The Olympics provided Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade with the stage and opportunity to prove they were still the caliber of players they were when they won NBA titles.

It doesn’t quite sound like the details of this reality show have been hammered out yet, but if it does and if Gilbert Arenas’ show is anywhere as entertaining his blog, then the world is in for an entertaining and honest reality show ride.

By the end of the third quarter, the United States lead had ballooned to 27 points, and the fourth quarter resembled garbage time of an NBA game.

By the time the fourth quarter started, garbage time was in full effect, and the majority of the starters were out of the game.

The Washington Wizards released their 2008-2009 NBA schedule today, and it appears as if they will finally be rewarded for being among the NBA’s elite for the past few years.

Through the first three exhibition games of their pre-Olympic tour, the 2008 version of the United States basketball team, or the “Redeem Team” as they call themselves, very much resembled the 1992 Dream Team. They defeated Canada, Turkey and Lithuania by an average of 41 points, using dazzling dunks, stifling defense and excellent ball movement. There were brief lapses of uninspired play, but nothing that was cause for concern.

The year 2008 has been a breakthrough year for Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Earlier this year, he was able to defeat New York Senator Hilary Clinton in a tightly-fought battle for the Democratic Nomination. In winning that nomination, he became the first African-American to ever hold the position, and instantly became a serious contender for the next Presidency of the United States. Since then, Obama has traveled all over the United States giving dazzling speeches in an effort to convince everyone that he is indeed the right choice for the next four years. But there is another side of Obama that is just as impressive as the nominations, the speeches and the accomplishments: his love for playing the game of basketball.

During Gilbert Arenas’ press conference on Tuesday, Washington Wizards owner Abe Pollin talked about how important it was to have Arenas back, Team President Ernie Grunfeld talked about the challenges in negotiating with Arenas without an agent, while Arenas made some bold predictions about the upcoming season.

The biggest sign of Gilbert Arenas’ maturity and the newfound responsibility that comes with a large contract came towards the end of the press conference. In year’s past, his name has been synonymous with quirky and controversial behavior from flipping a coin to decide his free agency fate in 2003, to checking into a playoff game in 2008, without notifying Coach Jordan ahead of time. Arenas acknowledged during Tuesday’s press conference that behavior definitely has to be amended going forward.

Following a workout in Washington last Friday, Etan Thomas talked with the media about when he was given full medical clearance to return to the court, how it felt to be back on the court with his teammates, his thoughts on Nick Young’s progression from this time last year, his take on Washington re-signing Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison this summer as well as a host of other topics.