Team USA who beat Canada by more than 50 points Saturday, extended their winning streak to 4 games with a win over Brazil, and their plus minus differential of 194 in those 4 games. That means on average, they won each game by 48.5 points. Kobe Bryant was the heart of team USA again as he completely shut down their leading scorer Leandro Barbosa helding him to 4 points on 1-7 shooting. Also, Kobe Bryant, World’s Top Defender?

Do you live in Portland? Are you a Trail Blazers fan? Do you have an upcoming wedding, or similar event which you would like to save face by not crying? Then give the power of odenized thinking a try.

Doesn’t look like Reggie Miller is going to make a comeback into the NBA after his retirement in 2005. It would have been pretty awesome to see him play with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen in the coming year but it’s not gonna happen.

Eddie Griffin, former top ranked high school basketball player in America, former seventh overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and who most recently played for the Minnesota Timberwolves passed away Friday morning (August 17th 2007) as the result of an accident. While driving alone in his SUV he went passed a railroad warning and crashed into a moving train. When police arrived on the scene his body was so badly burned they were unable to identify him until yesterday using dental records.

Despite his outstanding high school stats, his NBA career was plagued with problems, many of them stemming from his addiction to alcohol. In February 2004 he was arrested and spent 11 days in Jail because he was accused and shooting at his ex-girlfriend. After pleading guilty he was sentenced to 18 months probation. A little more than 2 years later Eddie Griffin was involved in a very bizzarre car accident which was believe to have been caused by alcohol as well. Friends and witnesses claim that Eddie Griffin was masturbating to a porno dvd in his car when it crashed. Whatever his off court troubles were Eddie Griffin is still remembered as a good guy with a big heart.

“Eddie Griffin is someone who was never a super loud or boisterous guy in the locker room,” Madsen said, “but he was someone who everyone loved in the locker room. When he was doing well on the court we were all so happy for him. And when he was struggling we were all struggling right there with him.”

More Reading

Henry Abott wrote an excellent article this morning about Who’s to Blame for the Sad Misdirection of Eddie Griffin? Adrian Wojnarowski also wrote a great article titled The tortured soul of Eddie Griffin .

Looks like the Los Angeles Clippers have found a solid point guard to fill their roster for the upcoming season. Brevin Knight who was waived a couple weeks ago by the Charlotte Bobcats will join the likes of Shaun Livingstone, Sam Cassell, Cuttino Mobley, and Elton Brand (when he fully recovers from his surgery) in the city of Los Angeles.

I think this is a solid pick up for the Clippers who can now move Livingstone to the two position and Sam Cassell can have longer breathers as he shares more of his minutes with Brevin Knight. A solid player who has averaged over nearly 9 assists in the last 3 seasons when he bas been healthy, Knight also has a assist:turnover ratio greater than 3.5 (that’s pretty damn good).