Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "Music blared and airhorns blasted. A throng of about 500 screaming fans sang Ron Artest's name and cheered his every thought. Artest had arrived, bringing his reputation from nine often tumultuous NBA seasons. The Rockets had become his fourth NBA team. But never before had he been so embraced."
Michael Wallace of The Miami Herald: "Four years after tossing his bronze medal in a bag and later misplacing it, Dwyane Wade stepped off a flight from Beijing on Monday with his gold medal where it will be for the foreseeable future -- around his neck. 'I've seen a bronze medal before, and it looks nothing like a gold,' Wade said. 'When I put it around my neck, to feel how heavy it is -- if I hit somebody with it, it'll hurt. I can get used to it. I'm going to get used to it. I'm going to have it on for a while.'"
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "For months, Wade's sole focus had been securing the United States' first Olympic basketball gold since 2000. But now, almost immediately, the focus turns to erasing the stench of last season's NBA-worst 15-67 Heat finish. 'We have to come out of the gates early, and try to make a statement, try to make a stand real early,' he said, with the regular season opening Oct. 29 in New York. 'The Eastern Conference has gotten tough, so we can't come out and spar. We've got to come out and get some ballgames.'"
Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: "After more than an hour on a runway in Beijing, another 12 in the air, an hour clearing customs at Chicago's O'Hare Airport and three more waiting for a connecting flight, Spurs star Manu Ginobili arrived at San Antonio International Airport late Monday night and discovered the truth about heroes. When it comes to lost luggage, Olympic medalists get no special favors. Missing were three of the four bags he and his wife had checked in Beijing, where Ginobili collected a bronze medal as the leading scorer for the Argentine Olympic team. 'I actually got 25 percent -- three out of four (were missing),' Ginobili said. Ginobili's value to the Spurs was reinforced. There to retrieve him was coach Gregg Popovich, who planted a kiss on his cheek as he spirited him away from a brief interview session."
Howard Beck of The New York Times: "Winning Olympic gold in Beijing depended partly on Team USA's ability to cope with the unfamiliar geometry of the international game: a trapezoidal lane, a shallow 3-point arc and a contorted array of driving lanes. But in two years, the trapezoid will be dead, the arc will be a little deeper and the international game will be a bit closer in style to the N.B.A.'s. The lane will become a rectangle, emulating the United States model. The arc will move to 6.75 meters (22.1 feet) -- closer to the N.B.A. standard of 22 feet 9 inches -- from 6.25 meters (20.5 feet). The changes were among several adopted, to little fanfare, by the International Basketball Federation, known as FIBA, in April. The new rules take effect after the world championships in 2010, so they will be in place for the 2012 Olympics in London."
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