SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Now it's time for sports.
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SIMON: Final stretch in the Paris Olympics - basketball finals and final memories. Howard Bryant of Meadowlark Media joins us. Howard, thanks so much for being with us.
HOWARD BRYANT: Good morning, Scott.
SIMON: Let's begin with the big basketball game today. The U.S. plays France - rematch of the Tokyo Finals. What kind of story would it be for France to win a gold medal in this quintessentially American game at the Paris Olympics, monsieur.
BRYANT: Oh, what a wonderful way, Scott, for you to express your divided loyalties without expressing divided loyalties. It is fantastic.
SIMON: I'm over that.
BRYANT: (Laughter).
SIMON: Allez la France. Go ahead.
BRYANT: Yeah. It...
SIMON: With all - I still love Steve Kerr and the rest and Lebron. But go ahead. Yeah.
BRYANT: Well, it's fantastic. It's great for France, obviously. Let's go back to the NBA Draft last year with the 7-foot-4 rookie phenom, Victor Wembanyama, who said as much as he loves the NBA and as much as he's excited about the challenge of playing for the San Antonio Spurs and against Lebron and the rest of them, that what he would really love to do is to bring a gold medal to France. And here he has his chance against NBA players, against, really, what has been a swan song for these great, great players on the United States team.
You not only have that, but you've got a double, as well. You've got the women...
SIMON: Yep.
BRYANT: ...Who have won 60 straight. The American women have won 60 straight games. They're going for their eighth straight gold, and tenth overall. And who are they playing in the gold medal game? They're playing France, as well. So as much as we talk about the great American game, it's been going international for a long time in both the men and the women's game. But boy, the idea of Wembanyama going up against Lebron and Steph Curry. And it's just terrific for - and Kevin Durant...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...And a rematch, as well - really good stuff.
SIMON: Closing ceremonies tomorrow - we've seen so many great moments during the past couple of weeks, photo finish at the men's 100m race, St. Lucia getting their first ever Olympic medal. What stays in your mind? What do you think will stay?
BRYANT: I think what I love most about the Olympics is the fact that it still is a wonderful, nostalgic moment for me, actually. And if you're of a certain generation, Scott Simon, you know that this was one of the big events every four years back before cable and before it was on 10 different networks and before they couldn't decide if it was going to go primetime or not. So I still love the stories. I love the sports that we only see every four years. I love the fact that when you have some of these speed sports, like, you know, like track and swimming and the rest of it, that you spend, you know, you spend four years of your life...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...For essentially trying to be 1/100th of a second better. I love the fact that I was watching something on TV because the games - the types of sports have shifted. Always loved the table tennis, but I'm watching one day, and I look, and I see this thing that looks like it's this combination of rugby and water polo.
SIMON: Yes. I couldn't figure that out, but yes.
BRYANT: Exactly. And it's handball. And these guys are smashing into each other on the ground. And I think - I thought handball was two guys hitting, like, a ball up against the wall. So really great. I love the sports. You got breakdancing this year...
SIMON: Yeah.
BRYANT: ...Which was sort of an interesting twist. But at the end of the day, I always look at it, and I say that how much these athletes give, we don't pay enough attention to them during the four years. But at the end, the looks on their faces, the amount of work that goes into this, the disappointment, knowing full well that you're not going to get another chance at this for four more years - it's just really, really great drama.
SIMON: Yeah, you know what gets to me - the look on the faces of their families.
BRYANT: Yeah, it's so true, Scott. I mean, when I covered the Winter Olympics in 2010, the number of parents talking about the sacrifice that goes into getting an Olympian.
SIMON: Ah, absolutely. Well, we enjoyed it. And allez la France...
BRYANT: (Laughter).
SIMON: ...Later today - well, beginning now. Howard Bryant of Meadowlark Media, thanks so much for being with us.
BRYANT: Thank you, Scott.
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