Posts Tagged ‘Olympic’
Bolt edges Powell in 100m in France (AP)
July 17th, 2010South Africa To Make Bid For 2020 Olympic Games After World Cup Glory
July 14th, 2010South Africa is hoping to follow up its World Cup hosting by making a bid to stage the Olympics after confirming the country's plans to bid for the 2020 Games.
Organisers are hoping that the success of the World Cup this year will boost South Africa's chances of also being the first African country to host the Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) hasn't begun the selection progress yet, but it will soon start and will name the host in mid-2013.
There are other cities that have expressed an interest in bidding for the 2020 games:
- Budapest in Hungary, Busan in South Korea, Delhi in India.
- Taiwan, Dubai and Italy have all shown some interest.
South Africa was in the running back in 2004, where Cape Town made a pitch, but finished in third place, with the games final going to Athens.
South Africa intends to provide a "world-class city capable of hosting Africa's first Olympic Games in 2020".
President Jacob Zuma has publicly stated that he believes South Africa has the facilities to host the games in 10 years.
IOC president Jacques Rogge met with Zuma in South Africa during the World Cup and attended the final.
He also said that South Africa certainly does have the facilities, it is up to the country if it wants to host the games.
For the World Cup the South Africans built several new stadiums, while infrastructure improvements in transport, energy and communications also took place.
The World Cup has certainly helped the country and the continent.
If the Olympics also go to South Africa it can only be good news for all Africans.
South Africa to bid for 2020 Olympics (AP)
July 14th, 2010Miami Heat: Coach K Should Be Plan A
July 12th, 2010Miami, you've put together an Olympic team, so why not give it an Olympic coach?
Outside of South Beach, you are hated, but most of it is fueled by jealousy. A certain coach knows a little something about coaching teams so good, they are universally hated.
Not only has Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski proven he can win, but he's proven he can handle the NBA's biggest egos, coaching 12 on one team.
He has handled the giant three (Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh are much too big to be simply "the big three" or if you hold animosity toward them, you could call them "the south beaches"), winning the 2008 Summer Olympics with nine other All-Stars.
I believe it is safe to say Krzyzewski can hold down egos, especially when focused on a major goal.
The "Redeem Team," as the 2008 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team was called, was focused on winning a gold medal anyway possible and many egos had to be checked at the door.
With this Heat team, the same instruction toward humility is needed if a NBA championship is to be had.
There can be no fighting over who owns the team or whose name is attached to it or who took the final shot or who appreciates who. Those childish thoughts have to be put aside in order for a bigger goal to be met.
James and Bosh want to win a championship and the best man to show them how to control their bloated feelings of self-worth is the man who already has coached them to the shiniest award they've gotten so far in their career.
Of course, this is all hearsay and the fact Krzyzewski would most likely require $12 to $15 million per year is also a bit of a problem, but I wouldn't put anything past Pat Riley at this point.
I wouldn't be surprised to see anyone in the reflection of his hair, sitting next to him at a press conference.
Krzyzewski has already turned down such an offer from the New Jersey Nets this season. The situation in Miami, however, is far different and has to appeal to even the loyalest human being.
Add to that appeal, the chance to receive Chris Paul in a year or two. Krzyzewski certainly wouldn't hurt those chances.
Krzyzewksi is also coming off a national championship with Duke, ending an eight-year drought; if you want to call eight years a drought for a college basketball program.
The point is, he's done it all in college and as a coach continues finding success in the same place, he naturally gets bored, and looks for a new challenge. The challenge is what drives a coach to want to go through the stress of another year.
When things get easy, things become not worth it.
The question is always why would Krzyzewski leave such a perfect situation? Why would he leave something so comfortable, especially with Duke most likely being No. 1 to start this next season?
"Comfortable" being the key word in this sentence. When you get comfortable eventually you get bored and you move. The couch is not somewhere you can stay forever.
He has national championships. He has a gold medal. He has a one-way ticket to any Hall of Fame with the word "men's basketball" on it. He is the most attractive coaching commodity in sports.
All he is missing is a NBA championship.
Ask LeBron James about how much a coach can affect the outcome of a season.
We all end up in Florida somehow before we die and a NBA championship is a tad more exciting than a shuffleboard tournament.
Unfortunately for Miami, Duke seems to be the only coaching job Krzyzewski covets, but crazier things have happened.
