While you were sleeping

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BEIJING -- Chris Kaman couldn’t provide the magic for Germany.

But neither could Dirk Nowitzki.

The United States remained unbeaten in men’s basketball with an easy 106-57 victory over the Germans. That puts the U.S. men, on a mission after finishing third in Athens four years ago, in the quarterfinals against Australia.

Dwight Howard led the U.S. men with 22 points. LeBron James scored 18, 16 in the first half. Kobe Bryant stunned himself and the crowd with two missed dunks but hit two three-pointers -- he had been misfiring in previous games -- and finished with 13 points. It probably didn’t make him feel that much better when Kaman also blew a dunk. Kaman finished with only six points. Nowitzki scored 14.

The Germans were eliminated.

Elsewhere:

(All times PDT)

10:57 p.m. (Sunday) Home team China had to be proud. It at least got a hit off Cat Osterman of Houston. But the United States won, 9-0, in another softball game called after five innings because of the mercy rule. Kelly Kretschman of Indian Harbor Beach, Fla., went two for three with a three-run home run. The U.S. team has moved into the semifinals. With the competition getting stronger, some opponent might even score an earned run.

12:34 a.m. Rule No. 1 for tourists here: Don’t drink the water. The sign over the faucet in Team Tribune’s hotel makes that perfectly clear. ‘No Drinking,’ it says. ‘Please Boiling It.’ But, except for not being able to drink it, U.S. athletes seem to like the water here. Michael Phelps, Dara Torres, Jason Lezak and friends, you know about. Now the U.S. men’s water polo team joined the women’s team in advancing to the semifinals. The U.S. men, who have never won a gold medal in the sport and haven’t won a medal since 1988 or even been in the medal round since 1992, guaranteed themselves of at least getting to play for a medal by beating Germany, 8-7. It appeared as if the Germans had pulled even with a mere 23 seconds remaining, but their goal was disallowed because of an illegal shooting motion within five meters of the net. Jeff Powers of San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Adam Wright of Seal Beach, Calif., each scored two goals. Goalkeeper Merrill Moses of Palos Verdes, Calif., recorded 14 saves.

1:16 a.m. Despite a sluggish start, Rami Zur of Costa Mesa, Calif., placed sixth in qualifying heats for the men’s 1,000-meter single kayak competition and advanced to the semifinals.

1:52 a.m. Sarah Hammer of Temecula, Calif., was taken to a hospital for observation after a crash in the women’s cycling points race. She fell after two cyclists in front of her clipped wheels. She was later released with a broken left clavicle.

3:29 a.m. China continued its dominance of men’s gymnastics, Chen Yibing finishing first and Yang Wei second on the rings.

4:19 a.m. That age-old question of underage Chinese gymnastics is bound to come up again. He Kexin, who reportedly was not old enough when she competed in world events last year in preparation for the Olympics, won the uneven bars. All-around champion Nastia Liukin of the United States was awarded the same score but lost the tiebreaker based on deductions and settled for silver. She now has a gold, two silvers and a bronze, tying for medals won with her father. He was a Russian gymnast. Another Chinese gymnast, Yang Yilin, was third.

4:40 a.m. All three U.S. women, Lolo Jones, Damu Cherry and Dawn Harper, advanced to the final in the women’s 100-meter hurdles.

5:32 a.m. No one saw this coming. For the first time since 1932, the United States won a gold medal in the women’s discus throw. Stephanie Brown Trafton of San Luis Obispo, Calif., won her first title at the international level with her first throw, 212-5.

6:39 a.m. Troy Dumais of Ventura and Chris Colwill of Brandon, Fla., advanced to the semifinal of the springboard diving competition.

6:52 a.m. Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva, as she predicted, beat the United States’ Jenn Stuczynski for the gold medal in the women’s pole vault. It was Isinbayeva’s second consecutive gold medal.

7 a.m. Wake up, smell the Taiwan oolong tea (known here as Chinese Taipei oolong tea)!

Now playing: U.S. women’s soccer team leads, 2-1, in semifinal against Japan; U.S. baseball team leads China, 9-0.

-- Randy Harvey