Olympic Newsdesk - Basketball Hall of Fame; Olympics at Wimbledon

"Dream Team" Inducted into Hall of Fame

Two "Dream Teams" -- the greatest amateur team in history and the subsequent one comprised of professional basketball players that took the Olympics by storm -- were enshrined Friday in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

"I would call it a nightmare team," Jerry West said of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team, which scored an Olympic record 117.3 points per game and won by an average of 43.8 points.

But some feel that West’s team -- the 1960 U.S. Olympic squad whose members received a per diem of $1 a day -- would have given the pros a run for their money. They averaged 101.9 points to opponents’ 59.5 points. More impressively, they outscored the teams they faced by more than 71 percent compared to 59.5 percent for the '92 Dream Team.

"We were truly amateurs," West said. "The greatest thrill of my life was to win a gold medal, not to win an NBA championship."

Besides West, the 1960 U.S. team also featured future NBA stars including Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas and Walt Bellamy. The team was balanced, with no star, although Lucas and Robertson averaged 17.0 points apiece.

A year after the U.S. won a disappointing bronze medal in 1988 with a team of collegiate players, FIBA changed its rules to allow professionals to play in the Olympics. The 1992 U.S. team was filled with the most talented players available, icons including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley. Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen were inducted into the Hall’s 2010 class as individual members as well as with the 1992 team.

"There was no ego," Barkley said. "We had fun. That was one of the greatest times of my life and I think about it all the time."

Barkley said that although he never won an NBA title, "winning a gold medal and hanging out with these guys" was like winning a championship. "Clearly we tried to kill each other during the regular season, but that time we spent together, I never had more fun being around those guys."

Barkley said there was "some serious, serious trash talking going on," between the members of the 1960 and 1992 teams during the induction festivities, but said they shared admiration, respect and gold medals.

Although the Dream Team was criticized at the time for staying outside the Olympic Village in luxury accommodations, West said the 1960 team lived in dorms that were not air-conditioned. "If they thought they were having a heat wave back here, they should have been in Rome in 1960," West said.

Those Olympics also occurred at a pivotal time in history. West recommended the critically-acclaimed book by author David Maraniss, "Rome 1960: The Olympics That Changed the World."

"Time separates all of us, but it certainly doesn’t separate memories," West said.

Tennis Plans Take Shape for 2012

London 2012 expects a sellout for tennis despite the Olympics coming on the heels of the Wimbledon Championships at the same venue.

"I don’t expect any tennis fatigue from the players or the public as a result of Wimbledon finishing 20 days before," Debbie Jevans, LOCOG Director of Sport and Venues, said in a press briefing Friday at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. "The Olympics are a special event and we are confident we will sell all the tickets."

Jevans said a capacity of 26,000 spectators a day are expected, fewer than the 40,000 during the Championships. That’s because only 12 of the 17 courts are required for the 172 Olympic players.

Wimbledon will also relax its rules for the Olympics, waiving the requirement that players be attired predominantly in white.

"The players will not have to wear white and will instead wear their Olympic uniforms with specially approved logos on," Jevans said.

Four players from each country can enter each category – which includes mixed doubles for the first time – an increase from the previous maximum of three.

IanRitchie, Chief Executive of the All-England Club, said the quality of the grass courts for the nine-day event won’t be a problem so soon after the Wimbledon fortnight.

"We will pre germinate thousands of grass seeds and have them ready to grow on the baselines before the Olympic matches," he said.

He also stressed that the Olympics will not be a repeat of Wimbledon. "The psychology of playing in two different events in three weeks is very exciting for the top players and they will enjoy staying in local houses instead of the Olympic park," he said.

No night sessions are scheduled, in keeping with tradition at the club.

"Staff from the Olympics will manage the event and local tennis members will still be able to play in the grounds," Ritchie said. "We are really proud of our association with the Olympics and I know Roger Federer is very excited at competing for medals here."

Federer and Swiss partner Stanislas Wawrinka won the gold medal in men’s doubles in Beijing, while Rafael Nadal of Spain won men’s singles.

Elena Dementieva of Russia won the 2008 Olympic women’s singles and Venus and Serena Williams of the U.S. took the women’s doubles title.

England has not won a medal in tennis since Tim Henman and Neal Broad wonthe silver in the 1996 Olympics in doubles. Wimbledon also hosted tennis at the 1908 Olympics.

IPC Swimming World Championships

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships are set to begin Sunday, August 15 through August 21 in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

More than 650 athletes from 54 countries will compete at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Stadium.

Paralympic gold medalists Mirjam de Koning-Peper from the Netherlands and Andre Brasil from Brazil will attempt to set new world records in women’s and men’s competition.

The 2010 Swimming World Championships are one of the largest of any previous.

PyeongChang IR Chief Named

PyeongChang 2018 has appointed a Secretary General for International Relations who already has experience as Chairman of the Korean Olympic Committee International Relations Commission.

Yang Chun Park, a former diplomat who has been Korean ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, "will be playing a crucial role in communicating PyeongChang’s bid to the international sports community," said Yang Ho Cho, Chairman and CEO of the bid committee.

Jet Set Sports Sponsors U.S. Olympic, Paralympic Teams Through 2020

Ticket and hospitality package company Jet Set Sports/CoSport has extended its sponsorship of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams through 2020.

Jet Set Sports has offered Olympic hospitality packages since 1984. It has been a USOC sponsor since 1992 for the Albertville Olympic Winter Games and the Barcelona Games.

"Jet Set Sports/CoSport is a leading provider of hospitality packages and event ticketing, whose focus is the Olympic Games," USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said.

"They’re incredibly good at what they do and are committed to the Olympic Movement. We are grateful for their continued support of Team USA and America’s athletes for years to come."

Jest Set Sports/CoSport became a sponsor of the USOC and the U.S. Olympic Team in 2002. The company donates tickets to athletes, their families and many young people.

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With reporting from Karen Rosen, Neil O'Shea and Isia Reaves

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