BEIJING -- During three weeks inside the heavily secured Olympic Green zone, life became increasingly surreal. Every building, every barricade, every lamp post was either neon-lit or banner-covered or both. Speakers scattered throughout the Olympic Green blasted the Games’ nauseatingly cheesy pop theme song “You and Me” in a near constant loop. It didn’t help that the song alternated between Chinese and English versions. Large video screens at the sponsors’ pavilions and elsewhere broadcast live action and highlights at all hours. It was the Olympic spirit on Chinese-style overdrive with plenty of Orwellian atmosphere.

But even though security guards checked my credential every time I entered my hotel, and sometimes wouldn’t let me pass without a second look, there are things I will miss about Beijing, the Olympic Green and the whole experience of the Games. One of the highlights came on the final night of the track and field competition at the “Bird’s Nest,” when security reluctantly allowed reporters onto the track. A group of US journalists broke down the military security guards with equal parts persistence and good, old-fashion American gumption and ran a lap around the track.

The lap confirmed two things. First, it was a very fast track. Second, it felt even hotter and more humid running on it. After one lap, I was drenched in sweat along with everyone else who ran around with me. I jogged away even more impressed with what I had seen during the track and field competition. When viewed from the track, the sheer size of the Bird’s Nest was intimidating, never mind the competition and the Olympic moment.

At first, the guards didn’t want us taking pictures on the track. But again, they quickly gave up, realizing military training was no match for a bunch of overtired American journalists who simply pretended not to understand the word “No” or international sign language for “No pictures.” Once the guards walked away bemused by the foreigners who ignored them, we snapped away. The guards ended up laughing at us and waving for some photos, which was a nice change from the stern faces that seemed to suspiciously watch our every move. The security posts around every corner are among the things I’m happy to leave behind.

Things I will miss:

• Lost and Found at the Bird’s Nest: Chinese Olympic volunteers had an obsession with reuniting reporters with lost items. The lost-and-found list at the Bird’s Nest grew daily with no item too small or insignificant for posting on bulletin boards in each of the press rooms. But the write-ups, not the lost items, caught my attention.

  One message read: “A white power adapter was found in press workroom 2. The loser could come to help desk of press workroom 1 to get it.”

• Volunteer to reporter ratio of 3-to-1 (at least): There is something to be said for manpower, particularly hyper-efficient, your-wish-is-my-command Chinese manpower. Thanks to the never-ending stream of volunteers/press room workers/computer tech assistants, etc., I leave China knowing how the super-rich must live with their phalanx of assistants. Early in the Games, computer issues were solved by four volunteers. And when the Chinese volunteers said, “Let me get my supervisor,” there was no wait. The supervisor showed up almost instantaneously. There was a quick response to all of my requests, no matter how big or small -- copies of track results, a pot of green tea, a set of official Beijing Olympic posters. At my hotel checkout, not one, but three members of the staff made sure everything went smoothly.

  If there was a problem Olympic workers couldn’t solve, they looked incredibly depressed. And that was perhaps the troubling flip-side to all the prompt volunteer attention. The Chinese were so emotionally and personally invested in providing good service that I became increasingly reluctant to criticize anything that wasn’t quite right or correct volunteers when instructions were misunderstood. A Canadian reporter said to me (and I agreed) there was the feeling you did irreparable harm when criticizing or correcting a volunteer. And sometimes you didn’t even have to say anything. When a photo tech at the Kodak pavilion accidentally reversed some of my prints, she apologized for five minutes straight.

• Olympic Forest: The Olympic Forest was a hidden gem of traditional Asian garden design and modern architecture. It was by far my favorite place in the Olympic Green zone, probably because it was the one place where I felt I could get an authentic glimpse of China, not the dressed up version aggressively on display elsewhere around the Olympic Green. Running around the Olympic Forest early in the morning, I saw migrant workers cutting grass with sickles. In my opinion, it was the migrant workers behind the scenes who made sure the Beijing Olympics looked as spectacular as it did. And they got very little credit or recognition for their efforts from what I could tell from Chinese TV or the China Daily newspaper.

  I did, however, see the workers living in mobile housing units that looked poorly air conditioned. A sign at one such complex read: “One World. One Dream. I Participated. I Devoted. I Got Delighted.” As I ran around the Olympic Forest, I made an effort to say “Hello” to every groundskeeper I saw and their faces lit up when I did. They were also entertained as I did laps around the “Flower and Water Overlapping Platform” and through the “Underwater Corridor,” which was a glass-walled "bridge" cleverly set in the middle of a pond. After several laps one day around noon, an older man signaled time-out and laughed.

  With the exception of distance runners and race walkers doing laps on the 3.1-mile paved road that ran around the Olympic Forest, I never saw any foreigners wandering around. But there were plenty of Chinese tourists. It seemed like a place were the Chinese were happy to relax and joke around. There was too little of that laid-back, joyful attitude at the Games.

• Usain Bolt and the Jamaicans: Any criticism Usain Bolt receives for his celebratory antics is more laughable than the sprinter’s version of the Gully Creeper dance. He is the future of track and field, and the sport is lucky to have him. He brought the entire track and field competition to life, even for Americans who were disappointed by favorites failing to win gold. Track and field needs more showmen with a sense of humor like Bolt, though I wasn’t always sure when he was hamming it up and when he was just being himself. But there’s something irresistible about an athlete who pauses mid-press conference to watch replays of himself setting a world record then comments that the race looked pretty fast. He also chewed on a nutrition bar while fielding reporters questions at one press conference, completely casual about the fact that his every word and every chew was being broadcast around the world. I asked members of the large, talkative, fun-loving Jamaican delegation if Bolt was always like this and they said he was even more of a jokester back home.
• Chinese pageantry: I got my lifetime fill of fireworks at the opening and closing ceremonies. But what I enjoyed even more was the precision of Chinese pageantry. There’s something about military guards throwing flags open in unison or perfectly synchronized volunteers removing clothing baskets filled with warmup gear from the starting line before each race. I cannot imagine how many hours the Chinese on display spent practicing for their big moments.

  That said, there was something creepy about just how perfect that pageantry was as well as the homogeneity of the participants. The medal girls at the track and field awards ceremonies were all the same height and had the same smile. I was told that their smiles, as well as their gestures when handling medals and flowers at the podium were all carefully rehearsed. By the end of the Games, I longed to see something outside of competition that was more than just a façade. But there was nothing I could find like that near any of the venues in the Olympic Green. In many ways, it seemed the Chinese desire to control everything took some of the joy out of the Games. There were many times wandering around the Olympic Green when the atmosphere seemed especially contrived and sterile.

  And anytime there was any criticism about appearances, officials worked to fix the situation. During the first few days of the Games, there were complaints that very few people were visiting the Olympic Green with all its neon lights and water fountains dancing to John Philip Sousa marches. But with in 48 hours, someone had Chinese visitors literally bused in to the Olympic Green zone. I saw them unloading by the bus full during my morning runs. Maybe they were all scheduled to arrive on the fourth or fifth day of competition, but I doubt that was the case.

• Chinese obsession with cleanliness: Even though this was my second trip to China, I was worried about cleanliness before I arrived, especially with all the doctors’ warnings about what you can catch there. But if you are a Purell-loving neatnik, then China is the place for you. Two (sometimes three) times a day my hotel room was cleaned by two (sometimes three) housekeepers. And there wasn’t much to clean. But they spent considerable time making sure each bath towel was perfectly folded and that the bed comforter was perfectly turned down. At breakfast, it was all hands on deck as staff anxiously waited to remove plates and replace silverware. Early mornings around the Olympic Green, an army of workers took to the walkways with brooms and dustpans and tong-like trash collectors made of wood. At the Bird’s Nest, volunteers were so worried about spillover or errant spray from machines that dispensed coffee and hot chocolate that they always made sure your cup was perfectly centered.

  The only mess I encountered was at the Superstore selling Olympic souvenirs. Trash overflowing containers, T-shirts strewn all over the place with sizes mixed together, Olympic mascots falling out of their packaging, plastic wrappers and receipts on the floor with no one waiting to pick them up and throw them away. It was complete chaos. I had to wonder if there wasn’t some sort of message about the cost of capitalism run amuck amid all the chaos and some message about the efficiency of communism everywhere else on the Olympic Green. If so, I wasn’t buying it. But no one stages a show like the Chinese.

BEIJING -- US guard Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and Argentina guard Manu Ginobili of the Spurs were both on a flight from Beijing to Chicago that included Olympians from the US, Canada, Australia, and Chile.

Ginobili told the Boston Globe that he is on his way to San Antonio to get his ankle injury evaluated. The 2005 NBA All-Star reinjured his left ankle against the US in the semifinals of the men's basketball tournament last Friday and didn't play Sunday when Argentina beat Lithuania to win the bronze medal.

"We'll see what they want me to do," Ginobili said about the Spurs.

The torch is out, and the Beijing Olympics ended the same way they began: with a seemingly endless halftime show and a deafening, spectacular fireworks display. See and hear a bit of the latter in the short timelapse video above.

BEIJING -- As defending men's basketball champions, the Argentines had hoped to repeat. That's only natural.

But they seemed very happy to be leaving here with the bronze, which they earned via an 87-75 conquest of Lithuania. "The bronze is better than nothing," reasoned center Fabricio Oberto (San Antonio Spurs). "It would not be good to make a 35-hour flight home and arrived empty-handed."

It has been a marvelous six-year run for the 33-year old Oberto and friends. Oberto and the core group consisting of Manu Ginobili (age 31), Carlos Delfino (age 35), Andres Nocioni (age 28) and Luis Scola (age 28) have won a World Championship silver medal (2002, Indianapolis), an Olympic gold (2004, Athens), and now an Olympic bronze here, while losing the bronze medal game in the Tokyo Worlds in 2006.

And, of course, they will always have the distinctiion of being the first team to defeat a club with the letters "USA" on the front of the jersey in the era of professional participation in these championships. They did so with the earth-shaking conquest of the Americans six years ago in Indianapolis.

The question now is whether or not the end for this group is here, or whether we'll see this bunch two years hence in Turkey. If we don't, they have created some great memories for themselves.

"I am very proud to have been a part of this team," Oberto said. "What I'm proudest of is that we brought heart, dispipline and a love of the game to every game we've played over the years."

Former NBA center John Amaechi, here as a commentator, is a big fan of the Argentines. "They have a great legacy. They raised the profile of non-American basketball," he says. "They shattered the invincibility of American basketball."

Argentina hasn't always been lucky in these tournaments. After defeating America in 2002, they arrived in the championshi[p game without Ginobili, who had injured his ankle. Oberto broke his hand in the semifinal game of the Athens Olymlics and was not availble for the Finals. And Ginobili was not even suited up on Sunday because he had re-injured the ankle that hampered him in the 2008 NBA playoffs during Argentina's quarterfinal triumph over Greece.

But they played a very nice game without him to get that bronze medal. "A team that has won gold doesn't want to go home without any medal," pointed out Amaechi. "You know," he said, "I'm no (hoop) junkie, but I love this team. They truly did want it more than Lithuania."...

BEIJING -- Typically, only a player and a coach attend Olympic press conferences for team sports. But after coming together as one to win a long-awaited gold medal, the USA men’s basketball team’s entire 12-man roster felt it was only fitting that they all were there side by side with their coach at Sunday’s postgame gathering.

The United States won its first gold medal in men’s basketball since 2000 with a tough 118-107 victory over Spain in the Olympics finals at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium Sunday. The Americans have now won 13 gold medals in the sport dating to 1936. The US, whose team was made up of NBA stars, went 8-0 in this tournament and won each game by double digits.

"We had to pull together to get this win," said guard Dwyane Wade, who scored a game-high 27 off the bench. "If we would have broken off at one moment, the game could have went the other way. We are all happy for each other."

Guard Kobe Bryant, who had 20 points, said: "Everyone wants to talk about NBA players being selfish, being arrogant, being individuals. But what you saw today was a team bonding together facing adversity and coming out of here with a big win."

The Americans had completely dominated all of their opponents entering the gold medal game, winning every contest by at least 20 points. The US even hammered the Spaniards, 119-82, in preliminary action. But the gold medal game was far from a blowout as a much more confident Spain team was ready to play.

"The major difference lied in our mental state," said Spain forward Pau Gasol, who had 21 points in the gold medal game. "In the last match we made some big mistakes … We didn’t have adequate confidence."

Gasol’s mid-range jumper with 3:32 left in the intense contest trimmed Spain’s deficit to just 5 points, 104-99. But with the Spanish fans going wild, Bryant put his finger by his mouth to quiet the crowd after he nailed a 3-pointer and got fouled with 3:10 left. After the 2008 NBA MVP made the free throw, the Americans were up, 108-99.

Spain, however, wasn’t ready to give up a fight for the gold. A 5-0 run finalized by a Carlos Jiminez 3-pointer trimmed Spain’s deficit to just 4 points, 108-104, with 2:25 remaining. But Wade followed with a 3-pointer that gave USA some breathing room, 111-104, with 2:04 left. Bryant’s running lay-in with 1:11 remaining put USA up, 113-105, and sealed the elusive gold.

"I give respect where respect is due to the Spain team," forward LeBron James said. "They were unbelievable. We had a game plan and they countered our game plan by making some incredible plays. Every possession counted tonight for all 40 minutes. Every possession counted. You couldn’t take one possession off, one second off.

"But if it wasn’t for the determination and will power that we have in each other, we wouldn’t have pulled through and got this win. Much respect to Spain, but the US is back on top."

As the game clock wound down to the final buzzer, the American players were jubilant as the crowd chanted "USA … USA." After celebrating with hugs, fist pumps, chest bumps, running aimlessly and giving high fives, each American player went and shook hands or hugged former -US Olympian and NBC basketball analyst Doug Collins. Collins played on the US team in 1972 that lost a well-chronicled and controversial gold medal game to Russia.

The US players next smiled brightly on the medal stand while waving and blowing kisses to the crowd. The Americans stared at the gold medals and kissed them once they were placed over their heads. And once the medal ceremony was over, they showed appreciation for coach Mike Krzyzewski and his coaching staff by taking turns placing all 12 gold medals on their necks for a picture.

Long after the gold medal game was over, Wade said: "We’re not done [celebrating]. We’re going to go in the locker room and really celebrate some more. We were all going around hugging each other."

Kidd was the only member of USA’s roster that had felt such bliss before. He won a gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The 35-year-old became only the 13th US men’s basketball player to win two gold medals and is undefeated while playing for four national teams. The Americans won bronze during the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"For the guys who never experienced its unbelievable," Kidd said. "I bet you if you ask them right now they’ve forgotten about getting the medal around their neck because it goes by so fast.

"Everybody was excited. Everybody wanted to take a deep breath. Everybody was getting their shoes signed because it’s something, like I told them, that they can never take away from you."

Four USA players who may have appreciated the gold medals the most were Wade, James, Carmelo Anthony, and Carlos Boozer. All four were members of the disappointing bronze medal squad at the 2004 Athens Games. Wade, James, and Anthony were also among the US players who also won bronze at the 2006 World Championships.

"After 2004, we touched base with each other and said we wanted to make a commitment in being part of USA Basketball and try to accomplish something we’ve never done before, and that’s win a gold medal," James said. "Once we came together and said we wanted to do it, we put our time, we gave up our summers to sacrifice to play the game of basketball, which we love to do.

"To finally go and win the gold medal, not just for us as individuals but for everyone and America means a lot."

Said Wade: "The moment is special. All three of us took time out to just take the moment in."

BEIJING -- Argentina won a bronze medal in men's basketball today by defeating Lithuania 87-75 at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium. Ex-NBA player Carlos Delfino had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds for Argentina. Argentina star guard Manu Ginobili of the Spurs did not play due to an ankle injury.

The Bird's Nest will play host to the closing ceremonies on Aug. 24. (Reuters)

STAR ATTRACTIONS: The final day brings plenty of action from the boxing ring and the passing of the Olympic torch to London, host of the 2012 Games.

NBC and NBC HD
Noon-4 p.m. Boxing - Six Gold Medal Finals; Men's Water Polo Gold Medal Match; Gymnastics - Rhythmic Group Gold Medal Final; 7-11 p.m. Men's Volleyball Gold Medal Match; Closing Ceremony

CNBC and CNBC HD
Midnight-2 a.m. Men's Basketball Bronze Medal Game (LIVE)

USA and USA HD
5-11 a.m. Men's Basketball Gold Medal Final Game (re-air); Men's Volleyball Bronze Medal Match; Men's Water Polo Bronze Medal Match; Men's Handball Gold Medal Game - Men's Marathon

TELEMUNDO
4 a.m.-1 p.m. Track & Field Gold Medal Finals and Men's Marathon; Men's Basketball Gold Medal Game; Men's Diving - Platform Gold Medal Final; Boxing Gold Medal Finals; Midnight-1 a.m. TBA

UNIVERSAL HD 24-hour MSNBC, & CNBC HD
Simulcasts and Coverage

NBC OLYMPIC BASKETBALL CHANNEL
Midnight-Noon Men's Gold Medal Game

BEIJING -- People are going to think what they're going to think, and Becky Hammon isn't going to worry about it. She long ago gave up on the idea that the average American would understand.

Hammon is the star player for the WNBA's San Antonio Silver Stars who came here to be an Olympian, only not to play for the USA, but for, of all people, the Russian Federation. Some people aren't happy about that. They see her as a traitor, or something. And many folks think the Americans were a bit rough on her during their 67-52 victory in Thursday's semifinal game. Hammon had come into the game as Russia's leading scorer, but she was held to three points while being subjected to some physical defense.

But she bounced back, as great competitors will, and she now has a measure of satisfaction. She's got a bronze medal, and she knows the Russians couldn't have won it without her 22 points, and especially without her big second quarter during Russia's 94-81 conquest of China on Saturday evening. The Russians and Chinese played evenly in periods one, three and four. The difference was the 28-16 Russian edge in the second quarter, and the player who made that difference was Hammon, who made three three-pointers while picking up a steal and an assist

"It's just relief," she said. "It's nice to win the medal, but that was never why I did it."

She didn't spurn the Americans. They spurned her. She just wasn't in the Olympic mix, but when the Russians asked her if she'd consider playing for them, she said, 'Why not?" She has played professionally in Russia, and they were very happy to arrange the paperwork.

Someone might quarrel with the loose eligibility rules some countries have. Truth be told, I'm one of them. But until the IOC clamps down, people will keep doing it, and so there was nothing illegal about what the Russians and Becky Hammon did. They like her and she likes them and she got to have an Olympic experience. It was as simple as that.

"I've never doubted my decision for a second," she said. "I'm here for the right reasons. To me, it's been an even better experience than I thought. The Village was great and the other girls have treated me so well. I'm anxious to get back home and re-join my team and then I'll be looking forward to returning to Russia."

OLYMPIC MAIN PRESS CENTER - As the games come to a close here this weekend, I know many fans will dwell on medal numbers. But there's another set of numbers that really sticks with me.

Of the 149 people - nearly all Chinese citizens - who submitted nearly 80 applications to protest in designated parks during the Olympics, none - zero - were approved by the government. These rejections come after the government had authorized this application process, at the suggestion of the International Olympic Committee. It was designed to keep protests - about everything from Tibet and domestic land seizures - orderly and away from the Olympic sites.

According to the state's news agency this week, of the 77 applications, 74 were withdrawn because the problems cited were "addressed" by the relevant authorities, two were suspended because of incomplete information, and one was rejected because it was "in violation of China's laws on demonstrations and protests."

This leads to the obvious question for any thinking person: Were the "protest parks" a charade to fool the Chinese people - and the media?

As a parting act, I am taking up the Chinese government on a different application process introduced during the Olympics. As part of its vow of greater openness with the foreign media about a range of issues related to the games, they have made available an official "application form of accredited journalists" to facilitate interview and informational inquiries. Like the 149 people who took advantage of the protest zone process, I'm here as a journalist to give this one a try.

My written request (written in English and Chinese to facilitate communication) asks the Beijing Public Security Bureau to tell me the home province of each of the petitioners, and what each grievances was about. Wanting to be as reasonable as possible, I have asked for a response within 10 days, and given my Boston contact information so they can respond when I return to the U.S.

Perhaps the Chinese will see this request as part of the "biased" foreign media - a term used just yesterday by Wang Wei, spokesman for the Beijing Olympic Committee, during a testy press conference here. He had fielded one too many questions about isolated detentions of Westerners who had unfurled Tibetan flags. And inquiries about the pair of elderly Chinese women sentenced to "reform through labor" when they protested their forced removal from their homes.

He wanted the media to focus more on the near-flawless operation of the Olympics -- that some 10,000 athletes competed in 28 different sports in 37 competition venues that gave inspiration - and entertainment - to millions and millions of spectators all over the world. T.V. Olympic viewership globally and domestically reached all-time highs.

Wang went on to say to reporters, "Tell the true story, please."

Surely that is a goal that many journalists here share. I'm hoping for an answer to my inquiry.

As the Olympics wind down, I did one last man-on-the-street informal survey today, this time to find out which country Beijingers think is the big winner of the 2008 Olympics. China, of course, is way ahead in gold medals, but the US has a slight edge (as I write this) in the total medals count.

A few people politely pointed out that no one wins the Olympics, or that the whole world wins. B O R I N G. But when pressed on the total-medals-versus-gold-medals issue, everyone was in agreement that it's gold medals that matter the most.

Some said that the gold count is the way that China traditionally measures Olympics victory, and since we're in China that's the measure we should use this year. "Based on this meaning, the big winner is the Chinese."

One person conceded that America's higher total medal count indicates that Americans are more well rounded across a broader spectrum of different sports--they're just not as good at the sports they're good at as the Chinese.

My favorite answers had to do with the intrinsic superiority of gold, the substance. One woman said gold is worth more, and therefore should be the way we decide overall victory. Another gentleman simply reasoned: "Gold is the most heavy." Enough said.

Baseball teams will collide no more after the Beijing Olympiad. (Reuters)

STAR ATTRACTIONS: Will Team USA's Lisa Leslie receive her final gold medal? And it's the final swan song for baseball as an Olympic sport.

NBC and NBC HD
10 a.m.-6 p.m. Women's Basketball Gold Medal Game (LIVE); Synchronized Swimming - Team Gold Medal Final; Canoeing Gold Medal Finals; Gymnastics - Rhythmic Individual Gold Medal Final; Women's Volleyball Gold Medal Match; Boxing Gold Medal Finals; 7:30 p.m.-Midnight Track & Field - Men's Marathon (LIVE); Track & Field; Men's Diving - Platform Gold Medal Final; 12:30-5 a.m. Men's Basketball Gold Medal Game (LIVE); Men's Mountain Bike; Men's Table Tennis - Gold Medal Match

CNBC and CNBC HD
Midnight-2 a.m. Men's Soccer Gold Medal Game (LIVE)

USA and USA HD
2-10 a.m. Baseball Gold Medal Game (LIVE); Women's Handball Gold Medal Game (LIVE); Women's Volleyball Bronze Medal Match; Men's Field Hockey Gold Medal Game (LIVE); Men's Table Tennis - Singles Semifinal

MSNBC
8-10 a.m. Men's Table Tennis - Singles Gold & Bronze Medal Matches

TELEMUNDO
6 a.m.-2 p.m. Baseball Gold Medal Game (LIVE) Track & Field - Gold Medal Finals; Men's Diving - Platform Semifinal; Boxing Gold Medal Finals; 6-7:30 p.m. Men's Volleyball Semifinal; Midnight-1 a.m. Women's Volleyball Gold Medal Match

UNIVERSAL HD 24-hour MSNBC, & CNBC HD
Simulcasts and Coverage

NBC OLYMPIC SOCCER CHANNEL
Midnight-Noon Men's Soccer Gold Medal Match

NBC OLYMPIC BASKETBALL CHANNEL
7:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Women's Basketball Gold Medal Game

(Globe Staff Photo/Wendy Maeda)

By Casey Ramsdell, Globe Correspondent

BURLINGTON -- Giddy young girls in ponytails and leotards clutched handwritten signs today and lined up outside a gym here waiting for their idol. She wasn’t a gold medal winner, but it didn’t matter to the hundreds who honored her with homemade T-shirts. Alicia Sacramone was home.

The U.S. Gymnastics captain and Winchester native stumbled in Beijing, a mistake that contributed to the team's silver medal finish. Sacramone failed to capture an individual medal and placed fourth in the vault, an event in which she was projected to do well.

Despite not shining in the games, Sacramone was the star of the show today at the Burlington gym where she trains.

The United States men's team has reached the gold medal game with a 101-81 victory over Argentina.

Carmelo Anthony led eight players in double figures for the U,S. with 21 points.

The Americans will meet Spain on Sunday in the final.

BEIJING -- The United States men's basketball team owned a 49-40 lead a halftime against Argentina in the semi-finals game of the Olympics at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium tonight. The Americans have shot more 3-pointers (6-of-20) than two point field goal attempts (13). USA forward Carmelo Anthony has 13 points while Argentina forward Luis Scola had 12 points. Argentina guard Manu Ginobili left the game with 3:39 left in the first quarter with USA up 14-4 and didn't return the rest of the first half. Spain beat Lithuania earlier to advance to the gold medal game Sunday.

BEIJING -- Spain defeated Lithuania 91-86 in the semi-finals of the Oympics to advance to the gold medal men's basketball finals at the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium. Spain center Pau Gasol of the Lakers scored a team-high 19 points while guard Rudy Fernandez of the Blazers added 18. The Spaniards will play the winner of the American-Argentina game that is taking place right now. The U.S. up 21-4 late in the first quarter.
Spain guard Ricky Rubio expects to play the Americans and calls them the favorites. The U.S. has already hammered Spain 118-92 in preliminary action.
"We will try to take advantage of the opportunity we have," Rubio said. "They are the strongest team here. We must play.-30-

In the past few years, Beijing has begun star rating their public bathrooms in an effort to make the city more attractive to tourists. In my city wanderings over the past few weeks, I've had the honor to sample a few of these. This week, for example, I took a day to do some much-needed sight-seeing and visited the Forbidden City, which boasts a gorgeous four-star commode. And, a little over a week ago, I had the opportunity to visit an authentic no-star facility on the other end of town. Without further ado, here's news you can use on what to expect (men, at least) when making pit stops in the ancient capital (note: I didn't see any five or three stars):

4 star: Squeaky clean, plenty of sit-down toilets, some with toilet paper. Someone is actually cleaning each 4-star bathroom as I'm in it, and I have the feeling that it's where they spend their entire work week. They always seem to be cleaning the sinks when I'm in a 4 star, and I have yet to be able to wash my hands in one. Smells like cleaning product.

2 star: Mostly squat toilets, except for one sit-down toilet for the disabled. Stalls have doors and divider walls, but no toilet paper. Doesn't smell like cleaning products.

1 star: Not much different than 2 stars, but minus any of the charm, and sometimes minus the stall divider walls. Smells like you would expect.

No stars: No doors, no divider walls, no stalls per se, holes in the ground, and a row of seven or eight men squatting cheek-to-cheek, reading newspapers and smoking, a couple on cell phones. Quite a collegian vibe, actually. Seems to be a no-eye-contact rule. You have to smell it to believe it.

The Cubans added another three-run homer, this time by catcher Ariel Pestano. The Cubans lead 10-2 heading into the ninth.

Right fielder Alexei Bell hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Cubans a 7-2 lead.

Following one out singles to right by Michel Enriquez and Frederich Cepeda, Bell crushed a no doubt homer to left and he stood at the plate admiring his work.

The Cubans got a towering one-out homer from left fielder Frederich Cepeda. The shot landed in the back row of the left field stands. The homer was hit off American reliever Brian Duensing.

Cuba 4, US 2 through six innings.

Steven Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas) won the bronze medal in men's 80kg taekwondo competition at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium Friday evening. Lopez scored a 3-2 victory over Rashad Ahmadov of Azerbaijan in the bronze medal match. His medal completes a family collection of one silver and two bronze medals from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, as brother Mark and sister Diana earned theirs in competition on Thursday

The Americans received a big break in the top of the fifth inning. With one out, catcher Lou Marson hit a high pop up in shallow right. The ball fell in between the first baseman and right fielder.

The play was called an error and Marson reached second. Then the next hitter, Jason Donald hit a solid single to center, scoring Marson, who just got under the tag of the Cuban catcher,

Cuba 3, US 2

Cuban DH Alfredo Despaigne hit a two-out solo shot to center on a 1-1 hanging breaking pitch.

Cuba 3, USA 1

The U.S. scored a run in the top of the fourth inning when it put together a small rally. Brian Barden and Nate Schierholtz led off with base hits.

After Terry Tiffee moved over the runs by grounding to second base, DH Matt Brown hit a sacrifice fly to shallow left to bring home Barden.

Cuba 2, US 1

The Cubans opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning with two runs. With one out, CF Giorbis Duvergel reached on an opposite field single to left.

Then 3B Michel Enriquez lined an opposite field triple to deep right center field. He would score on the play as second baseman's Brian Barden's relay throw skipped past third baseman Mike Hessman.

United States pitcher Stephen Strasburg (San Diego State) got out of a little jam in the top of the second when he gave up two infield singles and a ground rule double.

Before the double, Strasburg was bailed out as the US catcher Lou Marson threw out a Cuban, who was trying to steal second base.