RIO DE JANEIRO -- Carmelo Anthony was the last one to take the practice floor Friday, joining his U.S. teammates after wrapping up interviews where he was asked about everything from the opening ceremony to his diet.He was in heavy demand.With two Olympic gold medals and a chance to be the first mens player to win three, Anthony has become the unlikely face of USA Basketball, a rise that couldnt have been imagined 12 years ago.This star-studded American squad, missing some big names but still ferocious, needed someone to show the way. And like Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James before him, Anthony has emerged as the ring leader inside the five rings.Carmelo is the veteran and a super-likable guy, said Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan. We got 12 Alphas in here. But hes the leader of this team and we follow him.Probably to the top tier on the medal platform.The Americans journey to a probable gold begins Saturday against China, a team the U.S. drubbed by 49 and 50 points in two recent exhibitions. The matchup will likely dissolve into another lengthy layup drill, but it will give Brazils passionate hoop fans inside Barra Carioca Arena the chance to snap selfies and scream for every thunderous dunk and 3-pointer by players theyve only seen on TV.Anthony, though, has warned his teammates not to take any opponent lightly. Its a lesson he learned in his first Olympics at Athens in 2004, when the U.S. was stunned by Puerto Rico in the opener and then fell to Lithuania and Argentina while stumbling to a bronze -- and worldwide embarrassment.Hes very open about what happened there, forward Draymond Green said, and hes very open about how that pushed them into wanting to get back to the top.While close friends James and Chris Paul skipped Rio and a chance at winning their third golds, Anthony, the New York Knicks All-Star often criticized for not winning more and not making his teammates better, embraced the chance to take a leading role in this summer blockbuster.This is an Anthony those outside his inner circle have rarely seen, a player unafraid to raise his voice on and off the floor, one who demands with compassion. Following the recent police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota and the ambush on officers in Dallas, Anthony was moved to take social action.During the pre-Olympic tour, he organized a community event in Los Angeles to help curb gun violence, and its possible he and his U.S. teammates could use these games to promote causes to a global audience.The 32-year-old Anthony said he hasnt changed, but his actions say otherwise. Bryant and James may have been more extroverted as Olympians, but Anthony says hes always been willing to express his opinion, provide advice or steer a straying teammate back on track.Hes just doing it more.Even with those guys around, Im still the same and so my role hasnt changed since 2007 when we first started creating what we wanted to create, said Anthony, who along with Kevin Durant are the only holdovers from 2012. Even though guys lead in their own way, that Olympic experience and the type of player that I am and the type of person that I am, its been easier and its been more genuine.Ive always been a person who has embraced that role and its just become more visible now to people. If youre around us or at our practices, they know that this is who I am and this is not anything new.Its nothing Jim Boeheim hasnt seen before. He coached Anthony for one year at Syracuse and the U.S. assistant sees his elevated status as an extension of his personality.Hes the most vocal, Boeheim said. They all look at him as the senior guy and this team has a lot of guys that qualify as leaders because they all play hard, they all do the right things. Thats what leadership does, anyway.Although U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski has not officially named a captain, Anthony is the one he meets with to discuss scheduling practices, team meetings and anything else that might pop up.Krzyzewski, who served as an U.S. Army Captain, believes leadership is earned.First of all, a leader has to lead by example, he said. A leader always has to have courage and whatever the leader says, he has to back up. And by doing that hes trustworthy. Those things help a really good player become better because that means you have to be `on all the time.Ive always said that if your best player is a leader hell be a better best player.And, in Anthonys case, a third-time gold medalist. Cheap Sneakers Near Me . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. 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After Lewis Hamilton split opinion at the final race of the season by backing title rival Nico Rosberg into slower cars, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has revealed he would have done the same if a championship was on the line.In a last gasp effort to swing the title battle back in his favour, Hamilton attempted to back teammate Rosberg into the chasing pack during the closing stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. If Rosberg had dropped from second to fourth, Hamilton would have won the championship, but the German was able to resist an attack from Sebastian Vettel and Verstappen behind to secure the necessary points to be crowned champion.I think Lewis was trying to back us up, and I probably would have done the same, Verstappen said after the race. You have to try these things to win a championship.Verstappen recovered from a first corner spin to finish fourth on an alternative one-stop strategy in Abu Dhabi. After dropping to last at the start of the race, the Red Bull driver said he was happy to come away with a strong points finish.I am very pleased with my result and how that race went. After being last after turn 1, having tto fight my way back and doing it all on a one-stop was the best we could do and I am happy we pulled it off.ddddddddddddI knew I was going to come under attack from the two-stop guys as they obviously had more life left in the tyres, I dont think I could have held Seb off at the end. When you still finish in front of guys who did an extra stop you have to be pleased with the result, especially as we also finished so close to P1.Verstappen was in the running for fourth place in the standings over the weekend, but had to settle for fifth after finishing behind Vettel. Having driven the first four races of the season in a Toro Rosso, Verstappen said he was pleased with his championship position.It is very nice to finish the season fifth in the championship and to have had some really good results along the way. After yesterday I wasnt too happy, so now we finish it on a high. It has been a special season for me this year and I am really excited to get next year underway and hopefully bring more success. ' ' '