RIO DE JANEIRO -- So much is expected of them, mainly because there is so much talent.For a while during these Olympics, though, it seemed like the U.S. mens basketball team was stuck in some kind of Olympic time warp, complete with a maritime theme.Maybe theres something about staying on boats that brings out the worst in U.S. basketball.Or maybe this team just needed a good kick in the rear to finally get going.Two wins from the gold medal most everyone assumed was a lock going into the games, there is still work to be done. Spain awaits on Friday, and theres a possible rematch with Australia for the gold medal final.But theres now a bit of swagger back in the step, a few more smiles on the faces of players. Some even seemed a bit giddy after the team found a groove of sorts in a blowout win Wednesday over Argentina in the quarterfinals.Turns out playing hard isnt that hard after all.For us its about effort, Paul George said. Weve got talent. We have to match it with effort.Without it, these guys could lose -- Friday, or Sunday.And though they say they realize that, for reasons no one seems quite able to explain, that effort was lacking in three previous games, all of which the U.S. barely won. Some went so far as to suggest that the laid back approach of this team mirrored the lifestyle aboard the luxury cruise ship the players are staying on, much like the team in the disastrous 2004 games in Athens that lost three games and went home with the bronze.It might just be, though, that this team was badly missing some leaders.Still is, since Kobe Bryant is retired and LeBron James is resting comfortably back in the states. Gold medals in Beijing and London testify to the fact no one dared not to play hard with those two in charge.Bryant had once been plotting to be here, before finally deciding that his retirement should be permanent. James decided to sit this one out, understandable after leading Cleveland to an emotionally draining NBA title.Every time I watch `em I wish I was out there, James said in an interview Thursday with ESPN. I did not retire from Team USA. I just did not play this summer.The hope was that Kevin Durant or Carmelo Anthony -- the only players with previous Olympic experience on the roster -- would fill their roles and blowouts of China and Venezuela to open the Olympics made it look like this was a team growing comfortable with each other.Then came a game where Australia banged the Americans around only to fall short in the final minutes. That was followed by 3-point wins over both Serbia and France.Even coach Mike Krzyzewski couldnt seem to get through to this team before something suddenly clicked against Argentina.Fear of embarrassment may have been a motivating factor. No one wanted to be known as the first U.S. mens basketball team to fail to win a medal of any type in the Olympics, though it certainly seemed a possibility.Guys took it personally coming into the game, Durant said.What that means going into Fridays game against Spain is a little hard to figure out. Oddsmakers make the Americans a 13-point favorite, but its a game they could lose if they dont bring consistent defensive pressure on the perimeter, something they just seemed to figure out how to do against Argentina.Playing defense usually means playing hard and playing as a team, and this team has had precious little time together. Though the idea behind Jerry Colangelos restructuring of the U.S. program was to make sure players had plenty of time to get to know each other before an Olympics, there are 10 newcomers here with only a few weeks of practice and play between them.That contrasts to the 2008 team where most of the players were together for three years and had 30 games with each other.In the end, though, desire usually trumps talent. And Spain will be a big test to see just how much desire is there.We played this team plenty of times in international competition so it will be who wants it more, to be honest, Durant said. We can talk about players and what we should do on defense or offense, but who wants it more?The answer will likely determine what color medal this team goes home with.----Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg Blake Griffin Clippers Jersey . 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With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season.As General Manager of Monday Night Raw, Mick Foley is now charged with making Hell in a Cell Matches - but he used to wow fans in them. The Hardcore Legend wrestled inside the demonic metal structure four times during his in-ring career and although he was never victorious, the fan favourite carved out some indelible memories.Top of the pile was surely Foleys 1998 bout with The Undertaker, in which he suffered two staggering tumbles, one from the top of the Cell and another through it (more on that later). Order Hell in a Cell Book this Sundays pay-per-view on Sky Sports Box Office The Indiana-born star was not involved in the inaugural Hell in a Cell encounter - that honour was bestowed upon The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at the Badd Blood event in October 1997.But he did compete in the next three, with THAT match against Undertaker sandwiched by a star-studded tag-team skirmish and a singles scuffle with The Phenoms brother, Kane.Foley - then competing under his Mankind guise - had actually partnered Kane in the second Hell in a Cell match in history, with the duo taking on The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Foley battled Stone Cold Steve Austin inside the Cell The bout, which took place on Raw in June 1998, ended in a no contest with Taker assaulting Paul Bearer inside the locked Cell, while Austin and Kane tore clumps out of each other on the roof.Ah, the roof…The Cells ceiling played a pivotal role when Mankind and Taker went one-on-one inside the compound two weeks later at the King of the Ring pay-per-view in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.With both competitors atop of the structure, Undertaker chokeslammed his adversary onto the mesh surface, causing a panel to give way and Foley to slam into the canvas below. Foley was thrown through the Cell roof by The Undertaker The shocking fall left the WWE announce desk reeling - Good God, Good God! Will somebody stop the damn match? Enoughs enough! cried lead commentator Jim Ross, with co-broadcaster Jerry Lawler yelling: Thats it. Hes dead.Foley had already suffered a startling moment earlier in the contest when he was hurled off the 16ft-high Cell roof - the Cell was heightened to 20ft in 2006 - and through the Spanish announce desk below.The Spanish announce desk really does take a pounding, doesnt it?!Foley ended the bout with a tooth in his nose and a dislocated jaw, as well as a number of other war wounds - one of the many reasons the match is considered one of the most famous in WWE history.Foley has since admitted his memories of the match - won by The Undertaker when he planted his opponent into a pile of drawing pins, some of which remained lodged in Foleys arm for a good while afterwards - are sketchy, and he believes Undertakers clash with Michaels a year earlier is the finest Cell match to have taken place. Foley says Undertaker-Michaels is the best Hell in a Cell Match ever Mankind, perhaps tentatively, stepped back into the Cell later in the summer of 1998 against Kane - though he clashed with Undertaker during the bout when he was chucked into the announce desk by the Demon of Death Valley.Foley looked primed for defeat when he was Tombstoned onto a steel chair but the clash had no winner, rendered a no contest when Austin emerged from under the ring to batter Kane.The next time Foley competed in the Cell he did so under another persona - Cactus Jack, a gimmick he had previously adopted in World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling.Foley had made the swiitch from Mankind while embroiled in a rivalry with Triple H for the WWE Championship, with a Cell encounter announced after he had lost a Street Fight to the Game at the 2000 edition of the Royal Rumble.ddddddddddddA month later at No Way Out, there was more than the title on the line - with the stipulation that should Jack aka Foley fail to dethrone Triple H he would retire.Thats what happened - but not before another sparkling match, which saw Foley tumble though the top of the Cell, just as he had done against Taker, and then through the canvas below. Cactus Jack clattered through the canvas while wrestling Triple H Triple H pinned Foley following a Pedigree to bring Foleys tenure as a full-time member of the WWE roster to a close, albeit that The Hardcore Legend has competed on an ad-hoc basis after that, most recently as an entrant in the 2012 Royal Rumble.Raws General Manager - a job he was handed in the summer of 2016 - hasnt left Hell in a Cell completely behind, however.He refereed Triple Hs World Heavyweight Championship defence against Kevin Nash at Bad Blood in 2003 - receiving a chair shot from The Game for good measure - and has regularly informed first-time Cell combatants of the perils of the bout.In fact, he did the latter just this week, telling the wrestlers in the first-ever Womens Hell in a Cell Match, Charlotte and Sasha Banks, just what they are letting themselves in for this weekend. Hell in a Cell veteran Mick Foley tells Sasha Banks and Charlotte what awaits them inside the structure on Sunday night. Watch Raws latest pay-per-view, WWE Hell in a Cell, from midnight on Sunday (Monday morning) live on Sky Sports Box Office.The show costs £14.95 for customers in the United Kingdom and €21.95 for viewers in the Republic of Ireland.You can also follow the pay-per-view on skysports.com and Sky Sports mobile and iPad apps with our live blog.WWE Hell in a Cell booking detailsONLINE: Visit this link: https://my.sky.com/orderboxoffice/?DCMP=hellinacellPHONE: UK viewers can call 03442 410 888 to book WWE Hell in a Cell, while customers in the Republic of Ireland should call 0818 220 225. (There may be an additional charge for telephone bookings).REMOTESky+: Press the box office button on your remote, then click the sports tab followed by WWE Hell in a Cell.Sky Q: Press Home on your Sky Q remote, select TV guide, then Box Office and the WWE Hell in a Cell. Enter your TV Pin if prompted. (Only bookings via Sky TV remote are recordable using Sky Plus).Sky TV residential customers only. Commercial customers contact Sky for price and to order. Sky Box Office terms apply. Cable customers should contact their local cable operator.You can watch Premier League and EFL Cup football, plus Englands tour of Bangladesh and the Mexican Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy six months at half price! Also See: WWE Hell in a Cell: How to book WWE QUIZ: Hell in Cell Owens: Cell is daunting Follow @SkySportsWWE ' ' '
