Greece? We can’t beat Greece? Forget Argentina or Spain or even Germany.

We can’t beat Greece?

The U.S. basketball team lost to Greece in the semifinals of the world championships yesterday 101-95. Most of the U.S. team sulked back to the locker room, with only coach Mike Krzyewski and a handful of U.S. players venturing to mid-court to congratulate the Greeks. We lost in diplomacy and good sportsmanship, too.

When I first heard the score, my initial embarrassment turned to amusement. I actually think America’s inability to win a world championship in basketball, even with a team loaded with NBA all-stars, is a good thing, though I doubt it will ever get through to all those youths copying their favorite NBA stars.

I’m a life-long basketball fan, but the game has turned into a show. Go to any playground in America and you can see all the behind-the-back dribbles and no-look passes you can stomach. But, you won’t see anybody hitting a free throw. And precious few good three-point shooters. Or blocking out. Or defense. In other words, you won’t see any fundamentals.

Any notion about America’s world dominance in basketball should be well put to rest by now. It’s the third time the U.S. has lost in major international championships. Actually, there aren’t that many sports left where we dominate the world.

Oh well, we always have Tiger Woods in golf. That should last for a while.

For god’s sake – Greece?

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