OK, so some of you aren't to fired up about all of the Olympic talk. What else should I talk about?

Does anyone care that the Clippers have agreed to a 5 year $65 million contract with Baron Davis? A contract that's probably 4 years too long.

I should probably talk about how "my boy" Hank Steinbrenner said the Yankees should worry less about Madonna and more about hitting. Well, I'm paraphrasing a little, but isn't that what he's saying?

Or I could write some sarcastic post about how the Cubs, Bears or Bulls stink in some form or fashion to get one of my friends fired up.

But no, I will press on with another post about the Olympic Trials. Much to a couple of the readers dismay.

(And believe me, once the 800 meter final is posted somewhere on You Tube, that will get it's own post. You just wait...)

Much has been made about Becky Hammon, the South Dakota native that will be playing basketball for the Russian national team this summer. If you're not familiar with the story (and for 99.9% of the stories relating to women's basketball, I'm not), here's a rundown...

Basketball player Becky Hammon grew up in Rapid City, S.D., and has no Russian ancestry, but she will be playing for the Russian national team in the 2008 Olympics. Hammon obtained Russian citizenship last year to secure a lucrative off-season playing contract from club team CSKA Moscow. When it appeared that she had little chance of making the U.S. Olympic team, she decided to play for the Russians. Many, including U.S. coach Anne Donovan, have labeled the WNBA star a traitor, but Hammon says her loyalties have not changed. “Will I be playing for Russia? Yes. But I’m absolutely 100 percent still an American,” Hammon said. “I love our country. I love what we stand for. This is an opportunity to fulfill my dream of playing in the Olympics.”

Like the US coach, many Americans are outraged They've wanted her flogged. They've cried out to the masses phrases like "If she doesn't love the U.S., then why doesn't she just leave." I love my country and had some of the same thoughts. How can she play for the Russians? For some reason, woman can make a lot more money playing over in Russia than they can playing for the WNBA. Especially if they have Russian citizenship. I'm sure the Russian professional team lured her over and asked her to play for the national team as part of the deal. It should be pointed out that she has obtained Russian citizenship, so everything's above board.

But still, something doesn't sit right with the story. It's so un-American, right?

And then I started watching the U.S. Olympic trials. And this dude named Bernard Lagat is tearing up the track in the men's 5,000 meters. Here's a little background on Lagat:

Growing up on a family farm in Kapsabet, Kenya, Lagat ran a mile and a half to school each day, then home for lunch, back to school, and home again at dismissal. For all that, he was little more than a mediocre runner by his midteens. As his faster peers turned pro, Lagat entered Jomo Kenyatta University near Nairobi in 1996. After a coach there spotted Lagat's talent and contacted several American schools, Washington State took a chance. Within a year, Lagat was winning Pac-10 meets en route to a title-filled NCAA career.

Shortly after arriving at WSU, Lagat started talking with coach James Li about bigger goals, such as making Kenya's 2000 Olympic team. Over the next three years Lagat improved, but Athens still looked like a long shot by the summer of 1999, when he turned pro, forfeiting his final year of eligibility. Agent James Templeton signed him not for his speed on the track but for help supervising a group of young Kenyans who were racing on the European circuit. "He thought I'd be a good influence," says Lagat, whose best 1,500 was a less than-world-class 3:34. "But to be honest, he didn't think I was any good."

And then Lagat broke out, running 3:30.56 at a meet in Zurich that summer.

So wait, a Kenyan will be running on the US Olympic team? Where's the outrage? Where is the cry for Americans and Americans only to be on the team? Isn't this the same scenario in reverse?

Again, it should be pointed out the Lagat, who has run for the Kenyan Olympic team in 2000, has obtained US citizenship. And it should also be pointed out that he's good too. He'll probably medal in the 1500 and 5000 meter races.

Let's face it. Free Agency has hit the Olympics. If you want to train with another country, or you just want to have to opportunity to go to the Olympics, you can do what you need to do to get there. These aren't the only examples. Nick Calathes, a guard for Florida, will play on the Greece national team. He apparently has some family that is from there. And there certainly are others.

So calm down with your patriotic outrage against Becky Hammon. Besides, she wasn't going to make the US team anyway....