Milwaukee's best. (NBA.com)

• Hoops Analyst's Harlan Schreiber picks the 1970-71 Bucks as the best team in franchise history, as part of an ongoing examination of each franchise's all-time top team. I tend to agree.
• Michael Hunt of JS Online reports the Bucks are flying under the radar this summer, with the Brewers delighting and the Brett Favre dramatics.
• Dennis Krause, writing for SportsBubbler.com, profiles the roles of a pair of local athletes who played for Team USA in 1952, Frank McCabe and Ron Bontemps.

  McCabe remembers "the strain of such a change of pace and the closeness of the score for three quarters. It was only 17-15 at the half. One of their players actually sat on the floor during the early part of the game. That kind of stressed the idea of a real slow down. But their coach got him back on his feet in a hurry. The best memory was stepping up to receive the box holding the Gold medal along with the small bunch of flowers."

• TrueHoop's Henry Abbott writes the article I've been meaning to write since Sunday: the future of Team USA. Abbott does an excellent job of explaining the overall picture of Team USA going forward, noting the vast importance of the 2010 World Championships. He makes roster picks too, and Al Horford and Shane Battier are the only questionable ones to me. Kevin Martin? Yes, please.
  
• David Friedman of 20 Second Timeout delivers an Olympic report card to each Team USA player. Redd scores an "I" for incomplete. A sample of Friedman's notes on Redd:

  Last year, I did a post titled Team USA Needs Bruce Bowen More Than it Needs Michael Redd and I have consistently and repeatedly stated that Redd--who is a very good NBA player--would be nothing more than a spare part on this squad for the following reasons: Team USA's primary focus has to be defense, Team USA has several players who are better perimeter defenders than Redd who can also make the shorter FIBA three point shot and it is much more important for Team USA to defend opposing three point shooters than it is for Team USA to make three pointers.

• Matt Watson at Fan House comments on Felipe Reyes saying Spain deserved gold. Next time you want to blame officials, Felipe, please, please try not losing to the team you claim superiority over by 48 points in 80 minutes beforehand. By... 48 points... in 80... minutes. Promise it'll benefit your case.
• A Stern Warning adds that Jose Calderon says Spain would have won under FIBA rules. Umm, again. Maybe we should just make the gold medal a series rather than a single game, to make sure the better team wins, and to avoid flukes. Might not be as fun to take away all hope of anyone ever beating Team USA though.
• Ryan Schwan of Hornets247 unveils Team USA as ancient Chinese historical figures. Michael Redd, apparently, is Peng Yue:
  

  Peng Yue was a General of the Chu-Han Conflict who eventually became a King.  He was a quiet general who would only sporadically involve himself in battle.  When he was on the field, he was good in certain situations, but when the battles began in earnest, he was usually forced off the field and his position taken by a tougher, more aggressive General.  Still, his loyalty earned him a Kingship under Liu Bang, the First Emperor of the Han Empire.  Redd was used sparingly, couldn't really stay on the floor when the pressure was raised. Still, he was a good teammate, and got himself the gold. 

• Kelly Dwyer breaks down Larry Brown's messy maneuvers as Team USA's coach in Athens in 2004. This article follows Brown quotes that can be easily construed as excuse-making for the team's three-loss, bronze medal showing in the Olympics that year.
• Dwyer also writes in memoriam of Kevin Duckworth, who passed away on Monday at the far too young age of 44. Duckworth played in eight games for the Bucks in 1995-96 and 684 games in his NBA career.
  
• J.D. Mo at the Bob Boozer Jinx reflects on a disappointing run for individual Bucks players in the Olympics. True, Redd didn't factor heavily in Team USA's success, but the team badly needed highly capable players willing to play a reduced role and Redd fulfilled that need.
• Dime debates, bracket-style, the best three-point shooters of the past 20 years. No Michael Redd mention, but Ray Allen nabs a top seed.
• From Bucks.com, pick five Energee finalists for a chance to win four tickets to the home opener against the Raptors, and more.