There is no joy in Krzyzewski-ville.

Maybe it’s because they’re celebrating it in Japan, so it’s a challenge to watch it on TV here in North America. Maybe it’s because Indiana’s 2002 World Championships (3rd place) and the 2004 Olympics (3rd place) still taste in our mouths. Maybe it’s because we still associate the United States in these world tournaments represented by the surly Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury and, well, we don’t like those guys.

But whatever the reason, no one seems to care about the World Cup in basketball.

Coach K leads the squad, which was unbeaten in the group stage until Wednesday. The USA opened with a 111-100 victory against Puerto Rico, which doesn’t sound like much until you realize that Puerto Rico shocked the world by defeating the United States in the first game of the Athens Olympics ago. two years. The US also crushed Yao and the Chinese and Primoz Brezec and the Slovenes.

It seemed that, before Wednesday’s game against Italy, Coach K had turned the current group into a more humble and less ridiculous group. The late Olympic team and (even more so) the 2002 World Championship team were very easy to criticize. Somehow, they seemed a symbol of American swagger and glee around the world: clueless millionaires dancing around the Parthenon, calling it an ugly pile of rocks. I’m an American, but did I really have to root for Marbury, Iverson and Lamar Odom? Ew. With Krzyzewski around, I had higher hopes: fundamental basketball hopes and, like, being able to enjoy my team’s victories.

Unfortunately, by the time adversity hit Italy on Wednesday, the USA stars reverted to one-on-one play and long-range shooting. They found themselves down 12 points in the second half, and only late performances from Carmelo Anthony and Dywane Wade saved them. Still, the seeds of disaster have been sown, and this group officially has the potential to become just as nasty as its predecessors. They haggle. They dribble a little more. They still haggle a little more. They threaten to go to the hoop. They threaten a little more. They get frustrated and pass the ball out of bounds. It happened over and over again. If it hadn’t been for Anthony and Wade saving America’s bacon on Wednesday, you’d be reading nothing but basketball humiliation articles once again.

And believe me: that humiliation will come. It’s probably not Coach K’s fault; he relies on really young players who play in a league that encourages one-on-one play and doesn’t teach their youngsters how to pass effectively. And that’s all international game: unselfishness. Unfortunately, selfishness is the biggest part of what these kids have. Oh yeah, that and the bad free throws.

Are the Red Sox fully cooked?

BoDog Bookmakers, BoDog.ws: No. Despite their recent struggles, the Red Sox remained 6 1/2 games behind in the AL East and four games off the pace in the wild-card seed. They still have 37 games to play, including four against the Yankees and three against the White Sox and Twins. If they can survive this next stretch (eight straight road games), the Red Sox could really get going in September, a month in which they play 16 home games.

The favorite college football team to win the National Championship on the BoDog board is Notre Dame, at 4-1. Are those odds so low due to the huge fan base of the Irish?

BB, BoDog.ws: They are not too short. Granted, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are coming off a 34-20 loss to the Buckeyes in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, but the time seems right for them to make a serious run at the BCS National Championship. Quarterback Brady Quinn has been stellar under head coach Charlie Weis and many of his offensive and defensive players are coming back. Meanwhile, teams like Texas and USC have lost stars on both sides of the ball due to the NFL Draft. All signs point to Notre Dame or Ohio State being the favorites to go all the way.

Can you give us your favorite double-digit team (10-1 or higher) to win the 2007 NCAA title game and tell us why?

BB, BoDog.ws: A good sleeper pick would be the California Golden Bears, currently 12-1. While the USC Trojans have been making history in recent years, Cal has been quietly building. Now, with USC weakened by the NFL Draft, the Golden Bears could be on the verge of taking control of the Pac-10. Last season, Cal went 8-4 with a powerful running game that had running backs Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett in the backfield. The two running backs combined for 2,245 total yards and 16 touchdowns. With both running backs returning as juniors, Cal’s offense appears to be even better. On defense, preseason All-American tackle Brandon Mebane leads a team with eight returning starters. So absolutely, a Pac-10 crown is within reach, as is a national title.

With the PGA Championship behind us and Tiger Woods dominating as ever, the last big golf event of the season is the Ryder Cup in September. Since we’ll all be preoccupied with football by then, I’ll ask now: Does the Ryder Cup make a big splash? And do bettors usually bet on the side of the Americans no matter what?

BB, BoDog.ws: All true sports fans have time for the Ryder Cup, and bettors love it for its heads-up format. Sure, you can place head-to-head bets in a regular tournament, but the competitors aren’t actively competing against each other, they’re competing against the entire field. In other words, we expect a lot of interest in the Ryder Cup in September. Most golf bettors are informed enough to know that the Americans have struggled in past Ryder Cups; Tiger Woods’ Ryder Cup record is 7-11-2 in four appearances and Phil Mickelson is 9-8-3 in five appearances. With the event taking place at Ireland’s K Club, the Europeans will have home court advantage. We’ll have to see if national pride gets in the way of punters’ objectivity.

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