Younger players will lead next run for basketball gold
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Staley&#39;s generation set the tone for America&#39;s dominance of women&#39;s basketball. She was hoisted off her feet by a player who represents the future of the sport, a generation that will be charged with keeping the gold medals coming.
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The San Antonio Spurs are closing in on their fourth title in the past nine years with a surge that has impressed even LeBron James. "It's awesome," the Cleveland Cavaliers forward told reporters. "They don't have the great athletes in the world. They don't have the greatest shooters in the world.
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Future United States Olympic teams of National Basketball Association stars will have more training with international rules before arriving at the Games, NBA commissioner David Stern said.
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US players are going to have to work harder than they wanted next year after finishing third at the World Basketball Championship, but the experience could pay golden dividends in 2008 at Beijing.
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant became the youngest player in NBA history to score 20,000 career points when he had 39 points in the Lakers' 95-90 road win over the New York Knicks on Sunday.
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There's trouble in the Atlantic 10. The league that received four NCAA bids and had two teams advance to the Elite Eight last season most likely will not repeat that success. Nine of the league's top 10 scorers have either graduated, left early for the NBA, or just left.
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After last year's world championships, the United States knew it needed better shooters, stronger defenders, and more experienced players. That last one cost Kevin Durant. The Seattle rookie was one of two players cut Monday night as the Americans got down to the 12-player limit for the Olympic qualifying tournament that begins Wednesday.
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The Denver Nuggets say they're a running team this year.
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Jeremy Wariner is just 20 years old. He just led a U.S. sweep in the 400 meters at the Olympic Games. So c'mon kid, get excited! Cool, calm and with a fluid running style all his own, the lean Baylor University student raced to the gold medal Monday night wearing sunglasses, two earrings and a jingling necklace.
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Kobe Bryant scored 39 points, becoming the youngest player in N.B.A. history to reach 20,000, and the Los Angeles Lakers held off the Knicks on Sunday.
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With many of the stars on the U.S. national team playing with Major League Soccer clubs this weekend, some of the younger players got a chance to show they can contribute in international play.
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Insecurity is a great motivator. Facing increasing criticism about his shot selection and the prospect of losing his starting job because of the return of two-time All-Star Allan Houston, young
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Despite coaching a youthful Toronto Raptors team packed with international players, Sam Mitchell knows the time to win is now.
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Call it the Tale of Two Rookies, Al Jefferson and Delonte West. For Jefferson, Year 1 is exploding with potential. A year ago, he was playing high school basketball and preparing for his senior prom. This season has been magical: He's averaging 7.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 16 minutes per game for the Celtics.
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Five-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones goes for gold medals in the long jump and 400-meter relay at the Athens Games, while the US basketball team plays Argentina for a spot in the men&#39;s basketball final.
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When Michael Jordan led the first  NBA-studded "Dream Team" into the Olympics in 1992, the hope  was that their dazzling displays of basketball would inspire  others to play better and bridge the gap with the Americans.
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When Michael Jordan led the first NBA-studded &quot;Dream Team&quot; into the Olympics in 1992, the hope was that their dazzling displays of basketball would inspire others to play better and bridge the gap with the Americans.