BenMVP.com: Redeem Team Wins Gold, USA Basketball Back On Top

USA Basketball is finally back on top of the basketball world again. After an 8-year gold absence in international play, the "Redeem Team" defeated Spain 118-107 to win the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. The game was shockingly close considering that USA blew out the Spaniards by 37 points a week earlier in pool play.

I have to admit, however, that I really didn't follow the Olympics much this time around. I think I'd have to go back all the way to the '88 Olympics in Seoul to find an Olympics that I watched less. And that's because I was 4 years old at the time and didn't know what the Olympics were. I did see most of Michael Phelps' historic 8 gold medal run (although apparently he may be a douche) and Usain Bolt's decimation of the track & field races, earning him 3 gold medals.

So paying homage to Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy, I decided to do a running diary of the gold medal game between The Redeem Team and Spain. The running diary was an interesting experience since I had to watch the game with no TiVo because I was visiting home in Houston. I'm so used to being able to pause and rewind live TV. And since I was home in Houston, the game started at 1:30AM Sunday morning. Ouch. Although that is better than the 5AM PST games during pool play. However, since I never changed my laptop time, all the times below are in pacific. Here we go...

11:15PM: It's 15 minutes before the start of the game and their showing table tennis on replay? I thought they'd at least do some pre-game analysis or something? It's the gold medal game! Where's the killer NBA on NBC Bob Costas intro? But these two Chinese ping pong players are killing though. Reminds me of those scenes from Forrest Gump.

11:22: Finally they change over to basketball. Mike Breen and Doug Collins are our announcers. They are cool, but I kind of wish we had Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson instead of Doug Collins. Those dudes provide all sorts of comedic relief. They made the NBA Finals almost as good as they used to be on NBC.

11:23: Doug Collins just mentioned that Team USA beat Spain by 37 points last week in pool play. They scored 26 points off of 28 TOs, had a 26-0 fast break point margin and 60 points in the paint. I would call that shellacking.

11:27: Collins also mentions that the Redeem Team has won by average of 30 points. That's definitely shades of the '92 Dream Team. I was kind of worried how things would play out this time around after the last couple of disappointing finishes, especially since there was so much pressure on the team to win gold. That anxiety definitely increased when I read a blog post from US long distance runner Kara Goucher who mentioned that someone on Team USA tried to get at her. She wouldn't say who, but my money's on either Kobe, Kidd or D-Wade (he does like 'em grown).

Was Craig Sager banned from wearing his ugly blazers in the Olympics?

11:28: Oh my goodness, I cannot believe my eyes! Craig Sager is not wearing one of his hideous blazers?!?! I wonder if Craig tried to put on one of his "unique" blazers and the Chinese Olympic Committee saw him and made him put on the standard Men's Olympic Basketball polo shirt. Or maybe it was NBC who put it in his contract that in order to be a sideline reporter at the Beijing Olympics, he could not look like a complete fool. More than just basketball fans would be watching the game, so image is important. Maybe TNT will take some notes from NBC.

11:29: Finally the game tips off! LeBron starts the game off right with a 3-pointer. But Pau Gasol comes right back with a bucket plus the foul off a sweet pick and roll with Ricky Rubio (who starting because of Jose Calderon's groin injury).

11:31: Juan-Carlos Navarro just threw a sick no-look bounce pass on the fast break for an easy Spain dunk.

11:32: Shux. LeBron picks up to quick fouls and Coach K leaves him in. That's pretty gutsy considering there are only 5 fouls allowed in 40 minutes of international basketball. If he picks up another one, he's basically out for the half.

11:35: Shortly after Carmelo Anthony knocks down a 3 (caught the ball at his ankles), Kobe fouls Navarro on a deep 3-point shot. What was Kobe thinking? That's also his 2nd foul and both he and LeBron sit. I think Coach K would have left LeBron in had Kobe not committed his second foul. I think he just wanted to sit Kobe, but it'd look bad if he sat Kobe down with two fouls, but left in LeBron. Coach K's definitely done a good job working with all the egos.

11:36: Ricky Rubio completely abuses Jason Kidd with a nice behind the back move. Shocker. Coach K, please put Chris Paul in the game! Kidd's only on the team because he got grandfathered in, and when the team was formed, CP3 and Deron Williams weren't beasts yet.

11:38: Yes! Kidd gets benched after struggling to get the ball upcourt against Rubio's (strong?) defense. Oh and can somebody please tell Doug Collins how to pronounce Carlos Jimenez's name?? Now Collins, I know there aren't too many Latin players in the league so you're not used to pronouncing their names, but it's He-MEN-ez, not HE-men-ez. I wouldn't be surprised if Collins had initially pronounced it as JEE-men-ez...

11:40: The game is starting to get pretty sloppy with a lot of back and forth and 1-on-1 play. CP3 just scored a 3-point play after a full court inbounds pass off of a made free throw. I think Team USA's going to have to play more controlled or this game's going to stay painfully close.

11:42: Pau Gasol just had about 80 tips at the basket instead of just being a beast and grabbing & dunking the ball. Looks like nothing has changed. He might as well put back on his purple and gold.

11:44: Shot-clock violation from the Spanish team. I can't say that Team USA played great defense however. It was filled with a lot of gambling and over-playing. Their athleticism just made up for their lack of team defense. The Spanish team will pick them apart if they keep this up.

11:48: Marc Gasol, Pau's "little" brother is in the game. This is my first time seeing him. The Memphis Grizzlies must love drafting ugly dudes. I thought Pau was ugly, but his brother Marc just one-upped him. I don't even wanna know what their parents look like. But at least Marc is a beast in the post. He just had this nice drop-step spin move lay-up on Chris Bosh.

11:50: Wow, if Dwayne Wade is hitting 3-pointers then you know things are going good. He almost got another bucket after an open court steal, but lost it going to the basket trying to beat the 1st quarter game clock. USA: 38, Spain 31. A little too close for comfort if you ask me.

11:52: Craig Sager is interviewing Lisa Leslie. She just won her 4th Olympic gold medal! Wow! She's gotta be super old now. That's 16 years! And she's 32-0 in Olympic play. She definitely deserves props for that.

11:53: Back to the action, Marc Gasol completely beasts Dwight Howard with an offensive elbow. It may have been a foul, but at least it was a big man move. You'd never see Pau-Pau doing that.

11:55: Just had a crazy sequence of events. Pau Gasol goes up for a put-back (lay-up of course) and Dwight Howard completely grabs both of Gasol's shoulders and pulls him to the grown, earning an unsportsmanlike conduct (flagrant) foul. Shortly thereafter Kobe has a breakaway fast-break dunk and someone on the Spanish bench throws a towel onto the court. In the NBA that's borderline ejection, and all the Spanish bench gets is a warning? Wow!

12:02AM: Is Dwight Howard playing basketball or wrestling? He just straight karate chopped Jimenez. Howard may be a beast but he's going to have to learn to control his fouling in the league or he won't play enough minutes to be the impact player that we all hope he can be.

Team USA celebrating after a bucket by Kobe

12:06: Team USA just went on a nice little run. LeBron first had a nice little and-1 on a fast break although he should have thrown an alley-oop to either Kobe or D-Wade. Kinda selfish. D-Wade had another steal and breakaway lay-up. He then surprises everyone with an off-the-dribble pull up 3-pointer. He's scored 18 points in only 8 minutes. LeBron caps off the run with a 3-pointer of his own. Team USA is shooting 7-10 from the 3-point line right now. While, I'm happy that they're knocking down their shots, they still aren't a good shooting team. I don't want them to fall in love with the 3 and keep shooting them when they inevitably go cold.

12:10: Rudy Fernandez just hit back-to-back 3's. I kinda like his game. The Trailblazers are about to be scary in 2-3 years with their slew of young talent.

12:12: The 1st half is winding down and the Redeem Team's defensive is looking very porous right now. They are letting Fernandez and Navarro pick them apart off the dribble. If Spain decides to go zone for any extended period of time, Team USA could be in trouble. Doug Collins says the reason for the poor D is because LeBron is on the bench in foul trouble and he's the defensive communicator. Or maybe this band of superstars isn't used to playing defense.

12:16: At the end of the half, USA only leads by 8, 69-61. Dwayne Wade does have 21 points in 13 minutes, but it's the defense I'm worried about. Both teams just scored 130 points in 20 minutes. That's 6.5 points/min! Ridiculous.

12:30: Before the 3rd quarter resumes, we learn that LeBron James and other teammates are winning the gold in part for Doug Collins and the rest of the 1972 Olympic team that got shafted for the gold in Munich. I had never heard of the controversy until now. It was blatant cheating. But hey, if the Redeem Team doesn't play some defense, they too might be receiving the silver.

12:35: The second half has not begun well for Team USA. They started off with turnovers on their first two possessions, followed by a sick left-handed hook shot from Pau Gasol. In the words of Mike Breen, "And it is now a 4 point game."

12:38: Kidd just got chopped up by Navarro who hit a 12-ft runner and Carmelo leaves the game with an injured right hand. Great, our best international player is hurt on the bench.

12:42: No box out for Team USA and Jimenez scores an easy offensive put-back. I'm starting to get kinda uneasy about this game. 77-73 USA.

12:44: The Redeem Team is gambling like crazy on defense. It looks like they are all trying to get every block and every steal possible. If Spain plays even somewhat under composure they'll definitely exploit us.

12:47: Random question. Why do some of the players on the Spanish National Team have their first names on the back of their jerseys while others have their last names? It's not like Rudy Fernandez just goes by "Rudy."

Deron Williams was the victim of the Pau Gasol alley-oop

12:50: Oh shux! Alley-oop to Pau Gasol from Ricky Rubio! 88-80 USA.

12:51: Carmelo stretches the lead back to double digits with a 3-point shot. I'm really glad he's back in the game.

12:52: Wow! Juan-Carlos Navarro is looking like a freakin' all-star out there. He just shot a running left-hand lay-up! Swish!

12:53: Oh snap! The NBA on NBC theme song! It's been a minute since I last heard that. All we need is a Miller Moment in the 4th quarter and it might as well be the mid-90s all over again! But hearing that song definitely made the 3rd quarter easier to swallow. We only outscored Spain 22-21 in that quarter. USA: 91, Spain: 82.

12:57: After a number of blown wide-open layups from Team USA and a tip-in by Pau Gasol, Fernandez throws a CP3-esque alley-oop to Pau Gasol. "And it's now a 2-point game!" 91-89 USA.

1:00 Deron Williams just hit a big 3 after a jumper from Kobe and a Fernandez miss. 96-89 USA.

1:01 Dwight Howard follows up with a monster dunk! 7-0 run by Team USA!

1:02 Team USA is now struggling to get a defensive rebound. Fernandez shoots one wide open 3-pointer and misses, but after an offensive rebound by Felipe Reyes, gets another attempt and sinks it. Kobe answers back though with a big 3-pointer in the corner. 101-92 USA with 6:02 remaining.

Fernandez posterizes Howard

1:03 Oh my!!! The Redeem Team once again cannot grab a defensive rebound. Rudy Fernandez just caught the ball at the top of the key and Kobe gambled for a steal giving Fernandez a wide open path to the basket. What happened next wasn't Dwight Howard's fault at all. He just tried to help and ended up on a Rudy Fernandez poster. I bet SportsCenter did the freeze frame thing and signed Fernandez's autograph on it. Sorry Superman.

1:08: Ok, I give up on trying to figure out how these referees are attempting to call this game. Pau Gasol straight ran over Chris Bosh at the free throw line extended, caught the ball, and hit the 16-footer. Why is this game so close? 104-99 USA with 3:34 remaining.

1:09: Kobe Bryant, a.k.a. "Dobermamba," just hit a monster 3-point shot and the foul! Rudy Fernandez just fouled out of the game. Thank goodness. It's apparent that Kobe will not let us lose. This is when having someone like Kobe on the squad is critical. For the first 3 quarters he's been frustrating me with his 1-on-1 play which doesn't work in international play, but now's when we need him. After the free throw the score is 108-99.

1:10: Great. 5 points in a row for Spain. Navarro hit yet another running floater off of a curl at the free throw line and Jimenez hit another 3-point shot. "And it's a 4 point game!" 108-104.

1:11: Dwayne Wade hits yet another big 3. He's had a monster game. 27 points on 9 for 12 shooting. He's looking like the game's MVP. 111-104 USA.

1:12: I've noticed a number of times that Team USA instead of grabbing the rebound when it's bouncing on the rim, will instead slap it away because of the different goal-tending rules in international play. It seems like every time they tap it out though, Spain gets the ball instead of a defensive rebound by the US.

1:14: Big break for Team USA. Carlos Jimenez just missed a wide open 3-pointer. He's been killing us all night from 3. It would've made it a 3-point game following Navarro's free throw. But instead, Kobe came down and hit a runner in the lane which all but sealed it. 113-105 USA with 1:12 remaining.

1:16: Now the game is definitely over. With only 26 seconds left, Ricky Rubio was called for a technical foul following an unsportsmanlike conduct foul. Sounds like a frustrated teenager to me.

1:18 Coach K gets the Gatorade bath! That's tight that they do this now on the basketball court. It's even funnier when the coach has on a full suit and they get drenched.

1:19 Hey! It's a Michael Redd sighting! He was picked on the team to be a 3-point specialist but all he's done is cheerlead in his USA Olympic Basketball warm-ups. Shoot if I were him, I definitely wouldn't be trippin. He's a borderline all-star with a gold medal. He's gonna be starting the '08-'09 season with some serious swag.

1:20: After hitting 3 of the 4 free throws, the score is 118-107. The game ends with 2 more turnovers by Team USA. Way to finish strong guys.

1:25: Wow, I just found out that Coach K along with all Olympic coaches doesn't get a medal. I understand how maybe the gymnastics coach doesn't really deserve one since he/she is only giving advice and it's the gymnasts actually doing all the work during competition. But in any team sport, the coach is very instrumental in the success of the team, so I think they should definitely get a medal. That kinda sucks.

So that's it! USA Basketball is back on top of the basketball world! The game wasn't played well by Team USA. The Spanish National Team probably played the best they ever could play. Rudy Fernandez and Juan-Carlos Navarro looked like top-tier players on the court. If it wasn't for the play of Kobe and D-Wade, we might not have made it. But we did. And hopefully this will be the continue of US dominance in international basketball play. But before I go, I'll leave you with this amazing Nike Basketball commercial: