Today’s Chinese cigarettes
ballineurope.com 8/7/2008 — With the highly awaited Olympic basketball tournament coming closer, here are some of the thoughts I found throughout the internet about the mega event in Beijing. Dirk Nowitzki will finally be the German flagbearer. The Dallas Mavericks ...

The Bynum-Yao Debate Extended
feetinthepaint.wordpress.com 8/7/2008 — Sarcasm towards the school of thought that has a coach picking Andrew Bynum over Yao Ming. Plenty of Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant within...

Upside and Motor: The Gross, The Hideous, and The Unsightly: The Many Faces of Pau Gasol
upsideandmotor.blogspot.com 8/8/2008 — Learn the nuances of Pau Gasol's facial expressions! Fun!

Kobe Would Take $50 Mil. To Play In Italy
boston.com 8/8/2008 — If Italy comes knocking with big money next summer, the NBA could lose its biggest star in Kobe Bryant. “I’d go. I’d probably go,” said Bryant, during a USA Basketball press conference on Friday morning. “Like Milan or something like that, where I grew up or something like that… Peace out.” Bryant continued: “Do you know any reasonable person that would turn down 50 (million dollars)?”

Report: Lakers to Add Chinese 'Magic'
dailynews.com 8/8/2008 — In the LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS, Elliott Teaford reports "the Lakers and point guard Sun Yue have agreed to terms on a two-season contract, the team confirmed Thursday. The Lakers hope to sign Sun formally within the next few days, team spokesman John ...

Shakin and Bakin: The 10 Best Moves in The NBA — Bleacher Report - NBA 8/6/2008
One of the biggest criticisms of NBA players and NBA games has been the focus on isolation games. But think about: remember when Iverson crossed Michael Jordan and everyone went crazy? How about going way back to the Wilt/Russell matchups, or ...

Question of Tempo Will Be a Running Theme for Team USA in Olympics — NBA.com: News 8/7/2008
On SI.COM, Chris Mannix writes "USA Basketball has gone to great lengths to address those problems. It added a sharpshooter/zone buster in Michael Redd. It put together arguably its most athletic team ever and spent extra time in practices working on ...

On Redeem Team, Kobe has most to gain — FOXSports.com News for NBA 8/7/2008
They call it the Redeem Team, but Ian O'Connor says none of the American stars has more on the line than Kobe Bryant.

USA Basketball Blog: Work, Play and Mail — NBA.com: News 8/7/2008
NBA.com's John Schuhmann is in Beijing with USA Basketball. On Thursday, he blogs about Kobe Bryant's game of PIG, Carmelo Anthony's elevator trick and a visit to the Olympic Park, while also answering some of your mail.

NBA Star Bogut Fit For Aussies in Opener — NBA.com: News 8/8/2008
From the AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, "Milwaukee Bucks center Andrew Bogut declared himself fit Friday to play for Australia in their Olympic opener, content to escape the hype surrounding his fellow NBA superstars on the USA team.'I'm fine,' he said. ‘I ...