My heart goes out to the USA men's basketball team. No, not because they lost to Argentina in the semifinals at the Olympics. But because they were robbed of their birthright to complain about unfair play by one of their own.
Now that Paul Hamm, the USOC and the entire US media has established ad nauseam that bad calls by judges are part and parcel of sporting competition and should not be used as a reason for future dispute, the basketball team has been deprived of a stock excuse for losing. Now Iverson and Le"Bronze" James and the rest of the multimillionaire stars might have to actually admit they were well and truly outplayed by a better basketball team. With emphasis on the word 'team.'
They still might use the excuse anyway, but it will no longer be universally accepted. They're not poor losers the way you're thinking. They're really are the poor losers.
And on a diametrically opposite note, hats off to Anju George. For not letting the weight of a billion hopes crush you like it has so many others. For placing a very creditable sixth in the long jump finals, a mere two centimetres behind Marion Jones. You may not have medalled, but you're the winningest loser out there.
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