The USA Basketball team is now in Beijing getting ready for Olympics tuneups. Before that though, they were in Las Vegas practicing and whatnot. Though this note is a little old at this point, it’s a goodie. It comes to us from the Las Vegas Review-Journal via Ben Maller.

Members of Team USA are keeping an age-old tradition of celebrity aliases alive.

Spies tell me that one of the star players goes by the alias “Bruce Wayne,” the alter ego of “Batman,” and another has taken the name “SpongeBob SquarePants,” the animated cartoon character from the hit TV show of the same name.

Several Team USA players have been using their favorite aliases during their stay at Wynn Las Vegas this week.

In the stands, when the U.S. Olympic squad faces Canada’s Olympic men’s basketball team tonight at the Thomas & Mack Center, could be Michael Jordan, who has been known to use the name “Clark Kent” and “Mr. Sterling” at Las Vegas hotels and restaurants.

Alright, SpongeBob SquarePants? My money’s on Dwight Howard. It’s already been well-publicized that Howard’s kind of a closet-nerd and that he’s a fan of cartoons. Though I would bet on Howard, any player on the team that has a kid is pretty likely to have watched the cartoon at some point. Still, I’ll go with Howard here. Or could Jason Kidd be our culprit?!

I first broached this topic last year when Eric Gagne spurned the Dodgers to sign with the Rangers for a few extra million dollars. Even though he left the Dodgers and their fans high and dry — a year after taking a full season’s salary for only like an inning pitched — he decided to take out an ad in the LA Times to thank Dodger fans. It was an incredibly phony move and a slap in the face of all Dodger fans, as I aptly said in the title. Anyway, apparently P.R. reps haven’t learned — they played the same game with CC Sabathia who took out a full-page ad in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

That’s such a b.s. move and such a slap in the face. What do you really take us fans for, absolute fools? You think that an ad in a newspaper will keep us from overlooking the fact that your client left the city for more money elsewhere? If he had all the feelings he expressed in his ad, then he should have stayed. This is such the biggest backhanded compliment type of move. The front office and the town and people were great to me, but bugger off, I don’t need your contract extension, I’m going to become a free agent instead. Look, I don’t blame CC for not signing an extension and choosing to go the free agent route where he can make Barry Zito-type money, but don’t waste our time with an ad in the Cleveland paper to rub it in. It’s over and done with — just let it go. I really hope P.R. people learn their lesson that the fans don’t appreciate that type of phony thank you. Check out this brilliant comment from a perceptive fan:

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Jason Giambi’s a colorful player, to say the least. It’s stories like his slump-busting golden thong and his lucky porn stache that endears him to the fans (and probably what gets him off the steroids hook in the eye of the public). Anyway, between the thong and the ’stache, the latest act by Giambi to flip off Brian Roberts of the Orioles after beating the shift comes as no surprise. Nevertheless, it’s pretty funny to watch. Let’s go to the video:

And to top it off, we have the soothing sounds of Gary Thorne on the call, too. Giambi has to know there’s a camera on him at all times but he’s not afraid. Story via Ballhype.

After being benched for three days in a row, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andruw Jones and his agent Scott Boras asked for a trade and the Dodgers responded. The Dodgers are sending Andruw Jones and his $36 million contract to the A’s for 22-year-old outfielder Carlos Gonzalez. (I WISH THIS WOULD HAPPEN)

Jones and his agent felt a fresh start would help the struggling former All-Star outfielder get his groove back. Boras said the fact that Oakland is a West Coast team was one of the main reason Jones agreed to waive his no-trade clause. Boras also liked the fact that Jones would be able to start and play center field on a daily basis. He also stated that the young players in the A’s organization would benefit from his arrival and could learn a few things from Jones.

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The double-coup the Angels pulled on Tuesday was easily one of the peaks of the baseball season. First, things got exciting when reports in the morning said the Angels were warming to the idea of acquiring Mark Teixeira from the Braves. Later in the day, the dream became reality and the Angels all of a sudden had the three-hitter they so desperately have needed the last three years. As soon as I heard that it had happened, I began to worry about who the Angels had lost. It was obvious that Casey Kotchman was gone, but I also figured maybe prospects like Adenhart or Wood, or one of the spare outfielders like Willits or Rivera would be gone, too. I wasn’t too happy to think about life without Kotchman since he’s a solid all-around player, delivering clutch hits and playing a Gold Glove first base. But come on, it’s Mark Teixeira — a guy who can produce the way Vlad did during his MVP years with the Angels. It didn’t take long for me to get pumped up and celebrate like the Halos just signed Jack Parkman.

As if the Teixeira acquisition wasn’t enough, John Lackey went out and slayed his Fenway Park dragon by almost throwing a no-hitter. Even though he allowed a hit and home run back-to-back in the 9th, the statement was bold — the Angels are no longer chumps in Fenway Park — they can beat the Red Sox anywhere. The Angels have now gone 7-1 against the Red Sox this year and are going for their second sweep of Boston this year on Wednesday night. Now the irony would be if the Angels turned the corner on the Red Sox — a team that’s owned them and eliminated them from the playoffs recently — and all of a sudden couldn’t beat the Yankees. The Yanks are the exact opposite from the Red Sox for Anaheim — a team they’ve owned in the regular season and knocked out of the playoffs on a regular basis. Now if they could just combine the two, they’d be set.

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OK, so I realize that Gil was talking about building a replica of the Playboy Mansion pool at his house before signing his new deal, but it just makes it more fun to say it this way. Anyway, DC Sports Bog was able to snag some photos of Gil’s highly hyped lagoon. Check out the pics of this million-dollar bad boy in its preliminary state:

Here are a few fast facts about the pool:

* The stone for the “mountain” cost nearly half a million dollars.

* There are three different fish tanks, one going in the “grotto,” one in the front hall, and one in the basement. Their normal retail price would have been about another half-million.

* The tank in the basement will have a recess with a couch in it so Gil can “relax and look up at the fish.”

* The work is scheduled to be finished in August.

That’s pretty clutch right there. Never have I wanted to be invited to someone’s place more than Gil’s (Playboy Mansion comes a close second). More pics after the jump

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