The thud heard round Indiana

Well, it finally happened. Sure, it happened a lot sooner than I feared it would, but it finally happened, and oddly enough it’s not quite as embarrassing as I thought it might be.

I’m referring, of course, to something that most people would have imagined unthinkable just a few years ago: a loss by a U.S. basketball team to one from another country at an international tournament.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve dropped international contests before; the infamous loss to the Soviets in 1972 leaps immediately to mind. Continue reading »

Can you handle The Question?

He tells us, and one of his multifarious tattoos reaffirms the fact, that he is The Answer. And lately that moniker has been right on target, so to speak.

Who led the NBA in scoring? Allen Iverson. Who allegedly threw his naked wife out onto the lawn? Allen Iverson. Who allegedly threatened to shoot a man in a West Philadelphia apartment while looking for his wife? Allen Iverson. Who was acquitted of all but a misdemeanor or two in court recently? Allen Iverson. Continue reading »