USA Basketball Skipping Olympic Village Again

As is tradition, the United States men's and women's basketball teams will skip the Olympic Village for alternate environs in Beijing, according to Xinhua. The Chinese news service says the men's team hasn't stayed in a Village since NBA players began appearing with the Dream Team in 1992.

Famously, the men's team stayed on a luxury cruise liner docked in the Athens harbor in 2004. This time, it's one of the finance district's few five-star hotels. Meanwhile, the Village officially opened for business this morning, with Chinese Olympians setting up shop, and with the Cuban and Polish delegations expected to arrive soon. The Village also seems so mystical on TV, this odd spot where world-class athletes from all over the globe just walk around and play hacky-sack and shoot dice. It's probably insanely crowded, crawling with security, and mostly unenjoyable to the layman, in reality.

NBA stars are obviously a bigger deal stateside than even the most notorious Olympic competitors (like Michael Phelps). I've always wondered how the factions interact, how a lunch featuring Carmelo Anthony and gymnast Morgan Hamm would go. But obviously, such interactions are limited. Forget NBA stars being separated from their fans. Fellow star athletes can't even really get some face time.

(I do realize the sequestration has to do more with security than anything. It's still odd. I mean, Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian are apparently holed up in the Village.)