Oh Wow - Team USA Loses by 18
The U.S. Men's Olympic Basketball Team lost - hard - to the Italians in an exhibition game. The Italian team won 95-78. The good news is that this game is just an exhibition, but if our boys are losing by nearly 20 points against the Italians, how are they going to fare against teams with more experienced rosters? Kind of scary.
While the fans like having the US All Stars at the Olympics, I wonder if the US would fare better if it sent just a mid-pack NBA team, like the Sonics or Bucks. Would a team that's played 82+ games together in the past season be able to outperform an All Star team with 12 players who haven't had time to gel? Also, would the US be in this predicament if some of the guys who dropped out would have played (I'm looking in your general direction, Shaq and Kobe)?
In any event, it's good to see that international competition has improved, but it's a bit embarassing to see our boys get manhandled when the US is supposed to have the best ballers in the world. Meh.