Despite not having any members of the gold-medal “Redeem Team” from the 2008 Olympics, Team USA basketball silenced all doubters and returned to its place atop the game of basketball by winning the 2010 FIBA World Basketball Championship 81-64 over the Turkish national team.

The country is now true champions of the world again with both the Olympic and World Championship gold medals in the States until at least 2012. In a great sign of the national pride that has once again been infused in our players, several members of the 2008 Olympic gold medalists celebrated the win and congratulated this year’s team.

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Chris Bosh and other members of the Redeem took to their Twitter pages to cheer on Team USA.

Led by Kevin Durant and his unstoppable scoring, the team showed the depth of talent the United States enjoys on both the offensive and defensive ends of the game. Long known for their athletic superiority but often criticized as too arrogant or unfocused to excel in international play, the U.S. national basketball program has shown it’s still capable of dominating.

It was great to see the group of lesser-known NBA stars exhibit the tenacity and dedication necessary to win such an internationally respected tournament despite all the naysayers and forever-shrinking talent gap between America and the rest of the world. Sometimes referred to as the “B-team” because none of the 2008 players played in this year’s tournament, MVP Kevin Durant let it be known that nobody on the team felt like backups.

It’s great to see a guy as young, humble and talented as Durant propel himself into the international basketball superstar discussion. There’s no doubt that he’s one of the top five basketball players right now and that he’ll definitely be on the 2012 Olympic team alongside guys like LeBron, Kobe Bryant and the rest of the Redeem team.

While the same can’t be said for some of the backups and role players from the 2010 World Championship team, much respect has to go out to every member of Team USA. They showed their commitment to properly representing America with hard defense, intangibles, willingness to set their egos aside and wore the red, white and blue with pride to bring the U.S. its first world title since 1994. Team USA is now guaranteed a berth in the 2012 Olympics in London and can avoid playing until the 2012 games, where they will come in as top dogs yet again.

- Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

Authorities have found the body of former Memphis and NBA player Lorenzen Wright in a wooded-area in southeast Memphis. The 34-year-old Wright was last seen leaving the home of his ex-wife at 2 a.m. on July 19. Police suspect foul play and are investigating a 9-11 call and hangup made from Wright’s cell phone Monday. If Wright’s death is the result of foul play we can only hope that the criminals are quickly brought to justice. R.I.P. Lorenzen.

Body of missing Memphis basketball star Lorenzen Wright found [The Commercial Appeal]

Former Minnesota Timberwolves star forward/center Al Jefferson is understandably happy to have escaped from the insanity of Wolves GM David Kahn. In a new interview with Yahoo! Sports, Jefferson sounds elated to be the newest member of the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are a perennial playoff team and have a storied history, something not lost on Jefferson.

“They have a nice group of guys, but will have a couple more losing seasons,” Jefferson said of the T’wolves. “Minneapolis is my home away from home. I respect the fans that have supported me through the good and the bad … but when I told people I played for Minnesota, some people didn’t even know they had a team. Everybody knows about Utah. Everyone knows the Utah Jazz.” He didnt’ stop there though, providing us all with a great quote to visualize; “I go from being in a Toyota to a Bentley. It’s a beautiful thing.“

Zing! I’m sure Kahn pressed pause on The Notebook blu-ray him and Darko Milicic were watching long enough to call Jefferson a schmuck.

Al Jefferson rejoices as he joins the Utah “Bentley” Jazz.
(Photo Illustration by Will R.)

Kahn, or “Kaaaaaaaaaahn!” as he’s bitterly referred to across the NBA, is infamous for his boneheaded draft choices, comparing Milicic to Chris Webber, saying Michael Beasley is no longer a young pothead and much more.

Jefferson is a solid, young player coming off a serious knee injury, but he has averaged more than 20 points and 11 rebounds for two of the last three seasons. He was in contention for All-Star spots before his injury and was part of the Kevin Garnett trade, so naturally Kahn traded him to the Utah Jazz for another star and several prospects two future draft choices and Kosta Koufos.

David Kahn loves his Toyota & thinks it’ll come into its own real soon, especially with the $20 million he just spent on the interior.
(Photo Illustration by Will R.)

I’m all for Jefferson being able to leave the Timberwolves and prove he’s healthy again on a playoff contender. He helps fill in the hole left behind by the Carlos Boozer departure and him and Paul Millsap could be a nice combo. Mehmet Okur will also be recovering from his Achilles injury, so he might see some major minutes at center. He mentioned his championship aspirations and maybe turning the tandem of him and Deron Williams into the new incarnation of John Stockton and Karl Malone. Sure it’s way too early to say that, but at least he’s aiming high.

Jefferson hits winning note with Jazz [Marc J. Spears/Yahoo! Sports]

- Will.

Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

When former NBA player David Robinson invests he likes to get a 20 percent return. That doesn’t explain why Robinson’s teamed up with a former Goldman Sachs executive for Admiral Capital Group, a private equity firm.

Here’s the story:

Robinson formed private equity firm Admiral Capital Group last year with a former Goldman Sachs executive, and this week they made their first investment, buying an undisclosed stake in food service company Centerplate.
Robinson, 43, and his partner, Daniel Bassichis, will look to invest in companies that offer a strong financial return as well as making a social impact.

Centerplate has handled big events like Super Bowls, the Belmont Stakes, and six presidential inauguration balls. Sounds like a solid company and 1000 times better than going with Lenny Dykstra’s advice.

NBA legend’s equity firm takes stake in Centerplate [Reuters via Guardian]

It’s the first week of June and that means it’s time for the NBA Finals. (Full Schedule) Despite the universal assumption that a Kobe V. LeBron battle of the titans was going to happen, and much to the chagrin of David Stern and the Nike puppet campaign, the King and his jesters court were ousted by a hero turned super villain (at least in Cleveland) – Dwight “Superman II” Howard and his Orlando Magic.

The Magic have lived up to their name this postseason, surprising everyone outside of Florida by continuously beating teams that they were supposed to lose to and showing they weren’t afraid of a little adversity. They dealt with losing hard-fought games at the buzzer (LeBron, Big Baby, Iguodala and Thaddeus Young all did it to them these playoffs) that would have shaken most teams into losing confidence. They handled a semi-controversy when Dwight called out Stan Van Gundy and they went into two of the most difficult road arenas in the NBA and won critical games (games 1 and 7 in Boston, game 1 in Cleveland to break the Cavs 8-game undefeated streak.) So far the Magic have overcome every challenge placed in front of them, leaving them with just one last adversary: the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers have had their fare share of stumbles and troubles this postseason too. Just as vaunted a regular season team as LeBron’s, everyone expected LA to cruise to the finals and there was quite a commotion out West when they were taken to 7 games by the injury-ravaged Houston Rockets and pushed around by the Denver Nuggets. As one of the most talented rosters in the league and with last year’s MVP Kobe Bryant at the helm, they eventually took advantage of their experience and personnel to make all the right crunch-time plays and are looking to make up for last year’s 6-game embarrassment.

Which leads us to this showdown; seven possible games, two teams with two superstars and two coaches looking to break stereotypes and records, pushing to either create or cement their legacies. Make no mistake, just because it’s not 23 against 24 doesn’t mean there isn’t a whole lot on the line.

Phil Jackson can break his 9-championship tie with Red Auerbach and set a new coaching standard for titles. Kobe can finally start to get the giant “can’t win without Shaq” monkey off his back and prove he’s an actual champion level leader, while Van Gundy and Dwight can go a long way toward silencing all their own critics with yet another huge upset.

And that upset is far from impossible. As much as the Lakers have been tested so far, they might face their biggest challenge with Orlando, who not only boasts a ferocious interior presence in Howard, but gives LA some of the same match up nightmares that faced Cleveland and Boston. Word even has it that All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson will play. Who’s going to guard Lewis and Turkoglu? Gasol is too slow and Ariza can only stick to one of them. Walton? Please. If Odom is on his game (a huge if) then LA has a much better chance, but either way it’ll be tough. Especially when Dwight is dominating inside, which will create space for the endless supply of 3-point shooters on the Magic.

Of course that’s only if Orlando keeps hitting its threes, which so far they have been able to do with consistency. It’s hard to see Lewis, Turkoglu, Pietrus and Alston suddenly losing their touch, especially with all the confidence they’ve gained so far. They’re shooting a respectable 37% outside the arc so far as a team (down only one percent from their regular season stats) and Lewis and Pietrus are each shooting at or above 39%. Spacing the floor against a Lakers defense already prone to breakdowns could do wonders for the Magic.

On the flipside, Howard will face his most difficult frontcourt opponents yet as he’ll see something he hasn’t seen so far these playoffs – young, tall and athletic guys capable of staying in front of him and dishing out some hard hits. Bynum, although largely invisible thus far, has a chance to bother Howard and will definitely give out fouls. Odom and Gasol are nowhere near as strong, but their size and relative quickness shouldn’t be underestimated. The pressure will be on Howard to keep hitting his free throws and prove his worth as a go-to bigman.

Speaking of dominant centers, who do you think Shaq is going for? You know he doesn’t want Kobe to win a ring and tie his total, but I can’t imagine he wants the “Master of Panic” and Dwight to get the last laugh and do what he couldn’t in Orlando and win a ring. Anyone down to ask him?

For the Lakers, their keys to victory obviously involve great production from Kobe, but if they want to win their 15th championship they’ll need a lot more from everyone else. Here’s a nifty position by position breakdown of each team’s roster. Their struggles against Denver quickly changed when Odom decided to actually show up and Gasol’s extra touches and fouls blocks in the paint showed a side of them rarely seen. Whether Lakers fans want to admit it or not, their team is notoriously known for being soft, specifically Gasol, so if they want to beat Orlando they’ll need the Pau that doesn’t inspire these Kotex parodies.

In all seriousness though, one of the biggest keys to how the series will swing revolves around how Orlando defends Kobe. Pietrus is their best perimeter defender and in spite of LeBron’s amazing numbers, Pietrus did a great job on him in each game. If Pietrus can stay in front of Kobe and lure him into going solo into Howard and the Marcin Gortat/Tony Battie combo, then they have a good shot. The Magic swept the season series with the Lakers even though Kobe had a 41-point game and a 28-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist effort against them, so there’s a chance Orlando can use the same winning formula that Boston perfected last year.

Whether he admits it or not, this year is a monumental one for Kobe’s legacy. If he loses, he undoubtedly will take a big hit in the “greatest players” debate, and if he wins he moves toward joining the NBA’s all-time upper echelon. That’s a lot of pressure and physical play for anyone to handle, even Kobe, and his 13 years of wear and tear may play a factor.

Given the multiple matchup problems Orlando creates with their 3-point shooting and Dwight’s emergence as a true superstar, this series can and most likely will go at least six games. The Lakers are the favorite and should win it all if they play to their potential, but that’s apparently easier said then done for them, so don’t be stunned if the Magic are the first to four wins. It would only seem fitting if the team that plays not too far from Disney World could start their own NBA version of the popular slogan and bring a title home with them.

- Will.

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski joined Stephen Colbert for an interview Tuesday, but I’m a little split on the results. Coach K was kinda dry and the conversation between him and Colbert didn’t flow smoothly. On the other hand we get to find out why Krzyzewski is “hording consonants” and his feelings on high school players jumping straight to the NBA.

If I’m reading between the lines correctly Coach K thinks LeBron James is the best player in the NBA. And Colbert took a mini-shot at Jon Stewart with the “I don’t have correspondents” line… The interview had some potential if only Krzyzewski wasn’t so boring. Go State!!

The Baltimore Ravens pasted the Miami Dolphins 27-9 Sunday at Dolphin Stadium using their great defense led by Ed Reed. When the game was over the Ravens were greeted by the Olympic king and Baltimore native Michael Phelps. There’s even a brief Rachel Nichols cameo.

You know you’re the man if you’re a swimmer that gets treated like a rock star. Best question: “Where’s your medals?” Worst question:

Voice1: It’s Michael Phelps.
Voice2: Who?

It was cool to see Phelps got to meet Ed Reed (after making out with Todd Heap) since he was rocking Reed’s jersey and Ed had a crazy interception return.

The Ed Reed interception video comes courtesy of Black Sports Online who is Odenizing the video game right now.

It’s been almost two weeks since I brought you the news of the Gangsta Grillz mixtape being dropped by Ron Artest of the Houston Rockets. You can listen to a Ron-Ron freestyle from the mixtape below.

It’s not good but it’s not worst I’ve ever heard either. David Stern could probably make an issue out of a few of the lyrics if he tried, but he’s probably too busy scouting European arenas or contemplating a rubber basketball.

There’s more of Ron rapping here, including freestyles over Flashing Lights and Soulja Boy.

The Miami Heat played the New Jersey Nets in London and gave the audience what they came to see. A lot of dunks, highlighted by Dwyane Wade throwing down over Yi Jianlian.

That’s the D-Wade I’m used to. If he can stay healthy he’ll be an MVP candidate at the end of the season. I’ll forgive the traveling during the spin move and the double-dribble on breakaways as long as he’s playing hungry.

Highlights from Heat-Nets in London:

Stephon Marbury hasn’t changed since 1995. I mean, he’s put on some weight and ditched the corny haircut, but his ego was just as big then as it is now. Marbury is being interviewed after winning a New York City high school championship, and gives a typical Starbury answer to the question “Where do you rank yourself as far as city players right now?”

Wow.. Damn. I’m shocked. I can’t believe they were running WNBA scores on the crawl back in ’95. As far as what Steph had to say, only a fool thought he wouldn’t say he’s the greatest?