The Team USA Men's Basketball team appears to be rolling through pool play at the Olympics and are probably on their way to winning a second consecutive gold medal. And while winning a gold medal will be a huge accomplishment for each member of this team, I think this Olympics is particularly important for LeBron James. 

LeBron just finished an NBA season of redemption. He had one of the most dominant regular seasons in NBA history and then carried the Miami Heat through the playoffs and led them to his first NBA Championship. James validated his decision to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and proved many of his doubters wrong with his incredible performances in the NBA Finals. For many, LeBron will never be able to redeem himself for the way he left Cleveland, but I think he has a chance to restore his popularity with these Olympic games.

James has established himself as the leader of this current Team USA. His strong voice and imposing presence make him the most distinct figure on the team and the way he impacts the game on both ends of the court makes him an unstoppable force. With the eyes of the world watching, LeBron has the opportunity to lead the team and our country to a gold medal and sustain our spot atop the basketball world. Even if people don't like the way LeBron left Cleveland, it's hard not to pull for him when he is dominating on behalf of your country. This is the time when people are willing to pull for LeBron - and if he continues to deliver, I think those positive feelings toward him will continue in the future.

I have been hearing about Shake Shack for years. This burger & milkshake restaurant has become incredibly popular in the northeast and many people say it's the East Coast version of In-n-Out. I had a chance to try a Shake Shack when we were living in South Florida and spent an evening on South Beach in Miami but I passed on the opportunity. When I figured out there was a Shake Shack in D.C. we could go to last weekend, I took advantage of this chance.

Shake Shack is known for having a simple menu but using high quality ingredients. The burgers are made with 100% angus beef and the meat has no antibiotics or hormones. The crinkle fries have no trans-fat and are made with yukon gold potatoes. And the milkshakes feature ice cream and custard that are made daily at each Shake Shack location. The prices reflect quality ingredients and it's not cheap for burgers, fries, and shakes, but I had high hopes that my first Shake Shake experience would be able to live up to the hype.

I decided to order a Shack Burger, Fries, and a Presidential Sweet Concrete (thick milkshake). The Shack Burger was topped with lettuce, tomato, and shack sauce. And the presidential sweet concrete was made of vanilla custard, peanut butter sauce, marshmallow sauce, and milk chocolate chunks. The Shack Burger and fries were awesome. You could taste the quality in the meat and the shack sauce was a great complimentary flavor. The fries tasted incredibly fresh and had a wonderful crunch without being too greasy. The milkshake/concrete was the only disappointment. It reminded me of a blizzard from Dairy Queen and I really didn't get much flavor other than the vanilla custard.  

The prices for the burger and fries were reasonable - with the burger being $4.75 and the fries at $2.65. I'd say the concrete is overpriced and overrated, at $4.25 for a half. Compared to a Cook-Out Milkshake at about $2.50, Shake Shack is nowhere near as good. I'd consider the burgers to be better than Cook Out or Five Guys and the fries were top notch. In all, my first trip to Shake Shack was a big success. Now, they just need to keep expanding into Virginia.

Information:
Shake Shack
1216 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
202.683.9922
www.shakeshack.com

As the Olympic games have now begun, the eyes of the sports world will turn to London to see the world's best compete in a variety of competitions. One sport Americans have dominated over the past 30 years is basketball, and this year's team USA Men's Basketball team is the heavy favorite to defend their gold medal from four years ago in Beijing. However, this team draws constant comparisons to the Dream Team of 1992, and many of the current players have even talked about feeling like they have the talent to beat the original Dream Team. In my opinion, that's ridiculous.

The current Olympic team could probably make the case of being more athletic than the Dream Team. Kevin Durant, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony create match-up problems that would be difficult for any team from any era to deal with, particularly on the offensive end. However, I'd give nearly every other advantage to the team from 1992. The back court players of the current team make too many poor decisions and lack the sound fundamentals of the players from the 1992 team. And where the real difference between these two teams would be most evident would be in the front court. I like the physical presence Tyson Chandler brings but he'd be laughed off the court trying to face up against David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, & Karl Malone. I don't think people remember how incredibly powerful and physical Karl Malone was and how athletic David Robinson was. 

Finally, I don't think you will ever find a team with a more competitive fire than the 1992 Dream Team. These were some of the most competitive players in the history of basketball, and they pushed each other to be better. Any team with leaders like Jordan, Bird, Johnson, Robinson, & Barkley is bound to just crush the will of any opposing team. The current USA Olympic team has yet to prove they have that sort of killer instinct. And as much as they think they can match up with the standard in basketball, I don't think they will ever reach the level of 1992 squad.