GREECE, a BASKETBALL powerhouse. "They were runners-up in the 2006 FIBA World Championship and they have won the European Championship twice, in 1987 and 2005. They are currently placed fourth in the FIBA World Rankings." - Wikipedia. I show you a cool MAXICARD from my friend Spyros (GREECE), showing the team (it's all Greek to me, although I see a black dude in the photo of the stamp on the right), and their autograph facsimiles

"In the 2006 FIBA World Championship, Greece were glazed to win a medal that had closely missed in their last two participations in the tournament and reached once more the semi-finals with a record of seven consecutive wins, some of them impressive. In the semi-finals, Greece defeated the popular odds-on United States in a 101–95 upset, rallying back from twelve points down, and qualified for the final, but they proved to be exhausted from their dramatic game with the Americans and lost 70–47 to Spain, ending up with the silver medal. Despite the loss the players were greeted enthusiastically by celebrating fans on their return to Greece, due to their first medal in a World Championship and their glorious win over the United States."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece_national_basketball_team

Team spirit and better individuals performance have prevailed again against reputation.

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and all the other NBA stars from Team USA have seen, once again, that WHITE MEN CAN JUMP. 

And WIN.

Hellenic Republic Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Elliniki Dimokratia
Flag National emblem
Motto: Eleftheria i Thanatos, (Greek: "Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος", "Freedom or Death") (traditional)
Anthem: "Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν Ýmnos is tin Eleftherían Hymn to Liberty1"
Location of  Greece  (dark green) – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		Athens 37°58′N 23°43′E
Official language(s)		Greek
Ethnic groups		94% Greek, 4% Albanian, 2% others[1][2][3][4]
Demonym		Greek (Officially: Hellenic)
Government		Unitary parliamentary republic
-	President	Karolos Papoulias
-	Prime Minister	Lucas Papademos
Legislature		Parliament
Independence from the Ottoman Empire
-	Declared	1 January 1822, at theFirst National Assembly
-	Recognized	3 February 1830, in theLondon Protocol
-	Current constitution	11 June 1975, Third Hellenic Republic

"Modern Greece traces its roots to the civilization of ancient Greece, generally considered the cradle of Western civilization. As such, it is the birthplace of democracy,^[11] Western philosophy,^[12] the Olympic Games, Western literature and historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, Geography,^[13] Biology,^[14] university education, coinage, and Western drama,^[15] including both tragedy and comedy. This legacy is partly reflected in the seventeen UNESCO World Heritage Sites located in Greece, ranking Greece7th in Europe and 13th in the world. The modern Greek state was established in 1830, following the Greek War of Independence.

A developed country with an advanced,^[16][17] high-income economy^[18] and very high standards of living,^[19][20][21] Greece has been a member of what is now the European Unionsince 1981 and the eurozone since 2001,^[22] NATO since 1952,^[23] and the European Space Agency since 2005.^[24] It is also a founding member of the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,^[25] and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

Athens is the capital and the largest city in the country (its urban area also including Piraeus)."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece

==========

Happy Blue Monday! (meme)

Please visit:  http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/