So, the other day, Jay Mariotti wrote a really terrific column. Just kidding. His column was awful and mean-spirited and fundamentally wrong, which is par for the course for old Jay. Gee, I just can’t wait until he starts writing about Chicago sports full-time again! (*Shoots self in head.*)

No, but really, Mariotti’s column was about Michael Beasley’s apparent depression and drug-related issues*– Beasley was sent to counseling by the Heat this week — and Mariotti’s thesis, if you can believe this, was that Beasley would be fine if he had just stayed in college for a few more years. No worries, no drugs, no depression: college fixes everything.

Fortunately, Tom Ziller — miles ahead of Mariotti in talent and a nicer guy than most of us will ever be — wrote a bit of a rebuttal, and it’s worth blockquoting extensively. But the fundamental point is that college isn’t a cure-all. It doesn’t fix everything. Michael Beasley could have the same issues at college that he does in the NBA, and what’s worse is that it’s much easier to get lost on a college campus. It’s much easier to struggle. It’s not a sheltered existence. Depressed people need immediate, tailored care, and while I’m sure K-State’s student medical facilities are top-notch, they’re nothing compared to what the Miami Heat, with all their money wrapped up in Beasley’s well-being, can provide.

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I’m not sure there was, or will ever be, a collection of elite athletes that dominated the way the Dream Team did in the summer of 1992. It was before basketball became a truly global game; Ricky Rubio wasn’t even two years old yet.

And it feeds back into my Michael Jordan/Michael Jackson theory, at that time in American media coverage, there was no Internet diverting our attention into several different streams: it was the Dream Team that summer and little else. At least that’s how I tend to remember it as a seven year old.

Anyway, the Dream Team is being inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame tonight in Chicago. Absent from the event, though? Mr. Michael Jordan.

But don’t expect to see Michael Jordan hanging around McCormick Place. He declined the invite because of a scheduling conflict. However, his former running mate, Scottie Pippen, will be there, along with fellow Olympians Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, John Stockton and Coach Mike Krzyzewski. Sprinter Michael Johnson, a gold medalist in 1996 and 2000, also will attend.

What I really want to know is: Will Christian Laettner be there?

Via.

Derrick Rose ended his season on a spectacularly high note, what with the whole dominating his first playoff series as a rookie thing he had going on. Thanks to that performance, it seems more likely than ever that Rose is going to make the big jump next season. If all goes well, he could be a star in Chicago for years to come. Not just a good player, and not just a piece in a solid team’s puzzle; his ceiling is much higher than that.

In the meantime, though, there are mini accolades to acquire, and one of them could be a spot on the Dream Team (or the Redeem Team or the USMNBT or whatever we’re calling them these days). According to Chris Mannix, Rose is one of a few players Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski are considering:

Derrick Rose: Rose was outplayed by Devin Harris and Russell Westbrook in Las Vegas but word is the reigning Rookie of the Year’s play last season seems to have the U.S. staff leaning in his direction. Rose’s explosiveness in the open floor and his penetrating ability in the half court are considered huge assets by Team USA.

The other candidates are equally impressive. Kevin Durant would be a great addition, especially for his shooting, while Kevin Love, Rudy Gay and Russell Westbrook all have their various benefits. That’s the thing about the Dream Team, though; they don’t really need anything. There are no weak spots. The team is already so good that additional selections are more about replacing former positions, and if Rose can prove himself among young point guards, he should be a lock to eventually take Jason Kidd’s spot. And patriotism and Bulls fandom will meet yet again.

I made the mostly glorious mistake — the not-so-glorious part was eating two microwavable breakfast burritos immediately before — of staying up until 5 a.m. on Saturday night to watch the men’s Olympic basketball team win gold over Spain, 118-107. (What’s that? You didn’t know? Sorry, NBC actually ran this game within 72 hours of it being live, so you have no excuses.)

Yes, it was completely worth the brutal zombie-like state I endured through all day Sunday.

And not just because America won either; it was a tremendous opportunity to watch a group of the NBA’s finest athletes play together and actually care about something. That this win mattered so much to us, the Americans, was because, well, it mattered so much to them.

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