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Saturday, August 14

Team USA in no-win situation

ATHENS - The ship that houses Dream Team IV features a movie theater, a library, multiple restaurants and two nightclubs.

Amare Stoudemire says it spans the length of 12 docks, which means it's big enough to carry all the American alibis without sinking into the harbor.

Why, here is head coach Larry Brown complaining about the team's selection process. Here is Richard Jefferson insisting there was only one Dream Team, and that one belongs among Olympic ruins. Tim Duncan is muttering something about a team that must be content with trying its best.

More importantly, here is Stoudemire explaining how he missed that team meeting. The one that earned him a one-game suspension during the pre-Olympic tour, causing Phoenix Suns fans to worry if their wonder boy is now hanging with the wrong crowd.

``I didn't miss (the meeting),'' Stoudemire said. ``What happened was, I got to the training room five minutes prior to the meeting. The trainer was working on somebody's ankle. I was like, `Hey, trainer, I've only got five minutes. Maybe I can get taped at the game.'

``He told me he could tape me right then. I said, `Cool,' sat down at the table, got taped and got to the meeting at 11:01. I'm not exaggerating. I'm not just saying that. I got there a minute late.''

Now, I happen to believe Stoudemire's explanation. He's too focused and hungry to break bad so soon, and just like his hardball stance on not playing center for the Suns, he's never been afraid to tell the truth.

As for the other guys, it's hard to tell.

Maybe it's all part of the newfound American humility, but the current rationales seem a bit meek. It's as if members of Team USA sense the end is coming and are trying to lessen the impending shock. Like they know they're about to get struck by Greece lightning. Like they're about to lose a game, their gold medals and their grip on a sport once considered an American heirloom.

``We're not a Dream Team,'' Jefferson said. ``There was only one of those, and that was a freak show. They even had to stop the game once so the other team could get autographs. We're just a collection of very good players trying to become a team.''

In other words, don't blame us if we lose. Sadly, Jefferson is right. At least these guys had the fortitude to show up and try.

Team USA could win on talent alone if the true American superstars would show up en masse. Problem is, they want incentives to get on that plane.

After all, what's the point in medalling if you already have the gold?

Team USA could still dominate the competition if second-tier NBA talent had time to sufficiently prepare for international basketball. Given the grind of the season, that is impossible.

It has become a no-win situation for the players, especially when anything less than victory guarantees national scorn.

``Tell me another team in the Olympics that will be an embarrassment if they don't win the gold medal,'' Jefferson said. ``Then tell me another team that has had such short amount of practice, a team of guys that have never played together before. You can't do it.

``No matter what, 50 years from now, the U.S. is still going to have 90 percent of the talent in the game of basketball. You can't just put 12 talented players out there and think they're going to become the best team.''It is an important distinction to make, but why are they making it now?

Simple. It is an attempt to soften the ugly chain reaction that will accompany Olympic failure.

It has already been a contentious summer for Team USA. There was the 17-point loss to Italy, the bomb that went off at a nearby hotel in Istanbul. Now the real Games begin, including a looming battle with Lithuania, and the golden boys are suspiciously short on swagger.

``I look at it as a beginning,'' Stoudemire said. ``In 2008, all these young guys will be in their prime and the original Dream Team will re-emerge. I'm talking about Carmelo (Anthony), myself, LeBron (James) and Dwyane Wade.

When that happens, well, the Jordan-Magic-Bird thing will pretty much be back.''

A comforting thought, maybe, but it's still not worth a lay-up here in Athens. And it sounds like a convenient excuse if this team turns out to be something from a bad dream.

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