It’s a case of so far, so good for the USA Olympic Basketball team as they powered their way through their first six games of competition by an average margin of victory of 42 points a game.
Team USA’s defensive intensity has been remarkable and they have displayed wonderful unselfishness on the offensive end. The Americans have set the bar at a level of excellence that nobody else in the world can touch. They have great size, speed, shooters, passers and they love to play with each other. It has been fun watching this group of professional all-stars perform on the big stage.
Oh yeah, I happen to be talking about the USA Women’s basketball team, which has been one of the most impressive groups at the Olympic Games. With a roster full of WNBA stars such as Lisa Leslie, Candace Parker, Diana Taurasi, Tamika Catchings, Tina Thompson, the Americans have been clubbing the opposition without mercy. They will face Russia in the semifinals today with a possible showdown with Australia looming in the gold-medal game on Saturday.
The team who many of you thought I was writing about isn’t doing too bad either. The USA men’s basketball team is displaying the same type of defensive intensity and teamwork that the women have been showing and the results have been devastating. The men’s basketball competition has become a nightly run of “Showtime in Beijing” to the tune of one 30-point victory after another. Barring an upset against Australia in last night’s quarterfinals, the “Redeem Team” appears well on its way to bringing the gold medal back home.
While things seem to be under control at the basketball venue, we must now turn our attention to fixing what’s wrong with USA sprinting in track as well as the dreadful performance of our boxing team. On the track, our sprinters have been choking in the dust of the brilliant Jamicans, who dominated the men’s and women’s 100-meter dash. After Usain “Show” Bolt’s incomprehensible world-record 9.69-second clocking in the men’s 100 (even after shutting down and clowning the last 15 meters), the group of Shelly Ann-Fraser, Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson swept the top three positions for the women. This does not bode well for this weekend’s 4×100-meter relays, where the Jamaicans will again be heavy favorites. For the United States to win, the must have perfect relay passes and hope the Jamaicans are shaky with the sticks.
As for Bolt, it was beyond belief to see how easily he ran that 9.69, but it was still a big let-down for me and other hard-core track fans to see him get his clown on in the final 20 meters of that race when he could have run a 9.5 something, which would have been on the short list of most remarkable feats in sports history. Period. Oh well, I guess that’s part of being 21 years old without a care in the world and being able to run faster than anybody, ever.
I can remember back in 1976 when the USA Boxing Team was the stars of the Olympics with five golds, one silver and one bronze medal. It produced a superstar in Sugar Ray Leonard and three future heavyweight champions in St. Louisans Michael and Leon Spinks and John Tate. Unfortunately, things aren’t going so well for USA Boxing these days. Of the nine boxers that we took to Beijing, only one will earn a medal, which is heavyweight Diontay Wilder, a relative newcomer who was playing basketball just two years ago. It’s really disappointing to see our boxing team sink to such depths in the Olympics.
Must-see TV
Must-see television in Olympic track will be the 400-meter showdown between Americans Jeremy Wariner and LeShawn Merritt. A USA sweep in this event will go along well with the sweep of the 400-meter hurdles, thanks to the trio of Angelo Taylor, Kerron Clement and Bershawn “Batman” Taylor.
Don’t pass on Glass
One of my favorite Olympic athletes to watch is U.S. indoor volleyball player Kim Glass.
Rifle Ricky
The next international basketball star on the horizon is 17-year old Spanish phenom Ricky Rubio, who is being compared to the late-great Pistol Pete Maravich. The young man has been playing pro ball in Spain since he was 14 years old.
Pull
Unfortunately, things aren’t going so well for USA Boxing these days.