20. Humble Americans look to charm their way to the gold medal

BEIJING: Loaded with outrageous talent but mindful of past mistakes, the United States men's basketball team will be checking egos at the door at the Beijing Olympics. Boasting Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, the NBA's Most Valuable Player and its leading scorer, the Americans are among the gold medal favourites along with Spain and Argentina. Spain won men's gold at the 2006 World Championship behind inspired play from Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers team-ate Pau Gasol, who will be key to Spanish ambitions in China. The sharp-shooting Argentines, who usurped the US as champions at the 2004 Athens Olympics, will also be a serious threat to American hopes of redemption. The US have won 12 Olympic men's titles but their supremacy has waned in recent years. They finished with bronze four years ago and were third at the 2006 world... [read full story]