It’s been a while since USA men’s basketball stood atop the international-competition basketball world, but on top they are now after a 118-107 win over Spain in the gold-medal game in Beijing. LeBron James said after the game that it may go down as “one of the greatest Olympic games ever.” I can’t wait to see it. It’s been cool to see these NBA stars finally back “into” the Olympic movement. With the women taking the gold the day before, it’s good to see the basketball crowns back where they rightfully belong.

It was fitting that Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt eclipsed Michael Johnson’s twelve-year old world record on his way to gold in the 200m dash Wednesday. A torch, it seems, has been passed to Jamaica for these Olympics. Jamaica won just three individual Track & Field medals in Athens four years ago. Already they’ve won 9 medals (5 gold, 4 silver) in Beijing, and they are a country of only 2.8 million people. By contrast, the US (population 305 million) appears barely on track to equal their achievements in Athens, where they won a total of 25 Track & Field medals (8 gold).

Usain Bolt has done what no other man ever has, winning the 100m and 200m races at the Olympics both in world record time. His time of 19.30 in the 200m was absolutely shocking. Many felt that Michael Johnson’s record of 19.32 would last for decades; instead, it lasted just 12 years. I have the feeling that Bolt’s time won’t even last four years. I am loving watching this 21-year-old Jamaican dance his way to Olympic history, and I’m so glad we get to see Bolt one more time in the 4X100m race; what he’s doing is changing the face of the 2008 Olympics.

I’ve struggled mightily to understand why NBC prefers to tape events and repackage them for a delayed broadcast as if the sports themselves are not inherently interesting to watch. NBCOlympics.com, like every other site in the world, reports major Olympic headlines and live results, but then turns around 12-15 hours later and pretends in their primetime broadcast that the audience is clueless. Suddenly it occurred to me: we are.

What a thrilling quarterfinal match in women’s volleyball between the U.S. and Italy. The Americans were down 2 sets to 1 after losing the third set badly, 25-19, but they stormed back to win the fourth set and crushed the defending World Cup champions in the tiebreaker, 15-6. The star was Lindsey Berg, who substituted in late and sparked the Americans on their come-from-behind run. One question for volleyballers: Why are the first four sets played to 25 points, but the crucial fifth set is played to only 15? Seems odd to me.

Baseball has been my favorite sport since before there was a designated hitter, but I have zero interest in the Olympics competition because the best players in the world –major leaguers– aren’t involved.  I haven’t watched so much as a second of any of the games.  Apparently, the United States v. China game was like an old Dodgers and Giants basebrawl, though fortunately, there was no Juan Marichal-clubbing-John Roseboro-with-a-bat (opens in a new window) kinds of mayhem.

After Michael Phelps took his seventh medal last night, Bob Costas mediated an interview between Phelps and Mark Spitz. The 14-minute video shows the race in which Phelps took No. 7, then moves into the interview where Spitz says Phelps’ accomplishments are “epic” and called him “the best Olympian of all time.” Spitz was gracious in his heartfelt praise and the interview was a nice coup for NBC.

In beating China and Angola, many pundits said the jury was out on Team USA’s men’s basketball squad until they beat somebody good. The real test would begin against Greece, they said. Their 92-69 thrashing of Greece has surely left the doubters without much to say, though I’m sure we’ll hear how Greece didn’t play well and their REAL real test will come Saturday against undefeated Spain.

The American women have also been dominant, rolling through to an equally impressive 3-0 record.

We praise these young athletes when they succeed, so we might as well call it like it is when they don’t. Last night, with the Chinese women’s gymnastics team’s lead slipping to just 1.00 point with just the floor exercise remaining, American gymnast Alicia Sacramone completely choked, falling on her butt and stepping out of bounds. Her score was a miserable 14.125 and the Americans’ hope for gold was over. This followed Sacramone’s fall off the balance beam. Her mistakes in these two events were the difference between gold and silver. Choke.

While it seems most Americans will end up remembering these Olympics for Michael Phelps, so far the lasting image to me is of gymnast Jonathan Horton. Last night he was the unquestionable leader of the U.S. men’s gymnastics team, keeping his teammates focused and, most important, believing in themselves. Plus, in event after event, he was nearly flawless, hitting every landing and earning most of the team’s top scores.

5 reasons why American Olympians rule and the rest of the world is just jealous.

- The President personally inspects the ass of every beach volleyball player to make sure it meets Constitutional standards for American athletes. I think it’s in the 34th Amendment or something.

- Complain about us, and we’ll have our sabre athletes slice your face off and take all your medals.

Boosted by gold medals today in shooting, judo, weightlifting and synchronised diving, China drew even with the US in the overall medal count. After two days of competition both China (6-2-0) and the US (2-2-4) have won 8 medals.

A Chinese man stabbed two relatives of a U.S. volleyball coach early Saturday, killing one. The guy then killed himself by leaping from the tower they had been on. Chinese officials say they are surprised because attacks against tourists are so rare, and American officials say the people weren’t wearing anything that would signifiy they were Americans. Except that they probably SOUNDED a lot like Americans. It happened just hours after a fantastic opening ceremony; what a damper.

Let the games–er, the stagecraft–begin. The opening ceremony is typically a circus of symbolism celebrating the host nation’s history and culture. Maybe we’ll see a procession of tanks, you’re thinking. Well, probably not. We can only hope the party isn’t so self-consciously scripted that it comes off as a dud.

It seems the U.S. Olympic Committee is so over Bode Miller (photo). For the first time ever, the group required all of its 596 Olympians to attend its crash-course on etiquette before heading to the Beijing Games. Some athletes dubbed it “the Bode Miller show” after the American skier who showed more of an interest in partying than competing during the 2006 Winter Games in Italy.

During one of the classes in Palo Alto, there was Michael Phelps snacking from a bag of candy and Ryan Lochte texting on his phone. How do you say “indifferent” in Chinese?

All-around gold medalist from 2004 Paul Hamm bowed out last month with an injury; I guess the family that tumbles together stays together. Brother Morgan (left) said a tearful good-bye to his team today as bone spurs in his leg forced him to withdraw from the team. Team USA just lost another gay-friendly athlete.

“This has been an extremely hard decision for me to make. I’ve given everything I can to be ready to compete at this Olympic Games,” Hamm said. “It’s best for me to step down and have another athlete fill my position. This is something for me that’s very tough because it’s end of my career, and it’s not the way I had planned it.”

As we’ve said many times before, there are surely many athletes at the Olympics who are openly gay with friends and family, and may have even told some of the press, but it just hasn’t gotten much coverage because they’re not a high-profile athlete. While Natasha Kai, who is a forward on the U.S. soccer team, is a great and up-and-coming athlete, a comment of hers in June to an NBCOlympics.com writer didn’t get much press. In talking about attending the U.S. Women’s National Team training camp in January, she said this:

“It was a hard time,” remembered Kai, who saw action limited action under former coach Greg Ryan as one of the last three players added to the 2007 World Cup roster. “I had missed the first camp [under new head coach Pia Sundhage] in early-January because I had bronchitis, and I was going through a nasty break-up with my girlfriend. Then [Coach Sundhage] told me my job was on the line.”

Dave Lohse, associate athletic communications director at the University of North Carolina and a longtime Outsports member, talks with us about working with Greg Louganis at the ‘88 Olympics, what he’s hearing from Beijing, what to watch for in Olympic swimming, and gay Olympians. Plus, he thinks that swimming is probably one of the most popular sports with Outsports readers; where in heavens name could he have ever gotten that idea?

See all of the Outsports podcasts, including this one.

U.S. gymnast Paul Hamm (with Morgan, half of the Hamm brothers) won’t be going to the Olympics to defend his all-around gold medal, thanks to a broken right hand and a rotator cuff injury. It’s always a shame to see nice guys - and in this case a gay-friendly athlete - unable to go in a big competition. The Hamms talked with me four years ago after their medal-winning performances. Paul said he would welcome an openly gay teammate:

“I would think of them the same way I think of all my teammates,” Paul said. He added that someone’s sexuality shouldn’t be a consideration for his teammates. “They should be thought of as athletes.”

I’ve got to think Paul is particularly disappointed, given the controversy (by no fault of his own) that erupted after he won the gold in 2004, and calls for him to give up his medal.