Dutch coach doesn’t skate over problem
Dutch speedskating coach Jillert Anema knows how the Americans can improve on their Olympic 0-fer on the Sochi ovals.
Stop playing sports like football.
“You have a lot of attention for foolish sport, like American football,” Anema told CNBC on Friday. “You waste a lot of talent, athletic talent, in a sport where it’s meant to kill each other, to injure each other.
“[The U.S.] is so narrow minded, and you waste a lot of good talent in a sport that sucks.”
The U.S. team assured itself of its first medal shutout in the long-track events since 1984. No American placed higher than seventh in an individual event.
On the short track, only a silver medal in the 5,000-meter relay kept the U.S. team from its first shutout since 1988.
Anema believes the United States could do so much better with an improved infrastructure in the sport.
“When you compete once every four years, with talent, with a few lone wolves who are skating, you can’t beat the world,” Anema said. “It’s no way.”
As of Friday, the Dutch had won 21 of the country’s 22 medals on the speedskating ovals in Sochi.
“I think that the gold medal in speedskating is just as valuable as the gold medal in basketball, and we won 22,” Anema said. “You’ll never win 22 in basketball.”
Show some respect
Houston Astros Manager Bo Porter decided to bring in special advisor Roger Clemens on Wednesday morning to share his experiences and wisdom to hopefully spark something within his players.
Porter called the meeting a “synergistic chemistry lab,” but it didn’t go as the manager planned.
According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, the overall immaturity of the team was on full display as several players weren’t prompt or prepared for the start of the meeting. This led an angry Porter to confront his team and give them an earful about being disrespectful to the seven-time Cy Young award winner and the time he was investing in their cause.
“Out of respect to your teammates, out of respect to the people that take time out of their day to come out there and try to do everything they can to help this organization, it’s the right thing to do to make sure you’re dressed and ready and attentive when that person shows up or when it’s time for a team meeting,” Porter said afterward.
As angry as Porter was initially, he said he hoped he taught the players a valuable lesson.
The question remains what kind of valuable lessons were shared by Clemens, who was alleged to have used anabolic steroids late in his career.
If you can’t beat ’em
Dwight Howard, maligned a year ago during his only season with the Los Angeles Lakers, scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds Wednesday night against his former team.
It was Howard’s first road game against the Lakers since he opted for free agency and joined Houston in the off season. Fans at the Staples Center showed Howard no love Wednesday, booing the Rockets center every chance they got.
With Howard sitting on the bench in the fourth quarter of Houston’s 134-108 rout of the Lakers, the fans stepped it up a notch with a “Howard sucks” chant.
Howard and some of his teammates took the chant in stride and even joined in with a few “Howard sucks” of their own.
Quote of the day
“I think we were the first team that could skate with them in this tournament. Even the Russians didn’t play them as hard as we did.”
Canada center Matt Duchene on beating the United States 1-0 in the Olympic hockey semifinals
Sports, Pages 20 on 02/22/2014