Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - Angelo Taylor of the United States led a clean sweep of the men's 400 meter hurdles and highlighted a big night for the Americans in Monday's track and field competition at the Beijing Olympics.
The U.S. medaled five times in the evening session at Beijing National Stadium and have now earned nine total medals in track and field at these Games.
The Americans picked up three in one event as Taylor won his second gold medal in the men's 400 hurdles, Kerron Clement finished with the silver and Bershawn Jackson claimed bronze.
Stephanie Brown Trafton also won a gold for the U.S. in the women's discus and Jennifer Stuczynski grabbed the silver medal in women's pole vault, playing second fiddle to a world-record performance by Russia's Elena Isinbaeva.
Taylor, also a gold medalist eight years ago in Sydney, finished the race in a personal-best time of 47.25 seconds. Clement crossed the line .73 seconds later for silver and Jackson earned the bronze with a time of 48.06 seconds.
"It's so great to have a sweep because the USA hasn't been doing good so far," said Taylor of the American track team. "I'm happy to prove that we're still the No. 1 track team in the world."
It marked the fifth time that the United States has swept the hurdles at the Olympics, also doing it in 1904, 1920, 1956 and 1960.
Jamaica's Danny McFarlane, the silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Games, was fourth, running the race in 48.30 seconds.
Although the U.S. came away with the biggest medal haul, Isinbaeva gave the crowd its biggest thrill. The Russian affirmed her dominance in the women's pole vault, winning her second straight gold medal with a world record leap of 5.05 meters.
Isinbaeva already entered the event as the world and Olympic record holder and bettered those marks in the final event completed at the Bird's Nest.
Isinbaeva had set the previous Olympic mark of 4.91 meters four years ago in Athens and upped her world mark to 5.04 meters just a few weeks ago at a meet in Monaco on July 29.
The 26-year-old also has two world championships to place next to her pair of Olympic golds.
Stuczynski won the silver by clearing 4.80 meters and Russia's Svetlana Feofanova took the bronze with a vault of 4.75 meters.
Brown Trafton won the first track and field gold for the U.S. in Beijing, becoming an Olympic discus champion with a winning throw of 64.74 meters on her first attempt of the night.
The U.S. earned its first gold medal in women's discus since Lillian Copeland won the event at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. Brown Trafton is the also first American to medal in the event since Leslie Deniz won silver at the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
Brown Trafton was in Athens for the Olympics four years ago, but failed to advance past the qualification round. The gold medal was her first-ever title at the international level.
"Someone told me, if you come to the Bird's Nest, you will have a golden egg," said Brown Trafton.
Cuba's Yarelys Barrios won the silver with a toss of 63.64 meters and Olena Antonova of the Ukraine took the bronze with a season-best throw of 62.59m.
Aretha Thurmond, the other finalist for the U.S., placed 10th.
Jahir Saladino Aranda of Panama won gold in the men's long jump, turning in a leap of 8.34 meters.
Saladino Aranda, the reigning world champion, posted the best jump of the competition on his fourth attempt. Khotso Mokoena of South Africa won the silver with a leap of 8.24 meters. Cuba's Ibrahim Camejo earned bronze with a mark of 8.20 meters.
The U.S., which failed to place a single competitor in the long jump final, missed out on a medal for just the third time in the history of the event.
Kenya wasn't far behind the Americans on Monday night, as the African nation earned four medals, including a pair of golds.
Brimin Kiprop Kipruto of Kenya won the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase, finishing the race in 8 minutes, 10.34 seconds to edge France's Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad by just .15 seconds. Kenya also earned the bronze as Richard Kipkemboi Mateelong crossed the finish line in 8:11.01.
It was the seventh straight Olympic gold in the men's 3000m steeplechase for Kenya.
Anthony Famiglietti of the United States led the race for a brief period, but ended up in 13th.
Meanwhile, Pamela Jelimo became the first-ever Kenyan woman to win Olympic gold, as she claimed victory in the 800 meter race. Jelimo ran the two-lap race in 1 minute, 54.87 seconds to finish ahead of countrywoman Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei, who crossed the line in 1:56.07.
Morocco's Hasna Benhassi, the silver medalist in Athens, won the bronze with a time of 1:56.73. Svetlana Klyuka of Russia was just .21 seconds behind Benhassi.
In qualifying, the men's 200 meters continued Monday evening with the second round after the runners ran opening heats in the morning.
Usain Bolt, the newly-crowned World's Fastest Man, qualified for the semifinals, winning his heat in 20.29 seconds, the fifth-best time of the night. The Jamaican won gold in the men's 100 meters Saturday evening, running the dash in a world record time of 9.69 seconds.
"After the 100m, I had little time for celebration," said Bolt. "All I have done is a big sleep and some relaxation. I just take it on my own."
Walter Dix, Wallace Spearmon and Shawn Crawford all advanced to the semifinals for the U.S. Dix was the third-fastest qualifier, while Spearmon and Crawford had the ninth and 10th-best times.
Zimbabwe's Brian Dzingai ran the fastest times in both rounds and posted a sprint of 20.23 seconds in the second round.
The semifinals of the 200 are scheduled for Tuesday night and will determine who runs for gold on Wednesday.
Lolo Jones of the U.S. was very impressive in the 100 meter hurdles, taking her semifinal heat in a blazing 12.43 seconds. Jones logged the fastest time in the world since fellow American Joanna Hayes set an Olympic record of 12.37 seconds to win gold at the 2004 Athens Games.
Fellow Americans Dawn Harper and Damu Cherry also made Tuesday's final, finishing with the second and third-fastest times of the night.
The U.S. also posted the best time in the semifinals of the women's 400 meter hurdles Monday evening as Sheena Tosta ran the track in 54.07 seconds. Jamaica's Melanie Walker was the second-fastest with a time of 54.20 seconds.
Tiffany Ross-Williams of the U.S. placed third in her heat to claim a spot in Wednesday's final, but countrywoman Queen Quedith Harrison was eliminated, finishing with the 13th-best time.
Earlier at the Bird's Nest, China's Liu Xiang, the defending gold medalist and world champion in the men's 110 meter hurdles, pulled up lame and failed to get out of the first round of qualifying in the event.
The early exit was a shock to the crowd as Liu had been China's best chance at a gold medal in the track and field competition at these Games. Liu had been suffering from a hamstring injury and that ailment, along with a heel injury, ended his gold medal defense before it ever began.
USA MEN'S BASKETBALL GROUNDS GERMANY, AUSSIES NEXT IN QUARTERS
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - Dwight Howard scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, as the U.S. men's basketball team finished preliminary round play at the Olympics with a 106-57 rout of Germany Monday night.
Howard missed just one of his 10 shots from the field and LeBron James added 18 points for the squad tabbed as the Redeem Team following their bronze medal finish in 2004 and an unceremonious loss in the semifinals of the 2006 World Championships.
They may not be the Dream Team of 1992, but this batch of players has been dominating thus far just as Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley and others were in Barcelona.
Led by veterans such as James and Kobe Bryant, the Americans breezed through the five preliminary round matchups, winning by an average of 32 points. Up next is a quarterfinal encounter with Australia on Wednesday.
"It's going to be like that for the next three, too," James said of the dominance. "We're trying to play with a chip on our shoulder. We go out every night and try to get better. Going against Greece and going against Spain were easy to get up for. We could have easily had one of those games where we came in and made excuses, but we didn't take a step backwards today and that was good. It was really good."
The U.S. beat Greece, 92-69, a team that knocked the Americans out of a gold medal opportunity two years ago at the World Championships. Spain was unbeaten until getting waxed by the Redeem Team, 119-82, on Saturday.
Now it's onto a game against a team that actually came close, albeit in an exhibition. Australia lost to the U.S. 87-76, right before the Olympics. The Aussies didn't even have their best player then, with NBA standout Andrew Bogut sitting out with an injury.
"They play a real physical game," said James. "It's a real physical team and we're looking forward to it. We're going to have to get a lot of rest and take care of our bodies because it's going to be one of those physical games. One thing we're going to do is to try to get up and down and try to wear them down a lot."
Bryant had 13 points Monday night, while Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul each added 10, with the victory highlighted by another solid defensive effort. Germany shot 30 percent from the field and trailed 20-3 late in the first quarter, all but making this game a rout from the start.
Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki had 14 points and eight rebounds for Germany, which failed to make it through to the quarterfinals.
The U.S. scored the game's first eight points, capped by a Howard basket, and James' bucket moved the cushion to 17-3 with 3:34 left in the first.
Germany never threatened over the final three quarters, trailing 39-12 after a Paul three-pointer early in the second and by a 53-29 count at the half. The advantage ballooned to 80-39 on Howard's basket late in the third and the final score represented the largest lead.
After the game, the U.S. players celebrated with swimmer Michael Phelps, who won a record eight gold medals at these Games.
"First of all, that's legendary right there," said Wade. "Him coming in and sitting down, chillin with us. We got the opportunity to see him do his thing and I'm glad he got the opportunity to see us do ours. USA is sticking together. We enjoyed it."
Croatia blew out Iran, 91-57, to secure third place in Group A. The Croatians will take on Spain in the quarterfinals. Croatia beat Spain in the last two European championship tournaments.
Australia canned 16 three-pointers, on the way to pounding previously unbeaten Lithuania, 106-75. Andrew Bogut had 23 points to lead the Aussies. Lithuania will meet China in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Greece beat the Chinese, 91-77, Monday. Yao Ming had 16 points for China, which was already assured a trip to the quarterfinals. Greece's next test is against Argentina in the quarterfinals.
Pau Gasol tallied 31 points and nine rebounds, also going 13-of-14 from the floor, in Spain's 98-50 rout of Angola.
In the final game of the night, Argentina beat Russia, 91-79. Luis Scola had 37 points to pace Argentina, the defending gold medalists.
HOT TEMPERS, EJECTIONS MARK 9-1 US WIN OVER CHINA
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - Tempers flared and ejections were handed out in the United States' hotly-contested 9-1 victory over China in Olympic baseball Monday night.
Jake Arrieta gave up just two hits and struck out seven Chinese batters in six shutout innings, and Nate Schierholtz went 2-for-3 with three RBI to lead the U.S. (3-2) to its second straight win following an 11-inning loss to Cuba last Friday.
The game turned ugly after Matt LaPorta ran into Chinese catcher Wang Wei while scoring on a Taylor Teagarden double in the fifth inning to give the U.S. a 4-0 lead.
It knocked Wang from the game and the rest of the Olympics, according to China's manager, Jim Lefebvre.
Things didn't get better after Schierholtz slid hard into replacement catcher Yang Yang in the very next inning on a Matt Brown double. Yang was held back by teammates and Lefebvre was ejected from the game.
"He was blocking the plate," said Schierholtz.
The ugliness escalated in the seventh inning when China's Chen Kun hit LaPorta in the head with a pitch, drawing an ejection for Chen and China's pitching coach Steve Ontiveros.
LaPorta, a prospect in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, underwent a CAT scan and was diagnosed with a mild concussion. He will be assessed daily, according to USA Olympic Team Chief Medical Officer Dr. William Kuprevich.
"It's a game, people get ejected," said Schierholz, who added that Chen's pitch at LaPorta's head would have touched off a brawl in the United States.
"It's a little different here," he said. "Tempers are hot, but I don't know what the implications of everything are here."
U.S. manager Davey Johnson defended his players' going hard into home plate, saying the catchers were blocking it both times. He hoped the Chen pitch in the seventh inning wasn't in response to the two plays.
"I hope the ball got away from him," Johnson said.
The U.S. ended up scoring four runs in the seventh inning to take a commanding 9-0 lead. China finally scored in the ninth inning on Yang's homer.
In other baseball action Monday, Yoshihisa Naruse tossed seven strong innings to lead Japan to a 1-0 blanking of Canada; Korea scored a run in the seventh inning to down Chinese Taipei 9-8; and Cuba routed the Netherlands 14-3 in a game ended by the mercy rule.
US MEN'S VOLLEYBALL HEADS TO QUARTERS UNDEFEATED
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - In its second game following the return of head coach Hugh McCutcheon, the United States men's volleyball team earned a straight-sets victory over Japan on Monday to finish undefeated in preliminary play at the Beijing Olympics.
The U.S. rolled to a 25-18, 25-12, 25-21 win to move its record to 5-0 heading into Wednesday's quarterfinals. It ended in first place in Pool A.
McCutcheon had taken leave of the team after his father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was stabbed to death by a Chinese attacker last Saturday on the first day of competition in Beijing.
His team moved on to face Serbia in the quarterfinals.
Serbia, following a 3-0 win over Egypt on Monday, ended in fourth place in Pool B with a 2-3 record.
"We are not worried," Serbia's Marko Podrascanin said of playing the undefeated Americans. "We've got two wins and now we've been playing much better. We proved that we can beat them in the World League. We beat them 3-0, although we lost to them later in the tournament."
Brazil also earned a 3-0 sweep of Germany on Monday, while Bulgaria beat Venezuela in four sets. Poland needed five sets to down Russia and Italy went the distance in beating the host Chinese.
Italy, Bulgaria, China, Brazil, Russia and Poland were the other six teams to make the quarterfinals.
HE AND CHEN WIN GYMNASTICS GOLD FOR CHINA
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - He Kexin won the gold medal on the women's uneven bar Monday night at the Olympics in a tiebreaker with American Nastia Liukin.
He, already part of China's team gold performance last week, and Liukin, the all-around gold winner, each finished with a score of 16.725. Yang Yilin of China won the bronze with a score of 16.65.
He won because her execution scores were better than Liukin's.
"Now that I have learned their highest and lowest scores are the same, the highest deduction score loses," said Liukin's father and coach, Valeri, a former multi-medalist in Olympic gymnastics. "I don't know if anybody understands what is going on."
The silver gave Liukin four medals at these Games, including a silver in the team competition and a bronze in the floor exercise. That tied her father, who won four at the Seoul Games in 1988.
"I honestly was in shock," she said. "I knew I didn't have my best routine. When I saw we got the same score and my name was second, it was weird."
China continued its mastery of men's gymnastics, with Chen Yibing winning gold and all-around champion Yang Wei taking the silver medal on rings.
Chen, the reigning world champion on rings, earned the gold with a score of 16.6 to edge Yang's 16.425. That gave China gold in all five thus far in Beijing and a total of six medals in men's gymnastics.
Oleksandr Vorobiov of the Ukraine won the bronze with a 16.325 score.
The men's vault was won by Poland's Leszek Blanik, the 2007 world champion, with a score of 16.537, in a tiebreaker with Thomas Bouhail of France. Anton Golotsutskov of Russia won the bronze at 16.475.
Blanik became the first Polish gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal.
CHINA'S HE WENNA WINS GOLD IN WOMEN'S TRAMPOLINE
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - China's He Wenna won gold in the women's trampoline competition Monday at the Olympics.
He had a total score of 37.80 to edge Canadian Karen Cockburn (37.00). Ekaterina Khilko of Uzbekistan won the bronze medal with a score of 36.90.
Germany's Anna Dogonadze, the defending gold medalist, was last at 18.90. She fell midway through her routine.
Current individual world champion Irina Karanaeva of Russia, the 2000 gold medalist, slipped and finished in fifth place.
He overcame a knee injury to win China's first trampoline gold medal.
"My knee was painful before I competed," said He, who finished fourth at the 2007 world championships. "I injured it at practice several weeks ago, but I forgot about it when I competed."
It was the third Olympic medal for Cockburn, who won a bronze in Sydney and then silver in Athens four years ago.
The men's trampoline final is Tuesday.
HUCLES NETS TWO AS USA DOWNS JAPAN
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - Angela Hucles scored two goals to help the United States defeat Japan, 4-2 in the semifinals of the women's Olympic soccer tournament on Monday.
The win sets up a rematch of the 2004 Olympic final between the USA and Brazil, which beat Germany 4-1 in the other semifinal behind two goals from Cristiane.
The Americans won the 2004 gold medal in extra time, but Brazil will likely enter Thursday's gold medal contest as favorites after taking apart the high- powered Germans.
Japan was making its first-ever trip to the semifinals in the Olympics, and although they took the lead 16 minutes into the match through Shinobu Ohno, they allowed the USA to score four unanswered goals en route to the win.
The Japanese will meet Germany on Thursday for the bronze medal.
A slow start by the United States allowed Japan to take control of the match early on. The Japanese created some good chances in the opening five minutes, and were rewarded in the 16th minute from a corner kick.
The ball was played into the middle of the box and fell to Yukari Kinga on the right. She then drove the ball low towards the front of goal for Ohno, who was left unmarked and easily beat U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo.
It was a great start for Japan, but they failed to close out the first half and allowed the Americans to score twice in the last five minutes to take a 2-1 lead into the break.
Heather O'Reilly set up the first goal by taking the ball down the right wing and knocking it through traffic to the front of goal for Hucles, and she side- footed the ball into the empty net from close range.
The equalizer seemed to deflate Japan, and they fell behind by a goal just three minutes later when Lori Chalupny dashed down the left flank, cut into the box and split two defenders before smashing a right-footed shot into the roof of the net.
The surge certainly lifted the confidence of the Americans, but Japan got back into the game in the second half and trailed by just one goal with 25 minutes to play.
However, the air was taken out of the team in the 70th minute when O'Reilly scored a goal that came from nothing.
The former Notre Dame standout received the ball on the right wing and smacked a half-volley that sailed towards the net. It appeared that O'Reilly intended to cross the ball, but it floated over the head of Japan goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto and inside the far post.
It was a nice break for the Americans, and it left Japan with no way back into the game.
Hucles then scored her second goal with 10 minutes to play from a tight angle before Japan pulled a goal back in stoppage time from Eriko Arakawa, but it was far too little to prevent Japan from remaining winless against the United States for the 22nd consecutive match between the two sides.
CRISTIANE, MARTA DAZZLE GERMANY AS BRAZIL REACHES OLYMPIC FINAL
Shanghai, China (My Sportsbook) - Cristiane and Marta put on quite a show as they helped Brazil down Germany 4-1 in the semifinals of the women's Olympic soccer tournament on Monday, allowing the Brazilians to reach their second consecutive Olympic final.
After Birgit Prinz put Germany ahead 1-0 in the 10th minute, Brazil stormed back with four unanswered goals to record its first win over Germany in eight meetings, and the South Americans will now meet the winner of Monday's other semifinal between the United States and Japan for the gold medal, while Germany faces the loser of that match for the bronze.
Formiga scored Brazil's first goal of the game in the 43rd minute, and then Marta and Cristiane took over in the second half. Marta scored a goal and helped set up another, while Cristiane scored two times to give her five goals in the tournament.
Germany got onto the scoreboard inside of 10 minutes thanks to some shaky defending in the back by Brazil. A long clearance by the German defense should have been handled by Brazil defender Erika, but she was stripped of the ball by Prinz, who charged into the box and rounded Brazil goalkeeper Barbara before rolling the ball into the empty net.
The goal was the 122nd international strike for Prinz, which ties her for second place on the all-time list with American Kristine Lilly, but it was only the first goal of the tournament for Germany's top scorer.
The German's had a chance to increase their lead eight minutes later when Anja Mittag was in on goal after a good through-ball from Prinz, but Barbara came off her line and made a good reaction stop to keep Brazil within a goal.
Brazil struggled to get into the match, but they picked things up towards the end of the first half and got back on level terms shortly before the break.
Cristiane beat a defender on the left wing and pulled it back to Formiga near the top of the box, and she smacked a first-time shot past German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer and inside the right post.
It was the first goal that Germany conceded all tournament, but they soon found themselves under attack early in the second half.
A German corner kick was cleared from the box and started a counter-attack opportunity for Brazil. Marta picked up the loose ball in midfield and raced towards the German penalty area. She drew two German defenders and then slipped a pass to a wide open Cristiane in front of goal for an easy finish.
It took only four minutes for Brazil to increase its lead with a great individual effort from Marta. The reigning World Player of the Year took a pass on the right wing, dashed past two defenders inside the box, and slid a shot into the far corner from a tight angle to finish off a dazzling play.
Cristiane then found the net for a second time in the 76th minute when she made her way past four players and beat Angerer to give Brazil a three-goal lead and take the life out of Germany.
KRETSCHMAN'S 3-RUN BLAST LEADS US ROUT OF CHINA
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - Already guaranteed a medal, but showing no signs of slowing down, the United States softball team cruised to a 9-0 rout of China on Monday.
Kelly Kretschman blasted a three-run homer to key a nine-run first inning for the Americans, who closed out an opponent in five innings for the fifth time in seven games at the Beijing Olympics.
The game was shortened by the international run-ahead rule.
The Americans tied an Olympic record with their nine-run outburst in the first inning. They moved to 7-0 and on to the medal round, which begins on Wednesday.
Japan (6-1) will be the U.S. opponent in the semifinals after a 6-0 victory over Canada on Monday. The Americans won the first game between the two teams, 7-0, on Friday.
Currently holding a 21-game Olympic winning streak that dates to Sydney in 2000, the Americans will be looking for their fourth consecutive gold medal in softball's last appearance in the Olympics until at least 2016.
The team makes no apologies for its dominance, with catcher Stacey Nuveman saying after Sunday's 8-0 victory over the Netherlands, "If we can get the win in early, we will."
Monica Abbott, who was perfect in the five-inning shutout of the Netherlands, compared the team to another example of Olympic dominance.
"If Michael Phelps can win eight gold medals, why can't USA softball?" she asked. "That's what Olympic competition is about. It's about giving the people at home chills."
Cat Osterman struck out three batters in three scoreless innings against China to run her record to 3-0, while Jennie Finch completed the game with two hitless frames.
The three U.S. pitchers -- Osterman, Finch and Monica Abbott -- have a 0.00 combined ERA in 39 innings pitched, while the U.S. offense has outscored its opponents 53-1 in its seven games. The only run allowed was an unearned tally by Canada last week.
"We're hitting on all cylinders," said Finch.
China's only hit was a single by Zhou Yi in the first inning. The Chinese have now scored just three runs in five games, but they are known more for defense and pitching than for offense.
Zhou's diving catch on a Lovieanne Jung fly ball to centerfield was a good example of that. China already trailed 9-0 at the time.
Also on Monday, the Netherlands got its first win of the Beijing Olympics with a 4-2 win over Chinese Taipei; and Australia easily beat Venezuela 9-2.
Canada will face Australia in the other semifinal game on Wednesday.
U.S. WINS GOLD IN EQUESTRIAN TEAM JUMPING
Hong Kong, China (My Sportsbook) - The United States won the gold medal in equestrian team jumping Monday at the Olympics, beating Canada in a jump-off.
Norway won the bronze.
It's the second straight gold medal for the U.S. in this event.
On Monday, the foursome of McLain Ward, Laura Kraut, Will Simpson and Bezzie Madden totaled 20 team penalties to tie the Canadians before the jump-off, the first time that's happened in Olympic history.
Ward, Kraut and Simpson all went clear in the 45-second jump-off, and Madden did not need to go out. Canada had only three riders for the competition after Mac Cone's horse, Ole, got injured. Jill Henselwood's horse knocked down a pole in the jump-off, effectively ending the battle for the gold medal.
"We were a bit confused," said Kraut. "None of us had much time to think about it. It just turned in for us. The Canadians made us work for it."
Canadian Ian Miller, 61, won a silver in his ninth Olympics. He's the seventh- oldest medal winner in Olympic history, with Swedish shooter Oscar Swahn being the oldest at 72 when he captured a silver in 1920.
This was Canada's second medal at the Summer Games after winning gold in Mexico City in 1968.
U.S. WOMEN ATTEMPT TO KNOCK OUT SOUTH KOREA
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - The undefeated U.S. women's basketball team battles South Korea Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Olympics. The USA is trying to capture its fourth consecutive Olympic gold.
South Korea (3-2), which leads the women's competition in three-point field goals, has played in five of the last six Olympic women's basketball competitions. It earned a silver medal in 1984, its only medal in basketball.
The USA (5-0) has played South Korea six times without a loss in the Olympics, including an 80-57 triumph in 2004. The Americans posted two wins in 2000 -- 78-65 and 89-75 -- and a convincing 105-64 victory during the 1996 Games. There were also two wins in 1984 -- 85-55 and 84-47.
"I think South Korea is a typical FIBA Asia type of team that likes great ball movement, and they take advantage of any outside looks they get," said USA assistant coach Dawn Staley. "A lot of what they do is perimeter oriented. Even though they have a few decent post players, they don't like to play with their backs to the baskets. They face up to the basket, and they take you off the dribble. There will be a lot of movement, and we will be challenged to contain them on the perimeter and in the post, but I think we are strong enough to impose our will on them."
The United States has dominated play throughout this tournament, as it won its five Group B games by an average of 43 points. Team USA is fresh off a 96-60 victory over New Zealand, which finished the Olympics with a 1-4 record.
Tina Thompson finished with 15 points in the win over New Zealand, while Katie Smith added 13 points, Seimone Augustus netted 12 and Tamika Catchings scored 11 in the victory.
Even though Team USA has not been tested during the competition, it will be ready for South Korea.
"I think the biggest is that we've talked about, as most Asians teams, they (South Korea) are very good at shooting the three-ball and shot fakes," said Catchings after the win over New Zealand. "Tonight, we struggled a lot with the shot fake, going out of control and they got a lot of open shots that way. That's one of the things that we're really going to have to focus on. They move the ball really well and the play team ball. I played over in South Korea for four years so some of the players I've actually played with, they've been on my team. I'm looking forward to playing against them."
The Americans have collected a record five gold medals, one silver and one bronze in women's basketball since women's basketball started in the Olympics in 1976. Team USA, which did not play in the 1980 Moscow Games because of the boycott, owns an impressive 47-3 overall record in eight Olympic appearances.
In other quarterfinal action, host China (4-1) will face Belarus (2-3) in the opening contest Tuesday. Australia (5-0), which won Group A, will take on the Czech Republic (2-3) in the second game. The U.S./South Korea matchup is third on the docket and will be followed by Russia (4-1) against Spain (3-2) in the finale.
Tuesday's winners will advance to the semifinals on Thursday. The bronze medal game and gold medal game are set for Saturday.
US WOMEN ELIMINATED FROM FIELD HOCKEY MEDAL CONTENTION
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - After qualifying for the Olympics for the first time in 12 years, the United States women's field hockey team was eliminated from medal contention Monday following a scoreless tie against Great Britain.
The American women went 1-1-3 in their pool play matches, finishing fourth in Pool B with six points. Even if they had won their match against Great Britain on Monday, they would have needed help to qualify for the semifinals.
The only U.S. victory in Beijing came against a bad New Zealand team.
"From a ranking standpoint, I am a little disappointed," said U.S. forward Keli Smith. "But we are happy with the way we played each game and our performance on the field."
It was the first time the U.S. made the women's Olympic field hockey tournament since 1996, when it received an automatic berth as the host country of the Atlanta Games.
"We worked hard to make sure we were in the Olympics," said captain Kate Barber. "Our goal was to be on the podium, but we missed out on points to make that happen.
"It's disappointing and frustrating. But we are going to come out, no matter what position we are fighting for, and we are going to play our hardest."
The U.S. will move on to the classification phase to determine its final standing.
Also on Monday, Germany squeezed out a 1-0 win over Japan; Korea beat Russia 5-2; the Netherlands earned a 2-0 victory over Spain; Argentina beat New Zealand 3-2; and China and Australia played to a 2-2 tie.
The Netherlands, China, Germany and Argentina advanced to the semifinals, which begin Wednesday.
JULIE'S BOXING WIN SECURES FIRST MEDAL FOR MAURITIUS
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - Bantamweight boxer Bruno Julie clinched the first Olympic medal for Mauritius by beating Venezuela's Hector Manzanilla Rangel Monday night.
Bruno's 13-9 decision on points means the country that wasn't even recognized by the International Olympic Committee until 1972 is guaranteed its first medal.
The next bout for Bruno will be Cuba's Yankiel Leon Alarcon in the semifinals.
The United States is left with one boxer at these Games, Deontay Wilder in the heavyweight division. Wilder is already through to the semifinals and will take on reigning world champion Clemente Russo of Italy on Friday.
If Wilder doesn't win his bout and secure a silver medal, this will be the first time the U.S. returns from an Olympics with only a bronze since all the semifinalists get one.
The lowest number of boxing medals for the U.S. at any Olympics is a silver in 1948 at London. The USA did not enter any boxers in 1908.
CHINA'S HE WENNA WINS GOLD IN WOMEN'S TRAMPOLINE
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - China's He Wenna won gold in the women's trampoline competition Monday at the Olympics.
He had a total score of 37.80 to edge Canadian Karen Cockburn (37.00). Ekaterina Khilko of Uzbekistan won the bronze medal with a score of 36.90.
Germany's Anna Dogonadze, the defending gold medalist, was last at 18.90. She fell midway through her routine.
Current individual world champion Irina Karanaeva of Russia, the 2000 gold medalist, slipped and finished in fifth place.
He overcame a knee injury to win China's first trampoline gold medal.
"My knee was painful before I competed," said He, who finished fourth at the 2007 world championships. "I injured it at practice several weeks ago, but I forgot about it when I competed."
It was the third Olympic medal for Cockburn, who won a bronze in Sydney and then silver in Athens four years ago.
The men's trampoline final is Tuesday.
WORLD CHAMPION GERMANY KNOCKED OUT OF MEN'S HANDBALL
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - Denmark rolled to a 27-21 victory over Germany on Monday to knock the world champion and reigning silver medalist out of the men's handball tournament at the Beijing Olympics.
With the win, Denmark moved on to the quarterfinals to face 2004 gold medalist Croatia, which was a 33-22 winner over China on Monday.
Scheduled for Wednesday, the quarterfinals will also feature France vs. Russia, Iceland vs. Poland and Korea vs. Spain.
Brazil was knocked out by Spain in a 36-35 loss despite a rallying performance from Felipe Robeiro, who scored two goals in the 60th minute. Spain clinched its quarterfinal berth with the victory.
Russia, the bronze medalist in Athens four years ago, beat an already- qualified Korea to earn its spot in the quarters, rolling to a 29-22 victory.
In games with no impact on qualifying, Iceland and Egypt played to a 32-32 tie after exchanging goals in the last minute, an ending that was repeated in the 30-30 deadlock between Poland and France.
ROGERS/DALHAUSSER INTO SEMIS IN BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - The American duo of Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser advanced to the semifinals of the men's Olympic beach volleyball tournament on Monday.
They beat the tandem of Germany's Eric Koreng and David Klemperer, 21-13, 25-23.
"Todd told me it would sneak over to the last set, but I didn't think so," said Dalhausser. "I got lucky."
Next up for the Rogers/Dalhausser will be a team from Georgia, consisting of Renato Gomes and Jorge Terceiro. They upset the Dutch team of Reinder Nummerdor and Richard Schuil, 21-19, 21-19.
Defending champions Ricardo Santos and Emanuel Rego beat the other U.S. quarterfinal team, Sean Rosenthal and Jake Gibb, 21-18, 21-16. Marcio Araujo and Fabio Luiz are up next in an all-Brazilian semifinal. Araujo and Luiz topped Austria's Florian Gosch and Alexander Horst, 22-20, 21-17.
US MEN'S WATER POLO WINS GROUP
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - The United States men's water polo team earned an important victory over Germany at the Beijing Olympics on Monday.
The Americans posted an 8-7 win in their final test in group play to move on to the knockout phase. The win, combined with Serbia's loss against Italy earlier on Monday, allowed the U.S. to clinch the top spot in Group B and earn a bye to the semifinals, which aren't until Friday.
"Our goal was to win our group and now we've done that," said U.S. team member Ryan Bailey. "This feels pretty sweet."
The U.S. took a 5-2 lead with 2:07 left in the second quarter, but Germany scored the next three goals to tie the game at 2:41 of the third. However, tallies by Layne Beaubien and Adam Wright would put the U.S. ahead 7-5 at the end of three quarters.
Germany scored on a power play with 5:49 left in the fourth to make it a one- goal game, but Wright scored again to restore the two-goal lead with 2:47 remaining. Heiko Nossek scored his fifth goal of the game to make it 8-7, but the Americans were able to hold on for the victory.
Wright and Jeffrey Powers each had a pair of goals for the United States.
The loss knocked the Germans out of medal contention. They will continue to play in the 7-12 place bracket.
"For us the tournament makes no sense. We are playing for flowers now," said German head coach Hagen Stamm.
Hungary won Group A on Monday after posting a 12-3 rout of Canada. The Hungarians also receive a bye to the semifinals and will play either Montenegro or Croatia.
Serbia and Spain will play in the other quarterfinal matchup for the right to take on the U.S. in the semifinals. Spain won 9-8 against Australia on Monday, while Serbia lost to Croatia, 11-8.
AUSSIE SNOWSILL WINS TRIATHLON
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - Australia picked up a pair of medals in the Olympic women's triathlon with Emma Snowsill capturing the gold and Emma Moffatt earning the bronze.
Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal won the silver, but was 1 minute, 6.97 seconds behind Snowsill.
The 27-year-old Snowsill, the 2003, '05 and '06 winner of the World Championships and the second-place finisher last year, crossed the line in a total of 1 hour, 58 minutes and 27 seconds over the three events -- a 1500m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run.
American Laura Bennett was fourth, while fellow U.S. members Sarah Haskins and Julie Swail Ertel came in 11th and 19th, respectively.
Just four years ago Snowsill was kept off the Australian triathlon team in a controversy. Only 12 days after winning at the 2003 World Championships, she finished six seconds outside the top two in an Australian qualifying event. She was named a reserve for the Olympics and briefly considered competing for New Zealand, her father's country of birth. Instead, she passed on the opportunity and decided it wasn't best to turn her back on Australia.
"There was a reason for that," said Snowsill. "Lessons were learned and it was a great motivation for coming to Beijing, but that has never been a sore point for me."
Snowsill, a nine-time World Cup winner who was recently diagnosed with asthma, was fifth in all three race categories to upset the 23-year-old Fernandes, considered the favorite.
Fernandes was the first woman to win 20 World Cup events, but was unable to run down Snowsill in the final leg, the 10km run. New Zealand's Andrea Hewitt led the women out of transition and into the four lap run followed close by Snowsill. Within a few hundred meters, Snowsill passed Hewitt, who dropped back in the pack behind her. Snowsill was then unchallenged to the finish line.
"I knew I had to get out on that run," said Snowsill. "Coming down on the last lap I had to throw in whatever I had left. There's nothing like running scared. I had to make sure I didn't leave anything out on that field. I put every ounce of energy into this."
Defending Olympic champion Katherine Allen of Austria finished 14th.
GREAT BRITAIN WINS ANOTHER CYCLING GOLD
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - Great Britain won the men's team pursuit competition on Monday for its fifth cycling gold medal of the Beijing Olympics.
Ed Clancy, Paul Manning, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins combined to win their country's ninth cycling medal overall in Beijing -- seven more than the next country.
After setting a world record in qualifying on Sunday, the British team lowered it again by finishing the four-kilometer race in 3 minutes, 53.314 seconds. That broke the record they set Sunday by nearly two seconds.
Denmark was more than six seconds slower, taking the silver, while New Zealand beat Australia in the bronze medal race.
Great Britain has more medal hopes lying with Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton, who made the semifinals of the men's and women's sprint.
Also on Monday, Marianne Vos of the Netherlands won the women's points race.
The 2008 world champion, Vos collected 30 total points in the 100 laps around Laoshan Velodrome. Cuba's Yoanka Gonzalez won the silver medal with 18 points, while Spain's Leire Olaberria claimed bronze at 13 points.
Lesya Kalitovska also won 13 points, but Olaberria's finish in the final sprint (second place) gave her the medal.
Vos won the first of 10 intermediate sprints in the race -- they occur every 10 laps -- then finished second in the next one and third in the fifth sprint, garnering her 10 points.
She claimed 20 points for gaining a lap on the field following the sixth sprint -- a bonus that ended up vaulting her into first place. No other rider in the race lapped the field.
"I was just able to gain a lap at the right moment," said Vos. "Then I tried to recover."
Russia's Olga Slyusareva, the 2004 gold medalist in Athens, finished in eighth place with eight points.
American Sarah Hammer was among three riders who didn't finish the race after being involved in an early crash.
Hammer was taken to a local hospital and diagnosed with a fractured left clavicle, the United States Olympic Committee said. The points race final was to be her final competition at the Beijing Olympics.
US CYCLIST HAMMER FRACTURES CLAVICLE IN CRASH
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - United States cyclist Sarah Hammer suffered a fractured clavicle during a crash Monday during the women's points race final.
Hammer was taken to the China-Japan Friendship Hospital after taking a hard fall on the track when she was unable to avoid two riders who had crashed in front of her.
She was evaluated by hospital medical personnel and United States Olympic Committee medical staff and diagnosed with a fractured left clavicle, the USOC said.
The points race final was to be her final competition at the Beijing Olympics.
AUSSIES SWEEP 470 GOLD IN SAILING; DANES CONFIRMED AS 49ER WINNERS
Qingdao, China (My Sportsbook) - Australia swept the gold medals in the 470 category of Olympic sailing on Monday.
The team of Nathan Wilmont and Malcolm Page won gold in the men's class. The tandem had already secured first after pulling ahead by an unmatchable 22- point lead following the final three races on Saturday, but finished first anyway in Monday's medal race.
"Today we were pretty relaxed and we were joking around," said Wilmont. "We saw all the boats behind us at one point and we thought to ourselves, 'We might as well win our only Olympic medal race'."
The team from Great Britain of Nick Rogers and Joe Glanfield won the silver medal, while France's Nicolas Charbonnier and Olivier Bausset captured the bronze. Americans Stuart McNay and Graham Biehl were 13th overall and never made the medal race.
Elise Rechichi and Tessa Parkinson captured gold in the women's division despite a ninth-place finish in the medal race. The duo had a big lead going into the medal race and still won gold with the Dutch duo of Marcelien de Koning and Lobke Berkhout taking silver.
"When we crossed the finish line, we were screaming and crying and shouting," said Rechichi. "This feeling has not sunk in yet. We're still so stunned and we cannot stop laughing."
Fernanda Oliveira and Isabel Swan of Brazil were bronze medal winners. Americans Amanda Clark and Sara Mergenthaler never made it to the medal race, finishing 12th overall.
The Danish team of Jonas Warrer and Martin Kirketterp Ibsen were confirmed as gold medal winners in the 49er category. The results of the race were put on hold after protests were lodged by competitors and race officials Sunday.
Spain's Iker Martinez and Xabier Fernandez earned the silver medal, and German brothers Jan-Peter and Hannes Peckolt captured the bronze.
Warrer and Ibsen were holding an 11-point lead on Italian brothers Pietro Sibello and Gianfranco Sibello going into the medal race Sunday. The mast for the Danes broke, but Croatia lent them their boat. Then several boats turned over before the finish line amidst rough seas and Spain won the medal race.
Warrer and Ibsen finished seventh, but the results were protested by the race committee.
If the Danes had been disqualified Martinez and Fernandez, winners of the medal race, would have had enough points to keep their title they won in Athens fours years ago.
A hearing ran late into Sunday night and then continued Monday morning. Shortly before midday, John Doerr, chair of the jury panel of the race committee that heard the hearing, confirmed that the protest had been dismissed and the provisional results were made official.
It was an incredible ending to the medal race. The Austrian boat crashed and the Australians then took the lead when the Italian boat capsized, but the Aussies capsized close to the finish line.
Americans Tim Wadlow and Chris Rast finish in sixth place overall.
ZUR ADVANCES TO SEMIFINALS IN FLATWATER KAYAK
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - American Rami Zur finished sixth in his qualifying heat in the men's kayak 1000m singles event Monday at the Olympics, thus advancing to the semifinals.
The 31-year-old Zur, in his second Olympics, finished in a time of 3 minutes, 38.693 seconds, which was well off he pace of 3:29.622 set by Adam von Koeverden of Canada, the bronze medalist four years ago.
European and world champion Tim Brabants of Great Britain won his heat in a time of 3:27.828. It was the top time among the three heats with defending Olympic champion Eirik Veraas Larsen of Norway winning his race. The winners of each heat advanced directly to the final. The semifinals are Wednesday and the final is Friday.
In the men's canoe 1000m singles, 2004 bronze medalist and reigning world champion Attila Sandor Vajda of Hungary had the best time of 3:55.319, advancing straight to the final. David Cal of Spain, the Athens gold medalist, won his heat and went straight to the final, as did Vadim Menkov of Uzbekistan. Andreas Dittmer of Germany, the 2000 gold medalist, was second in his heat and will race in the semifinals on Wednesday.
In the women's four-boat 500m kayak heats, Germany, the defending gold medalists, had the top qualifying heat in 1:33.912 and moved straight to Friday's final. Also advancing to the final were China, South Africa, Hungary, Poland and Australia. Canada, Spain, Italy and Japan were relegated to the semifinals, to be contested on Wednesday.
World champions Cyrille Carre and Philippe Colin of France are through to the final of the men's 1000m doubles kayak event after a heat time of 3:18.968, a third-place finish. Germany and Hungary had the top boats in the heats.
The German duo of Christian Gille and Thomasz Wylenzek, the 2005 and '07 world champions, won their heat in qualifying heats of the men's 1000m canoe doubles race.
In the men's kayak 1000m fours event, Hungary, the two-time defending gold medalists, moved to the final by finishing its heat in second place behind Germany. The Hungarian team of Marton Sik, Istvan Bee, Akos Verecki and Gabor Bozsik were .094 seconds behind the Germans.
DEFENDING CHAMPS DAVYDOVA/ERMAKOVA LEAD IN SYNCHRO SWIMMING
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - The defending Olympic and world champion Russian pair of Anastasia Ermakova and Anastasia Davydova were in the lead through the technical routine of synchronized swimming.
The duo, who hadn't performed at an international competition since their gold medal performance in Melbourne last year at the World Championships, had a score of 49.334 from the five judges.
The Spanish team of Andrea Fuentes and Gemma Mengual are second at 48.834, while third is Saho Harada and Emiko Suzuki of Japan.
China's Jiang Tingting Jiang Wenwen, identical twins, were in fourth place, just ahead of the U.S. tandem of Christina Jones and Andrea Nott.
The U.S. pair will carry a 47.750 into Tuesday's free routine.
"We are really proud of what we are bringing to the table," said Jones. "We are taking a risk, we have nothing to lose. Our free routine is off the wall, nothing like this has ever been before. And our expectation is for people to remember us."
ARAMNAU WINS GOLD IN WEIGHTLIFTING
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - Belarussian Andrei Aramnau broke several world records on the way to winning the gold medal in the men's 105kg weightlifting class.
Aramnau lifted 200kg in the snatch and then pumped it up to 236kg for the clean & jerk, earning the gold with a total of 436kg. All three marks were world records.
"I wanted to come to the Olympic Games and break Olympic records and world records," Aramnau said. "I didn't make any secret of this. I said openly that I came to win and break the records. It's not just empty talk, I did it. I am very thankful to those who told me I could not do it."
Russians finished in second and third place with Dmitriy Klokov winning the silver at 423kg and Dmitry Lapikov capturing the bronze at 420. Poland's Marcin Dolega also had 420kg, but lost out on a medal due to a higher body weight than Lapikov.
Aramnau won gold at the 2007 world championships with a junior world mark of 423kg, only to top that weight in Beijing.
US DIVERS DUMAIS, COLWILL MAKE IT THROUGH PRELIMS
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - United States divers Chris Colwill and Troy Dumais made it through preliminaries Monday night for the men's 3-meter springboard.
Colwill, who placed fourth with Jevon Tarantino in the men's synchronized 3- meter springboard competition, qualified seventh in the individual event with 464.75 points on Monday at the Olympics.
Dumais, the 3-meter winner at U.S. trials and a sixth-place finisher in Athens four years ago, qualified 12th with 448.40 points.
The two American divers were among 18 who made it into the semifinals, which will be held Tuesday at Beijing's National Aquatics Center.
World No. 1 He Chong of China led the preliminaries with 515.50 points, 12.55 more than fellow countryman Qin Kai. Also qualifying were 2004 silver medalist Alexandre Despatie of Canada and reigning bronze medalist Dmitry Sautin of Russia.
The finals will also be held Tuesday.
CHINESE MEN WIN TABLE TENNIS GOLD
Beijing, China (My Sportsbook) - No. 1 China swept No. 2 Germany on Monday to win the gold medal in men's team table tennis at the Olympics.
Wang Hao, the world's top-ranked player, claimed two wins in China's 3-0 victory, defeating Dimitrij Ovtcharov in three sets in singles and also teaming with Wang Liqin for a four-set victory in doubles.
Ma Lin, the second-ranked player in the world, joined his teammates with a win over world No. 6 Timo Boll in the second singles match. Neither Wang Hao nor Ma lost more than eight points in any of their games.
The Chinese women also won gold on Sunday night.
No. 3 Korea won the men's bronze medal with a 3-1 victory over No. 8 Austria, also on Monday.
