Anthony guarantees gold
Carmelo Anthony has a message for Argentina, Lithuania and the other best basketball teams from around the world: The United States is going to win at the Athens Games.
“We’re guaranteeing a gold medal. We’re bringing it back,” Anthony boldly predicted Monday on his first day of practice with the U.S. national team.
It took very little prodding for Anthony to basically repeat what he said last week on David Letterman’s late-night television talk show. It betrayed a level of youthful cockiness that might seem at odds with one of the main messages the American coaching staff tried to get across at the team’s welcome dinner Sunday night: Respect the competition.
“That’s just a young kid saying that,” coach Larry Brown said when informed of Anthony’s guarantee. “But as long as he respects the people we’re playing against and understands how good they’ve got, I don’t have any problem with that.”
The United States will field the youngest roster, with an average age of 23.6, since it began sending pros to the Olympics in 1992.
Anthony turned 20 less than two months ago, making him the second-youngest member of a team that includes three players — Anthony, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade — coming off their rookie NBA seasons, along with rookie-to-be Emeka Okafor.
Athens tests new security system
Security officials tested a new communication and surveillance system Monday that will serve as the nerve center for authorities at next month’s Olympic Games.
The $312 million network — developed by a consortium led by San Diego-based Science Applications International Corp. — is undergoing field tests after months of delays and other disputes.
On Sunday, police practiced moving athletes and games officials from Olympic Village and another site to the main Olympic stadium — a drill that involved 2,000 personnel and 90 buses.
The exercise was used to begin trials of traffic and security systems which include more than 1,000 street and venue cameras, sensors and other devices hooked up to a command center.
Smith will play despite injury
Lynx guard Katie Smith’s knee injury will not keep her out of the Olympic Games.
Team doctors expect Smith to be out two to three weeks with a bruised right knee, but she still plans to play for the U.S. women’s team next month in Athens.
Olympic competition begins Aug. 14.
Kolecki barred over steroid test
Polish weightlifter Szymon Kolecki, a silver medalist at the Sydney Olympics, will miss the Athens Games after testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.
Kolecki tested positive June 26 and was suspended pending the results of testing on a “B” sample, which were released Monday and confirmed the earlier result.