Lots of news has happened today, so I decided to make a short post with all of the stories and short opinions about them.
Nenad Krstic Suspended 3 Games
Nenad Krstic has been suspended for the first 3 games of the FIBA Worlds. Milos Teodosic, easily the best player on the team, has been suspended for 2 games. They'll face Angola and Germany in the first two games, and if they manage to lose both (which is very possible without Krstic and Teodosic), they'll be in serious trouble if they want to advance so the Round of 16. Krstic will be missing for the 3rd game against Jordan, but that's hardly an issue.
For Greece, their best post players, Antonis Fotsis and Soforkis Schortanitis, will be suspended for 2 games each. Greece is deeper than Serbia, so they shouldn't have a problem with the slow and stiff China team for their first game, but they could run into problems when playing Puerto Rico for their second game, as Peter John Ramos has the ability to dominate inside. Nevertheless, Greece should sweep their final 3 games anyway, so I don't forsee them not advancing, though they do face the possibility of a lower seed.
Apparently, the Ford Motor Group couldn't come to terms for a new naming agreement with the Thunder management, so the Thunder are putting the Ford Center naming rights on the market. The Ford name was originally slated to last 15 years, but there was a termination clause if an NBA team ever made it to Oklahoma City. The Thunder, obviously, went for this change. Al Eschbach said on the radio today that he had "insider information" and stated that the Ford Center would be renamed the "Chevy Center". I don't know how trustworthy that source is, but I wouldn't mind it being called the Chevy Center. But, the best thing any company could do for the Ford Center is give it a real name. Like the Chevy Center at the Myriad, or The Thunderdome presented by Chevy. Sure, it's not going to happen, but it's nice to dream, isn't it?
USA Defeats Greece In Final Warmup Game, 87-59
The United States has defeated Greece in their final warm-up game. Even though this has essentially flown under the radar, this is great news for Team USA. By some accounts, Greece is considered to be the next best team to Spain, and a threat to defeat Team USA. Now that they've been promptly smashed, the tournament will probably be a question of if anyone can catch up with the USA and Spain. And, if not, then we're in for one hell of a game when the two finally do meet. Team USA will play their first game against Croatia on Sunday. We'll be there with full tournament previews before then and full team USA coverage.
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