Idlewild... FIBA members voted 56-13 in 1989 to allow professionals from all countries to play in international competition (which included the Olympics). The argument I was addressing above had to do with the notion that our men's basketball team "didn't always win." The commentor was trying to make the claim that we wanted professional players in the Olympics so that we could be dominant. But the problem is, our Olympic team was already dominant, going 94-1 (I won't count the Munich loss) in the games since we began playing. The only time we didn't win gold was in 1988 when we won bronze (we lost to the Soviet Union, who won the gold). FIBA had already allowed other continents to use professionals, but it didn't do any good because they kept losing to our amateurs. And you're right - by allowing NBA players in the Olympics, it has sparked a new world-wide interest in basketball and has helped boost the level of competition in international play. I don't see how that's a negative. *If you're interested in reading my articles, Click Here.

I believe Publius is correct (at least in part). As I remember from the time, it was FIBA that was pushing to allow professional players to participate in Olympic basketball, while USA Basketball was actually against it, at least initially. FIBA thought (rightly so, it turned out) that having NBA players in the Olympics would boost the visibility and popularity of basketball worldwide on a grand stage. USA Basketball was against the idea at first: they felt that there was no need to include professionals, since the U.S. already had the best basketball players and development system (NCAA basketball).

"were real. They couldnt get the actual effect on TV, so digitalised the footprints. Its done at many such events recorded for TV." I didn't say all the fireworks were faked, just the "footprints" fireworks. If something is digitized instead of real, then by definition it's fake. Yes, such effects are often done, but I think the Olympics should have been honest enough to say that the footprints were a digital dramatization, or to not use them at all. I would have preferred they not do such effects at all, if they're not fireworks that are actually taking place at the Olympic venue.

were real. They couldnt get the actual effect on TV, so digitalised the footprints. Its done at many such events recorded for TV. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/12/fake.fireworks.ap/ My writings here My profile here

"the firework scene was not fake, just a portion of the telecast was digitalised since it would apparently have been dangerous for cameras to track the real firework footprints. So those who saw it in beijing saw it live and real" Hmmm, not sure what you mean... yes, a part of it was digitized, which means it WAS fake: they were not real fireworks explosions but a digital effect designed to create the appearance that certain fireworks were going off. It was created so people would see the effect on TV. People in Beijing did not see that effect "live and real," because that portion of the fireworks was NOT real... it was added digitally for TV and didn't exist in the sky above the stadium.