One man, living in Iran sharing the weird stuff he sees and hears...

Let’s face it, the squads that the US sends out to international competitions these days don’t resemble the Dream Teams of the 90’s, but any time Iran and the US compete in big global tournaments in any sport, its worth paying attention.

Expect the Iranians to be very gracious and friendly while the Americans shrug at the cool gifts their opponents give them.

Also, look out for Iran’s big man, Hamed Haddadi, who plays for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and is a hell of nice guy. I had a chance to interview him in his Tehran apartment a few months back, and I’m hopeful he hangs around the league for a while, as he’d be a great ambassador for his people in the US.

When I asked Haddadi, who earns over $1.5 million per season playing for the Grizzlies, about the impact playing in the NBA has had on his life in Iran, he told me “no one here even knows what the NBA is.”

Here’s to hoping his tenure there changes that.