4. Road record -- 10-2. Record in past 10 -- 8-2. Impressive wins -- Dec. 3, home vs. Oklahoma, 85-74; Feb. 13, home vs. Connecticut, 69-64. Top players -- Sr., Randy Foye, G, 20.1 ppg., 5.6 rpg.; Sr., Allan Ray, G, 18.8 ppg. Skinny -- Using mostly a four-guard lineup, Jay Wright's Wildcats understand the importance of the jump shot. And even though it is smaller than most opponents, Villanova has a rebounding edge of about two a game.

On the basketball court, NBA players dazzle. They're quick. They're flashy. They look good doing what they do. And nowadays, two months after an imposed leaguewide dress code, early fashion reviews are in: These pro ballplayers are looking equally as good off the court. The Cleveland Cavaliers' hip young star LeBron James has a penchant for preppy cable-knit sweaters under his suit jackets. Allen Iverson throws a phat leather jacket over his cashmere walking suits. Shaquille O'Neal likes three-piece suits, with three, four or even eight buttons.