Normally I'd write about the unbelievable PGA Championship final round.  But Sergio Garcia lost a tournament he should have won.  I'm sure you can just get an article from last year or the year before or the year before that . . . Instead, here are some quick notes on the XXIX Olympics before we get into USA Basketball:

1.  You know it's the Olympics when I'm watching things like Women's 10m Air Rifle competition and synchronized diving.

2.  The most fun game to play is "Guess how old the female Chinese gymnast is."

3.  President Bush needs to not speak without a teleprompter.  Forget that, he just needs to not speak and stick to the smirk and lip licking.  I think he said "constructive" about 45 times.  However, it was funny that he yelled at Putin during the opening ceremonies for attacking Georgia (not the U.S. state for those who stay uninformed.  Lil' Jon is safe.  Don't worry).  I mean seriously, going into sovereign land to start a war, who would do that?

4.  One of the best parts of the Olympics is being able to watch sports sans Brett Favre updates.

5.  Someone on the USA Women's gymnastics team is probably falling down right now as I type.

6.  After Argentina scored the go-ahead goal against Australia in the 80th minute in Mens soccer, they flashed to the Argentinean fans going nuts, only the fans weren't Argentinean.  They were a bunch of Chinese fans in Argentinean garb, face paint, etc. cheering on the Argentines.  For some reason I thought that was pretty cool.

7.  I love the NBA on NBC music during the basketball games. 

8.  I tried the individual medley in my pool yesterday.  I'm still sore.  Golf today could be interesting.  At least I'll have an excuse.

9.  I'm not sure which was better, watching an ecstatic Men's 4x100m swimming team after that amazing comeback to win the gold, or watching the stunned "Frenchies" as Lezac referred to them.  Nothing better than some disappointed trash-talking French athletes.  So much for "smashing the Americans" I guess.  Maybe Shaq can make a rap up about them.  Sorry French fans, well, to appease you, there's always watching this again:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVOLH21DB_w

10.  I love the Olympics.

On to basketball . . .

So, I'm changing my mind.  First off, no way Argentina is doing anything positive without a healthy Manu.  Spain looked solid and figures to be the only legitimate threat.  With that being said, if the U.S. plays like we did in '04, we could lose to Guam.  But, after watching the game against China, I'm no longer worried.  We're not losing a game. 

The first thing I thought about was how much this looked like a college team, and I mean that as a compliment.  Coach K has done an unbelievable job.  The team is moving the ball instead of going 1 on 1, which was no short order with all of the egos on this squad, and all of the guys who basically play the same 2/3 swingman role.  Anyone who thinks that Coach K couldn't coach these NBA guys just needed to watch the USA Basketball team play their first game to know how wrong that thought was. 

Here's why it was great to have a college coach for the international games.  The U.S. employed the following:

1.  Zone offense.  How the '04 team played 5 men out and never flashed the high post was beyond me.  It was torture to watch.  Now?  Penetrate and kick.  High-low game.  Ball movement.  It was great.  However, going back to what I said earlier, this is why I wonder about the lack of pure shooters on the team.  Other countries will be playing a lot of zone without a defensive 3-second rule.  Why wouldn't we have more shooters out there to just hang behind the short 3-point line?

2.  1-2-2 and 2-2-1 full court presses.  Here's an idea.  You have the most athletic team in the games by far.  Use that to your advantage.  Make it tough for the other team to cross halfcourt.  I loved Chris Bosh at the top of the 1-2-2.  You know the guys on the team have to love creating turnovers that lead to dunks.  More than that though, if you've ever played or coached a zone press, it just breeds teamwork.  It's five players working as one in an uptempo, organized chaotic system.  If you've ever played or coached against a good zone press, nothing rips the heart out of a team more than not being able to cross halfcourt. 

3.  Transition game.  Finding the 1 early is always a key to good transition.  Chris Paul and Jason Kidd are the perfect point guards to lead us to at least 15 easy points a game.  The U.S. moved the ball up the court before China even knew who got the rebound.  Expect more of the same in coming games. 

The true test will come against Spain.  You saw against China that the U.S. has trouble defending the 3-point line.  But again, I think this is where Coach K is the right man for the job.  NBA coaches are used to thinking about matchups.  College coaches are used to thinking about schemes and adjustments that revolve around X's and O's.  Expect the U.S. to tighten up its long distance D.  Also, don't expect too much bench time for Kobe when it matters.  Outside of Tayshaun Prince, he's the only guy who can lock down another team's best player.  I think Spain will have a tough time scoring on the perimeter and Chris Paul should be able to stick Jose Calderon, meaning that Spain will likely have to rely much more on Pau Gasol than they have thus far.  Speaking as a Laker fan, I'll take my chances with Dwight Howard and Carlos Boozer fouling the crap out of Gasol to the point where he won't come within 15 feet of the basket. 

The U.S. team is capable of going on a 10-0 run out of nowhere and it doesn't look like we'll be relying on 1 on 1 play or getting to the free throw line this year.  Imagine if someone on the team had hit open jumpers last game.  Maybe I'm back on the Kobe bandwagon, but I just don't see this team losing if they keep listening to Coach K.  Lithuania looked pretty solid in their opener against Argentina, but the U.S. should be up on them faster than you can say Sarunas Jasikevicius.  I had a lot of fun watching the U.S. team play, which is something that I haven't said in years.  It's fun to watch the best players in the world play a good brand of team basketball.  Does France have a team in these games?  I'd really love to see LeBron dunk on one of them, though I'd settle for a Kobe or Dwight Howard facial as well.

Final note:  Good luck to friend and fellow Brentwood alum, Jason Rogers tonight.  Jason will be competing in the Mens Saber competition for the U.S.  That's fencing for those who didn't want to look up what Saber was.  This is his second Olympics and I can tell you he's pretty excited for another crack at the rest of the world.