MORNING BRIEFING

Giving gold medal seal of approval

Besides being a Hall of Fame basketball player, Rick Barry is also a Hall of Fame talker, never running short of opinions.

Barry, 64, who lives in Colorado Springs, is a former sports talk radio host and is busy developing programming ideas for television.

With the Olympics getting underway today, Barry said the U.S. basketball team should be a lock to win the gold medal.

“If they don’t, it would be ridiculous. It would be a shocker,” he said.

“At least they’re doing it right, Jerry Colangelo put it together right, and now they’re not just a bunch of stars showing up, they’re really serious about it.”

After the pros are through in Beijing and get ready for next NBA season, Barry said he can already identify one team he doesn’t figure to be on top in the West.

“The Lakers,” he said. “I just think if San Antonio had won the first game of that series, the Spurs would have won. Too many teams in the West are going to be really good next season and I don’t know if the Lakers are going to be any better.

“They don’t play the kind of defense that wins championships.”

Trivia time

In which Olympic Games did Barry play?

Flag is up

The final race meet is underway at soon-to-be closed Bay Meadows in San Mateo and ticket sales have been strong, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Perhaps the best marketing plan I ever had was closing the place,” Bay Meadows President Jack Liebau said.

This is just a test

Instant replay, a staple of the NFL, was tested for the first time in Major League Baseball the other night when the Florida Marlins played at the Philadelphia Phillies. The Marlins had 13 hits and scored six runs in the last three innings, and the Phillies hit into three double plays and first baseman Ryan Howard made his 13th error.

The Phillies are hoping there’s no replay -- instant or otherwise -- of that mess.

Royal treatment

You can’t say the Kansas City Royals aren’t trying everything to stop their longtime, long-term losing pattern. They’ve hired sports psychologist Andrew Jacobs, whose job is to give the Royals positive vibes. Maybe he can have a little chat with the bats while he’s at it.

Beyond P.C.

Maybe they’re on to something in the New York-Penn League, where the Class-A Lowell Spinners had a “Political Correctness Night.” The foul lines were called fair lines and any player who made an error did not have it announced so his feelings wouldn’t be hurt.

This is probably how things should be handled in the Milwaukee Brewers’ dugout these days.

Trivia answer

He didn’t. He wasn’t chosen at tryouts for the 1964 Games.

And finally

Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards doesn’t sound as if he would join the ranks of the nine players who were in the NBA last year and have bolted to play for an international team: “I can’t even understand my kids, let alone another language.”

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thomas.bonk@latimes.com