First it was Ian Thorpe and team in 02 Sydney Games, then 04 in Athens. Can they take care of a new threat? The hot French boys!

Will hunky and gorgeous American, Brendan Hansen, provide the splash in the 4X100M Freestyle Relay tomorrow?

Team Analysis by QueerGam's guest bloggers.
Chris Goodridge in Portland
George Tyler in Miami
Jefferey Johnson in Atlanta

Chris Goodridge:
I hope so. The challenges are set. Will they rise? Phelps and the gang are getting better this time. But unlike Yao Ming (who made $74 million dollars last year) and who is also the world's great wall of basketball, our 4x100M Free Relay team is in danger of losing another gold medal. While the great towering figure introduced basketball to the universe and the American Dream Team when more than 1 billion people around the world watched the game this morning, the French boys of the 4x100M Free Relay clocked a better time. Until the Sydney Olympics, the story of the men's 4x100m freestyle relay was one of domination. The U.S. had never lost at the Olympics, taking gold all seven times the race was swum. But 2000 was Australia's year, with the Olympics held at home and the men's team perhaps their strongest ever. Nevermind that the U.S. relay team was better on paper, or that Gary Hall Jr. had famously written that he thought they would "smash [the Australians] like guitars." The Australian team upset the U.S. men, marking the first time the Americans lost the race in Olympic competition.

George Tyler:
Our team is in danger again. The French boys are not only hot but they are ver fast, mostly faster than our team. They will shine tomorrow. And you are right, I remember well, in front of the home crowd in 2000 in Sydney, the Aussies shot out to a lead, with Michael Klim setting a world record in the first leg. They didn't let up, and when Ian Thorpe touched the wall .19 of a second before Gary Hall Jr., the streak was over.

Chris Goodridge:
The U.S. team had beaten the world record, but the Australian team had beaten it by more. Klim and his teammates immediately reacted by strumming fake guitars behind the blocks. "They say that the Americans are great at uniting and being a great team unit, but I think we proved that we can be just as strong," Klim said.

Jefferey Johnson:
I know. Even Gary Hall was impressed. I remember Hall saying, "I doff my swim cap to the great Ian Thorpe. I consider this race to be the best I've ever been involved with. I'd be a liar to say it wasn't disappointing but in the same breath we were one-and-a-half seconds inside the old world record. He just had a better finish than I had." But if the loss in Sydney was disappointing, the result in Athens was shocking.

Chris Goodridge:
The U.S. team headed in Athens was seeking more than just redemption. On the first night of competition, Michael Phelps had already won one gold medal, in the 400m IM. A second gold in the relay would have put him well on his way to matching Mark Sptiz's total of seven. Adding further drama to the race was Hall's absence. He was left off the team in favor of Phelps, a decision Hall openly and angrily disagreed with -- so much so that he didn't even show up to watch. Leading off for the U.S. was Ian Crocker, whose 50.05 finish left the U.S. in last place and was the slowest leg of all 32 swimmers. Phelps dove in next, touching in sixth, but the deficit was too much for Neil Walker and Jason Lezak to overcome.

George Tyler:
Lyndon Ferns jumped on the blocks to celebrate as Ryk Neethling touched first.
The South African team, who nearly broke the world record in the preliminary heats, shattered it in the final and finished with a body-length lead. Lyndon Ferns jumped on the block, flexing while he and his teammates shouted victoriously. Phelps could only stare at the scoreboard. Pieter van den Hoogenband, anchoring the Dutch team, finished in a blistering 46.79 to pass Lezak and win the silver. The U.S. was left with bronze, their worst showing ever, and Phelps' shot at seven golds took a serious blow.

Jefferey Johnson:
And learn they did. The U.S. men won the race at the Worlds in 2005 and 2007, and set the current world record at the Pan Pacific Games in 2006. But once again, Olympic gold will be at stake in Beijing, as will Phelps' eight gold medals. The same South African team will be behind the blocks and ready for another upset. The French, led my 100m free world-record holder Alain Bernard, are a potential threar, and the Australian sprinters are on the rise.


Ambrose Aban in San Francisco:
Is the US team considered the weaker link in this event? I am not sure. But their timing is not bad. Wasn't it 46.99 sec or something? I think the Grevers guy, will be joining the fabulous three in the finals. Favorite or not, the U.S. team will be the target. They all swim so fast and I think tomorrow, for all of them, it will have to take another world record to win gold. Our hope is that Brendan Hansen will shave off at least a second or two to help our team to beat the French, right? Si vouz plez.