James guarantees gold ... kinda

Now this is more like it.

USA Basketball star LeBron James, speaking to TIME magazine, guaranteed that the U.S. would complete it's three-year quest and bring home the men's basketball gold medal from the Beijing Olympics.

Seriously, was anyone expecting that the U.S. could hold its collective tongue long enough? Props to LeBron for saying what he feels, though he more agreed with the reporter as opposed to coming right out and saying that he guaranteed it.

Still, that's confidence. That's cocky. Folks, that's American.

Let's keep it in perspective: This Olympics is personal for James. Remember that he was the late addition, and an underused one at that, when the U.S. looked unprepared and mediocre — led by Tim Duncan of all people, how did that happen? — while winning bronze/losing gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Then James helped captain the 2006 World Championship squad that didn't win gold. Then buddy and U.S. teammate Carmelo Anthony had to cajole James into playing last summer when the U.S. finally qualified for Beijing. James did and the U.S. ran over some Western hemisphere teams, gaining a taste for gold but knowing the competition wouldn't pop off until Beijing.

In between all of that, James has merely been carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers and becoming a global brand. The guy is a tad eager. If he wants to talk like the U.S. wants a gold medal badly and says it like an American would — letting the Spaniards, Greeks, Russians and Argentinians get all geeked up about if they must — so be it.

James also later explained what he meant, which Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News discussed in a column,