Bay Area Sports Blogging

They did it!  Team USA men's basketball team has brought back Olympic Gold.  After being disappointed time after time, this year's team, nicknamed "The Redeem Team," has redeemed the country's dominance over basketball.

The Gold medal game between Team USA and Spain was a nail biter.  Spain was neck and neck with Team USA up until the last few minutes.  It took incredible play by the NBA's finest to squeeze out a victory.  This game felt like it could have gone either way.

D-Wade was sinking his three pointers with ease, something he doesn't normally do in the NBA.  The slightly shorter three point line may have helped him a little. Kobe and LeBron were doing their thing.  With a deep bench, coach K was able to sub players in and out a lot, keeping them fresh through out the game.

Having watched Team USA play in the FIBA Americas championship last year in Vegas, I knew that Team USA had a very good team.  They would undoubtedly be the favorite to win Olympic Gold.  But last year's Team USA roster is different from this year's roster.  Last year's roster included Mike Miller, Tyson Chandler, and Amare Stoudemire.  

With the rocky economy and the rise of European basketball leagues, winning the Gold medal will help give the NBA back some of its credibility so players will not bolt out the door to an European or Russian contract.  Overall though, the player will go where the money is, and for some players, the money is in Europe.