Killin' it

 And now comes the part where the Blob accepts responsibility for its dumbness, and where I go to the dumbness penalty box and, you know, feel shame.

(To quote Denis Lemieux from "Slapshot")

In other words, I was wrong about the U.S. men's basketball team. So far, anyway

I was as wrong as ham on plywood, as wrong as Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels, as wrong as a guy would be if he said nude hopscotch would be the next Olympic sport. I was wrong.

(And if this is where you're asking "Who the hell is Roy 'Wrong Way' Riegels?", go look it up. I can't do all the work around here.)

Anyway, I was wrong, because I predicted the Olympic hoops tournament would not be a stroll in a park-like setting for the Americans. This was on account of there are great players scattered all over the globe now, and also on account of the narrow escapes the U.S. had against South Sudan and Germany in the run-up to the Paris Games.

Well. Don't I look like a big stupid now.

I say this because the U.S. has rampaged through the field with scarcely a labored breath so far, and the other day it beat Brazil in the quarterfinals by 35 points. By 35 points. In the quarterfinals.

Now it's on to the semis against Serbia, who has two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic at its disposal, and who some people seem to think could be a threat to the Americans.

Not me, boys and girls. I'm not making that mistake again.

No, I expect another romp, because the Americans have already played Joker the Jokettes in pool play, and beat them by 26. By 26.

This almost constituted a competitive game, given the way the U.S. has tap-danced through this thing. Aforementioned South Sudan came the closest to making its heart skip a beat, but it wasn't like the last time, when a LeBron James layup with eight seconds left staved off an upset. This time the Yanks scraped past by 17 points.

In other words, forget what I said.

I was wrong (so far). Twenty lashes with a wet noodle, or something.