Imagine Nate McMillan's Olympic predicament. As an assistant on Mike Krzyzewski's staff, he had to concerntrate at the task at hand -- or at the very least, keep a straight face -- as Spain's Rudy Fernandez torched the Redeem Team's collection of All-Stars (and posterized Dwight Howard) for 22 points in fewer than 18 minutes.

Behind the stoic front, though, he was going nuts, just like most of the fans back in Portland. From Jason Quick of The Oregonian:

"I'm sitting there (in the gold medal game) with a straight face, trying not to smile," McMillan said. " (Spain) are the guys we have to beat, but I'm caught. That's my player and I want to (he claps his hands twice) but I gotta (he makes a serious face) because we are going up against him."

[...] "I was so impressed with him that it was to the point where after the second time I saw him, I didn't sleep that night because I was moving my rotations around," McMillan said. "I swear I did not sleep. I could not sleep thinking about him. Because I'm saying, 'We can put him here, do this with him, do that with him and Brandon (Roy), and do this... So he's playing for us. Oh yeah. I see that right now."

So what did he dream up? For now he's planning on using Fernandez on the second team alongside Jerryd Bayless and Travis Outlaw, although Fernandez will occasionaly share the court with Brandon Roy. If Fernandez plays as well as he did in Beijing (which isn't out of the question given the quality of competition he faced), can the Blazers keep him out of the starting lineup? I like Steve Blake as much as the next guy, but I don't see how they could.

Shot the day before Team USA left for China, this latest must-see video from Chris Bosh is a quick, candid and entertaining look at what it's like to sit down for some Wendy's with Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and LeBron James. Honestly, when was the last time you rolled into a San Francisco gas station and stumbled upon five of the best hoopsters on the planet? Such scenarios just do not happen all that often.

LeBron James: "Man, you get a burger, get you some gas, and get you some coffee then stay on the road for another five hours in this joint."

Chris Paul: "... and some Slim Jims ..."

Deron Williams: "I'm from Dallas ... I eat Rudy's ..."

I don't get all of it, but ... classic.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

WNBA star Lisa Leslie is one of the greatest American Olympians in history, winning four gold medals in four consecutive Olympics. In this video we catch up with Leslie and two of her Sparks teammates -- Candace Parker and Delisha Milton-Jones -- who teamed up with her on the USA basketball team. Find out which athlete most impressed Parker, and how President Bush supplied the players with some laughs. Also, around the 2:45 mark, find out how the Sparks plan on celebrating the Olympic achievement.


Youtube link.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Jones on the NBA. Nate Jones brilliantly surveys the evolution of the player intro. Buckets of fun.

2. Ball Don't Lie. Dwyer takes it to Larry Brown and his revisionist history.

3. OregonLive. An essential collection of Kevin Duckworth tributes. Rest in peace, big fella.

4. FOX Sports. Wayman Tisdale, still battling cancer, has part of his leg amputated. Best wishes.

5. The Blowtorch. You bring the Chardonnay, Carlos Boozer will bring the artichoke spread, Coach K will bring the yacht.

6. Maniac World, via BallHype. The five worst dunks ever. (Needs more Birdman.)

All in all, Spain should be proud for taking a team of NBA All-Stars to the limit. There's no shame in losing to perhaps the most talented team to ever step foot on a basketball court ... right? That's not how Spain's starting center Felipe Reyes (pictured, getting demolished by Kobe Bryant) team sees it. From SportsYa.com (via HoopsHype)

"I think we deserved to win the gold medal because we did an incredible job. If it hadn't been for the officials, we'd have the gold instead of the silver," center Felipe Reyes said.

"If they had blown the whistle for the steps they take, the defense with the hands they use and had blown the whistle on everything, it's clear that we would have won. We got to within three points in spite of the referees, and if they'd been good, we would have won, pretty clearly," Reyes said.

"If the referees had followed FIBA rules, we would have won, but we are very satisfied with the silver," Reyes, who scored 10 points, said.

To be fair, Reyes does have a point: the referees were bad. That said, the only thing consistent about the refs was that they made questionable calls on both sides of the ball. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were in foul trouble for much of the game, but the difference is that when Team USA had to sit someone, they had someone like Dwyane Wade or Deron Williams to take their spot. It was the Redeem Team's depth (and the short international three-point line) that won this game, not the refs.

Update: Jose Calderon isn't happy with the refs, either.

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. SLAM. On Michael Redd: "THIS MAN WAS TALKING TO HIMSELF DURING THE MEDAL CEREMONY. IF ANYONE READS LIPS, TELL ME WHAT HE WAS SAYING. I THINK HE MIGHT'VE BEEN SINGING THE SOMALI NATIONAL ANTHEM. NO WONDER HE DIDN'T PLAY."

2. WhatIfSports, via BrewHoop. The shocking statistical answer to the absurd question: Dream Team or Redeem Team?

3. A Stern Warning. Carnival of the NBA #59.

4. Ball Don't Lie. Salim Stoudamire's Team USA jersey is the hot fall fashion.

5. Detroit Bad Boys. The odd investigation of Lindsey Hunter.

6. NBA.com. Trraaaade! Suns send D.J. Strawberry to Houston for Sean Singletary. Jersey maker rues the needless extra work.

There are many sayings about excuses. I can't use the one I'm thinking about here, but it turns out that Larry Brown, head coach of the 2004 Olympic team and current coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, has one too.

Understandable, under normal circumstances. After all, there has to be an actual reason for why the US didn't win gold. Of course, what makes his excuse slightly less understandable is when he tries to scapegoat terrorism.

According to former Team USA coach Larry Brown, it comes down to one word: Commitment.

"The thing is they got guys that are willing to make a three-year commitment, which I think is tremendous," Brown said of this current Team USA. "We had guys that committed (for 2004) and then all of a sudden 9/11 happened, and then there were injuries."

LB, buddy. Come on. Have you lost your freaking mind, man? There are lots of things for which 9/11 is to "blame" -- as much as you can blame a tragedy for anything: TSA agents, terrorism color coding, four extra years of Dubya, and, most importantly and seriously, senseless death.

The way that the players of the USA Basketball team were staring at their freshly earned gold medals after defeating Spain in the epic final game, it appeared that those pieces of hardware would be something they would cherish for the rest of their lives. That's not the case for at least one member of the "Redeem Team" however, as Jason Kidd will be giving his gold medal away to ... the wife of one of the wealthiest casino owners in Las Vegas. The particulars:

Kidd promised Elaine Wynn, wife of casino mogul Steve Wynn, that he would give her his newest Olympic medal if the Americans fulfill the redeem dream.

"It's not a (gambling) marker or anything like that," Kidd told The Arizona Republic. "She's just a great friend and a really great person."

They met last year when Kidd and the USA team stayed at the Wynn while training in Las Vegas.

"Last summer, we stayed at the Wynn for (what seemed like) a lifetime, close to three weeks," Kidd said. "We met at a banquet, we got to talking, and she really understands the game. I told her I'd make a deal with her, that if we won the gold medal, I'd give it to her. She thought I was kidding. But I told her I had one already, and the way they treated us at the Wynn, it was the least I could do."

I have so many questions about this, but let's just discuss one of the most obvious ones, shall we? Kidd has been an NBA star for a long time, and surely owes debts of gratitude to a lot of people. People that he's undoubtedly known for more than a year or so. So what makes Mrs. Wynn so special?

NBA Essentials ranks our six favorite stories of the day.

1. Ball Don't Lie. The episode synopses for Gilbert Arenas' television show have leaked on the internet.

2. Indy Cornrows. The NBA won't let the Pacers use a red, white and blue ball in a sort-of ABA preseason throwback night. Stop this injustice!

3. Hardwood Paroxysm. A discussion on rooting for small market teams in the NBA.

4. Can't Stop the Bleeding. Jason Kidd's weird friendship with a Vegas mogul's wife results in loss of gold medal.

5. Blog-a-Bull. Bulls fan who desperately wants Bulls to re-sign Ben Gordon insists J.R. Smith's contract has nothing to do with anything.

6. Hoops Addict. Finals of the Floor Burn Tournament set.

Following Team USA's thrilling victory over Spain to capture the gold medal, special FanHouse correspondent Chris Bosh sent us this e-mail from Beijing. Enjoy. And congrats, Chris.

It's finally over! And we did IT! Man! I've been dreaming about this since I first saw The Dream Team earn their medals back in 1992. I was only 8 years old, but I thought it was so cool and I wanted to be just like them. I always watched the Olympics as a little kid and it amazes me that I'm at this point where I am now.

This has been the biggest accomplishment of my career so far. It's such a great feeling because we worked so hard for all of these years and it's paid off for us. We started this thing in 2006 with dreams of a Gold Medal in Beijing and now we're to that point. Time flies so fast and I'm definitely going to take in this moment. It seems like it was yesterday when we were at the World Championships getting a Bronze medal. Now we have something better and we can put that behind us.