BEIJING — It is interesting that softball is regarded as so thoroughly dominated by the United States that it’s been removed from the Olympic program. In reality, the International Olympic Committee should be casting a hard eye on women’s basketball.
The latest chapter in the intense rivalry between Team USA and Australia, Saturday night’s gold medal contest, was supposed to be a nip-and-tuck affair. And while the contentiousness that has been a staple of the series since 2000 was very much in evidence, there wasn’t much in the sense of competition.
Whether in Beijing, Athens, Sydney or Atlanta, the song remains the same. When the national anthem is played in honor of the tournament champion, for the last four Olympiads it’s been “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The latest reprise followed a 92-65 thrashing of the Aussies.
“Four straight gold medals. It’s never been done before,” said Kara Lawson, a reserve guard whose 15 points provided a major spark for Team USA. “But when you put on this uniform, that’s what’s expected. It’s not, ‘We hope you live up to the tradition.’ You’re expected to.”
As their counterparts from the U.S. men’s team looked on, the women continued a run that began when Dwight Howard was in grade school. Saturday’s rout was the 33rd consecutive Olympic victory for the Americans.
Although it would never happen, certainly the so-called “Dream Teamers” on the men’s side could do worse than to emulate the U.S. women. After their run of embarrassing international results, it almost took an act of Congress to get some members of the men’s team to make a three-year commitment for the Olympics.
Contrast that with Lisa Leslie, who became the first American athlete to win four consecutive gold medals — each of which she wore around her neck following the title game. Katie Smith took her third, and then there’s Dawn Staley. The Philadelphian was so highly thought of that she was the flag-bearer for Team USA in 2004, picking up her third gold that year. Now she has won again as an assistant coach.
And while Leslie and Smith have likely played in their last Olympics, the scary thought is that, on the floor at least, they may hardly be missed. Candace Parker is regarded by many as the best player in women’s basketball, and Saturday the former Tennessee star was only the fifth player off the U.S. bench. Also consider the pipeline of future players who weren’t on the team, a list that includes former Stanford star Candice Wiggins and Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris.
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com
