AP PhotoLeBron James brings a gold medal home to Cleveland.

After a horrible 2004 showing in Athens, Greece, that totally reshuffled how international basketball is done in the U.S., the Americans at the Beijing Games set things right with a bruising 118-107 victory over Spain in the gold medal game Sunday.

The Americans overwhelmed everyone for seven games, but they led by only four points with just over two minutes to play. Then they proved they could handle a close game that seemed would never come in Beijing.

Their prize: the first U.S. gold medal since the 2000 Olympics.

"Much respect to Spain, but the U.S. is back on top again," Cavaliers superstar and Akron native LeBron James said.

Matt Dunham, APCuba's Angel Valodia Matos' kick of Sweden judge Chakir Chelbat, right, during a bronze-medal taekwondo match was not a high point of the Olympics.

Olympic afterthoughts, or why I'm glad I didn't follow my dream to become an Olympic taekwondo referee . . .

I'll take the Redeem Team. You can have the Dream Team.

Not that this one could beat that one. Who cares? This time around, NBA stars sat and watched other Olympians perform, didn't use their days off to fly somewhere to golf, and didn't use the American flag to cover themselves because their Olympic uniforms weren't Nike-issued.

Oh, yeah. And they won, playing together and even playing defense (at least up until the gold-medal game).

BEIJING -- Order is restored in international basketball. The United States is back on top, but not by that much anymore.

AP Photo/Eric GayUSA's Lebron James and Deron Williams celebrate following their win over Spain in their men's gold medal basketball game at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008.

Culminating a three-year mission to end years of embarrassment, the U.S. Olympic team survived a huge challenge from Spain, winning 118-107 today in the gold-medal game.

After overwhelming everyone for seven games, the Americans led by only four points with just over two minutes to play. Then the U.S. proved it could handle a close game that seemed would never come in Beijing.

Their prize: the first U.S. gold medal since the 2000 Olympics.

"Much respect to Spain, but the U.S. is back on top again," LeBron James said.

BEIJING -- When Lisa Leslie stood up from the interview table, the four Olympic gold medals around her neck clanged together, bumping into a microphone.

APLisa Leslie holds up the fourth of her women's basketball gold medals.

"What Lisa means to this team, both this year and USA Basketball in general, I think the gold medals kind of speak for themselves," her teammate Sue Bird said.

On Saturday, the Americans blitzed their nemesis, Australia, 92-65, for their fourth consecutive gold medal, their sixth overall, and extended their Olympic winning streak to 33 games.

BEIJING -- Before the U.S. women's basketball team played Russia in the Olympic semifinals, Lisa Leslie was thinking about what it was it going to take to move another step closer to becoming the first basketball player to win four consecutive gold medals. Sylvia Fowles was just thinking about dunking.

After Candace Parker glided toward the basket and jammed in pre-game warm-ups, the pressure was on Fowles to follow suit. Fowles steamed ahead, but when she missed the dunk off the back of the rim, she covered her mouth, mildly embarrassed, and laughed.

Leslie remembers being where Fowles is now when she played in Atlanta in 1996, an Olympic first-timer relishing every minute. "I remember being the younger one, where I just came in and whatever minutes you get, you play hard," Leslie said. "That was great."

BEIJING -- The scoreboard that flashed USA 92, Australia 65 only told part of the story behind this gold medal dominance.

The three fingers Tamika Catchings held up on each hand, representing the U.S. women's basketball team's 33-game Olympic win streak, told more.

And the four gold medals that Lisa Leslie wore around her neck as she exited the Olympic Basketball Gymnasium added an exclamation point -- or maybe an ellipsis?

These was supposed to be the Olympic Games that proved Team USA vulnerable, a semifinal loss to Russia in the 2006 world championships still fresh in many opponents' minds.

Instead, Leslie capped her international career by becoming the first Olympic basketball athlete to win four straight gold medals. And Team USA won its eight games here by an average of 37.6 points with younger players such as Candace Parker, Cappie Pondexter and Kara Lawson making major contributions.

Eric Gay, APUSA stars Lebron James, left, and Carmelo Anthony will try to bring home the gold against Spain on Sunday in Beijing.

Sunday, 2:30 a.m. EDT

Spain

Semifinal recap: Spain survived a late charge against a Lithuanian team that has much more Olympic experience, winning, 91-86.

Path to final: Pool play -- def. Greece, 81-66; def. China, 85-75 (OT); def. Germany, 72-59; lost to USA, 82-119; def. Angola, 98-50. Quarterfinals -- def. Croatia, 72-59.

Beijing highlight: Spain nearly got caught in China's crosshairs in its second game of the tournament. A few key plays by 17-year-old Olympian Ricky Rubio in the final seconds helped force overtime. Pau Gasol scored 29 points to help Spain win by 10.

Lynne Sladky, APAmericans Brooke Abel, Ohio State grad Kate Hooven, Christina Jones, Euclid native Becky Kim, Andrea Nott, Annabelle Orme, Jillian Penner, Kim Probst and Janet Culp perform in the synchronized swimming team technical routine on Friday in Beijing.

Nine more Ohioans can add to the 10 medals already won as the Olympics come to a close this weekend.

The Akron Aeros' Matt LaPorta and the Toledo Mudhens' Mike Hessman and Blaine Neal play Japan in the bronze-medal baseball game at 10:30 p.m. tonight (Friday). The U.S. lost a semifinal to Cuba, 10-2, Thursday night.

USOCBecky Kim

The women's basketball gold-medal game at 10 a.m. Saturday will feature the United States and Kate Smith (Logan/Ohio State) against Australia and Penny Taylor, the former Cleveland Rocket who is expected to start despite an ankle injury. LeBron James (Akron/Cavaliers) and Michael Redd (Columbus/Ohio State) lead the U.S. men against Spain in the gold-medal final at 2:30 a.m. Sunday. The game will be rebroadcast at 9 a.m. Sunday on USA Network.

On Friday, Mary Wineberg (Cincinnati) led off the top-qualifying women's 4x400 relay. The final is 10:40 a.m. Saturday. Also Friday, Hyleas Fountain (Kettering) had her heptathlon medal upgraded from a bronze to silver when Ukraine's Lyudmila Blonska was stripped of her second-place finish because of doping.

BEIJING -- The U.S. men's basketball team beat Argentina, 101-81, to advance to the gold medal game of the Beijing Olympics against Spain.

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points to lead the U.S., which lost to Argentina in the semifinals of the Athens Games four years ago.

The Americans finished with bronze in 2004, the first time they failed to win gold since National Basketball Association players were permitted to participate in the Olympics in 1992.

The U.S. and Spain will meet for the gold medal Sunday at 2:30 a.m. EDT. The U.S. defeated Spain, 119-82, in a preliminary round game last week.

Eric Gay / APTeam USA's Diana Taurasi (12) goes up for two of her game-high 21 points in the Americans' 67-52 drubbing of Russia on Thursday in Beijing. With the win, the U.S. will now go for its fourth straight gold medal when it faces Australia on Saturday.

BEIJING -- Diana Taurasi had scratch marks under her right eye and the thumb on her shooting hand was throbbing. And, as she answered questions, she kept pausing, turning and coughing into her warmup shirt.

The U.S. women's basketball team had defeated Russia, 67-52, to advance to the Olympic gold-medal game, but this had been nothing like her team's earlier romps. After winning their first six games by an average of 43.2 points, with no team finishing within 36 points of them, the Americans trailed late in the first half before pulling away.

When asked about her persistent cough, Taurasi attempted to make her 21-point, nine-rebound effort the stuff of legend. "That's a Jordan flu right there," Taurasi said, referring to Michael Jordan's legendary flu game in Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals.

Taurasi then raised her eyebrows and smiled, anticipating the ensuing laughter. The U.S. team certainly needed Taurasi to have a special performance to reach the Olympics final for the fourth consecutive time. The Americans will face Australia for the third time in a row, after it routed China, 90-56, in the other semifinal.

The U.S. trailed, 30-23, with less than three minutes left in the first half, when Taurasi ignited the comeback with two 3-pointers during a 10-0 run. She added another 3-pointer during a 12-0 third-quarter run that turned a five-point deficit into a 45-38 lead that Russia was unable to overcome.

"It was one of those games where you knock down shots when you need them," Taurasi said after making five three-pointers. "I think that's the beauty of our team -- on any given night, any of us can do it. It was just my turn."

BEIJING -- Diana Taurasi had 21 points and the U.S. women's basketball team beat Russia, 67-52, today to advance to their fourth straight Olympic gold medal game.

The Americans will face either Australia or China on Saturday as they try to win a fourth straight gold.

The U.S. had been averaging 99.2 points as they cruised through the first six games, winning by 43 points a contest. However the Americans hadn't played a team as good as Russia, which had been inconsistent during the Olympics barely winning games in pool play.

The Russians gave the Americans their closest game of the Olympics.

Dusan Vranic / APAs the USA rolls over its Olympic competition, LeBron James is clearly demonstrating he is a better all-around player than Kobe Bryant -- and not just because of his better statistics.

BEIJING -- Heading into these Olympic Games, as American men's basketball began its great image overhaul, two questions lingered over the group that has become known as the Redeem Team.

The first was whether the United States could win the gold medal. And while that will not be answered until Sunday, one does not have to be an oracle to figure it out.

The second was how the alpha-dog dynamic between the planet's two brightest stars, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, would play out. That answer, too, has been as clear as the U.S. dominance in this tournament.

From his persistent vocal leadership to his rugged rebounding to his ability to drive to the hoop at will, James has outplayed Bryant. He has played multiple positions, emerged as the vocal leader and has better statistics.

And while Bryant has not played poorly, he has continued to play like he is on his NBA team instead of adapting and adjusting to his more talented Olympic teammates. James has stood out precisely because he has blended in so well.

"I knew it had to come from someone," James said of his leadership role. "It doesn't matter how good individuals are, if you don't have a leader, it's not going to be right. I took that responsibility from Day 1, saying I'm going to be the vocal leader and I'm going to be the leader of this team."

BEIJING -- Don't doubt this U.S. men's basketball team -- and sure don't challenge them, either.

Especially if it's going to make Kobe Bryant flash his NBA MVP form.

APUSA's Kobe Bryant shoots as Australia's Andrew Bogut, left, defends during the second half of their men's quarterfinal basketball game.

Bryant scored 25 points in his best game in Beijing, and the men's U.S. Olympic team advanced to the semifinals by beating Australia, 116-85, today.

The United States will play defending champion Argentina or Greece on Friday for a spot in Sunday's gold medal game.

Locked in what looked like another tough game against Australia, the Americans sent the Aussies' upset hopes down under with a 14-0 burst to open the second half, featuring nine points from Bryant.

LeBron James added 16 points for the Americans, who are guaranteed a chance to play for a medal. They need two more wins for their first gold medal in a major international competition since the 2000 Sydney Games.

Beijing -- The Brazilian soccer team checked into the Olympic Athletes Village on Monday, and chaos ensued. Ronaldinho, AC Milan's $37 million star, tried to stand in line with a tray at the 5,000-seat cafeteria, and was mobbed by volunteers and other athletes seeking autographs and photos.

Charles Krupa, APAmerican tennis star James Blake says he has no problem living in the Athletes Village. He upset Roger Federer, who stayed in a five-star hotel, and the gold was won by Rafael Nadal, who also stayed in the Village.

Similar scenes have erupted around tennis No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain, Chinese NBA star Yao Ming and German NBA star Dirk Nowitzki (both got custom 8-foot beds), and Argentine soccer hero Lionel Messi, all of whom turned down posh hotel digs for a chance to slum it with kayakers and archers in the Athletes Village.

Dusan Vranic, Associated PressChinese basketball fans have embraced American stars such as LeBron James, and the NBA plans to use the Redeem Team's popularity to make more inroads in the country after the Olympics end.

Beijing -- NBA commissioner David Stern is intrigued by the question buzzing around the Beijing Games: Who would win a matchup between the 1992 Dream Team and the 2008 Redeem Team?

"I'd actually pay to buy a ticket for that one," Stern said in an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday. And though he wouldn't pick a winner, he seemed to favor the frontcourt of the 1992 team.

"David Robinson and Karl Malone? And that was the frontcourt," Stern said. "Who else was up there? Patrick Ewing. So Patrick, David and Karl Malone -- that would be interesting."

That game may be a fantasy for hoops fans. But the reality is that both squads have helped the NBA as it tries to cash in on the global market.