Redemption Complete: U.S. Wins Gold

By John Schuhmann

BEIJING, August 24, 2008 -- Three years of commitment had come down to 40 minutes of basketball.
And on Sunday, the U.S. Men's Senior National Team needed all 40.

But in the end, the commitment, the sacrifice and the hard work paid off, and the Road to Redemption reached its golden destination.

In one of the best gold medal games ever played, the U.S. held off a spirited Spain squad 118-107 at the Wukesong Culture and Sports Center to reclaim Olympic gold and their spot atop the basketball world.

From the start, Spain made it clear that they weren't at their best in their 37-point, pool play loss to the U.S. last week. On Sunday, they went toe to toe with the U.S., trailing by as many as 14 midway through the second quarter, but fighting back and using a 7-0 run at the start of the fourth to close to within two.

"Both teams never gave up the entire game," Tayshaun Prince said.

Redemption Complete: U.S. Wins Gold....

US women's basketball wins fourth straight gold

By DOUG FEINBERG

BEIJING (AP) — Lisa Leslie and the U.S. women's basketball team were once again too good for Australia at the Olympics.

Leslie capped off her illustrious Olympic career with a fourth straight gold medal scoring 14 points in a 92-65 victory against Australia on Saturday night. She joined former teammate Teresa Edwards as the only basketball players ever to win four gold medals.

"It's a blessing for me to be out on this floor, now participating in my fourth Olympics and walking away with a fourth gold medal," Leslie said.

US women's basketball wins fourth straight gold....

Olympics '08: U.S. Men Shooting for Gold

The U.S. men's olympic basketball team heads for a gold medal matchup with Spain, after defeating Argentina 101-81 in the semifinal game. All that's left for the U.S. players is a gold medal.

Olympics '08: Men Roar Past Australia

The U.S. men's olympic basketball team claims another victim on the court. This time, Australia proves to be no match for the Americans in the quarterfinals of the medal round, falling 116-85. The U.S. team now advances to the semifinals.

Team USA gets a taste of redemption against Greece

By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com

BEIJING -- Here is what this night of redemption looked like:

• Cold stares deep into the eyes of their opponents, even during warm-ups when the Greeks were running their layup line.

• A hustling Dwyane Wade lunging to save the ball from going out of bounds, then flinging it toward the rim, where Kobe Bryant came flying through the air to flush it through.

• A brand of defense that was all about smarts, quick hands, minimal risk-taking and emphatic shot-blocking.

• Athleticism triumphing over size and physicality, especially on the offensive boards, where the Americans' determination to get their fingers 12 feet up in the air allowed them to keep possessions alive.

This is what it sounded like afterward, coming from the mouth of one of the players who participated in that Greek tragedy two summers ago in Japan and had been waiting over 23 long, long months to exact some revenge:

"It meant a lot to us. We wanted to keep the pressure on them, kind of redeem ourselves," Chris Bosh said. "This was a payback game for us, and we knew people were wondering how we were going to respond."

Team USA gets a taste of redemption against Greece....

US beats China 101-70 in Olympic opener

By BRIAN MAHONEY

BEIJING (AP) — This was the stuff a Dream Team is made of. Acrobatic moves, reverse slams and tomahawk dunks. Who needs outside shooting? Just toss it up and throw it down.

The United States opened its campaign for Olympic basketball redemption Sunday with a 101-70 rout of host China that had even the home crowd oohing and aahing.

Dwyane Wade lobbed one up to LeBron James on a fastbreak, James caught it in midair with one hand and in one motion, slammed it home.

Kobe Bryant drove to the basket a couple of times for tomahawk dunks, sending the crowd into a frenzy each time.

And not to be outdone, Wade had a behind-the-head, back-to-the-basket two-handed dunk of his own.

This wasn't a game, this was a spectacle.

And the fans, including President Bush, got what they came to see.

US beats China 101-70 in Olympic opener....

Source: LeBron would consider European offer of $50M a year or more

By Chris Broussard
ESPN The Magazine

Jay-Z and the New Jersey Nets? Mike D'Antoni and the New York Knicks?

Heck, the Cleveland Cavaliers' strongest competition for LeBron James' long-term services could be the deep-pocketed new kid on the block -- Europe.

A person close to James said Tuesday that the Cavaliers' superstar would strongly consider playing overseas if he was offered a salary of "around $50 million a year."

James' current contract expires after the 2010-2011 season, but he can opt out after the 2009-2010 season, and while several NBA teams are working to create salary cap space for his impending free agency, none could offer a contract beginning at even $20 million a year.

The Russian team CSKA Moscow and the Greek team Olympiacos, which recently gave Josh Childress a contract approaching $30 million over three years, have already contacted James, according to the person close to him. The person added, however, that no monetary or contractual discussions have taken place.

While $50 million a year seems outlandish, it is within the realm of possibility, considering the reported $250 million contract David Beckham received two years ago to join Major League Soccer, the $33 million Michael Jordan was paid by the Chicago Bulls for the 1997-98 season, the strength of the euro in comparison to the dollar, and the fact that European clubs are not bound by a salary cap.

Source: LeBron would consider European offer of $50M a year or more....