IZMIR - The bottom two pics show the Spanish team getting some rock star treatment from Spaniard media and Turkish onlookers during practice. The top pic is Team Spain's practice-ending ritual in which players fires up three-point attempts from half-court. A Spanish radio reporter told me they often put money on it. I don't doubt that; After missing, Ricky Rubio booted one ball nearly to the ceiling and into the bleachers. Maybe he'd lost a wager on the right to endorse McDonalds' .

Team Canada looking better

Miss Jamaica

Try these random factoid pants on for size: Turns out Tonya Phillipps, Team Canada's manager and spokesperson, is the first cousin of Miss Jamaica - who (yawn) happens to have JUST PLACED SECOND IN THE MISS UNIVERSE CONTEST.

Why Do the British Not Care About Basketball?

Why Do the British Stink at Basketball? - WSJ.com

This article brings up an interesting reason why basketball hasn't gained more traction in the UK: "the country's surplus of outdoor greenspace. Even in densely populated London there are enough open patches of ground to throw down a couple of sweatshirts as goalposts and get a soccer game going. The outdoor basketball courts that are common in American cityscapes and suburbs are, in this country, seen as an extravagance."

BTW, Jarrett Hart, the British national team member I've written about in previous posts, isn't playing for UK this summer. He recently got married.

Strong Mandibles

Carter, Weis, 2000: I still don't understand how most of the spectators in the background of this photo keep their mandibles from dropping.

2000 Summer Olympics - Gold Medal - Team USA Since 1992 - Photos - SI.com