ERST LESEN! » Sunday than Britain, a team containing 11

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The proud man looked over the heads of the gathered reporters and then wistfully at the exit. He spoke slowly.Pau Gasol sounded tired. You would, too, after pushing a rock up the hill four times and then helplessly watching it roll back down to the bottom. This time, which marked the end of Spains dream of Olympic gold at the hands of Team USA yet again, the semifinal ended by a not-as-close-as-it-sounds 82-76.Our hearts are bleeding, said Sergio Scariolo, who coaches Spain but whose penchant for drama marks him as indelibly Italian.Beating Team USA in Fridays Olympic semifinal was always going to be a heavy lift for Spain, let alone for the 36-year-old Gasol. He was already forced to take on more responsibility to cover for the absence of his injured younger brother and fellow NBA All-Star star, Marc. Then Nikola Mirotic, Spains only other legitimate inside threat, picked up his fourth foul before halftime.What made it more frustrating still is that he was convinced the Americans looked more beatable than in any of the four Olympic tournaments in which theyve knocked him and Spain out.Thats just the way I felt, Gasol said. They are not playing as well as other times theyve played, but they are still a very talented team individually.If we had been a little sharper with our shots, if we would have moved the ball a little better, if we would have boxed out more, and make it a two- or three-possession game, then youre talking about a whole different story.Thats three very big ifs if youre keeping score at home. And even if somehow all three of those wishes were granted, it might not have made much difference.Team USA had hold of this game from the start and the last time Spain had a real chance to make it competitive came with two minutes left, down 61-55. But Sergio Rodriguez missed a 3-point shot and Kevin Durant made his on the other end, imposing order once more on what had been a herky-jerky game because of all the chippy fouls and technicals.Its the most different game Ive coached internationally. It was just a real different game today, said U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski.He was loathe to say more about the referees, though he credited the crew with bringing the coaches and captains together at the start of the second half and telling them, `Lets just play basketball.Like Gasol, his coach cited a few could-have-beens that might have changed the outcome. Scariolo ticked off rebounding, blocked shots and intimidation.The first two were easy enough to quantify: the Americans had a 53-41 edge in rebounds and 7-1 in blocks; the intimidation factor is hard to measure, but easy to see. Like Gasol, a handful of his Spanish teammates have played in the NBA for several years. Unlike him, however, they took most of their chances from distance, rarely challenging the longer, quicker U.S. defenders one on one in the paint.Hes got back-to-the basket game and a face-up game and he can shoot the long ball, said DeAndre Jordan, the toughest U.S. defender in the post. Anything I could do to make his catches tough, play with length and physicality, I was just trying to make it as tough on him as possible.I tried to push him off the block and just play him with length, he added. I just wanted to make everything tough on him.Gasol scored a game-high 23, leading Spain as he has in nearly every climactic battle with the Americans. In 2004, he left Athens empty-handed and settled for silver both in 2008 and 2012. The best the Spanish can manage this time around will be bronze.Its been a tough tournament for aging international stars. Already, Argentinas Manu Ginobili and Frances Tony Parker announced the end of their Olympic careers and Gasol will be 40 when the next Tokyo Games convene in 2020.Asked about the possibility of his retirement from international play, Gasol only promised to assess his situation year by year.But at the end of this game, after exchanging handshakes and hugs with the friends and rivals he made over 16 seasons, he sauntered over to the USA bench and did the same with Coach K and assistants Jim Boeheim and Tom Thibodeau.Then Gasol stopped and looked into the crowd for a few long seconds, like a man drinking in a scene one final time.Paus a great player, Krzyzewski said. No one is going to stop him.But as Gasol answered his final question and began the long, slow walk down the hallway toward Spains gloomy locker room, there was a better-than-even chance he was wondering where hed find the strength after Sunday to climb back onto the international stage again.---Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and http://www.Twitter.com/JimLitke . Cheap Saucony Ireland .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Saucony Shoes Ireland . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. http://www.wholesalesauconyireland.com/ . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. Saucony Online Ireland . PETERSBURG, Fla. Saucony Stockists Ireland . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. RIO DE JANEIRO -- In back-to-back games, the U.S. women were within range of upset wins over Australia and New Zealand, the two leading contenders for the first rugby sevens gold medal ever awarded at the Olympics.By the end of an eventful Sunday, though, the semifinal pairings reflected the status quo in womens sevens with the top four teams in the world series vying for medals.World series winner Australia rebounded from a surprising 12-12 draw with the United States in the last game of the pool stage to trounce Spain 24-0 and set up a semifinal match against Canada, which rallied to beat France 15-5 in the quarterfinals.Britain advanced 26-7 over Fiji and then watched as semifinal opponent New Zealand struggled to put away the Americans 5-0, the only points coming from a try by world series try-scoring leader Portia Woodman just before halftime.I told them that they were true Olympians. They represented USA really, really well, U.S. womens coach Richie Walker said of his squad. We played the No. 1 and No. 2 nations in the world today but I saw no fear. We hung with the best in the world. We drew with the No. 1 and we just lost by five points to the No. 2.The Americans lost 12-7 to Fiji in their opening game Saturday, adding to the pressure on them in the last Pool A match to beat Australia on Sunday. Winger Jessica Jevelet scored two tries to give the Americans a 12-5 lead going into the last minute, but Emma Tonegato reached over to score her second try of the match for the Aussies and Chloe Dalton converted after the full-time siren for a draw.Jevelet was again in the thick of it against New Zealand. The Americans had a scoring opportunity shut down with three minutes to go when Jevelet was tackled late as she attempted to chase a kick into the in-goal that could have leveled the game. Tylia Nathan-Wong was yellow carded and sent from the field, but the New Zealanders survived unscathed.The U.S. and New Zealand squads played practicce matches against each other in Florida leading up to the Olympics, and the Americans obviously picked up some intel.ddddddddddddThey didnt play us this hard in Florida. It was a nice surprise, and hard, Woodman said. We made it hard for ourselves, not playing to our strengths, getting a bit too ahead of ourselves, and wanting to score on the first phase when we needed to play three or four.But were in medal contention, so (were) excited.The Americans will have to settle for playing in classification matches for fifth-eighth places along with the other quarterfinal losers.It probably hurts right now because theyre out of medal contention, but still we have something to fight for, Walker said. We want to finish No. 5.Thats the best day rugby-wise, not results-wise, that Ive ever seen from the girls. So Im really proud.Australia coach Tim Walsh said the Americans gave his team the kick up the pants that we needed going into the quarterfinals, where Charlotte Caslick scored twice and Tonegato added another to each increase their tournament tallies to six, equal with Woodman.The top three teams from the sevens world series appeared more vulnerable on Sunday than Britain, a team containing 11 members of the England team which placed fourth in the world series. The British won all three group games comfortably, including a 24-0 victory over Canada, and outscored Fiji four tries to one.The Canadians entered as the likely bronze medalists, but now face Australia in the semifinals -- which doesnt entirely bother them. Canada beat the Australians to win the last stop on the world series last season and nudge ahead of England for third place.The Olympics are a whole new thing for us and were still kind of getting used to that, Canada back Bianca Farella said. I think its an unconscious thing but tomorrow we start fresh. ' ' '