US Team Crushed Germany 106-57 Finish Top Of Group B

Dwight Howard scored 22 points, LeBron James added 18 points for USA, was two of five players to score in double figures as the US team crushed and eliminated Germany 106-57 to finish top of Group B. Team USA have averaged a 32-point win in their five group games and are strong favorites for the gold.

The Redeem Team, as they have become known, will now face Australia in Wednesday's basketball quarter-finals.

Australia won 106-75 against Lithuania, who had already secured top spot in Group A and a tie with China.

Greece beat China 91-77 and will face Argentina, while Croatia earned a tie with Spain by beating Iran 91-57.

Andrew Bogut led Australia with 23 points against Lithuania, while Greece's heroes against China were Ioannis Bouroussis and Vassilis Spanoulis, who scored 19 points each. Local hero Yao Ming played only 18 minutes in China's defeat and reacted angrily when benched by China's Lithuanian coach Jonas Kazlauskas.

"If we'd been closer to Greece he'd have played longer minutes," said Kazlauskas after Yao had stormed off after the final buzzer. "But he's a player, I'm the coach. I make the decisions."

Spain recovered from their hammering by the US two days ago with an easy 98-50 win over Angola. LA Lakers centre Pau Gasol led the Spaniards with 31 points, despite playing just 24 minutes.

Croatia, too, had an easy time in their final group game after restricting Iran to just 16 first-half points. Marin Rozic and Marko Tomas scored 16 points each for Croatia.

Defending Olympic champions Argentina, watched by football legend Diego Maradona, beat Russia 91-79 as forward Luis Scola scored 37 points.

Russia, the reigning European champions, went out of the tournament with only a single win to their names.

FYI - Behind Sports

US Softball Team Aiming For Olympic Gold

The 18 winning streak in Olympic is an amazing achievement, that is why the US softball team is aiming for the Olympic gold in Beijing. The US softball team scored four unearned runs in the sixth inning to beat Canada 8-1.

The United States women's national softball team is the national softball team of the United States. It is governed by the United States' Amateur Softball Association and takes part in international softball competitions. The US team has been dominant in international play, taking the gold medal in three straight Olympics and six straight world championships. They will go for their fourth consecutive gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In the 2004 Olympics the team held its opponents to one run scored in 7 games. The lone run came in a 5-1 victory over the Australian team. It was the first run scored by an opponent against the US softball team in 9 games.

On March 26, 2008, the United States Olympic softball team had their 185 game winning streak snapped in a no-hitter thrown by Virginia Tech's Angela Tincher, who struck out 10 batters in a 1-0 exhibition win for the Hokies. The no-hit win proved something extra special in this case, as Tincher had previously tried out and failed to make the 2008 US Olympic softball team.

Winning Result
* Olympics: Gold Medal - 2004, 2000, 1996
* ISF Women's World Championship: Gold Medal - 2006, 2002, 1998, 1994, 1990, 1986, 1978, 1974; Silver Medal - 1970, 1965
* World Cup of Softball: 1st (2007), 1st (2006), 2nd (2005)
* 2006 Japan Softball Cup: 1st

FYI - Behind Sports

Teddy Riner Gold Medal Favorite Lost In Judo Quarterfinals

BEIJING – In the men's Judo at over 100-kilogram division, Teddy Riner a French teenage world champion was lost his chances at an Olympic judo gold by loosing a close overtime bout in the quarterfinals.

Riner, a judo sensation since he took the world championship last year at age 18, started off cautiously, winning his opening bout on points. He blasted through his second match, flipping Kazakhstan's Yeldos Ikhsangaliyev shortly after their bout began.

But he slowed down again in the quarters, going into the final minute at 1-1 with Uzbekistan's Abdullo Tangriev. The two then went into overtime, and again neither was able to find an opening.

Tangriev was declared the winner on a penalty against Riner for passivity just before time ran out.

Russia's Tamerian Tmenov — who lost to Riner in the world championship final — took an early lead in his first bout over Athens bronze medalist Dennis van der Geest, but the match never turned into much of a rivalry because the Dutchman hurt his right arm and spent most of the second half on the defensive.

Tmenov then scored two waza ari on China's Pan Song to make the quarterfinal against Japan's Satoshi Ishii, who is making his Olympic debut after coming out of the shadow of longtime champion Kosei Inoue.

Ishii won that bout on a yuko point, sending Tmenov into the loser's bracket. Ishii meets Georgia's Gujejiani and Tangriev fights Cuba's Oscar Brayson.

In the women's 78-kg, China's heavyweight judo champion, Tong Wen, breezed into the semifinals.

A three-time world champion, she flipped her first opponent and pinned her second and third to make the semifinal, where she will fight Cuba's Idalys Ortiz.

Athens gold medalist Maki Tsukada fell behind to France's Anne-Sophie Mondiere, who is ranked second in the world, on a koka point, but came back with an ippon to clear her first fight. She pinned Mexico's Vanessa Zambotti for her semifinal berth.

In the semifinals, she will meet Slovenia's Lucija Polavder, who is ranked fifth in the world.

FYI - Behind Sports