There are now multiple reports confirming the same sad news.

Kevin Duckworth, a two-time All-Star who was the starting center on the Portland Trail Blazer teams that made it to the 1990 and 1992 NBA Finals, has died of unknown causes.

The seven-foot center played in the NBA from 1986-1997. Most of those years he was in Portland, although at the end of his career he played for the Bullets, Bucks, and Clippers.

Duckworth was reportedly at the Oregon coast for an event to promote the Blazers when he died. Duckworth was 44.

I'll always remember Duckworth for his starring role in the most exciting basketball game I have ever seen in person: Portland's come-from-behind Game 7 win over Larry Brown, David Robinson, Rod Strickland, and the San Antonio Spurs in the second-round of the 1990 playoffs.

Wayne Thompson remembers that game on Blazers.com:

The rest of the team was already warming up for the decisive seventh game, but few of the 12,884 fans had any inkling that Duckworth, who already had missed the last three weeks of Portland's magical 1990 season, was going to play.

When the fans saw Duckworth, they just exploded with a standing ovation that lasted a full two minutes.

It was a scene reminiscent of the seventh game of the 1970 NBA championship when New York fans became delirious at the sight of Willis Reed who, despite a severe ankle sprain, limped into Madison Square Garden to help the Knicks win the championship against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Duckworth played in that game against doctor's orders, and while his stat line proved to be average, he managed to make things extremely difficult for Robinson, helping Portland keep things close. Portland found themselves down seven in the closing minutes, but made a late and thrilling run to send the game to overtime, where they were able to secure a crucial victory on the road to the Finals.

It is one of the great moments of Blazer history, and in part because of that Duckworth remained a figure beloved by Blazer fans. After his playing days, the Illinois native settled permanently in the Portland area and continued to be a major and unmistakable presence -- a man who battled weight issues throughout his playing days, he was literally larger than ever in retirement. Despite his size, Duckworth was not at all intimidating off the court, exuding smiling harmlessness at Blazer games and other team-centric public events.

He will be missed.

(Photo: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

A few days ago, Jordi, who blogs at The Serious Tip, e-mailed me a fairly innocent link to a little item about former NBA player Sam Perkins visiting Kyrgyzstan.

Now there is dreadful news, of a 737 having crashed after leaving Kyrgystan, killing many onboard.

The reporting of the crash includes much talk of basketball players having been on that flight.

You can imagine what that made a lot of people think.

Reuters reporter Olga Dzyubenko has good news for fans of Sam Perkins, but terrible news for basketball and humanity generally. Apparently there was a teenage basketball team on the plane, and the majority of the players were killed.

Awful.

However, the implication from the embassy is that Perkins was apparently not on the flight -- which makes sense, as it was bound for Iran:

Members of a teenage basketball team were among the dead and officials said many of the victims were so badly burnt that DNA tests would be needed to identify them.

Only 25 of the estimated 90 people aboard the aircraft, survived -- 14 of them Kyrgyz nationals and 11 Iranians.

The U.S. embassy in Kazakhstan denied two U.S. basketball players, in Kyrgyzstan on a coaching trip, had taken the ill-fated flight. They in fact flew home from neighbouring Kazakhstan.

(Thanks to Tobias from BallinEurope.)

• TrueHoop reader Robert e-mails about the FIBA rankings: "It's ironic that right after this Olympic tournament, the U.S. men actually dropped out of first place in the FIBA world rankings, being surpassed by Argentina. Through all their recent disappointing finishes they were ranked fisrt, but the moment the gold medal match ended was the precise moment they became second. By getting it backwards (the U.S. should have moved up to the top spot, not down from it) FIBA illustrates what many people know about the BCS -- neither human polls nor inflexible metrics are very good."
• Crain's Detroit Business has sources saying Pistons guard Lindsey Hunter the target of an FBI investigation. Hunter and a business partner were part of some suspect property deals. Hunter's attorney acknowledges the partnership was involved in some bad deals, but says that as soon as his clients realized what was going on, he got out. (Probably not important right now, but Hunter had a little credibility issue last summer.)
• TrueHoop reader Kirk e-mails: "Sometime at the start of the last NBA season I e-mailed you trying to make the case that the Dwyane Wade I had come to know and hate (as a Mavs fan) should not make the Olympic roster due to his disastrous injuries and a host of other issues. Last night/morning I stayed up as you did to watch the gold medal game, since I had gone to work early for weeks just to watch the other pool play and tournament games. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. And I love D-Wade now. I can't ever forget him breaking my heart in 2006, but he played with such a fury and passion that it was impossible not to cheer for him. He attacked the basket, made excellent under-control shots, rebounded in the land of giants, and played really amazing defense. His anticipation is among the top three in the league. I was wrong about him, but I couldn't be happier that I was. He has helped make me incredibly proud to be an American today. But now that it's over I am pretty sad. I love the NBA, but there are too many teams and too little talent spread among those teams. We never get to see D-Wade move without the ball like that or see LeBron James defend like an animal and pass like Magic. In order for their teams to win, they have to sacrifice the parts of the games which made them so phenomenal to watch these last few weeks so they can take on the scoring burden. Seeing those guys win last night, seeing the pure joy and understanding that hard work pays off was fantastic. I'd have to rank that game and the medal ceremony as among my favorite basketball moments of my life. I can't wait till the NBA season and I can't wait till the World Championships in Turkey in 2010."
• You had to know that when the Boston Celtics signed Darius Miles, some Portland-obsessed conspiracy theorist would claim that it was all of a scheme to hurt the Blazers, who will be losing cap space if Miles plays ten games. Bingo.
• Cleveland could have the cap space in 2010 to re-sign LeBron James to a max deal, and to bring in someone like Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. Patrick McManamon of the Akron Beacon-Journal writes all about it. The only thing to consider, however, is that there is no reason to think Cleveland would be the only such team. Uniting two or more of that summer's big stars is the fantasy of many a front office.
• An Oklahoma City writer makes the case that there is nothing wrong with giving the team a stupid name. He makes a convincing case that many teams have stupid names, but all the same I'm thinking that if it's your job to name the thing, you ought to do your job well.
• Jameer Nelson pays for his Orlando teammates to come to the Philadelphia area for some kind of unofficial mini-camp, where they work out and learn about stuff like money management. Pretty amazing.
• An ESPN producer ran across a Tibet protest in Beijiing during the Olympics and wrote about it after getting accosted by officials. He also mentioned that he was helped by an anonymous guy who called himself "no neck." Turns out No Neck himself has a blog with links to video of the whole thing.
• Chris Sheridan puts some facts onto the claim that Sunday's game could have been the biggest win in U.S. Olympic basketball history.
• What Kobe Bryant meant to Team USA.
• Great photos of the Olympics.
• Olympic-basketball themed condom advertisement.
• No, Eduardo Najera does not want to lend your small business money. Not right now, after what happened with that landscaping deal.
• Rudy Fernandez gives the NBA something to remember. (Via RotoEvil)
• Joe Dumars talks to Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. He says many different ways that he's fine if he does not make a big trade, and would only trade if the right deal came along. Then Dumars talks about his relationship with the existing roster: "I feel like I have such a unique relationship with all of those guys. They've been here for such a long time. When you have a relationship with people that's built on truthfulness and honesty, you can have any conversation you want. That's the relationship I have with these guys - truthfulness and honesty. I've had some absolutely great conversations with Rip, Rasheed, Chauncey, McDyess, with Prince before he left for the Olympics, obviously with all the young guys. Chauncey and I were on the phone a long time last night talking about different things. This has been a good summer from my perspective, because the complacency that I've taken issue with, the lack of urgency that I've taken issue with, has been front and center in a lot of conversations I've had with guys and it's straightforward, no cute language, here's the deal. It's been a very good summer for me from that standpoint. There is no gray area about where we stand right now."

• Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News: "There is no better way for Jason Kidd to bow out of international basketball, having earned his second gold medal Sunday while extending his record to 56-0 in Olympics, Olympic qualifying and exhibition games. 'I'm undefeated,' Kidd, 35, said. 'I told them I can retire now from international ball, but LeBron [James] threw out something I didn't like. He said he won't play in 2012 unless I'm there."
• Dan Bickley of The Arizona Republic : "It took him 40 years, and now Jerry Colangelo has his basketball championship. 'It fills the void,' he said. It took them 40 minutes of heart-pounding effort, and now the members of Team USA have put American basketball back where it belongs."
• Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "They should have been thanking Allen Iverson and Larry Brown, and the 2004 Olympic team. The 2008 Olympic team finished undefeated after beating Spain 118-107 on Sunday in the gold medal game. The players danced and hugged like high school kids who had just won the state championship, then insisted on the entire team showing up for the postgame news conference. This is why they should have been thanking Iverson, Brown and the rest of their predecessors: Without the United States' 5-3 finish and disappointing bronze in Athens, what the 2008 team accomplished would have been considered routine, not the stuff of wild celebrations."
• Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News: "So what was the difference between the Redeem Team and the nightmarish Scream Teams of the 2002 and 2006 World Championships, and the 2004 Olympics? According to former Team USA coach Larry Brown, it comes down to one word: Commitment. 'The thing is they got guys that are willing to make a three-year commitment, which I think is tremendous,' Brown said of this current Team USA. 'We had guys that committed (for 2004) and then all of a sudden 9/11 happened, and then there were injuries.'"
• Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer: "What's next for Mike Krzyzewski? He goes back to his real job, coaching a Duke team that returns almost all of its key players and should be stronger inside. He also plans to write another book that will be based in part on his Olympic experience. First, though, he will celebrate wiith his family that came to China with him, and with the players and Colangelo. 'Mike brought class,' Jerry Colangelo said. 'He brought dignity. He brought organization. He's a hall of fame coach. He bled red, white and blue. He was the right guy at the right time.' Ultimately, Krzyzewski made it fun for the players. He made them remember what it felt like to be college kids again -- or, in the case of James and Bryant, to enjoy a little of the college experience they never had."
• Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News: "'That's the best feeling I've ever had other than the birth of my son,'[Carmelo] Anthony said Sunday of the Olympic men's basketball medals ceremony. Four years after Anthony's disastrous Olympic trip to Athens, where he played little, got on the bad side of coach Larry Brown and was on a team that settled for bronze, the Nuggets forward got redemption."
• Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun: "The grin didn't leave Chris Bosh's face. The grin didn't leave Jose Calderon's face. One won gold, the other won silver and both looked like they were walking on air at the Wukesong Basketball Gymnasium yesterday on the final day of the Summer Olympic Games. 'Personally,' said Bosh, the Toronto Raptors star, 'this is as big as you can get. This only comes once every four years."
• David Whitley of the Orlando Sentinel: "Dwight Howard made 35 of 47 in Beijing, which is 74 percent. If he could do that every night in the NBA, it would seriously complicate the lives of opposing coaches. Unlike most of the U.S. team, Howard has already said he'll re-enlist for the 2012 Olympics. What does that mean to his overall development? 'It's a little bit of a grind, but I would never discourage any or our players from playing for their national team,' Stan Van Gundy said. 'I don't think there's a higher honor.' You get a happier player, a better leader and another gold medal for the U.S. If it means a less reliable bank shot, that's a sacrifice we'll just have to live with."
• Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal: "Marc Gasol walked off the court, silver medal draped around his neck, proud and disappointed and happy all at once. 'It feels good to have accomplished what we accomplished," he said, 'but we were so close to winning the gold.' ... Gasol was one of the few Spanish players to stop and talk to reporters afterward, alternating between Spanish and English. The next game he plays will be for the Grizzlies. 'I'm going to relax for a little bit and then I'll be in Memphis,' he said. 'I can't wait to get started.'"
• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: "... despite saying in a recent radio interview that Oklahoma City is 'the best thing that's ever happened to our basketball franchise and basketball team,' P.J. Carlesimo isn't ready to count on the newfound stability for a spike in victories this season. Certainty, Carlesimo says, will help. It won't guarantee Oklahoma City a better ballclub. 'Are we going to win X more games? Probably not,' Carlesimo said. 'But I just think it's going to make a difference.' Comfort will replace confusion for the players and coaches. Infatuation will replace the increasing indifference that swept the team's old city and its fans."

Olympic glory. Team USA is going for it. Spain is going for it. And I'm going for it. The game is at the kind of hour (if I'm reading that schedule correctly, it starts at 2:30 a.m. ET) that makes you think Olympic organizers just don't care if America ever sees another live basketball game. But that won't stop me. I will not be recording the game and watching it at a human hour. Oh no. I'll be blogging the game live.

Here's some background on the Spanish team. I think everyone thinks that the U.S. is most likely to win. But I don't think anyone should expect Spain to be intimidated. These players have won this kind of game before. There's a chance this'll be an Olympic classic.

OK, who feels like some basketball? Getting close to show time.

Chris Sheridan has e-mailed from Beijing to let me knew that the referees are: Lithuania's Romualdas Brazauskas, Argentina's Pablo Estevez, and Finland's Carl Jungebrand. This game's commissioner -- what does that mean? (I have a lot to learn about the international game) -- is Canadian Fred Horgan. If I use any of their names tonight, that's a sure sign there has been a very bad call in a close game. (John Hollinger also e-mailed. He's having trouble with both his cable and the online video. So if anybody wants to invite him over to their house to watch, he'd really appreciate that.)

Jose Calderon is not on the floor, and LeBron James is dialed in from downtown. Two bad signs in the early going for Spain. On the other hand, there's plenty for Spain to like in the feisty opening minutes. They have forced some early turnovers, and are holding a one-point lead.

Without Calderon, there is even more weight on Pau Gasol, and the U.S. is not letting him take over. He's doubled even beyond the free throw line. He'll have to make the U.S. pay for that by passing for layups.

Of course, the upside of Calderon's absence is that we viewers are going to get to see a whole bunch of Ricky Rubio and Rudy Fernandez. The young guards, who have played together in Spain, have both been exciting in the early going -- helping Spain to a four-point lead. You wonder if Spain can maintain this energy level on defense. So far they're all over the place.

Dwyane freaking Wade with a big-time steal and dunk. He is leading everyone in scoring, Chris Bosh is in looking like a big man who was built for this game's intense pace, and the U.S. is enjoying the view with a slender lead.

Kobe Bryant took an ill-advised 3, too early in the shot clock as the quarter was nearing its close. Of course he nailed it. Which is great, three points and all, but you hate to encourage his inner gunner.

Then Wade almost had the play of the game. Spain has six or seven seconds to get the first quarter's final shot. Wade decided from 15 yards away to just go steal that ball, and swooped in and swiped it at full speed. Bingo. He's all alone on his way to a buzzer-beating dunk. The hard work is done. All we need is the finish and ... he fumbles it out of bounds with less than a second left. Bummer. The people need their dunks!

Just like to point out that in Spain it's a very civilized 9 a.m. right now. This would be nice over breakfast instead of ... whatever you eat at 3 a.m. (Stale nachos are, I think, the meal of this hour.) So, Spain gets the preferable TV schedule, but here in the U.S. we get a 12-point lead. When the U.S. went up a dozen in qualifying, Spain seemed to wilt. And now the mighty U.S. turnover machine is getting cranked up. Ever since the U.S. subs came in -- Bosh and Wade, mainly -- it has been a different story.

The U.S. starters came back in, and Spain touched off a little run. Coach K wisely brings Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade back.

Wade has 13 points on four shots so far, to go with two steals. That's all in eight minutes. Put that in your "per 48" stats machine, and you'll find ... a monster game. (He just got another steal and dunk, too. ... Then he nailed a 3, and assisted on a LeBron 3. If there's an MVP of the first half, it's Dwyane Wade by a country mile.) Not to mention, with Wade on the floor, the U.S. has vastly outscored Spain. I suspect when he's on the bench, Spain has outscored the U.S.

Team USA is 8-for-11 from downtown. Kiss of death for Spain. On the other hand, the fact that Spain is still hanging around despite that ... tells you how well both teams are playing. This is a good game.

Before the game, I got a mini-prediction from former ESPN colleague, and current Dallas head coach, Rick Carlisle. He said it would be "close for a while, then the US will pull away. USA will be ready for zone and will hit 3's and hurt them with second shots." Can not argue with the quality of that prediction.

Spain is closing the half very well. Things tightening up. The tension will persist in the second half.

At halftime, it's an eight-point game.

ESPN's Chris Palmer e-mails: "Is it even possible to put into context what it's like to be a 17-year-old kid playing head up against the likes of Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul & Co. as Spain's Ricky Rubio is doing against the US in the gold medal game? Despite a couple of Paul forays into the trees and D-Wade's open floor reverse throwdown, the highlight of the game so far has been Tricky Ricky's behind the back dribble at the top of the key (past Jason Kidd) before splitting Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony to drop in a cottony finger roll. My mind is officially boggled and it's only the first quarter. Seriously, what's going through that kid's mind being on a stage of this magnitude without showing so much as a hint of a deer-in-the headlights look? Did I mention he's 17? Would have loved to have seen him play high school or college ball in America."

Another big storyline: The U.S. is on pace to have a 138-point game. And it's a 40-minute game. This is officially an unbelievably fun game to watch.

Chris Sheridan calls from Beijing, loving this game. He points out that Spain closed the quarter well with Pau Gasol benched after an ineffective stretch. Sheridan is crazy for Rudy Fernandez, and his boldness. But most importantly, he points out the foul situation. Rudy Fernandez, Felipe Reyes and Raul Lopez each have three. Two more and they foul out. Ricky Rubio, Berni Rodriguez and Marc Gasol have two apiece. This could be desperate times for Spain's injury-depleted backcourt in the second half.

Spain is outrebounding the U.S. 14-12.

Dwyane Wade halftime statline update: 21 points on nine shots, with four steals in 13 minutes. (This tournament has been good for him, huh? From forgotten man to superhero. And how he plays defense!) He's credited with one assist, but Sheridan remembers at least three, and says the stats crew has been stingy with assists all tournament long.

Rudy just missed a 3 that would have cut the lead to three. Now it's eight. That would have been huge.

Chad Ford at halftime: "I'm in the Middle East working on a PeacePlayers project. We are all sitting around the TV watching the game live on DubaiSports. Every time Dwyane Wade makes a three the announcer yells 'Allaaaaaah!' similar to the way soccer announcers yell 'Gooooooal' when someone makes a goal. I've always liked Ricky Rubio and thought he'd be a likely top five pick, but his play in this tournament has convinced me to move him up to the No. 1 spot in the draft. He has such amazing poise for someone his age. He needs to improve his jump shot and get stronger ... but he looks really special."

Halfway through the third it's a four-point game. Wow. Wow. This is one exciting game. It is a quarter to four in the morning and I could not be less tired.

Chris Palmer: "Who is D Wade, the Cleaner? The daring steals, the high flying dunks, the reckless abandon. I feel like I'm watching games 5 and 6 of the 2006 NBA Finals. It certainly has been refreshing to see Wade look like his former self. Wade's strength, fluidity, speed and grace is always something to see. Especially when he plays in fast motion using the entire court as he did in the first half against Spain. So much for the outside shooting of Michael Redd. Wade is in style in Beijing right now."

Cereal, by the way. That's what you eat at this hour. Better than stale nachos.

Let's be super clear. This is anybody's game. We're in the third quarter still -- lead hovering from four to six or seven -- and already it feels like nearly every play is a turning point.

Juan Carlos Navarro: Night of the Runner. He's shooting a ton of runners. Too exciting to look away, but the U.S. has built a little lead. Big stops. Some free throws. A Melo three. It's a nine-point game.

Rudy Fernandez and Felipe Reyes both have four fouls. For the U.S., only Deron Williams has three.

With about nine minutes left. Spain down 91-84, Rudy checks back in. And on this first play back, he initiates a stunning alley-oop. Next play after that, he nails a 3, and it's a two-point game.

When this is over, one team will have silver. Let no one criticize that team. The story is both teams playing beautifully.

Oh boy, did Carlos Jimenez ever get Wade to bite on that fake. Wade has had at least two really hard crashes. He needs to find a way to have fewer of those.

Spain misses some shots. The U.S. beasts its way back to a double-digit lead. Then Rudy SLAMS it home as he is fouled, and the Spanish players on the bench have to warned to stay off the floor.

Palmer: "I learned something tonight. Rudy Fernandez can shoot. And dunk on Dwight Howard. Congratulations Coach MacMillian."

Least poised American: Dwight Howard. Been cranky all night. Enter Chris Bosh to play the closing minutes.

U.S. lead down to five. 3:25 left.

Kobe Bryant makes the best play a human can make. A four-point play, on which he fouls out Rudy Fernandez. If he had missed, I would have called that an ill-advised shot, but he didn't, not at all. Dagger.

Both teams trade HUGE threes, and then after Wade's last one, Wade goes to great lengths not to let himself just explode in un-Team USA celebration. Well held. And then Pau Gasol goes to the timeout with that pouty body language he gets sometimes. He needs to inspire right now.

Jimenez misses a 3. Kobe on a tear. U.S. up eight and counting in the final minute. Suddenly Spain can't score, and needs miracles.

Redemption.

This U.S. team looks very happy, and I'm thrilled they got to win it like this -- in a great game. Kobe Bryant gives Pau Gasol one of the great sports hugs of the ages. Looks like Coach Krzyzewski will not be covered in sports drink, though.

The U.S. has a better circle-up team chant at the end than Spain.

This game had so many major storylines. The redemption of USA basketball. Dwyane Wade's perfect start to the game (he finished with 27). Kobe Bryant's end-game heroics. Rudy Fernandez's major-league 22 tough points on 13 shots. Ricky Rubio -- at 17 -- looking at home on the court with All-Stars in the place of injured Jose Calderon. Pau Gasol and Juan Carlos Navarro hitting big shots. Spain coming close to defending their World Championship.

You know what? This could be the biggest win in the history of Team USA. In 1992, no single game really meant all that much. Probably the team's most famous game was that rigged 1972 loss to the Soviet Union. But has there ever been a bigger win?

The celebrity basketball player behind is not even assuredly an NBA-quality player.

The company behind it has declared bankruptcy.

Tthe player will reportedly make north of $20 million this season. He has been lauded as a hero for playing a role in introducing cheap basketball shoes. But now he is suing the bankrupt company for a couple more million.

That'll probably be the final analysis -- how dare he, when he has so much?

(And here's where this post about a little footnote in the apparel industry is going to take a bizarre turn.)

I'll tell you what, I don't like that line of thinking. I mean, if I have a friend who makes $75,000 and I take $750 from her, is she supposed to laugh it off if I don't return the money?

Don't give me that $20 million is no $75k. Here's the thing: Both salaries are well past the point of fulfilling basic human needs.

Food, shelter, education, health insurance ... If you're tough-minded, you can attend to all that for much less than $75k. I know this. And I know that people in most of the world dream of making a tenth of that.

But once you get past the hard needs of life, it's all relative. The extra money is all about retirement, a bigger house, college, cars, vacations ... important stuff! But not the brass tacks of survival.

My point is, if people who make $75,000 are allowed to get upset about getting ripped off, then so are multimillionaires. Neither may feel like it, but they are both rich.

Now, did Marbury actually get ripped off? I'll leave that to the judge.

NEW YORK -- Here are the lineups for tonight's game:

Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, RF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Jed Lowrie, SS
7. Coco Crisp, CF
8. Jeff Bailey, 1B
9. Kevin Cash, C
-- Tim Wakefield, SP

Yankees

1. Johnny Damon, CF
2. Derek Jeter, SS
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Jason Giambi, 1B
6. Xavier Nady, LF
7. Hideki Matsui, DH
8. Robinson Cano, 2B
9. Bengie Molina, C
-- Andy Pettitte, SP

We just got word that Carl Yastrzemski is now out of the hospital. Good news all around.

Yastrzemski underwent emergency triple-bypass surgery last Tuesday at Massachusetts General Hospital after being diagnosed with coronary artery disease.