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Bryant, who claimed to have been similarly awed by swimmer Summer Sanders and gymnast Dominique Dawes, watched the Dream Team as a kid from his home in suburban Philadelphia. I saw it up close, though, as it happened in Barcelona. And while I remember the hype, then as now, the joy escapes me. The Dream Team was good for the corporations that sold sneakers and soft drinks. It was good to advance David Stern's plan for world domination (I'm sort of kidding). But it wasn't really about the game. I recall Charles Barkley, often mentioned as a prospective United States senator, cheap-shotting a member of the Angolan team. Barkley vigorously defended his use of the offending elbow. The Angolan, he said, "might have pulled a spear on me." That was after the opening game, a 116-48 victory that pretty much set the tone for what was... [read full story]
