ERST LESEN! » A Basketball chairman Jerry Colange

Oklahoma Preview CapsuleBy The Associated Press=OklahomaLast season: 29-8, lost in Final Four.Nickname: Sooners.Coach: Lon Kruger.Conference: Big 12.Whos gone: G Buddy Hield, an All-American and a first-round draft pick; G Isaiah Cousins; F Ryan Spangler.Whos back: G Jordan Woodard. He was Oklahomas No. 2 scorer last season at 13 points per game. C Khadeem Lattin. One of the best interior defenders in college basketball, he will be asked to score more this season. G Christian James. Showed signs that he could be a big-time player late last season.Whos new: G Kameron McGusty. He is the most highly regarded recruit in Krugers tenure, and he comes from the same prep school as Hield. F Kristian Doolittle. There will be immediate opportunity for a physical power forward now that Spangler is gone.The Skinny: The Sooners wont fall off as much as some might expect. Woodard and Lattin are used to winning, and a lot of talented players waited their turn. The recruiting class was very strong. Oklahoma will be a threat to return to the NCAA Tournament.Custom Detroit Tigers Jerseys . -- Anaheim Ducks captain and leading scorer Ryan Getzlaf has been scratched from Sunday nights game against the Vancouver Canucks because of an upper-body injury. Fake Tigers Jerseys . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Wholesale Tigers Jerseys . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. Stitched Tigers Jerseys . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats.RIO DE JANEIRO -- The U.S. mens basketball team expected this.Whether it was for the gold medal, as in the last two Olympics, or just along the road to gold, the Americans figured they would see the Spanish again.No doubt in my mind, Kevin Durant said.Well, here they are.The worlds top teams meet again Friday in the semifinals, with Spain getting another chance to finish the job against the U.S. after being oh-so-close in the last two gold-medal games.Weve been battling against them for a long time, Spain point guard Ricky Rubio said. Weve always come up short. It would be a dream for us to beat them. I really think we can do it, but we have to have the perfect game.They played superb ones in 2008 and 2012, but not good enough.The U.S. pulled away to win 118-107 in Beijing, then fought off an even fiercer challenge in London, winning 107-100. And when the Spanish opened this tournament with two straight losses, it was easy to think they wouldnt get another shot at the Americans.Spain never discounted its chances.Neither did the U.S.Weve always felt Spain, theyd have a gold-medal chance, and why wouldnt we think that? U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. The last two gold-medal games weve played were against them and they were great, great games.The Americans couldnt relax until the final minute of the last one, when Krzyzewski leaped triumphantly in front of the bench -- nothing approaching the Olympic high jump record, but the best he can do.Now 69 and coming off knee, hernia and ankle surgeries this spring, Krzyzewski might show he still has some hops if the Americans win more gold.If we win, Im sure Ill jump around a little bit, he said.Age hasnt slowed Spain down, either.Surging into the semifinals with American-esque dominance, the Spanish have won four straight to stave off elimination. Spain beat Nigeria 96-87, crushed Lithuania 109-59 and topped Argentina 92-73 to battle back for a quarterfinal spot, then ran away from France 92-67 on Wednesday.I think the first couple of games we were close to, but we couldnt get to the next step, veteran guard Jose Calderon said. Sometimes its the pressure, sometimes its whatever it is, but we click again.The winner plays Ausstralia or Serbia on Sunday.ddddddddddddAlready without Marc Gasol, who broke his foot during the NBA season, Spain had to go portions of its training camp in July without Pau Gasol and Sergio Rodriguez while they handled free agency. So the Spanish arrived in Brazil a little more disjointed than precise, but thats over with now.We couldnt play any better in the tournament, Spain coach Sergio Scariolo said.The Americans were dominant again in their quarterfinal after three close calls, beating Argentina 105-78.When we lock in, I dont think anybody can stop us, Carmelo Anthony said. When we focus in and we kind of dedicate ourselves to playing the right way, its a scary sight out there.Anthony noticed the competitiveness of Group B, where the top four teams all finished 3-2, and wondered if Spain could dig its way out of its early hole. But the rest of the American contingent that has been around for all the matchups with the Spanish never believed the talk that Spain, even with Gasol, Calderon and five-time Olympian Juan Carlos Navarro nearing the end of their brilliant careers, was too old for another run.I never said they were too old. I never said any of those things. Other people are making comments. All weve said is we have great respect for them, said USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, adding that Spain was one of the models he looked at when he took over the program in 2005.Added Krzyzewski: They show up and they show up big time.Now this generation of Spanish players, which won a world championship in 2006 and has carried its country to the No. 2 ranking in the world, is probably getting its final opportunity to win Olympic gold.The Americans have turned them away twice.Now they need to do it again to take the next step toward their goal.I know for us, its one game or nothing. Its all or nothing for us, Anthony said. Thats our mindset and we dont plan on letting anything come between us.---AP Basketball Writer Jon Krawczynski contributed to this report.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney ' ' '