But seriously.....the best NBA "stars" would rather stay at home, polish their Escalade's and chase women (and whaterver the hell else elite NBA stars do) rather than play for their country who affords them such riches.
In a twisted way, I'm glad PR but us. The NBA and USA Olympic Basketball have to seriously re-think their positions.
no no no, this loss means we must pay MORE taxes for the inevitable basketball subsidy (sp.)
Americans beat Americans... That's why the article said the Dream Team was defeated.
Puerto Ricans are as patriotic about America as most Americans raised in the mainland United States.
Puerto Ricans contribute many of its own sons and daughters to the armed services.
And yes, the territories of the United States have unprecedented freedoms compared to the territories of other nations. That is one of the great things about America that leads many nations to envy us.
I was born and raised in one of those territories, American Samoa, and we have our own Olympic team as well. You should've seen the outrage and anger in American Samoa after 9/11. You should see the anger we still have. Samoans are very pro-military, pro-Christian and religion, and pro-America. When I was visiting home, nobody understood the fascination with Abu Ghraib. That wasn't torture. That was barely abuse. I come from an upper middle class family, and I was disciplined for talking back by standing outside of the house in my underwear... When I was 10 years old. When my brother's littered by throwing trash out the window of the car. I made them walk behind the car the last mile home... Another time, when my brothers started fighting and talking back to my father, he made the older one that was fighting strip down to his underwear and walk the last half mile home.
So making murderers and terrorists wear underwear on their heads is nothing compared to what they deserved. I'll agree that it was abusive... but only because it must have been humiliating. But my objection and the objection of most Samoans I've spoken to on the subject of Abu Ghraib was not that it happened. No the objection was to the way it was being covered as if that was torture. Now, all things considered, I also saw the events at the prison as wrong because it was politically damaging to the credibility of our nation. But as for feeling sorry for the prisoners, no I don't make that error of judgment. I just wish it hadn't happened, so that we wouldn't have experienced the set back that that represented to us.
I ramble on when I write... But what I'm saying is that we should be proud that the Puerto Ricans have done as well as they have. And we should keep in mind that the basket ball team we fielded this year is far from the "Dream Team" moniker. They lost previously to other countries over the last two weeks in the demonstration games leading up to the Olympics.
Kind of funny seeing these "second-rate" NBA pro's getting their tails beat ...
... Because the "first-rate" NBA "stars" chose to sit on their expnsive high-falutin' tails doing nothing.