Post by lingzi on Sept 12, 2012 9:01:39 GMT 1
USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo considers about 10 mens Olympic team spots set "on paper," with the rest to be determined over two days of practice before the squad is announced July 7. Wesley Woodyard Jersey . The Americans requested and were granted an extension to the deadline to select the squad by the U.S. Olympic Committee after four candidates were knocked out by injuries. The team was originally to be picked by June 18 before the end of the NBA season. Instead, the Americans will hold their first practice July 6 in Las Vegas with a to-be-determined number of players. Theyll gather their final 12 at a team meeting the next night. There are 18 healthy players in the pool. "What we think is that barring any other further major injury, we have a pretty good handle on what we think the roster might look like, and it may get down to a final selection or two," Colangelo said Monday in a phone interview from Dallas, where he was to announce the revised plans during a news conference. That could give college player of the year Anthony Davis of Kentucky a chance to prove he belongs with the NBAs best headed to London, or perhaps Philadelphias Andre Iguodala to show theres room for a defensive specialist amid a group of superstar scorers. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Deron Williams, Kevin Durant, Tyson Chandler, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and Dwyane Wade appear to be the locks -- though Wade recently said he wanted to see how his health was after Miamis expected lengthy playoff run. The Americans expected to have all those decisions made long before they gathered for the summer. They had planned to announce their 12 by June 1, but injuries wrecked those plans and could remain the biggest obstacle to another gold medal. Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Chauncey Billups and LaMarcus Aldridge were all knocked out, forcing USA Basketball to ask the USOC for the extension and permission to add to their pool of finalists. Those had been chosen in January so they could be entered into the drug-testing program. With the NBA playoffs possibly running until June 26 and 10 finalists still playing, Colangelo wanted time to see who would be ready when the team reported for what was supposed to be its first practice as the Olympic team. Now its turned into somewhat of a tryout camp. "It was never intended to be that, and so weve been talking about a roster and its kind of a fluid thing to have that kind of a discussion. So thats why we needed the time," Colangelo said. "We can talk about what we think it might look like, but theres no reason to even speculate on that knowing now that we have until the 7th. We really know what we want to do and who we think is going to be there to do it for us, but we have to play it out and wait it out and then well respond." Colangelo was en route to Dallas on Sunday when another U.S. player went down. Chris Bosh left Miamis playoff victory over Indiana and is out indefinitely with a strained abdominal muscle. Colangelo said the Americans would follow up about Boshs status later. They will also have to deal with free agency in the early days of practice. Williams will become a free agent July 1 and can commit to joining a team but cant officially sign a new deal until July 11. "I think Derons plan, from what we understand, he intends to sign at the very first moment he can officially, in terms of when the clock ticks 12," Colangelo said. "So hell practise, but hell stay away from contact work. So thats one of those variables you have to deal with, and we said we would." Colangelo said he isnt stressed about the injuries, because hes "never been a panic kind of guy, honestly." In fact, he thinks they will make the Americans even more focused on their title defence. "A year ago, a year and a half ago in discussions, I (said) I think the biggest enemy we might have would be ourselves. We have to be ready mentally. We were ready the last quad because we were on a mission to get back the gold. So there was some concern, some people had said, Well, maybe theyll be a little complacent. I never thought so," he said. "Well, with all the events that have taken place, if anything its emboldened me. Its like being upset about the cards being dealt, but its certainly going to keep everyone on their toes." Santonio Holmes Jersey . The Giants now head to Cowboys Stadium on Sunday night and, of course, itll be in prime time. Catch the all the action live on TSN at 8:15pm et/5:15pm pt. Peyton Manning Broncos Jersey . The Netherlands fell victim to the “Group of Death”, heading home without a win. But apart from the Dutch, most of the truly dangerous teams - with all due respect to Russia, who were a favourite in a light-weight group - remain in the title hunt. Torrey Smith Nike Jersey . The 25-year-old winger recorded 17 goals and 43 points in 75 games for the Predators last season. In 10 post-season games, Kostitsyn notched a goal and an assist in 10 games. Dennis Pitta Jersey . Catch the action as part of a double-header on TSN and TSN HD. See the Capitals face the Senators (7:30pm et/4:30pm pt) in the early game, then the Canucks battle the Sharks in San Jose (10:30pm et/7:30pm pt). Torrey Smith Jersey . Napoli matched career-highs with four hits and three runs scored for the Angels, who pounded out a season-high 18 hits in their fifth straight win to move three games above .500 (31-28) -- the teams best record in 2010.Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - The Chicago Cubs dismissed hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo and named James Rowson the teams interim hitting coach on Tuesday. Rowson had served the last four years as the organizations minor league hitting coordinator. He joined the Cubs after spending six years in the New York Yankees organizattion. Dwight Freeney Jersey. The club named Tom Beyers interim minor league hitting coordinator. Jaramillo was named the Cubs hitting coach after the 2009 season and was in his third season in his role. The Cubs rank 14th in the National League in runs scored, 10th in batting average and 15th in on-base percentage. ' ' '