BMX makes its Olympic debut this week in Beijing. Here are the four U.S. riders who hope to make history by winning the first BMX Olympic gold medal.

Mike Day Day earned his nomination to the Olympics at the Olympic Trials event in Chula Vista, California. He took first place in three out of the four events and second place in the remaining race.

Because he is so tall (6'3") Day uses a unique handlebar style with an upsweep on it. The handlebar, named after Day, is called The Fly Racing Mike Day BMX Handlbar.

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Donny Robinson Currently ranked number one in world ranking points, Robinson “credits his drive and determination for his success on the dirt.”

Aside from dreaming about Olympic gold, Robinson is a singer/performer and hopes to one day star on Broadway.

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Kyle Bennett Bennet was the first American to secure a spot on the Olympic BMX team. He has two second place finishes at the X Games and he won the 2007 world championship in Vancouver after recovering from ACL surgery and only having three and a half months to prepare. He is often referred to as “butter” because of his smooth riding style.

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Jill Kintner Kintner started her career in BMX at only 8 years old then jumped between successful runs in both BMX and mountain biking. She finally shifted her full attention to BMX when she decided to push for the Olympics.

In a journey that came down to the final race, Kintner out-biked friend, roommate and teammate Arielle Martin for the sole spot on the women’s U.S. BMX team. Martin returned home to Utah after loosing to Kintner only to return to the Chula Vista training center four days later on a decision to help Kintner get ready for the games.

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The Track
The U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Cycling built a replica of the Beijing course in Chula Vista, California at the Olympic Training center where the U.S. athletes have been riding for the last several months. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

The Event
Seeding starts on Wednesday August 20 with both men’s and women’s semifinals and finals taking place on Thursday August 21 in Beijing. Event coverage will be on NBC from 6 to 9 pm on Wednesday the 20th East Coast Time.

USA Basketball vs. China: U.S. Wins 101-70

Dwyane Wade picked up right where he left off in exhibition play,leading Team USA to their first Olympic basketball win with 19 points. Despite Yao Ming's rise to stardom, the Chinese are still incredibly weak in basketball because they lack the physical stamina, creativity and toughness it takes to win on the international level. Their best finish was a meager 8th in the 2004 Athens Olympics - and just three of their players have NBA experience (which is almost a necessity these days to understand how to beat Team USA mentally).

China played an impressive passing game, especially in the early going, as Yao Ming was surrounded by defenders. Chinese players loved the three-point line; the first points of the game were scored on a three (by of all people, Yao) and by game's end, no less than six Chinese players had hit threes. Yi Jianlian and Wang Zhizhi, both of whom have NBA experience to add to their maturity as international-level players, each hit four threes.

TEAM USA used relentless defense to trigger turnovers and force the weaker Chinese team into mistakes - leading to countless easy layups and highlight reel ally-oops. Although the weakness of the American team is all too apparent: Zero halfcourt offense. It's really scary that a team composed of guys like LeBron and Kobe, and penetrators like Deron Williams and Chris Paul struggle in a half court setting, but these guys manage it somehow. If Team USA doesn't force turnovers to create easy baskets, you're going to see them struggle to put away opponents like Germany, Argentina, and Spain. We'll have to see if the opposing countries try and slow down the game of the Americans to force them into a half-court set. The ROAD TO THE GOLD has only just begun for "The Redeem Team."

USA Basketball: Red, White, and Dunk?

Team USA stroke again with the help of LeBron James back off of injury as USA defeated Turkey 114-82 on another dunk fest tune up game before the team heads to Shanghai for their final two of three games. James scored 20 points and was a defensive force Thursday night in his exhibition debut, helping the U.S. Olympic basketball team overcome some early sloppy play.

At the end of the first quarter USA lead by a very skinny point, 31-30. That means there was zero defense by either team which you won't see in the Olympic Games in Beijing. Here is the key for TEAM USA Basketball and help me out here with this one if you agree? There is a difference in playing unselfishly and playing as a TEAM. (*T*ogether *E*verybody *A*chieves *M*ore). Granted the team is playing unselfishly and that is a plus, and it's really leading to some great 1 on 1 highlight dunks. Awesome! But I believe it's breeding false confidence within the team and the fans here in the United States who may not be watching these exibition games.

Just because were playing unselfishly doesn't mean were playing World-Class basketball as a team. Winning the Gold medal this year at the games is going to take a total team effort. Team USA's full court press last night was a joke and even to Team Turkey who were able to expose the gigantic holes in our press defense. I hope over the next 2 games Coach K is stressing Red, White, and Blue which defines TEAM USA and continuity. Right now were playing Red, White, and Dunk basketball which will prevent us from getting to the Medal stand if we continue this 1 on 1 mentality.

Having said that Turkey pretty much gave up in the quarter and the United States went on for the easy victory. They improved to 2-0 in Olympic tune-up play and face Lithuania here Friday before moving on to Shanghai for their remaining two games.

James was 8-of-9 from the field and finished with six rebounds, five steals and four assists in 23 minutes, sitting out the fourth quarter. James had 12 points in the half and added eight more and some of the game's highlight plays in the third. Following a basket by Turkey, he took the ball out and whipped a pass to the other end of the court to a streaking Dwyane Wade for a dunk. A minute later, James had another steal and passed ahead to Kobe Bryant, who bounced it in front of the basket to Anthony for a dunk.

Turkey didn't qualify for the Olympics and has an automatic berth into the 2010 world championships as the host country.

Game Highlights (USA vs. Turkey)

Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Michael Redd scored 20 points apiece Friday as the USA dominated Canada 120-65 in a Beijing Olympic basketball tune-up.

Chris Paul handed out eight assists for the United States, who will play two warm-up games in Macao and two more in Shanghai before their Olympic opener in Beijing against hosts China on August 10.

Although Canada may not have been serious competition it did look like Team USA played very solid from as an overall team aspect. TEAM USA looked like one big "dunk" highlight reel with Chris Paul taking over the front court.

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James injured his right ankle in a scrimmage Tuesday when he landed on the foot of reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant. As a result, James did not play on Friday, but he wasn't needed as the United States outscored Canada 34-18, in the third quarter en route to taking a 95-56 advantage entering the final period.

"I thought for our fifth day of practice we showed a lot of energy," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Guys are committed to playing defense. I liked the effort we had on the defensive end of the court. We're still developing this team. The more the game went along, the more comfortable they became. We got a commitment to protect each other's back. We're collectively responsible on defense."

The United States are vying to regain international basketball glory for the first time since claiming Olympic gold in 2000. Team USA was embarrassed en route to winning bronze medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2006 World Championships. Since then, the team has been restructured. USA Basketball hired veteran NBA executive Jerry Colangelo to build the squad and appointed iconic Duke University coach Krzyzewski.
Players since have had to commit to Team USA for three years to foster the kind of continuity other international teams possess.

The original Dream Team, the U.S. basketball team that won the gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, was a phenomenon on and off the court. It mattered not that it dominated the Olympic competition, beating its eight opponents by an average of 44 points. What was important was that the Dream Team, the first U.S. Olympic team to include NBA stars, gave fans a glimpse of basketball at its finest, and an entire world responded.

Many consider it the greatest team ever assembled and wow what a team it was. Start with three of the game's all-time greats: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Add the irrepressible Charles Barkley for a little spice, as well as seven more NBA All-Stars: centers David Robinson and Patrick Ewing, power forward Karl Malone, swingmen Scottie Pippen, Chris Mullin and Clyde Drexler and point guard John Stockton. Complete the roster with Christian Laettner, the best college player of 1991-92 and a future NBA All-Star.

Top 10 Highlights from the original Dream Team of 1992 in Barcelona

This year's team has been dubbed: The Redeem Team...

The U.S. men's basketball team was named June 23 and consists of NBA players in the USA Basketball program. Changes can be made after June 23, but only due to injury. Team USA qualified for the Olympics by winning the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada. It defeated defending Olympic champion Argentina in the final.

“We want to show the world that we can play the game the right way and play as a team,” said Jason Kidd, who is 44-0 on the international stage. “I think that’s what the international teams have started to understand to play as a team and win as a team. If we can get to that level, and we showed that last summer, we can be as good as anyone in the world.”

Team USA will try to redeem themselves in this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing after a bronze medal finish in the 2004 Athens Games. The team is headlined by the usual NBA All-Stars, but this year's team is headed by Duke's Coach K with a team first approach. The 2008 Roster includes:

Carmelo Anthony
Carlos Boozer
Chris Bosh
Kobe Bryant
Dwight Howard
LeBron James
Jason Kidd
Chris Paul
Tayshaun Prince
Michael Redd
Dwyane Wade
Deron Williams

How do you think this years team will do in Beijing or compare to the original Dream Team?

Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Dwayne Wade and the rest of Team USA discuss expectations in Beijing.(NYPost.com)