The Associated Press is reporting that Mike Krzyzewski will lead the U.S. Men’s Basketball program through the 2012 Olympics in London.

Chairman Jerry Colangelo had already announced that he would return. Assistant coaches Mike D’Antoni, Nate McMillan and Jim Boeheim will also return.

Entrepreneurs have said that timing is a key ingredient for making a good idea into a successful business venture. Major League Baseball has failed to read its own marketplace in regards to the World Baseball Classic. It is just bad timing to play this tournament at the beginning of spring training.

Commissioner Bud Selig has said that March is the only realistic time of the year to play the WBC. I disagree with him. This tournament needs to be moved to the middle of the summer if the WBC is going to become baseball’s premier global event. If not, then do not expect crisp, memorable games from athletes not yet in game shape.

The United States’ three-run come-from-behind victory over Puerto Rico last Tuesday night should have been the top story the next morning. Instead, the outcome was scrolled underneath a highlight package of a NIT opening round game or copy filler in your local newspaper.

Why?

Well, sport fans are not watching or paying attention to the WBC. No, they’re preoccupied with the NCAA tournament that has firmly established itself as a the major sporting event for this time of the year.

Fans cannot get excited about the WBC if the best players in baseball are not playing in the event. And the ones that are playing, many of them are not ready to compete at a world-class level. Where’s Tim Lincecum or Roy Halladay? They should be anchoring the United States pitching staff in this competition. Team USA should not be relying on the arms of Jeremy Guthrie or Ted Lilly in an elimination game.

Do you think the Netherlands would have defeated the Dominican Republic twice in a competition if they were playing at mid-season? And wouldn’t it be great to see Johan Santana of Venezuela trading strikes with Japan’s Dice-K for all the world to watch. This could happen if the WBC is played every two years in place of the All-Star Game in July. How about a single elimination format, with the finals to be played on Sunday evening in front of a prime time audience? No other sporting event would be competing with baseball for the almighty TV ratings.

Baseball owners might not have any interest in giving up a week’s worth of revenue during the high point of their year, and the idea of scrapping the All-Star game every two years might be enough to give the baseball purist a heart attack, but some playoff contenders might welcome a week off to catch their breath for the second half of the baseball season.

Changes need to take place to make the WBC a world event. Right now, this tournament is nothing more than glorified spring training contest.

The U.S. men’s basketball team accomplished its goal of winning a gold medal by defeating a feisty Spanish team, 118-107. I give credit to NBC for airing the game live even though it was on at 2:30 AM on the East Coast. It’s too bad that they didn’t plan to air it again later in the morning, because it was a great game.

With Kobe Bryant and LeBron James in foul trouble throughout the first half, the game was tight but Dwyane Wade came off the bench to score 21 points in the first two quarters to lead the Americans to a 69-61 halftime lead. Spain continued to fight back throughout the second half, eventually cutting the lead to two on a Rudy Fernandez long ball with 8:13 to play. It was gut-check time for the U.S.; they had allowed Spain to get back into the game with a combination of sketchy shot selection and poor defense and once again it looked like the Americans would be plagued by fractured play.

But down the stretch it was Kobe who took control, scoring eight points and dishing out a couple of assists over the next five minutes to build the lead to nine. Spain cut it to four with 2:25 to play, but Wade hit a clutch three to push the lead back to seven. Carlos Jiminez missed a wide-open three (after just knocking one down) that would have cut the lead to three with 1:33 to play, but Bryant hit a tough shot in the lane on the Americans’ next possession to effectively put the game out of reach.

Defense had been Team USA’s calling card throughout the Olympics, but save for a couple of key stops, they just didn’t have it tonight. Luckily, they were able to knock down their three-pointers (13/28, 46%), which is something that has hurt the U.S. in the past. Wade led all scorers with 27 points and had four steals. Bryant chipped in with 20, including those eight crucial points in the fourth quarter. LeBron James played a solid all-around game, posting 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Spain was led by Pau Gasol (22 points), Fernandez (21) and Juan Carlos Navarro (18). They were playing without Raptors’ point guard Jose Calderon, who was sidelined with a groin injury. (Fernandez joins the Portland Trailblazers next season and he looks like a star in the making. He’s just 23, stands 6′6″, and has a great jumper. He also handles the ball well and attacks the rim. He is starter-quality, but may come off the bench behind Jerryd Bayless and Brandon Roy.)

Hats off to Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski for putting together a team capable of winning the gold. For the most part, they set their egos aside and played together, which is necessary these days to have success at the Olympic level. Every player knew and played his role.

Now where does the program go from here? It will be interesting to see if USA Basketball pushes forward with the same philosophy or, with this success, if they get lulled into a false sense of security. I’m betting on the former, but you never know.

Argentina figured to be one of the toughest tests for Team USA at these games, but the U.S. raced out to a 21-point lead in the early second quarter of the single-elimination semifinal. The first half was a tale of two quarters. The lead, coupled with an injury that knocked Manu Ginobili out of the game, made it easy for the U.S. to get complacent. Even without their star, Argentina is a good team and while the Americans were sleepwalking, the lead was cut to six just before the half.

The U.S. got its act together after a halftime tongue-lashing from Coach K, and won the game going away, 101-81. Carmelo Anthony led Team USA with 21 points, but it was a very balanced attack as seven Americans scored in double figures.

The U.S. moves on to face Spain in the gold medal game. Jose Calderon is iffy to play with a strained groin, and given the Americans’ dominance in the two teams’ first meeting, the Spaniards are really going to have to raise their game if they’re going to keep it close. The game is scheduled for 2:30 AM ET on Sunday morning, so check your local listings.

-Team USA’s basketball team has been on a tear throughout the Olympic Games. Be sure to tune in on Monday morning at 8:00 AM Eastern on the USA Network. This is the last game of pool play; the Men’s Quarterfinals begin this Wednesday.

-The Angels and Rays play this week in a battle of two division leaders. Who would’ve thunk it? You can catch the final game of the series this Wednesday at 7:00 PM Eastern on ESPN2.

-Anyone who’s been watching Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Dallas Cowboys knows that it’s a very entertaining hour of television. With T.O., Tony Romo, and Adam “Pacman” Jones, how can it not be? Episode three of six airs this Wednesday at 10:00 PM Eastern on HBO.

-For those of you who can’t wait for the NFL season to get here, check out the NFL Network all week long for replays of Week 2 of the NFL Preseason.

Even with six current or former NBA players, Spain was no match for Team USA in the fourth of five games of pool play. The combination of the Americans’ defense (16 steals) and three-point shooting (12-25, 48%) led to a 119-82 rout of the 2006 World Champions.

LeBron James led the U.S. in scoring with 18 points, while also posting eight assists, five rebounds and four steals. Dwyane Wade continued his fine play off the bench with 16 points, six rebounds and two steals. In total, the Americans had eight players in double figures.

Both teams have secured spots in the medal round and if the current standings hold, they wouldn’t meet again until the finals. The U.S. team plays Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Kaman and the rest of the German team at 8 am on Monday (on the USA Network) in the final game of pool play. The medal round starts on Wednesday.

Greece beat Team USA two years ago in the World Championships, forcing the U.S. to settle for a bronze medal. It might have been a blessing in disguise for the Americans since it required them to play in the summer of 2007 to qualify for the Bejing Olympics. That extra work is paying dividends as Team USA’s collection of (mostly) All-Stars is starting to play better together, especially on the defensive end. Team defense is what has gotten them through the preliminary games, and it’s what allowed them to upend Greece, 92-69.

The Americans have started 3-0 in pool play without an effective long-range game. They have shot just 19 of 65 (29%) from behind the arc, which is something that has plagued the U.S. for some time. Coach K has elected not to use three-point specialist Michael Redd all that much, probably because his team is getting by without him. They continue to see a lot of zone, however, and as the competition gets tougher, they might need Redd’s shooting to open up things inside.

The team faces its toughest test of pool play when it faces unbeaten Spain at 10 AM (ET) on Saturday.

On a side note, one thing that struck me as odd as I was watching ESPN’s series “Road to Redemption” was just how much of a leadership role LeBron James has taken. Apparently, he’s constant talking, coaching and cracking jokes. But other than his tremendous talent, I just don’t see how LeBron qualifies as a leader of this particular team. He’s just 23 and hasn’t been around great coaching other than his summers with Team USA.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s one of the world’s best and is already basketball’s most athletic player, but he doesn’t strike me as a particularly heady guy. His shot selection is suspect, he gets out of position when he’s on the ball defensively and, other than a big jump in FG% from his rookie to his second season, he has failed to drastically improve any other part of his game. His 3PT% still hovers around 32% and his FT% has actually decreased from 75% his rookie season to 71% last year. Moreover, he has failed to recognize that by developing a good post game, he could literally dominate on the block. Where is that turnaround that made MJ so hard to guard? Where is the up-and-under?

Given his athletic ability, it seems like LeBron could be so much more. And for that reason, I’m not sure why anyone on Team USA would be spending a lot of time worrying about what he has to say.

It isn’t going to be this easy. The U.S. men’s basketball team beat Angola, 97-76, in preliminary pool play.

Dwyane Wade scored 19 points, James dominated the game with his size and strength on both ends, and the U.S. Olympic team wrapped up the easy portion of its schedule with a 97-76 victory Tuesday night.

Dwight Howard added 14 points and James finished with 12 for the Americans, who had another rough night from 3-point range but don’t appear to be stoppable in the open court. Wade was perfect from the field in Beijing until missing in the third quarter.

The Americans (2-0) moved on to face Greece, the team that stunned them two years ago in the semifinals of the world championship. Two days later comes a matchup with Spain, the team that won that tournament and is also 2-0 in this one after rallying to beat China in overtime behind 29 points from Pau Gasol.

Look for Team USA’s game against Greece on Thursday (early) morning on the USA Network.

- The Aaron Rodgers era officially begins Monday Night in Green Bay when the Packers take on the Bengals in their first preseason game. Don’t expect him to play much, but it’ll be interesting to see how he handles his first series as the number one guy. The game airs on ESPN at 8:00 PM Eastern.

- The New York Yankees, fresh off of getting swept in Anaheim this past weekend, head to Minnesota to face the Twins. The Twins are just a half game back of the White Sox in the AL Central, and the Yankees need to get their act together before it’s too late and they miss out on the playoffs. This is definitely an important series for both teams.

- The Olympics can be seen throughout the week on NBC, USA, CNBC, MSNBC, and The Oxygen Channel. There’s enough activity going on to the point where something’s always on.

- Team USA’s basketball team looks to build off their dominating performance yesterday when they take on Angola Tuesday at 8:00 AM Eastern. The game will be aired on the USA network. That’s damn early for those of us on the West coast!

It was a rough start for Team USA in its Olympic opener as China made eight of its first 12 three-point shots. After that run of hot shooting, China was still within three (35-32) with 4:10 to play in the second quarter, but the U.S. outscored the Chinese 66-38 over the last two and a half quarters to win, 101-70.

Dwyane Wade came off the bench to lead Team USA in scoring with 19 points, shooting 7 of 7 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free throw line. LeBron James had an outstanding games, posting 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks, including two spectacular rejections in the first half.

The U.S. was sloppy at times and struggled to get good inside shots against China’s 2-3 zone. Shooting is still a team weakness as the U.S. made just 7 of 24 from long range. But the Americans’ overall athleticism was just too much in the end.

For China, Yao Ming posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, and looked pretty active coming off a foot injury. Yi Jianlian, who was drafted by the Bucks but was recently traded to the Nets, had a pretty rough game, missing his first seven shots and finishing 4 of 13 from the field. China is going to need him to play better to make the medal round.

Team USA’s next game is Tuesday morning against Angola. Check your local listings.