duncan228
03-02-2010, 12:15 AM
Full-Court Press: Friends ... or enemies? (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Full-Court_Press_Friends__or_enemies.html)
By Jay Nanda - Express-News
One of the most intriguing scenarios in sports occurs when athletes who are professional teammates and/or good friends square off. Do passes during basketball and hockey games between players who are on the same side for 6-8 months turn into hard fouls and hip checks when a championship, or gold medal, is at stake? Sunday’s U.S.-Canada gold-medal hockey game featured 24 cases of players from both rosters competing against their NHL teammates. Here are some other memorable examples when a lot was on the line:
Kobe Bryant vs. Pau Gasol
2008 Beijing Olympics
The Redeem Team took on defending world champion Spain for the gold medal, and Bryant set the tone early. The score was only 5-4 in favor of the U.S. when Spain’s Gasol tried to set a screen on his Los Angeles Lakers teammate, only to get decked with a crossblock that would have made an offensive line coach proud.
Gasol was left sprawling on the court wearing a “What hit me?” look. Bryant’s freight-train message that the two could resume being friends and NBA teammates the next day was delivered, and the U.S. reclaimed the gold with a 119-82 thrashing.
FIbBRS58-Qk
Michael Jordan vs. Charles Barkley
1993 NBA Finals
Friends on the golf course and in casinos, as well as the hardwood, Barkley and the Phoenix Suns were searching for their first championship, while Jordan’s Chicago Bulls aimed for a 3-peat. Their quests came to a head in the final minute of Game 4 with the Bulls holding a 2-1 series lead.
With Chicago ahead by three, Jordan took a pass and, sitting on 52 points, cut across the free-throw line. Barkley slid over to meet him but only raised both arms, allowing Jordan to draw contact. His basket and three-point play sealed the game as Chicago Stadium went nuts.
Barkley, the regular season MVP, dropped to his knees and buried his head in his hand, lamenting why he didn’t wrap up — or knock down — his pal. The Bulls won the title in Game 6.
ijioshjOFNQ
Magic Johnson vs. Isiah Thomas
1988, 1989 NBA Finals
The great guards of the Lakers and Detroit Pistons were such good friends, they’d give each other a peck on the cheek before the opening tip. That didn’t stop in the Finals, though Johnson was always fond of saying that if you wanted to win a championship, you had to develop “not hate, but a strong dislike for your opponent.”
In Game 3 of the 1988 Finals, Thomas shoved Johnson after being fouled hard by Byron Scott. (“Zeke” apparently couldn’t take the heat despite being on the Bad Boys ...). Moments later, Thomas drove to the hoop and was magically met by a Johnson forearm to the head.
Call it a push.
The Lakers won the ’88 title in Game 7, and Detroit swept its way to the 1989 crown.
rbJjAejlef4
By Jay Nanda - Express-News
One of the most intriguing scenarios in sports occurs when athletes who are professional teammates and/or good friends square off. Do passes during basketball and hockey games between players who are on the same side for 6-8 months turn into hard fouls and hip checks when a championship, or gold medal, is at stake? Sunday’s U.S.-Canada gold-medal hockey game featured 24 cases of players from both rosters competing against their NHL teammates. Here are some other memorable examples when a lot was on the line:
Kobe Bryant vs. Pau Gasol
2008 Beijing Olympics
The Redeem Team took on defending world champion Spain for the gold medal, and Bryant set the tone early. The score was only 5-4 in favor of the U.S. when Spain’s Gasol tried to set a screen on his Los Angeles Lakers teammate, only to get decked with a crossblock that would have made an offensive line coach proud.
Gasol was left sprawling on the court wearing a “What hit me?” look. Bryant’s freight-train message that the two could resume being friends and NBA teammates the next day was delivered, and the U.S. reclaimed the gold with a 119-82 thrashing.
FIbBRS58-Qk
Michael Jordan vs. Charles Barkley
1993 NBA Finals
Friends on the golf course and in casinos, as well as the hardwood, Barkley and the Phoenix Suns were searching for their first championship, while Jordan’s Chicago Bulls aimed for a 3-peat. Their quests came to a head in the final minute of Game 4 with the Bulls holding a 2-1 series lead.
With Chicago ahead by three, Jordan took a pass and, sitting on 52 points, cut across the free-throw line. Barkley slid over to meet him but only raised both arms, allowing Jordan to draw contact. His basket and three-point play sealed the game as Chicago Stadium went nuts.
Barkley, the regular season MVP, dropped to his knees and buried his head in his hand, lamenting why he didn’t wrap up — or knock down — his pal. The Bulls won the title in Game 6.
ijioshjOFNQ
Magic Johnson vs. Isiah Thomas
1988, 1989 NBA Finals
The great guards of the Lakers and Detroit Pistons were such good friends, they’d give each other a peck on the cheek before the opening tip. That didn’t stop in the Finals, though Johnson was always fond of saying that if you wanted to win a championship, you had to develop “not hate, but a strong dislike for your opponent.”
In Game 3 of the 1988 Finals, Thomas shoved Johnson after being fouled hard by Byron Scott. (“Zeke” apparently couldn’t take the heat despite being on the Bad Boys ...). Moments later, Thomas drove to the hoop and was magically met by a Johnson forearm to the head.
Call it a push.
The Lakers won the ’88 title in Game 7, and Detroit swept its way to the 1989 crown.
rbJjAejlef4