As most know, the USA men's Olympic basketball team has struggled (and just lost to Argentina, which means they will play for the bronze). I've been rooting against them...well not so much them as the system that put together this "team." I shared an article from ESPN (linked below) in a chat room with some friends. The following conversation was the result (I am "rott"):

14:12:44 [rott] e, you'll like this:
"I must've missed the memo -- the memo that went out to the red-blooded American sports public and explains exactly when it became OK to throw patriotism out the window and openly root against a U.S. Olympic team."
14:15:14 [emarx] I totally disagree with the race card
14:15:50 [emarx] I think it is more an issue of heart, and the lack of an outside shot
14:15:55 ksose enters this room
14:16:10 [emarx] Whitlock seems to play the race card quite a bit, he is black himself
14:16:37 [emarx] but he obviously has a different background so it is hard to argue
14:18:30 [ksose] people aren't unhappy with the team b/c they;'re black, but rather b/c they don't seem to care
14:18:43 [ksose] not saying that b/c of the way they've played....
14:19:02 [ksose] more the image the media has given them. focussing on AI as the "image" of the team
14:19:56 [ksose] whether or not the olympics are the pinnacle of the sport, americans are largely idealists.....
14:20:15 [ksose] which means that they expect their representatives/athletes to be as well....
14:20:33 [ksose] I think they expect their athletes to want to win more than anything else, including $
14:20:36 [rott] I disagree with race card too. It's a cop out
14:20:46 [rott] he's got some good points, but racism isn't viable here.
14:22:07 [ksose] Argentina never trailed in the second half, leading by as many as 16 points. The closest the Americans would get was six points.
14:23:32 [rott] I kinda wish there was a comments board on espn, but then again, I'm glad there's not.
14:26:19 [emarx] at least half hearted americans can still be full hearted passionate Spainards
14:26:28 [emarx] be = beat
14:27:07 [ksose] true. even a blind squirrel finds a nut (or a 3 point shot) every once in awhile.
14:28:19 [rott] you know, I'm not really against the players or coach, I really think they just got outplayed.
14:29:07 [emarx] NBA is a 1 on 1 game, need to learn how to play like a team
14:29:16 [rott] more so I'm against the system. The selection committee presumably had a list of 30 or so players (that are already popular and help sell lots of merchandise) and picked 'em
14:29:20 [tbone] I wonder if Whitlock would grant me a waiver since I don't care about the regular season NBA either, even the white guys
14:29:35 [rott] no regard for team, because they assumed it didn't really matter with the talent we have in those players
14:30:06 [rott] you must be racist.
14:30:11 [tbone] I wonder why he thinks patriotism is reflected in who we root for anyway. Nice straw man. Or something like that. I just like saying "straw man"
14:30:22 [rott] see?!? it's easy to say! Come on everyone together: "you are racist"
14:30:46 [tbone] It's the sports equivalent of saying, "You don't like George Bush, you unpatriotic hate monger!"
14:30:53 [rott] exactly
14:31:20 [rott] intolerance, I'm lovin' it.
14:33:06 [cornbread] this is late, but i wouldn't compare team usa in basketball to a blind squirrel, ksose... :)
14:33:38 [rott] he probably meant to say "a blind black squirrel"
14:33:58 [rott] because he's racist.
14:34:08 [rott] see there it is again! ok...i'll stop

To better prepare our Olympic gymnasts for the next competition, I propose the removal of all padded flooring material. Working above concrete, possibly enhanced with thumb tacks, would discourage mistakes.

To help the atheletes relax and inject a little fun into practice, the coaches should occasionally do an underdog under the bars. I'd like to see it in competitions too.

I really hope our men's USA basketball "team" loses to Greece this afternoon. ESPN is a gold mine of funny articles and quotes about the debacle that is USA hoops. Their writers share my sentiments exactly:

"They want to sell jerseys and T-shirts. They want to promote current superstars (like Duncan and Iverson) and introduce the world to the next generation of younger studs. They don't care if the team is fun to watch, or if they play well together. Deep down, they're praying that the BMW ('Bron, 'Melo and Wade) makes a big splash. And if things go wrong, Side B has a built-in excuse -- they can just blame all the stars who refused to play (KG, Kidd, T-Mac, K-Mart, the O'Neals, Allen, even Bibby)." (Bill Simmons - ESPN)

I've been saying I hope the USA team loses to Greece:

"Here's how I rationalize it: My ultimate goal is for the USA Committee to start picking true 12-man teams with shooters, rebounders, role players and energy guys, as I wrote last Wednesday. There's only one way this happens: We get embarrassed in Athens, followed by a week of columns and TV/radio shows around the country questioning this entire selection process. In the long run, it's better for us to get walloped over these next two weeks. It's for a greater good." (Bill Simmons - ESPN)

Exactly.

Jodi and I went to the Lance Armstrong celebration on Congress Avenue tonight. It was huge! There must have been close to 100,000 people there. Wow. They played highlights from all of his Tour de France victories on the big screens. They played some of his Nike commercials too, which are amusing. Chris Fowler hosted the thing, saying this is his favorite city in all the world for college sports. I'm never sure if they mean it or not.

Robert Earl Keen started off the night with a good set, then we watched a video recap of Lance Armstrong's life. It was short...the video, not his life. Then Lance talked for a bit. He seem genuinely overwhelmed by the crowd that had showed up to celebrate number six. He didn't get choked up, but he was certainly at a loss for words. Then he introduced the Steve Miller band.

The Steve Miller band? Whaaa? This band is the type that strikes me as one that would just set up shop somewhere and play till they die...like the Gatlin Brothers have done in Myrtle Beach, or Wayne Newton did with Las Vegas. Why were they headlining the Lance Armstrong Tour de France victory celebration? Maybe they're Lance's favorite band or something. Regardless, it was a really good time.

Congratulations, Lance. Number seven?

There's something deeply satisfying about having something you've accomplished broadcast publicly.

Or maybe not.

I typically enjoy the grocery store. Back in college we used to bet on what are total bill would be, usually cracking up the cashier. Jodi hates the grocery store...and I do mean hate. Well, this day would not be the day that changes her feelings.

The coffee section at HEB is set up so you can get whole beans out of the vertical bins. You raise a little door at the bottom of the bin as you hold the bag underneath to catch the beans. Somehow this concept didn't translate to Jodi's hands. Or, more accurately, her hand forgot that it was supposed to hold the bag at a most critical time. There were beans everywhere. I wanted to run to the hardware section so we could get a measuring tape to see which one came to rest the furthest away. I wanted to take a picture. But most of all, I wanted to hear something about it over the intercom! Wish granted! "Maintenance, you are needed for cleanup in aisle five. Maintenance, aisle five please." How wonderful. It really warms the heart.

I had visions of everyone in the store stepping on them, freezing momentarily, running in place for five steps and then falling.