I think at least part of this return to boring brilliance/dominance is thanks to the change at head coach: Coach K seems to command better respect and have a better rapport with players than Larry Brown does (...at least historically).

I know this is a bit of a tangent, but I always thought Iverson has gotten a bum rap (heh) throughout his career. I know, I know, he's generally regarded as the first hip-hop basketball star, and brought with him all the attendent evils (Some legitimate - trouble with the law. Some ridiculous - baggy pants and baseball caps) but all I've ever really seen from him is a (relatively) short dude that played his heart out every night, and has a near pathological desire to win.

(As a Canuck who has spent more than my fair share of time rooting against "the states" in any and all athletic ventures, the 2004 Basketball team has been the only one I actively wanted to win...mostly because of Iverson...he's a bit of a dick, but man does he like to play ball)

This basketball team seems to actually enjoy being at the Olympics. They're going to the women's games, signing autographs, posing for pictures, supporting their fans among their fellow athletes, and just going out of their way to absorb the experience. I'll even grant you that maybe some of this is purely for U.S. consumption, but it's still good to see.

The 2004 team did behave like asses, on and off the court, but they were far from the worst that year. That honor would have to go to our men's track team (particularly the relay teams), most of whom not only acted like the worst stereotypes of ugly Americans, but most of whom were cheating. Michael Johnson was a conspicuous exception on both counts.

Um, yeah. Duh? I enjoy watching Barkley beating up ANYONE!

Seriously, though: hopefully this "triumph" will inspire their fellow Americans to think about approaching problems with a team mentality (War on Terror, energy crisis, etc.) and vote for the best team player (Obama) who will inspire other teammates to greatness instead of some "maverick" (who else?) who doesn't like to pass.

Wow, THAT was tortured...

Couldn't agree more. As his career winds down (and certainly once it's over), i think Iverson's stature will grow as one of the true freaks of the game -- kinda like Pistol Pete Maravich. Unfortunately, there will always be those who hold his rap sheet against him, or the fact that he never won a ring, but such naysayers usually reveal themselves to be pollyanic old-schoolers and quite often simpletons. Sorry, but no one is ever going to convice me that Derek Fisher or even a Tony Parker were better guards than A.I. because each has rings. Or for that matter that Mark Rypien or Doug Williams were better qbs than Dan Marino or Jim Kelly because the former duo each won a super bowl.

...I sat right behind the visitors bench at Conseco Fieldhouse a few years ago to watch the Pacers and 76ers, and after the game, AI was signing every autograph he could for kids that came down. All that in spite of the guy next to me screaming at Iverson the whole game.

Always root against the American millionaires from the NBA, because of their arrogance. The attitude this year is, "We're takin' back what's rightfully ours." You can see this arrogance, this sense of entitlement, in the way they play.

I've loathed the NBA and its rosters full of arrogant jerks for years. I also loathe the dumb NBA fans who worship these clowns as though they represented them, or their city.

They don't represent you, you poor deluded jerk. They represent themselves, and their bank accounts, and their mansions, and the 5 or 6 or 7 $100,000 cars they own.

This year's edition of the NBA All-Star Egocentric AssClowns includes a wife beater (Jason Kidd) and a rapist (Kobe Bryant). Who knows what other crimes have been committed by these adolescents? They have enough money to hire the most expensive lawyers, and everybody knows money can buy you justice in the good ol' USA.

Here's hoping Lithuania, or Spain, or somebody will beat these jerks.

....and players like Andrew Bogut (AUS), Yao Ming (CHI), Nowitzski (GER) and Gasol (ARG) are working-class paupers who regular Joes can identify with?

Reality check, GW: Each b-ball team that made it to the Olympics has two classes of players: very rich men (e.g who play in Euro leagues) and filthy rich men (NBA players).

Rippin' on the Redeem Team by itself for having entitled millionaires...when in reality all the other national teams have the same...is unfair and unjustified, to say the least.

As for the moral failings of Kobe, Kidd, etc., you have a point about celebrity and athlete worship in our country - but do YOU know for a fact that players on other teams have absolutely no skeletons in the closet? Well, do you?

The original Dream Team was created because the amateur US teams of yore found themselves battling against professional b-ballers on other country's teams.

Either everyone should be true amateurs - or the US gets to play on the same keel as everyone else. Take that up with the IOC. In the meantime, your case against the Redeem Team is purely emotional, not logical...sorry to say.

Whatevs.

Signed,

Dumb, deluded NBA fan

I was one of those happy to see America's bb team lose at the last couple Olympics and perhaps you're right that we were seeking to suffer for our national sins. If only a few Hail Marys and Our Fathers would have sufficed.

having watched Larry Brown up close for several years, I think the problem with him coaching the Olympics is that while he's excellent at x's and o's - he's abysmal at the "human resources" aspect of his job -a likely reason for his career-long "mobility"

Brown's weakness in that area was probably magnified in a situation where the team is put together in a relatively short period of time -

as King notes, Coach K seems to be able to command respect and build a rapport that Brown couldn't dream of