Mark Maloney on Kentucky sports

From the men’s basketball gold-medal game at the Beijing Olympics, Sunday at Wukesong Olympic Basketball Gymnasium …

The United States held off a valiant effort by world-champion Spain to take the Olympic gold with a 118-107 victory.

Dwyane Wade led Team USA with 27 points. He made four of seven three-point attempts and also had four steals.

Kobe Bryant had 20 points and six assists. LeBron James added 14 points, six rebounds and three steals. Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony each scored 13, and Paul also handed out five assists. Chris Bosh led the team in rebounds with seven, and also scored eight points.

Former University of Kentucky standout Tayshaun Prince logged 8:25 of playing time. He made all three of his field-goal attempts, finishing with six points and two rebounds.

Rudy Fernandez made five of nine three-point attempts en route to a 22-point game for Spain. Pau Gasol had 21 points and six rebounds. Also scoring in double figures: Juan Carolos Navarro, 18; Carlos Jimenez, 12; Marc Gasol 11; and Felipe Reyes, 10 (plus seven rebounds).

Boy wonder point guard Ricky Rubio, 17, finished with six points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

* The U.S. lead over Spain is 111-104 with 2:02 left.

After Spain pulled to within 91-89 early in the quarter, Team USA scored 12 of the next 15 points to lead 103-92.

The lead was cut to four, 108-104, before Dwyane Wade hit a three-pointer for the seven-point edge.

* A Rudy Fernandez three-pointer has pulled Spain to within 91-89, the U.S. leading with 8:13 to play.

* Trailing 69-61 at halftime, Spain cut Team USA’s lead to four points several times during the third quarter but could get no closer. Heading into the final 10 minutes, the U.S. leads 91-82.

* The U.S. leads Spain 69-61 at halftime of a foul-fest.

Dwyane Wade has 21 points for Team USA and Chris Paul has 10. Former Kentucky Wildcat Tayshaun Prince has six points and two rebounds.

Rudy Fernandez has 13 points for Spain and Pau Gasol has nine.

Spain has three players with three fouls each and three more with two each as the Americans have made 17 of 20 free throws.

Team USA has six players with two fouls apiece. Spain has made 18 of 21 free throws.

Spain led by as many as five points in the first quarter, but the U.S. scored nine points in a row to take a 26-22 lead.

Team USA’s advantage reached 14 points, 58-44, when LeBron James knocked down a three-pointer.

Spain pulled to within six points, 67-61, in the final minute of the half.

* Team USA leads Spain 38-31 after one quarter.

The Spaniards led 22-17 before Team USA ran off nine consecutive points to take the lead.

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant spent most of the quarter on the bench, as each had two fouls within the first 5 1/2 minutes.

Dwyane Wade led the U.S. with 13 first-quarter points. Chris Paul added six and Tayshaun Prince had four.

Pao Gasol had seven points for Spain and Juan Carlos Navarro had six.

From semifinals of the Beijing Olympics men’s basketball tournament Wukesong Olympic Basketball Gymnasium …

The Redeem Team is in the gold-medal game.

Team USA dispatched defending champion Argentina 101-81 Friday night

So it’s USA vs. world-champion Spain for the gold, Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (a.m. EDT).

Carmelo Anthony, 13-for-13 at the free-throw line, led the U.S. with 21 points. LeBron James added 15. Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul each scored 12. Chris Bosh added 11 and Dwight Howard 10.

Tayshaun Prince, the former Kentucky standout, played only 3:52 and grabbed one rebound.

Luis Scola of the Houston Rockets led Argentina with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Carlos Delfino scored 19, Paolo Quinteros 12 and Andres Nocioni 10.

* Team USA leads 78-64 through three quarters. Up nine at the half, the Americans matched their largest first-half lead of 21 points at 76-55. Argentina, with Manu Ginobili sidelined by injury, closed the quarter with a 9-2 run.

Carmelo Anthony had eight third-quarter points for the U.S. Dwight Howard had seven.

* Team USA leads Argentina 49-40 at halftime.

Argentina got only two points from Manu Ginobili, who left the game midway through the first quarter due to a leg injury and has not returned.

The U.S. used an 18-0 run to take a 21-4 lead and built the margin to 21 points a couple of times, the last at 34-13.

The Argentines outscored the U.S. 27-12 to pull to within six points, 46-40. Carmelo Anthony’s three free throws gave the U.S. a 49-46 lead.

Anthony leads U.S. scorers with 13. Kobe Bryant has 12 and Chris Paul has 11.

Luis Scola paces Argentina with 12 points and seven rebounds. Andres Nocioni has eight points.

* Argentina is on an 11-0 run midway through the second quarter, cutting the U.S. lead to 37-29.

The U.S. has led by as many as 21.

* An 18-0 run carried Team USA from a 4-3 deficit to a 21-4 lead over Argentina. Through one quarter, the U.S. leads 30-11.

Kobe Bryant led the 18-point surge by scoring seven. Chris Paul had five. Chris Bosh, Jason Kidd and LeBron James had two points each.

* Team USA leads Argentina 9-4 with 4:47 left in the first quarter. Kobe Bryant has four points.

* Pau Gasol scored 19 points and Rudy Fernandez had 18 as Spain rallied to defeat Lithuania 91-86 Friday night (a.m. in the U.S.).

Spain will face the winner of the U.S.-Argentina game for the gold medal Sunday. Lithuania will play the bronze-medal game for a fifth consecutive Olympics.

Spain trailed by as many as six points and was down 74-73 when it fired the decisive volley, an 8-0 run.

The Spaniards made 35 of 44 free throws. Lithuania was 22-for-26.

Felipe Reyes added 13 points for Spain. Carlos Jiminez had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Simas Jasaitis and Sarunas Jasikevicius had 19 points each for Lithuania. Robertas Javtokas added 15, Ksistof Lavrinovic 13 and Rimantas Kaukenas 11.

Aha! I’m back.

Blogging from Beijing has not been a simple task. Finally, though, my co-workers in Lexington have figured a way to circumvent what apparently is government-blocked access to this site. Thanks, Deedra and staff!

With opening ceremonies about 5 1/2 hours away, excitement is high.

Had a chance to talk with Tayshaun Prince today (Friday), along with several hundred other reporters and many autograph seekers (mostly volunteer workers).

Just before the men’s basketball team arrived for the press conference, players and staff met with Lopez Lomong, the Sudanese refugee who will carry the American flag. After hearing a first-person account of Lomong’s story, Prince said his reaction was “pretty much self-explanatory. … It’s got to be a tremendous thrill for him. But it is for us as well because there’s a lot of people who go through tough challenges and obstacles in life, and he probably told us (only) half those stories. I’m pretty sure there were a lot of other things that went on as well.”

Meanwhile, Alexander “Sasha” Artemev has been named to replace Morgan Hamm on the U.S. men’s gymnastics squad. Hamm withdrew Thursday due to an ankle injury. His twin brother, Paul, withdrew earlier due to a hand injury.

Dennis McIntyre, director for men’s programs at USA Gymnastics, said in a press release: “Both Alex and David Durante (the USA’s alternates) have done an incredible job of maintaining their readiness and being prepared to step in on a moment’s notice if called upon. The role of the alternate athlete is very difficult and both of these athletes have demonstrated their commitment to our Olympic team by staying well prepared. In this situation, we believe Alex is best suited to help the U.S. men’s team pursue a team medal.  We appreciate the dedication of both men and the fact they have maintained their competitive readiness.”

“It’s an honor to be on this team, but it’s a shame that it had to happen this way with Morgan getting hurt,” Artemev said. “He’s a tremendous loss to this team. I’m ready to step in because that was my job as an alternate. It’s a tough position to be in, but Dave and I worked really hard. We pushed each other because we have to stay in shape. I’ll definitely be ready on time. It’s just an honor to be on this team and to be chosen.”

 Artemev won the pommel horse in the weighted combined rankings from the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics and Visa Championships.  He also finished fifth in the all-around.   

Had the chance to speak with Tayshaun Prince on the opening day of his youth camp in Lexington last week, and again this week after a Team USA practice in Las Vegas. From those discussions, you’ll see a Herald-Leader story Aug. 8 (opening date of the Olympics), part of a preview of “Kentucky connections” headed to Beijing.

Meanwhile, here is some of what the Detroit Pistons and former University of Kentucky player had to say.

On whether an Olympic gold medal would be as sweet as an NCAA or NBA championship: “It definitely ranks up at the top. When you talk about a national championship or an NBA championship, it definitely ranks up there above that. The reason why I say that is because you’re talking about representing your country, your family, your friends. You’re playing against the best in the world, not just the country. And when you talk about playing against the best in the world and getting an Olympic gold medal, or trying to achieve that, it’s something that’s very special. So I definitely think that ranks up there at the top and, hopefully, it’ll come true.”

On preference for/against particular international and/or NBA rules: “It just kind of depends. Because even last year where there were some different rules that were involved in the international game, once you get to playing and going up and down and getting in the heat of battle, sooner or later the game is kind of the same. I think it just depends on what type of officials you have. … See how they’re calling things early in the game to determine if things are going to be different or not. Because some referees call things tight, some referees don’t. So even though they have different rules, things are still kind of the same. There might be a different rule here or there, but it just kind of depends what refs you have because some are lenient and some are not. So you’ve just got to go with the flow and see how things are going throughout the game.”

On whether sacrificing his off-season caused any second thoughts about agreeing to play for Team USA: “When you look at what I’ve done throughout my six-year career with the Pistons, pretty much playing into the month of June, summers have been short for me all the time. So when you’re talking about making a sacrifice to represent your country, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I know people kind of wonder if this is a situation where you’ll be fatigued when your season rolls around. All I’d say is this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be on an Olympic team, where you’re trying to achieve a gold medal, so I’ll take the opportunity.”

On playing under Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski: “It’s fun. I know a lot of people would want to know how would it work or how would it gel with a college coach coaching NBA players in the Olympics. It’s been a great opportunity. I’m pretty sure that he’s learning stuff from us but, at the same time, we’re learning things from him. We’ve got other good coaches here as well, college and NBA, that getls together. And when you have a chemistry and you put it together for a few years, I think that’s what makes it better.”