No way José : the Spanish perspective

Well, well. There certainly has been some conjecture over our article yesterday on José Calderón's opinion that there were some inaccuracies in the way the Gold Medal match between USA and Spain was officiated.

A Spanish reader has commented that the main problem that Spanish fans had, was with perceived travelling violations on the Americans which were committed where steps were taken before putting the ball down on the floor. Our friend then provided some examples of where this was an issue.

The first example (below), shows LeBron James take a couple of steps in the backcourt before putting the ball down:

Next up, we have a Kobe breakway dunk. I have to admit, I have trouble seeing the point where Mamba actually received the ball on this one:



And finally, a Juan Carlos Navarro parody of the USA, with a "mock travel" in the game's dying seconds:

Now, I can certainly see that there may have been examples of this happening. It's also worth noting for our American readers, that many players from the USA who take on roles as imports in foreign leagues often have trouble in the early going getting used to the fact that they have to put the ball on the floor before taking off, as there is a difference in the way that rule is treated in the USA and in the rest of the world.

However, as many gracious Spanish fans have admitted, this difference didn't cost Spain the game. At least, it's unlikely that it did.

As some American fans have pointed out, there was also a questionable elbow that sent Chris Bosh to the floor late in the game, in a case of one Gasol brotha' hookin' anotha' brotha' up. If someone has youtubage of that hit, then by all means, link it in the comments.

For those that want to continue the debate on this, there has been plenty of talk between fans from all walks of life on HoopsHype, Slam, ClubLakers Forum and Ballhype amongst many others.

However, let's leave the last word on what some have described as one of the greatest international games of basketball ever, to José Calderón himself, "Thank you all for your support and your confidence."

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