Women's Dream Team dominates

ATHENS — Just prior to tipoff, the most proper ladies of USA Olympic basketball handed over Team USA hats, the traditional small gift, to their counterparts from New Zealand.

The Americans then presented the Kiwis another gift in the form of a 7-0 lead in the game's first 89 seconds.

"They got to keep the hats," cracked Sheryl Swoopes after the Americans rallied and rolled to a 99-47 victory.

Yes, quicker than you could say "Yo! Tina!" America's new dream team of hoops took all but the hats away.

With Tina Thompson and Yolanda Griffith pounding away inside, and Diana Taurasi raining down two three-pointers, Team USA finished the first quarter on a 28-6 run and that was that.

Distaff Dream Team 1-0, New Zealand 0-and-a-demoralizing-1.

The first game of the 2004 Summer Olympics U.S. women's basketball team was as one-sided as the final rebounding totals, 58-28 in favor of the U.S.

All but over after one quarter, U.S. up 28-13. Definitely over at half, U.S. on top 63-24. Why bother to show up for the final 20 minutes?

"We have a target," Swoopes said, patting herself on the back. "Every single team here wants to beat the USA."

New Zealand couldn't. Not in the nearly three millennia since the Greeks started the Olympics way back in 776 B.C.

U.S. coach Van Chancellor had complained, going in, that every team in the Olympic tournament had more preparation time than his U.S. squad of all-stars on leave from the WNBA.

A loss, even to New Zealand, was a possibility, what with the knee injury to Katie Smith that kept her on the bench this game and likely will the next.

Swoopes stopped just short of riding that overly cautious train of thought.

"If it were going to happen," Swoopes said, "this would probably be the ideal week for that to happen."

But would it? Could it? Can it? Against New Zealand? Against the Czech Republic, which the United States plays on Tuesday? Or anyone the Americans' might play before the medal round?

"Do I think it will happen?" Swoopes said, posing a question of her own? "No."

It will not happen if the U.S. plays as it did after the initial 89 seconds on Saturday.