U-S-A!!! U-S-A!!!

...I'm proud to be an American.. and I'll gladly stand up... blah blah blah... God Bless The U.S.A... basketball team that is!

I'm sure hardly anyone noticed, given it's relegation to 3rd tier cable, but I couldn't help but be overjoyed as the USA absolutely "got all up in" Argentina to win the otherwise pointless FIBA Americas Championship in Vegas tonight. Sure, the tournament determines qualifiers for the Olympics next summer in Beijing, but more than anything else, it reasserts our dominance in a sport we didn't create, but might as well have. Furthermore, given the fact that the USA isn't really #1 in much of anything that matters nowadays, it's good to see us reassert ourselves in one thing we do really well: kicking other countries asses! Royally.

Sure, I know some haters, probably the same folks who blamed hip hop and by extension black culture in general for that awful performance in Athens, will point out the fact that these other countries were missing some key players. That would be true. Argentina for example was missing NBA standouts Manu Ginobilli, Andrea Noccioni, and 3-4 others dudes whose names won't clear spellchecker. But reality is, the USA doesn't have all it's big guns out there either. Next summer, big names like Dwyane Wade, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and maybe DC's own Gilbert Arenas will be healthy and could play if needed. Call it even.

Either way, if you're one of those rare beings who can appreciate total and complete domination, this was the tournament for you. Over the course of the 10-0 record in the tourney, Team USA, lead by Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Carmello Anthony, won by an average of nearly 40ppg. They dominated the glass. The drained 3's. They played suffocating "D". They didn't grab their crotches a la Shawn Kemp in 96'. [||] And they dunked with such reckless abandon that you almost felt bad for their opponents. Almost.

This country is far from perfect. Let's not forget we're still in the midst of an unjustified war. Foreclosures rates are going through the roof. Politicians can't keep it in their pants. Mind of Mencia is still on the air. Again, we've got our flaws.

But it's good to know that when we come together and work as a team, anything is possible. Thanks for a proper end to the Summer guys! U-S-A!

Enjoy there highlights of one of several ass-kickings this week, courtesy of The Poor Man's Tivo.



James scores U.S.-record 31 points, leads Americans over Argentina 118-81 for FIBA title [AP]