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Shanoff’s Wake-Up Call: Still USA Oops

Jun 24, 2008, 12:57 PM UTC

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Today’s Calls: USA Hoops vs. USA Oops, Joe Alexander vs. Russell Westbrook, Shawn Marion vs. Jermaine O’Neal, Dan Haren vs. Ben Sheets, Felix Hernandez vs. Johan Santana, Don Imus vs. Pacman Jones, Michael Strahan vs. Terry Bradshaw, Sean Avery vs. Anna Wintour and More.â†µâ†µThe Opening Pitch: Are we going to see another Olympic display of USA Oops?â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Beijing roster is star-studded, that’s for sure. But, as we learned in 2004, stars don’t equate to strategy.â†µ

â†µâ†µHere’s my problem with USA Basketball’s star system: Where are the pure shooters? Michael Redd, Kobe Bryant ... and ...?â†µ

â†µâ†µIt’s like they already forgot the lesson of Athens: Not just that Larry Brown was an awful coach or that LeBron-Wade-Melo didn’t play enough.â†µ

â†µâ†µIt’s that the international style demands players who can drill their jumpshots; on this roster, I just don’t see enough of it.â†µ

â†µâ†µ(I’m not saying that Mike Miller is the difference between gold and bust for USA Hoops, but 1-2 more shooters would have helped.)â†µ

â†µâ†µI have said since last summer that Kobe being on the team -- that alone -- should be enough to regain gold for the U.S.â†µ

â†µâ†µBut if they fall short, it will be because they went with a marketing strategy, rather than a winning strategy.â†µ

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â†µâ†µNBA Draft: Who’s hot? Beyond Rose and Beasley, the 1st round is a jumble of competing opinions, but there are two names you keep hearing that everyone loves -- Joe Alexander and Russell Westbrook.â†µ

â†µâ†µAlexander appears to be wowing every team he works out for, with his insane intensity and equally insane athleticism. In my latest mock draft (final edition coming tomorrow), I have him going no later than No. 6 to the Knicks.â†µ

â†µâ†µWestbrook has been given the label “Next Rajon Rondo,” ironic given that Rondo’s own draft stock sank like a stone, before playing alongside 3 Hall of Famers turned him into RONDO. I have Westbrook going no later than No. 7 to the Clippers.â†µ

â†µâ†µWith 2 days to go, I could see teams wanting to trade up to get either of them. Then again, could one team end up with ... both?! Hmm ...â†µ

â†µâ†µHot Rumor: Knicks trading David Lee to the Grizzlies for the No. 5 pick and a bad contract? With Nos. 5 and 6, NY could have BOTH draft studs, Westbrook AND Alexander.â†µ

â†µâ†µMock Draft coming tomorrow, and expect an increase in misdirection and rumor-mongering in the next 48 hours.â†µ

â†µâ†µMLB Instant History: Ben Sheets is at the top of his game. Last night, he pitched a CG 4-hitter (1 R, 7 K) to run his record to 9-1.â†µ

â†µâ†µDan Haren isn’t bad, either: He out-pitched Josh Beckett and handcuffed the Red Sox in Fenway, allowing 2 H and 0 ER in 7 IP in a 2-1 W.â†µ

â†µâ†µMilestone Watch: Felix Hernandez became the first AL pitcher to hit a grand slam in 37 years -- off Johan Santana, no less.â†µ

â†µâ†µInterleague: Perhaps the Royals should petition to be relocated to the NL. They are an MLB-best 10-3 in interleague games this season.â†µ

â†µâ†µ“Willie did a good job,” says Mets owner Fred Wilpon, a bit of a mixed message. One thing is clear: Wilpon puts it all on Omar Minaya.â†µ

â†µâ†µCurt Schilling’s shoulder surgery went well: He could be pitching by January. (The lingering question: Will he even want to be?)â†µ

â†µâ†µCollege World Series: Game 1 goes to Georgia, which came back from a 6-3 deficit in the 8th behind MLB Top 10 pick Gordon Beckham’s 2-run HR. The pressure is on Cinderella Fresno State to win 2 straight.â†µ

â†µâ†µDon Imus on Pacman Jones: “What color is he?” [African-American.] “There you go. Now we know.”â†µ

â†µâ†µI’m not quite sure in what context that isn’t off-putting at best, more classic Imus race insensitivity at worst.â†µ

â†µâ†µImus painfully tried to clarify: “I meant he was being picked on because he is black.”â†µ

â†µâ†µYou’d think the guy would know better. But that’s the problem with racists: Their linguistic problems tend to be pesky.â†µ

â†µâ†µMore NBA Rumors: Pacers trading Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto for TJ Ford? I’m trying to conceive how JO and Bosh would work together.â†µ

â†µâ†µShawn Marion will not opt out of his deal with the Heat: It doesn’t mean he won’t still be shipped out; an expiring contract (even one at $17.8M) is the most valuable currency in the NBA.â†µ

â†µâ†µBrandon Jennings vs. the NCAA and NBA, Cont’d: I continue to be obsessed by this story. OK, so I’m settling in on a totally new idea: Forget Europe. Forget the NBDL. Go “indie.”â†µ

â†µâ†µConvince 9 fellow prep All-Americans to skip their one-and-done college year to form a pre-NBA “dream team” that does three things: (1) Train for the NBA; (2) Barnstorm the country; (3) Cash endorsement checks.â†µ

â†µâ†µRaise a ton of money by exchanging equity in the team’s revenues -- plus a small slice of the future value of their first, predictable NBA deals -- to investors to hedge their risk and generate income.â†µ

â†µâ†µAny incoming college freshman who thinks they are going to turn pro after one year is kidding themselves if they think a year of college is better to develop them as a pro than a year as a pro.â†µ

â†µâ†µShaq rap rips Kobe? “You know how I be/Last week, Kobe couldn’t do without me.”â†µ

â†µâ†µA for Braggadocio, C for meter (even taking into account it was a freestyle). File this under: NON-story.â†µ

â†µâ†µNFL: SN’s Top 100 Fantasy ranking is out, and while I have no qualms with Tomlinson over Peterson for No. 1, it is an absolute joke that they have Darren McFadden all the way down at No. 61. In SN’s rankings, he isn’t even the top-rated RB on his own team?! (Justin Fargas: No. 60).â†µ

â†µâ†µSports Media: Michael Strahan is going to Fox, not a bad complement to Howie, Jimmy and Terry.â†µ

â†µâ†µOlympics: Once-exiled goalie Hope Solo is on the US Women’s Soccer roster, and Brianna Scurry is not. But will Solo’s teammates embrace her?â†µ

â†µâ†µNHL: Barry Melrose will coach the Lightning, as has long been expected (and bringing a huge amount of star power to the team).â†µ

â†µâ†µMore NHL: Sean Avery’s summer internship at “Vogue.” (h/t: McErlain)â†µ

â†µâ†µThe Last Word: The SN college football preview issue is out! Long before I was part of SN, the Sporting News college football preview issue has always been my annual go-to preseason source to get ready for the season. The 2008 edition is out today. You can check out all the different covers here. I’m so obviously partial to Region No. 8.â†µ

â†µâ†µDan Shanoff writes The Wake-Up Call every weekday morning for SportingNews.com and blogs daily at DanShanoff.com. Got any comments, questions or feedback? Email Dan at shanofftsn-[at]-gmail-[dot]-com.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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