Rec’ing On…Beijing Olympics – Part 15

I am so very satisfied. While I’m a huge fan of Australian players such as Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor, and Tully Bevilaqua, I’m very happy that the USA defeated them in the women’s Basketball gold medal game—and by an emphatic margin so that there is no doubt about who the better team is. I’ll admit…tears were shed.

I hope this puts an end to various countries, every four years, calling on their players to ditch the WNBA to play with national teams in the hope of defeating the Americans. The Americans were together as a team for just 10 days before the Olympics started.  And they WON the friggin’ gold medal. Despite the time spent with their national teams, both the Australians and Russians ended up in exactly the same podium spots as they had four years ago. Clearly national team time during the Olympic run-up isn’t the solution. I’ve long felt that it’s more of an advantage to be working out against the Americans in arguably the best and toughest league in the world.

My favorite moment of the gold medal game: when Candace Parker was fouled, she had a bit of attitude on her face, so her long-time nemesis, Sylvia Fowles, came over and wiped her hands down Parker’s face…wiping away the anger that wouldn’t help their cause. Fantastic recognition and teamwork. Way to go, Big Syl.

In any case, I’m happy. This win, combined with the unexpected win by the USA women’s Soccer team, has made this a very successful Olympics to me.