Team USA Goes for Gold and Change of Perception

In 2004, not only was the American basketball team a huge disappointment in not winning gold, but also were widely criticized for acting like jerks on and off the court while in Greece. Well the Redeem Team is not only likely to win gold easily sunday, but also leave having changed the perceptions of American athletes from aloof superstars to patriotic approachable men.

Lebron, Kobe and Dwayne Wade have signed endless autographs and were seen cheering on Michael Phelps at the water cube as he competed for one of his many medals, something that the 2004 ballers never did.

Also a few great stories have taken place this week in China. Saturday night as the Americans prepared to face Spain in the gold-medal game. It was a game of P.I.G. played between Bryant and Adam Wright of the U.S. water polo team.

Shot 1: Dunk. "P" for Wright.

Shot 2: 3-pointer. "I" for Wright.

Shot 3: A shot from behind the backboard, over the glass and swish! "G" for Wright

In a second story ....

Michael Redd described a mob of Chinese fans following him through a mall as he was shopping. He got requests for quick pictures and autographs, he couldn't believe he was being recognized in a country so far from the U.S.!

"They know all our stats, they know where we come from, they know everything about us," he said. "It's amazing -- it really is -- just how popular basketball has gotten. It really has gone global."

Redeem Team Shooting Needs to Improve

Team USA has gotten past China and Angola easily in the first two games of the Olympics, but they now are heading into a much more difficult stretch of games. Upcoming on the schedule are Spain and Greece.

In games 1 & 2, its looked more like an NBA All-Star game with tons of dunking and big blocked shots. What's been lacking from Team USA is 3 point shooting. The Americans shot 5-of-21 from behind the arc against Angola and just 7-of-24 against the Chinese.

Now some of that I'm sure has to do with the American players trying to adjust to a shorter 3 point line, a different feel to the ball and not being used to being so wide open for shots. However, to beat the Spanish and Greek teams, the guards need to start knocking down the long ball.