BRISTOL, Conn. - In international basketball, the United States wastes no time letting the rest of the world know they are playing for second place.

The Americans practically treat their foes with disdain.  Most of the games are blowouts.  Even those considered international powers have a long way to go before they are on the same level as Team USA.

And the U.S. men aren’t bad, either.

If you’re looking for a real Dream Team, you might want to watch the women instead of the men when the Olympic basketball competition tips off on August 14.  Given the relative skill level within each league, the women have a better squad.

With the exception of Shannon “Pee Wee” Johnson of the San Antonio Silver Stars - the team’s third-string point guard - every player on the team has won a collegiate championship, a WNBA title or an Olympic gold medal.  Houston Comets forward Sheryl Swoopes has won all three, and Swin Cash and Ruth Riley of the Detroit Shock can join her with a gold in Athens.

Beginning with their march through the 1996 Olympics, the American women have won 34 straight games in worldwide competition.  They have swept the last two Olympics and the last two World Championships.

In the 2000 gold medal game at Sydney, Team USA trounced the hosts, 76-54.  Two years later at the Worlds in Nanjing, China, the Americans built a big lead and held off Russia, 79-74.

“We’re going to the Olympics as favorite to win the gold, and every other team in the Olympics is going bring their best game,” said Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie, who is looking for her third gold medal.  “We have treat every team with respect, because you know what happen when you take a team lightly.  On any given day, you can lose.”

The truth is it would be a bigger upset in these Olympics if the women lost rather than the men.  It is hard to see that happening, however.

Yes, this team is a little old - six players will be 30 by the time the tournament ends.  Yes, Swoopes and Minnesota Lynx guard Katie Smith, two of the team’s best scorers, are nursing injuries and may not be fully healthy when the games begin.  And yes, the Americans are putting their WNBA season on hold for the Olympics, creating a fatigue factor.

But no other country - not Russia, not South Korea, not even improving Brazil - is anywhere as deep or as talented as Team USA.

The U.S. is in Group B, the weaker of the two six-team groups. Its only challenge in pool play likely will come from South Korea, a tall team that can shoot a bit but one that has lost the bronze medal game in both the 2000 Olympics and the 2002 Worlds.

“We will have to go with a big lineup to challenge them or go with a quick lineup to change the tempo of the game,” Leslie said.

Group A is comprised of Australia, which boasts WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson and also won the bronze at the 2002 Worlds; Brazil, which has Comets guard Janeth Arcain and won the bronze at the 2000 Olympics; Russia, the only nation to beat the U.S. in the Olympics since 1976; host nation Greece; Japan; and Nigeria.

There will be a greater sense of urgency once the Americans move into the quarterfinals, where they may have to defeat the trio of Australia, Brazil and Russia in succession to capture gold once again.

“(Jackson) is one player that can dominate a game,” Swoopes admitted.  “We know a lot about her from playing against her in the WNBA.”

“Brazil is one team that is going to challenge us hard for the gold,” said Team USA coach Van Chancellor of the Houston Comets. “They have several players who know our players from either playing together or against each other in the WNBA or from international games.”

Facing that challenge is Chancellor, who guided the team in the 2002 Worlds but is in his first Olympics.  Comets forward Tina Thompson may have to pick up some of the scoring slack for Swoopes and Smith, who sat out last week’s exhibition win against WNBA All-Stars.

“I don’t know when they’re going to come back,” Chancellor said. “We’re taking it day by day and don’t want to rush them back too early.  That may hurt in the later stages of the Olympics. Both players are needed because they’re two of our best perimeter shooters on the team.”

Even from the sidelines, however, Swoopes succinctly summed things up.

“We’re going to be a tough team to beat,” she said.

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