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Notre Dame football star says he was not in on hoax -ESPN


(Reuters) - Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o has denied ever being in on an elaborate hoax, telling ESPN he had believed his relationship with a woman who turned out to be an online fabrication was real.

The tragic story of his girlfriend and her injuries from a car accident and death from leukaemia was one of the most widely recounted U.S. sports stories last year as Notre Dame made a drive toward the national championship game.

"I wasn't faking it," Te'o told ESPN in an off-camera interview on Friday, excerpts of which were posted on ESPN.com. "I wasn't part of this."

When asked whether he had made up the tale to support his chances of winning the Heisman Trophy, the highest individual honour for a college football player, Te'o replied: "Well, when they hear the facts they'll know. They'll know that there is no way that I could be part of this."

The interview was Te'o's first since the sports blog Deadspin.com on Wednesday exposed the heart-wrenching tale of his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, and her death as a hoax and that a friend of Te'o's named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo was behind it.

Te'o told ESPN that Tuiasosopo called him on Wednesday and admitted he was behind the hoax and it was then Te'o was sure the woman had never existed.

"I don't wish an ill thing to somebody," Te'o said of Tuiasosopo, according to ESPN. "I just hope he learns. I think embarrassment is big enough."

Outside Tuiasosopo's home in Palmdale, California, on Thursday, a member of his family who did not identify himself told reporters they had no comment.

Te'o acknowledged in a statement on Wednesday that he had never met the woman in person, though he considered her his girlfriend and said he had been duped.

In the ESPN interview, Te'o said he tried to video chat with her several times, but she could never be seen on the other end. He also said he intentionally told people stories about her in a way that would make people believe they had met in person.

"I even knew that it was crazy that I was with somebody that I didn't meet," Te'o said.

NATIONAL PROMINENCE

ESPN said the interview was held at a training facility in Florida where Te'o has been preparing for the National Football League draft. The star linebacker was expected to be a high draft pick before the hoax was revealed.

Te'o sprang to national prominence last fall when he led Notre Dame to a victory over Michigan State within days of learning his grandmother and girlfriend had both died. The grandmother's death was real.

The story grew to become a big feature in coverage of the team, which went undefeated in the regular season and reached the national championship game. Alabama defeated Notre Dame in the title game on January 7.

Notre Dame, one of the most powerful institutions in U.S. collegiate athletics, held a news conference within hours of the Deadspin.com article to say that Te'o had been duped.

Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said on Friday the Indiana university was comfortable, based on a private investigation it launched and on four years experience with Te'o, that he was the victim and encouraged Te'o to speak publicly.

(Reporting by David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Eric Beech)

Football star Te'o's girlfriend and her death a hoax, U.S. college says


(Reuters) - Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o, whose on-field excellence after his grandmother and online girlfriend purportedly died made him a hero in the sports media, was the victim of a hoax because the girl never existed, the university said on Wednesday.

The girlfriend, who called herself Lennay Kekua and claimed to be a Stanford graduate, was merely an online persona who "ingratiated herself with Manti and then conspired with others to lead him to believe she had tragically died of leukemia," university spokesman Dennis Brown said in a statement.

Notre Dame Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said the university learned of the hoax from Te'o on December 26. He answered questions forthrightly and private investigators uncovered several things that pointed to Te'o being a victim in the case.

"This was a very elaborate, very sophisticated hoax perpetrated for reasons we can't fully understand but had a certain cruelty at its core, based on the exchanges that we were able to see between some of the people who perpetrated it," Swarbrick told a news conference.

Notre Dame's statements came after the website Deadspin.com published a long expose under the headline "Blarney," alleging that Kekua was a hoax dreamed up by a friend of Te'o's.

"Manti Te'o did lose his grandmother this past fall. Annette Santiago died on September 11, 2012, at the age of 72, according to Social Security Administration records in Nexis," the website said.

"But there is no SSA record there of the death of Lennay Marie Kekua, that day or any other. Her passing, recounted so many times in the national media, produces no obituary or funeral announcement in Nexis, and no mention in the Stanford student newspaper."

Deadspin said photographs identified as Kekua and shown in online tributes and on TV news reports belonged to a living 22-year-old California woman of a different name who is not a Stanford graduate, has never had leukemia and has not met Te'o.

Te'o, an All-American linebacker and finalist for the Heisman Trophy, college football's top individual honor, acknowledged in a statement carried by ESPN.com and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, that he had never met Kekua in person.

But he said Wednesday he had developed an emotional relationship with her and "maintained what I thought to be an authentic relationship by communicating frequently online and on the phone," according to the statement.

"To realize that I was the victim of what was apparently someone's sick joke and constant lies was, and is, painful and humiliating," Te'o said.

On September 15, Notre Dame upset Michigan State 20-3 in a lopsided game where Te'o racked up 12 tackles - a considerable number.

It was a remarkable performance by the senior. But Te'o told his coach his grandmother and girlfriend had died just a few days before the game. The coach told reporters and Te'o's excellence became even more celebrated by the media.

Notre Dame continued to win and was preparing to meet Alabama in the national collegiate championship game on January 7 when Te'o told the university that he might be a hoax victim.

"The thing I am most sad about is that the single most trusting human being I have ever met will never be able to trust in the same way again in his life," Swarbrick said of Te'o. "That is an incredible tragedy."

The private investigators turned their final report over to the university on January 4. That report will not be made public, Swarbrick said.

Notre Dame lost to Alabama 42-14 three days later. Te'o is expected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

(Reporting by James B. Kelleher and David Bailey; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Philip Barbara and Lisa Shumaker)

ESPN's Hannah Storm returns 3 weeks after accident


NEW YORK (AP) ESPN anchor Hannah Storm will return to the air on New Year's Day, exactly three weeks after she was seriously burned in a propane gas grill accident at her home.

Storm suffered second-degree burns on her chest and hands, and first-degree burns to her face and neck. She lost her eyebrows and eyelashes, and roughly half her hair.

Storm will host ABC's telecast of the 2013 Rose Parade on Tuesday. Her left hand will be bandaged and she said viewers might notice a difference in her hair texture where extensions have been added.

"I'm a little nervous about things I used to take for granted," she said by phone this weekend from Pasadena, Calif. "Little things like putting on makeup and even turning pages on my script."

The award-winning sportscaster and producer was preparing dinner outside her home in Connecticut on the night of Dec. 11 when she noticed the flame on the grill had gone out. She turned off the gas and when she reignited it "there was an explosion and a wall of fire came at me."

"It was like you see in a movie, it happened in a split-second," she said. "A neighbor said he thought a tree had fallen through the roof, it was that loud. It blew the doors off the grill."

With her left hand, she tore off her burning shirt. She tried to use another part of her shirt to extinguish the flames that engulfed her head and chest, while yelling for help. Her 15-year-old daughter, Hannah, called 911 and a computer technician who was working in the house grabbed some ice as Storm tried to cool the burns.

Soon, police and rescue teams arrived at the house. Storm's husband, NBC sportscaster Dan Hicks, also had returned home with another of the couple's three daughters. As her mother was being treated, the younger Hannah calmly said something that, days later, her mom could laugh about.

"OK, Mommy, I'm going to do my homework now," she said.

Storm was taken by ambulance to the Trauma and Burn Center at Westchester Medical Center and was treated for 24 hours.

"I didn't see my face until the next day and you wonder how it's going to look," she said. "I was pretty shocked. But my overarching thought was I've covered events with military members who have been through a lot worse than me, and they've come through. I kept thinking, 'I can do this. I'm fortunate.'"

Other than going to Christmas Eve Mass, Storm hadn't been outside until her trip to California. ESPN reworked its anchor schedule while she was recovering, and NBC and the Golf Channel rearranged their staffing while Hicks attended to his wife.

Storm is set to host her fifth Rose Parade, with some changes. She's left-handed, and taking notes is almost impossible. Dressing and showering are challenges, too.

Storm said that long before her accident, she'd been inspired by Iraq War veteran, actor and "Dancing With the Stars" winner J.R. Martinez, the grand marshal at last year's parade. He was severely burned in a land mine accident while serving overseas.

One attraction of this year's parade that she was eager to see the Nurses' Float, and she hoped to use that moment on air to thank everyone who had taken care of her.

Storm wants to anchor "SportsCenter" in Bristol, Conn., next Sunday. After that, the Notre Dame alum is ready to go in person to watch the No. 1 Irish play Alabama in the national championship game at Miami. She said the school reached out after hearing about her injuries and had been very supportive.

"More than anything, I feel gratitude," she said. "Something like this really makes you appreciate everything you have, even the chance to wake up on New Year's Day and do your job."

President Obama, gymnast McKayla Maroney do the 'not-impressed' face for photo

President Barack Obama jokingly mimics the "not impressed" expression of U.S.
Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney, left, on Thursday at the White House.
A photo of Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney and President Obama doing her now-famous "McKayla Maroney is not impressed" face went viral Saturday after the White House posted it on Twitter.

Gymnastics

President Obama impresses Maroney

Even McKayla Maroney was impressed.

A photo of the Olympic gold medalist and President Barack Obama doing her now-famous "McKayla Maroney is not impressed" face went viral Saturday after the White House posted it on Twitter. The two took the picture Thursday when Maroney and U.S. Fierce Five teammates visited the White House.

"He was the one who brought it up," Maroney said. "We were about to leave and he said, 'I want to talk to you one second about the face.' He said, 'I pretty much do that face at least once a day.' "

Maroney, 16, was photographed making the half scowl with her nose scrunched up while she was on the medals podium after winning a silver on vault at the London Olympics.

The "face" soon became Maroney's trademark. But it's one thing for fans to ask her about it, quite another when the president does.

"I, like, freaked out," Maroney recalled. "He said, 'Let's do it together.' We took a picture and now it's everywhere."

NHL

Red Wing White calls

Bettman 'an idiot'

So much for a two-week break. Eight days after the last set of failed negotiations, the NHL and the locked-out players' association will return to bargaining Monday.

League commissioner Gary Bettman recently suggested to union head Donald Fehr the sides take two weeks off from negotiations.

Defenseman Ian White of the Detroit Red Wings lashed out at Bettman on Saturday.

"I gotta be honest: I personally think he's an idiot," White said. "Since he's come in (1993), I think he's done nothing but damage the game."

Horse racing

Krigger rides winner

in $1 million Jackpot

Goldencents, ridden by Kevin Krigger, led virtually all the way and beat 9-5 favorite Bern Identity by 1 ¾ lengths to win the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot for 2-year-olds in Vinton, La.

Krigger led the jockey standings at Emerald Downs in Auburn in 2005.

Goldencents, trained by Doug O'Neill, ran 1-1/16 miles in 1 minute, 44.89 seconds. The colt, whose owners include Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino, paid $7.20 to win in the Grade III race.

Tennis

Czechs lead Spain

2-1 in Davis Cup

The Czech Republic won the doubles to take a 2-1 lead over defending champion Spain in the best-of-five Davis Cup final in Prague.

Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek beat Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3.

Mixed martial arts

St. Pierre triumphs

Canadian Georges St. Pierre unified the welterweight title, unanimously outpointing Carlos Condit of Albuquerque, N.M., in a bloody fight at UFC 154 in Montreal.

Judges scored it 49-46, 50-45, 50-45 for St. Pierre, who had knee surgery and was fighting for the first time since April 2011.

Elsewhere

• Adrien Broner of Cincinnati stopped Antonio DeMarco of Mexico at 1:49 of the eighth round to take the WBC lightweight championship in Atlantic City, N.J., and improve to 25-0. DeMarco is 28-3-1.

• Norwich beat Manchester United 1-0 to knock Man U out of first place in English Premier League soccer. Anthony Pilkington scored in the 60th minute as Norwich extended its unbeaten run to six.

Manchester City moved to the top of the standings with a 5-0 rout of Aston Villa.

• Ashley Wagner of Alexandria, Va., and Takahito Mura of Japan had strong free programs to win figure-skating titles at the Trophee Bompard in Paris.

Wagner, a former Tacoma and Vancouver, Wash., resident who has said she considers Seabeck home, won the Skate America title last month in Kent.

Source : http://seattletimes.com/html/othersports/2019705460_digs18.html

NASCAR fines Jeff Gordon $100,000 and 25 points for wrecking Clint Bowyer at Phoenix


CHARLOTTE, N.C. –  Four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon avoided suspension Monday when NASCAR instead fined him $100,000 and docked him 25 points for intentionally wrecking Clint Bowyer at Phoenix International Raceway.

Gordon was also placed on probation through Dec. 31. But he'll be allowed to close out the season Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway despite his actions in Sunday's race, which triggered a fight in the garage area between the two crews.

"I take responsibility for my actions on the racetrack," Gordon said in a statement. "I accept NASCAR's decision and look forward to ending the season on a high note at Homestead."

Rick Hendrick was also docked 25 car owner points, and crew chief Alan Gustafson was placed on probation through the end of the year.

"I've always respected Jeff for standing his ground," said Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. "We also respect that NASCAR needs to police the sport and send a message when situations like this occur. It's been a great year, and we're going to put our focus on finishing in a positive way this weekend."

Bowyer crew chief Brian Pattie was fined $25,000 and placed on probation through the end of the year.

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton considered the matter closed after issuing the penalties.

"There's no doubt that a unique set of circumstances combined with a championship battle on the line resulted in raw emotions coming into play," he said. "We consider the penalties appropriate and those involved understand our decision and we expect them to abide by them."

Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski was fined $25,000 and placed on probation for having an electronic device inside the car — the phone he used to tweet during a red flag period caused by Gordon wrecking Bowyer. Keselowski first did it during a red flag at the season-opening Daytona 500, and NASCAR later banned the practice.

Source : http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/11/12/nascar-fines-jeff-gordon-100000-and-25-points-for-wrecking-clint-bowyer-at/

Yahoo Fantasy Football Servers Slow Down Before NFL Week 10 (And Twitter Is Not Happy)



Fantasy football owners usually have no one to blame but themselves when their teams struggles to put up points. Did you forget a bye week? Not realize that the San Francisco 49ers are the stingiest team in the league when it comes to opposing QB points? Or just pick the wrong running back in a timeshare? Regardless of the reason, fantasy football losses fall on the shoulders of armchair Lombardis out there.

Not this week.

With Yahoo! experiencing some technical difficulties, many fantasy football owners have a new scapegoat. Those who participate in fantasy football leagues hosted by Yahoo! were out of luck when they attempted to set their rosters before the 1 p.m. EST games began. As the confusion on social media blossomed into an uproar, Yahoo! acknowledged this issue.


As the afternoon wore on, updates were not promising.

 Before the beginning of the 2012 football season, Fox Business reported that fantasy football is now "generating profits in excess of $1 billion through cable deals, advertisements, draft guides, buy-in fees and various endorsements." Many of the people who laid out some of those dollars were not happy about their inability to make roster moves.

Source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/11/yahoo-fantasy-football-servers-down-nfl-twitter_n_2114946.html

London 2012 Closing Ceremony: Bring a Torch Rio de Janeiro as the United Closes In Rock & Roll Extravaganza


2012 Olympic Games came to a close as the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, the Olympic flag lowered decorated with four symbolic ring to Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, which is more than the size of the flag waving proudly.

After the national anthem of Brazil, the ceremony culminated in a carnival fashion, as Brazilian samba dancers, Capoeira artists, singers and rappers to welcome the world to their home country for the 2016 Olympic Games kicking off August 5.

Victoria Secrets Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio and Brazilian soccer legend Pele, also took part in the celebration.

After two weeks of glorious never-to-be-forgotten moments that left England tired, excited and very proud, the committee pass the baton to host the 2016 Brazilian, who now have to take a Herculean task that suited them.

Judging by swaying samba of Marisa Monte and the baritone section of Seu Jorge in Brazil postcards eight minutes of music and visuals for the 2016 games, they look to the beginning of foot stomping.

Besides luxurious presentation of Brazil, a very entertaining closing ceremony for the Games, including the sensational rock 'n roll nostalgia that happy night tour of London with top-of-the-chart of classical chaos, supermodel and psychedelic.

The three-hour extravaganza including rickshaw offered a sensory explosion of Rock 'N Roll', trash percussionists, a car exploded in a yellow tunic and red marching band and bearskin hats.

Spice Girls reunion show-stopping, and Monty Python's Eric Idle breezed through "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" - accompanied by a Roman officer, Scottish bagpipers and the human cannonball.

It all made for hasty Mashup with 80 000 fans at Olympic Stadium stomping, cheering and singing along. Organizers estimated 300 million or more are watching around the world.

What a way to end the game much more successful than many expected London. Initial security threats conquered with military aid, road traffic is managed and the beginning of the wettest summers on record gave way to mostly sunny skies. More importantly, the British athletes overachieved.

Everything comes with a price tag $ 14 billion - three times the original estimate. But nobody wants to spoil the fun with the mundane problems like that, at least not tonight.

"We lit a fire, and we illuminate the world," said organizing committee chief Sebastian Coe London. "When our time comes, the UK, we do it right."

The International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge declared the Games over with praise for the athletes.

"Through your commitment to fair play, respect for opponents, and your grace in defeat and victory, you have earned the right to be called the Olympics," he said, adding: ". It's fun and games the lofty"

But the evening was about more than a splash of speech.

Festive and move quickly, the ceremony opened with a pop band Madness, Pet Shop Boys and One Direction, shout-out to Winston Churchill and the award for the Union Jack - the Olympic Stadium set the floor resembling the British flag.

Recreation monochrome London landmarks covered in newspaper, from the clock tower Big Ben and Tower Bridge to the London Eye Ferris wheel and fat high-rise known as the Gherkin.

Street percussion group Stomp noise built into a frenzy, and the dancers brandishing a broom, in a nod to a spontaneous popular movement to clean up after riots rocked the London neighborhood not far from the Olympic Stadium just a year ago.

Liam Gallagher performed "Wonderwall," a 1990 hit by his former band, Oasis, Muse rocked the house with a hard-edged Olympic song "Survival", and Queen guitarist Brian May joined the singer Jessie J to please the "We Will Rock You."

The main players were each given a pound, slightly more than $ 1.50.

The night ended with the extinguishing of the Olympic cauldron and the multi-petaled supercharged rendition of "My Generation" and other classics by The Who that had the crowd dancing in the aisle. Confetti rained down, and fireworks lit up the sky.

Prince William's wife, Kate, and Prince Harry took the seat next to Rogge. They sang along to "God Save the Queen." There was no sign of his queen, who makes fun of entrance chute memorable opening ceremony July 27.

Following the tradition of the Olympic Games, London Olympics 10 800 athletes from marching as one nation rather than with them, symbolizing harmony and friendship inspired by the game.

As the crowd cheered their heroes and blitz rippled through the stadium, cheering Olympian again, some carrying national flags, others snapping pictures with cameras and smartphones.

They hold hands, hug each other and carry on their shoulders, eventually forming a human mosh pit in the ground.

The ceremony has something for everyone, from tween girls for 1960 hippies. John Lennon's face appeared on the stadium floor, fragments of sculptures assembled by 101, and quickly gave way to George Michael, Fatboy Slim and Annie Lennox.

Britain, worried for weeks that the game would be a failure, which is supported by the distance of their biggest achievements since the 1908-29 gold medals and 65 medals in all.

U.S. edged China in both gold and total medal standings, eclipsing the best performance at the Olympics on foreign soil after the Dream Team in basketball narrow to hold Spanish-46 gold to the country.

While the game may not have some of the grandeur of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, there are more than a few memorable occasions.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became a legend by repeating as Olympic champion in both sprint 100 meters and 200 meters. Michael Phelps to end a long career as the most decorated Olympic Games in history.

British distance runner Mo Farah became a national treasure by sweeping the 5,000 - and 10,000-meter race, and the favorite daughter of Jessica Ennis became a global phenomenon with a victory in the heptathlon.

Female athletes using the stage in a way they never had before. American gymnast Gabby Douglas jumped into gold and U.S. soccer team made a dramatic march to the championship. Packed house turned out to watch the new women's boxing. And women compete for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei for the first time.

And then there is Oscar Pistorius, the amputee, the South African runs on carbon fiber blades, which did not win a medal but still leave a winner. And sprinter Manteo Mitchell, who completed his leg of the 4x400 relay semifinal on broken legs, allowing his team to qualify and win the silver.

England looked tired and happy after two glorious weeks in the spotlight of the world, only a few months after the country celebrated the 60th year of the queen on the throne with a magnificent contest and street parties.

Some of the Olympic Park recognizes pleasantly surprised that not much is wrong, and many are correct.

"I'm a bit worried we would not be able to live up to it," said Phil Akrill of Chichester. "But walking around here is just unbelievable."

Even non-English people are proud of their adopted homeland.

"It's just a very nice thing to see," said Anja Ekelof, a Swede who now lives in Scotland. "The whole country has come together."

Now Brazil is set to host the games in 2016 many were bracing for a rocky ride as the Rio - a relaxed beach town not known for efficiency or timeliness - are rushing to build four major locations Olympics and major infrastructure improvements.

Joao Carlos de Rio native Figueireiro said that although the "mess" it will surely come, he has faith things will work eventually.

"There are definitely things we need to work, organization-wise," said Figueireiro, 56-year bartender at a neighborhood cafe. "But our experts pull a rabbit out of a hat at the last minute and I'm sure that's what we'll do."

Source : http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/sports/2012/08/13/london-2012-closing-ceremony-rio-de-janeiro-takes-torch-as-britain-closes-with

London 2012 Olympic Basketball: United States, Argentina, and Spain Make Semifinal

Kobe Bryant USA celebrate 3-pointer against Australia in the quarter-finals at the 2012 Olympics basketball men Summer, Wednesday, August 8, 2012, in London. (AP Photo / Charles Krupa) (AP2012)

LONDON - very strong and dominant in a way not seen since the Dream Team 1992, the U.S. is now two wins from two straight Olympic gold medal.

Now, Argentina waiting for the third consecutive time in the semifinals. Spain will take Russia in the other semifinal match.

"We're ready," said Carmelo Anthony.

Encouraged by his teammate Kevin Durant to "turn it on," Kobe Bryant scored 20 points - all in the second half - and step on the way the U.S. team to the semifinals with a 119-86 victory over Australia on Wednesday night, which canceled as hard as it could to put the world's best team game away.

"We have maybe a five percent chance to win, but we will fight for it .."
- Manu Ginobili, Forward to Argentina

Bryant made six 3-pointers, LeBron James racked up triple-double with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists and the United States moved a step closer to gold at 20 years of raging historic '92 team in Barcelona. With NBA commissioner David Stern and two-time Olympic Dwyane Wade watching from the stands, the U.S. set up a rematch in the semifinals by Argentina - they were buried by the 29 teams in the preliminary round.

Except for Argentina, with a list of their names thirty-somethings, can find ways to slow the U.S., others sloping loss seems inevitable.

"We have maybe a five percent chance to win," forward Manu Ginobili said after Argentina beat Brazil 82-77 to set up a meeting in a row with the United States in the semifinals. "But we will fight for it."

Bryant is more than spectacular since coming to London. He entered the final quarter averaged only 9.4 points per game, touch the question about whether he was wounded, not interested or may not be able to produce in the same way Anthony, Durant and James are.

There is nothing to wonder anymore.

"He was a sleepy little out there," Anthony sad. "I think I woke up and he responded Mamba."

Deron Williams added 18 points, Anthony 17 and Durant 14 for the Americans, who crushed Argentina 126-97 on Monday night at the beginning of their final round. There was a dispute in one when Argentina keeper Anthony Facunda Campazzo accidentally hit in the groin. Campazzo before he returned to being punched by a U.S. guard Chris Paul, who never denied that he took a swipe at Campazzo.

"All the time," said Paul. "We tangled 1,000 times."

Anthony did not expect Argentina to play well again.

"You just have to go out there and bring them blow - not literally," he said. "We are very excited about this new course in the crowd we say we have to prepare them .."

All were between the U.S. and gold medal is now Argentina, arrogant and dangerous team with experience, and fight with the winner of the Russia-Spain semifinal.

Americans have been captured by the Spaniards before, beat them in the gold medal game four years ago. A fight with Russia will revive memories of the Cold Ward and the 1972 final in Munich, when the U.S. has a 63-game winning streak stopped in the middle of a controversial end is still debated today.

The U.S. has shown moments of vulnerability in this tournament. Not much, but a few.

It came as a team to beat, and through six games, which have not changed.

"We do not have no weaknesses," said Anthony. "Nothing."

Spain outlasts France

Spanish players were about things that can only beat France in the final minutes, holding them to a basket of Spain means in the final 6:50 of the 66-59 victory Wednesday that sent the 2008 silver medalist in the semifinal of the Olympic boys basketball tournament.

Marc Gasol scored 14 points, but defense wins the game is to score goals Spain is usually high.

"We still have to find our flow, we still have to find our best game offensively, but I like the way we competed today.," Said Pau Gasol, who had two big blocked shots down the stretch.

Trailing 57-54 after a basket with 6:51 to play Batum, Spain did not allow another point until Mickael Gelabale jumper with 5.5 seconds left, ending a two-game losing streak.

Juan Carlos Navarro added 12 points and Pau Gasol 10 for Spain, who advanced to play Russia on Friday.

Spaniards keep alive hopes for the gold medal game rematch against the Americans, who beat them 118-107 in Beijing.

France has won four straight after losing to the United States in the opening and looked in good shape for much of this one.

The French controlled most of the first half, leading by as many as eight, with the speed of Parker gave Spain all sorts of problems. Diaw, Spurs teammate, scored 10 points and the French were in front 37-34 at the break.

Spain came out of the locker room with seven straight, going ahead 41-37 on a 3-pointer with 7:11 remaining Marc Gasol in the third. It remains near all time, the French took advantage with a 53-51 fourth.


Source : http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/sports/2012/08/09/london-2012-basketball-olympics-usa-argentina-and-spain-make-semifinals