No More LeBronzes, Fed Up and the Prettiest Sheep Pasture You'll Ever See

LeBron James guaranteed a gold medal for the U.S. Men's Basketball Team in Beijing. Obviously they're talented enough to back it up. The question is, will they be smart enough? The U.S. has previously been derailed by its stars failing to adapt to international teams' style of play. They're no longer the Dream Team, who could have beaten this current U.S. roster in its sleep. They're not talented enough to win this tournament based on talent alone. They'll have to play with their heads. If they do, they win. If they continue to be stubborn, not defend the jumper and take ill-advised, contested shots of their own, well we know how that ends already.

***

Roger Federer lost in the second round of the Rogers Cup. I think Federer is a ridiculous talent, but does anyone else think he might lack the motor to work hard to stay on top of the field like Tiger Woods does? I just think he's motivated, but he's not driven. His body language after losses sort of says, "Yeah, I'm sorta fine with that. I'm going to go have a sandwich now." I know very little about the guy, other than I wish I had his backhand, but it just doesn't feel like he's got much left in the tank.

***

Sports Illustrated has a series going with their top writers selecting their favorite sports venues. Michael Bamberger tabbed The Old Course in St. Andrews as his. Right now, that's fighting with Yankee Stadium for me if I had to pick. The whole town is just amazing and had this heaven-like quality where the edges seem to blur as if it's a dream ... of course that could have just been the moisture from the rain collecting on the edges of my contacts. I took a two-part look at my Old Course experience recently for the News-Press. You can read it here. Part One: Cold Feet on the Scottish Green; Part Two: Sharing St. Andrews.

More briefly ...

• Tim Hudson and Chipper Jones go down in Atlanta. Pack your toothbrush Mark Texeira. He'd look great in a Nationals' jersey ... next season.

• Washington Capitals' defenseman Shaonne Morrisonn's arbitration hearing is today. He deserves to win it. Dude enabled Mike Green to rack up his ridiculous goal total by being a stopper on the blue line ... oh and he played the final games of the season with a fractured jaw, unable to eat solid foods. Guys like that deserve raises.

• A Northern Virginia company has allegedly developed a urine-based HGH test. That would be a huge breakthrough if it proves reliable. I'm curious how the MLB Players' Union is going to dodge this one.