Team USA, andrew bogut, australia, espn, world basketball championships

Australia Gets Their Beatdown

Team USA buried a big Paul Hogan-style knife into the Australian national team last night, winning by 40 in a game that wasn't as close as the score would indicate. Carmelo had 20, Joe Johnson 18, Dwyane Wade 15, and Shane Battier and Chris Bosh had 12 each.

It really wouldn't have helped the Australians if they had Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Heath Ledger, Luc Longley and Olivia Newton-John in the line-up. Unless Hugh Jackman had his Wolverine powers, then maybe they'd be in business. But those claws would get him in foul trouble.

This could be my imagination, but maybe one of you could help me confirm it. Was this a tape-delayed broadcast that ESPN tried to pass off as live? I could have sworn that I got online and ran across the final score while the ESPN broadcast was still in the third quarter. I know that they have no intention of telling us that Jim Durham and Fran Fraschilla are nowhere near Japan, but the tape delay transgression seems worse. And if that did happen, did they really delay this broadcast because of an MLS game on ESPN2?

Up next for the United States will be Dirk Nowitzki and his merry band of Germans, who beat Nigeria 78-77 yesterday. That one's happening Wednesday at 6:30 a.m., or whenever ESPN gets around to showing it.

WBC : USA v.s Australia [Bench Renaldo]
USA vs AUSTRALIA (Group 66) [FIBA.com]

3:42 PM on Sun Aug 27 2006
By MJD
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7 comments

Comments

Yostal at 03:01 PM on 08/27/06
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Connectedness Index: 604

When I read what time the game would be on, an ESPN story did note the 1 AM start was tape delay (and they were showing Houston/Chivas USA, which featured one of the worst calls I have ever seen in soccer.), but yeah, I think they that you've called it right, I just don't know that they were trying to pass it off as plausibly live.
Suss-- at 04:11 PM on 08/27/06
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Connectedness Index: 535

Maybe it was live and the front page of ESPN just had a really, really, really good guess.
Skeets at 05:16 PM on 08/27/06
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Yeah, a buddy in Japan just told me that USA beat Germany, 103-85.
SuperFrankieLampard at 05:24 PM on 08/27/06
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yeah, espn was running it on a one-hour delay, creating the possibility that the "bottom line" on the screen could run the final before the game was over on tv. but i fell asleep before i could see if it happened.

and they did in fact delay it for an mls game. which, as yostal said, featured one of the worst calls seen in a long long long long time.
YNBA at 05:58 PM on 08/27/06
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Eric Wynalda's heart attack over the no-call was pretty damn amusing, though, I have to say. But, man, I haven't seen a clearer penalty in a long time.
CliffX at 08:05 PM on 08/27/06
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Wyanlda can be a really insensitive, whiny commentator sometimes.

Anyways, I realized yesterday why I don't care about the FIBA World Championships: because these Chinese crowds are horrifingly awful. They sit on their frickin' hands for 90% of the game. Terrible atmosphere over there.
Mutoni at 10:26 PM on 08/27/06
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i couldn't agree more, cliffx.

those fans are awful. it's quieter than at the local Y.