Humbled Team USA looks to regroup against Greece

ATHENS, Greece -- Did the Dream Team members get a wake-up call after playing like they were comatose?

Can the women's gymnastics team, the gold medal within its grasp, recapture the magic conjured by the "Magnificent Seven" Olympians from eight years ago?

And just how many medals will teen sensation Michael Phelps bring home to Baltimore from the Athens pool?

The answers, my friend, aren't blowing in the Meltemi winds -- the notorious shifting gusts that buffeted Athens the last two days. They rest with U.S. athletes facing pivotal challenges today, just four days into the Athens competition.

The U.S. basketball team was routed in its Athens opener, 92-73 by Puerto Rico. The defeat didn't undermine the players' medal chances as much as it did their aura of invincibility.

"This does not cost them the gold medal," said NBC basketball analyst Doug Collins. "But it gets everyone thinking, 'We've got a chance."'

Heading into today's game against the host Greeks, the standings only reinforce that sad reality for the sad-looking Americans. Joining the U.S. team with an Olympic mark of 0-1 were the powerhouses from Angola and New Zealand.

Even "The Answer" was looking for an explanation.

"Any loss for us is a bad loss," said team co-captain Allen Iverson. "We're the favorite to win the whole thing."

Or they were until Sunday's thumping. It was only the third Olympic basketball defeat ever for the United States, and the first after 24 straight wins using NBA players. Even worse, the Americans were more apathetic than outplayed in the loss.

"We came out flat, dug a hole for ourselves, didn't make our shots," offered guard Dwyane Wade. Complicating matters, the Americans must play the Greeks before a rabid crowd of hometown fans in the Helliniko basketball complex.

Iverson and friends will play live on the USA Network beginning at 3 p.m. EDT -- one of two live events airing during the afternoon sessions of NBC's Olympic coverage. NBC also will present live coverage of the beach volleyball contest with Americans Dax Holdren and Stein Metzger, along with highlights from swimming, rowing and canoeing.

And look for American Rebecca Giddens, the 2002 world champion, to start her bid for gold in whitewater kayaking.

In prime time, NBC will turn its attention to -- yet again -- Phelps and the gymnasts. The teen swimmer competes in the 200-meter butterfly, where he's the world-record holder and favorite for a gold, and competes on the American 4-by-200m freestyle relay team.

Phelps' bid to match Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals in a single games ended Monday night, when he finished third in the 200-meter freestyle. He's collected one gold and two bronze.

The gymnasts won the world championship one year ago, and they arrived in Athens intent on winning a gold for the first time since the dramatic Atlanta triumph by Kerri Strug and her teammates in 1996. That team was coached by the retired Bela Karolyi; this team is run by his wife, Martha.

The six-woman team survived some missteps to make the medal round, but they're aware the margin for error has disappeared. Annia Hatch, who ended a five-year retirement to compete, took an extra step on her landing in the vault preliminaries.

It can't happen again.

"I know I can do better, and that's what counts," said the 26-year-old gymnast.

For Phelps, it's yet another day as an Athens headliner. The 19-year-old captured his first gold in his first race, and took a bronze on an American relay team. On Monday, in one of the most anticipated events of the games, he went head-to-head with Australian Ian Thorpe -- and lost. Still he upped his personal medal count to three, collecting a bronze as the Thorpedo took gold.

Prime-time coverage, along with the action from the pool and the mats, will include women's beach volleyball with the top-ranked U.S. team of Kerri Walsh and Misty May taking on the Netherlands. The 6-foot-3 Walsh, who celebrated her 26th birthday on Sunday, dominated at the net as the pair won its debut match.

There's quite a bit of live coverage on cable in the off hours Tuesday: Andres Cantor, renowned for his call of "GOOOOALLLLLL!" handles the Mexico-Greece soccer on Telemundo. And MSNBC has the U.S. men's water polo at 9:30 a.m., and the U.S. women's soccer team at 11 a.m.