USA 118, Spain 107, and all is right with the world

Second verse, same as the first.  Spain got its rematch with Team USA, and the game was a lot closer than I wanted it to be, but in the end Kobe, LeBron the rest pulled away to win by 118-107.

The first quarter looked more like a track meet, with the USA up 38-31.  With Kobe and LeBron in foul trouble, USA wasn't playing defense, but Wade came off the bench with a monster game, scoring 21 points in the first half, as USA led 69-61.

But the Americans could never pull away.  This was the first time their lack of size hurt them, as Pau Gasol scored about a million points, mostly on dunks and layups.  They had to keep Dwight Howard in the game for his defense, and his poor foul shooting kept things close.  How close?  With 8:13 left in the game, Team USA was clinging to a 2-point lead.

But then Kobe took over, making one big play after another to keep Spain at bay.  With 3:06 left, he hit a three, and was fouled to complete a 4-point play.  With USA ahead by 8, he put his finger to his lips to shush the crowd.  The game was finally decided when Chris Paul was fouled, and Spain committed a technical foul.  It didn't matter that Paul hasn't missed a free throw since he was 12 years old.  With the Olympic gold medal on the line, Kobe was going to take those two free throws, and Spain was done.

Throughout the tournament, it was TEAM USA that won every game, not a collection of stars.  Coach K went with an 8 or 9 man rotation that left stars like Carlos Boozer stuck on the bench.  All-Stars accepted being role players for the honor of representing their country, and that was the difference between this team and the one that played in Athens.  The 2008 version is a championship team, without the aloofness, arrogance, and poor sportsmanship of its predecessor.

There were a few more track and field events.  The Jamaican mens 4 x 100 relay team was heavily favored, especially since most of its competition forgot how to pass a baton, and didn't make it out of the prelims.  With Bolt and Powell running the last two legs, they demolished the world record.  Jamaica's women's relay team was also favored, but they couldn't figure out how to pass a baton, either.  In fact, they botched their baton pass so badly that they interfered with Great Britain, and knocked their team out of the competition too.  Lane?  What lane?  Maybe those track stars think all of those white lines are painted there just for decoration.

And now, since the basketball game kept me up half the night, I need some sleep.