It's two down and six more to go for the American Dream Team 3 after a 93-61 victory over Italy.

First, let me speak of the positive: Jason Kidd has proven to be the leader of this basketball team on the floor. His four points, six rebounds and seven assists are nice stats for limited playing time, but more importantly, Jason exhibits the work ethic and concentration level that should exemplify that of all the world's great players. That, coupled with the play of Ray Allen, who scored nine points and exhibited tremendous intensity on the floor, certainly speaks well of the American team in future games.

The starting lineup is a misnomer for Rudy Tomjanovich's team, as he recognized that all 12 of his players deserve equal recognition and playing time. Last night, Antonio McDyess moved into the so-called starting lineup and played extremely well in his 15 minutes of playing time with eight points and five rebounds. That, coupled with Abdur-Rahim's nine points and seven rebounds in only 12 minutes of actual playing time, is an example of how efficient these NBA stars can be.

Gary Payton needs to improve his attitude for the U.S. to be truly successful.(AP)

Now -- on a negative note -- is the play of Gary Payton, who needs to reflect on last night's game in terms of his attitude and interest in trash talk as opposed to performance. From the moment he came in the game, this talented backcourt player lost focus and took away from his many talents.

The same can be said of Vince Carter, a superstar in waiting, who was the leading scorer with 13 points, including one incredible dunk. He spent most of his night in a pushing and shoving match with a player named Allesendro Abbio.

Abbio, a nondescript player for the Italian team and one who will never don an NBA uniform, was able to get under Carter's skin. And for a player of Carter's magnitude to direct his attention to retaliation, shows that he has a lot to learn about marketing himself, sportsmanship and how to maximize his performances on the floor.

Alonzo Mourning will be leaving the team after the next game for his 18,000-mile, round-trip journey to observe the birth of his second child, so he will be unavailable on the inside for the United States team. However, Allan Houston returned from missing his one game due to a wrist injury and looked very sharp with his outside shooting.

For those who had an opportunity to watch the game, Italy found themselves down just one point with five minutes to go in the first half. At which point, Andrea Meneghin decided that he was a one-man shooting machine and took bad shots, taking away any shot Italy had at keeping the game close.

Meneghin is the son of Italy's greatest player Dino Meneghin, and he ended the game shooting just 2-of-16 from the floor as his team shot only 32 percent against the Americans.

Next up for the U.S. team is Lithuania. It is not about the opponent that would concern Rudy Tomjanovich as it is the attitude of his own team. It is time now -- if this is actually going to be a Dream Team 3 -- for all the players to understand their opponent is history rather than the other teams in this Olympics, and I feel this team is at a crossroads and I think that the Lithuania game will be important to see if they can refocus on the real objective which is showing their skills, sportsmanship and team unity on the floor, so they can be truly appreciated for their skills and professionalism.

In regard to the overall play of basketball, last night might have been the most important game in Australia basketball history. Losers in their first game against Canada, the Australians needed to snap back against Yugoslavia if they hoped to move into the medal round.

Instead, they lost 80-66 despite Andrew Gaze's 21 points. Yugoslavia exemplified the new breed of European players, in the fact that most European teams are manned by a new breed of stars and are extremely young.

Australia had hoped that this team -- the best they had ever put in the Olympics -- would go for the Silver medal, and before the Olympics started, there was a great deal written about them. But after just two games -- having lost both of them -- the American people would be shocked to read an Australian newspaper, as not one single word was written about the game or the plight of their team. Quite a difference from what we would see in the States. It looks now that Yugoslavia would be the team favored for Silver.

Another note in basketball: it became very obvious that the International Basketball Federation needs to go to three referees at the Olympic level, as it is obvious that the two officials cannot properly cover the floor with today's modern athlete.

This leads to a great deal of physical contact and unnecessary rough play away from the ball, and unfortunately, for a few of the American players, they got into the extracurricular action way too much. It is both dangerous and, for these high priced payers, unnecessary to get caught up in that type of activity due to the fact that there is no referee to see the action.

It is very interesting to me to walk the streets of Sydney to watch and hear the reaction of the fans in regard of the performances. Ian Thorpe -- a 17-year-old swimming star of Australia -- already has won three golds and a silver. Thorpe is only 17 years of age but reminds me a great deal of Tiger Woods in terms of his incredible understanding of sportsmanship despite being so talented.

I heard more people applauding him for his attitude after losing the gold to Pieter van den Hoogenband much like Tiger Woods does in golf. Thorpe congratulated the world record holder for being a better man in the pool on that given day. These are two young giants in the sports world who understand the true meaning of competition and set the standard that you would hope all young kids would follow.

Let's hope the American basketball team will take note and not only win games by 30 points, but win the hearts of those who watch them.